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BEST DESIGN - The Cannon Curl perfectly supports your elbows and enables you to keep the correct posture during curls. Our design properly mimics using a preacher curl system and prevents users from "cheating" during bicep curls. Users immediately notice proper bicep isolation when curling with the Cannon Curl. COMFORTABLE - This tough bicep bomber now has a padded abdomen region in addition to elbow and neck pads (now thicker) for comfort, support, and stability. STRONG - There is nothing on the market as strong as our arm blaster. Constructed of thick-gauge aluminum. Stack on the weight on your curl bar or dumbbells without any worry about our arm blaster bending. HAND CRAFTED - The Cannon Curl's adjustable belt is made of heavy-duty webbed nylon. The neck pad is made of thick neoprene. Double brass rivets are used to properly secure the nylon strap. Now made with thicker gauge aluminum to support higher weight levels. TRUSTED - Core Prodigy designs and manufactures high quality fitness equipment that you can rely on. Let's face it, formidable biceps are desired by every man and woman. The Cannon Curl perfectly supports your elbows and enables you to keep the correct posture during curls. Users immediately notice proper bicep isolation when curling with the Cannon Curl. When you flex, don't just show your guns, release your cannons! It is impossible to make a universal arm blaster that fits all anatomies. A user with a 40 inch waist will have the elbow supports farther in front of their body compared to a user with a 30 inch waist. Additionally, some users wish to have their arms in front of their body and other users wish to have their elbows farther back. The Cannon Curl is made of a thick-gauge aluminum. Additionally, some users want zero or less pressure on the neck. To achieve this: 1. Lengthen the strap so the Cannon Curl hangs lower than your elbows. 2. Position the Cannon Curl prior to picking up the weight. 3. This will create excess slack with the strap and there will not be any stress on the neck. * Now made with a thicker gauge aluminum to support higher-weight levels. ** Padded Neck Pad is Now Thicker!

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl Dev Reopens, Announces New Game GSC Gameworld is back in business. By | @emanuelmaiberg on December 21, 2014 at 11:35AM PST GSC Gameworld, the developer behind the Stalker games, has reopened and is already developing its next game. Speaking with Gamesindustry.biz, GSC Gameworld's Valentine Yeltyshev didn't have much to reveal about the new project other than it will appeal to fans of Stalker, and that it will be a full price game. Apparently, it's also going to use the assets and engine GSC Gameworld was working on while developing Stalker 2 before the studio shut down in 2010. "We're pretty sure about our fans. The market we're in is quite old fashioned, they're not 16 year olds, they're 25-40 years old," Yeltyshev said. "We don't think free-to-play is the right model for the game we want to make. So we're making an old-fashioned, full price game, we think our audience will be happy about that." Yeltyshev also didn't say whether the new game will be called Stalker, the rights for which have been in dispute recently. Last week, developer West Games, which claimed to be made up of former Stalker developers, announced a crowdfunding campaign for Stalker Apocalypse. West Games previously tried to crowdfund a similar project called Areal, which caused a fair bit of controversy itself. "I don't really know enough about them, but the story is quite funny," Yeltyshev said. "These guys were basically promoting themselves as being the STALKER team, that they were working on STALKER, but that's not true." He explained that the developers at West Games were actually working on a flash-based browser game related to Stalker that never saw the light of day, but never the Stalker series proper. Since GSC Gameworld closed in 2010, some of its developers went on to 4A Games, which develops the Metro series, and Vostok games, which is currently working on Survarium. Upvote (16) There are 79 comments about this story Load Comments (79)

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

Q: GitKit Client - Uploaded users cannot connect We have an existing user database with SHA1-encoded passwords. We upload them to the Google Federated Database (through the GitKitClient java lib), but then these uploaded users can't log in The verifyPassword always returns "Incorrect password" ! The call to the uploadUsers looks like gitkitClient.uploadUsers('SHA1', new byte[0], gitkitUsers) (We must provide an empty byte array as second param (hash key), since we get NPEs if we provide a null value) The method that creates the GitkitUsers that are in the list is as follows: private GitkitUser createGitkitUserFromUser(User user) { GitkitUser gitkitUser = new GitkitUser() gitkitUser.email = user.email gitkitUser.localId = getLocalId(user) gitkitUser.name = user.displayName gitkitUser.hash = user.password?.bytes if (user.pictureFileName) { gitkitUser.photoUrl = user.getPictureUrl() } return gitkitUser } We see no way to further investigate. Did someone successfully use it ? A: Make sure that the hashKey you use in setPassword() is the same one used in uploadUsers(). I am using the php SDK so I can't share code for you, but when I did NOT use the same hashKey for both places, I had the same problem.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaStackExchange'}

Bangladesh: Mental health struggles for trapped refugees Living in overcrowded camps for years on end, without legal status in Bangladesh, was already very distressing for the Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar. The COVID-19 pandemic has only brought greater restrictions, and stress, to the refugees caught in limbo. Within the camps in Cox's Bazar, MSF provides support through individual, family and group counselling sessions, where mental health specialists focus on coping mechanisms and building resilience. It's a service more essential now than ever—with 61 per cent more people seeking mental health care in Cox's Bazar over the past year. The main street of the Jamtoli refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, southeast Bangladesh. © Hasnat Sohan/MSF "Life for a refugee is hellish" "No one wants to be a refugee" says Faruk,* a Rohingya refugee living in a camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. "The life we have here is not easy. We live in an open prison." For Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar, living in overcrowded camps for the past three years was already affecting their mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic added even more restrictions, and with life in the camps showing no signs of improving, the mental health toll is rising. "Life for a refugee is hellish and every day is the same," says Faruk. "I can't travel outside the area of the camps as we need special authorisation to leave, and it is only granted under special circumstances such as for medical care or emergencies." "Sometimes I bite myself to see if I can feel something and I have tried to commit suicide," Faruk says. The strain on Rohingya refugees is evident in the increasing number of mental health services that were provided by MSF staff in Cox's Bazar in the last year—MSF's figures show an estimated 61 per cent increase in the number of people seeking mental health services when compared to the year prior. Our figures also show an estimated 74 per cent increase in group mental health consultations and a 51 per cent increase in individual mental health consultations in 2020. Faruk* was born in Bangladesh and has lived his entire life within the Nayapara registered refugee camp. He has struggled to access healthcare for his wife and children over the last seven to eight years, and with this pandemic situation; life became more complicated. © MSF/Farah Tanjee Mounting mental health concerns Living in a refugee camp gives little certainty to those forced to remain inside its borders, and the potential for being relocated to other camps can have huge impacts on mental health. Rumours of the relocations to Bhasan Char, a mass of sediment which has formed an 'island' 30 kilometres from the mainland, date back as far as 2015. In May 2020, around 300 Rohingya refugees who had been rescued at sea were transferred to the island for quarantine as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, where they still remain. Little is known about the conditions they face while detained on the island. In December 2020, more than 1,600 additional refugees from Cox's Bazar were relocated to the island. Independent humanitarian organisations, including the UN, have yet to gain access to the site, adding fuel to the growing concerns about the conditions there. It is estimated that more than 3,000 people have now been relocated to Bhasan Char, and with authorities claiming the island has the capacity to house 100,000 people, it's likely that many more Rohingya will face relocation soon. The mounting impact of many months of this reduced humanitarian support has made meeting basic needs increasingly difficult. But relocation is only one of many fears for those in the camps. A recent fire at Nayapara Registered Refugee camp destroyed around 550 shelters, where news reports estimated that around 3500 refugees were staying. Although there were no casualties and only a few people with minor injuries, the disruption to daily life has been huge for those living at the site. In reducing movement and countering the spread of COVID-19, essential services in the camps provided primarily by humanitarian organisations were reduced by up to 80 per cent. The mounting impact of many months of this reduced humanitarian support, especially on a community that is increasingly dependent on humanitarian assistance, has made meeting basic needs increasingly difficult. These compounding factors have only heightened the extreme mental health stress faced by Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh—a stress that has recently spilled into violence. MSF staff in personal protective equipment (PPE) clean the COVID-19 isolation wards at MSF's Kutupalong field hospital, Bangladesh. © MSF/Daniella Ritzau-Reid Helplessness and violence "I was hiding in the kitchen with my children so that no one could attack us," Asiya says. "When the violence broke out in the camps there were no men at home. We could hear the gunshots and we stayed silent, closing all the doors. We were frightened and shocked." Asiya discussed October's 12-day clash between two Rohingya groups in the camps on her arrival at MSF's Kutupalong hospital. Our field team spoke with traumatised people who were even afraid of visiting hospitals, health posts or clinics, for basic health care. After the violence, many refugees and their relatives left their shelters and moved to other parts of the camp which were unaffected by the clashes. MSF Mental Health Activity Manager Kathy Lostos says that, despite the recent escalations, the situation is not hopeless. "When a group's future is uncertain and when a population is not integrated into a society, this creates a feeling of lack of safety," says Lostos. "Feeling that your life is under threat can lead to helplessness, believing that 'nothing that I do will matter,' and this can have a huge impact on people's mental wellbeing. Having some degree of control or autonomy over one's future is a determinant of creating a sense of safety Kathy Lostos MSF Mental Health Activity Manager "The best thing to improve mental health outcomes is to restore a sense of safety," she says. "Having some degree of control or autonomy over one's future is a determinant of creating a sense of safety. This includes things like including communities in decision-making processes or creating a sense of autonomy and control over one's future. [This] serves to mitigate the long-term effects of trauma." Laila, a volunteer in Kutupalong hospital, faced the violence while staying in a school with her family and parents. "We left our homes and took shelter in a school premises inside the camp, and we were out of our home for almost 20 days," she says. While speaking, Laila holds paper in her hands and rolls it over again and again. She makes little eye contact, and possibly trying to control her emotions by keeping herself busy. "I am tense and truly frustrated, thinking about the future," she says. "I started thinking, in a way, that we don't have any future or hopes. We are just trapped here, and restrictions of movement, and the impossibility of getting jobs are making our life much tougher." But despite the many mounting challenges, there is still hope from within the camps—a hope that is essential. "I have many dreams," says Faruk. "I want to visit and explore other places. I want to go to my home, so long as we get justice and rights." MSF has been running mental health activities in the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar since 2009. Our teams provide support through individual, family and group counselling sessions, where mental health specialists focus on coping mechanisms and building resilience. *Names of patients have been changed at their request. How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting refugees? Tanzania, Bangladesh, Iraq, Syrian Arab Republic, Greece Life in limbo: Three years in a Rohingya refugee camp Bangladesh, Myanmar COVID-19 in Bangladesh: Healthcare during a pandemic COVID-19 in refugee camps: Five challenges in Bangladesh

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

I love Indian food which has become the most popular take away food in Britain and is popular all around the world. Generally, Indian dishes appear to be a good choice because they contain healthy ingredients like whole grains from lentils, pulses and legumes, fresh vegetables and wholemeal breads. However, depending on how the dish is cooked, and the regional cooking style, many Indian dished are very high in calories. If you are trying to control your weight you should look for low fat and low calorie alternatives. This review provides general information on healthy choices and provides a summary table comparing the calories and fat contents of popular Indian foods and dishes. Curry is a very popular dish full of flavours and spices. But the masala (sauce) , which makes it so tasty can be laden with fat and calories, especially in large servings. Many Indian dishes have added coconut milk and cream and are cooked in rich butter extracts. For example, many Korma style dishes are cooked with cream, saffron, ground almonds. Therefore avoid high calories, choose the drier curry dishes such as Bhuna, Tikka or Tandoori. Vegetable, Chicken or a Prawn curries generally have few calories. Or simply get half serves or share dishes and add vegetables and breads to the meal. Pilau rice and fried rice varieties such as Pulauo or Biryani have very high calories because it is fried and contains other fat laden ingredients. Steamed rice such as basmati rice is much healthier. Indian flatbreads, such as Chappatis or Tandoori Roti and plain Naan (not smothered in Ghee) are much healthy than fried flat bread Poori or stuffed Paratha. Naan bread which can contain about 300 calories. See the Calorie Chart for details about other breads. The classic tandoor is a clay oven that is widely used in traditional Indian cooking. The high temperature in the oven and used to produce small, tender piece of chicken and fish, that are pre-coated with yogurt, other sources and spices. Tandoori dishes are among the leanest items on many menu, and they include various kebabs, platters and chicken tikka, which is a dish made from chicken that is marinated and coated in yogurt and spices. Any fried appertizers such as Samosas, Puri (fried bread) or Pakoras are tasty but are loaded with full fat that soaks into the outer coating, as well as starch, and salt. They have very high calorie contents. Instead, order one of the thin lentil wafers such as papadum or papad (roasted not deep-fried). Many Indian restaurants now include healthy baked appetizers on their menus. Dahl (Dal), which is lentil soup, side-dish or curry, can be ordered by itself or with rice or bread, is a healthy choice. Any meat dish or vegetarian dish with names such as Makhani, Korma and Malai, are cooked in butter and have high fat contents and have high calories.. Many restaurants and take-away outlets provide very large servings of these curries. But you can enjoy them in small portions by ordering a half-serve or sharing and eating the curry with lots of flavoured rice and flatbreads. Healthy meat alternates include tikka (not creamy tikka masala) and tandoori meat and vegetable dishes. Choose dishes prepared without ghee. Choose seafood or chicken rather than lamb or beef. Order one meat dish and one vegetable dish with bread and Dahl to cut down the saturated fat and calories. Kheer, a rice pudding made with coconut milk, raisins and nuts can have over 500 calories. Dhakla, a popular Dal, has 111 caloriess and 5 grams of fat. One 7-inch piece of Roti (baked whole-wheat bread) has just 60 caloriess and 1gram of fat.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

Office of the Provost and Senior Vice-President 107 Chapter (Book) 95 Commissioned Report 14 Edited Book 11 Short Review 3 Audio / Visual Recording 2 Other Report The intent and processes of a professional learning initiative seeking to foster discussion around innovative approaches to teaching Sullivan, P. A., Holmes, M., Ingram, N., Linsell, C., Livy, S. & McCormick, M., 2016, p. 669-673. Research output: Contribution to conference › Other › Other Challenging mathematics tasks: What they are and how to use them Sullivan, P., Bragg, L. A. (ed.), Cheeseman, J., Michels, D., Mornane, A., Clarke, D., Middleton, J. & Roche, A., 2011, p. 33 - 46. 14 p. The effects of changed migration policy on assimilation of Australian skilled immigrants Kostenko, W. & Mavromaras, K. (ed.), 2011, p. 1 - 9. 9 p. L comes before T: How having a formal learning agenda can improve teaching Mitchell, I. J. & Mitchell, J. A., 2008, p. 1 - 17. 17 p. Research versus the media: Mixed or single-gender settings? Jeffrey, P. L. (ed.), Forgasz, H., Leder, G. & Taylor, C. A., 2008, p. 1 - 5. 5 p. Pedagogical content knowledge: a strategy for preparing science teachers to have a vision for their professional learning Loughran, J. J., Berry, A. K. & Mulhall, P. J., 2007, p. 1 - 18. 18 p. Promoting and tracking understandings in Mathematics: A school's experience Vincent, J. (ed.), Kalogeropoulos, P., Dowsey, J. (ed.), Seah, W. T. & Pierce, R. (ed.), 2007, p. 166 - 174. 9 p. Using a cultural-historical framework to show societal, personal and institutional influences on learning in an Australian early childhood community Ridgway, A., 2007, p. 1 - 14. 14 p. Aiming for world peace by promoting 'violence' in education Freund, M. (ed.), Webster, R. S., Mackenzie, J. (ed.) & O'Loughlin, M. (ed.), 2006, p. 33 - 39. 7 p. An activity theory perspective on technology mediated mathematics education for undergraduates Quinney, D. (ed.) & FitzSimons, G. E., 2006, p. 123 - 124. 2 p. Challenges for mathematics educators of adults and school-leavers FitzSimons, G. E., 2006, p. 108 - 113. 6 p. Expansion of vocational education and training Burke, G. & Shah, C., 2006, p. 1 - 15. 15 p. Adult numeracy in Australian workplaces Lindberg, L. (ed.) & FitzSimons, G. E., 2005, p. 79 - 85. 7 p. Corporate learning strategies: politics, the new order and teachers work Shields, J., 2005, p. 1 - 29. 29 p. Developing portfolio assessment in English and mathematics: contrasting perspectives on the implementation of professional teaching standards Bishop, A. J., Clarke, B. A., Doecke, B. & Prince, N. P., 2005, p. 1 - 10. 10 p. Internationalisation in state secondary schools: sharing private stories (or) ~discomforts & safe spaces~ Leve, A. M., 2005, p. 1 - 15. 15 p. Knowledge to enhance science teaching and learning: pursuing scholarship through explicitly enacting expert science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge Loughran, J. J., Berry, A. K. & Mulhall, P. J., 2005, p. 1029 - 1032. 4 p. Meeting new challenges - are specialist VET centres the way forward? Ferrier, F. G., 2005, p. 27 - 27. 1 p. Moral stuttering: bioethics for teachers, anyone? Mason, M. (ed.) & Semetsky, I., 2005, p. 423 - 433. 11 p. Public and private spending on education and training: trends and implications Burke, G., 2005, p. -. 0 p. Second langage teacher education: sociocultural directions for the future Cross, R. G. & Gearon, M. M., 2005, p. 1 - 19. 19 p. Teachers as policy producers in classrooms Cole, E. C., 2005, p. 1 - 8. 20 p. The skill & training needs of young volunteers Using discussion to improve students' understanding of electric circuits Mulhall, P. J. & McKittrick, B. L., 2005, p. 1 - 7. 7 p. Values in maths and science: what can we learn from children's drawings? Mousley, J. (ed.), Bishop, A. J., Bragg, L. (ed.), Clarke, B. A. & Campbell, C. (ed.), 2005, p. 35 - 41. 7 p. Views of physics held by physics teachers with differing views of the nature of physics learning Mulhall, P. J. & Gunstone, R. F., 2005, p. 1150 - 1152. 3 p. Activity theory: its possible contribution as a theoretical framework for HPM Furinghetti, F. (ed.), FitzSimons, G. E., Kaijser, S. (ed.) & Vretblad, A. (ed.), 2004, p. 212 - 218. 7 p. An overview of adult and lifelong mathematics education FitzSimons, G. E., 2004, p. 1 - 13. 13 p. Critical issues in researching cultural aspects of mathematics education Bishop, A. J., 2004, p. 1 - 13. 13 p. Globalisation, image politics and outdoor education Brown, M. S. & Fitzclarence, L., 2004, p. 1 - 1. 1 p. Globalisation, technology, and mathematics Gimenez, J. (ed.), FitzSimons, G. E., FitzSimons, G. (ed.) & Hahn, C. (ed.), 2004, p. 137 - 141. 5 p. Immigrant studies in transition: dilemmas and decisions Price measures in education and training: opening a discussion Goulding, B. (ed.), Burke, G., Potter, J. (ed.) & White, G., 2004, p. 1 - 38. 38 p. Teaching and learning numeracy on the job: the case study of chemical spraying and handling. Work in progress FitzSimons, G. E. & Mlcek, S., 2004, p. 1 - 6. 6 p. Values in science and mathematics education - similarities, differences and teacher views Corrigan, D. J., Gunstone, R. F., Bishop, A. J. & Clarke, B. A., 2004, p. 1 - 24. 24 p. `I Was Framed!?: The `invisible? work of the hidden curriculum in outdoor education Boyes, M., Brown, M. S., Maxted, J. & Wattchow, B., 2003, p. -. 0 p. 'Blurred boundaries'; rethinking the distinctions between sport and recreation in globalising times Fitzclarence, L., Jeffrey, P. (ed.) & Brown, M. S., 2003, p. 276 - 276. 1 p. "I was Framed!": The 'invisible work' of the hidden curriculum and outdoor education Boyes, M., Polley, S. (ed.), Maxted, J., Wattchow, B. & Brown, M. S., 2003, p. 185 - 204. 20 p. Textbooks and their authors: another perspective on the difficulties of teaching/learning electricity Gunstone, R. F., McKittrick, B. L. & Mulhall, P. J., 2003, p. 1 - 24. 24 p. The funding of VET for students with disabilities Selby Smith, C. W. & Ferrier, F. G., 2003, p. -. 0 p.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

Children enjoy coming to school and we have good rates of attendance. If your child is not well enough to attend school please let the office know by phone on 01206 240288 prior to morning registration, 8.55am with a short description of the reason for absence. There is an answer phone so messages can be left at any time selecting Option 1. Please ensure that your child is fully recovered before returning to school. In cases of diarrhoea and vomiting illness it is necessary to have at least 48 hours from the last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting before returning to school to avoid passing bugs to others. The school can advise on communicable diseases. Further advice can be obtained by contacting the School Health Advisor. In the case of oral antibiotics, only those which have been prescribed for use four times daily (three times daily and twice daily doses cannot be administered). The School Office store paracetemol for emergency use only and will only be administered following telephone consent obtained from the child's parent.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

Hezbollah hastens to defend the indefensible Diana Moukalled Wednesday 20 January 2016 Hezbollah did not hesitate to voice support for Lebanese military court's shameful decision to release ex-minister Michel Samaha. It did not even wait for the people's anger and shock to subside over the release of Samaha against whom there was purported to be video evidence showing his involvement in smuggling of explosives into Lebanon from Syria and planning attacks. Hezbollah's response has been as strange as the court's decision. The anger against the decision was described by them as "malicious" and "temperamental". That's how Mohammad Raad, the leader of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, put it. True, how can we get angry! Raad is right in accusing us of being malicious, considering the situation we live through in Lebanon. How ill-tempered we are! How can we condemn the release of a Lebanese politician, who is among the top ranks of the "Axis of the Resistance", just because he participated in the scheme to assassinate religious and political figures and carry out attacks? Why accept one siege and reject another? You must therefore accept all forms of siege and starvation! Diana Moukalled What madness has struck us when we voice surprise that Samaha was released despite evidence against him in this case? This has been as clear an evidence as any we have seen in Lebanon and the region? Hezbollah and Raad have the right to describe the reaction of many Lebanese people as "temperamental", and Hezbollah's miserable media can go on generalizing this rhetoric. In other words, they can downplay the decision to release Samaha and call it a judicial matter. This must be accepted just the way previous judicial violations have been accepted and thus it must be concluded that all this anger over the release of the ex-minister is nothing more than bad temper. Vulgar rhetoric This rhetoric is all Hezbollah has left when it comes to defending its tasks and positions. It justifies violations by referring to other violations, which they say are nothing compared to the acts of Hezbollah and its media. Hasn't Hezbollah voiced surprise over our shock because it is besieging the Syrian town of Madaya, and starving its people, and accuse us of remaining silent over the siege of al-Foua and Kefraya? Hezbollah has used this kind of vulgar rhetoric to defend a practice which even former head of general security Jamil as-Sayyed could not defend. He clearly stated his discontent over Samaha's release. So why condemn Samaha's release when other convicted men have been released in the past? We must not differentiate between criminals and accept them all. This is the logic Hezbollah is confronting us with. The "Axis of the Resistance" media could not defend the Lebanese military court's decision as the scandal could not be concealed. All they could do was draw up comparisons with other cases whose evidence and gravity are nothing compared to those related to the Samaha scandal. The decision to release Samaha finds no precedence in Lebanon's history. It resembles incidents that happen in North Korea or in dictatorships of the 1970s and in Latin America's banana republics. This happened in Lebanon at a time when it is no longer possible to cover the scandal of a magnitude of Michel Samaha. This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Jan. 18, 2016. Diana Moukalled is the Web Editor at the Lebanon-based Future Television and was the Production & Programming Manager with at the channel. Previously, she worked there as Editor in Chief, Producer and Presenter of "Bilayan al Mujaradah," a documentary that covers hot zones in the Arab world and elsewhere, News and war correspondent and Local news correspondent. She currently writes a regular column in AlSharq AlAwsat. She also wrote for Al-Hayat Newspaper and Al-Wasat Magazine, besides producing news bulletins and documentaries for Reuters TV. She can be found on Twitter: @dianamoukalled. Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not reflect Al Arabiya English's point-of-view. MICHAEL SAMAHA SAMAHA RELEASE Revolt and anger in Lebanon after ex-minister's release Lebanon's Michel Samaha trial and what it reveals The collapse of Lebanon's Hezbollah Al-Nimr, Madaya.. The double standards language of Hezbollah Samir Qantar is no hero, and Hezbollah is no resistance

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

For the last 7 years Morgan has been documenting many of the IVH shows. This book is a look at the 8 shows he shot in Paris. It was produced to celebrate Iris winning the Witteen + Bas Technology prize and put together by Morgan & Iris. Its a very limited run of copies and we only have 25 in stock.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

Q: How to set the values for HatchBrush from config file in asp.net? In my class, i have used the following code 'Draw text hb = New HatchBrush(HatchStyle.LargeConfetti, Color.LightGray, Color.DarkGray) Now i would like to get the values assigned to HatchBrush from an xml file as follows, instead of directly assigning it in the class as above. Because there is a need to change the colors frequently. <hatchstyle>HatchStyle.LargeGrid</hatchstyle> <forecolor>Color.LightGray</forecolor> <backcolor>Color.Black</backcolor> And in my class, i have the values of all the three nodes in a string. But how do i assign these string values to my HatchBrush( _ , _ , _ ) ?? I know that these string values cannot be directly assigned to HatchBrush, but i get the values from xml as string. How do i cast it ? A: Dim style As String = "LargeConfetti" ' value from xml Dim hs As HatchStyle = DirectCast([Enum].Parse(GetType(HatchStyle), style), HatchStyle) Dim hb = New HatchBrush(hs, Color.LightGray, Color.DarkGray) For the colors, same method but use Color enum instead of HatchStyle.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaStackExchange'}

This is the seventh part of a series about the Gill St. Bernard's School unit, a travel and experiential learning program that the school founded in the early 1970s. Many students sign up for the sports broadcasting unit because of its star power: a chance to interview former NFL greats like Carl Banks and Ray Lucas and an opportunity to learn from broadcasting gurus such as Bruce Beck of WNBC-TV and Ed Cohen of ONE World Sports. During the unit, 22 Gill students—most of them sports fans—practiced conducting television and radio interviews with real equipment, and received critiques from the pros. Beck coached students about reading off a teleprompter—how to appear natural and not as though reading from a script—and the importance of taking comprehensive notes while learning as much as possible about a subject before an interview. On-camera exercises included students presenting televised segments in front of a teleprompter and conducting mock interviews. They interviewed Banks in the locker room, "on-the-spot after a win." Students also took turns in front of the microphone for a simulated on-air call-in radio show, complete with tips from Marc Malusis of WFAN. Other guest headliners included sportscasters Tina Cervasio from MSG Network; Russ Salzberg of Channel 5 and 9; Ken Daneyko, former New Jersey Devils defenseman; and Eric LeGrand, a former Rutgers defensive tackle who was paralyzed on the field, and now is a powerful motivational speaker. With a trip to MetLife Stadium, participants learned first-hand what it's like to be a play-by-play commentator, and during a jaunt to the MLB Network, they watched a live television segment. For Will Dadouris '17, the entire experience was a win. He found the personal stories of both LeGrand and Lucas truly breathtaking. For him, an important take-away was the advice to research extensively before an interview, stressed by both Beck and Cohen. "I learned that you can never be over-prepared, and this is something that I'll bring to every presentation and project, no matter how small," he says. Beck has been involved with Gill St. Bernard's for nearly a decade. In addition to contributing to the sports broadcasting unit, he has served as master of ceremonies for the school's annual gala auction on several occasions. Beck was first introduced to the school through a GSB parent who had been his college roommate. In a further connection, Beck realized that Mike Chimes had been one of his teachers when he was a student at Livingston High School. The long-standing friendship between Beck and Chimes exemplifies one of the life lessons highlighted in the sports broadcasting unit: the importance of making and keeping connections.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

Lost at sea on a giant flamingo! Spending a day at the shops with my friends, I was enjoying the break from studying. After the exams, I planned to go to schoolies with my friends, Taylor, 18, Haylee, 17, and Katie, 17. Instead of going to the Gold Coast, we decided we'd visit Phillip Island for a week of sun, surf and sand. 'These will be perfect for our holiday,' Katie shouted, spotting a giant inflatable unicorn in one of the shops. We each picked an animal to take with us. Three weeks later, we armed ourselves with our inflatables, which included two pink flamingos, and headed for the beach. There, we set up our towels before wading into the water. Laughing and chatting, we lazed about on the floaties without a care in the world. It wasn't until Haylee looked up that she realised we were in trouble. 'Guys, look how far we've drifted out,' she panicked. That's when we realised we'd been blown into the middle of the water. With our phones in hand, we couldn't even paddle back to shore! 'What are we going to do?' Taylor fretted. Then she began to have a panic attack. 'I can't breathe!' she cried. 'I can't breathe!' she cried. Just then, we noticed a boat heading in our direction. 'Help!' Taylor yelled, waving her arms. Throwing a rope out to Taylor first, we made our way onto the boat. All safe, it dawned on me how lucky we had been. 'Thank you so much,' I said as we were dropped back at the jetty. Although things could have ended in disaster, we certainly won't be forgetting this holiday in a hurry. As published in Issue 1 of that's life! magazine - January 5, 2017.

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A writer, historian, rabbi, social worker, and self-taught chef, Gil Marks is a leading authority on culinary subjects in general and Jewish food in particular. In 2010, Marks was included in the Jewish Forward's annual "Forward 50," a list of the fifty most influential Jewish-Americans. In 1986, Marks combined his interests in food, history, Judaism, and writing to become founding editor of Kosher Gourmet magazine, a position he held for six years. Three of his books have been nominated for the James Beard Award, including Encyclopedia of Jewish Food (Wiley, 2010), James Beard Award-winning Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World (Wiley 2004), and his first book, The WORLD OF JEWISH COOKING: More Than 500 Traditional Recipes from Alsace to Yemen (Simon & Schuster, 1996). In January 2012, Saveur Magazine included Encyclopedia of Jewish Food in its "100 New Classics," as "an indispensable resource" and noting, "Whatever topic we're researching, whether it relates to Jewish food or not, we always find what we're looking for inside." For more than thirty years, Marks has taught cooking, served as scholar-in-residence, made appearances on various television and radio programs, and lectured throughout the world. Marks is currently finishing the manuscript for his next book, American Cakes, a unique history of the United States through its classic desserts.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

Category Archives: American Christianity Posted by Katie Botkin in American Christianity Doug Wilson, Survey I know that a number of people have posted links to sources critical of Doug Wilson's recent actions, or expressed critique themselves, and subsequently been contacted by CREC pastors, elders and their family members with various injunctions against posting/saying such things. Usually, these injunctions are worded as "you don't know the whole story, so you shouldn't be talking about it" or "you shouldn't gossip." Sometimes they're worded more strongly, with cautions against associating with the "slander" of "God-haters with an axe to grind," etc etc. Sometimes, gross misrepresentations of these "God-haters" are even mixed in. Occasionally, threats may be involved. Quite a few of the people who have been thus contacted are not even CREC church members, which seems particularly meddlesome. I would like to know how many people this has happened to, aside from the cases I'm already familiar with. I will post the results anonymously. I will need to know who you actually are, just for the sake of my own record-keeping (and fact-checking where applicable), but your name and any identifying information will be kept secret. If you've received threats, veiled or otherwise, it would be good to know this. I don't expect that everyone who has experienced this will feel comfortable contacting me (assuming they read my blog in the first place), but I'm interested in getting a representative sample. Note: as always, the linked contact form will direct your message to a private and secure inbox and will be seen only by me. Winning by warping Doug Wilson At this point, I'm wondering if Doug Wilson is just messing with his fans. I mean, surely he's not so dense that he doesn't realize how poorly it reflects on him as a pastor, rhetorician and educator to do the things he's doing. Doug's reasoning for posting videos he claims are perverse is this: posting videos of a nude man shows how depraved the man is, and therefore how depraved his wife's character is, and therefore that she cannot be trusted when she criticizes Doug. Because both the man and his wife consider these videos to be "normal." Whereas they have a real problem with what Doug preaches about sex. Literally none of this is true. And it's obvious it's not true, because Doug doesn't bother to back it up with a single shred of supporting evidence — no quotes from blogs, no hints as to what he's even talking about. Other than the videos. The videos, he seems to think, speak for themselves. Oh, and the fact that the couple, Natalie and Wesley, lived in Portland for awhile. That's apparently damning evidence when you're looking for ways to paint people as unrepentant, hurting villains. Some background: before Doug trotted these videos out for public viewing, they'd existed in obscurity on a Vimeo account created by the artist. One of them had a grand total of 27 views, basically all of them art faculty, since the reason for the existence of the videos was to add to a body of work for grad school exploring the intersection of humanity, aggression, and modernity. Natalie says she doesn't think she had even seen this particular video, and when she did see it after Doug posted it, she found it slightly jarring at first blush — and like many others, I did also. However, I really loved the concept Wesley expressed in his artist's statement after all this went down, because I, too, have felt the power of the innate, running barefoot in the dusky forest, swimming upstream against a waterfall, eating and dancing outside as so many have before me. Humanity is something more than sitting at a desk parsing out philosophy while we grow fat and weak, after all. It's about the power to fight in the real world, and against your own demons more often than not. But back to Natalie: certainly she'd never commented publicly about how this (or the other) video was "normal." "It's not like we invited people over for dinner and had it playing on the flatscreen," she quipped. Which brings us to another point: Doug's claim that Natalie scrubbed her blog and Facebook of anything that would be offensive to Christians. I literally have no idea what he's talking about, and I've been reading her blog for years, her Facebook feed for years. She revamped her blog to focus on abuse, deleting posts about e.g. her family's journey with her son's health problems, given that the previous audience had been limited to friends and family. I'm sure Doug is not ignorant of the fact that it's relatively easy to find archived copies of webpages, and if what he's saying is true — that she was promoting some kind of offensive lifestyle prior to these last few months — he would obviously have no moral problem trotting them out or linking to the deleted blog posts about this offensive lifestyle. But he can't, because they don't exist. And this brings us to yet another point: Doug's apparent inability to fact-check before he makes public claims. It's hilarious that in this post, he makes a big show of correcting one of the many, many factual errors he's made in the course of talking about Natalie and her family, saying it took him days to track down the correction. Whereas it would have taken him all of a few minutes to check the veracity of his claim that fellow pastor Andrew Sandlin had taken down his post supporting Natalie after Doug posted these videos — something that was untrue, and which Doug had to correct after people he trusted pointed this out to him. Again, this is by no means the first time Doug has made factual mistakes — his take: they aren't factual mistakes, because you have to take every word that comes out of his mouth in the context of everything he's ever said, instead of what he says at any given time, ignoring the fact that he says things that are at odds with one another. When you say opposite things, all eventualities are covered — one of the many, many reasons that Doug Is Always Right. It's interesting, then, that he's saying a person's track record should disqualify him or her from making statements people ought to believe. That brings us back to the fact that he thinks naked people are evil. Or whatever his objection to Wesley's videos is. The answer is, if you're taking him by things he said elsewhere: he doesn't. You can find a video here where he answers the question "What is your perspective on nudity in art, particularly when it comes to education?" His response: "I think a lot of Christians have a simplistic understanding of nudity, where they think nudity equals porn. Because they're saying, well, in pornography everybody has their clothes off…" This, he says, is false. He points out that Jesus was hung up naked on the cross, and says he doesn't think it's "true at all" that seeing a naked person equates to automatic lust. So reasonable, right? Heck, if this was all I knew of Doug Wilson, I'd think he was a thoughtful guy. So where in the world is he getting his claim that Welsey's art is perverse? If nudity being acceptable in art is dependent on context, then Doug should have taken the context into consideration — the intended audience, the intended message. He did neither. Instead, he or someone apparently acting in concert with him stole an artistic product from the artist (known as illegal reproduction, and yes, this is a crime; merely crediting the artist does not make stealing the work OK) and dispersed it without even (apparently) considering the intent or message of the artwork — instead, he used it to paint the artist as a human being of loose moral character. About that: I know that Doug does not believe Wesley is a man of loose moral character, because Wesley worked on his home and taught his grandchildren martial arts. For all Doug is saying it's not a good idea to have Wesley around one's children, Doug didn't actually have a problem with Wesley until… until… … Until Wesley's wife began to speak out against the way she and her family were treated by Doug ten years ago. So this is not actually about Wesley or Wesley's art. This is about destroying people who back Natalie. And, obviously, Wesley finds that the way people are treating him and misrepresenting him speaks volumes. "I have never treated anyone from Christ Church or any other CREC church with anything but respect and kindness. When I see these people on the street, I stop to speak with them and ask how they're doing. But I don't matter. I'm trash because I won't say I'm a Christian. So who I am as a man and a father and husband doesn't matter — it has no worth. The fact that I have always respected their beliefs and treated them with acceptance and warmth in spite of the fact that we don't see eye to eye? That doesn't matter. The only important thing for them is that I am not a Christian and that I make contemporary art. They use those two things to create my identity and to hurt Natalie." Art and the masculine Posted by Katie Botkin in American Christianity, Uncategorized Doug Wilson, visual art Doug Wilson has been asked by more than one CREC pastor to stop blogging about the abuse cases being handled by the CREC inquiry, including the Greenfield case. As it should be blatantly obvious by now, not only has he not listened, he and his associates appear to have been gearing up to inflict the maximum amount of damage on Natalie Greenfield for at least a month — by embarking on an abusive, aggressively-worded red herring tantrum and claiming that her father abused her, that she is a liar, and that her husband Wesley Petersen's worldview is abominably warped because, in the course of getting his Master's degree in art at Portland State University, Wesley produced performance art featuring himself alone in a room, naked. Because Wesley is brandishing makeshift weapons in these videos, Doug (as far as I can tell from his unspecific objection to this) insinuates that it's something akin to domination porn — that, therefore, Wesley is the real overbearing patriarch in Natalie's life. Not Doug. This line of attack was so predictable coming from Doug, I've already written about it here. The only thing was, I didn't think that even Doug would stoop so low as to target and attempt to shame Natalie's family. Now, of course, if Doug really believed these videos were akin to violent porn, he wouldn't have linked to them on his blog — particularly not when they'd been stolen and posted on Vimeo without Wesley's permission. I assume Doug doesn't go around looking at porn all the time, least of all directing people to watch it. And you know Doug has watched the videos he links to. It's likely he's watched them multiple times to make sure he disapproves. Which brings up an interesting point: how did Doug know about these videos? Contrary to Doug's claims, many of Wesley's friends and family didn't even know about them until Doug posted his latest blog. I sure as heck had never heard of their existence. Doug's business associate and parishioner did, however, know about them, and alluded to them in a series of highly inflammatory tweets dating back nearly a month ago in which he tagged the names of Wesley's videos, then asked "what about enabling men to film themselves naked, put it online and then work with children?" — something nobody picked up on at the time, not even Natalie or Wesley. This particular fellow saw Wesley walking around downtown at one point a few weeks back, pointed and snickered. Even then, Wesley didn't piece together why. He just thought it was weird. So there's that. Then there's the question: how are Natalie's husband's art projects relevant to how Doug handled her abuse case? Hint: they aren't, except insomuch as Doug is proving his true colors by attempting to shame her and her most constant ally with them. But assume, just for the sake of argument, that they are relevant. Then the question becomes: is public nudity automatically sinful? Is a naked dude banging a bent piece of rebar against a wall until it begins to straighten an abominable piece of work that shows the inner evil of said naked dude? If you answered yes to these questions, and you're a Calvinist Christian, then congratulations, you've just invalidated your own religion. If you're a Calvinist, then you believe that Jesus is one and the same with the all-knowing, all-powerful and sinless God who predestined Jesus to die a violent death completely naked. He was publicly flogged (with a whip) and then nailed up on cross nude. Taken out of context, this would apparently sound to Doug Wilson and his ilk like the worst torture porn the world has ever seen. If being naked in public by your own volition is a sin, then Jesus was not sinless, and thus could not have validly taken on your sins. Now, you can obviously be a Christian and not like Wesley's art. You can think it's in poor taste, or that it doesn't get his intention across effectively. Such art is made for critique — and you are free to not like it or not want to see it. The nature of it being online in a controlled environment (versus in an actual public venue) means that people who don't want to see it will not — and this is deliberate. Thus, you can flat-out hate this type of art as a Christian, but if you're consistent, you can't really say that the existence of the art itself is sinful. Wesley has noted, "My work is primarily about violence and aggression as inherent human traits. The fact that people find my work sexual is kinda disturbing." In this context, he points to the long tradition of nudity in both public art and public masculinity, perhaps most notably in the Grecian games. Male nudity points to the obvious masculine, without the cultural trappings inherent in clothing. A naked male with a piece of stick in his hand is Everyman. If you know even a modicum of art history, you know that it's rife with images of naked male warriors, from ancient pottery to Michelangelo's David. And, sure, it's a little weird when it's someone you actually know. You might cringe if you visited the statue of David knowing it was modeled after your little brother. And, again, if you don't like this kind of art, there's absolutely no reason to subject yourself to it. But warping its intent and using that as a weapon against a woman who critiques you is absolutely foul. Fact-checking what Doug told the church Doug Wilson recently met with members of his congregation — heads of household (HOH), specifically — to discuss the Sitler and Greenfield/Wight cases. He pulled his information, he stated in his introduction, from "elder minutes, from the HOH minutes, and occasionally letters." Based on the records from this meeting, we know precisely what Doug told people and can hold him accountable for his words. So let's fact-check the statements that Doug Wilson has made to his congregation. I encourage you to go back to your own notes of the meeting, if you have them, and compare them to the public records and other links I'll be posting here. Steven Sitler Case The information spin: In the Steven Sitler case, Doug waited months before informing his congregation about what Sitler (who was not then in jail) had been up to. Doug doesn't deny this, but in the meeting he claimed that talking about this is "misleading." He specifies: "there are a number of things that have been out on the internet that have been misleading. One of them is um, one of the arguments of the things that's alleged is that we took many, many months before we communicated with the HOH about this, but you have to remember that this was a small town event, public, a very public event — nobody needed to be told what had happened, the basic facts of the case." So, why is saying he waited to inform the congregation "misleading"? Apparently, because Doug didn't think his congregation needed to be informed that a serial pedophile had access to his congregation. Which is the whole point of what "the internet" finds problematic about this. As for the implication that people knew about it anyway — that's a pretty weird argument given the church-wide directive not to gossip about situations like this, because the church will tell you what you need to know. The "victims were all OK" spin: Doug stated repeatedly in the meeting that he is concerned for Sitler's victims and did his due diligence there, but he appears to have left Sitler's victims and their families out of his calculations about bringing Sitler back into the congregation. Doug states: "After the State of Idaho gave permission for him to worship on Sunday morning, the elders considered it, we had a HOH meeting where we communicated that prospect, that possibility to the HOH, got feedback from that, and decided to do that." In actuality, at least one of the families obtained a No Contact order against Sitler coinciding with Silter's release into the congregation, which prevented him (very rightly) from being around his abuse victims, including during church. I say this based on the No Contact orders listed under Sitler's name in the Idaho Repository (note: again, rightly, the victims are not named in the Idaho Repository; you can look up the Sitler case and find these orders listed under his name). There are three such orders, dated December 13, 2005; May 4, 2006; and a year later on May 4, 2007. The parole violations lie: Doug Wilson claimed that Sitler did not violate his parole at any time. His words: "From the time he was released to the time of his wedding, he was free of any probation violations. And from the time of the wedding until the present, the same." This is flat-out false (or, at the very least, highly misleading). Sitler was arrested for voyeurism a few weeks after being released, and has had two (alleged) probation violations since then. The "back to prison" spin: Doug expounded on this by stating "Steven was sentenced to life, uh, a lifetime sentence, which means that when he is out on probation, if there were a probation violation for example, he could go back to prison for life." As we've seen, there have been probation violations or at least potential violations, and Steven has not gone back to prison. Now, in theory, Doug is correct that Steven could go back to prison, but the probation violations would have to be pretty extreme. It's not just any violation. The "no kids" spin/lack of due diligence/lie: Doug stated that when the Sitlers got married, "I know that initially the plan was to not have children." Now, this is a very weird thing to "know," given that the state of Idaho publicly recorded the opposite at the time. An officer told the court that Steven had stated he did intend to have children, based in large part on his religious beliefs. I find it ludicrous that the officer would know this ten days before the wedding and Doug Wilson would not. Particularly since this is the same hearing Doug referred to in order to justify the fact that the judge signed off on the Sitler wedding. Now, Doug could have been referring to the fact that the woman who married Steven had stated she was going to be on birth control until she was done with college (maybe that's what Doug meant by "initially"). But if Doug knew this, he'd also have to know the next item uttered in the hearing, which was that they'd try to have kids after that. Additionally, Doug was present when someone else, as part of the wedding ceremony, prayed that the Silters' union would be fruitful and bear children. The "marriage is all good" spin: Doug stated in the meeting that the judge thought that Steven getting married was a "good idea," and that the church agreed. That's pretty strong language based on the actual dialogue of the court records. In the court recording, Judge Stegner does say "an age-appropriate relationship with a member of the opposite sex for Mr. Sitler is one of the best things that can happen to him and to society." However, he expresses ambivalence elsewhere and stresses that there's not much he can do to stop the wedding, given how soon it is. For example, he states, "I think it's a reasonable restriction that he not reside with his wife and child, in the future, if in fact they have children," which would make for a strange Father-centric Christian marriage, no? Additionally, Doug totally skips over the part where the Idaho Department of Corrections advised against the marriage — again, based on the fact that Sitler had stated he intended to have children. The total lack of understanding of what abuse victims need and how healing works: Doug's descriptions of the victims of these crimes is a bit weird — on two levels. Firstly, it's weird that he appears to think that the victim's problems have "largely just ceased, or at least apparently ceased" once the perp is apprehended. Secondly, it's weird how he words this — he uses double negatives and double-speak to the point that it seems like he's arguing opposite things. He says, "when you have a molestation or a problem like this and the offender is caught, the victim's family's problems have largely just ceased, or at least apparently ceased. We found out what the problem was. Now I know that's not true, but in terms of the — the offender's problems have just started. So, um, I'm — let's just make up another imaginary situation not like this at all where someone offends some grievously, and then they get caught and it's criminal, I'm going to be getting ten times more phone calls from the offender needing help, who's in trouble, who knows he's in trouble and wants pastoral help, and the people who just got delivered from this problem are going to say, 'well I need to forgive,' and that's true, but for victims, there's often times, things that need to be processed, so I'm not saying no help is needed, but it's not on fire the way it is with someone going to court and who might be facing penitentiary time." Clear as mud, right? This sort of prevaricating is exactly the kind of thing you should be avoiding when you're ministering to sex abuse victims. There was nothing in the records that suggested a clear and reasonable plan of action for how to minister to abuse victims, either — aside from Doug suggesting his wife would be the counselor he recommended for women. And when you add Doug's words about victims of sexual assault from his latest blog post, things look really bad: "One in four women are sexually assaulted on college campuses because feminists feel like statistics are necessarily validated by how dire they are. One in three women, regardless of the actual number of assaults, would feel even truer… we released The Free Speech Apocalypse at exactly the right time. If you watch that most excellent film, you can see victims actually painting their own bruises on. At least nobody said ow ow ow while they were doing it. Victim make-up for made-up victims." Translation: don't pay attention to women who say they've been sexually assaulted, because some are sure to be lying. Instead, pay to watch a film I star in, where I continue to make fun of these women. Jamin Wight/Greenfield family case The "parent approved relationship" spin: What is Doug's basis for claiming there was a "parent approved relationship"? The main thing he referred to in the meeting is what Jamin told him. Remember: Jamin, among his other crimes, has committed perjury. Doug stated, "[Natalie's mom] and Gary knew about it, um, Jamin knew about it, Jamin has confirmed to me recently that — I asked him that question, did Natalie know about it. According to Jamin, he said yes, she knew — she knew all about it. She knew she was in a relationship with him, but did she know that this was a parent approved relationship? Jamin would say yes. I think Natalie would say, from this distance, no." Later on, in a bizarre twist, Doug states, "it would be disingenuous for me to apologize for having trusted [Jamin] when I didn't." Yes, Doug, you did and you do, or you wouldn't be using his quotes as evidence (Jamin said he knew there was a relationship; therefore there was a relationship). Doug additionally states that "we have documents from the time that clearly show they were in that courtship… [but] I couldn't prove right now that [Natalie] knew about it." That's pretty weird… a "courtship" where one party in the courtship might not know it's a courtship. Is this even possible? I submit that it isn't, unless by "courtship" you mean something way more nebulous than the way the word is used 99% of the time… So what are these "documents" that Doug keeps referring to that "prove" this so-called "relationship" that Natalie might or might not have known about? Few in his congregation appear to know, because Doug refuses to answer questions about them. He claims he's doing this to protect "the Greenfields," but absolutely none of the Greenfields feel protected by the way Doug has handled this. Doug's slandering all of them and refusing to man up and say exactly why. And let it be noted that Doug was certainly willing to quote letters by and about the Greenfields aloud in the meeting. So here's the thing: the only documents I know about that "prove" what Doug is claiming are authored by Jamin. You can even see the outline of this in Doug's assertion to the HOH that the courtship was real because the Greenfields didn't deny the allegations at the time. Well, as far as I can tell, Gary's refusal to even entertain such an absurd claim, and refusing to let his family near the church's spreading of these lies, is a pretty strong denial. Not to mention, they're denying it now, when it's publicly being tossed at them. So, my guess is, given all of these details, the only "proof" Doug has of a "parent-approved relationship" is what Jamin wrote down. Yeah, the same guy who committed perjury. And I'm guessing that's the real reason Doug refuses to talk about it in detail. The "abuse" spin: Doug claims Gary Greenfield was abusing his family, and while the abuse was different than what Jamin did, it was still "every bit as bad" as what Jamin did. Doug mentions a number of things that Gary was supposedly doing to abuse his family. What Doug mainly talked about in the meeting, tellingly enough, was how Gary wanted his family to leave the church and move away from Moscow. He mentioned that Natalie wrote a letter to Gary saying no, she didn't want to move. He also claimed that Gary blamed Natalie for what Jamin did to her. This is either a misunderstanding or a deliberate spin of the facts — Gary at one point did go off on a tirade blaming Natalie, but it was not for her abuse, and it was not for the breakup of the family — it was specifically (if this is the incident Doug is referring to) for medication-induced health problems, caused by a dangerous lack of oversight (on the doctor's part) when combining sleeping pills and other meds, which Natalie was on in an attempt to deal with her PTSD from the abuse. Natalie actually discussed this with me before this HoH meeting even happened. Natalie does not remember what she specifically wrote to Doug ten years ago that would "prove" what he's claiming, but she does remember the events with her father, and she knows her father as well as herself much more fully after taking the time to sort through some of this stuff. The "weaponized apology" lie: Doug claims that he can't apologize because his apologies get "weaponized." He stated, "I wrote [Natalie], emailed her and apologized; and the next morning the attack blogs had quotes from that letter." I confirmed with Natalie, but no blog whatsoever published quotes from the email Doug is referring to — the next morning or any morning thereafter. Natalie didn't share this email with many people, and it's true that the people who read it were disgusted by how self-servingly the "apology" was worded. Nonetheless, they didn't publish it. As far as I know, the only thing remotely pertaining to this has to do with things I've published on my own blog. I once wrote an obviously-faux quote from Doug stating "I sneezed in Natalie's direction once, and she didn't take this as a sincere apology, so what are you going to do?" Is Doug really arguing that this is a direct quote from the letter he sent Natalie? That would be hilarious. Or maybe he's thinking of where I quote the coercive letter he wrote to her after his "apology" — although I waited weeks before publishing quotes from this. If anyone can point me in the direction of other blogs that quote Natalie's letters to Doug, I would greatly appreciate it, because I'm committed to being as accurate as possible here. The sex offender lie: Doug claimed that Jamin was legally labeled as a sex offender: "He was labeled, I think for a short time, so he got sentenced and was labeled as a sex offender for a certain period of time and I forget how long that was. But then that label was dropped. So, but he was labeled that for a time." In reality, Jamin was never labeled a sex offender, not even for a second. Had Jamin been convicted of his original charge, he would have been a sex offender. However, because he plead guilty to a lesser charge (thanks at least in part to a last-minute judge DQ), he escaped the sex offender label. Why is Doug Wilson commenting authoritatively on stuff he clearly knows nothing about? Because this, you see, is my real beef with him. He's unqualified to handle abuse cases and legal cases, and he sincerely appears to believe that he is — and/or that his equally-unqualified wife is. This total lack of understanding and expertise has severely injured many people in his congregation, and it will continue to until Doug can step back and admit what he doesn't know — and the way he's mislead people based on what he doesn't know. Now for the real test. How will Doug react to being informed that he spread misinformation at a HOH meeting? Will he brush any factual errors aside with "well, I forgot, big deal"? Will he claim that I'm making his quotes here up, or taking them out of context? Will he accuse me of slander? Will he use his elders to caution anyone who brings these things up to him, "well, she's on a crusade to slander us, so you can't believe anything she said; if you agree with her about anything, even factual things, then you're an enemy of the church"? Will he insist him lying to his congregation is nobody's business? That the only legitimate way to bring up concerns is through his panel of hand-selected elders under the specific church rules he himself made up? Here's the thing, which I've mentioned before: I'm not out to slander Doug, and everything I publish on my blog has to pass the litmus test of whether I could prove it in a court of law. Because I'm putting my name on this. I'm hanging myself out there for potential retaliation, and given the number of people I've talked to who are scared of Doug retaliating if they speak up, it seems like a legitimate concern. I know I need to have my ducks in a row. I do not always reveal my sources or discuss how I know things, or even, in some cases where I'm deliberately vague, what exactly I'm referring to. I need to keep my sources safe. And I need to keep myself safe. And the only way I can do that for sure is by telling the truth. And, unlike Doug, I welcome constructive criticism if something I've written is factually inaccurate, even a little bit. So please contact me if that's the case. There is a Trinity Reformed Church Head of Household (HoH) meeting tonight covering the way the church handled Jamin Fiasco 2.0, following up a similar meeting put on by Christ Church about the Steven Sitler and Jamin 1.0 situations a couple of weeks back. What I heard coming out of the first meeting wasn't the greatest, to put it mildly. And I think that we — "we" being humans in general, regardless of religious or political affiliation — have a duty to be judicious in the way we speak of others, in that we should do some solid investigation before we accept rumors or even official correspondence as truth. I regularly get tips from people who suggest I should check this or that story out, and I do… which means that of all the stories I'm told about tragic misjudgment on the parts of leadership within the CREC, I publish only a very small fraction. This is because I can't verify the story, because (most often) the people involved don't want their stories going public, or potentially even because I have a day job and limited time — sorting out this stuff gets me zero dollars. I would hope that those sitting in the meeting today would similarly do their research, both before and after. Ask hard questions. Questions like "can I have access to the financial records and verify that these cases were not influenced in any way by money?" Questions like "why are people in our congregation and across the country getting contacted by the elders and pastors of CC and TRC when they post something of Natalie's on social media?" Questions like "why is the official line from TRC and CC that Natalie was healthier in 2006 than now, when she tried to kill herself twice in 2006?" Questions like "what specifically are you accusing Natalie of lying about? Specifically?" Hard questions like that. Questions that would be hard for leadership to avoid answering. Then, fact-check the answers. If you need help with this, please contact me; I'd be happy to point you to public records or other resources. Because gossip is worst of all when handed down by church leadership. It should never be your job to sandpaper your conscience to the point that you can sit in church comfortably. If your leaders speak the truth, they will not mind hard questions. If your leaders speak the truth, they will not mind you verifying it on your own time. Addendum: I'm putting together an outline of what was said in these meetings, and it would be helpful, in the interest of getting everything totally accurate, if anyone wants to contribute recordings, official or otherwise, of the contents. To that end, listening to the entire recording would obviously be more accurate than isolated quotes. I will absolutely be checking with anyone named in the recordings before mentioning them publicly. The Free Speech Mockery Ironically or not, Doug Wilson has been recently promoting a "documentary" about free speech, heavily featuring interviews with himself, if the trailer is representative. Specifically, about how your right to free speech is being threatened by people who don't like you saying things that make them feel all persecuted. I hope Doug was looking in a mirror when he described this scenario. Because never in my life have I seen any group of people so quick to jump on those who say the "wrong" thing as Doug's supporters in the CREC. Or post the "wrong" article. I've read emails — not all of them directed at me — from any number of people stating that nobody (except Doug, obviously!) should be talking about the way the CREC handles abuse. One woman I know shared a letter written by someone who was vaguely threatening to get her fired because she'd posted Natalie's blogs on Facebook. People who are no longer even attending Christ Church and Trinity are being called the enemy (or "Orcs") because they're posting Natalie's blogs on Facebook. This isn't the first time this has happened in the CREC — Emeth Hesed writes about how her pastor showed up at her house at 11:30 pm and stayed for three hours lecturing her because she'd written a blog post he didn't like. If you attend Christ Church or Trinity, and you don't believe me, try it. Try supportively re-posting Natalie's most recent post and see what happens. See how fast your pastors/elders/deacons (or their wives) come out of the woodwork and strongly recommend that you take down the post and/or issue a public apology, on (insinuated, probably never explicitly stated) pain of losing your "member in good standing" status. Now, let's take a step back — I get the rationale behind not posting things publicly. Within church government, the theory goes, you're supposed to take your concerns to the person in question first. If he doesn't listen, you take another person to confront him. If that doesn't work, you bring it up before the assembly. That way, it doesn't get all messy and public. The problem with this line of thinking: we've gone through all these stages and then some. Many, many people tried speaking with the pastors and elders about the way abuse was handled in the church before they realized that wasn't going anywhere. Then they tried speaking more broadly within the church, tried speaking before the assembly. But that doesn't exactly work if you're being forced out of the assembly and labeled a malcontent, a troublemaker, for speaking up. How in the world do you pull a "go to your brother and confront him" when your mouth is taped shut? When you're told "you don't know the whole story" and sent on your way? Also: why would anyone be required to keep controversy out of the public eye when Doug Wilson's whole persona is built around flinging controversy into the public eye? Including in this specific case? Natalie's latest post, by the way, is not about spreading gossip. On the contrary. It's about correcting false gossip — the false gossip Doug Wilson spread when he told a packed-out meeting that Gary Greenfield, Natalie's father, was abusive to his family to the point that it prevented the church from doing more to help Natalie (that's Doug's logic and he's sticking to it — never mind that if in actuality, Natalie was straight-up surrounded by abusive people, all the more reason for the church to get involved and provide her with support). Nancy Wilson (Doug's wife) had already stated this publicly on her blog back on October 20, informing commenters that part of the story Natalie wasn't telling had to do with why Gary had been "suspended from the Supper." Shortly thereafter, after a multitude of deleted comments made by people trying to set the record straight, she expounds on this by stating "we have gone through our minutes and records and this is what happened: Gary was suspended from the Supper (one step before excommunication) for his abusive mistreatment of his family." Then she closed the comments. Who is accusing Gary Greenfield of being abusive? Doug specifically stated that "the way Gary treated his family was every bit as bad as the way Jamin treated [his ex-wife]." This is just plain absurd. Gary's entire family — you know, the family Doug claimed was being so terribly abused — has gone on record defending him and stating this is major hyperbole, to put it mildly. And you know, I can easily imagine that during the scenario ten years ago, in the middle of a divorce and a family finding out that their daughter had been abused under their roof, things got a little heated. I have no doubt Gary yelled and acted out of character. He's admitted as much. But that's pretty normal behavior when human relationships get that messy. And the fact that Doug would cling to this in the face of Gary's family correcting the record is strange, to put it mildly. The fact that Doug would use this to downplay Jamin Wight's "sexual behavior" (Doug's words) with Natalie is even more strange. Doug Wilson may be a good counselor in some scenarios. I'm sure he is, in fact — I believe the people who tell me he's helped them. But I also know that he is not remotely qualified to pass judgement on the legal ins and outs of abusive situations. He makes it more obvious every day. He also has proven that at least in these cases, he does not understand human behavior, human emotion or the way humans heal from abuse. And that is particularly risky in a congregation that implicitly forbids widespread discussion about how abuse needs to be handled. For Shame domestic violence, Doug Wilson When Doug Wilson threatened to publish Natalie's journal in a private email written September 28, he was doing something that he and many of his defenders have being doing for a decade and have since expanded on: attempted to shame her, attempted to vilify her, and attempted to insinuate that her current testimony is erroneous because she was, at one point, infatuated with the man who abused her. Or, alternately, because at one point, she believed the things Doug now believes about (many) abuse victims — namely, that they are to blame for their own abuse. Shame is something church leaders have been using to invalidate the voices of those who criticize them since before Jesus called the Pharisees a den of vipers, whitewashed tombs, hypocrites, profiteers of religiosity, profaners of the temple who used God to make money from the pious. The church leaders of the day knew well that "cursed is the man that hangs from the tree," and they knew that the public nakedness and torture of the man who had opposed them would make him vulnerable, human, pitiful — nothing at all like a prophet or messiah was supposed to look. Nudity was particularly disgraceful in Jewish culture, and when he was hung up stripped for the world to see, the message was clear: here is your so-called holy man, humiliated. No holy man with the true words of God, with true power, would allow himself to be so ritualistically shamed. But, as it is written, he scorned this shame, because shame had no hold on him, no claim on him. So remember, the attempt to publicly strip and humiliate says less about the testimony about the person being humiliated than it does about the person intent on this crucifixion. And it is telling that Doug Wilson is attempting to crucify another in order to distance himself from questions about his own sins. Doug has communicated in public, and also in private with Natalie, about things he has in his possession, specifically court records, claiming that she's painting a one-sided picture that is "misleading and false." Again, no specific mention of what is misleading and false; no attempt to detail what relevant legal material Natalie is leaving out of her public account. Even in private conversations to people he counseled and claims to be "protecting," Doug can't put his finger on what these legal details are. And yet there are multiple people who say things like "I know things about this case that the general public doesn't know," insinuating that, in fact, Doug has told them things. Strange, given his inability to communicate these details to the actual relevant parties. And I believe this is because Doug knows that, in actuality, there is no legally relevant material that Natalie is leaving out of her public account. Certainly there is none that he has shared with her. The only legally relevant questions in reviewing the case is, 1. whether or not consent could be given by Natalie or her parents that would make what Jamin did not a crime (answer: no) and 2. whether Doug therefore had the authority to try to keep the case out of the courts and/or argue for leniency for Jamin (answer: no). Doug's repeated references to some top-secret thing that nobody knows that would change everyone's minds is bizarre, to put it mildly. If Doug has information about the case that he kept from the courts, and, for example, Natalie's parents are somehow legally to blame (he has said they are not, stating that what they did was not a crime) then he has a legal duty to tell the court. If, however, what he is talking about is not legally relevant, then why even mention it? Why insinuate that Natalie and her parents invited her rape, and pretend that this insinuation is all for the greater good, alluded to but not overtly said because Doug is such a great pastor and protector? In any case, the question Doug's critics are asking isn't "did everyone but Jamin do everything perfectly and would they do it just the same way given a second chance?" The question is "Did Doug Wilson overstep his pastoral authority by wrangling to keep this case from going to trial?" and "is he distracting us from this question by claiming or insinuating that the Greenfields created an environment where abuse could flourish?" I agree, creating an environment where abuse can flourish is terrible. That's why everyone is asking that Doug consider how his church handles abuse. That's why there's now a CREC inquiry into this very matter. That's why other complementarians such as John Piper — or his lead pastor — have recently come out very strongly and very distinctly against abuse, stating clearly that putting the blame on the victim, or asking what sin they committed in the process, is the worst thing you can do in these situations. So what did Doug detail in his September 28 letter to Natalie, if he couldn't put his finger on anything she'd lied about? He wrote about embarrassing information that would humiliate her if it somehow leaked. Doug writes, "we have access to the love letters/journals that you wrote that the court reviewed and then sealed… it is not really possible to dig up just half the story. The rest of it is going to want to come up too. One of the official court documents says about some of the sealed evidence, that 'those documents contain highly intimate and potentially embarrassing facts or statements, the publication of which would be highly objectionable to reasonable persons.'" Those pesky stories with a mind of their own, banging against the outer walls of the manila folders Doug has kept for a decade. Now, remember: Natalie is not Jamin's only victim. A more recent victim made a public statement to the court during Jamin's sentencing that you can listen to here regarding his felony strangulation of her. This most recent victim stated that she was not seeking vengeance for Jamin's crimes, but wished that "the truth will be known about what he has done, that he will truly understand the damage he has caused, and that he will not be permitted to hurt anybody else." She thanks friends for helping rescue her, the same families who left the church because of how her abuse case was handled. She speaks of emotional damage, the long-term psychological effects of her abuse and the help provided to her by those who told her that, contrary to what Jamin had told her, she was lovely, she was worth something, and the way he was treating her was not OK. This is a full-grown woman. Her maturity did not prevent her from being a victim of Jamin's abuse. Her maturity did not prevent her from believing the lies Jamin told her about herself. Her love for him did not prevent him from abusing her. You would not — I pray you would not — look at this woman and say, "you are at least partially to blame for the fact that he strangled you, because you married him." You would not say — I pray you would not — "you pushed his buttons, so you're at least partially to blame here." That would obviously be revolting. This woman has suffered the effects of the choice in who she married and probably will on some level for the rest of her life — she doesn't need to be dragged through the mud of public shame for speaking up and taking legal action against the man who abused her. We would never tap our chins and say, you know, we just don't know the details of some letters she wrote to him once; we don't have the elder minutes detailing detached men talking about her abuse. So we gotta hold off on passing judgment on this situation. If Natalie's case hadn't been mangled so badly by pastoral meddling, Jamin would have potentially have been in jail longer or would have been disciplined more harshly within his own community, which would have made it harder for him to hurt another woman. Remember that, the next time you see someone demurring about Jamin's crimes and pretending that the church handled Jamin Fiasco 1.0 so well that they're guiltless of the fact that he snookered them a second time in Jamin Fiasco 2.0. Click on image for one sample of the comments made about Natalie by Doug Wilson's supporters. So why is Natalie being drug through the mud for this? Why — why the hell — are Doug's supporters writing reams upon reams of comments on Doug's blog speculating about Natalie seducing Jamin as a 14-year-old and bringing this and other kinds of abuse upon herself? Jamin has been a repeat offender and has been described by the court as having a "high risk to reoffend." He's committed perjury. So why disbelieve Natalie's words about him, especially when she describes his behavior to her in much the same terms as his most recent victim did? Why all the emphasis on "well, we don't know all the facts, so she was probably to blame as well"? This is, frankly, so disgusting I feel physically ill reading it, and should give anyone wanting to send his or her daughters into the halls of Doug's churches or schools serious pause. If Doug's supporters are saying this about such a clear-cut abuser, what do you think they'd say if it was your 14-year-old daughter being abused? Especially by a man who didn't have a count of felony strangulation to his name? What do you imagine they would do? A crowd of men who describe a repeat abuser in this way is not safe. And it does not matter how many people in Doug Wilson's community are good, kind and compassionate if the people defining and setting the tone for the way abuse is handled in this community are saying these things — dwelling on details that have no legal relevance whatsoever, designed to shame Natalie and anyone else who speaks up about the mishandling of abuse in the church. Claiming that even saying abuse was mishandled is "slander." Pretending that the people leaving the church over the way abuse is handled are malcontents or don't even exist. Refusing to openly address how abuse is handled, and instead collapsing onto the virtual fainting couch of faux-persecution, gasping out "calumny!" and popping up again to crow "bring me my Laphroaig; someone disagrees with me!" Chalk that up to one more thing Doug has ruined for me: my favorite Scotch. For shame, Doug. Is nothing sacred? The Counselor of Child Molesters In a recent blog post, Doug Wilson mentioned something that has already been whispered authoritatively in certain segments of his congregation: as a pastor, he's counseled child molesters. Plural. Now, Doug has gone to great pains to explain that Jamin Wight was not a child molester, so what other child molester(s) besides Steven Sitler has he counseled as a pastor? And why did said counseling not result in these molesters doing jail time? If, in fact, the molesters already did jail time before they encountered Doug as their pastor, then why has Christ Church not informed the congregation about who else (besides Steven Sitler) should be kept away from the children of the congregation? I believe more on this will come out in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, let's set the record straight on something. What people are outraged over is not that child molesters in Doug Wilson's congregation get counseling, even that they get forgiven and can partake in communion. It is beautiful for men and women to move beyond the ingrained, destructive patterns of their lives, if in fact they can. I feel compassion for people of all shades and stripes, as do many who are calling for change in the CREC. What people are outraged over is that counseling is all these molesters appear to be receiving from Doug Wilson and company — and not exactly expert counseling, either. This is not good for current victims or future victims, and it is not good for the abusers, either. Meanwhile, the abused are (at least in many cases) not being offered support — instead, they're offered condemnation. But none of this really matters to Doug, because according to Doug Wilson, being a child molester isn't as bad as having received an abortion. According to Doug, a man who's molested 16 children is less bad than a woman who aborts a fetus she's convinced (rightly or wrongly) is not a developed human being because, say, at 8 weeks gestation, it cannot feel pain and in size, shape and neurological development, resembles a tadpole. You don't have to agree that abortion is Ok to understand that some women do not view early abortion as evil, based on biology and the belief that the soul enters a child along with consciousness, or at a certain stage of development. At the very worst, following Doug's expressed logic on murder, the sin of an abortive woman who believed abortion was OK would be the manslaughter (not murder, since that requires intent) of a human being that is not yet aware of its own existence. And yet, Doug states that this is a more serious sin than repeated child molestation. Here's the screenshot: Doug is being pretty cavalier about sex abuse here, whatever he claims to the contrary. Pointing fingers outwards to other people's sins is bad, he says, and yet this is exactly what he is doing — Doug has never procured an abortion, and never will. But he has helped to keep multiple sex abusers shielded from legal action of any significance, confident in his own abilities as a counselor to ascertain and facilitate repentance in abusers — even though he has a verifiably poor track record in this area. Last week I visited Bethlehem Baptist Church, well-known as being John Piper's home church and the location of his seminary. I made a discovery that moved me in light of all the recent hubbub around abusers in the church: taped inside the doors of the women's bathroom stalls was a flier advertising an abuse hotline number. Other women would answer, the flier noted, noting also that abuse was satanic, and not part of God's plan for marriage. Encouraged, I started doing a little more research. I found church statements such as "We, the council of elders at Bethlehem Baptist Church, are resolved to root out all forms of domestic abuse (mental, emotional, physical, and sexual) in our midst." I found that even firmly patriarchal institutions such as Chalcedon are trying to address the widespread mishandling of abuse in the church. There is a very detailed post from Bethlehem here about what abuse looks like, and how churches should and should not respond to abuse situations. "Telling the woman to submit better—and making her feel like she is to blame in some way—is the worse [sic] thing someone could say in that situation," notes pastor Jason Meyer. "Do not say insensitive, misguided things like, 'If it doesn't leave a physical mark, then it is not abuse.'" These misguided things are precisely the kinds of statements that abused women receive during CREC counseling sessions, along with directions on how they need to forgive as soon as the abuser says he/she is sorry. Even if this happens a dozen or a hundred times in a row. If a woman is married to an abusive man, in all of the cases I've heard of coming out of the CREC, she is sent home with her abuser unless there is life-threatening physical violence. And even "life-threatening" is up for interpretation. A man threatening to deploy a shotgun into his brainstem in the presence of his wife is not considered "life-threatening" to her, because he's not actually pointing the gun at her. It is (or at least was, as of a few years ago) not considered to be something needing professional therapy or physical separation. Doug Wilson has proven over and over that he is not equipped to counsel men and women in these situations. And I truly believe that his hubris will show over the coming weeks and months — that more mishandled abuse cases will come to light, and for all of them, Doug will say the same thing: he did fine, he handled everything fine, and anyone who says otherwise is persecuting him because she's a feminist who hates truth and also babies. Abuse is serious. Sex abuse of children is very, very, very serious. Even the hint of it can change a person "on a cellular level," as one man said — a claim that actually holds true on an epigenetic level. As a boy, there was a pedophile who watched him, who would call him and whisper things. One day, the pedophile called and said: I know you're home alone, and I'm coming to get you. The boy, the only child of a working single mother who'd had him at age 17, the only child of a mother who had been sexually abused herself, phoned his uncle and cowered in the corner. The fear he knew then, a child alone in a trailer with a predator lurking nearby, would be with him for the rest of this life. But his uncle came, his uncle rescued him. Later, his uncle tracked the pedophile down, he and the father of girl the pedophile had abused. They dragged him off into the woods, because in that time, in that place, the lawmen were almost nonexistent, and muscle was the law. Sex abuse and abortion are related. If you want to stop abortion, take measures that will prevent women you actually know from getting pregnant by men who should not be anywhere near their offspring — take a hard and fast line to stop sex abuse and domestic abuse in your churches. Stop giving men power to get away with a "sorry" while the women bear the shame, or the children. And stop looking where Doug Wilson is pointing, which is away from himself, towards The Greatest Evil, a sin that he is physically incapable of committing. The dangers of keeping things in the church Doug Wilson, patriarchy I'm currently in The Hague, the international seat of justice for war crimes in former Yugoslavia — which were not held in former Yugoslavia in part due to the fact that "concepts of law and justice are very confusing for people living under the influences of propaganda." Years ago, some were pushing for the pope to answer in The Hague for the widespread cover-up of sexual abuse in the church. Why would a pope answer for crimes of this nature in a secular court instead of a church court? Because anytime one high-ranking person dictates how a private court operates, and can more or less control the flow of information to a court or tribunal, as well as decide the punishments meted out, that court or tribunal is bound to be skewed. This should be obvious. That's why we have secular courts of law in the first place, with established rules and established laws. That's why, in the United States, if a prosecutor for one district or county is on trial, it's rescinded to another district in the interest of court neutrality. If you're being fair, you don't want a man being "prosecuted" by his cronies. I've been hearing a whole lot about why people should not discuss sex abuse cases and domestic abuse cases within the CREC. I've heard things like — in defense of Steven Sitler being sexually stimulated by his infant son — "every man can be sexually stimulated by a kid sitting on his lap or being in the same room, so what's the big deal?" though this obviously does not speak well for the men this CREC woman knows. I've heard things like "Natalie just needs to accept that God wanted her to be sexually abused and figure out the lesson she needs to learn from this," which makes God out to be a psychopath — no loving father says, "hey, daughter of mine, I've scheduled for you to be raped by an upstanding young man; I want you to think hard about the lessons I'm teaching you in doing this." I've heard things like "if you're not a CREC member, or a member of a similar church in good standing, then what you say doesn't matter anyway," because, clearly, the definition of reality = if the person talking about it is a CREC member. At this point, I know the stories of close to a hundred people who have left the CREC because they experienced abuse within the church, or saw abuse within the church and were rebuked repeatedly for trying to speak up about it. Most of them are not willing to talk about their experiences yet, especially after witnessing how Natalie has been treated for talking. But that is beginning to change. Once these people leave, they start paying attention to why they didn't catch on sooner. The gender theology of the CREC is very telling in these circumstances. If, without the correct application of Christian contrition, as Doug Wilson claims, men tend to be violent rapists at heart (or gay, which is obviously worse), and women tend to be seducers of men (or gay, which is obviously worse), then why be surprised if there are a variety of abuse cases in the church? Why be surprised if women are battered a little bit by their husbands? Why bother treating that any differently than a disagreement about who washes the dishes? The problem with this gender theology: non-Christian men (or all the ones I know) are kind, generous, and protective of women and children. I grew up thinking that the non-Christian world was a pretty dangerous place, but once I got into it, started traveling the world on my own, started talking to people on my own, I realized I was wrong. Without Christ, men are not just rapist pedophiles out to beat women up — so the answer to being a rapist pedophile or a wife beater is probably not "more Bible verses as told by your pastor." There's a lot more to it than that. Without Christianity, men can be, and are, amazing human beings. And, of course, many men within the CREC are as well. I know some — I know some really, really wonderful men and women who attend CREC churches. But the nice people don't change the fact that I know not-so-nice people who attend or attended CREC churches. I'll be honest: all of the most pushy guys I've known personally — the kind who wouldn't take "no" seriously, the kind who wouldn't take repeated rebuffs seriously — attended CREC churches at some point or another. I've said this before, but the theology of the CREC enables men to be secure in a certain measure of asshole-ness — just look at the way their Presiding Minister talks about non-Christian women, about how men "dream of being rapists" and how women dream of being raped. Add to this that the theology of the CREC enables men to put part of the blame of their actions on other people — those unsubmissive wives, those seductive women, their negligent parents (see, for example, all of Doug Wilson's responses about the nature of Jamin Wight's crimes). Lastly, the theology of the CREC allows these men, in many, many, many cases that I guarantee most of CREC has never even heard of, to keep their crimes in-house, behind closed doors. Often, in spite of all of the Bible verses quoted to them, these men reoffend — particularly where they're sent home with the wives they're physically abusing. Several years ago, my ex-husband admitted, on a recording, that he had abused the internal church process to his benefit and my detriment. He is a lawyer normally prone to litigious behavior, and he went to the churches — churches neither of us even attended with any regularity — instead of the courts because he knew that within the churches, he could get away with more. Here is the transcript, where K is me, and S is my ex-husband (off-topic: when you start transcribing conversations, you really notice how few complete sentences people speak): K: OK… well, like, would you admit… that you, that you knowingly and deliberately manipulated the process of, like, church discipline? S: Well, here's what I would admit: when I say I manipulated it, in terms of, I sinned in the process, I used the process sinfully, but I wasn't — during the process, like I would confess it, I would get angry… K: But, here's thing: you were doing research [to give to the pastors by hacking email and so on]. You were looking for anything and everything; you were setting everything up. S: Well, yeah, yeah, yeah… I want to discuss how I abused the church process. K: But the thing is, I don't know how that can be prevented, because you were so good at it — that even though I was commenting on that [the unfairness of what was going on] to them [the pastors of the various churches involved], they totally disregarded it. S: … Here's an example. Had there been somebody … who — you didn't have a well-placed advocate in the church system. K: Yeah, I know. If I did, the people that I did have, you tried to take down, you tried to separate me from the people who would be on my side. S: Right. That's the whole point of having, that's what happens in the criminal world; the reason that there's a victim's advocate is because there are very clever people that, that engineer witness testimony. All the time. K: The process, like the church discipline process, is not nearly that structured. Like… it doesn't have due process — S: Here's the thing, 'cause this is, this is how I did it… I was only able to be effective because what I did, one of the first things I did is to make sure that the process was, I had Evan [Wilson] meet with Doug [Wilson]. Evan's more intellectual process, he's there but he's slower, he's much more — so then he met with Doug, Doug's fast, systematic, procedural, judicial part of it, so when they partnered, they were, collectively — and then Jim [Wilson] got involved; it had the unity of all of them… K: If somebody like you can do that, can manipulate — S: I tell you the truth, to do what I did, I would imagine, is strikingly rare. To, uh, from the inside. K: Yeah. Do you know how horrible that makes me feel? That I'm the one in a million person that got totally screwed over by the system? S: But you knew. K: And nobody believed me. S: You knew I was positioned to do that, that I was capable — K: No, I didn't. I didn't know you were that much of a jerk. I didn't know you would use God to, to stomp on me. Now, let it be known, if the church discipline process could get its act together and actually stop abuse (as in, immediately encourage battered or frightened women to leave their husbands, even if from a distance the elders think the abuse is "not that bad" and "they've seen worse"; immediately demand that any physical discipline of children err on the side of grace and caution; and immediately demand that sexual abusers be taken to jail after a secular trial in which "repentant" perps plead guilty to all of their crimes), that would be great. I've contributed to trying to get the harsh spanking present in various CREC churches addressed within the church internally. Let's see how it works out. Because I know that at this point, I am not the "one in a million" person who got screwed — even harassed — by a nebulous CREC church discipline process weighted in favor of those in higher positions of authority — men, seminarians, deacons, elders, and those related to them. I'm one of dozens if not hundreds worldwide. And if the church process doesn't change, there will be hundreds more. It is not persecution to demand that the smallest and weakest be given an equal voice, be sheltered from abusive men and abusive processes. It is persecution, and worse, to silence the least of these. Jesus saved his harshest words for church leaders who abused their authority; Jesus spoke kindly to women the rest of society despised. Not the other way around, as Doug Wilson and some of his followers appear to believe. Whose side are you on in this matter: Jesus or Doug Wilson? Whose side are you on, the girl being beaten by her pastor father, or her father, because he recites pieties on Sunday? Whose side are you on, the wife being hurt by her husband, or the husband, because he smiles at you and shakes your hand in front of the congregation? If you choose no side, you chose by default, and these atrocities will continue to go on. If you see a man punching a kid in a park, do you say "well, we don't know the whole story here, and maybe the kid deserved it"? I sincerely hope not. And I sincerely hope that you see how not doing anything in this situation is, in fact, doing something and sending a very strong message to the kid being punched. Obvious Lies and Gratuitous Spins As more and more has come out about the sex abuse scandals in Christ Church, some have suggested taking complaints through the "proper channels" instead of airing everything over the internet. With this guest post, Doug Wilson has efficiently proven why this would be impossible. He writes in concerned tone, citing truth, and meanwhile telling several lies in the process. He is not concerned with truth. He is concerned with protecting the (nonexistent) integrity of the decisions he made ten years ago. Everything he says is intended to distract his audience from the only legal question of any importance in the Jamin Wight case: whether Jamin was a sexual predator when he abused 14-year-old Natalie Greenfield, and whether he should have been taken to trial for justice instead of plea bargaining out based on Doug's faulty legal understanding and subsequent meddling in the court case. Doug's reasoning for encouraging the Greenfields not to take this case to trial and his current refusal to apologize for these actions, according to Doug: 1. By saying Jamin wasn't a sexual predator, Doug just meant Jamin wasn't abusing two-year-olds like Steven Sitler was. Why this is a lie: Doug's letter to the investigating officer says nothing to this effect whatsoever; this is the spin put on the thing in light of the Sitler case, ten years later. The reason Doug actually gave the court in writing the letter: implied consent based on a "foolish relationship" encouraged by Natalie's parents. 2. The "foolish relationship encouraged by Natalie's parents" legitimately shifted part of the blame away from Jamin. Why this is a lie: Natalie herself has spoken at length about her "infatuation" and about Jamin's expressed interest in her (a classic abuse scenario, by the way) and has stressed that her parents allowed no such relationship. In fact, when her Dad noticed Jamin taking unhealthy interest in her, he kicked Jamin out. Natalie writes more about these allegations here and here — pointing out that Doug was witness to nothing that went on in her house, but is claiming to be an expert anyway — far more of an expert than Natalie, in fact. Again, this is ironic, given how much Doug loves to complain about the so-called "clairvoyance" of third parties commenting on this situation. 3. Natalie was significantly bigger than Jamin (implied in this statement: the fact that she should have been able to resist him). Why this is a lie: Doug claims that Natalie was 8″ taller than Jamin. Natalie, full grown, is 6'1″ and even if she had been that height at age 14, Jamin is approximately 5'9″ … Not 5'5." Either way, height has no bearing on someone's ability to resist the emotional manipulation of a serial abuser. However, rounding up a few inches difference to eight inches difference should tell people just how concerned Doug Wilson is with the accuracy of his account. Which is ironic, given his insistence that people don't know everything and aren't fact-checking. 4. That any of this, even if it were all completely true, makes one iota of difference legally or morally. Why this is a lie: Natalie could have been sneaking into Jamin's room and Jamin would still legally be the one convicted of sexual abuse due to their massive experience and age difference. In fact, as was clearly shown in this particular case, consent was not even a possible defense in this situation. But the abuse goes way beyond age difference. Jamin has proved over and over that he is abusive in every sense of the word. He was highly abusive in the situation with the Greenfields. He was highly abusive in the situation with his ex-wife. He has proven his colors beyond any shadow of a doubt. Again, why the need to minimize Jamin's crimes by bringing up things that are a. untrue and b. legally inadmissible due to the fact that Natalie was a minor at the time? Doug recently contacted Natalie and in a show of concern, proceeded to counsel her using kindly-worded blackmail, claiming that he had access to a journal she'd written during her abuse and insinuating that he would not hesitate to use it in order to make her look bad. I say "kindly-worded blackmail" after specifically consulting with a lawyer on what Doug wrote to Natalie. I say this because, whatever Doug Wilson is claiming about Natalie, Natalie is taking the high road and not mentioning the emails Doug has been sending her. But on my part, I've examined the evidence, I've looked at their correspondence, I've talked to legal counsel, and I can say that based on everything I have seen, Natalie's character exceeds Doug's by a mile. But this is textbook Doug Wilson: slandering a woman's character because she dares to speak up (if you doubt this, take a stroll through his blog where he has anything to say about women who disagree with him). Also textbook Doug Wilson: asserting that because at one point a woman was infatuated with her abuser, she deserved the abuse she got. I was, as I mentioned, consulting on this case with a lawyer in London, someone with extensive experience dealing with corruption at the highest level. And he pointed out that anytime someone is this enraptured with defending the wicked at the expense of the innocent, there is a reason. And the reason is usually more corruption, more control. This lawyer is also Catholic, and he pointed out that the Catholic church's pedophilia cover up was routinely denied in the church as "propaganda" and "persecution" until the cold, hard light of outside investigation made the thing impossible to deny. Doug is the Presiding Minister, a role criticized as being similar to the pope of the CREC, for those unfamiliar with the term "Presiding Minister." Thus far, all the proper channels have been too busy defending him to look into the truth or legal validity of his statements, or cautioning all and sundry "we don't have the full story." Now we do. The full story: Doug is making false and legally invalid claims in order to avoid taking a good, hard look at the way he and his church deal with sexual abuse. He's going on record with statements like "Jamin's crime was that of engaging in sexual behavior with an underage girl," which shows a staggering ability to downplay and re-word the abusive behavior Jamin has continued to exhibit. If I attended the CREC I would be running for the hills. Remember, parents: next time you invite one of Doug's cronies into your home, according to Doug, it's your fault if your children are abused. But make sure you take things through the proper channels when Doug's cronies abuse you or your children… Doug doesn't take kindly to people who go to the police first instead of initially consulting with his infallible legal and moral wisdom. If you cross him, he might just try to tell everyone it's all your fault. Update: The above closing lines were based on what someone told me regarding Doug Wilson not wanting the Greenfields to take the case to trial, and being upset they took it to police in the first place. A totally different person has since informed me that he had a conversation with Doug about this in 2006 ("by the mouths of two or three witnesses"): "In a personal meeting with me in 2006, [Doug Wilson] brought up Jamin and strongly implied that he did not think [the Greenfields] should have gone to the police or courts at all. He wanted it handled all 'in house.' He was angry with [Gary Greenfield] for coming into the initial meeting and announcing what he was going to do, which was go to the police. DW said (from my memory): 'Gary should not have already made up his mind on going to the police. The purpose of my initial meeting with him was to figure out what OUGHT to be done, not to be told what he was going to ALREADY do. Even though he is within his right to go to the law, it would have been better to handle this outside of court due to the parental negligence involved.' In short, it was made very, very clear to me that DW did not want Jamin to go to jail AT ALL. This totally contradicts what he is saying now."

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina state lawmaker charged recently with cyberstalking related to a domestic case won't seek re-election next year. Second-term Republican Rep. Cody Henson of Transylvania County announced his decision on Tuesday. Henson wrote it was in the best interest of his young children "to step away from the political scene for now" and be there for them. His social media post didn't mention legal problems. News outlets report Henson's next court appearance is Thursday. Henson represents Transylvania and Polk counties and part of Henderson County.

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Hertz Bankruptcy Likely to Hurt These Automakers These Automakers Stand to Lose the Most from Hertz Bankruptcy Before declaring bankruptcy on May 22, rental-car giant Hertz reportedly canceled most new fleet orders as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic hammers business. By Jay Ramey Published: May 23, 2020 Justin Sullivan|Getty Images Rental giant Hertz had been attempting to avoid a bankruptcy in recent weeks, sparked by a significant drop in airline and other travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. Among the companies that stand to lose business in this domino effect are automakers. Bloomberg reports that Hertz has canceled 90 percent of its new-car orders for the 2020 model year, which will in turn hurt automakers' fleet sales for the rest of this year. It's Official Hertz Officially Files for Bankruptcy Protection General Motors has been the single biggest supplier for the Hertz fleet of 567,000 vehicles in the United States, with GM models making up 21 percent of its fleet, spanning several brands. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has been its second biggest supplier, contributing to 18 percent of its domestic fleet. Ford has been in the third spot, contributing to 12 percent of its fleet, while Kia models have accounted for 10 percent of the fleet. Toyota, Nissan, and Hyundai vehicles accounted for 9 percent, 7 percent, and 5 percent of the Hertz fleet, respectively. Of course, the rental giant's fleet is in constant rotation and does not purchase 567,000 cars for its U.S. operations every year, but rather keeps vehicles in its U.S. operations for 18 months. Hertz's international fleet of 204,000 vehicles is usually kept for 12 months, Bloomberg notes. Overall, fleet sales tend to account for approximately 20 percent of the Detroit Three automakers' sales. For its two most significant fleet suppliers, GM and FCA, this adds up to approximately 100,000 vehicles sold to Hertz by each automaker over a time period lasting about a year and a half. In recent weeks General Motors has even taken back cars that were headed to Hertz locations. Recent Moves by Hertz A Bunch of Cheap Hertz Corvette Z06s Are for Sale The rental-car industry crisis, of course, goes beyond Hertz. Avis sold 35,000 of its cars in March and has canceled 80 percent of its new car orders through the end of the year. Avis has seen an 8 percent decrease in revenue in the first quarter of 2020 but has moved aggressively to cut costs and downsize in response to the drop in travel during the pandemic, and is currently expected to survive the business environment of the pandemic as a company. "We quickly responded to remove costs and preserve liquidity," said Joe Ferraro, Avis Budget Group interim chief executive officer. "As of the end of April, we achieved over $2 billion of annualized cost removal actions, including reductions in head count, a significantly smaller vehicle fleet, and the elimination of all nonessential capital and operating expenses. However, we will remain vigilant and will identify additional cost removal actions if we experience a slower recovery or in the event of further disruption later in the year." Hertz is not alone, but it's likely the one that faced the most pressing deadline. Hertz had until May 22 to come up with $400 million for holders of its asset-backed securities, and it had relatively few options for doing so—thus its move to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late on the Friday evening. Even if Hertz and all other major rental companies stay in business through the end of 2020, they will likely do so with greatly decreased fleet purchases and cuts to their existing fleets, which in turn will flood the market with used rental cars. This is expected to affect new-car dealer sales and will in turn ultimately hurt automakers, which remain the next dominoes in the collapse of the travel industry. From: Autoweek Coronavirus and Cars Average Vehicle Age Now Exceeds 12 Years Canadians in Cabs Get Around Air Travel Hotel Rule Roll Down Car Windows for Better COVID Protection Ford Ad Promotes #FinishStrong Response to COVID Car Insurance Refunds Disappoint during COVID-19 Masks at Car Dealers Still Not Universal; Be Ready Uber Says, Our Drivers Need Early Vaccine Access Car Repos Expected Up in 2021 Because of Pandemic Auto Loans Source of Consumer Pain during Pandemic 2021 BMW M8 Coupe and Convertible Not U.S.-Bound 2019 U.S. Traffic Deaths Down, 2020 Trending Up With Used Cars In Demand, Sellers See Opportunity

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Fusion Servers allows you to access your mail account with an intergrated feature of cPanel. In order to successfully log in, you need to have the mail accounts created via cPanel. You will be prompted to select a mail client, it is recommended to use Roundcube for optimal experience.

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When Sunshine MacDonald went to child care she waved at her mum and dad every morning when they left and then quickly raced over to see what the other children were doing. She had a nap in the middle of the day right after her lunch. When Sunshine MacDonald went to child care she learnt lots of songs and learnt to sit and listen with her legs crossed on mat when her teacher read from a very big book. One day Sunshine MacDonald went to the art gallery with all of her friends from the Early Learning Centre. At the end of every day Sunshine MacDonald's mummy and daddy came to collect her she told them all about her adventures that day.

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Ranger KXP Rhino Grips are a soft, scratch free, secure way to carry your firearms, fishing rods and more. This is made exclusively for the Polaris Lock & Ride system, providing an easy installation and removal. This Sportsman KXP Rhino Grips are a soft, scratch free, secure way to carry your firearms, fishing rods and more. This is made exclusively for the Polaris Lock & Ride system, providing a secure sturdy way to haul longer items. The KXP mounting plate is built right in and requires no added tools for an easy installation. The ratcheting design allows for securing items from 1" to 4" in diameter. The soft cross pattern rubber grips provide increased cushioning. The heavy duty design accommodates carrying heavier items. The quick release button opens ratchet for easy access to your gear. Heavy duty design carries guns, bows, fishing poles, ice augers, shovels, rakes, farm tools, etc.

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Hispanic Heritage Month Feature: Órale NEW RULES®: Helping Creators Find Their Calling Empowering Scholars to Succeed Somali Success School: Helping Refugees Succeed in Minneapolis Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept. 15 – Oct. 15 and celebrates Hispanic culture and achievements. Sunrise is featuring local Hispanic business owners to mark the occasion. Learn more about Hispanic Heritage Month and how to take part here. The timing couldn't have been more unfortunate for Saul Mellado. The restaurant he runs and co-owns, Órale, opened its doors on March 3, 2020. A week later, the new eatery needed to close due to COVID-19 lockdown orders. "We were lost," said Mellado. "We were going to have a grand opening that Friday, but that's the Friday we shut down." Frustrated but far from defeated, Mellado spent "the last bit of money" the restaurant had on to-go containers to adapt to the so-called "new normal." The results spoke for themselves: Residents supported the local taqueria through carryout orders and today Órale is still up and running, offering traditional Mexican fare alongside a variety of house cocktails. "The folks around here are super, super helpful," said Mellado. "We just started thriving because the city was craving something modern like this." What Mellado means by "something modern" is a Mexican joint that defies stereotypes. Mellado grew up in Mexico and moved to Minnesota when he was 15. The Minneapolis restaurant offers house-made tortillas and authentic dishes inspired by his upbringing. "You walk into any Mexican restaurant and it's bright colors, sombreros. My culture is more than that," said Mellado. "It's more than sombreros and maracas. It's more than Cinco de Mayo enchiladas. It's rich, it's modern — it's forward thinking. We wanted to showcase that in the restaurant." Órale Mexican Eats in Minneapolis. Mellado's wife, also part owner of the store, manages Órale's financials; Mellado refers to her as the "money wizard." But her unique background has also played a part in developing the menu, which includes a Filipino Taco with Filipino barbeque, pickled onions, queso fresco, cilantro and jalapeno. Regulars often bring Mellado gifts, including one who showed up with octopus flown in from Japan. After its initial opening, the restaurant incorporated a bar that Mellado built himself. He refers to the spot as the Mexican version of the TV show "Cheers." Órale has also managed to donate some proceeds to local schools and projects since opening. The connection with customers has been the most rewarding, said Mellado. "We don't just want to be a business. We want to be part of the community," he said. Órale Mexican Eats | 5447 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55419 | https://oralemexicaneats.com/

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Atlanta, Georgia – TMG Consulting announced today that it is hosting a webinar in collaboration with Oracle Utilities: "The Customer Platform of the Future: Engaging, Automated, and Agile". It will be held on Thursday, December 7 at 2:00 PM EST. The firm, with deep expertise managing IT system procurements for utilities, notes that agility should be a leading consideration of system acquisition. "Faced with the need to continuously evolve customer engagement practices, utility companies need systems that can be easily modified to meet the needs of the 'customer of the future'. "Without knowing exactly what that future will look like, system agility is paramount," says Jim Hendershot, a Senior Consultant with TMG Consulting who will be presenting on the webinar. The webinar is designed for utility executives, directors, managers, and stakeholders focused on customer operations, experience, care, service, and success alongside marketers and IT teams. Attendance is complimentary; those who wish to attend can register on TMG Consulting's website www.tmgconsulting.com, Events & Webinars, Webinar: The Customer Platform of the Future: Engaging, Automated, and Agile.

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Jodie Strachan Jodie is a bookbinder at Barnard and Westwood Fine Printers & Bookbinders. Her love of craft started from a young age and was nurtured through her arts-based education. One of the reasons why she strived to be a craftsperson was due the Foundation Diploma of Art and Design that she undertook...Read more Shauna White Shauna White is the latest apprentice bookbinder at Barnard & Westwood Fine Printers & Bookbinders. Having previously completed an embroidery degree with The Royal School of Needlework, she was drawn to bookbinding by a love of precision and intricacy. Shauna enjoys the challenge of...Read more Susan Allix Susan Allix studied Fine Art and Printmaking at Guildford, the Royal College of Art and in Italy as a Prix de Rome scholar. She is a printmaker, typographer and binder. Susan believes that hand held prints reveal their freshness. Always interested in words, she uses their shapes and...Read more Mark Cockram Mark Cockram has been a professional bookbinder, book artist, and teacher for over 25 years. Mark combines techniques from his training in fine art, design, and bookbinding to create stunning, distinctly non-traditional books. Mark was elected a Fellow of Designer Bookbinders (UK) in 2001...Read more Designer Bookbinders at London Craft Week Designer Bookbinders presents a week of events celebrating bookbinding and book arts in association with Lib-rary, including demonstrations, workshops and an opportunity to meet the UK's finest binders. On Saturday 11 May, a day of short workshops is led by top contemporary bookbinders... DemonstrationWorkshopBookbinding The Future of Craft Workshops in Collaboration with Design-Nation and Future Icons For London Craft Week 2019, Oxo Tower Wharf presents The Future of Craft workshops in collaboration with Design-Nation and Future Icons. Visitors will have the chance to get involved with hands-on craft... WorkshopBookbindingEmbroideryPrintmakingWood Carving Kate Holland Kate Holland's love affair with books started as a child living near the book town, Hay on Wye. After a failed plan to become a contemporary Chinese art dealer, she returned to books and ran an antiquarian bookshop before finding her calling in the guise of an HND Bookbinding...Read more Rachel Ward-Sale Rachel studied Art, Design and Bookbinding at The University of Brighton. In 2005 she was elected a Fellow of Designer Bookbinders and is currently President. Since leaving college, she has worked as a self-employed bookbinder undertaking a wide variety of projects and commissions...Read more

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Talk:Monarchy of Sweden (Redirected from Talk:King of Sweden) WikiProject Sweden (Rated C-class, Top-importance) Sweden portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Sweden, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Sweden-related articles on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.SwedenWikipedia:WikiProject SwedenTemplate:WikiProject SwedenSweden articles C This article has been rated as C-Class on the project's quality scale. Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. WikiProject Norse history and culture This article is within the scope of WikiProject Norse history and culture, a project which is currently considered to be inactive.Norse history and cultureWikipedia:WikiProject Norse history and cultureTemplate:WikiProject Norse history and cultureNorse history and culture articles 2 Requested moves 3 House of Westling? 4 Konselj 5 Monarchy of Sweden 6 Titles of Norway 7 State vs. Government and Kungl. vs. Kungliga 8 Appropriate external link? 9 Is all of expansion subject relevant? 9.1 Position of SergeWoodzing 9.2 Position of RicJac 9.3 Third opinion 10 Third opinion 10.1 Requesting dispute summaries 10.2 Viewpoint by SergeWoodzing: 10.3 Viewpoint by RicJac: 10.4 Third opinion by E. Ripley: 10.4.1 On the issue of "state" vs. "government" 10.4.2 On the issue of "Kunglinga Huset" vs. "Kung. Huset." 10.4.3 General suggestion 11 A request for a clarification 12 Constitutional and Official Role 13 Part of government at all? 14 External links modified (February 2018) ?[edit] The link Swedish monarch at present merely redirects to List of Swedish monarchs. Though that is intented to provide a more extensive article on the Swedish monarchy and provide part of the historical structure. Historical institutional structure (up to 1974): Swedish monarch (currently redirecting) Privy Council of Sweden Riksdag : Riksdag of the Estates Present constitutional structure: King of Sweden Government of Sweden Parliament of Sweden -- Mic 05:24 Apr 30, 2003 (UTC) Requested moves[edit] King of Sweden → Swedish monarchy - "King of Sweden" is a bad title because the rules of succession to the Swedish throne allow for female succession to the throne. The current heir apparent, Crown Princess Victoria, will therefor be titulated Queen of Sweden. See for example British monarchy. /Jebur 01:01, 6 May 2005 (UTC) Jebur forgot to establish the discussion. 132.205.45.148 17:41, 7 May 2005 (UTC) OPPOSE if King of Sweden is moved, it should be moved to Swedish monarch or Monarch of Sweden. The British monarchy article is totally different, and speaks of the monarchy, not just the monarch. 132.205.45.148 17:41, 7 May 2005 (UTC) Monarch of Sweden is a proper title, for king and queen. Mikkalai 19:36, 7 May 2005 (UTC) OPPOSE If the issue is a gender specific title, simply neutralize it as suggested. That's all that's needed. siafu 01:23, 8 May 2005 (UTC) It was requested that this article be renamed but there was no consensus for it to be moved. violet/riga (t) 20:02, 11 May 2005 (UTC) House of Westling?[edit] When Crown Princess Victoria has children, will they be of the "House of Westling" so named after her husband, or will they adopt the surname of her maternal father and be of the Royal House of Bernadotte? Previously discussed at Talk:Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden#Last name as married - dynasty change?. —JAO • T • C 12:52, 10 March 2009 (UTC) Konselj[edit] The sv:Konselj meetings of cabinet and monarch should be described in this article. /Urbourbo (talk) 08:54, 8 March 2011 (UTC) Monarchy of Sweden[edit] Thanx for good work on the article! With this edit though, the top got screwed up: a big blank space to the right of the infobox and under the hatnote. I don't know how you did that, or how to fix it. SergeWoodzing (talk) 17:05, 15 May 2012 (UTC) Thank you! However I do think it is rather sad that the article in question is so short and lacking sources - for it really is topic in which there's clearly a lot to write about - while, for instance, there are corresponding articles such as Monarchy of Canada where the authors quite egregiously strive to make a hen out of a feather (not to mention the blatant monarchist-POV). I suppose that best road forward-looking course of action is to translate and incorporate elements from the Swedish WP article, which I think is fairly balanced in the sense that it expresses neither monarchist nor republican POVs. RicJac (talk) 17:40, 15 May 2012 (UTC) Titles of Norway[edit] Monarchy of Norway#Titles and styles needs to be expanded by an expert to the standard of Monarchy of Sweden#Titles and Monarchy of Denmark#Style. Help needed.--Queen Elizabeth II's Little Spy (talk) 17:48, 13 June 2012 (UTC) State vs. Government and Kungl. vs. Kungliga[edit] SergeWoodzing has reverted a few of my edits. But none of his assertions are factually correct in either case. First, state and government are not interchangeable terms as the ignorant Woodzing apparently believes. The English language divide makes this issue particularly tricky in this case as "government" in US English refers to what in Britain and Europe is known as the state (Swedish: staten). Furthermore, the use of Caps in English and Swedish are not symmetric. It is ironic that Woodzing frequently complains about other editors' poor use of Swinglish, when he has little knowledge about English capitalizations rules more than his gut feeling. The Use of Caps for State and Government when referring to official institutions or organs is consistent with the usage of those terms in the English translation of the Instrument of Government published by the Riksdag, which is a reference on the article page. Again Woodzing should pay attention to the official translations of official Swedish terminology by consulting "Utrikes namnbok", published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which is also made available free of charge on the Internet. The European Union also has similar materials about their manuals of style in all their official languages. Second, as to Kungl. Vvs. Kungliga: Kungl. is merely a short form for Kungliga, nothing more and nothing less. In case of doubt, why not have a look at the Swedish Academy's SAOB ([1]), and the note the usage of the term in the law from 1921 about guardianship of royals below the age of majority. Has Woodzing at any time ever contributed to Wikipedia by adding reliable or verifiable sources to any of his edits? Otherwise I suspect that he arbitrarily makes his edits simply based on personal preferences and substance be damned. RicJac (talk) 21:24, 28 February 2014 (UTC) You have succeeded in making insulting slurs and a grand personal attack against me here. I might want to take action on that if you keep it up. Note: this is not svWP. The official Swedish name of thre Royal House, according to the Royal Court, is "Kungl. Huset" and nothing else. Other than that, I see no need to comment on all your Swenglish errors (such as referring to me as a plural), here or elsewhere. I learned English at English schools, not from a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Sweden) or such, and I'm quite happy with that. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 21:56, 28 February 2014 (UTC) You don't have WP:OWN of this or any other articles concerning Swedish royals on EnWiki. None of the so-called ''sources''; an unsourced Wikipedia page linked in the ''page history'', and an inconclusive Swedish language page from the Royal Court; proves me wrong. Since you either so miserably failed to understand, or simply did not care responding to my constructive criticism above, I will have no choice but reverting your factually incorrect edits. It doesn't matter whether English is the first or thirteenth language or of any editor, or where one went to school, or which academic credentials on has: what truly matters on EnWiki is WP:VER and WP:NOR. You may laugh in solitude at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but I very much doubt that you're an "auktoriserad translator" under the supervision of Kammarkollegiet. Issuing empty threats on a talk page says a lot about your lack of character, and it doesn't matter whether it's on SvWiki or EnWiki. My criticism stands firm: you rarely provide sources, and the few times you do it's invariably WP:SYNTHESIS.RicJac (talk) 01:19, 1 March 2014 (UTC) This edit is what is correct (see State and source now provided). --SergeWoodzing (talk) 22:04, 28 February 2014 (UTC) Another Wikipedia page is never a reliable source. If you can't do much better than this, don't even bother.RicJac (talk) 01:19, 1 March 2014 (UTC) Your attitudes toward precise Swedish terminology and toward correct English are unfortunate and your accusations against me cannot be substantiated. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 14:26, 1 March 2014 (UTC) What is unwarranted is your sense of entitlement and superiority. You are the one who, while claiming to possess expert knowledge above reproach, never provides any verifiable sources for your edits, other than what fits your own personal preferences. And when the going gets tough you start attacking other editors and claim that, they have harassed you (or something similar to that effect). Shame on you! RicJac (talk) 21:29, 1 March 2014 (UTC) The Swedish Royal Court's official website is a source often used under WP articles. It clearly gives the Swedish term for the Royal House as "Kungl. Huset", and in doing so intentionally uses the abbreviation rather than spelling out Kungliga. Of course, I have never used the enWP article State as a source, but it clearly shows anyone, who objectively understands the English in it, that your interpretation of Swedish staten as English the State is not accurate. Elsewhere you wrote that government in English (only?) means regeringen in Swedish (which is the Prime Minister and his cabinet and staff). That is not accurate. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 00:58, 2 March 2014 (UTC) Regarding Kungl. vs. Kungliga, it makes no factual difference, as I explained above. However, if you can show why the short form is more correct, without resorting to WP:SYNTHESIS, then go for it and I would be first to applaud the effort! On the second matter, you're misinterpreting what I wrote before above and on User talk:RicJac#Trying to help. While there are broad general meanings in the English language for words like state and government: there are unique definitions of those words in certain given contexts, in this particular case Swedish constitutional law (Swedish: statsrätt). What is unfortunate is your cavalier attitude towards this. Since you directed me to State, I cordially invite you to read the intro of Government about the several broad general meanings of this term, which differs in the US from much else of the world. No hard feelings I hope. RicJac (talk) 01:50, 2 March 2014 (UTC) Re: WP:SYNTHESIS: "Do not combine material from multiple sources" does not apply in this case. Nothing has been combined. An often used source has been used again, this time to verify what the term actually is in Swedish. We're not per se discussing all the meanings of the word government so I won't go further into that. In this article and in the context where it is used here, your use of the State is unneccessarily confusing (compare to states such as Missouri or Schleswig-Holstein) because most readers here do not know about that common Swenglish association of the term to mean what normally would be called the Swedish government. People here do not know that Swedes call their government the State or that states of a union, as most readers here know them, are not involved in the Swedish monarchy. Careful translators from Swedish to English do not do this. Other than thanking you for your concern, I won't comment on "hard feelings" yet. You've been pretty hard on me, on the personal level, and I'm still trying to get over it. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 02:12, 2 March 2014 (UTC) The standard definition of the terms "State" and "Government" in Customary international law and scholarly works in general can be found in Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention. I am right and you are wrong. RicJac (talk) 10:42, 20 October 2014 (UTC) The standard Swenglish error of equating exactly the Swedish word staten with the English words the State is one of the most common of all. It is almost always inappropriate in English Wikipedia texts. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 18:25, 20 October 2014 (UTC) My arguments are not based on Swedish language sources at all. As soon as you run out of factual arguments you immediately resort to your pet-peeve, whining about Swenglish. RicJac (talk) 15:01, 22 October 2014 (UTC) That was a personal attack. If you keep that up you'll be reported. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 07:30, 23 October 2014 (UTC) I have not attacked you! My interest is solely to improve this article and I assume nothing but good faith efforts from any editor, including User:SergeWoodzing. If you cannot engage in a civil debate about the original topic without making counter-accusations and uncivil remarks, then I humbly suggest you stay out of it. RicJac (talk) 14:11, 23 October 2014 (UTC) "Accusations about personal behavior that lack evidence." Read before you link. And don't start frivolous deletion requests on Commons for revenge against people you don't like. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 10:14, 25 October 2014 (UTC) Have you, User:SergeWoodzing, bothered to check out the online Oxford English Dictionary entry of "State (noun)" under its section 26 (requires login). 26. Usu. with the and capital initial. a. The body politic as organized for supreme civil rule and government; the political organization which is the basis of civil government. Hence: the supreme civil power or government of a country or nation; the group of people collectively engaged in exercising or administering this There are in total 34 different meanings of that singe noun, but I am almost certain that you will pompously dismiss it, as their editors are surely prone to "Swenglish" too. RicJac (talk) 19:02, 29 October 2014 (UTC) Appropriate external link?[edit] I'm questioning the fact that "Rojalistiska föreningen (Swedish) - Swedish royalist association" is an external link under this article. As far as I know, there is nothing official about that club, it has no governmental, academic, literary or other legitimacy and would tend to get an undue distinction by it's inclusion here on the coattails of this WP article. It's sort of like a fan club of amateurs and I've never seen it taken seriously in all my years of dealing with matters royal in Sweden. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 00:46, 2 March 2014 (UTC) It's meant to balance the inclusion of the external link to the Republican Association. Much like that other association, Rojalistiska föreningen also have members of the Riksdag in their board of directors. It is unfortunate though, that they don't have a short description of their aim and cause in English, as the others do. RicJac (talk) 00:58, 2 March 2014 (UTC) I missed the Republican Association. Both are inappropriate since nothing in this article is about the pros and cons or about supporters or opponents of the monarchy. I am thus for removing both. If you or anyone else would like to add such aspects, well sourced, to the article's text, I'm sure that would be a welcome addition. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 01:04, 2 March 2014 (UTC) While it is true that the issue in not yet raised in the article, but before it eventually gets included, at some point, I happen to think that is quite appropriate to add such links. I think you are clearly the wrong person to take issue about "amateurs" riding on the coattails of whatever negligible fame WP might bring. RicJac (talk) 01:52, 2 March 2014 (UTC) If you are a member of that Royalist club, I apologize for offending you by calling you amateurs. If you want to continue to try to discuss/attack/out/insult me personally, please do so on my talk page and be clear, not insinuative, and be civil. I have no idea what you mean by including that link to that book here. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 02:19, 2 March 2014 (UTC) Is all of expansion subject relevant?[edit] Recent expansions have added a lot of info which, albeit valuable and factually accurate, seems to branch off into subjects irrelevant to the topic of this article, such as too much detail on reign accomplishments of certain kings, particularly Gustav I and Gustav II Adolph, while there is not a word about several equally important monarchs, such as the 3 Wittelsbach kings of the 17th century. I removed just a bit of that extra stuff now, along with some exact redundancies, etc. Wouldn't it be better to stick more strictly to topic? --SergeWoodzing (talk) 14:11, 27 October 2014 (UTC) It's is a work in progress as Wikipedia is at large. Mr. Woodzing, could you at least once add some original material of your own to this article, rather than acting as the self-appointed magistrate. RicJac (talk) 15:02, 29 October 2014 (UTC) The "work in progress" in this case is adding too much material which is not really relevant to the article, material which belongs in the articles about those kings, where I believe we already have most or all of it. It's as if I picked out a few favorite presidents and added material at length about them to the U.S. Presidency article. That's the issue here, not your personalized and sarcastic slurs against me. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 11:16, 30 October 2014 (UTC) The comparison with the article President of the United States is misguided. The history section that I aim to create is more along the lines of what can be found at Monarchy of the United Kingdom (prime example because of all references) or over at Monarchy of Norway. To write an historical overview from the institutional perspective of the Crown does not lessen the individual articles on the various monarchs, on the contrary, it adds something that wasn't there before. As to the other ancillary and miscellaneous symbols that relate to the monarchy, my source of inspiration at Wikipedia is several of the Commonwealth Realm monarchy articles. Monarchy of Canada is too large and arguably overdone, but Monarchy of New Zealand is about the right size.RicJac (talk) 14:54, 6 November 2014 (UTC) I'm answering the post of WP:3O but find myself unsure about the dispute at hand. 3O requires thorough discussion between both sides and the above discussion isn't adequate for me to understand the dispute clearly. Could both of you please continue your discussion so that I can provide a 3O? Sincerely, Ugog Nizdast (talk) 15:25, 17 November 2014 (UTC) Thank you and see below! --SergeWoodzing (talk) 23:29, 17 November 2014 (UTC) Please note the extensive and excessive amount of irrelevant personal criticism and mud-slinging which my opponent constantly hurls at me! What makes dealing with h so trying is the fact that h/s is not able to refrain from doing that, and to a such an almost overwhelming extent. Totally trashing h opponent, without any substantiation of the multitude of personal jibes and jabs, seems to be the main thing, and I am sincerely sorry that 3O helpers need to be subjected to decimeter after decimetar of that kind of argumentation (see below!). --SergeWoodzing (talk) 06:54, 19 November 2014 (UTC) What truly is difficult when dealing with Woodzing is the double standard: he is incapable of doing anything wrong; it is always someone else's fault. Some humility and a degree of introspection are qualities that would serve him well.RicJac (talk) 08:55, 19 November 2014 (UTC) On the contrary, the truth it that I am well known for admitting my mistakes, appreciating help in correcting them and apologizing if I've ever offended anyone. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 09:08, 19 November 2014 (UTC) My point precisely: Can't argue with Elves RicJac (talk) 10:52, 20 November 2014 (UTC) Position of SergeWoodzing[edit] My position is that the article now recently has had rather extensive irrelevant material added to it, which is not about the article's subject Monarchy of Sweden but detailed information about the reign accomplishments of certain monarchs, but not of those of many others. My opponent clearly disagrees, alleging that all the info h/s has added is relevant, and intends to keep adding more such (what I consider) irrelevant material which does not belong here, but belongs in the articles about those monarchs (where most or all of it is already covered). It is hard for me to understand how anyone could read this article and find that all that biographic material about monarchs, which does not touch in any way upon the monarchy itself, and has nothing to do with the subject Monarchy of Sweden, could be relevant, and that more such irrelevant info should be added to make the article swell out even more drastically beyond subject range. Since I am the only person who at length has corrected ("Notes to self") my opponent's rather extensive Swenglish in this article, which one often needs to know Swedish to be able to fully understand and correct well, my attitude toward that is that I always will be glad to help out when relevant info is added to any article, but it feels very tedious to be burdened with making extensive corrections when added material, as I see it, is not relevant. My opponent has also shown anything but appreciation for my courteous efforts in that regard, so anyone could easily be tempted to quote Streisand and ask oneself "Why bother?". --SergeWoodzing (talk) 23:29, 17 November 2014 (UTC) I was asked to give an opinion here about the expanded content. I'm not sure if I'm too late to be of any use (assuming, that is, my comments would be useful, anyway!). I don't know enough about Sweden's monarchy to say anything about the history section here. I'd say, though, the history should confine itself to moments of importance in the institution's past/development, rather than including more tangentially related histories of individual monarchs. Other than that, I don't see much here that could be considered excess. Maybe only the section on royal residences goes into too much detail about the residences, detail that's (presumably) covered at the articles on those palaces. --Ħ MIESIANIACAL 21:02, 20 November 2014 (UTC) Position of RicJac[edit] I see very little merit to this second round of a third opinion, but here we go again… It is difficult to argue with an opponent who deals with sweeping general notions and never in specifics. It would be prudent for an opponent to make his share of due diligence before levying broad criticism. As I mentioned in the thread above, my intention has been to write a history section much in the vein of what can be found over at Monarchy of the United Kingdom and Monarchy of Norway. As to the other aspects of symbols, residences etc., my main source of inspiration in the possible scope of expanding the all too brief "Monarchy of Sweden" has been the articles written about the various commonwealth realm monarchies, such as Monarchy of Canada and Monarchy of New Zealand. The history sections of the latter articles cannot of course be used as a fair comparison when writing a history section for this article, naturally given that their temporal scope is much shorter. One possible method of benchmarking other "Monarchy of N.N." articles (and other monarchical heads of state articles) is by measuring the article sizes. This is a list of the approximate sizes from last week (assuming they have not changed too much): Monarchy of Canada 159 kb Pope 126 kb Monarchy of Spain 114 kb Monarchy of the Netherlands 102 kb Monarchy of the United Kingdom 85 kb Monarchy of New Zealand 70 kb Monarchy of Australia 64 kb Monarchy of Sweden 55 kb Monarchy of Norway 48 kb Emperor of Japan 40 kb Monarchy of Belgium 39 kb Monarchy of Denmark 29 kb Monarchy of Jamaica 28 kb Grand Duke of Luxembourg 8 kb Monarchy of Liechtenstein 7 kb The scope of these articles varies considerably and it is quite difficult to adjudicate on the spot what is the proper content in such articles and what is not. The size of this article in question cannot be characterized as excessive by any standard. I would rather contribute to the articles than to engage in these largely pointless meta-debates, and it is telling that my opponent has contributed very little himself to this article. And yet he seems to care a great deal about it. I highly suspect that the real intent of this new third opinion is spitefulness and vindictiveness at its heart, in light of the last third opinion where his case did not prevail. Because for all the pride and posturing there is a conspicuous lack of concision, despite the occasional verbose blast. It is surprising, perhaps paradoxical, that one who poses as an infallible paragon of virtue in mastering the English language stands on such thin ground. As to why, I will not further speculate. Even though I have many times encountered similar situations on enwp, since I began in 2005, whenever editing articles where the reasonable presumption is that native speakers of either; French, German or Swedish; have primarily edited those articles, I would never imagine berating and belittling other users however "truthful" it may be. It is simply not done. The perennial complaints of Swenglish have become the eternal pet peeve of SergeWoodzing (an observable fact by looking at his contribution comments and at his talk page) and a prime vehicle of baiting other native Swedish language users to cross the line of engaging in personal attacks: often a self-fulfilling prophecy, indeed. I shall not induce myself to his lowbrow manners and uncivil behavior, however tempting it may be. Nevertheless, I would like to finish my remarks by mentioning a trope from my laughing place, tvtropes, namely Can't argue with Elves which at its core might be the most germane description of the debating style of my opponent.RicJac (talk) 00:51, 19 November 2014 (UTC) Third opinion[edit] I've gone through both the above sections and honestly, it's really hard for me to provide a single 3O post to answer this like how I usually do. I do get that this dispute about content but everything is still all very vague to me, being a uninvolved editor who is also not familiar to this subject. However, I can try to make you both move forward in improving this article. For that we need to go back to the drawing board and discuss each specific change here in an orderly manner. Before we start, I'm going to assume what was discussed below with e ripley is over because if that user cannot help you on it, I doubt I will. I recommend higher forms of dispute resolution like WP:DRN or WP:RFC. Also, even if any one of you two disagree with my method anytime can consider those dispute resolution methods instead. I need the person who objects with the specific content to mention that over here along with only the reasoning why. Please keep it as short as possible. Then the other can discuss their reasoning for inclusion. If possible, a compromise can be reached and if it gets stuck, I may have to provide a 3O for it. Then we can move on the next object of discussion. If we all keep good faith, keep away any personal comments and discuss content only this can all go smoothly and quickly--everyone else can follow it more easier. So shall we begin? -Ugog Nizdast (talk) 13:44, 19 November 2014 (UTC) I'm willing go ahead with this method under the conditions you may impose. But SergeWoodzing would have to take the first step as it is he who made the objection in the first place. And perhaps a new section should be moved to the end of the talk page as the current order is inherently confusing. RicJac (talk) 14:28, 19 November 2014 (UTC) Thank you Ugog Nizdast! Before I reply, which I will be glad to do, I feel it is necessary to clarify again that E Ripley did not address or comment on this issue at all, so it is totally separate from what hes addressed. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 21:29, 19 November 2014 (UTC) Brief account of my position The article now contains a fairly extensive amount of material about certain selected monarchs and their reigns. Other monarchs have been ignored. Of that fairly extensive material, substantial portions about accomplishments of those selected monarchs relate facts which are not about the monarchy of Sweden, which is the subject of this article. Thus, the article (1) is becoming more and more irrelevant to its subject and (2) is unbalanced in only covering some of the monarchs and their accomplishments and (3) is much longer than warranted by its subject and will be of even more excessive length if more such subject irrelevant information is added and (4) contains more and more material which is irrelevant and redundant, since it's already covered in the biographies of those monarchs and in other articles which are not about the monarchy of Sweden. I do not know how to explain the problem any more briefly or clearer than that. The problem concerns important matters such as attention span, focus, scope and topic. With all due respct, I find it hard to understand why the problem isn't obvious. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 21:29, 19 November 2014 (UTC) Before I address specific issues, I feel compelled to reiterate my statement from above, namely, that SergeWoodzing need to define specifically what is irrelevant and redundant. This is not a personal attack but constructive criticism. I propose that the history section should be addressed separately from the other sections of the article, which I assume he also objects to, based on the vague objections that unfortunately do lack a severe degree of concision. RicJac (talk) 10:47, 20 November 2014 (UTC) I think RicJac has it right here. I have known that you had a problem with content expansion in certain areas since your post at 3O. But what I had asked of you is to simply state examples (correct me if I'm wrong, the History section right?) where you think are areas of concern. Yes, the topic at hand is a broad and covers multiple subarticles, thus it should cover it briefly per summary style. So why don't you state your first example and we can discuss it? -Ugog Nizdast (talk) 15:13, 20 November 2014 (UTC) If you have read the article, and you truly feel there is not extensive material in it that is off topic, I feel there is not much I can add. Because of the relentless personal slurs in this discussion, I do not intend to engage in further debate where you and other helpers yourselves do not see problems. If you have not read the article, the same uselessness in going on with this would apply. Eventually, I may just go in and remove things that I think are obviously off topic, and then we can discuss them. For now, I'm really sick of this whole thing, mainly because of the dogged occurrance of nasty little things like this. That is obviously never going to stop. Bye! --SergeWoodzing (talk) 22:33, 20 November 2014 (UTC) Requesting dispute summaries[edit] E. Ripley (talk · contribs) wants to offer a third opinion. To assist with the process, editors are requested to summarize the dispute[clarification needed] in a short sentence below. [clarification needed] Which dispute are you referring to? Confusing when you didn't add this to a certain section. I've never seen an independent third opinion section on its own before --SergeWoodzing (talk) 07:30, 4 November 2014 (UTC) I'm requesting that your positions be summarized so I can render a third opinion, as requested here [2]. Is assistance no longer needed? I have read through the talk page, but find that a separate section, with a request for opposing positions in brief, is helpful for me in this process. — e. ripley\talk 16:09, 4 November 2014 (UTC) Great that you're willing to help, but could you please be more specific? I'd be glad to give my viewpoint on "terminology", would not be be glad to give my viewpoint on "various accusations" (surely you're not condoning that?!?!) and would like to know what other issues you'd like my viewpoint on, now that you've read through the talk page. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 16:17, 4 November 2014 (UTC) I've tried to understand what you mean and have added some viewpoints of mine now. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 16:41, 4 November 2014 (UTC) Thank you! I see where the confusion is now. Though the textual description at WP:3O was vague, the link included there specifically went to Talk:Monarchy of Sweden#State_vs._Government_and_Kungl._vs._Kungliga, so the request for assistance appears to have been focused on an attempt to resolve the disagreement about the usage of state vs government, and Kungl. vs Kungliga. So I would like to keep the initial discussion focused on the disagreement(s) in that section, now that we are all on the same page. Given that, would you mind refocusing your answer on those two points? It may help to separate them into two items, since my personal knowledge of this subject is limited. That's not to say I can't help with other disputed items, but let's start here for now. Regarding concerns about tone of communications or personal attacks, without passing individual judgment, there does appear to have been some heated and frustrated communication which I hope can be set aside. However, I think I probably can be most helpful here with disputes over the content of the article. — e. ripley\talk 17:01, 4 November 2014 (UTC) OK. I've chosen not to read through all this again and live again through some very exasperating moments. That said, I may have missed things and/or may have included a few things that you do not see or do not wish to help with. Sorry, if so. Help with whatever you please as numbered! I won't be clarifying my initial viewpoints further. Thank you! --SergeWoodzing (talk) 17:37, 4 November 2014 (UTC) Great that someone finally responded! I will offer my summarized viewpoint within the next 24 hours. RicJac (talk) 14:39, 6 November 2014 (UTC) Helper e. ripley, please note: I am sticking to my point 5 below and would prefer not to make exceptions by responding to any user who continues to refuse to do the same. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 15:22, 7 November 2014 (UTC) So are you getting desperate enough, now that you have marked your text below in bold? This is by the way considered as rude netiquette. Where are you manners? RicJac (talk) 16:15, 7 November 2014 (UTC) Please don't try to bait other editors. A good rule of thumb is to keep your comments focused on article content, not on the contributors themselves. — e. ripley\talk 19:12, 7 November 2014 (UTC) Viewpoint by SergeWoodzing:[edit] 1. Terminology (as per our MOS specialized Swedish consitutional terminology should not be translated literally and imposed on enWP readers at large): a. The official Swedish name of the Royal House, according to the Royal Court, is "Kungl. Huset" abbreviated; b. Swedish staten cannot always effectively be translated as "the State" without leading to unnecessary confusion, whereas the government is always correct and usually clearer to readers of normal English; The most applicable usage in the two cases in question is shown in dictionary after dictionary ("Expandera allt") after dictionary where word application and usage is dealt with. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 14:57, 8 November 2014 (UTC) It seems to me, when a readily available and generally understandable term can be used, it would be inappropriate to use what our Manual of Style calls contested vocabulary. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 15:08, 8 November 2014 (UTC) c. the cabinet of ministers (Swedish: regeringen) is not the same thing as the goverment, in English, and in English usage the king of Sweden, as Head of State, as well as Parliament, the Supreme Court and other institutions must be considered part of the Swedish government. Added a bit and bolded to clarify my position. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 15:49, 7 November 2014 (UTC) 2. Pro- and anti-monarchy clubs: private clubs of no official standing are inappropriate as external links under this article. 3. Swenglish: Users whose English is noticeably effected by their own first languages (not English) should appreciate help and constructive, friendly advice from users with English as their first language. 4. Personal attacks: Users should acquaint themselves with the meaning of "personal attack" on English Wikipedia and avoid writing things that reasonably can be taken as such. 5. Getting personal: Users should try to stick to the subject of a discussion without getting personal. 6. Irrelevant expansion: too much detail has now been added to this article about the reign accomplishments of certain kings without those details actually being relevant to the article's subject. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 16:41, 4 November 2014 (UTC) Viewpoint by RicJac:[edit] 1. Terminology: a) The official Swedish name of the Royal House, is "Kungliga Huset" with the written stylistic short-form "Kungl. Huset". This can be confirmed by the authoritative source on the Swedish language, "Svenska Akademiens ordbok", published by the Swedish Academy. However, there is no public document with an authoritative definition of what the name of the royal house is. The closest correspondent to a public document would be the usage found in the royal family section within Sveriges Statskalender (English "Swedish State Yearbook", with about the same scope as the U.S. Government Manual). Meanwhile, in the Swedish Code of Statutes (Swedish: Svensk författningssamling) terms such as "Kungliga Huset", "Kungl. Huset", "Konungahuset" and "Kungahuset" are apparently used interchangeably in laws and ordinances without any degree of precision. Even before the constitutional reform of the 1970's, which removed the monarch as the nominal head of the executive, there was no consistent usage even before then, and there needs to be none at all, given that linguistically there is no substantive difference between them at all. In short, this is a matter of style rather than substance. b) The State (staten) is always used in official translations by accredited translators simply because it is the only term which is an accurate description of what it is, i.e. a legal person. In the Swedish context, I refer to the first chapter of the English translation of the current Instrument of Government (i.e. the main Swedish constitutional document for purposes of this discussion) where the delineation is quite clear. This is overall consistent with how the term State is used in official documents and in academic sources from outside of Sweden. While I recognize that there are differences and some inconsistency as to how the two terms are used in the common tongue within certain polities, such as within the United States of America, the international use in the general sense is not unclear at all. The interrelationship between the terms state and government in the general international sense is found in Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention, which has subsequently become part of Customary international law and is the key definition that is used when dealing with the recognition of an entity as a sovereign state by another sovereign state. The traditional key metaphor between the terms is the description Ship of State (derived from Plato's The Republic), where the State is the physical ship, while the Government are the officers commanding the ship. Another example of this is that the members of the European Union are member states (permanent entity), not member governments (temporary officeholders). c) In the Swedish context, the term Government means simply the cabinet and nothing more. The reason why I insist on this separation of State and Government is because of the Swedish constitutional reforms in the 1970's which removed the monarch from the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the State while remaining the symbolic representative of the State with only tenuous symbolic connections with the Riksdag and Government. Conversely, the separation of the Swedish monarch from the responsibilities of state has meant that the monarch has a much freer role and cannot simply be censured and silenced by the Government of the day; unlike in Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the UK, where requirement of ministerial countersignatures exist, offering binding constitutional advice etc., and other neat devices exist for curtailing monarchical freedom of action. None of this exists in Sweden, apart from a clause in preparatory works (the 1973 government bill of the current Instrument of Government), which states that there should be no daylight between the monarch and the ministry in matters of policy. However, no formal sanctions can be imposed on the monarch, short of constitutional changes, the Riksdag declaring the monarch to have been derelict in his/her duties for the latest six month and thus having effectively abdicated the throne, or a Riksdag majority slashing the annual State contribution to the royal finances. What I have posted above is not my own original research, but has been written by Swedish jurists such as Fredrik Sterzel and the late Gustaf Petrén. 2. Pro- and anti-monarchy clubs: At present there is no section concerning this in the article. It is likely that some additions will be made in this respect at some point in the future. a) Swenglish: I have no objections whatsoever to corrections of grammar, syntax, misspellings and the like. If I would not accept corrections along these lines, Wikipedia would simply not be the appropriate venue. However, for SergeWoodzing persistent accusations of Swenglish have become the operative catchall criticism and vehicle of harassment of other users within his limited areas of interest (mainly articles relating to Swedish royals) whenever and wherever he runs out of arguments otherwise. I consider this to be mean-spirited, uncollaborative and a primary example of baiting. b) Wikipedia is about verified facts, not homemade definitions or personal preferences. I am always willing to discuss my edits and equally willing to disclose my sources. I will never accept the edits of any other user who refuses to do the same, unless there is a clear consensus from the Community to do so. c) I resent any user who de facto claims ownership of any Wikipedia article, save for user-pages. 4. Personal attacks: Users should acquaint themselves with the meaning of "personal attack" on Wikipedia and avoid writing things that could reasonably be interpreted as such. 6. See 3c. RicJac (talk) 14:04, 7 November 2014 (UTC); "edited RicJac (talk) 21:09, 8 November 2014 (UTC))" 7 Addition: I am not trying to impose any technical language to this article. I merely strive to clarify where clarification needs to be made. Wikipedia should use clear language and not use befuddled or otherwise unclear definitions where such are redundant. Ignorance is no excuse for facts. None of my propositions is in any way, shape or form inconsistent with what is found in the Oxford English Dictionary or in other applicable reference works on the English language. RicJac (talk) 16:30, 7 November 2014 (UTC) Third opinion by E. Ripley:[edit] On the issue of "state" vs. "government"[edit] I think there's been too much attention devoted to the Swedish meaning of these words, when what matters at the English Wikipedia is the English meaning of these words. It appears accepted that the country of Sweden, writ large, owns these items, and in English, the definition of state and government at the national level are commonly understood as interchangeable. In that regard, I don't think it matters much whether we use state or government. Wikipedia articles can't be sources for themselves, but there are instances in Wikipedia policy where precedent does matter (for instance, whether to use the British vs. American spelling of certain words -- which states that "When no English variety has been established and discussion cannot resolve the issue, the variety used in the first non-stub revision is considered the default.") In addition, Buckingham Palace uses the phrase "the British state" to describe ownership. It also appears that the earliest version of this article that referenced ownership used state. (However, I would oppose capitalizing "state" here. It doesn't comport with our style.) Given that the two words' meaning in English is interchangeable, the history of the article has the use of "state" occurring first, and there is precedent for using "state" in at least one other similar article, my initial opinion is that if it's necessary to pick one or the other word, state should win out. However, I would offer as another option for discussion that if which arm of the government actually has ownership can be identified precisely (and based on RicJac's comments, it appears this is possible), then I would submit that might be a more preferable alternative. And, there is precedent for that result as well (see the treatment of ownership in White House: "The property is a National Heritage Site owned by the National Park Service and is part of the President's Park."). "which arm of the government actually has ownership" ??? according to you (not me), shouldn't that be which arm of the state...? ~ You've completely disregarded what all those dictionaires recommend (3 links above) in example after example after example after example listed there. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 23:36, 10 November 2014 (UTC) In fact I believe I mentioned prominently (and repeatedly) that my opinion was that both terms are interchangeable, and that I would be fine in general with either being used. But since you two have reached an impasse about it, and I was asked to choose between the two, that was what I did. I also, you might note, offered an alternative suggestion which I'd encourage you to consider. I did look at your dictionary links, but I was fairly clear that I thought you both have focused too much on Swedish meanings, when they are irrelevant -- what matters is the English meaning. I was fairly straightforward in my opinions and explained my reasoning thoroughly, and have now said what I plan to say about the matter. — e. ripley\talk 03:27, 11 November 2014 (UTC) This is how the one collaborative consensus dictionary I linked to primarily translates Swedish "staten" as relevant to this discussion: There is a body in Northern Ireland which is government -sponsored and -financed. In Swaziland for example, this accounts for up to 40 % of all government revenue The situation is totally impossible for Turkish society and the Turkish Government. Those are costs that neither national governments nor taxpayers can currently afford. In addition, the government of Luxembourg also contributes 1 Franc per kilowatt/ hour. Mergers that provide no right of veto for trade unions and government lead to accidents. That means realising that people are not there for countries, but countries for people. Here in Europe, the government tends to bear the responsibility and we rely on legislation. He petitioned Parliament and the German Government consequently agreed to pay. It has been suggested that auctions are simply a device to provide extra money for governments. In most countries, the national emancipation support networks are also formed by the government. ~ Plus a few more instances wherein the word "state" only appears one time and then in a plural context not relevant to this article. All of that you completely ignored! --SergeWoodzing (talk) 07:34, 11 November 2014 (UTC) I thank you for the time you have taken in bringing about a fair third opinion. Unfortunately, and despite your valiant efforts, I do not think SergeWoodzing (given his reactions so far) will yield until a certain place will freeze over… RicJac (talk) 09:23, 12 November 2014 (UTC) Perhaps not, but with sloppy 3rd opinions like this one and your unrelenting and insulting personal slurs, I might quit WP completely instead. Then you and your Swenglish can have all these articles to yourself. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 12:15, 12 November 2014 (UTC) Now there's that pet-peeve of yours once again, brought about when other arguments have been less than successful... As far as incivility goes, you are quite an accomplished practitioner yourself! RicJac (talk) 17:02, 12 November 2014 (UTC) On the issue of "Kunglinga Huset" vs. "Kung. Huset."[edit] Since I haven't seen any sources in English that use either variation, I am somewhat at a loss for how to choose which is more appropriate. Turning to the MOS for abbreviations may provide some guidance. Here it says "when an abbreviation is to be used in an article, give the expression in full at first, followed immediately by the abbreviation in parentheses (round brackets). In the rest of the article the abbreviation can then be used by itself." I admit this is not a wholly satisfying standard to base a decision on in this instance, because the dispute is over how to reference a singular institution. However, it may be a useful yardstick. So I suppose, under duress, I would support the use of "Kunglinga Huset (Kung. Huset)." The issue was what the royal court calls itself (which reasonably is what we should use). Did you miss that? --SergeWoodzing (talk) 23:39, 10 November 2014 (UTC) I will support this equitable solution.RicJac (talk) 09:42, 12 November 2014 (UTC) General suggestion[edit] The dispute over Kunglinga Huset vs. Kung. Huset, would probably benefit from some opinions by editors who are familiar with or at least interested in Sweden. I would suggest that this particular dispute be put to people participating at Wikiproject Sweden and see if they have some helpful suggestions. Thank you. I hope I've been of some assistance. — e. ripley\talk 22:33, 10 November 2014 (UTC) I have already made a post over there. Thank you for the time you've taken with this rather overdone debate on such (relatively speaking) simple matters. I for one would rather spend my time on the Wiki contributing to the articles… RicJac (talk) 09:47, 12 November 2014 (UTC) A request for a clarification[edit] A question on one point. As it regards the usage of state vs. government, the disputed text as far as I can tell is The Royal Palaces are the property of the Swedish government and The Regalia is government property. Are these two sets of items owned by any certain part of the government that would make it worthy of a description that makes a distinction between a portion of the sovereign nation? — e. ripley\talk 20:26, 7 November 2014 (UTC) Originally the text was "The Regalia is State property" and "The Royal Palaces are the property of the Swedish State" before Woodzing unilaterally changed it. The State is the legal and fiscal entity of the body politic, except for the local authorities (municipalities) and county councils, all of whom while part of the public sector are legal and fiscal entities in their own right. The Government is merely the top executive authority of the State, i.e. the collegial cabinet.RicJac (talk) 22:03, 7 November 2014 (UTC) Even knowing Swedish, I don't understand what is meant by "a distinction between a portion of the sovereign nation". --SergeWoodzing (talk) 20:30, 7 November 2014 (UTC) What I'm getting at is - does a certain part of the government own these things? The Cabinet? The royal house? Or is it simply owned by the sovereign nation of Sweden? I am trying to figure out whether its ownership is such that it deserves any kind of distinction in how it's referenced. I suspect that it does not, and that there's no reason to think it's owned by anything but the nation/government in general terms, but ask for the sake of due diligence since there is some discussion about just what certain terminology refers to in the Swedish context. — e. ripley\talk 20:33, 7 November 2014 (UTC) Technically the State is a single legal and fiscal entity, the Government and subordinate authorities/agencies does not "own" anything themselves but merely holds it in trust on behalf of the State. Ultimately, the Riksdag (the national legislature) determines how State property is handled/disposed. The State authority which "owns" the regalia is Kammarkollegiet, and the Royal Palaces are "owned" by the National Property Board (Swedish: Statens fastighetsverk).RicJac (talk) 22:18, 7 November 2014 (UTC) It should be noted that the concept of "the State" in Sweden, the other Nordic countries and in the general European continental civil law tradition, largely mirrors what in Britain and other Anglophone common law countries such as Canada and New Zealand is known as The Crown.RicJac (talk) 22:46, 7 November 2014 (UTC) Another term, which also appears in the Instrument of Government, is "the Realm" (Swedish: riket). It is much looser than "the State" and generally means "the country" or "the State and the other parts of the public sector". RicJac (talk) 00:26, 8 November 2014 (UTC) We do not know that and I cannot find any reference which would help, which is precisely why the unspecified government ownership (which equals Swedish ägda av staten or i svenska statens ägo), is what is appropriate here. To my knowledge, having studied the English and Swedish sides of such things for over 50 years, when Swedes say "staten äger det" they mean exactly and unmistakably the same thing as Brits, Americans/Canadians, Australians, Nigerians and 100s of millions of others mean when they say "the government owns that", whereas an albeit correct literal tranlation like "the State owns that" is not likely to be perceived by most readers of English as exactly and unmistakably what was meant. Whether or not Sweden is designated as a sovereign nation in this context I would have to find irrelevant. If a building is owned by the government of the Bahamas or of Transvaal, which may or may not be considered sovereign nations, it's just owned by the government there. Wouldn't additional and perhaps extensive research to get more details on that be a bit overzealous of us, perhaps even unsoluble? In general use, "staten" in Swedish represents exactly the same simple and vague concept as "the government" does in English speaking countries. The same cannot be said of the general perception of a more formal, yet less distinctive/designative, term like "the State" in English. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 21:24, 7 November 2014 (UTC) Please - don't comment on contributors' motives or understanding. It's really not helpful. Stick to discussing the content dispute. — e. ripley\talk 22:44, 7 November 2014 (UTC) I am just very frustrated by the implied belittling of my efforts made by the other contributor, as if I was making all this up or making literal translations of my own.RicJac (talk) 22:59, 7 November 2014 (UTC) OK thank you both, this is helpful. I'm going away for the weekend beginning in about an hour, so I probably won't be back in a position to contribute again until Sunday evening, but am hoping to have my thoughts sorted out by then. (In terms of my use of "sovereign nation," I was just striving to use neutral language to describe the general concept of a national government.) — e. ripley\talk 22:05, 7 November 2014 (UTC) I have now read my entries very carefully 5-6 times and find nothing whatsoever to warrant your remark to me about "contributors' motives or understanding" - ??? I'm so confused now that none of this makes sense to me anymore, with new entries added above comments already made, no continuity and the whole discussion turned into a big incoherent mess. (Going away for the weekend sounds like a great idea.) --SergeWoodzing (talk) 23:05, 7 November 2014 (UTC) No need for confusion, friend! I made an inappropriate remark and later apologized by deleting it (you can check the page history).RicJac (talk) 23:22, 7 November 2014 (UTC) That comment was directed to RicJac, but I guess he deleted his original comment (which is fine especially since it was potentially inflammatory) - so mine now hanging out there makes little sense. — e. ripley\talk 17:16, 10 November 2014 (UTC) No that is not "fine" according to WP guideline, and the more inflammatory the comment the less appropriate it is to just remove it. Don't you even look at links we provide? What's the use of providing them? --SergeWoodzing (talk) 23:43, 10 November 2014 (UTC) It is, in fact. It's preferable to use strikethrough instead of simply removing comments, but you're not going to find much support for an interpretation that removing something that was considered a personal attack by the person it was directed to is improper. In fact, removing comments that are personal attacks are one of the only times when it's not only acceptable to remove (or strike through) your own comments, but also those of others. — e. ripley\talk 03:20, 11 November 2014 (UTC) Sorry, E. Ripley, but in all these years I've never seen any editor so blatantly profess a POV that flies directly in the face of an explicit and indubitable WP guideline (as linked to twice and still completely ignored by you). It certainly isn't what one would expect from a 3O editor. I'm flabbergasted by that. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 07:20, 11 November 2014 (UTC) And I have never encountered a user who makes such strange interpretations of wikiguidelines as SergeWoodzing! Don't take everything as a personal affront: be collaborative and cool down!RicJac (talk) 09:30, 12 November 2014 (UTC) From the guideline which our 3O helper ignored: "If anyone has already replied to or quoted the original comment, consider whether the edit could affect the interpretation of the replies or integrity of the quotes. Use "Show preview" and think about how your edited comment may look to others before you save it. Any corrected wording should fit with any replies or quotes. If this is not feasible, consider posting another message to clarify or correct the intended meaning instead. ... Other than minor corrections for insignificant typographical errors made before other editors reply, changes should be noted to avoid misrepresenting the original post. For example: Mark deleted text with ..., or ..., which render in most browsers as struck-through text (e.g., wrong text). Mark inserted text with ..., or ..., which renders in most browsers as underlined text (e.g., corrected text). If it is necessary to explain changes, insert comments in square brackets (e.g., "the default width is 100px 120px [the default changed last month]") or consider inserting a superscript note (e.g., "[corrected]") linking to a later subsection for a detailed explanation. Append a new timestamp (e.g., "; edited 12:29, 12 November 2014 (UTC)" using five tildes) after the original timestamp at the end of the post. Removing or substantially altering a comment after someone else has replied may deprive the reply of its original context; however, leaving false text unrevised could be worse. If it is necessary to make such an edit, consider the following steps: Mark up your edits as shown above. Add a comment in the edited comment (in square brackets) or below the comment to explain that you made the edit and explain why you needed to do this after others had replied to it. Contact the person(s) who replied, posting on their talk page to explain the change. ... Under some circumstances, you may entirely remove your comments. For example, if you accidentally posted a comment to the wrong page, and no one has replied to it yet, then the simplest solution is to self-revert your comment." --SergeWoodzing (talk) 12:29, 12 November 2014 (UTC) Two relevant links re the (now very confusing, for anyone else) format and issues in this discussion: Re: causing confusion by removing one's own comments (which really threw me); Re: standard usage of Swedish staten in English --SergeWoodzing (talk) 23:32, 7 November 2014 (UTC) The second link is to a privately owned website financed by advertisements. Hardly an authoritative source at all…RicJac (talk) 02:19, 8 November 2014 (UTC) Bab.la is a highly respected and widely trusted consensus project with content principles similar to those of Wikipedia. The many examples given there cannot be disregarded. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 14:40, 8 November 2014 (UTC) I highly recommend this one hour long lecture by Professor Quentin Skinner named "A Genealogy of the State", filmed at Northwestern University, where the crux of his conclusion is that it is quite unsatisfactory to equate the term State with Government (for partially the same reasons I have outlined above). There is also a written British Academy lecture version. RicJac (talk) 01:51, 8 November 2014 (UTC) Constitutional and Official Role[edit] The footnotes do not support the content they are being used to reference. For instance the Wikipedia article states that the King holds honorary ranks in the armed forces. Yet this is not what the link says. It says "He is the foremost representative of the Swedish defence establishment and holds supreme rank in each of the service arms". 121.73.7.84 (talk) 18:20, 7 July 2017 (UTC) The wikipedia article states that the king is immune from criminal prosecution but not civil liability, yet the website of the Swedish Monarchy states that "The Head of State cannot be proceeded against in civil causes." 121.73.7.84 (talk) 18:20, 7 July 2017 (UTC) Part of government at all?[edit] Please see my question here, asked on the talk page of our article Head of State. Well-cited clarification would be great. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 09:58, 31 January 2018 (UTC) External links modified (February 2018)[edit] Hello fellow Wikipedians, I have just modified 4 external links on Monarchy of Sweden. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes: Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140225235411/http://www.government.se/sb/d/2853/nocache/true/a/21785/dictionary/true to http://www.government.se/sb/d/2853/nocache/true/a/21785/dictionary/true Added {{dead link}} tag to http://62.95.69.15/cgi-bin/thw?%24%7BHTML%7D=sfst_lst&%24%7BOOHTML%7D=sfst_dok&%24%7BSNHTML%7D=sfst_err&%24%7BBASE%7D=SFST&%24%7BTRIPSHOW%7D=format%3DTHW&BET=1982%3A270%24x Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120219105931/http://62.95.69.15/cgi-bin/thw?%24%7BHTML%7D=sfst_lst&%24%7BOOHTML%7D=sfst_dok&%24%7BSNHTML%7D=sfst_err&%24%7BBASE%7D=SFST&%24%7BTRIPSHOW%7D=format%3DTHW&BET=1973%3A702%24 to http://62.95.69.15/cgi-bin/thw?%24%7BHTML%7D=sfst_lst&%24%7BOOHTML%7D=sfst_dok&%24%7BSNHTML%7D=sfst_err&%24%7BBASE%7D=SFST&%24%7BTRIPSHOW%7D=format%3DTHW&BET=1973%3A702%24 Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140810142752/http://www.sfv.se/Documents/Kulturvarden/2013_03/Svenska_folkets_slott.pdf to http://www.sfv.se/Documents/Kulturvarden/2013_03/Svenska_folkets_slott.pdf Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090426215817/http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/11817/a/125035 to http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/11817/a/125035 When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs. As of February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{sourcecheck}} (last update: 15 July 2018). If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool. If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool. Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 08:12, 4 February 2018 (UTC) Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Monarchy_of_Sweden&oldid=823929692" C-Class Sweden articles Top-importance Sweden articles WikiProject Sweden articles This page was last edited on 4 February 2018, at 08:12 (UTC).

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

Other voices: The test that matters for Biden's… Other voices: The test that matters for Biden's education policy Jill Biden, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, stops by the Sanneh Foundation on St. Paul's east side Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020, where she met up with Gov. Tim Walz to help distribute food to waiting families. It was one of three stops she made while stumping for her husband. (Brandon Yee / Pioneer Press) By Bloomberg Opinion | Bloomberg December 3, 2020 at 12:21 a.m. By the looks of it, President-elect Joe Biden's administration will be among the most teacher-friendly in history — and not just because incoming first lady Jill Biden, who plans to continue teaching, will arguably be the most important voice in the president's ear. Beyond that, Biden has called for a teacher-oriented Department of Education and is reportedly considering the former head of the biggest teachers union, and the current head of the second-biggest, for his Cabinet. Unquestionably, educators deserve greater support. But Biden should remember that what's good for teachers unions isn't necessarily what's best for students. That goes all the more so as the COVID-19 outbreak imposes unprecedented challenges on the nation's school districts this year. Biden's first challenge will be enacting another coronavirus relief package that includes aid for state and local governments, which may be forced to cut education funding thanks to sharp declines in tax revenue. Combined with the added costs of keeping schools open during a pandemic — such as improving ventilation systems and sanitizing classrooms — that could be a devastating blow. The president-elect should aim to reach a commonsense deal on a new bill as quickly as possible. Biden's next test will be ensuring that schools can stay open. During the campaign, his team has released a five-point "road map" for doing so that aims to set national safety standards while granting plenty of leeway to state and local authorities. That's a sound strategy, but he should be sure to discourage arbitrary decision-making by school districts and press for following science-based metrics. Longer term, as the virus, it is to be hoped, recedes, Biden will have a chance to make his mark on education policy more broadly. More funding for public schools is at the top of his agenda. But as decades of experience have shown, money alone won't fix the problems facing America's failing education system. Here Biden should follow the example of his former boss, President Barack Obama. Beyond increased funds, the Obama administration also made accountability a central goal of its education policy. It encouraged the use of test scores to evaluate teachers, prioritized improving graduation rates, and embraced objective measures to address the achievement gap between minority and white students. The administration established a Race to the Top fund of more than $4 billion to provide competitive grants to states that met or surpassed its benchmarks for reform. Following up on these efforts won't be easy for Biden. Unions largely hated the measures, and progressives are increasingly hostile to the very concept of objective student evaluations. Biden himself has expressed skepticism about so-called high-stakes testing. So far, though, he has resisted the demands from some in his party to waive federal testing requirements during the pandemic. He should stand firm: Without meaningful metrics, progress in education isn't possible. A final goal for Biden should be the expansion of high-quality charter schools. Obama used his Race to the Top initiative to encourage such schools to flourish alongside more traditional ones. Teachers unions' have since waged war against the idea, and Biden has said he's "not a charter school fan." But given the success that many have demonstrated, it makes little sense to oppose them categorically. On this score, Biden would do well to listen to parents from Black communities — especially those in New York and California — who can point to the invaluable role charters have played in their children's development. In tackling these challenges, Biden will no doubt come under pressure from unions, his political opponents and the increasingly strident ideologues within in his own party. He should remember the one constituency that really matters: America's children. Opinions on business, economics and more from the editors and columnists at Bloomberg Opinion. Bloomberg covers business and financial news and more. Follow Bloomberg Opinion @opinion More in Editorials Other voices: Stolen election? Not really Other voices: Net zero isn't possible without nuclear Other voices: Memo to House GOP: 'It's all about the policy, stupid' Other voices: A lamentable move by the Jan. 6 committee Other voices: Decision to release Trump's tax returns doesn't pass the smell test Other voices: Fusion energy isn't a pipe dream anymore. Bid to make it practical should start now

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

Groucho Reviews New reviews, interviews, and features via RSS or Email. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) Darkness Falls (2003) Battle: Los Angeles (2011) Ultraviolet (2006) Black Hawk Down (2001) The Lone Ranger (2013) Robot Chicken DC Comics Special (2012) Semi-Pro (2008) Hot Rod (2007) Blades of Glory (2007) Monsters vs Aliens (2009) G-Force (2009) When in Rome (2010) Despicable Me (2010) The Secret World of Arriety (2012) Men in Black 3 (2012) The Nut Job (2014) The LEGO Batman Movie (2017) This Film On Peter Canavese 2014-08-07 19:14:00 -0700 To be fair, this isn't War and Peace. It's a movie with a nunchuk-wielding reptile standing over six feet tall, drooling over pizza, and making boner jokes about Megan Fox. 101 min. Paramount Pictures. Director: Jonathan Liebesman. Cast: William Fichtner, Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Alan Ritchson, Pete Ploszek. Unless you're an eight-year-old just getting acquainted with them, you probably made up your mind about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles long, long ago. After all, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's heroes in a half-shell debuted thirty years ago, when their cheeky action adventures had the foresight to spoof the '80s even while they were happening. Well, they're back on the big screen again for a fifth go-round after three nineties live-action films and a 2007 CGI-animated one-off. The new picture, titled simply Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, blends live-action (most of the settings and all of the humans) with CGI (most of the action and all of the non-human characters). And you're either really excited to see them again (and, if so, may I just say, "Cowabunga, dude") or have already turned to something more interesting, like the real estate listings. So that leaves it to me to describe the reboot by Jonathan Liebesman, a Hollywood go-to-guy for mid-range horror pictures and actioners no one else wants (Wrath of the Titans, anyone?). Look, despite the looming presence of crap-maestro Michael Bay as producer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles isn't so terrible. It fits the brief, as it were, with some variations on the concept that don't challenge the fundamentals, four of which are in the title. So the TMNT—Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello—study ninjitsu under a similarly mutated rat named Splinter (to whom an unbilled Tony Shalhoub gives voice) and make their debut as vigilantes battling back the criminal Foot Clan. This gets the attention of fluff-piece reporter April O'Neil (Megan Fox), who aspires to serious journalism and turns out to have all sorts of history with the people and creatures currently making news: industrialist Eric Sachs (William Fichtner), the Turtles, and Splinter. Pulling the strings of the Foot Clan is Shredder (Tohoru Masamune), a big guy in a robotic samurai suit who seems to have escaped from one of Bay's Transformers flicks. O'Neil's surprising ties to the Turtles may rankle purists, but to be fair, this isn't War and Peace. It's a movie with a nunchuk-wielding reptile standing over six feet tall, drooling over pizza, and making boner jokes about Megan Fox. So we can be choosy about what we complain about. To be fair to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it's aimed squarely at action-loving tykes, and they'll duly love it. The script is an unironic throwback to '80s action movies (okay, some irony when they make Batman cracks), and though the blank Fox is less a star than a placeholder, her foil is Will Arnett as a funny cameraman. Most of the one-liners are pretty lame, but kids won't agree, and they'll be held rapt by the head-spinning (3D, if you want it) action, from acrobatic fights to an insane chase down a snowy mountain and a climax over Times Square ripped wholesale from The Amazing Spider-Man. And what does it all amount to? Nothing more than a seemingly self-descriptive bit of scripting uttered by Arnett: "Froth. It's nice." Share/bookmark: Permalink All site content © 2000-2020 Peter Canavese. Page generated at 01/15/2020 08:26:33PM.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

Is Your Call Center Tracking The Right Metrics? Key performance indicators (KPI) are all the rage these days for contact centers, but they aren't all created equally. It's always a good idea to collect metrics, of course, but are you collecting the right ones? And what are you doing with them once you've got the data? Most contact center managers focus on KPIs that measure efficiency—metrics like average call handling times, average wrap-up time and call script adherence. Those are fine, and they can help improve contact center performance, but some would argue that they aren't the metrics that can really make a difference to the contact center mission. Instead of using performance metrics that measure from the inside looking out, try turning it on its head, and focus on the effectiveness of the contact center as measured by the customer, not the company itself. If you do that, you'll come up with the most important KPI of all: First Contact Resolution. FCR gets a lot of press these days—and for good reason. It's one of the few performance metrics that serves more than one purpose. First, if you improve your first resolution rate, your customers will be happier with your company. Secondly, if you can handle a customer's request or concern in one contact (phone, email, instant message, whatever) instead of three, it cuts your cost by two-thirds. "Customers want to be connected quickly to an agent who is able to resolve their query right away," said Oke Eleazu, managing director of think outside in and vice-president of the Institute of Customer Service. "Companies that want their contact centers to deliver a good customer experience, must measure FCR rates. Those companies that do not measure it could lose touch with customer perceptions, damaging their brand." "Measuring customer satisfaction is great, but many traditional measures are nebulous and imprecise and can make it difficult to know what to focus improvement initiatives on," he said. "With FCR, you have an actionable measure - you can work on people, process and technology to improve the customer experience. You can very quickly and accurately observe and report on the effectiveness of those actions." More companies are tracking first call resolution, but many still are not. Ken Landoline, principal analyst of Customer Service Consulting Group in Bay Point, Calif., routinely talks about FCR in call center forums around the country. He says that at a recent forum, he asked for a show of hands for how many contact center managers were tracking the KPI. Three people raised their hands. Why? Well, for one thing, it's a lot harder to capture than traditional metrics. There are many ways to do it, and some are much less scientific than others. For example, managers can ask agents to check off a box at the end of the customer communication if the incident has been resolved and it's the first contact the customer has had with the contact center. But that's subjective; the agent may be wrong, or less than diligent. Another idea is call monitoring: Listen to a small percentage of calls and judge how many you perceive are being resolved on first contact. Again, it's subjective, and labor-intensive. Or you can send customer satisfaction surveys to customers. And finally, you can try throwing some technology at it, using contact center software solutions or performance management analytics, which employ software algorithms to analyze call flow via the customer ID or name. Customer relationship management (CRM) software systems are beginning to address this performance opportunity, however, they have yet to reduce the agent subjectivity as well. None of these methods is perfect. The Ascent Group, which follows this sort of thing, recommends that companies use multiple methods to measure first call resolution. The key is to gather different types of FCR-related information, such as how frequently your customers contact the company, and number of repeat calls by type of contact. With social media, additional customer channels and increasingly decentralized contact centers, Improving FCR can be a difficult challenge. One solution is to implement a Business Process Guidance (BPG) system. "With contact centers consolidating, they require agents to have a broad knowledge base. However, agents cannot be experts in every product and service and can struggle to resolve complex customer enquiries in the crucial first contact," said David Frenkel, CEO of Panviva. "Agents need easy real-time access to detailed knowledge, often hidden in existing system investments. They need a system that immediately steers them through the process at hand; a BPG System." Once you've got some actionable data, what does it mean? For example, what is your FCR percentage? If it's 60%, what does that mean? Well, it's a benchmark you can use to measure and trend over future period increments. But it also means that only 60% of your contacts are being resolved on the first contact. Not great. That means 40% of your customers are contacting you twice or even three times to get resolution. That means more call volume, higher expenses and unhappy customers. But if it makes you feel any better, a study Ascent Group did last year found that companies measuring this KPI ranged from 30% to 98%. With that perspective, maybe 60% isn't that bad. So now is the time to do something about it. Implement the processes to get the data and use it to drive change. Look at your processes, your agents, your scripts, and your customers. Get everyone involved. Make it work for you by gaining an initial baseline measurement and then showing incremental progress over time. Most contact center managers focus on performance metrics that measure efficiency—metrics like average call handling times, call volumes and call script adherence. These are fine, and they can help improve contact center performance, but some would argue that they aren't the metrics that make a difference to customer satisfaction or the contact center mission.

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Heilig-Meyers and Rhodes Furniture combined to eventually earn almost $5 billion a year in revenue from over 2,000 locations in the United States. This created the largest furniture company in North America. Much of this growth had come through recent acquisitions. In October 1995, Rhodes announced the purchase of Weberg Enterprises Inc., a 21-store chain based in Denver, which gave it a foothold in both the Colorado and Texas markets. Also in 1995, Rhodes opened two stores in Kansas City and one in Cincinnati and it purchased Glick Furniture Co., a seven-store chain based in Columbus, Ohio. All told, Rhodes increased its roster of stores by 21 in 1995. In addition to Weberg Enterprises, Heilig-Meyers and Rhodes Furniture have been major NASCAR sponsors and helped to raise millions of dollars for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The leader in home furnishings also operates 20 consumer brands including Four Seasons Home Accents, KidStore, and RentSmart.

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Regional and National History x Australasian and Pacific History x Zoology and Animal Sciences x clear all Australasian and Pacific History Zoology and Animal Sciences Cheesman, (Lucy) Evelyn (1881–1969), entomologist and explorer Elizabeth J. Morse. in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Reference Entry. Subjects: Entomology; World History; Maps and Map-making; Australasian and Pacific History; History of the Americas. 1806 words. Cheesman, (Lucy) Evelyn (1881–1969), entomologist and explorer, was born on 8 October 1881 at Court Lodge, Westwell, near Ashford, Kent. She was the third of the five children of Robert... Gilbert, John (1812–1845), zoological collector and explorer in Australia Clemency Thorne Fisher. Reference Entry. Subjects: Australasian and Pacific History; Maps and Map-making; Zoology and Animal Sciences. 910 words. Gilbert, John (1812–1845), zoological collector and explorer in Australia, was born on 14 March 1812 in Newington Butts, London, the son of William Gilbert (b. c.1793), a carpenter, and his...

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A Three-Way Fix for Health Reform That Saves Money Before President Barack Obama and Congress overhaul the U.S. health care system at great expense — and, as things look now, without a cost-control mechanism — they ought to consider an alternative conceptual framework. [IMGCAP(1)]It comes from Tom Cigarran, founder of Healthways Inc., the nation's largest disease-management company, who says that — despite politicians' denials — some sort of health care rationing is inevitable and needs to be done rationally and fairly. In an interview, he said health reform should be divided into three parts. First, the government should guarantee that everyone receives "basic— health care, including quality primary care, preventive services and treatment for injury and disease. But, second, "quality of life— treatment should be means-tested, with richer people paying more than poorer people for services such as joint replacements, plastic surgery, some drugs and in vitro fertilization. And third, he said, the country needs to move toward more humane and less expensive "end of life— care, making greater use of hospices instead of "heroic— hospital treatment. Cigarran, who retired as CEO but still is chairman of Nashville, Tenn.-based Healthways, a company that serves 30 million patients worldwide, told me that "the country owes a basic level of care to its citizens, but not everything-for-everyone Cadillac coverage.— Democrats and the Obama administration are contemplating extending Medicare-style or federal employee-level coverage to the nation's 45 million uninsured. They estimate it will cost $150 billion a year, but Cigarran thinks it will end up costing much more — and said it's more than the country can or should provide. And, when the government discovers it can't afford full coverage for everyone, it will ration care, he said. Cigarran has traveled extensively, inspecting various countries' health systems. He said all of them ration in some way — including the United States, though we don't like to admit it. It's well-known that the United States spends vastly more of its gross domestic product on health care than any other country — 17 percent last year — while we rank 50th in life expectancy, according to the latest CIA World Factbook. In 2004, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Japan and France spent 10.4 percent and 8 percent of their GDP on health, respectively, while the U.S. spent 15.2 percent. Japan and France rank third and ninth in life expectancy. "What makes a successful health care system anywhere,— Cigarran said, "is that it provides universal coverage — especially good quality, convenient and affordable primary care — and the people like the system. "But they all compromise somewhere to contain costs. They ration. There are waiting times for specialty treatment or, in some cases, they don't provide it. And most people don't have access to the very latest in technology.— The United States rations, too, he said, by income. Around 45 million people don't have health insurance — mostly, because they can't afford it — and as a result, they don't get regular health exams and they see a doctor or go to an emergency room only when they get sick. According to a new study by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, among working-age uninsured people, 40 percent have chronic illnesses and are two to four times more likely than insured people to have received no medical attention in the past year. Politicians considering health reform, Cigarran said, are indulging Americans' "unrealistic expectations— that they can have it all — the highest quality medical care and the latest technology, all conveniently supplied and delivered perfectly. And, paid for by someone else. "Our politicians have never had the guts to say, you can't have it all' — or, shut up and pay for it,'— he said. Cigarran agrees with key parts of the Obama agenda: electronic medical records, pay-for-performance medicine and emphasis on disease prevention and chronic disease management. But he doesn't think the government can or should afford to guarantee that everyone will have automatic access to the latest technology or specialty services. Of course, some entity will have to decide where the line is drawn between "basic— health services and "quality of life— and how means-testing will work. As an example, he said, "if you shatter your knee in an accident, a knee replacement is basic. But if your knee hurts, maybe a poor person should pay 10 percent for the replacement, but a wealthy person, 90 percent.— In the meantime, there should be no question that government and insurance companies should encourage better — cheaper — "end of life— services. "The way we treat most people is not just expensive. It's inhumane,— he said. "Anyone who has experience with hospice care knows the difference between dying at home with family and friends around, as opposed to being kept alive with heroic' hospital interventions. "It requires an education process for both doctors and citizens. Sending granny to an intensive care unit is not the best thing for granny, as opposed to dying at home. You can't force it, but you can encourage it by subsidizing hospice care 100 percent,— he said. Cigarran's three-level proposal is the best idea that I've heard on health reform in years. Before Congress enacts a plan that tries to offer everything-for-everyone coverage that the nation can't afford, it ought to consider his plan. And if Democrats can't bring themselves to adopt it, Republicans should. They don't have a health plan. And his makes eminent sense.

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TURIN, Italy -- Hennie Otto of South Africa shot a 1-under 71 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Italian Open, where Stephen Gallacher's late bid to qualify for the Ryder Cup will go down to the wire. Otto, who won this event in 2008, began the day with a three-shot lead but struggled at times, carding two bogeys and a double bogey as well as five birdies. It is only the 38-year-old's Otto's second tournament since his recovery from two back operations. "It was a rough day to be honest," Otto said. "My back started to tighten after eight holes but I managed to get it round even though I couldn't swing it properly. I got a little lucky at times as well but you need that in this game if you are going to win a tournament." Gallacher produced four birdies and one bogey in a round of 69 to move to within six shots of the lead and four behind compatriot Richie Ramsay (66) in second place. Gallacher is the only man still capable of moving into the automatic Ryder Cup places in the final qualifying event, with a top-two finish enough to dislodge former U.S. Open Champion Graeme McDowell from Europe's team. "It keeps me in touching distance," Gallacher said. "The worst thing I could have done was open up a big gap which was insurmountable. I've not done that so a good day on Sunday and I am still right in there. I had about four lip-outs today but they went in on Friday and I holed a couple of good putts at the end so it evens itself out. "It's all to play for. You never know what happens in this game and guys have won from further back than this. I'll just go out and try and get as many birdies as possible and see what happens. This is the only time in my career that I would be happy not to win a golf tournament. Second will do me fine on Sunday." Austria's Bernd Wiesberger slipped to third after following consecutive rounds of 66 with a 71. Lee Slattery and Ross Fisher were fourth, five shots behind Otto.

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Discussion in 'Exchanging Timeshares' started by tegs_1980, Jul 30, 2018. Between the three resort options for NYC listed on II (Marriott Pulse, Beekman Towers, and Manhattan Club Penthouse Suites) which would you pick to include in an OGS? We would be traveling as a family of four with two kids. Thanks! Don't know anything about Beekman Towers. Manhattan Club Penthouse Suites is an extremely difficult trade but that would be my first choice. I don't know if Marriott Pulse can hold 4 people but that would be your best bet for a match. I would put them all in, the caveat being I know nothing about Beekman Towers. Thank you! Would you say the Manhattan Club is comparable in the quality of experience to Marriott timeshare resorts? Yes. But remember this is high rise in New York. I have stayed at their one bedroom, not the penthouse. It is excellent. I think none are likely to come up unless you are looking for January or February. I have never heard of Beekman towers so I suspect it is a rental only. I doubt there are more than 2-3 deposits total per year from MC Penthouse Suites and other than the first few months Marriott Pulse NY opened the only deposits in II were in the dead of winter. Might try a private trade with a Wyndham owner for Midtown Towers. NICE place and a decent location. Avator picture is from one of my trips to Midtown ... that is the Today host, Meridith Veria. Had my 89-90 aunt travelling with me. Auntie was JUST thrilled with our 3 day adventure trip. Auntie's handlers were just stunned we did SO MUCH. We did drive into the city and parking was OVER $65 per night with NO "in/out" option.

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Six Myths About U.S. – North Korea Relations by Joseph Essertier Bruce Gerencser October 3, 2017 Politics 1 Comment Republished with permission from the author Not even a year has passed since Donald Trump's election victory. Yet already, his over-the-top, pugnacious rhetoric and actions have exacerbated Washington's conflict with North Korea to the point where some observers are comparing it to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.1 But how are people being educated and informed about this crisis in the mass media? We are shown bountiful coverage of North Korean problems, such as Kim Jong-un's own over-the top rhetoric, his government's human rights violations, rapid development of nuclear missiles, and soldiers goose stepping, but hardly any coverage of American problems, such as our history of aggression on the Korean Peninsula, the "Military-Industrial Complex" that President Eisenhower warned about in 1961, and the ways in which Washington has been intimidating Pyongyang. Below is an outline of some myths that must be dispelled if Americans are to gain some basic understanding U.S.-North Korea relations today and if they are to feel motivated to pressure their government to negotiate a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Myth Number 1: North Korea is the aggressor, not us; they are the problem No. Most serious international relations experts would say that Washington's past actions have been a major cause of the present crisis, if not the main cause. Yet the impression that many people are naturally left with after watching the news on TV is that North Korea is the problem; their belligerent behavior, especially their constantly conducting missile and nuclear bomb tests, has brought this crisis about. While Washington might not always be portrayed as completely innocent, North Korea is viewed as the main one doing the provoking and escalating the tensions. Let us dispel this myth first. Undeniably the corporate mass media tend to portray the United States as a cautious and responsible member of the "international community," and the government of North Korea as the one doing the provoking. But before and during the Korean War that ended in 1953, during the 64 years that have passed since the fighting was temporarily halted, and even during the rising tension during the last year between the United States and North Korea, the U.S. has always been the aggressor. As Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. once stated, the U.S. is the "greatest purveyor of violence in the world." That was true in his time and it is now. In the case of North Korea, the importance of its governments' focus on violence is given recognition with the term "garrison state." This is how Bruce Cumings, the most prominent historian of modern Korea, categorizes it. This term recognizes the fact that the people of North Korea spend a lot of their time preparing for war. That is true. And none of us wish we could live there. But no one calls North Korea the "greatest purveyor of violence." Guess which country has engaged in the most overseas wars and invaded the most countries since the Korean War ended: the United States. Guess how many overseas military bases North Korea has: Zero. Guess how many the United States has: Hundreds. Guess how many aircraft carriers North Korea has: Zero. Guess how many nuclear weapons the United States has: Thousands. With just a little thought and study, anyone with Internet or library access can figure out for themselves that there is no question that the U.S. is more powerful, both economically and militarily. As we seek to understand this reclusive state, let us keep in mind that violence is a weapon of the strong against the weak. It is not a first-choice option for weak states against strong states, just as it is not for women and children trying to solve conflicts with big, strong men. This is not to say that the weaker party never resorts to violence, just that he/she/it will first attempt to solve conflicts non-violently with the stronger party before taking a huge gamble on a probably unsuccessful attempt to physically overpower them. Let us compare the acts of aggression on the part of Pyongyang with those of Washington. First, I list 10 examples of Washington's aggression below. Many American readers will be surprised to learn of this violence, both real and symbolic, that has been committed in our name: 1. Contrary to his image as a peace-loving politician, former president Barack Obama promoted nuclear weapons development in a way that has threatened and will continue to threaten all rivals of the U.S., including North Korea, by building America's "first precision-guided atom bomb," i.e., a smaller type of nuclear missile that can hit its target extra accurately. Gen. James E. Cartwright, one of Obama's "most influential nuclear strategists," favored this investment in American nuclear weapons technology, but even he admitted that "going smaller" makes use of the weapon "more thinkable." (My italics). Another investment in a new, dangerous, and geopolitically de-stabilizing nuclear weapons technology, one that few journalists have paid attention to, is a new "super-fuze" device that is being used to upgrade old W76-1/Mk4A thermonuclear warheads and is now probably deployed on all US ballistic missile submarines. It apparently greatly increases the destructive power of nuclear missiles by allowing warheads to detonate above targets at just the right moment. This is outlined in an article that came out earlier this year by the nuclear weapons policy researcher Hans M. Kristensen, the director of the Nuclear Program of the Natural Resources Defense Council Matthew McKinzie, and the physicist and nuclear weapons systems expert at M.I.T. Theodore Postol: "The US submarine force today is much more capable than it was previously against hardened targets such as Russian ICBM silos. A decade ago, only about 20 percent of US submarine warheads had hard-target kill capability; today they all do." The "nuclear forces modernization program" sponsored by Obama "implemented revolutionary new technologies that will vastly increase the targeting capability of the US ballistic missile arsenal. This increase in capability is astonishing—boosting the overall killing power of existing US ballistic missile forces by a factor of roughly three—and it creates exactly what one would expect to see, if a nuclear-armed state were planning to have the capacity to fight and win a nuclear war by disarming enemies with a surprise first strike." (My italics). This threatens Russia since all their ICBMs could be destroyed, and indirectly it threatens North Korea, since Russia is one country that could conceivably come to its aid in the event of a U.S. invasion. This is the result of Obama's spending American tax dollars on a "plan to 'modernize' our nuclear arsenal at the unfathomable cost of about $1 trillion over the next 30 years." During a time when many Americans were tightening their belts, Obama dedicated $1 trillion to technologies that increase the likelihood of nuclear war in general and threaten North Korea and other countries instead of spending that money on relief, education, health care, and other benefits to such Americans. (This will be Obama's legacy—committing Washington and our economy to nuclear weapons in the years to come. No wonder President Trump is jealous—that his predecessor could do that and come off as a liberal humanitarian). Of course, Russian generals will be aware of these U.S. weapons capabilities, and they will be more likely to keep their "finger on the trigger," knowing that a U.S. first strike could be so deadly. 2. Last year during the election, even before Donald Trump became president, he made the shocking suggestion that maybe Japan and South Korea should build their own nuclear weapons. Once Donald Trump had won the election, it became more likely that a nuclear arms race would ensue, or be accelerated (unless Obama had already accelerated it). It was not the first time that North Korea would have been concerned about South Korean nuclear weapons development. Under the American-backed dictator Park Chung Hee (1917-1979), Seoul began developing them in the mid- 1970s. The project was supposedly stopped, but South Korea already has conventional long-range missiles today that can hit anywhere in North Korea's territory, and the conventional warheads on those missiles could easily be refitted with nuclear warheads. 3. In April of this year Washington deployed the THAAD (terminal high area altitude defense) system in spite of intense opposition from South Korean citizens. It is only supposed to intercept North Korean incoming ballistic missiles on their downward descent, but Chinese officials in Beijing worry that the real purpose of THAAD is to "track missiles launched from China" since THAAD has surveillance capabilities. One can say, therefore, that THAAD threatens North Korea directly and indirectly, by threatening an ally of North Korea. 4. Also in April, Washington sent a submarine equipped with nuclear missiles close to the Korean Peninsula on the very day of the celebration of the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army. 5. North Korea is constantly under threat from the militaries of the U.S., South Korea, and increasingly Japan, through frequent military exercises such as the annual "massive sea, land and air exercises" in South Korea called "Ulchi Freedom Guardian" involving tens of thousands of troops. Not wasting an opportunity to intimidate Pyongyang, these were carried out in 21-31 August 2017 in spite of the rising tension. "Continual economic, propaganda, and psychological warfare" is also conducted against them. 6. In early September 2017 "a provocative idea at a dangerous time," a new way to threaten North Korea was discussed with the government of South Korea: putting nukes back in South Korea, where Washington had once stockpiled them during the Cold War. Although Washington was not supposed to introduce any qualitatively new weaponry to the Korean Peninsula according to the armistice that Washington signed on 27 July 1953, in 1958 it went ahead and introduced nuclear missiles to the Peninsula. A year later it "permanently stationed a squadron of nuclear- tipped Matador cruise missiles" there. These were aimed not only at North Korea but also at China and the USSR, who were North Korean allies. These and other later-installed nuclear weapons were removed in 1991 because they were obsolete, not because they violated the agreement that Washington had signed. 70 nuclear artillery shells, large numbers of "ADMs" (atomic demolition mines, which were designed to contaminate areas of South Korea in order to stop an armored attack from North Korean forces) and 60 nuclear gravity bombs were among the obsolete weapons that were replaced with more effective, high-yield, conventional weapons. 7. On 11 September 2017 the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2375. This increase in the severity of the ongoing economic sanctions will cause many innocent civilians to freeze to death this winter, without contributing to changes in Pyongyang's policies and without doing anything to prevent the restart of the Korean War. Washington and Tokyo have tried similar tactics before, such as tying their food aid to politics. Tokyo ended their food aid to "famine-stricken North Korea" in the late 1990s. Between 1995 and 1997 there was a famine in which 2 to 3 million people, out of a population of 23 million, died as a result of food shortages. North Korea is mainly mountainous; there is little quality farmland, so during famines it is difficult to increase food production. The U.S. basically did the same thing. As Bruce Cumings wrote in 1997, "Kim Jong Il's failed Utopia contains 23 million innocent people who need to be fed" but even American food aid to North Korea was "much too little." That is the kind of strategy pursued by Washington and Tokyo for helping North Koreans struggle against the dictatorship and build a democratic government. But widespread starvation is not really a common feature of effective democratic movements. As South Korea's chief negotiator to the Six Party Talks Chun Youngwoo wrote, "Pressure and sanctions tend to reinforce the regime rather than weaken it." This is because under pressure and sanctions, North Korea is "besieged, squeezed, strangled and cornered by hostile powers," and it is precisely under such conditions that militarism thrives and democracy wanes. Try normalizing Pyongyang, and what you will get is the present government being put under the spotlight, where they will be forced to respond to the "demands of their people for improved living conditions and greater freedoms." But if improved living conditions and freedom led to democracy in North Korea, such a change would endanger the nineteenth-century-style, imperialist, "Open Door" fantasy that guides Washington's international relations policies in East Asia. That fantasy, according to Paul Atwood, has been to gain "untrammeled right of entry into the marketplaces of all nations and territories and access to their resources and cheaper labor power on American terms, sometimes diplomatically, often by armed violence." He provides a very brief and useful summary of the history of American geopolitical maneuvering in East Asia as it relates to Korea. This should have been on page 1 of the "Modern Korea" section in our high school history textbooks. U.S. policy towards Korea has always been about China and, as he explains, for the last two centuries there has been an "obsession" among the American elite business class with "opening" China. Faced with two possible paths in East Asia, either continuing to pursue the Open Door fantasy, or building through diplomacy a non-nuclear future in which homo sapiens might survive, Washington is once more taking the former path. A nuclear-free Korean Peninsula would give Americans more safety and security, too, but that is also a lower priority for Washington than profits for stockholders, CEOs, and the like. 8. Washington frequently sends its bombers to fly by North Korean airspace and scare North Koreans, such as on 24 September. The above eight types of acts of provocation are very recent developments. The final two in this list below were done long ago, but they are surely remembered in North Korea, and thus continue to have an effect today. 9. Invading the DMZ. In 1976 a group of American and South Korean soldiers entered the "DMZ" (Demilitarized Zone), the forbidden buffer zone dividing the two countries, in order to cut down one poplar tree that was blocking their view of the North. This almost got the war going again. 10. Last but not least, there was the Korean War. This civil war did not end with a peace treaty and a process of reconciliation but only an armistice in 1953. The armistice left open the possibility of the War being restarted at any time. This fact, that the war did not result in a peaceful resolution of the civil conflict, is only one of its tragedies. It must be considered one of the most brutal wars in modern times. With the armistice, Koreans both north and south have been able to enjoy some peace, but their peace has been temporary and uncertain. America killed millions of civilians on the Korean Peninsula, north and south, largely through aerial bombing. These attacks "hardly left a modern building standing." Many villages were "washed downstream" by dams that were bombed in Kusong and Toksan (a recognized war crime), and even the capital city of Pyongyang, 27 miles away, was badly flooded. The "barbaric air war" destroyed "huge irrigation dams that provided water for 75 percent of the North's food production." This near obliteration of infrastructure in Korea and the resultant suffering must remain deeply entrenched in the memories of North Koreans. As a result of the War, Koreans in the north have had to live continuously under the military hierarchy and oppression of a "garrison state." Cumings employs the following definition: one in which the "specialists on violence are the most powerful group in society." Now as to the list of Pyongyang's provocative actions, I lied. I am not going to bother writing about those because, well, most readers will already be familiar with them. Just do a search on the term "North Korea" on the pages of the New York Times and the Washington Post. We are well- informed about the wrongs done to us by other states, but have been kept in the dark about our own government's wrongs. Such wrongs are "ours" in the sense that they have been committed in our name by Washington, even if we did not know about them. What does Pyongyang want? Here are some of the key changes in the international relations of that government that it has demanded in the past: 1. A peace treaty with the U.S., the natural next step after the armistice that ended the Korean War 2. An end to threats from Washington 3. Recognition of its government Myth Number 2: Beijing holds the key to resolving the present crisis No. Washington does. Washington is the powerful aggressor on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea is a problem of Washington's making. In fact, it should be referred to as the "American problem" rather than the "Korean problem," as Gavan McCormack has pointed out. The term "the North Korean problem," he writes, "commonly assumes North Korean aggression, irrationality, nuclear obsession and repression, and contrasts it with the United States' rational, human rights based, globally responsible character. To thus shrink the framework of the problem, however, is to ignore the matrix of a century's history—colonialism, division, ideological conflict, half a century of Korean War, Cold War as well as nuclear proliferation and intimidation, and to ignore what I have referred to as the U.S.'s aggressive, militarist hegemonism and contempt for international law." McCormack rightly questions the way that the whole country has been "denounced in fundamentalist terms as 'evil.'" Former president George W. Bush created the cartoonish category "the Axis of Evil," and portrayed North Korea this way, along with Iraq and Iran. Without a critical investigation into this claim, many people who lack a basic understanding of modern Korean history readily buy into this easy simplification of the problem, as McCormack's article demonstrates. Anyone can see that the government based in Pyongyang violates the rights of its citizens in terrible ways, but people who sincerely seek peace on the Korean Peninsula and who wish to avoid a nuclear conflict and a possible World War III, must study a little history and acquire an adult view of the country, especially one that distinguishes between the actions of the military dictatorship that rules the country and the actions of ordinary citizens. China certainly has a role to play but this is the "America problem" of the Korean Peninsula, and it is fair to point the finger at Washington. The American election system produced a winner and installed Donald Trump as president. He ramped up the tension with Pyongyang instead of talking to them as he said he would. And so here we are. The people of other nations have some role to play, but no matter how much we would like to ignore this crisis, it is we Americans who have to rise to the occasion, and stop this saber rattling in East Asia before it gets out of hand. As we know from Asia- Pacific War history, once the mad genie Mr. War is out of the bottle, it is very hard to put him back in. Myth Number 3: Washington keeps its promises No. Pyongyang has been better about keeping its promises than Washington. Making deals with Washington is frustrating for other states because it so often does not keep its promises. Just ask Native Americans. Ask their opinion of Washington's trustworthiness when it comes to treaties. Washington violated virtually every treaty signed with Native Americans. For a recent example of not honoring international agreements, consider the Trump's about face on the Paris Climate Accord that was signed under the Obama administration. Specifically, with respect to North Korea in recent decades, Washington repeatedly violated one important agreement. In line with a deal made under the Clinton administration, Pyongyang suspended its plutonium production from 1994 to 2002. Under this deal Pyongyang and Washington had also promised to not bear "hostile intent" toward each other. Pyongyang kept up its side of the bargain, but when George Bush lumped North Korea in with the "Axis of Evil" and announced a new policy of using preemptive strikes as a defense against an immediate threat to the security of the United States, the deal was off. Bush not only verbally threatened North Korea in this way, he demonstrated his resolve by invading Iraq, in violation of international law. Iraq was not an immediate threat to the U.S. Up until that point, i.e., that violation of the agreement with North Korea, a non-nuclear North Korea had been possible, if not a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. And this stands up to common sense—that the weaker state would have an interest in upholding promises than the stronger state. Why wouldn't Pyongyang hold on to the possibility of peace with Washington for as long as possible? Again, violence is a weapon of the powerful. Myth Number 4: War on the Korean Peninsula is thinkable No. It is unthinkable. National security adviser H.R. McMaster said on 15 September, "For those who have said…commenting about the lack of a military option, there is a military option." (His emphasis). McMaster may say so, and the Trump administration may be laying plans in the hopes of implementing a military solution, which is usually the U.S.'s ace card, but war on the Korean Peninsula is simply unthinkable. Many experts have emphasized that even with just the conventional weapons, an unacceptable number of South Koreans and Americans would die, and an unacceptable level of destruction would occur. If such a war spread to Japan or China or other countries, their citizens also would die in large numbers. There would be a high chance of nuclear weapons being employed. That could cause irreparable harm to our planet's environment, causing suffering for many generations in the future, not only our generation. Myth Number 5: The UN Security Council represents the will of the "international community" No. They do not even represent the governments of the world, let alone the governed of the world—you and me. In other words, even if all the governments of the world were perfectly democratic, the Council would not represent the "international community." Only states with nukes have veto power on the Council. It is obviously biased in favor of governments with nukes. The "Nuke Haves" want to hold onto theirs, and keep others from getting them. It is the "Nuke Have-nots" who want to purge the world of them, as we saw in the recent treaty banning nukes, known as the "Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons." Even Tokyo, representing the only country to be attacked with nukes, did not support the Treaty. The fact that Japan enjoys the protection of Nuke Have Number One and has a military that is increasingly integrated with their military, and that Japan's government is currently headed by an ultranationalist prime minister, are a few reasons one might imagine as to why Tokyo did not support it. The UN Security Council is the exclusive Club of imperial Nuke Haves. What it is doing is clamping crippling sanctions on North Korea, a newcomer knocking on the Club's door. The Club does not wish to share its privileges with any other states. It is not a coincidence that none of the Nuke Haves signed on to the treaty to ban nukes, and almost all the Nuke Have-nots who also have no state sheltering them with a nuclear umbrella, did approve of it. Myth Number 6: Americans understand how terrible a nuclear war would be No. Americans as well as people in many other countries know little to nothing about what happens when a nuclear bomb is dropped on a city. Naturally, Japanese are much better informed about the effects of the atomic bombing of the major cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki than Americans. Many Americans who visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum speak of feeling great shock and emotional stress when they first go to the Museum and learn about the victims of the nuclear bombs that their government mercilessly dropped on civilians in August 1945. We were taught in school that these two bombings were humanitarian acts that ended the War quickly, saving the lives of both Japanese and Americans. But there is no question that the Nagasaki bombing was morally indefensible and unnecessary since it was committed only three days after the first bombing. Even the bombing of Hiroshima was arguably a war crime. One of the primary requests of the survivors is encapsulated in the anti-nuke chant, "No more Hiroshimas! No more Nagasakis!" The A-bomb victims (hibakusha in Japanese) themselves and people close to them generally express the hope that there will never be a full-blown nuclear war. Imagine if the hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians killed in the initial bombing and aftermath were able to speak to the living today. What would they say now, at a point in history when we homo sapiens are at the "brink of global catastrophe," i.e., a tragedy of unprecedented scale in which Washington's greed and bullying on one side and Pyongyang's resorting to the "nuclear deterrent" on the other lead to a nuclear war? One can only imagine their shock and anger that in 2017 such a catastrophe was still in the cards. They would certainly agree wholeheartedly with the "Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons," and would urge us to work hard to ban nukes. They would be overjoyed to see that 122 countries, the majority of the world's countries, just banned nukes, even if the countries with nukes did not participate and still do not show any inclination to relinquish them. They would see the Treaty as a first step towards complete abolition. They would urge us to keep pushing until all the world's countries had signed it and it was implemented. They also would support the bold initiative of World Beyond War to ban not only nuclear weapons but war in general. Reference notes available on the World Beyond War website Tagged Donald Trump, Joseph Essertier, Korean Conflict, North Korea, Nuclear War, Nuclear Weapons, US Military, War Previous Previous post: A Social Media Discussion Between an Evangelical and an Atheist Next Next post: Songs of Sacrilege: Reality Asylum by Crass It is good to have this perspective, some of it is new. I'd add that Kim Jong Un is a rational actor. Any dictator who looks at the fate of Saddam Hussein or Muammar Gaddafi would realize that if you don't have nukes, at some point the U.S. is going to invade and you'll be dead. For example Kim Jong Un sends off a rocket that can hit Guam, but sends it on a trajectory that shows the power but doesn't hit anyone. Ending the embargo is not only the most humane, it is the best way to ultimately topple the regime. This would also admit that Kim Jong Un's strategy worked, and it might be bad for nuclear proliferation. A frightening possibility is a brute like Trump, with no skin in the game, might attack North Korea. Please Leave a Pithy Reply Cancel reply

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Goals and intended outcomes of the project or effort, in the context of the Vision and Change report and recommendations: ASU offers a distinctive challenge as the largest undergraduate campus in the US and a diverse student body. Close to 25% of the 3000 students in the School of Life Sciences (SOLS) are in the highly selective Barrett Honors College, and a similar number have Colorado Index scores in the at risk-category (<105); 30% of SOLS students are non-Asian American ethnic minorities and one-third are first generation college students. Our goals are to educate scientifically-literate citizens and a new generation of researchers, teachers and clinicians through: * Enhancing conceptual learning, competencies, and engagement among SOLS undergraduates * Increasing persistence in life sciences, particularly of minority students * Training graduate and undergraduate teaching/learning assistants via courses, workshops, and continuing feedback * Providing faculty with professional development, resources, and staffing to scaffold their reform efforts. Investments key to our educational successes with this large and diverse student population include: * A new interactive, student-centered, Active Learning Classroom (ALC) to enhance large courses: students share touchscreen PCs and access a robust network infrastructure, giving students and faculty access to Just-in-Time information and enables activities based on simulations, models, etc. * Implementation of an Innovative TA (ITA) program that provides an immediate boost in active learning in the classroom, facilitates long-term changes in faculty teaching and develops future faculty members who will excel at teaching as well as research * ITAs and all incoming graduate students now complete a Scientific Teaching course that introduces them to learning theories and collegiate science teaching with a focus on active learning strategies * We hired support staff (an instructional technologist and an education specialist) to encourage and assist faculty members in the transition to student-centered learning and meaningful assessments. Describe the methods and strategies that you are using: We have modified teaching practices and curriculum to enhance conceptual learning, engagement and retention by: * Launching a redesigned introductory biology sequence in Fall 2013. The flipped courses are built around conceptual learning outcomes and competencies consistent with those outlined in Vision & Change. Course content is organized around questions that revisit core concepts during the year. One lecture session per week is replaced with activities in the ALC, and labs incorporate more open-ended inquiry. More information transfer occurs through multimedia resources so that lecture is used to confront misconceptions and challenge students to apply course-related concepts to real-world issues. The course uses adaptive testing for frequent assessment and feedback to both students and instructors. Students in the first semester co-enroll with their lab section in first-year composition emphasizing scientific writing and the nature of science; our goal is to increase the number of trained TAs until all incoming students have this opportunity. Students will also take Statistics for Biosciences, which overlaps content with intro biology. This supports the development of quantitative and analytical competencies. * Encouraging faculty members who teach large, upper-division courses to substitute one lecture per week with activities in the ALC (with help from ITAs). To date, nine courses within SOLS have adopted active learning with ITA support. Faculty will continue refining courses as increased student learning gains encourage innovation. * Using the ITA program to further emphasize the importance of science communication and promote a understanding of the relationship between science and society at large. These outcomes are introduced in intro biology but are also explicit in upper-division courses. For example, students in Biology and Society work in teams with ITAs to take PLoS Biology articles and interpret them for 6th grade students and teachers. Describe the evaluation methods that you used (or intended to use) to determine whether the project or effort achieved the desired goals and outcomes: Innovations are important, but assessing effectiveness and sharing good ideas that work are just as important. Because of ASU's diversity coupled with scale, our successes could assist with reform at many different types of campuses. Hence, we are committed to collecting the full spectrum of data on our reforms, in both qualitative and quantitative form. Qualitative data collection will focus on assessing quality of instruction, learning experiences for students and perceptions of biology by using interviews, students' written work, and surveys. Quantitative data collection will focus on overall effectiveness of reform efforts as well as students' learning gains. These will be assessed using surveys, students' grades and performance on assessments and assignments, comparison of student performance in traditional versus reform courses, etc. We have installed video and recording equipment in the ALC, with the intention of using it to provide feedback to classroom instructors and for data collection. Impacts of project or effort on students, fellow faculty, department or institution. If no time to have an impact, anticipated impacts: It is too early to assess major impacts, although some data on the effectiveness of the Scientific Teaching course will be published soon. We anticipate increased student learning in our three new intro biology courses; the greater academic success and social connectedness will lead to increased persistence and graduation of future life scientists. We expect our Innovative TAs, trained through the Scientific Teaching course, to contribute to the quality of our courses and be better prepared when they go on to faculty positions. The response of our faculty to the availability of ITAs and the ALC has been positive, and the simple act of reflecting on teaching is likely to improve teaching practices. The 60% turnout for our day-long faculty retreat on undergraduate education reform reflected the faculty enthusiasm for the call to action in Vision and Change. Describe any unexpected challenges you encountered and your methods for dealing with them: Although not unexpected, it is clear that providing Innovative TAs, an active learning space and technical support is not sufficient to produce success in implementing evidence-based teaching practices. We are developing workshops for faculty members who use ITAs or the ALC. We were surprised to discover that the amount of learning in the Scientific Teaching courses was inversely related to the amount of TA experience the graduate students had. We now require all incoming grad students to take the Scientific Teaching course. For example, SOLS faculty continue to struggle with the challenge of how to engage and retain students with inadequate secondary preparation. Beginning in Fall 2013, incoming majors students with poor quantitative reasoning skills will enroll in a new course, Biological Thinking, prior to taking majors biology. The course is a transformed, flipped and student-centered version of the non-majors intro biology course, with 2 meetings per week in the ALC. The class focuses on developing basic competencies rather than acquiring content knowledge and employs pedagogical principles similar to those of the new majors intro courses, including adaptive learning support; authentic research components in the labs; and integration with freshman composition. Describe your completed dissemination activities and your plans for continuing dissemination: We will share our innovations and related research via professional conferences such as Vision and Change, National Association for Research in Science Teaching and Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research. We will also publish our findings in peer-reviewed journals and are planning to create a science education webpage within the SOLS site, which will be publicly available. Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Brian Smith, Director of SOLS, and Scot Schoenborn, Assistant Director of Academic Services in SOLS. We would also like to thank SOLS undergraduates for the program fees which have supported our reform attempts. We would also like to acknowledge current and past members of the Curriculum Reform Committee and others involved with reform, including: Valerie Stout, Michael Angilletta, Christian Wright, Kegan Remington, Boyd Armor, Manoush Farzin, Kimberly Michel, Christopher Dimond, Jonathan Jackson, Mark Ullett, Alison Sutherland, Kevin McGraw, Julie Luft, Christofer Bang, Tsafrir Mor, Kathy Hill, and Brian Verelli.

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Dislocated knee cap for Jason Spriggs The left knee injury that Green Bay Packers second-year tackle Jason Spriggs suffered won't require surgery. Dislocated knee cap for Jason Spriggs The left knee injury that Green Bay Packers second-year tackle Jason Spriggs suffered won't require surgery. Check out this story on packersnews.com: http://pck.rs/2BJXndq Tom Silverstein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 6:02 p.m. CT Dec. 27, 2017 | Updated 7:20 a.m. CT Dec. 28, 2017 Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Jason Spriggs goes down in the first quarter.(Photo: Rick Wood, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) GREEN BAY – The left knee injury that Green Bay Packers second-year tackle Jason Spriggs suffered won't require surgery, but he still has a long recovery ahead of him after dislocating his kneecap against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday night. Spriggs, according to a source, got caught in an awkward position with all his weight on his left leg, causing his knee to collapse. The medical staff rushed out onto the field after it was obvious Spriggs was in a lot of pain. The source said his kneecap had slid to the side of his knee and needed to be moved back into place before he could be carted off the field. Spriggs was wearing a large ankle to hip brace to keep the kneecap in place and walking with the aid of crutches Wednesday. Because he didn't tear the patellar tendon, doctors won't have to go in and repair any damage. There's a good chance Spriggs will be ready for the start of training camp. That's good news for the Packers, who have put two of their three top tackles on injured reserve this year with knee injuries. Starter Bryan Bulaga tore his right ACL Nov. 6 against Detroit and may need 8 to 10 months to recover. Spriggs, who was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury on Sept. 21, was designated for return on Nov. 18 and took over the starting right tackle job at Pittsburgh on Nov. 26. He played considerably better than he had in training camp and the early part of the season, but still allowed three sacks and too many pressures. Provided he is healthy come July, he should be in line to be the starting right tackle, although he'll have competition from Kyle Murphy and Justin McCray. Bulaga has been a quick healer and could conceivably be ready to start practicing sometime during training camp. However, the long end of the recovery period puts his return sometime after the start of the regular season. Packers Buzz: How Jimmy Garoppolo could hand NFC title game to Green Bay Full participation for Packers' most extensive practice ahead of NFC title game Green 19 Podcast: How can Packers advance to the Super Bowl? Packers' defense finally got 'on same page' after blowout loss to 49ers Aaron Rodgers an 'X factor'? Packers QB sees potential to expand his role Ten plays that reveal how Packers beat themselves in first meeting with 49ers

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As many as 1 in 8 women may develop breast cancer during her lifetime. Many women do not have signs or symptoms when they are diagnosed, so it is important to understand your risk and get screened regularly. If you have a higher risk for breast cancer, or if the results of a recent exam or mammogram are causing concern, Northwestern Medicine's teams of physician specialists are here to help. At Northwestern Medicine, we'll help you better understand your risk and provide the most personalized, advanced breast care in the region. We've even developed more inclusive, detailed guidelines, based on our cancer specialists' experience, for women at high, above-average and average risk. Women who have a first-degree relative with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation have an 85 percent greater risk of developing breast cancer. These genes are involved in cell growth, division and DNA repair which, when mutated, increase an individual's risk. Women with multiple first-degree relatives with breast and/or ovarian cancer, or with one or more first-degree relatives with pre-menopausal breast cancer, have a 20 to 25 percent or greater lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Individuals who received chest radiation between 10 and 30 years of age for cancers such as Hodgkin's disease are at higher risk. Women with Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Cowden syndrome, or Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome, or who have a first-degree relative with one of these rare cancer predisposition syndromes, are at higher risk for breast cancer. Northwestern Medicine's guidelines for high risk are based on those published by The American Cancer Society. However, the Society's guidelines do not cover all groups of women with above-average risk factors. Aside from exams and mammograms, women at high risk may benefit from an annual breast MRI. The MRI is a diagnostic tool more sensitive than mammography at detecting breast cancer, and may be used in conjunction with a mammographic view or ultrasound to aid in proper diagnosis. Annual mammography beginning at age 30, or 10 years earlier than the youngest relative diagnosed with breast cancer. It is not recommended to undergo mammography prior to age 20. Annual breast MRI beginning at age 30, or 10 years earlier than the youngest relative diagnosed with breast cancer. It is not recommended to undergo breast MRI prior to age 20. * "Close relative" is defined as a parent, brother or sister, child, grandparent, aunt or uncle, nephew or niece. The affected relatives must come from the same side of the family, such as the mother's or father's side. Please keep in mind that if you have one of the above factors in combination with dense breast tissue or multiple previous biopsies, you may be at high risk for developing breast cancer. And you should be aware that other health factors, such as early menarche, late menopause, having no children (or having them late in life), alcohol consumption and hormone therapy might also increase your risk.

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Friends Select Key Dates 21-22(opens in new window/tab) R.H. Gray Library(opens in new window/tab) Wallace Library(opens in new window/tab) SummerSessions City Academy City Institute Welcome to Friends Select Quaker Education A Diverse Community Applying to FSS Tuition and Affording a FSS Education School Life Videos FSS Sports Philosophy Athletic Awards Directions / Opponents Sports Selection Sign Up Forms Support FSS Friends Select Fund Planned Giving(opens in new window/tab) EITC/OSTC Corporate Giving Tax Credit Program To Support FSS Advance Friends Select: Transformation Campaign Ways to Stay Involved National Alumni Board Select News and Class Notes FSS Alumni Network Face Coverings and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Reducing Risk of Exposure Cleaning and Disinfecting of Building Proper Ventilation / HVAC System Busing and Transportation Health Monitoring, Procedures, and Expectations Response to a Symptomatic Student or Employee Response to Positive COVID-19 Test Entrances and Exits Dining Hall and Meals at School Friends Select Parking Lot RESOURCES AND GUIDANCES Here are some additional resources regarding COVID-19: Pennsylvania Department of Health Philadelphia Department of Public Health CHOP PolicyLab School Guidance COVID-19 Information for Travelers (CDC) If you have any specific health-related questions or concerns, please contact Nurse Kelly at schoolnurse@friends-select.org. Friends Select School will continue to follow local public health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations and guidelines to plan for the 2021-22 school year. We will remain flexible and adapt as the guidelines change and our whole community has the opportunity to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In order to have students and employees at Friends Select for in-person instruction, here are some of the health and safety protocols we will be using for the 2021-22 school year: There are no messages to display. We are encouraging physical distancing based on current recommendations and to the extent possible in common spaces and within classrooms. These measures may include: Spacing of desks and furniture in classrooms where possible Limiting the amount of people allowed in specific spaces such as classrooms, common areas, the dining hall, and recess areas, including minimizing cross-divisional contact Fewer students and increased spacing on buses operated by Friends Select Meetings should continue to have the option to take place in a virtual setting. This will be determined by the meeting clerk. Eliminating large gatherings of unvaccinated students, until vaccines are available for all age groups We are requiring everyone to wear face coverings at all times while at Friends Select, after reviewing recommendations from many different local and national resources. The face covering policy and requirements at Friends Select will be based on our percentage of community vaccination coverage and level of community and/or in-school transmission. There may be times that we will be able to revise and reduce our face covering policy; at those times, anyone who wishes to continue to wear a face covering, including those who are immunocompromised or are vaccinated and feel more comfortable wearing a face covering, may continue to do so. We could also still suggest students/employees ill with a non-COVID respiratory virus wear face coverings until fully recovered. Face coverings worn on Friends Select's campus and inside buildings must fully cover the mouth and nose. Signage regarding the use of face coverings are posted at the entrances and in common areas. When worn properly, wearing a face covering helps reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses by reducing droplet transmission between people. As a reminder, face coverings do not replace the need to maintain physical distance, frequent hand washing, and routine cleaning and disinfecting. Approved Face Coverings A face covering (or mask) is defined as a covering of the nose and mouth that goes below the chin and is secured behind the head or ears. Disposable 3-ply masks are preferable to other masks in reducing COVID-19 transmission, although certain cloth masks are acceptable. Disposable masks should be replaced each day, and when soiled, wet, or damaged. Cloth face coverings must be made of at least a double layer of tightly woven fabric or heavier material. Cloth masks should be laundered each day and replaced when soiled or wet. They should properly fit to avoid having to touch or reposition the mask. Clear masks or masks with clear mouth panels worn by teachers may also serve to support youth in need of visual facial cues. Not approved: Masks with exhalation valves Single layer gaiters Students will be required to arrive at school with a minimum of two face coverings per day. One will be kept as backup and will be changed if wet, soiled, or misplaced. Cloth face coverings are recommended to only be worn for one day at a time and must be properly laundered before being used again. Friends Select will have a limited supply of "back-up" face coverings for emergency needs, or a parent/guardian may be asked to deliver a face covering to school. Employees are expected to wear face coverings and are encouraged to bring their own face coverings that meet their individual preferences/comfort. Friends Select will provide basic 3-ply disposable face coverings and a reusable face shield for employees if requested. Protective gloves will be available for cleaning or touching soiled items, etc. Any additional PPE needs can be discussed and obtained through the school nurse. When universal face covering requirements can be lifted, we may still require unvaccinated students and staff to remain using face coverings. Many vaccinated students, employees, and guests may also choose to wear a face covering for a number of reasons. Anyone who prefers to wear a face covering is encouraged to do so. Allowable exceptions for removing face coverings: During assigned lunch or snack breaks, when sitting at a safe distance from others During outdoor activities such as PE classes, athletics, etc. During the incorporated "face-covering breaks" that will be planned throughout the day at appropriate times, especially in lower grades If working alone in an enclosed single-person office or workstation Teachers who choose to wear a mask during the day may switch to using a face shield (or specific clear face covering) to maximize communication/learning experiences, if at an appropriate distance of at least 6 feet away from students. Face covering is worn when within close proximity to student(s). Extenuating medical circumstances that interfere with the ability to wear a face covering (to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis). Contact the school nurse if necessary. We will continue to reduce the number of people within the building as much as possible, and we will revisit this protocol once all students have had the opportunity to be vaccinated. This will include: Arranging for certain administrative staff to work remotely Limiting people entering the building to only students, faculty, staff, and invited guests Please note: Parents and guardians cannot freely enter into the school building, unless by appointment or if invited to an essential event. We are minimizing the mixing of students to reduce risk of exposure and assist in contact tracing if needed. This may include: Cohorting of unvaccinated students into grade level groups where possible for students in grades Pre-K - 6. Limiting the use of shared spaces between different cohorts of students (ex. timing the use of the playground, roof, and gymnasium to not mix cohorts) and between students in different divisions. Increasing hand washing and hand sanitizing practices and stations: Hand sanitizing stations are available in each classroom and additional stations have been placed at entrances, playground/outdoor recess areas, and throughout the building. Students and employees will be required to wash/sanitize hands before and after certain activities like eating, recess, and shared activities/lessons. We will incorporate scheduled time throughout the day for hand washing breaks (depending on the developmental stage of each age group). Hand washing signs and instructions will be posted. In addition to physical health safety with regard to COVID-19, we are also aware of and are committed to attending to the emotional health needs of the Friends Select community. To that end, the following programming is being implemented: Training and/or guided discussions with faculty and staff on managing difficult emotions and uncertainty during unpredictable times, and awareness of the social-emotional needs of children across the age-span. Available small-group meetings for faculty and staff with an outside facilitator to offer them support in their critical roles. Access for faculty and staff to meet with the school's psychologist or counselor. Ongoing monitoring of our students' emotional well-being by our school's psychologist and school counselor, together with divisional guidance teams, through contacts and communication with students and faculty, and making themselves available to parents and guardians. Regular check-in groups with middle and upper school students by our school's psychologist, school counselor, and middle/upper school learning specialist. Programming for parents and guardians in the form of small groups, topical discussions, providing links to resources, and also guest-speaker programming on child development, supporting children to manage difficult emotions, and building resilience in children. Where possible these programs will be recorded and made available for members of the community. The Friends Select facilities team is responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of school buildings during the day and their vigilance has been key to our success during this pandemic. The facilities team will continue to monitor, clean, and disinfect entrances, railings, restrooms, common areas, and other high-touch points in these spaces. A third-party custodial service is being used to clean the building every evening. They will monitor all restrooms and hand sanitizing stations to ensure that hand soap is available. Though contact transmission is not as much of a concern as it was earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, we will continue to use disinfecting supplies that meet the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) criteria. Key products include: Eco Labs Peroxide based multi-surface disinfectant/cleaner and Victory electrostatic sprayer system, both a handheld and backpack. Other cleaning and disinfecting supplies that meet CDC and EPA standards also may be used. All faculty and staff are provided with cleaning supplies to use in classrooms and offices to allow them to clean as needed and during periods of high-use, when facilities are unable to clean areas between student groups. Students, faculty, and staff are instructed to clean their classroom areas and workspaces before and after use and before and after meals with particular attention to high-touch surfaces. Our heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system has been professionally evaluated by Burns Engineering and has been updated in the following ways based on their report: We use MERV 13 filters for better filtration, and we are increasing the frequency of filter changes. We are increasing the run time of our HVAC system to increase circulation. This will pull air from the room and supply the filtered air back in. We are limiting our economizer mode so we keep a higher level of outside fresh air coming into the building. We are running our bathroom exhaust system 24/7. A mechanical contractor performs quarterly maintenance on all of our HVAC equipment to ensure proper function and maximum benefits. UV light systems have been installed into all possible HVAC equipment. We have installed ionic polarization systems on all of our large air handlers. (This puts a charge in the air that helps capture small molecules and is more effective at killing COVID than UV lights. We are using both.) Small HEPA air filtration systems have been added to all rooms that are not suited for a UV system. Ceiling fans have been reversed to pull air upwards. Prior to boarding the bus each morning, parents/guardians/caregivers will perform a quick symptom screening survey via Ruvna, our online emergency management application. Bus drivers and passengers must wear face coverings while on the bus. The number of students on the bus may be limited to maintain physical distancing and will depend on the division/age group. Students will use hand sanitizer when entering and exiting the bus. We are continuing some health protocols to further reduce risk of exposure, including: Daily health screening of students and employees through use of a daily screening app provided by Ruvna to help families and employees determine if they should go to school Monitoring temperatures of those entering the building through temperature screening kiosks at each entrance to the main building Adhering to strict policies for Illness During COVID-19 and Returning to School after illness, as developed by the CDC and PDPH Performing contact tracing for any possible COVID-19 exposures within the school building or school-related activities (through interviews, examination of schedules and contact points, etc.) In order to enter the building to attend class or perform their work, members of our community must be free of symptoms potentially related to COVID-19 and other infectious illnesses. At this time, these symptoms outlined by the CDC include one or more of the following: Fever/Chills, temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 Runny nose or new sinus congestion New GI symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea Friends Select strongly encourages all members of the community to maintain all recommended vaccinations, including COVID-19 and Influenza. We will keep records of vaccinations through SchoolDoc. For more information and assistance with COVID-19 vaccinations, please contact the school nurse. Nearly all Friends Select employees have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. For employees who have not been vaccinated, we require weekly COVID-19 testing. Unvaccinated students who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, but choose not to, are required to present a negative COVID-19 test result each week. Response to a Student or Employee Who Is Symptomatic Early detection of symptoms in an individual in the building and subsequent isolation will be utilized to reduce transmission of any communicable disease. Any student or employee who develops symptoms of illness is asked to remain home or will be assessed by the school nurse and further instructions will be given. PDPH and FSS recommends (and may require) molecular PCR testing in the presence of symptoms, and/or when an unvaccinated individual has been exposed to someone with COVID-19, before returning to the school. COVID-19 testing is recommended and may be required for any symptomatic member of the community before returning to the school building. In the event an unvaccinated person is required to quarantine after an exposure, COVID-19 testing can be done at day 5-7 in order to shorten the quarantine period. COVID-19 testing is also currently recommended on day 4-5 after travel for unvaccinated people to shorten the recommended quarantine period from 10 to 7 days. Routine testing of all students and employees prior to their initial return to school or work, or on a regular non-symptomatic basis is not indicated at this time. Routine testing for unvaccinated students and staff may be initiated at times of high community transmission. FSS has partnered with CHOP Project ACE-IT to add a voluntary K-12 COVID-19 testing program for students. This program uses Abbott Laboratories BinaxNOW rapid antigen tests provided by the federal government. The purpose of the program is to provide quick testing for individuals who become symptomatic while on campus, and for inclusion of certain high risk school-related activities. The Test to Stay program is a testing initiative intended for asymptomatic close contacts of individuals with confirmed COVID-19. This testing program provides the option for students to remain in school rather than quarantining at home, so long as they remain asymptomatic and test negative on three non-consecutive days within the first seven days following exposure to a person who tested positive for COVID-19. This program is contingent on the approval of the PDPH and dependent on COVID-19 case rates in the city of Philadelphia. The City of Philadelphia allowed implementation on Sept 23, 2021. If an unvaccinated student has been deemed a close contact or to have an exposure at school, FSS may determine if Test to Stay is an appropriate option. Families will have the option to continue in school with Test to Stay or choose to have their student quarantine at home. All tests will be rapid antigen tests administered on campus by Nurse Kelly or trained delegates. Household exposures or contacts would not meet the criteria for Test to Stay and students must quarantine at home. Consistent with PA regulations for communicable diseases, if an individual in a school or office is confirmed, suspects, or has been in contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19, the school nurse will assess, isolate any needed persons, and consult with the PDPH. Next steps could include, and are not limited to: Contact tracing interviewing to quickly pinpoint whether any individuals were in close contact with the COVID-19 positive person, and provide necessary information for PDPH Quarantining of individuals, the class, a select group, or the entire school Initiating deep cleaning of affected areas Determining when individuals can resume school or work Friends Select has established detailed screening and assessment criteria and guidelines for managing a COVID response, that can be found within Illness During COVID-19 and Returning to School. Additionally, consistent with both notification requirements for other communicable diseases and legal confidentiality, Friends Select will follow PDPH regulations for exposure to a communicable disease. In the event that a student needs to quarantine and is asymptomatic, the student will be required to continue to work asynchronously and independently (students will not be able to Zoom into classes) to complete assignments at home as arranged with individual teachers and divisions. For middle and upper school, students will be able to complete assignments through Blackbaud. Though the school is not providing remote learning to students, if a child is actively engaged in learning independently (or with caregiver support) at home, their attendance will be marked as if they were attending school in-person each day. We have established three different points of entry for students from each division. At all three points of entry, there will be staff present to: greet and assist students, ensure use of hand-sanitizing stations and temperature screening kiosks, and check for completion of the daily screening app (Ruvna) before entering the building. Back entrance (in the parking lot) will be used for lower school. Side entrance (along Race Street) will be used for middle school. Front entrance (at 17th and the Ben Franklin Parkway) will be used for upper school. Later in the morning, the back and side entrances will be closed for security reasons, after which everyone will have to enter the building through the front entrance for the remainder of the school day. Dismissal will occur mainly via the same divisionally assigned entrances and exits. Students with self-dismissal should leave through their divisional exit. Students taking buses will go to the assigned area to be accounted for and board a bus. Car-line and pickup for lower school will occur via the playground/parking lot area. The Matthew Huffman '91 Dining Hall will be used for traditional meal services and gatherings. However, meal services may need to be modified for certain grades/divisions (i.e., students who are still in cohorts may have to eat lunch in their classrooms). More details will be provided closer to the start of the school year, based on current guidance from the CDC and PDPH. Click here for Details About Lunch for the 2021-22 School Year. Outdoor recess and breaks will be planned and encouraged. We are maximizing the availability of outdoor space, including repurposing the parking lot as a space for play and outdoor instruction. Face coverings can be removed during outdoor, physically-distanced activities. Hand washing or sanitizing will be enforced on the way to and from recess. All water fountains have been modified such that a person can only refill a water bottle and not drink directly from the fountain. It is recommended that all students and employees carry a water bottle with them. The school parking lot will remain repurposed in order to allow for more outdoor space. We will continue to use the area for our "car-line" morning drop-off and afternoon pickup of students. During the school day, the lot will be closed off to vehicles. Friends Select is providing subsidized parking opportunities at the Towne Park garage for employees that need them, as well as continued use of the Gateway parking lot. We expect our athletic program to continue using our regular safety protocols, and we will continue to monitor the CDC for any suggestions or updates. Spectators are prohibited from athletic events in the Parkway Building until further notice. Flickr(opens in new window/tab) 17th & Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA 19103 F. (215)864-2979 Apply Now Make A Gift Statement of Inclusivity and Non-Discrimination (opens in new window/tab) The Center City Quaker School

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

Q: Using an existing Enum in new Alembic migration in python I've created Enum for one model in first migration: def upgrade() -> None: … gender_enum = postgresql.ENUM('MALE', 'FEMALE', 'OTHER', name='genderenum', create_type=False) gender_enum.create(op.get_bind(), checkfirst=True) op.add_column('user', sa.Column('gender', gender_enum, nullable=True)) … def downgrade() -> None: … gender_enum = sa.Enum(name='genderenum') gender_enum.drop(op.get_bind(), checkfirst=True) … How can I use this Enum with other model in new migration? I don't need to create new one. I've tried to create new one with «checkfirst», but it just hasn't created. And one more question: I used create_type=False, but type was created in db. Is it ok, what is this arg for? A: Temporary solution: sql = ''' ALTER TABLE new_user_table ADD COLUMN gender genderenum; ''' op.execute(sql)

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaStackExchange'}

$250.00 Your 60-minute photography session includes two looks, a password-protected proof gallery to choose your final images and a credit for an 8x10 print. These sessions include Senior Portrait sessions. Additional prints and products including custom-designed Photo Books are available for an additional fee. Click here to reserve a sitting now. $350.00 Your 90-minute photography session includes two looks, a password-protected proof gallery to choose your images and a credit for a 16x20 print. Additional products including custom-designed Family Albums and wall displays are available at an additional cost. Click here to reserve a sitting now.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

SGMAXI® Arrive early. Drive carefully. Reach safely. Maxi Cab Maxi Cab Booking Maxi Cab Rates Maxi Cab 7 Seater Toyota Alphard & Vellfire Economy Sedans & MPV Bus Charter Service 20 / 30 / 40 Seater Coach Airport Transfer Singapore (SIN) Long Term Bus Charter transport for Workers (Staff) Maxi Cab & Mini Bus for Bulky Items and Bicycle Transfer Maxi Cab Minibus Hourly & Whole-day Charter Maxi Cab Wheelchair Transfer Service Maxi Cab & Mini Bus Pool (Ride Sharing) for regular pick up Charter to Malaysia You are here: Home / Archives for News In the News: Taxi Cab App Karhoo Announces Shut Down Karhoo, a start-up based in London was said to be a game-changer as it started growing on commuters. It's an app that's like the Agoda or Trivago of taxi cabs comparing rates from different transportation service providers including: mini cabs, black cabs and executive cars. The app allowed commuters to connect with big names and small names alike in taxis alike from Com Cab and Addison Lee (making up 8000 Black Cabs in London) to Mornington Cars based on in Camden. The app was well received by commuters and London and soon was able to open up its headquarters in New York too and reported that within its first 12 weeks, it already reached 3000 downloads. Big Expectations Just October this year, their spokesman shared how the company had already acquired millions of dollars to fund for their operations and were looking to exceed the $300M mark and even more so to reach $1B over the next 18months. This was clarified later on by the company's founder Daniel Ishag in an interview with Financial Times where he said they never got to raise $250M When the Game-Changer Lost in the Playing Field It was well-received by commuters in London and soon was able to open up its headquarters in New York too. But news of excessive free rides from the app spread and has been reported to be a cause of business loss for the company. One employee who asked to be kept anonymous, shared that there were too many promo codes released which lead them to having to manage fraud. "They were usually $40 (£32) promo codes per ride, so people would take a $39 (£31) dollar ride over a $28 (£23), for example." Though other rumors and cases pointed out were asked if these were the cause of the company's closure. One question raised was how the company seemed to be set-up in extravagance as they leased prime locations in London and then another in Park Avenue, around Chelsea in New York City. While an additional 3 apartments were rented in Manhattan for the company's senior management to use personally. But Mr.Ishag insisted that the company had allocated and managed the company's budget just the same as any start-up would as they were hiring and opening five locations across three continents. And another angle asked is that of proper funding as there were rumors of promised funding not delivered by investors. However, this one is unproven and no one has confirmed such allegation. So there is still debate as to the cause of the company's down fall. Money Invested in the Right Place – SGMaxi Meanwhile, we at SGMaxi understand and invest on what we find is valuable, not just for the growth of our business but the comfort and safety of our customers. Extravagance is more seen in the level of service we provide, which despite the quality of is quite affordable and reasonably priced. Our Maxicabs, minibuses and limousine services are available and can be conveniently booked online with the best prices you can have for you transportation needs. We invest in the training of our staff and drivers and in ensuring that our vehicles are kept to highest standards in comfort and safety. So when you book with SGMaxi you know you're putting the money in the right place, and that it will be money and time well-spent. NEWS: A Fleet of E-Taxis Getting Ready to Hit the Road A couple of weeks ago we shared the news of the amazing technology of driverless cars in the streets of Singapore offering free rides to commuters. Though driverless is not quite here yet, we welcome another leap in the automotive technology as completely electronic taxis are about to hit the roads as soon as early next month. HDT Singapore Taxi, a new operator in the field shared how the roll-out was actually delayed for a month due to some glitches they were ironing out but were happy to announce that the taxis will finally be ready early next month. Per James Ng (HDT Singapore Taxi's managing director), the glitches were actually surrounding a unique system for driver management that will allow taxi's to keep track of fair income and targets full-time employed drivers. The First 10 to Hundred According to Mr. Ng, a fleet of 10 will be the first to hit the roads. They will be manufactured by auto and battery maker BYD (Build Your Dreams) based in Shenzen. This fleet of 10 will be expected to ramp up gradually to complete a 100 units by next year. This e-taxi project by HDT is part of the electronic-vehicle (EV) test bed that the government has been working on, though Mr. Ng has still had to cover costs for operations, that include mobile payment systems and a contact center for support. The project is still in trial phase so production will be limited to 100 for now, with licenses to operate valid for 8 years. Needs for the Road The e-taxi's will be supported by a contact center, and of course charging stations will need to be in place to recharge these e-taxi's. Mr. Ng shares that HDT will need approximately 40 charging stations that will each cost about $20,000. They have 26 stations set-up so far. They've got the auto and stations, now who's going to drive? There is tough competition for HDT from services offered by Uber and Grab, but Mr.Ng isn't too worried about it, they have actually already hired 10 drivers already. He feels that it's an opportunity to reel in drivers as they are assured a fixed salary and are trained well for the job. E-Taxi Drivers are offered a base salary of $1,600 a month but with hitting monthly revenue targets they can earn up to $3,200. If they exceed given targets they can qualify for HDT's profit sharing program. The Fare The charge for e-taxis are higher than the normal 22-cent meter charge from regular taxis. A 22Km ride could cost and additional $1.80 when compared. But some commuters are willing to forego the higher rate as they appreciate a quieter ride while also helping with the environment. Still the Choice for Comfort & Safety Advancement in technology can't be helped. It's the future that we are driving to, and if it's one that helps with our environment it's one that deserves our support. E-taxis could also be a future for SGMaxi, we are always ready to be the best. As this technology is still on trial, we are centered in offering the best transportation with comfort, safety and reliability for our customers. Our Maxi Cabs and Mini buses are all maintained to the highest standards in both comfort and safety, and are driven by our well-trained and professional drivers. So you can be sure your ride will just be as quiet, convenient and safe. You can also always be sure that any important cargo you take with you will be secured in our vehicles, with our drivers ready to support you in loading and loading them. So if you're looking for the best and most reliable ride for your trips and destination, SGMaxi is a click or a call away. NEWS: Elderly Man Hit by A Taxi at Marina Bay Sands On September 24th 2016 afternoon, a terrible accident at the Marina Bay Sands Tower 1 hotel driveway sent a 69-year old Marina Bay Sand's valet captain and Trans-Cab driver to the hospital. Police were alerted at around 1:30PM, and according to the police report, both were taken to the hospital conscious and were given immediate treatment at Singapore General Hospital. Though investigations are still ongoing, the horrific incident was caught on video via a dashboard camera from a vehicle near the scene. The video footage shows how the red Trans-Cab sped towards the elderly victim while he was walking along the driveway. The victim tried to take steps back seemingly in shock but the taxi continued to speed towards him and sent him flying after the impact. The cab seemingly out of control ran straight to crash into a pillar and into a stop by the bushes. You then see the driver getting out of the cab and checking on the victim and staff headed towards the accident site. Safety is Important Accidents may happen all the time, but can definitely be prevented. It seems though based on the driver's reaction and the car's behavior that the cause may have been due to a failure in the vehicle. But as the investigation is still ongoing, the cause of the accident has yet to be identified. It is important to be vigilant all the time whether you're on the road as a pedestrian or behind the wheel. It is also very important for drivers to make sure to check the condition of their vehicle before leaving the garage. Including breaks, automated systems, oil, water and safety features. In today's busy and fast-paced world, safety precautions tend to be forgotten unless reinforced by operators. Sadly, this terrible miss can lead to horrible accidents like this. That is why safety is of the utmost importance to us, be it our maxi cab services or our premium Rolls Royce Limo, safety is always placed at a premium no matter which vehicle you are travelling with us! SGMaxi's Safety Standards At SGMaxi, we understand the value of safety, and we make it a priority to ensure that our vehicles are maintained to the highest levels and standards of both safety and comfort. We have recently been awarded the BizSafe Level 3 certifications as are working towards other quality certifications as well. Apart from this, our drivers and support staff are well-trained in both safety standards and emergency response. So we are always ready for emergencies apart from being the best when it comes to safety and avoiding accidents. Our maxi cabs and minibuses, limousines services and buses for charter are all equally maintained to these high standards. Our maxi cabs are often hired to transport family members, dear friends or very valuable goods or and equipment, so we take it as our duty to ensure the safety of our passengers and cargo. So if you're looking for a ride that's convenient, reliable and most of all, safe with consistency in delivery, all you need to do is to book with SGMaxi online or through the phone. We'll take you and your luggage where you need to go and you can be sure that you get there safely sitting in the best comfort you can hire for your transport services in Singapore. Airport Transfer Services Malaysia Charter Monthly Promo Tourist Attractions in Singapore Singapore: (+65) 6817 2830 Indonesia: (+62) 21 5088 9711 United States: (+1) 347 853 7213 Email address: booking@sgmaxi.cab Singapore Maxi Cab & Minibus Booking Services by SGMAXI Pte Ltd 1 Fullerton Road #02-01 One Fullerton

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

A couple of months ago Dealjumbo kindly donated a pack of realistic marquee bulb letters for Access All Areas members. Today, premium members have a brand new set to download, this time with a variety of positions to display your type as floor standing signage. This 3D typography toolkit contains ultra-realistic A-Z and 0-9 models of marquee sign letters in a distressed appearance with rust, grime and broken bulbs. Each one comes as a PNG image with a transparent background, so you can easily lay out the letters to display any wording you require. At 800x800px in size, these marquee light bulb letters are great for composing titles and promotional graphics. Combine them with a grungy backdrop or industrial scene to complement the grungy and distressed appearance. Being regular PNG graphics means they're 100% compatible with all image editing applications. These are so cool! I need to create something….! LOL Thank you! Thanks to Deal Jumbo, too! Chris, these were so great, I went and bought the whole bundle! It is fantastic for just $19. That's great news, it really is a fab deal. I appreciate you following the link through to the full bundle… It's what makes it worthwhile for creators to donate their products for members to download, so thank you!

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The Generation of Change by Alex David Jimenez Roughly six years ago, when my now fiancé and I had just moved in together, the United States Presidential election of 2008 made history. Just under a year earlier, when we began dating, I recall him saying that he didn't believe that Barack Obama stood a chance of winning the election. He told me, though he hoped otherwise, that he didn't believe that we would see a black U.S. president in our lifetime. Ten months later it came to pass. In the same respect, another remark my partner made, amid our many deep conversations during candlelight dinners and Sunday mornings-in, was that he didn't wholly believe that we would see an America with full recognition and legal marriage equality among gay and lesbian couples. I argued otherwise. At that point of exchange, one state legally allowed and acknowledged same-sex couple's right to marry. DOMA was however still constitutional – the federal government could legally overlook many of those rights. via nbcnews.com Today, six years later, nineteen states legally allow and acknowledge same-sex couple's right to marry, and DOMA has been eradicated. Same-sex marriage is easily one of the most controversial and bare-knuckled fights any group of any respective community has ever fought. In our lifetime, and stretching back into the history of American rights, the gay marriage campaign is quickly becoming as divisive and as landmark as those of the abolition of slavery and women's rights. While many did concur with my partner in his vision of a limited America within the span of our lives, and while many still do believe as such, it can be said that the shift in favor of a tolerant America is certainly in occurrence – right before our very eyes. Just over ten years ago there were no U.S. states that recognized marriage as anything but between a man and a woman. In the span of only one decade, that number has gone from zero to 19. In each state where gay marriage is still illegal, there are lawsuits pending to challenge the fundamental ethics of the bans enacted. In these past ten years, something has changed. Something came about in the broad scope of politics and the voice of the people. There are certainly many factors at play, and ultimately there is an avalanche of causes leading to the change in overall American attitude. Yet what I believe is simpler: one event largely began to create transformation. Just beyond the past decade, the millennials began to vote. The millennials began to join the workforce. And the millenials were far more unafraid to come out as openly gay and lesbian than those generations before them. © The Washington Post The statistics are simple and speak for themselves. Since about 2004 there has been a rapid shift in the public opinion across America. The popular opinion that gay marriage should be illegal in America has sharply dropped in the last ten years from 55% down to below 36%, and falling. Contrastingly, the opinion that it should be legal has risen from 41% in 2004 to over 58% today. And climbing. Where is this opinion coming from? Well, according to statistics, the majority of the rise is attributed to America's youth. The millennials contribute a staggering 81% in favor of the legality of gay marriage, as opposed to the 44% of those who are in favor over the age 65. Do politics play a part? Certainly. As does religion of course. And yet regardless of conservatism and strict dogmatic ties, the youth is still bringing forth the turn of the tide. The generations over the years have been very clearly changing in their position and stance on the idea that all couples should be granted the fundamental and constitutional right to marry in this, a free country of tolerance and diversity. via the Public Religion Research Institute Many have no faith in the millennial generation. They believe that integrity and responsibility is veritably non-existent in the course of their futures. Yet it cannot be argued that they are certainly the generation of change, be it for the better or the worse. In the capacity of this particular argument, for those who have gay family and gay friends; for those who have been too afraid to come out of the closet in the past and have done so recently because of the upswing of acceptance nationwide; for those people, it is certainly for the better. I for one believe that my country, the United States, will legalize and recognize gay marriages in each of its 50 states in my lifetime. Filed Under: LGBT, OPINION Tagged With: 2014, change, Equality, gay marriage, generation y, lgbt, manhattan digest, millennials, opinion, politics, same love, same sex marriage Gadgets: The Good, The Bad and the Coming Soon We're well on our way into 2014, and with each milestone we pass, the future becomes more, well, nerdy. Nerdy, that is, in the sense of existing on a more technology and algorithm-based plane. The planet around us is growing smaller as more and more of our OS and HTML obsessed brains grow just a little bit larger. The tech world grows faster every day, and it shows. The late 2013 is no exception to the rule, having given us many bright new gadgets, as well as many dull ones. In a nutshell, here are the better, best, and not-so-good #gadgets of 2013, (as well as the rising stars to watch in 2014) including smart phones, tablets, laptops, gaming systems, wearable tech, apps, mobile operating systems, and other miscellaneous gadgets. Smart Phones 2013 Winner: Apple iPhone 5s Runner-up: HTC One Loser: Blackberry Z10 The one to watch in 2014: Motorola Project ARA Graphic courtesy Alex Hillsberg – financesonline.com Tablets 2013 Winner: Apple iPad Air Runner-up: Google Nexus 7 Loser: Microsoft Surface RT The one to watch in 2014: Amazon Kindle Fire HDX Laptops 2013 Winner: Apple MacBook Air 13″ Runner-up: Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus Loser: Google Chromebook Pixel The one to watch in 2014: Asus Taichi Gaming Systems 2013 Winner: Sony Playstation 4 Runner-up: Microsoft XBox One Loser: Ouya The one to watch in 2014: Oculus Rift Wearable Tech 2013 Winner: Pebble Smartwatch Runner-up: Misfit Shine Loser: Samsung Galaxy Gear The one to watch in 2014: Google Glass Winner: Waze Runner-up: Blackberry Messenger Loser: Twitter #Music The one to watch in 2014: Tinder Mobile OS 2013 Winner: Android 4.4 KitKat Runner-up: Apple iOS 7 Loser: Blackberry BB10 The one to watch in 2014: UBUNTU Other Gadgets of 2013 Winner: Google Chromecast Runner-up: NEST Project Loser: Hapilabs Hapifork The one to watch in 2014: Leap Motion All graphics are courtesy Finances Online and designed by Ruby Media Corporation Filed Under: OPINION, TECHNOLOGY Tagged With: 2013, 2014, Apple, asus, best, Blackberry, chrome book, chrome cast, gadgets, Google, HTC, ios, Leap Motion, microspft, Nest, pebble, playstation, Samsung, tech, technology, Twitter, waze, worst, xbox

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

Not as worried here as in Iowa. a GOP up 1 in a Rasmussen CO poll is not a good thing. Public Policy Polling had Gardner up by 2. Next. Either way, Udall being down at all is embarrassing for him. No, it is a great thing. Rassy's last poll here three weeks ago had Udall up two. Virtually every pollster is showing the race moving away from Udall. Besides, the rassy GOP house effect has been largely absent this year. This will come down to how the debates go vs. how the turnouts go. And he is scraping fifty percent with few undecideds. Quinnipiac consistently shows Gardner's ceiling with favorable numbers while rassy has been showing his floor. Either way, there simply are no more polls showing Udall up. I don't think that this will be easy, but I am glad I'm a Colorado Republican and not a Democrat today. By the way, ballots drop in 13 days. Not much time for Udall to swing the race the other way. Maybe you should tell the senator that his whole "shun the screen" strategy isn't going to get it done. Yup, Udall's got Gardner right where he wants him. Udall has the funding and ground advantage going into the election but are people's minds already made up? Gardner has an ever-so-slight advantage, but characterizing this race - on October 1 - as anything but a tossup isn't appropriate. Let me get this straight. Democrats are going with "Udall leading in the polls? Great! Gardner leading? Even better!"? Not really the kind of strategy I would go with, to be honest. Udall will win this. He can bring out enough of his voters to close this out. Best news for Democrats is this shows that the Quinnipiac poll (Gardner +8) was an obvious outlier. Everyone else has narrow Gardner leads. Also, without leaners, this poll shows a 45/45 tie. I'd give that one the biggest weighting. There's also the chance that the jobs report out on Friday will be rather good and the Dems could use it over the next weeks in their closing ads. It will be interesting if it turns out that Rasmussen had the most accurate polling of this race when it's all said and done. Chuck Todd says that Hickenlooper may be a big drag on the Democratic ticket. I tend to think that the Democratic ticket is a big drag on the Democratic ticket.

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SAM | May 29, 2022 May 17, 2022 | All Gene, Romance Love, romance gets a new name as it comes from Helen Hardt in the form of her new series about two people who are dejected because they are rejected. Sebastian York and Neva Navarre also leave no stone unturned in narrating the love story in which they couple at first fails to comprehend their feelings. Jade Robert got a kick in her love affair and she has committed that she will never give her heart to any man in her life. She changes the scene and comes to her friend's place; she was seeking a time out and wanted to shift away from the scene. Trust on the world is gone and she doubts every man who comes close to her. Her friend's brother not a loner like her shows interest in her in the first glance, she knows that the boy is interested but she does not want to indulge herself. One experience was ample for her life and is in no mode to break her heart a second time by giving it to any other man. But the temptation gets strong when the handsome lad comes closer to her and gives her a kiss when she was not expecting it. Talon Steel too has certain doubts in his mind about girls and is not the settling sort apparently but Jade Robert is not the kind he wants to just spend time with. She shows care and affection which is new in the world Talon knows about. If you are listening to this one you will not be able to stop yourself from going to Obsession and Possession in a hurry. The love and romance appeal and attract and depicts the sort of feeling that are so common in the west these days. Side by side there are the exact opposites if these feeling, thing like hate, lack of trust and runaways from a settled life. The Tyrant's Tomb The Carrow Haunt Silverspear Caesar and Christ Where the Forest Meets the Stars Judy Moody: Around the World in 8 1/2 Days Audiobook Circus of the Damned Tags Book 1, Helen Hardt, The Steel Brothers Saga Tom Clancy Code of Honor

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

Vintage kantha blanket(quilts) are made from vintage saris pieced together and then stitched all over with running hand stitch each one is unique and has different colours and patterns on either side. Each pcs is unique, different and One of kind. One more advantage is same can be used as a Quilt/ Tapestry / Wall Hanging / Bed Cover / Throw etc. Approx Size is 55X90 Inches.

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Why: Founder of Fetch, a place for professionals to stay up on local events, Kendall has a cheeky writing style, great insights on the good and bad in being an entrepreneur. Energetically honest about some of the lameness of startups and their founders. To wit, on how everyone is 'hustling' nowadays: "every founder is hustling their energetic jazz hands across the startup community." Just fantastic. Why: Crowdfunding is becoming a legit way to get some startup capital for an idea -- especially one that's extremely niche or off-the-wall. The Kickstarter blog can give you insight into the system and the way people use it. Why: The guy wrote The Lean Startup. Founded IMVU. Popularized "Minimum Viable Product". Helped your startup succeed with a method for the madness. What else do you want from the man? Why: Author of The $100 Startup, the man is non-stop font of inspiration. Has traveled to every country in the world and makes nanobusiness look like, well, the business. Why: Anyone who spends time in StartupLand knows it gets a little bit saccharine and TEDish. Sometimes the best thing is a little cold water tossed on your good feelings. Life can be a bummer, and if you follow only teeth-rottingly sweet startup blogs, you're missing some of the useful lessons that come with an occasional connection to reality. Why: A slow-motion train wreck written by an entrepreneur who "took a bootstrapped (and profitable) startup onto the VC rocket ship. Now it's crashing into the ground. Hard." Intense, heartrending, surprising. Read it back to front for best results. Those are our picks. What blogs would you add to the list?

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Bijour Bears Jewellery Vintage Jewellery Designers > Sarah Coventry Jewellery through time! Jewellery Themes > BBJ Blog Types of Jewellery OK, so if I start explaining what a necklace, a bracelet or earrings are, you'll probably immediately close this page because my approach will be too simplistic, bear with me however as I relate some interesting discoveries I have made on my journey with jewellery so far. Emerald Green Diamante Comb Tiaras have long been fashionable, particularly in the last two decades of the 1800s. In fact they were so fashionable that many necklaces of that period were made from rigid metal frames to allow them to be worn as tiaras too. Tiaras these days are probably limited to weddings and royalty and so far I haven't come across many whilst buying jewellery. In the 1800s and early 1900s the rules for wearing tiaras were very strict. If an occasion required full evening dress then there was a chance or possibly a requirement that tiaras would be worn and in the early 1990s this was often stated on invitations. Strictly speaking, the first time a woman wore a tiara was on her wedding day and thus, at formal occasions, girls and unmarried women were forbidden from wearing them. Turquoise Hair Comb Tiaras of gold leaves in archaeological styles were common in the 1860s, by the late 1800s tiaras were often graduated rows of spikes with trefoil motifs or scrolled lyre designs. Winged designs and clustered motifs of flowers or stars were common designs in the early part of the twentieth century and were characteristically exuberant in their style and thus the preserve of the wealthy elite. By the 1920 the tiara had been replaced the bandeau which was well suited to the art deco style and to the new fashion for evening dresses with straight lines. The traditional tiara made a bit of a comeback in the 1930s for formal occasions as the bandeau lost favour but by the 1940 jewellery hair ornaments of any type were no longer fashionable. Of course tiaras were not the only jewelled hair ornament worn... Diamante Comb Combs and Brooches I have come across more combs in my tour of vintage jewellery as their popularity has remained more constant than that of the tiara, although they have never been amazingly popular. Generally less elaborate than tiaras and so worn on less formal occasions, the myriad of designs makes these a fabulous accessory. In the late 1800s comb designed were often art nouveau inspired and carved in unusual materials such as horn and enamel. Brooches were also often worn in the hair during this period. The tradition of wear both combs and brooches has always existed but dwindled into the twentieth century, except for special occasions such as weddings. Nevertheless, some beautiful modern and vintage examples exist. 1950s hairclip Hair clips became increasingly popular towards the end of the twentieth century and have remained a fashionable accessory in novel and jewelled form, for both everyday and occasion wear. During the 1960s the fashion for jewelled hair ornaments of any type almost disappeared, as it did during the 1940s. A brief revival for clips and brooches to adorn the elaborate piled up hairstyles of the 1950s did occur, but no return to the elaborate jewelled pieces of the early 1900s and late 1800s was seen. Clips were very popular in the 1920s, being worn whenever a bandeau was not .. Hi, I'm Helen owner of Bijour Bears Jewellery. I have always loved the way that jewellery can make a statement, add interest to any outfit and really declare your style. Vintage jewellery from around the world and across time. I try to find jewellery that covers all styles and budgets so that you can find something that reflects you! Bijour Bears Jewellery - Your Style, Your Way! Mon-Sa: 7am - 9pm

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Address: 2 Delamore Rd, Hilldene, Hillcrest, 3610, South Africa, Kwazulu Natal. See full address and map. Address: 7A Stedman Mews, 128 Jan Hofmeyr Rd, Berea West, Westville, 3629, South Africa, Kwazulu Natal. See full address and map. Address: 6 Delamore Rd, Hilldene, Hillcrest, 3610, South Africa, Kwazulu Natal. See full address and map. Address: 1 George McFarlane Ln, Town Hill, Pietermaritzburg, 3201, South Africa, Kwazulu Natal. See full address and map. Find every business listed for Financial Management Services.

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In part one of Our Guide to Good Gut Health, we learned about the gut's function and digestive process, and how it plays an integral part of our overall health and wellbeing. We learned about common digestive disorders and the importance of not only probiotics, but prebiotics, too. Now, we will examine the best prebiotic and probiotic sources and how much to take. We'll also look at supplements vs. natural food sources and which is ideal in attaining the needed amounts of pre and probiotics. You'll also learn what to look for on probiotic supplements. Read on as we continue learning more about the importance of adding prebiotics and probiotics to your daily life. As we learned, prebiotics are foods that feed probiotics. Most Americans do not consume enough prebiotics each day. Without proper prebiotics, people experience higher amounts of inflammation, digestive disorders, lowered immune function and an increase chance of weight gain. You must have both probiotics and prebiotics to have a healthy and balanced system. Prebiotics are a type of non-digestible, high fiber oligosaccharides. Oligosaccharides are a group of carbohydrates found naturally in certain plants. Recently, there has been a lot more attention paid to these high-fiber-foods because of the way the body utilizes them, turning them in to prebiotics. They then travel through the digestive system, unbroken from digestive enzymes, and become nutrients for your microbiome, maintaining balance and diversity of your good gut bacteria. It's easy to add prebiotic foods to your meals. Add honey to some whole grain toast with slices of under-ripe bananas on top. Start adding onions and garlic to all your savory dishes. Chopped dandelion greens, jicama, leeks, and sunchokes can all be shredded or sliced thin and eaten as a part of a salad. There are many other ways to incorporate these top prebiotic foods into your daily life. Probiotic foods are also easy to add to your everyday diet. Yogurt can be found in stores everywhere, but make sure to read your labels when purchasing them. Not all yogurts are created equal. Look for the phrase contains live active cultures and lists which ones it has. A small amount of kimchi, pickles, or sauerkraut can be eaten prior to, or with each meal. Miso soup is a quick, probiotic-rich soup made from fermented rye, rice, or barley and is packed with lactobacilli, bifidus bacteria, and other nutrients. Spirulina, or other algae can be added to fruit shakes. Dark chocolate doesn't contain probiotics, but instead, works as a carrier for probiotics helping them survive. Many of you are wondering, how much should I be eating every day to reap benefits? As for probiotics, the answer isn't quite clear. Because we have so many different probiotic organisms in our bodies, there really is no set dosage. It is, of course, recommended to consult your health care provider for advice. Studies conducted by the International Associate for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) have found probiotic benefits when taking ranges between 100 million and 10+ billion cfu/dose. While you do need some probiotics every day, remember that that balance is the ultimate goal and you need to find balance. If you consume a lot of probiotics and not enough prebiotics, you might end up with gas, bloating, and diarrhea. If this occurs, cut back on probiotics, or add them in every other day until your issues resolve. Likewise, there is no definitive verdict on how many prebiotics to consume. However, research by the International Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) suggests eating 25-38 grams/day of dietary fiber and 10-20 grams/day or prebiotic fibers. Prebiotics are attained through natural foods, but there are many probiotic supplements available on the market today. Remember, not all probiotics are the same. Just because a product claims to have probiotics, doesn't mean it has an effective strain or enough to deliver adequate levels. Natural food sources always win out, but many of you are wondering about how well probiotic supplements work. The answer is yes–as long as they come from a reputable company with evidence and proof of their product's probiotic benefits. Studies reveal it is up to personal preference as to which is best for you. Probiotic foods like kefir, kimchi, and kombucha are easy to keep in the refrigerator, but supplements might be more convenient while delivering high doses. A combination of the two is suggested by the ISAPP. • What probiotic microbe does the product contain? It should have the genus, species, and strain listed. • How many microorganisms are in each serving or dose? These are typically listed as cfu's. For example: 10 Billion cfu/dose. • When the product expires. Probiotics do not last forever, and you want to take them when the dose is most effective. • What the proper storage is for the product? Many probiotics need to be refrigerated or lose their potency. • Corporate contact information. Who makes the product and where can you go to discuss any product-related problems if they occur? One thing is for sure. Our bodies require prebiotics and probiotics for optimal digestive health. Without them, detrimental effects can occur. So go stock those fridges with high prebiotic and probiotic rich foods, and don't be afraid to get creative with your meals! You might even feel inspired to learn about home fermentation and make your own kombucha, kimchi, or kefir! Start eating your onions, dark chocolate, asparagus, and kefir and get that gut balanced and healthy.

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I almost forgot about the out-takes from our New Years, Year to Year photo session. Stewie takea moment to moisten his lips. Oscar tries to go for the "wind flapping through the ears" look. Hugo has something to tell Aaron real quick.

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Note: Order August Martin High School merchandise in Bulk! August Martin HS Coaches, Teams and Administrators can place group orders and receive bulk discounts! Get bulk quotes for August Martin High merchandise when customizing your order.

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Q: Distinguishing between user events vs model changes in ionic How do I distinguish between change events triggered by the user interacting with an ion-toggle vs events triggered programmatically by model changes in my component? <ion-toggle [(ngModel)]="on" (ionChange)="state_toggled()"></ion-toggle> A: You could use: <ion-item> <ion-toggle [ngModel]="on" (ngModelChange)="userTriggered()"></ion-toggle> </ion-item> This way if some method would modify "on" value - userTriggered() method won't be called but toggle's state will get updated. Stackblitz: https://stackblitz.com/edit/ionic-ci2mdm

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Live TV/Radio Dailymailgh Home Headlines We've made significant progress – Akufo-Addo We've made significant progress – Akufo-Addo President Akufo-Addo receiving an award from Ministry of Tourism Ghana's president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says his government has made significant progress in all facets of the economy, over the last two and half years, and is working to put the country on the path of progress and prosperity. According to President Akufo-Addo, "We are by no means out of the woods yet, but we have made significant progress, with the macroeconomic fundamentals now pointing in the right direction, and, in the process, have concluded our exit from the IMF programme on a high note." The President assured that "We are determined to maintain discipline in the management of our economy so that we never have to resort to an IMF bailout again." President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, 3rd July, 2019, when he delivered an address at the 2nd Ghana Diaspora Homecoming Summit, held at the Accra International Conference. Addressing the gathering, he stated that his administration inherited an economy confronted with significant challenges, with all the macroeconomic fundamentals pointing in the wrong direction, under the emergency management of the International Monetary Fund. The Ghana bequeathed to his administration, the President said, was one with an economy growing at a rate of 3.6%, with a fiscal deficit of 9.3%, was saddled with erratic power supply, had GH¢1.2 billion of NHIS arrears, a dangerously fragile banking sector, with weakly capitalised banks, widespread corruption; and widespread unemployment, amongst others. However, the President stated that "by dint of hard work and prudent management of our resources we have made modest advances, and I am happy to report that we have been able to steer our country out of the stormy waters that had characterised the years before 2017." He noted that his administration has cleared all NHIS arrears inherited, paid nearly 50% of the inherited energy debt, and bold measures have been taken to sanitise the banking system and strengthen it, with deposits of 1.5 million Ghanaians safeguarded. "Ghana is projected, this year, by the IMF, to be the fastest-growing economy not just in Africa, but in the entire world, with a projected GDP growth rate of 8.8%. Inflation is in single digits, from 15.4% at the end of 2016 to 9.5% in April 2019; the debt-to-GDP ratio has declined to 54.8% at the end of 2018; interest rates are declining; and so is the Bank of Ghana Monetary Policy Rate," he said. Ghana's trade balance, he explained, for the first time in more than a decade, recorded a surplus in 2017, maintained it in 2018, and, in the first quarter of this year, has recorded a surplus of $899 million. "It comes as no surprise, therefore, that, today, Ghana is the leading recipient of foreign direct investment in West Africa. Indeed, we have some of the world's largest companies setting up shop in Ghana, and we have, recently, become the largest producer of gold in Africa," the President added added. Touching on agriculture, the President indicated that the results of Government's programme for "Planting for Food and Jobs", which is providing incentives and boosting incomes of one million farmers, have been spectacular. "We had a bumper harvest of produce, and, last year, we did not import, unlike in previous years, a single grain of maize. We have also signalled our intention to reduce rice imports by at least 50 percent this year", the President added. In addressing the issues of unemployment, the President stressed that through the Nation Builders Corps initiative, one hundred thousand graduates have been put to work. "Tens and tens of thousands of nurses and midwives who had graduated between 2012 and 2016, and were sitting at home twiddling their thumbs, are being employed, and some fifty-nine thousand (59,000) teachers have been given jobs since I came into office in 2017," he indicated. In addition to the restoration of the allowances of nursing and teacher trainees that were scrapped by the Mahama government, President Akufo-Addo noted that "Free SHS, which was described as an impossibility and a misplaced priority by our opponents, has been successfully implemented, and, from September this year, all students in public Senior High Schools in our country will be covered by the policy." On the reduction of import duties at the ports, the President stressed that "my Government listened to both your concerns and the concerns of the population in Ghana, and, in April, we reduced the benchmark values of import duties by as much as 50%, and, in the case of vehicles, by 30%." The introduction of initiatives such as the e-business registration system, the national digital addressing property system, the mobile interoperability system which is linking mobile money wallets to bank accounts and the e-zwich card, according to the President, are guaranteeing greater efficiency in the delivery of government services. "We have been working hard to improve the living standards of our people, and I am confident that, by the end of my mandate in office, we would have put Ghana on a solid path of progress and prosperity," President Akufo-Addo said. Source: Daily Mail GH Email Daily Mail GH: stories@dailymailgh.com or Whatsapp: +233(0)208398819 akufo-addo Previous articleAFCON 2019: Ghana Have Easier Route to Cairo Final Next articleTorture Home: Arrest Rev. Lamina – Gender Minister Kotoko 2-0 Ebusua Dwarfs: Porcupines back to winning ways Stop threatening me with arrest – Duffuor declines SIT invitation over uniBank collapse UE/R: Public upset as footballers bleed on "Pitiful Pitches" Ghana's Tetteh plays full throttle as LAsk Linz beat FC Basel Editor's Choice August 7, 2019 Resigned RS Berkane President to be named as Moroccan Finance Minister Sports September 17, 2019 Full speech: 2019 State of the Nation Address Editor's Choice February 21, 2019 GES introduces new uniform for JHS students General April 11, 2019 Akufo-Addo withdraws appointment of Baffour Awuah as GHS Director General General November 20, 2019 GIFEC, Library Authority, Kofi Annan ICT to promote digitization agenda GPL Week 5: All the results and highlights Sports January 19, 2020 Headlines January 19, 2020 Liberty Professionals 1-2 Hearts of Oak: Phobians with a great comeback... Editor's Choice January 19, 2020 Fair organisers fine GEPA for non-appearance Business February 15, 2019 Cardi B becomes 1st solo woman to earn best rap album... Entertainment February 15, 2019 Hail the return of CPC Editor's Choice1843 Dailymailgh is a Ghanaian-based independent digital news media providing unbiased, accurate and credible information. It is Ghana's fastest growing online news and information distribution platform. Contact us: info@dailymailgh.com © Dailymailgh 2019 | Designed by Sivoconsult Sammy Gyamfi drags AG, IGP to court over seizure of... General December 23, 2019 10 Nigerian sex workers arrested in Bibiani police raid General October 26, 2019

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package hello; import static spark.Spark.*; import spark.ModelAndView; import java.util.*; import spark.template.mustache.*; import com.pengrad.telegrambot.*; import org.json.JSONArray; import org.json.JSONException; import org.json.JSONObject; import com.pengrad.telegrambot.model.ChatMember; import com.pengrad.telegrambot.model.InlineQuery; import com.pengrad.telegrambot.model.Message; import com.pengrad.telegrambot.model.Update; import com.pengrad.telegrambot.model.request.*; import com.pengrad.telegrambot.request.*; import com.pengrad.telegrambot.response.*; import java.io.File; import java.io.FileInputStream; import java.io.IOException; import java.nio.file.Files; import java.util.Collections; import java.util.List; import java.util.Properties; import com.pengrad.telegrambot.model.Chat; public class MainServer { public static void main(String[] args) { // Get port config of heroku on environment variable ProcessBuilder process = new ProcessBuilder(); Integer port; if (process.environment().get("PORT") != null) { port = Integer.parseInt(process.environment().get("PORT")); } else { port = 8080; } setPort(port); //Delivery static file staticFileLocation("/static"); post("/readMessages", (req, res) -> { TelegramBot bot = TelegramBotAdapter.build("194517193:AAFR4ZZosmM2OfxD7kL-XFSulXI-YyfM5Y4"); byte[] body = req.bodyAsBytes(); String response = new String(body, "UTF-8"); JSONObject obj = new JSONObject(response); if(obj.toString().indexOf("chat") != -1){ Update update = BotUtils.parseUpdate(response); Message msg = update.message(); Chat chat = msg.chat(); SendResponse sendResponse = bot.execute( new SendMessage(chat.id(), "Ola Amiguinho C") ); } else { Update update = BotUtils.parseUpdate(obj.toString()); // Decodifica o JSON que vem do telegram InlineQuery inlineQuery = update.inlineQuery(); // Pega somente a string a ser buscado (@eng3bot dilma) /* InlineQueryResult[] resultado = new InlineQueryResult[3]; // Declarou a lista List<Artist> artistas = pegarArtistaPorNome( inlineQuery.query() ); // Buscando no DB4O com parâmetro int i=0; for ( Artist o : artistas ) { if(i==3) break; resultado[i] = new InlineQueryResultPhoto(String.valueOf(i), o.getLink(), o.getArte()); // Popula a lista i++; } */ InlineKeyboardMarkup inlineKeyboard = new InlineKeyboardMarkup( new InlineKeyboardButton[]{ new InlineKeyboardButton("url").url("url"), new InlineKeyboardButton("callback_data").callbackData("callback_data"), new InlineKeyboardButton("switch_inline_query").switchInlineQuery("switch_inline_query") }); bot.execute(new AnswerInlineQuery(inlineQuery.id(), new InlineQueryResult[]{ new InlineQueryResultArticle("1", "title", "message") } )); // Devolve para o usuário a lista } return ""; }); } }

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Nashville.gov » Mayor's Office » Neighborhoods and Community Engagement Neighborhoods and Community Engagement Public Safety and Justice Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability Mayor's Office of Neighborhoods and Community Engagement Metro leaders work with neighborhood and community groups to improve quality of life, enhance citizen engagement and empower residents to take steps to improve their local communities. The administration is committed to making sure that Nashville remains a place where people can live, work and play in their neighborhoods. That means protecting and enhancing our networks of parks, libraries and community centers, as well as preserving the vibrant arts, entertainment and music culture that has made Nashville an international destination. The mission of the Mayor's Office of Neighborhoods and Community Engagement is to improve the quality of life in Nashville's neighborhoods through a more informed, active and involved citizenry and enhanced governmental response to community needs. Register Your Neighborhood Mayor's Youth Council The Mayor's Youth Council fosters an eco-system in cultivating our younger generation into civic leadership for the City of Nashville. We want to ensure that each young leader is a benefit through molding and utilizing their ingenuity and ideas that promote and connect them with our city's public agencies. With the voice, energy, and insight of our younger generations mixed with the expertise of city leaders and stakeholders, the Youth Council seeks to address key issues that affect the lives of Nashville residents. In turn, it promotes and recognizes the contributions of our young leaders. Learn more about the Mayor's Youth Council Mayor Cooper believes reducing youth violence through trust, transparency, and opportunity will take all of the community working together to solve this challenge. He also believes listening to those whose lives are impacted the most by youth violence is most important. Local young adults can help identify issues that lead to youth violence, what programs and services are already in place, then discussed possible solutions. Through Former Mayor Megan Barry, the culmination of the summits is the Youth Violence Report, which outlines steps moving forward. The summits not only led to the recommendations outlined in the report, they also gave power to hundreds of students to come together. These young leaders discussed their common concerns, learned from one another, and took back those lessons to their friends and classmates that sparked important conversations where it matters most – in our schools. Learn more about Youth Violence The Mayor is committed to strengthening Nashville's public schools and ensuring every child has access to a high-quality public education. The Mayor's Office works with Metro Nashville Public Schools and the School Board to strengthen the relationship between our public schools and the administration, while also working with Nashville's non-profit and educational institutions to promote policies that will spur innovation and support our parents and teachers. As the 42nd largest school district in the country, 88,000 students are enrolled in Metro Nashville Public Schools. There are 120 different countries represented in the student body. The Mayor believes that each student in this large and diverse group deserves a high-quality education that will prepare them for a successful life. The Mayor is committed to expanding high quality Pre-K, ensuring that all students have access to effective teachers and leaders, helping students continue their education after high school, and funding schools to meet the needs of curriculum, instruction, support services, and capital improvements. Learn more about Education The Mayor's Office strives to create real-world opportunities for interns to see how local government shapes the community. Interns are assigned to a staff member to gain expertise in a particular area and work on independent projects. In short, interns help the Mayor's Office "get stuff done." Unpaid positions are available during the fall, spring and summer semesters. Students must be able to work at least 15 hours per week in the fall and spring semesters. During the summer, students must be available to work a minimum of 21 hours. Students are encouraged to receive course credit for the experience. Learn more about the Mayor's Office Internship Program Opportunity Now (ON) connects local leaders between the ages of 14-24, with access to meaningful work. It brings together community resources, private business, public sector, and local university job partners. This program elevates the abilities, cultural pride, and community responsibility of our younger generation to remove barriers to create successful passage into adulthood. Learn more about Opportunity Now Community Beautification The Metro Beautification and Environment Commission works to make Nashville clean, safe, and attractive. The commission coordinates the efforts of volunteers, city departments, business and community groups, and government agencies to provide environmental programs, beautification projects, as well as training and educational opportunities for the residents and visitors of Nashville and Davidson County. The Commission comprises volunteer representatives from the 35 council districts appointed by the mayor to serve three-year terms. Metro Beautification supports neighborhood clean-up efforts all year as well Mayor Cooper's Spring Clean-ups. Learn more about conducting neighborhood clean-ups and requesting free supplies. Mayor's Office of New Americans The Mayor's Office of New Americans fosters partnerships and collaborations with community organizations, departments, and agencies of the Metropolitan Government. The group develops and administers programs that empower and engage New Americans in Davidson County and that promote a knowledgeable, safe, and connected community. The Mayor's Office of New Americans coordinate with community organizations and with departments and agencies of the Metro Government and advise the Mayor on policies related to New Americans in Davidson County. Learn more about the Mayor's Office of New Americans Mayor's Night Out Mayor's Night Out is a community event that happens the second Thursday of each month from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Attendees can join the Mayor and other Metro personnel for an evening of one-on-one conversations about issues and concerns that matter most to them. Locations for Mayor's Night Out are typically held at a school within the Nashville-Davidson County area. Metro School board member(s) who represent the district where the event is held will also accompany the Mayor. Coffee with Cooper Coffee with Cooper is a community event that happens the third Friday of each month from 7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. Attendees can join the Mayor and other Metro department leaders for casual conversations. Coffee with Cooper happens at various coffee shops in the Nashville-Davidson County area. Metro Council members who represent in the area where the event takes place will also accompany the Mayor. National Night Out Against Crime The Night Out Against Crime is sponsored by Metro Nashville Police Department, Mayor Cooper's Office, and the National Association of Town Watch (NATW). In past years, over 37 million people participated in the National Night Out Against Crime to raise awareness about crime and to build relationships with local law enforcement. Nashville neighborhood groups and community organizations are encouraged to plan Night Out Against Crime events for members and local residents. On this page, you can register your neighborhood or community event for the National Night Out Against Crime. The National Night Out Against Crime organization also offers an event organizing toolkit.To get assistance organizing a neighborhood event or access the organizing toolkit, please contact Kathy Buggs in Mayor Cooper's Office of Neighborhoods and Community Engagement at Kathy.floyd-buggs@nashville.gov. Performance Management Information Trending data related to Neighborhood and Community Engagement Metro services collected by departments Floyd-Buggs, Kathy Director of Neighborhoods Haywood, Brenda Deputy Mayor of Community Engagement Lasiter, John Special Assistant to Director of Neighborhoods Williams, Erin Director of Constituent Response/hubNashville Mayor Cooper Announces Metro Cold Weather Overflow Sheltering Plan Mayor John Cooper Delivers First-Year Report, Reflects on Historic Challenges for Residents of Nashville and Davidson County Proposed Charter Amendment Would Be Self-Inflicted Disaster For Nashville Mayor's Office and Metro Nashville Public Schools Hosts Virtual Information Session with United4Hope Mayor John Cooper's Office and the U.S. Census Bureau Partner with Community Organizations to Hold Census Parade and Encourage Nashvillians to Participate in the 2020 Census Mayor's Office and Metropolitan Action Commission's Workforce Division Announce Virtual Job Fairs Mayor John Cooper's Office Joins Community Faith Leaders for a Prayer Vigil for Healing Nashville Announces Slow Streets Effort to Promote Social Distancing While Walking, Running and Biking Metro Launches Food Security Working Group Mayor John Cooper Encourages Nashville Residents to Participate in the 2020 United States Census

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Jetset appoints CMO to lead customer and brand transformation Kim Portrate, the former consumer marketing manager at Tourism Australia, joins the ASX-listed travel group to help drive new customer insights and experiences ASX-listed Jetset Travelworld Group (ASX:JET) has recruited Kim Portrate as chief marketing officer (CMO) to help manage the group's brand and customer transformation. Portrate has spent the last five years with Tourism Australia leading the consumer marketing team in global strategy, program development and implementing activities across 17 countries. Prior to Tourism Australia, Portrate was director of insight and innovation at Carat Media Services Australia and has also worked for other agencies in Australia and the US including BBDO Worldwide and D'Arcy Worldwide. Kim Portrate Portrate will report directly to JTG's CEO, Rob Gurney, and is tasked with building consumer insights to help drive transformation across the business. "Kim comes to us with an extensive strategic planning background, stakeholder management and travel industry experience," Gurney said in a statement. "This will be leveraged to direct and manage JTG's marketing presence, which will make a real impact in the industry. "A key component of our business transformation is to build consumer insights and add capabilities in terms of the development and execution of our marketing strategy. Kim has a wealth of experience in both these areas." JTG's two-year business transformation commenced in September last year with a strategic review of the whole business, and is aimed at ensuring long-term success in the rapidly changing travel sector. According to the company's half-yearly financial report, the need for transformation was prompted by the digital revolution, evolving consumer expectations across multiple communication channels, and the emergence of online travel agents. Initiatives include benchmarking, trends assessment, consumer research and in-depth studies, along with input from franchises and suppliers. Another key focus is on better leveraging the group's scale in both marketing and purchasing, along with building multi-channel and digital offerings to improve customer experiences. JTG has also flagged a brand refresh supported by consolidated marketing spend, along with store renewals and developing new and exclusive products for select and niche destinations. Read more: CMO50 #14: Kim Portrate, Helloworld The group's retail brand portfolio includes Jetset Travel, Harvey World Travel, Travelscene, BestFlights, United Travel and travelworld. It also manages a host of wholesale brands include Qantas Holidays, Travel Indochina, JTG Cruise Holidays, GO Holidays and ReadyRooms. Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO Australia conversation on LinkedIn: CMO Australia, or join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia Signup to CMO's new email newsletter to receive your weekly dose of targeted content for the modern marketing chief. How leading CMOs balance the art and science of marketing leadership More from Amazon Web Services Tags: marketing careerscustomer insightsbrand strategies

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Carson Wentz could be back on the field soon. The 25-year-old quarterback missed the Eagles' season opener Thursday against the Falcons as he continues to rehab from a torn ACL. He was reportedly expected to be out for a few more games. However, the Eagles are optimistic Wentz will return "sooner rather than later," according to a report from ESPN. He has not been ruled out to play in their game next Sunday and "realistically" could return in Week 3 against the Colts, the report says. Wentz had a breakout season in 2017 as he threw for 3,296 yards and 33 touchdowns in 13 games. But, Wentz suffered the torn ACL in mid-December and missed the rest of the season. Eagles backup Nick Foles replaced him and led the team to their first Super Bowl championship. Foles started in Wentz's place against Atlanta earlier this week. He threw for 117 yards in Philadelphia's 18-12 win.

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Whenever you find a good restaurant it's always worth shouting about it. I went to Chester not so long ago and found a great place called Bollicini which we found on a site called best restaurants Chester in the Italian restaurant section. The reason I'm telling you this is because it had such a great star rating that we thought we'd have to check it out and we weren't disappointed. As usually I got the ham and pineapple pizza and the other half got her Lasagne (miss adventurous) and it was one of the best I've ever had if you exclude that one from Mamma Mias place in Coventry last year. Not a band find to be honest, think I'll try Liverpool next I've been looking around for some romantic things to do in Liverpool while I'm there and found this list post which was quite good. I'll deffo bear it in mind when Valentines day crops up and I take the missus away (forever the romantic aren't I! haha). Anyway guys, just a short post today there's lots to do and see and I'm not the world's best typist (or however it's spelled) so I'll cut it short for now and be in touch with you again soon, so take care and keep on checking out my blog I'm sure at some point I'll get the hang of writing about interesting things. I do try. I keep reading the way other people are writing in their blogs but it seems so effortless to them maybe I'll never get up to their standard but I can only try eh!

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Visionary, who started Coconut Oil business from scratch under difficult circumstances and built it to what it is today. Has 40+ years of experience in this business. Now motivating and guiding his children to take on the mantle. Lays down principles, gives advice when sought, but otherwise lets his children and professionals to execute day to day operations. After graduating in B.Sc in Botany, Zoology and Chemistry from Kharwar in 1972, he immediately setup a Rice Mill and Oil Mill in Palacode in Tamil Nadu. After establishing and running it profitably for 9 years, he handed it over to his uncle. Then he had a 9 year stint in fabrication service and 7 years in tower construction services in Bangalore. He again switched to oil milling and setup M/s Sri Rama Industries in Puttur in 1988. Now it has completed 28 years and still going strong. Apart from his successful entrepreneurship and business management, his expertise is in copra procurement and job work service. He has established good relationships and network with suppliers by giving them good value for their produce. He is married to Gayathri Devi and have 2 sons Keshava Ram and Santhosh. He can be reached on his Yelmudi office at 08251-231136 or mobile at 8861290636. What his father started from scratch, Keshava Ram with his qualifications and more importantly entrepreneurial zeal is determined to scale it to greater heights. In that bid, he setup a new manufacturing unit at Kallarpe in 2011 and started marketing coconut oil to a more geographically broader market with brand Cocoguru by packing coconut oil in convenient small consumer packs. Having started with no guarantee of success, he has stabilized the operations of the company to profitability and sustainability. With guidance from his father, support from his brother, wife and 30+ employees he is driving growth and day to day management at Cocoguru. He graduated with B.E in Computer Science from SJCE, Mysore in 2003. Then worked in embedded software development at Tata Elxsi Ltd., Bangalore for 4 years till 2007. He quit his job to study MBA in Marketing from NMIMS, Mumbai. After completing it in 2009, he joined the family coconut oil business. Worked on branding and marketing at Sri Rama Industries with his father before setting up a new unit at Kallarpe. His specialities includes application of technology and modern management principles/practices into business. Normally a methodical man with hard skills and inclination towards Maths and Science, he adopted himself to take risks, deal with people, learn soft skills, sell products all towards a dream of building a big business. He is married to Ms. Suprabha. He showed interest in the family business since his childhood days and was naturally tipped to be successor to run the business. And he did not disappoint. He is selfless and hands-on in his work towards the business. He is more oriented towards people, i.e. employees, customers, suppliers than machines, processes and technologies. This way he brings in the much needed balance of thoughts to business. He has now started a Coconut Dryer unit at Balnad to manufacture Edible Copra from Coconut with a capacity to process 20,000 nuts per day. He also juggles his time on Yelmudi counter to purchase copra/coconuts and sell coconut oil in Puttur town and Parladka factory to do jobwork oil extraction with rotary machines. He graduated with L.L.B from Vivekananda Law College, Puttur in 2006. Immediately he started working with his father in the coconut oil business. He has vast contacts and good relationships with them in and around Puttur. He actively works towards social developments. His strengths are his networking skills, ability to connect to people at any level. For his knowledge on local setup, he is often referred to as Local Genius. He is married to Ms. Kshama and they have 1 daughter Garima. Mobile – 94484 61636. She joined the business after marriage to Keshava Ram in September 2011. Her reason for working at Cocoguru is to ensure its greater success so that she gets enough funds for her passion i.e. shopping and she gets to be with (monitor) her husband for more time. She had no inclination towards business, but towards family. Since family is full-time and overtime into business, she had no option but to work for business. Working for a boss whom she bosses at home gives her the flexibility in work timings and results delivered. She manages company's branding function where designs, communications and advertisements are made. From an unknown mass product, Cocoguru is growing to be a well known and premium brand. Her achievements in her previous role of Administration Manager include building an ERP system that gives management realtime view of company's financial and inventory position. Used Tally ERP for software, Server and Thin Clients networked for hardware. Recruited, trained and developed Accountants and other people in her department to do their job well. She completed her MCA from NMAMIT, Nitte in 2011 following BCA from Sri Bharathi college, Mangalore in 2008. Immediately she got married and started her work at Cocoguru. With no prior work experience, she is able to think wild and out of the box, which many times have given business benefits. She is inquisitive, a keen observer and learner. Murali joined Cocoguru in October 2012 as Production Manager to manage Oil Extraction and Packing operations inside the factory. Many like to join an established company with a routine job profile, but few bear the responsibility to steady a rocking ship. When he joined, the plant had a few costly machines installed that wouldn't work to its capacity and all of them wouldn't work together to complete the manufacturing process. If the machines worked, people weren't willing to work. He reconfigured the machines, got people to work, process to happen, accounting and inventory systems were setup and quality was controlled. Now he has taken up responsibility towards Copra Purchase as quality of final oil is more dependent on quality of copra as it is of the oil extraction and filtering process. He did his B.Sc in Physics, Chemistry and Maths from Vivekananda Degree College, Puttur and MBA in Total Quality Management from Sikkim Manipal University through distance education. Before joining Cocoguru, he worked for 9 years at Jyothi Laboratories Ltd. in Quality Control and Production Planning. He had worked at their various plants at Indore, Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir and so on to streamline their operations. This has given him experience of working in manufacturing of various FMCG products handling work force who speak different languages and are of different cultures. He is married to Ms. Aparna and have 2 daughters. Shiva Kumar is responsible for maintaining accurate, detailed and realtime data in the ERP to enable management decision and also to make periodic and aperiodic reports with insights to take decisions. He joined Cocoguru in May 2013. He was a new comer to this kind of a setup that required complete accounting and ERP system to be developed from scratch and also requiring accurate, detailed and real time information. So he worked at the lowest level of entering raw data in each of the areas. As a slow but thorough learner, making mistakes and learning from them. He manages finances and has the tough job of allocating limited finances across various creditors. He is an excellent team man and people of any department like to deal with him as their work gets done with him. Prior to Cocoguru, he worked for 10 years in Banking, FMCG Distribution and IT Hardware Distribution sectors in Accounting and Sales function. He is fun and friendly to be with, but since marriage this year, he has changed massively. He (used to) loves traveling, trekking and hanging out with friends. Maheshwara works on Accounting areas like Payroll, Auditing, Taxation and Statutory Compliance. Hardest part about running an industry in India is to get the statutory compliance done. There are a handful of government departments to satisfy, forms to fill, licenses to be renewed, details to be submitted and "some other things" as well. One would rather deal with customers and suppliers than these Government officials, Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries and Bankers. He and Shiva Kumar were classmates at Vivekananda Degree College. They could do away with not having studied Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Statement till they joined Cocoguru. He had worked for 10 years in accounting and share broking at Shankar Group, Muliya Jewels and JRG Securities all at Puttur. He resides at Punacha. Yogish is Sales Officer responsible for sales and managing distributors. He joined Cocoguru in August 2013. With no prior experience in sales function before, he worked for 3 months in line sales to gain experience. He was then assigned responsibility to setup and manage a branch at Mangaluru. He did it successfully, grew sales at Mangaluru 3 times in 1.5 years. Company closed down its branch and line sales operations instead appointd distributors. He made that transition happen in Mangaluru. He also worked with distributors in Kodagu, Moodabidre, Udupi and Kundapura. He goes about his job sincerely with full loyalty towards the company. He has shown great flexibility and adaptability to find feet in sales function in FMCG industry. He did his BA from Vivekananda degree college, Puttur. Then worked for 8 years in Hotel Management at Pune. Having the tough experience of stay long away from home, he has now returned to his native. Narayana Bhat, manages the logistics function and copra section. In logistics he is responsible for loading, unloading, dispatch, receipt and transportation. In copra section, he is responsible for copra stock, segregation and drying. He looks to minimize the transportation costs while maximizing business transactions maintaining the desired service of delivery. He also facilitates super stockist in finding transporters and negotiating terms with them. He joined our team in January 2014. He had to manage line sales with 5 vehicles for some time. Since then the company changed its distribution policy. This led to company selling all its vehicles. He worked hard to affect the change. His job is among the most difficult jobs with lots of uncertainty, ifs and buts, involves working with the rudest of professionals(?) i.e. transporters, drivers and loaders. Priorly he had 25+ years of experience in managing operations at Tea Estates of Tamil Nadu and Chikmagalur. As a senior team member, he takes mature decisions and guides other junior members. Uncle Mr Shiv Shankar Bhat i met thru my grandfather and and my friend Keshav Ram, A very humble man down to earth person. Respect to you sir & your family. Very cooperative is Mr Keshav Ram, I would recommend my clients . Brand logo and packing is very much appealing. But i have not seen this brand any were. We will work on placing Cocoguru at all outlets and places in Karnataka. Greetings and good morning. Due to increase in awareness and having come to know about the advantages of coconut oil, our family has switched over to coconut cooking oil. We also use Virgin oil (brands like Maxcare). One of my friend's father (who is from your region) suggested using Cocoguru brand. He got me 2 pouches of Virgin Cocunut oil (1kg each). He said that he had visited and bought from your place. The oil seems very good. Also I feel that there is no adulteration (esp Argemone, which is also displayed on the pouch). I also feel that the company displays moral values and service to society by giving pure, unadulterated coconut oil, which will prevent a lot of diseases, which are increasing everyday. Healthwise, whether VCO (cold pressed) and Your other variety oil using low heat is same. Because the cold pressed variety is not available in Bangalore. I would like to purchase the same the VCO cold pressed variety regularly. Pl suggest where I can get in Bangalore. Healthwise coconut oil from copra or coconut are the same. Some people like coconut oil in its virgin form hence go for Virgin coconut oil. All the varieties of our coconut oil (Virgin, Cold Press and Roasted) are available in Bengaluru at Gramarajya. They have their chain of outlets mainly at Girinagar and online store front as gramarajya.online. Also, Cocoguru is available at Amazon.in. Dear Mr. Shankar, please do come to Puttur. We will be excited to meet you after a long time.

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Created: December 12, 2014. - Reviewed: May 07, 2016. Counseling has been shown to be more effective than medications in the treatment of post-partum depression. There are many types of counseling and psychotherapy. Knowing how each works might help you choose a counselor or therapist that best meets your needs. In the past psychotherapy was used in reference to a form of psychiatric treatment used for severely disturbed individuals, whereas counseling was used to refer to the treatment of people with milder emotional problems or to advice given on vocational or educational matters, but this is no longer the case. Today the difference between psychotherapy and counseling has become blurred and these terms are often used interchangeably. Which term is used may depend on where you live; psychotherapy being a more popular term in the US and counseling being a more common term used in the UK. To further add to the confusion, many people provide counseling. Informal counseling may be provided by persons without formal counseling qualifications. We tend to think of professional people as automatically providing professional counseling or psychotherapy; however this is not necessarily the case. Although many professionals such as clergy, nurses, doctors and teachers etc. receive some level of training to provide counseling, only a small number undergo the many years of additional training and clinical supervision required to provide professional counseling or psychotherapy. Psychotherapy (professional counseling) is conducted by trained, certified or licensed therapists who specialize in providing this service i.e. counseling is not a side line service of their professional role, counseling is the primary focus of their professional role. Many people who claim to provide counseling are in fact providing consultation i.e. they are providing advice. This may be helpful to assist a person through a crisis but may not support long term change. Psychotherapy (professional counseling) does not involve telling others what to do, but instead draws out what others think and feel. It draws upon an individual's strengths and provides direction to learn new ways of thinking and behaving to maintain long term changes to their lives. Better understand your thoughts, feelings and responses. Learn new behaviors and responses to help you achieve your goals. Improve your self esteem and boost your self confidence. Establish a healthy balance among life's responsibilities. Improve your decision making ability. Discover new ways to manage stress, anxieties and anger. Improve your communication skills; learn how to listen to others and have others listen to you. Heal old psychological wounds; repair damage from the past. The main benefit of professional counseling/psychotherapy is that it helps you to have a life which you can enjoy and appreciate more fully. It can help you to become the sort of person you want to be. Just as there are different types of therapies there are also different types of therapists. Although most health professionals receive training to provide some level of counseling not all are trained therapists when it comes to providing professional counseling or psychotherapy. The level of qualification of each professional can vary e.g. certificate, diploma, bachelor's degree, graduate diploma, master's degree or doctoral degree (PhD). Professionals from any field may hold the title of "Doctor" if they have a PhD or the equivalent, this should not be confused with a medical doctor or psychiatrist. The professional qualification of a therapist often has little reflection on the type of therapy practiced. It also provides minimal insight into the level of clinical experience a therapist has. To become certified or licensed to use a specific model or type of psychotherapy (listed above) may involve as much as 5 years of training and clinical supervision in addition to professional qualifications. Psychiatrists are also medical doctors who specialize in emotional illness. After graduating from medical school, psychiatrists are required to complete 3 or 4 more years of professional training to become a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist is the only type of therapist who can prescribe medications. Although we automatically assume psychiatrists are also skilled psychotherapists, this is not necessarily the case. Unless their training specifically focused on psychotherapy, a psychiatrist can conceivably have no training or experience in it. Many psychiatrists maintain a diagnostic or supportive role when it comes to the treatment of emotional illness, rather than provide psychotherapy. Psychologists specialize in the study of human behavior. Clinical or counseling psychologists often have a PhD; school and industrial-organizational psychologists need a master's degree. M ost clinical psychologists work in counseling centers, independent or group practices, hospitals or clinics. Psychoanalysts differ from psychologists in that they have been trained specifically to provide therapy using a psychoanalytical model , whereas individual psychologists may train to provide different types of psychotherapy. Not all social workers are trained psychotherapists; however most are trained to provide informal counseling. A clinical social worker has a master's degree with training and experience in psychotherapy. The majority of mental health nurses based in hospitals and community settings receive training to provide informal counseling. A nurse can be licensed to practice psychotherapy independently provided they have undergone master's degree or PhD in nursing or equivalent. The ability to provide psychotherapy (professional counseling) is not limited to health professionals, many other professional people undergo the extensive training required to provide this specialized service e.g. clergy. It's important to be aware that not all counselors undergo the same level of training. There are huge variations in the length and complexity of training programs for counselors. Training can vary from a few weeks to many years; from corresponden ce courses to intense training and supervision. Licensing regulations vary significantly from state to state and country to country. Many people can legally set up practice as a 'qualified counselor' with minimal training or experience. Some may claim to be 'psychotherapists' when in fact they provide informal counseling. Although both counseling and psychotherapy involve the use of verbal communication, unlike informal counseling which provides emotional support through listening and advice, psychotherapy (professional counseling) involves the use of treatment methods which are guided by well-developed psychological theories about the source of personal problems. Supportive therapy focuses on immediate symptom relief and support measures, in an effort to protect and sustain you through the early phases of the PPD crisis. Support is provided through reassurance, comfort, practical suggestion and empathy. Supportive therapy assists you to recognize and marshal your resources and coping skills. The supportive therapist is active; he/she will talk more to you, do things for you and engage in direct actions to help you. The therapist will attempt to support you to bear the problem better rather than treat the cause of the problem. The results of supportive therapy are at least equal to those of other forms of therapy when dealing with PPD. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is a combination of cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy, is the most popular treatment for most emotional and behavioral problems. CBT provides you with the knowledge and skill to stop your symptoms and get your life on a more satisfying track. Cognitive therapy is based on the concept that the way we think affects they way we feel and what we do. It is believed that distorted or irrational thoughts reinforce feelings of depression. Cognitive therapy challenges what we think. Behavioral therapy changes the way we respond. Behavioral therapy helps you to weaken the connections between troublesome situations and your habitual reactions to them; such as fear, depression, rage and self-defeating or self-harming behavior. Behavioral therapy also teaches you how to calm your mind and body, so that you can feel better, think more clearly and make better decisions. A CBT therapist teaches you to recognize and change faulty or maladaptive thinking patterns, which in turn modifies your moods and emotions. The benefit is that we can change the way we think to feel and act better even if the situation has not changed. Interpersonal therapy is also a short term therapy that has been proven to be effective for the treatment of depression. Interpersonal therapy focuses on the interpersonal relationships of the depressed person and how they impact on current functioning. Although depression may not be caused by interpersonal events (i.e. conflicts in relationships with others) it usually has an interpersonal component that affects relationships and roles in those relationships. The idea of interpersonal therapy is that depression can be treated by improving communication patterns and how people relate to others. Interpersonal therapy aims to strengthen communication skills and facilitate better interpersonal relationships. Using the model of psychoanalytic theory, brief dynamic therapy draws upon the significance of early childhood relationships and experiences and explores how they are affecting you as an adult, particularly during a crisis. It recognizes that what happened to us in the past and the sense we made of these events affects how we see ourselves and others and how we act today. Unlike traditional psychoanalysis which takes years due to the impressive goal of "personality reconstruction", brief dynamic therapy aims to help an individual deal with a conflictual area. Brief dynamic therapy can be an extremely effective as a short term intervention (6 - 14 sessions). It may help to think of psychotherapy (also known as professional counseling) as being a more specialized form of counseling; in much the same way as a pediatrician is more specialized than a G.P. when it comes to treating babies. For many baby related problems a G.P. will provide great service but occasionally the specialized knowledge and skill of a pediatrician may be required. This may be the same regarding counseling for postpartum depression (PPD). In most situations the support of informal counseling provided by your local doctor, nurse, clergy etc. will be sufficient, but sometimes the more specialized skill of a therapist trained to provide psychotherapy (professional counseling) may prove more beneficial. 1. The depth of your depression. Mild to moderated depression will often respond well to informal counseling where severe depression may require the skill of a professional therapist. 2. Your underlying personality. Someone who generally has a bright and cheery personality prior to experiencing PPD may benefit from the support of informal counseling. Whereas someone who has always been troubled with low self esteem or a long history of interpersonal conflicts may benefit from professional counseling/psychotherapy. 3. Your commitment to making changes. It takes time to change life long patterns of thinking and behavior. Psychotherapy sessions often extend over periods of 6 - 16 weeks. However, this depends on the type of psychotherapy. 4. What you can afford to pay. Professional counseling/psychotherapy is generally more expensive than informal counseling (due to the specialized skill and years of additional training by therapists). Many health funds recognize the service of trained psychotherapists and will provide a rebate. Your doctor will be the best person to discuss your options with. He/she can guide you in your choice and point you in the direction of a suitable therapist/counselor in your local area. Generally, psychiatrists charge more for psychotherapy than psychologists, who typically charge more than social workers etc. However there are no studies that suggest that appropriate psychotherapy provided by an experienced and qualified practitioner in any discipline is superior to that provided by another. Most therapists have a fixed rate per session, although some may be willing to negotiate the fee. Ask the therapist to tell you about his/her credentials and show you his or her state license to practice . Ask your therapist to explain the type of therapy he/she provides, and how this form of therapy may benefit you. Ask approximately how many sessions he/she thinks may be necessary. Ask what costs are involved and if any medical benefits rebate is available. Ask your doctor (or your baby's doctor). Ask a PPD support-group member. Ask the nurse at your local health center. Look in your local telephone directory.

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#include "sum.h" #include "include/com_highperformancespark_examples_ffi_SumJNI.h" #include <ctype.h> #include <jni.h> /* * Class: com_highperformancespark_examples_ffi_SumJNI * Method: sum * Signature: ([I)I */ JNIEXPORT jint JNICALL Java_com_highperformancespark_examples_ffi_SumJNI_sum (JNIEnv *env, jobject obj, jintArray ja) { jsize size = (*env)->GetArrayLength(env, ja); jint *a = (*env)->GetIntArrayElements(env, ja, 0); return sum(a, size); }

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Despite Sweeping California Gig Worker Law, Uber Says It Won't Treat Drivers As Employees Robert W. Wood Contributor I focus on taxes and litigation. UPDATE: On September 11, 2019, Uber's top lawyer announced in a news conference that Uber will not treat its drivers, who are independent contractors, as employees under the newly passed California bill. Tony West, Uber chief legal officer, pledged that its drivers will remain independent contractors. Mr. West said Uber's business is not providing rides but "serving as a technology platform for several different types of digital marketplaces." He added that the company was "no stranger to legal battles." California's Senate has passed a bill—Assembly Bill 5—that could require Uber, Lyft and gig companies to treat workers as employees. A similar bill was already passed by California's Assembly, so the assumption is that soon the bill will become law. What happens then is anyone's guess. Under the new law, workers in California could generally only be considered independent contractors if the work they do is outside the usual course of a company's business. Conversely, workers must be employees instead of contractors if a company exerts control over how they perform their tasks, or if their work is part of a company's regular business. Can Uber or Lyft claim its drivers are ancillary, or somehow not the core, the very reason those rideshare companies are operating? It's hard to see how. Sure, these companies may have gone public and be worth fortunes, but they arguably got there with a "don't hire employees because they are expensive" model. Of course, Uber and Lyft are not alone. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File) Just think of the vast gig economy. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, the Democrat who authored the bill, said it is to stop businesses from gaming the system by misclassifying workers. The state wants to stop "free-riding businesses" from passing their own business costs onto taxpayers and workers. Gig workers have stretched branding and worker classification boundaries with vast armies of "non-employees." Add it all up and you have a perfect storm. Worker status issues can come up almost anywhere, and not just from the government. Workers who sign contracts as independent contractors can still sue claiming they are employees. Third parties injured by an 'independent contractor' can sue saying he or she was really an employee, so the employer is liable. And much of that has already been happening. Having employees triggers federal and state tax withholding, anti-discrimination, health care, pension, worker's compensation and unemployment insurance obligations. You avoid these entanglements by hiring independent contractors, or do you? If they are really independent contractors, sure, but labels aren't enough. Disputes are common, and many different agencies can second-guess your decision. There's the IRS, state tax authorities, labor departments, and insurance companies. All of them scrutinize the status of workers. Signing a contract does not prevent the worker from suing and winning. Obamacare defines a full-time employee as someone who works on average at least 30 hours per week, or 130 hours per month. Independent contractors aren't covered, assuming their status is legitimate. If your independent contractor classification doesn't hold up, taxes and penalties can be crushing. No matter how you label someone, the substance of the work relationship will control, but it can take years for these disputes to really rise to the surface, and California wants a fix. Traditionally, to determine who is an independent contractor, the IRS says you must evaluate 20 factors, and assess whether you are controlling the method, manner and means of the work. No one factor is controlling. The duration of your work relationship is important, as is whether it is full or part time, professional credentials, flexible vs. rigid hours, who supplies tools and supplies, expense reimbursements and more. A written contract is key to independent contractor status, but that alone is clearly not enough. Are you paying for a job—like having someone put in a new kitchen—or paying for someone to work by the hour doing reception work? Reports from the Treasury Inspector General says employers are still getting it wrong. Millions of 'independent contractors' are really employees and that means payroll tax withholding. Determining who is an employee has always been a fact-intensive minefield. Some companies push the envelope. In 2015, FedEx settled their long-running dispute with FedEx Ground California drivers for $228 million. FedEx Ground defended its so-called independent contractor model vigorously. But in 2014, the Ninth Circuit found that 2,300 drivers were covered by California's workplace protection statutes. See Alexander v. FedEx Ground. The FedEx case is a good reminder that no matter how you label someone, the substance of the work relationship will control. In franchise operations like Domino's Pizza, where each store is independently owned, the relationship can be even more attenuated, yet a $32 million verdict says there can still be liability to the company. And with Uber, Lyft and others, there have also been lawsuits, whatever the drivers may be called. California has passed bills in the past to lean on employers. One was SB 459 to increase the penalties. California's Labor and Workforce Development Agency can fine you for "willfully misclassifying" an employee from $5,000 to $15,000 per violation. The penalty goes up to $25,000 per violation if you commit a "pattern and practice" of "willfully misclassifying" workers. But California's latest bill could vastly change the landscape. Stay tuned. Check out my website. I handle tax matters across the U.S. and abroad (www.WoodLLP.com), addressing tax problems, tax disputes, writing tax opinions, tax advice on legal settlements, transact...

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Subscribe and every 2 weeks we'll send you our favorite episode of FR with short outline straight to your mailbox! Venture Capital 209 Angel Investing 161 Acquisitions 72 Alternative Sources Of Capital For Startups 68 Accelerators And Related 34 Deep Tech 31 Educational Episodes 20 Blockchain Investing 15 Legal 15 All Leave a review! Leave a Review Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Overcast Castro RSS Feed What it takes to raise the pre-seed round? By Adrian Sedlin. Adrian Sedlin, serial entrepreneur with 5 successful exits and currently the CEO at CANNDESCENT, talks about - what do you need to have to raise the pre-seed round? What is FFF round (friends family and fools) and how those are being raised. Accelerators And Related Angel Investing Venture Capital Acquisitions Adrian's linkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-sedlin-1087473/ CANNDESCENT: https://www.canndescent.com/ Fill out this form to get connected to investors and mentors: https://form.typeform.com/to/vT8gVQDG And today is a guest speaker, we have Adrian saddling who sold 5 of his startups and this episode will focus heavily on what you need to raise your early round. So, what do you need to have to raise friend's family and fools? What do you need to raise preceed and so forth? So, Adrian a, let's kickoff by giving us some background on yourself and on your current star. Can just send well 1st, Constantine, thank you so much for hosting us. Uh. Well, you know, my background is, I started my 1st company when, when I was in college, I ran it 4 or 5 years after college sold it did my MBA after that and then I spent about the next. 15 years of my career building, early stage companies, and turning them around. I was sort of a CEO for hire and did a lot our early stage turnarounds and restructuring and pivots for a venture capital companies. And basically, if there was something that wasn't quite scaling the way. Uh, ownership wanted, that's when my phone tended to ring I've been in everything from a consumer marketing businesses, direct response, marketing to business to government. Sas plays a, and I, after I sold my last company in 2010, I took about 4 years off. And came out of my early retirement in 2015 to start, which is, uh. The number 1 provider of branded flower to the California cannabis market, and, you know, our flagship brand. Can desomond, or our namesake brand is sort of known for. Being the 1st, ultra premium brand in the space, and also introducing what's called effects based marketing to the conversation. Nice and 1st of all Congrats on kenneson, even though I'm not the biggest fan of these fields still gray achievements there. So, let's start by discussing the major topic of today's episode. You know, what do you need to have to raise friends? Family unfolds round and by the way, do you know why it's called friends family and fools now? So whereas they. fool's part team in, because it used to be just friends and family I think. Well, I never heard the fools till just now, you know, I would yes, I understand why that was added on because. There's nothing more true than the 1st, money in a company. Without a doubt, it's the riskiest kids Pre revenue. There may not be in business model but aside from all those things that, you know, most people understand. What they don't understand is. Even if things end up going well. Or reasonably well, the mistakes made along the way, sometimes can blow out the early stage investors in what's called a recap or a crammed down. And so, even though the company or the brand, or the entity ends up going on to survive and do well, and thrive. Uh, the people who put money in that 1st stage, um. May end up not making any money when they see later stage investors end up cashing real checks. So, maybe that's why they added the fools. Right, right I think that's that's an accurate explanation. And. Well, let's pretend that you've already raised the friend's family and falls round the 3 apps round and moved on to the precision. What should you ideally have at that stage to raise a successful round. Well, I think generally there you need to have a. Fully develop business and 1st of all, I don't think there's any hard and fast rules about your at this phase and therefore this needs to exactly happen but generally speaking, uh, you certainly need a proof of concept. Against whatever you're doing, if it's a tech play, you probably need some kind of beta or prototype or working installation. You may not have chosen, chosen to take it out to market. You certainly would need the. In a slightly larger team, but, you know, it shouldn't be at the point. If you're going. Your post friends, the family and fools going into sort of that. Pre revenue model, you know, you should have a prototype or something pretty well developed. Business plan and idea of what's about that happen. That you can model out and put to show to investors that where you've gotten some level of attraction now and certain things that's part of the new. So, for example. In my business, I personally wrote the checks in the into the f. F. an. F round. So I self funded it, but then I had to go to market. And raise about 5M dollars in my what? Some people are true 1st round in our series A. I didn't have a working canvas facility at that point, but I was well, on my way, I had applied for our licenses. We had already bought a piece of land. I had signed a lease for the building so the the train was already moving. You have to show that. You've gotten something, I think, to get that next round after our friends and family that there's actual work that's gone on that's created value that is and that you're very likely going to get the opportunity to get the product in market in. Then, you know, once the data comes in, we'll find out if it's successful. Right. That's a pretty accurate description of what you have to have on the presale stage. You know, you have to show that the train is moving yours laces started to move. So Pre seed stage is past. What's next? What do you need to have on the seed stage? Well, again, to me, I tend to think about it. Each business is going to be different, so I need to say there's everything is going to have friends and family then priests, you know, then precis then C, then a series A, I mean, that feels like a lot of. Different steps prior to doing your 1st, formal 8 round and very. It is not likely that someone will go through all those steps. Um. But, perfect example is I went straight from what would have been the equivalent from friends and family around the initial capital and to sort of bird dog and develop the opportunity straight into my series. And it tends to be more defined by the amount of money you raise in my opinion, than. Not necessarily going through each and every 1 of these steps. So I think the important thing for an entrepreneur to think about. Is what are the important milestones that I need to hit. And that the money I'm racing. Will allow me to hit so that when I go back to market to raise more. My valuation is potentially. Or higher, because and then I would say whatever number an entrepreneur convinces themselves. That they need, I'd say, double it. At whatever stage in those early stages, because everything's going to take. You know, cost twice as much in take 3 times as long and so. You know what I would say, think about the milestones thinking about how much money you need to get to the next milestone what that next logical step is and then from there. And then how much time it will take you to raise the next round, based on the milestones and data. That data set that you've been able to put together to show performance and then that's the amount of money you need times to. Right that's pretty accurate calculation. I like it, but we'll do a little bit more specific here. So, whenever I've seen founders raising money enough, that should last them for, like, I know a year and a half of wrong way. What do you think is the ideal timeframe there should be here and a half should be a little bit more. She'd be a little bit less. Again, I think, you know, those are game time decisions, but I'd say, generally, speaking, if you're not cash flow, positive in your burning capital. You know, years worth a year to year and a half worth a runway is a good amount to have on hand. That said, imagine, you have a prototype. For a tech play, you've come up with the and. You know, it's not going to be that hard to move from. You know, whatever the beta or prototype you develop to, maybe actually putting the code together and hiring the developers to get you through actually an out alive, alpha, and start test marketing. Well, depending on how long the depth timeline is for that, you can produce some really important data pretty quickly. Once you go hot in an alpha and beta. So, potentially, then you might raise a little bit less because, you know, you're close to a meaningful milestone. That won't take too long to get to that. If the project works. You have a very big step up in your evaluation. That said, I would always be conservative and. You know, I'll make sure you have enough money in the bank because, you know, you always want to avoid the hard choices of this is going on my personal credit cards because we don't. Right. That's a really good point. Never recommending people to get. They need to ask their personal credit cards, you know, for their company, but those decisions have to be made sometimes. Unfortunately so, by the way here, I would like to actually go a few steps back and. Check back with our preceded requirements. So recently I've been seeing more and more founders saying that, you know, I'm on my preceded, but seems like most investors, even angel investors who claim to be very early on investors even they require some kind of traction. Do you think that's accurate or not? Not really. I think that it depends on. This situation, and specifically, let me give you a framework. That I like to think about and I've written a lot of checks into some early stage companies over the years. And I look at 4 things, or I look at 4 lenses on something when it's super early. People opportunity deal in context. So, who are the people involved? What's the team and specifically. Does that does that team know. Their industry called what they're proposing to do. And are they known throughout that industry? So, for example, I'm making something up. If the founders of. My space back in the day, you know, had come to me and said, pitch pitch me a new social media company. I'd say, well, those people probably know quite a bit about what they're doing and they're probably known in the right communities. That's critical to me because the rest of it. The deal the opportunity in the context. The opportunity and the context will always change. Uh, and we'll learn about that as the business goes on, but that's the team that's going to. Really make all the difference and there's an expression where. You know, a C team's going to take an ID and turn it into a C idea and an 18 we can take a C. C ID and make an idea. So most importantly, the earlier it is the more important the people are and I always look for people who know what they're talking about in are known throughout the industry they're talking about in contrast. If someone said. Hey, I want to start a restaurant and they have a great restaurant concept, but they've never. Run a commercial kitchen, or had no food industry experience it could be a great idea. They're just not the right people to execute against it. If they don't have teammates that they've put together that then speak to that experience. So, I like people who know what they're talking about in our known in that industry, the known pieces, similar views, that hypothetical my space example, you've got to recruit a team. You know, so it's going to be your credibility, your track record in your network that's going to attract, not just the investors to the table, but also the, the key hires that are going to move the project forward. So. You know, the opportunity in the basic business, you know, when someone shows me numbers, you know, I can pretty much take any early stage Pre revenue, business plan and throw it out the window. Uh, but I do, but I judge that business plan and revenue model by the quality of thought, and the assumptions and the depth of those assumptions, but really, it just comes down to. The opportunity do I like it is the context for that opportunity is good. And then given that, it's the friends and families and fools round or pretty close to that or pretty early stage. I got to understand the deal, which is, is there enough return to justify the fact that. I'm going to look at 20 of these deals at this stage, and only 2 or 3 are going to work out. So, I'm going to lose, you know, maybe I'll get a double on the other 2 and I'll get a single on 1 and then the other 70, and then sit and then 3 quarters or we'll be zeros. So mm, yeah, I want to make sure there's a decent enough deal at each stage. I want to make sure the context and the opportunities. Right? The number 1 thing early is the people, Scott, it's all about those people. Absolutely, absolutely that's 100%. I think that's the thing that founders really overlook these time. I mean, especially early stage founders, they put the team slides, like, on slide 12 or 13 and I don't quite see, why why? And I've seen a lot of templates to do the same exact thing. And I don't get honestly, like my put a number for it. But, anyways, that's that's the insight in mind, so let's move on to the more comparison of current situation, versus the starting point of your career. So, you start your 1st company, it's mentioned in college and comparing to your current company, which is, can descent. What are the major differences you see there in terms of approaching the company itself. Well, 1st, you can see a guy who doesn't who, who learn things the hard way because when I started the company, when I was 20, I clearly knew very little. And I was known even less so, um. That was a paradigm difference now I hadn't. Versus you go 30 years later in my career. Or 25 years later and career, where I have a deep and, you know, personal network of people I've worked with who know, you know that I've, I've been in lots of different industries. I happen to have a decent I had a family member who was quite connected into the cannabis industry. So we're able to put a a really good team together early. I mean, so it was sort of night and day. And then the only thing I'd say is that 1st company. For me starting at early. It was it set the table for everything else I did in my career while it was not the most financially successful. The things I I ended up doing in my career. I'd say the education and gave me. At such a young age in my career was selling valuable because excuse the expression but if there was dog s*** on the street. I found a way to drag my flip through it the 1st rodeo and, you know, I really can't emphasize this enough to any entrepreneur. Or would be entrepreneurs like the dream. Is you know, the Elon Musk and those are the stories that everyone talks about it's sort of like fishing. You know, everyone caught fish that were huge. There's some great books written by startup founders and, like, uh, I think the guy from Andreessen Horowitz a. Talks about the hard things he wrote a book called the hard things about hard things. Basically what? The dirty little secret when everything goes wrong and you're starting and how to manage through it. I mean, it's, you know, this is a huge personal decision for people. Sailing slowly in life, especially if you have a family or kids, a wife or husband, whatever your situation is, you know, when I was 20. The great news was, I was able back in 1992 to pay myself 600 dollars a month and live off. And, yeah, there were many nights I was digging through the couch cushions, looking for quarters and I'll never forget the, every month, my business partner and I, because we made the same amount. Or once a month, treat to ourselves, as we went to the all, you can eat buffet and Bangkok or lunch for 6 dollars and 99 cents. That was pretty much everything else was potatoes and pasta a home cooked. But anyway. The point is, I could afford that risk profile when I was 20. I could never take on that type of risk profile with 3, teenage kids and a wife now. So. And that was a primary difference. Uh, I knew a lot more. I know a lot more now, but then, uh. And some things never changed, you know, I'm in certain ways, I'm the same entrepreneur. I was. 30 years ago, uh, when I set my mind to something, you know, it's I understand it's a 90 hour a week. And there was no difference between that at 20 and and now at 50. Got it yeah, that's love. Plugged those stories to be honest. So, let's talk a little more about those stories and, I mean, roughly 10% of my listeners, our early graduates from versus or actual current students. So they're where you were 30 years ago. What's your advice to those people? Right now? What will you recommend them doing? Uh, go for it. Your you have Max flexibility in your life. The worst thing you're going to worst thing that happens is you fail. And failure if you're just a recent college graduate, or maybe even go to school so you're 18 to 22 or 23. so you spend 2 years. Working on something, and it doesn't work out. You can still fully rebuild without too much set pack at 20. 5, or however long you invest in it. So I say, yeah, you should jump in because you're going to get a world class, real life MBA all the stuff. They don't teach you and in business school, you're gonna learn how to read contracts for a living. You're going to learn how to develop a sales plan. You're going to learn how to get real world practical marketing. And if you're 1 of those people who wants to be an entrepreneur and knows, you know, it's just in their DNA. You'll start building that cross functional experience. Early in your career, I mean, I can tell you honestly, I was scared of financial statements in my 1st startup. I didn't I didn't even really use them. I was the CEO, you can say, well, that's sort of suicidal and the answer sort of was, you know, I had my partner was my CFO, but I just wasn't comfortable numbers at that point. But the point is, I learned so much about every other aspect I learned I had to do a little bit of coding, and I had to learn how to build out a database. I had to build the marketing plan. I learned about sales. I went door, there was a lot of door to door sales. I mean, I learned so much that then, let me see across an organization that could be redeployed later in my career and still informs me today. And so I looked at it as it was a win either way. If it works and it hits big. Well, right now you're. Light years ahead in your career and you have financial freedom at a young stage in your life to go on to do bigger and better things. If it doesn't work, you got a world class education to work with. Right? Of hard knocks. Right, right. Speaking of education life lessons are great, but I still highly encourage my listeners to get their diplomas for actual universities as just, you know. Additional safety net is just safer and constantly and I. let me speak to the first second you know i've been an entrepreneur my entire career and i've gone in to . Various situations I also have a double major magnet from Georgetown. I'm an MBA from Harvard. The point that the reason for me to bring that up is. I always had a safety net from that education that allowed me to take on that risk. Because if I needed to recruit at 40, it would have been hard to recruit back into the mainstream work role because. I just didn't have the type of 1520 years in 1 industry, but that said having the quality educational background. Will always ground and anchor any of your experiences in a way that people read them as serious and meaningful. So, whether or not your 1st company, or 2nd company works out having that diploma and, you know, it'll just be read a different way. By people in both success and failure scenarios. As well, and there's nothing like learning how to think critically. Which education can provide, right? That's exactly what I'm talking about. I thought you're gonna try to argue with me here, but I'm happy. We're in the same page here. So now, let's talk a little bit more about, you know, we've touched on to the mistakes that you've done the best. The things you would like to recommend other founders to do, but let's talk about more of, you know, positive side looking back at all your previous companies. What do you think was the best move that you've done in. All that experience, you know, looking back a little that was the 1 thing that comes into your mind when you think, like. Perfect awesome success greatness. For me, it's all the decisions I've made to sort of follow my passion. And instincts are the ones that tend to work out pretty well. Are the ones where. I'm not sure and I'm conflicted or I'm trying to do necessarily. Something that feels more practical, but just doesn't feel right to me. I've learned over time that I just got to lean into the things that feel right and better and I'd say it may seem a little self serving. But I've never been happier professionally. Um, starting can doesn't decision to go into the cannabis industry was sort of a. I never would have imagined it 25 years ago or 30 years ago. It's sort of the logical conclusion to my career. And so. Having an opportunity to do 1 last startup I probably won't want to start from scratch again in something. I'm super passionate about. You know, no matter what happens with it, it's a win because when you're passionate about the mission and the product and the thing you're trying to bring to market. The rest tends to take care of itself, right? That's actually perfect. I love it. So, here, we're moving on to the more current situation once you. As an exit founder, do you do mentorship or angel investment since you already mentioned that? I will kind of modify the question a little bit and ask you where do you get most of your deals from? So do get them. Just from your LinkedIn, we're founders can find you and ask to review their pitch decks or to give them some advice or how do you get most of your deals so that you invest in. Well, interestingly, I go through phases in my career where. Uh, right now, no, 1, if someone asked me to write a check as an angel, there's. No chance I ever would and now I'll miss out on the next Facebook or whatever it is, because I always think about my own personal investible cash as how much of my allocate how much of my assets do I want allocated towards early stage capital. Like, an early stuff in my case, I wrote a big check against this company right now and so it tends to be for me personally, when I monetize something. Then, I'll probably look at a bunch of deals while I'm not focused on running my own thing in terms of where does my deal flow come from personally, it's always going to be through personal networks. And this is probably going to make me look unpopular to the millennial crowd and below, but. You know, I probably get 40 or 50 requests a day. My LinkedIn account, it's just not practical for me to look at pitch decks from people. I don't know. So when I'm interested. And looking at things, I have a personal networks, I reach out to it and, you know, the deal flow will start. Right and that's completely understandable. I think it took me some time to get in touch with you through LinkedIn. So it was definitely a tough, tough tool to reach out to people who are pretty popular. Let's let's put it this way. So, now let's talk about current situation in terms of those millennials that you've touched down to, and basically early stage entrepreneurs specifically from the fundraising point of view. So, what's your recommendation to them? How would you recommend them raising money right now? In this world? Well, you know, in coven, I, I don't think cove in. Should affect things much 1 way or another uh, if you're sitting there. You know, the 1st thing, I did put it in. For example, and canvas, and when I decided I was going to raise money. I went into my office and I wrote. I spent about a day and a half thinking about every person. I knew from literally elementary school. And not that I kept in touch with every 1 of them. And I thought about 2 things. 1, do I think they have the means to invest in something. To do I think they know me well enough. That they would trust me to write a check to me. In my enterprise, so my advice is. Write a really long. Let's get that list together. If you're. In a situation where you sit down. And there's no 1 on that list. Well, now now you need to revisit your assumptions and say, am I known well enough? To go out and actually do this. And, you know, because again, there's nothing worse than failing slowly. And if you're really set on. If you're an entrepreneur, there's always going to be night, you know, there's, you're, you're going to have hundreds and hundreds of ideas across your lifetime. So, you know, my attitude is. If you're if you can't develop that list, because that list is then. Pretty easy. You start emailing them individually, not some spam mail. You don't send out, you know, you try to get individual calls with some of those people who would be in your friends or family, or some of your network, and you start talking through. And, you know what you're, you're trying to do and and then, you know, at a conceptual level and then you. Maybe schedule a pitch call. For them, if they're interested, and if I were to give another piece of advice to people, here's the most important thing. When it comes to raising money, right? I think. Get your head around the fact that 8 0T to 10 people are going to say no. Mm. And the reason I say that, and it has nothing to do with. Again, when I say, you not you constantly and, I mean, you as the. The example I gave is, you know, earlier, which is a pitched mean. I'm the fool, but if someone pitched the next Facebook right now, I probably wouldn't write a check. I definitely wouldn't because I wouldn't even take the pitch meeting and you could say, well, Adrian, you're so close to life. And this, that the other thing, no, I am not deploying a*** risk capital acids right now when I was pitching Kanban. To most of my my network. I knew right away a lot of them weren't going to be able to write a check. Simply because they work with, they work on Wall Street and heavy compliance backgrounds, and they can't invest in the cannabis industry. So. There's a hundreds of some, maybe someone's going through a divorce. Maybe someone just had their kids. It has nothing to do with you when they say no more often than not. And so my advice is get thick skin, keep your chin up and but be honest about. You know, if you're not getting any positive responses, you gotta figure out where is it going wrong? And why. And maybe you're not ready as an entrepreneur, maybe your plans not strong enough. And that's when every time you get off the. A call with someone, and they're not in the position. To invest and they choose not to, you should always say, hey. There's hundreds of reasons not to invest. I'm really curious about. Why you chose that this opportunities. Not for you and assure them you will not hurt my feelings. And it would be a great service to me. If you gave me really tough feedback. That's when you learn and take that, and then you can use that information to get better. Right, right definitely. My recommendation is growth. Thanks can before going out to fund raising to sales, because you'll see a lot of not pleasant things coming your way. So, on this not very positive, but still, you know, really useful. Advice we're moving on to a last question of today's episode. People just got our if you've never been a salesman. You know, being an entrepreneur and having to raise money, you are in sales and sales a number of games. Numbers game, and it's about how many people you put in the top of the sales funnel. To get to the number that come out the end. For example, when I wrote my list, I referred to earlier. I probably and I'm going from memory. I must have had 400 people on that list that led to 20 investors. The other thing I'd say is the 2nd, you get someone who's actually willing to invest. Always remember birds of a feather flock together. You should ask that person quickly do you know anyone else? Who might be interested in investing and here's I'm going to give people. Adrian unsettling, the theory of ice cream. Relates to raising money. The human condition is inherently in secure and so if someone just decided. To buy your flavor of ice cream, your business plan, they're inherently going to feel the need to get that validated and share it with other people. If you've try a new flavor of ice cream and it's amazing. It's like, what do you do? Oh, dude, you got to try this same exact thing with investing. If someone's writing a check, ask them say, hey, you're part of the team now. Can you think of 2 or 3 people that I might want to talk to that you'd be willing to help. You know, help your investment along and make that introduction, not an endorsement just position as, you know, this is something I'm doing. And you may be interested. Because you'll find half year round is filled out by those types. The referrals, right? I actually love the Adrian theory of ice cream. I love it. So, here on this more positive note, we're moving on to a last question of today's episode, which is a call to action. So, Adrian, what's the 1 thing you want to do? As soon as the episode is over? I'm sorry, could you repeat the question? Sure. So as a call to action, what is the 1 thing you want to listen to do? Like, as soon as the episode is over. What should what should your listeners do to for, for raising money? It can be anything raising money. Okay. I will, I will tell you. It may not have to do with raising money, but if you don't make habit of it every day, and as a big part of your life, I'd say, get in the exercise and practice of gratitude. And I'll spend a moment on that. Expectation if someone doesn't write me a check and I get frustrated by. A 100 people not writing me checks. That's because I have an expectation. That they should write me a check that leads to frustration and continued frustration, breeds anger. Everyone should practice gratitude daily to get their head in the right space. All. Instead of counting all the things that are wrong force yourself to make lists and think about all the things that are right. Um, in your life and it's, you know. I can see whether you're a ridiculously fantastic successful entrepreneur or your 1st startup is failing and you're going down or slams if you're not cold, hungry, heavier, didn't grow up and warn torn Somalia or God forbid, you know, there's so many horrific conditions that you could be living in on this planet so if you're listening to this podcast right now, I assure you, you have. And an extraordinary amount to be grateful. For in your life, and I would just say that's what's going to keep you up. You know, as you go see your entrepreneurial career, and you meet the universities in both personal and professional adversity. The practice of gratitude is the fuel That'll keep you even and happy and when you spend time thinking about all the things that are. Wonderful and great, not sort of in a Disney animated movie, kind of a way, but genuinely focus on the things that are right you know, if you're married and you fight with your spouse, you can spend 2 hours thinking about how. How mad you are at your spouse, but if you actually invest a little bit of energy thinking about all the wonderful things that your spouse is, and you force yourself to count those things you're going to be in a much better mood and see life so much better lens and be at much more productive personnel. So, my advice practice, gratitude. That's that's actually a really good point. I generally do not support those. No self analyzing. Mythologies, but sometimes it does help, so, like, I personally recommend you writing a list of things you've done during the day, you know, even if small things, like, for me, I usually bulk them together into things that take about an hour. So, I know if I have 8 calls today, I'm going to put. Tasks of 2 calls per paper and once I'm done with 2 calls, you know, I put them on a desk and by the end of the day, you can see how much you've done and you're like, oh, there's a lot. So, I'm going to put myself in the back, so definitely try doing adrian's advice. Of course, follow mind advice and, of course, take a look at the description of this episode. I'll leave a few links there to the resources mentioned during this episode, specific weight treasures, linked in and to Kansas and if you're curious to see how it works and also I'll leave a link to the application where you can just put your idea. And if I like it, I'll connect you to the proper mentors and actively invest investors. 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By Russ Heddleston. 300th episode of Fundraising Radio - special edition. 300th episode of Fundraising Radio - special edition. Silicon Valley Show in real life? Sure! Epic story of Distil Networks by Rami Essaid Silicon Valley Show in real life? Sure! Epic story of Distil Networks by Rami Essaid Building the team - how, where and when do you start? By Nick Miceli. Building the team - how, where and when do you start? By Nick Miceli. 371 ideas and $1.7 million raised at pre-seed. Story of Heru by Stiven Rodríguez 371 ideas and $1.7 million raised at pre-seed. Story of Heru by Stiven Rodríguez How to conduct customer interview if you don't have much money? By Sandy Huang Head of Product Growth at Amazon Alexa Mobile How to conduct customer interview if you don't have much money? By Sandy Huang Head of Product Growth at Amazon Alexa Mobile Traditional banking explained - how can startups work with banks? By Reza Sabahi. Traditional banking explained - how can startups work with banks? By Reza Sabahi. Acquired for $985 million by Ebay - legendary serial entrepreneur, Greg Shepard talks about building startups. Acquired for $985 million by Ebay - legendary serial entrepreneur, Greg Shepard talks about building startups. Staying focused on one field and getting acquired - Brock Weatherup sharing his experience of creating companies in pet industry. Staying focused on one field and getting acquired - Brock Weatherup sharing his experience of creating companies in pet industry. Angel investing during pandemic - where should founders go first during COVID-19 to get funding? By Grant Van Cleve Angel investing during pandemic - where should founders go first during COVID-19 to get funding? By Grant Van Cleve CEO, Republic Crowdfunding Platform tells about equity crowdfunding - how does it work, who should consider it, what does the process look like and how much it costs - by Chuck Pettid. CEO, Republic Crowdfunding Platform tells about equity crowdfunding - how does it work, who should consider it, what does the process look like and how much it costs - by Chuck Pettid. Tinder ex-Chief Product Officer, Ravi Mehta tells about pros and cons of working with Gen Z and about building dating apps. Tinder ex-Chief Product Officer, Ravi Mehta tells about pros and cons of working with Gen Z and about building dating apps. Stealth mode = stealth money. Gabriele Sorrento whose company just got acquired tells his story and explains why stealth mode is a horrible choice. Stealth mode = stealth money. Gabriele Sorrento whose company just got acquired tells his story and explains why stealth mode is a horrible choice. San Diego Tech Coast Angels - President of TCA SD chapter, Caitlin Wege comparing different TCA chapters and explaining how SD chapter works. San Diego Tech Coast Angels - President of TCA SD chapter, Caitlin Wege comparing different TCA chapters and explaining how SD chapter works. $30 millions through ICO - how it worked out and how do angels invest in LA by Sami Rusani. $30 millions through ICO - how it worked out and how do angels invest in LA by Sami Rusani. Fundraising Radio is the largest podcast about fundraising for early stage startups in the US. We focus on helping founders understand how they can raise the first institutional round outside of friends and family. How to appeal to investors and how to make sure that they see in your company what you see there. We interview experienced founders who sold their companies in the past and raised hundreds of millions, we talk with active angels, managers of rolling funds, corporate venture capitalists etc. If there is anything you want to learn about pre-seed and seed stage fundraising, it's on Fundraising Radio. © 2023 Fundraising Radio: Early Stage Startup Fundraising

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Infection control experts add to concerns about multidose flu vaccine The Australian Infection Control Association has warned the Federal Government against proceeding with the planned swine flu vaccination program due to health risk concerns, writes Melissa Sweet. The Australian Infection Control Association (AICA) has warned the Federal Government against proceeding with the planned swine flu vaccination program, warning that the use of multidose vials poses an unacceptable risk. The Association, which represents health professionals — mainly nurses — working in infection control, says the use of multidose vials in the current context is "unacceptable practice from an infection prevention risk management perspective". Using multidose vials would breach national Infection Control Guidelines, which state: "The Australian Drug Evaluation Committee (ADEC) has advised that injectable products packaged in multidose vials should not be used except where products such as insulin are intended solely for the exclusive use of an individual patient." AICA president Claire Boardman told Crikey by email that healthcare facilities are required to comply with these guidelines, and said the use of multidose vials would pose a "significant potential risk to patient safety", and that numerous adverse events related to their use had been well documented. "We advise strongly against the use of multidose vials and do not support this mechanism for dissemination of the vaccine," she said. Her statements follow similar concerns raised recently by the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases, but contrast with CSL's insistence that the multidose vials are safe. Ms Boardman says there is no justification for using the multidose vials as "the occurrence and distribution of H1N1 in 2009 within Australia does not constitute an emergency". She warned that the "high risk of failure" of the pandemic vaccination campaign had the potential to compromise future vaccination campaigns. There is also the risk that there may be poor uptake of seasonal influenza vaccination next year, if this campaign goes ahead when there is not a public health emergency, she says. If the vaccine was to be used, the informed consent process should ensure recipients were made aware that the vaccine had not been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, she added. One reason the AICA comments are significant is that the association has been prepared to make them in public. Many similar concerns are being raised behind closed doors. In wide circulation are 1970 Medical Journal of Australia articles, describing the deaths of two men in Geelong in 1969 as a result of infection related to multidose syringes in a mass influenza vaccination program. As well, these are some of the media clips doing the rounds: The New York Times: Growing Focus on Reused Medicine Vials (here and here) Newsday: Health Commissioner Wants Ban on Multidose Vials (here and here) USA Today: CDC Warns of Safety Problems at Clinic (here and here) BBC News: Hepatitis C warning for US clinic (here and here) But many experts are wary of speaking out publicly, because of the political repercussions and also because they fear fanning the campaigns of anti-vaccinationists more broadly. However, if a report in the latest British Medical Journal (here and here) is anything to go by, it seems that health professionals and the general public may vote with their feet — in choosing not to take up vaccination if it is offered. The report cites surveys conducted in several countries of health care workers and the general public, showing scepticism about the merits of pandemic influenza vaccination. One issue highlighted by the unfolding debate is that Minister Roxon has repeatedly framed the availability of a vaccine as the answer to the pandemic. You can understand that she might have wanted to reassure the public for reasons of politics and public health. But the simplicity of the message doesn't do justice to the complexities involved in weighing up the potential costs and benefits of vaccination in the current context. It also has the effect of painting the Government into a corner and encouraging a line of media questioning — "when will the vaccination start?", rather than "what are the pros and cons of starting the vaccination now?" The Australian Government's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jim Bishop, responded to the AICA concerns with this statement: The use of multi-dose vials was always envisaged during the pandemic planning phase. Their use means that a large vaccination program can be rolled out more quickly, and they are more efficient than single dose vials when used in large vaccination clinics. Single use syringes and single use needles will be used to draw up and administer the vaccine, so there are no concerns with cross contamination between patients. Training will be delivered to vaccination providers on use of multi-dose vials to maximise infection control and minimise wastage. MDV will only be used for adults and children from five years of age, and single use syringes will be produced for pandemic influenza vaccine use in children 0-5 years of age. It is important to note that the expert advisory committees and the chief health officers around the country agreed on the use of multidose vials in agreeing to the pandemic plan. Other countries such as the USA intend to use multidose vials for the pandemic influenza vaccine rollout. Australian Infection Control Association Jim Bishop No more deadly than your average non-swine flu Mass vaccinations for Swine Flu: learning from hindsight 2009 influenza pandemic: assessing the fallout bakerboy I'm neither a doctor nor nurse, so pls correct me if I don't quite get this. Following the MDV protocol, a fresh needle and syringe are loaded from a MDV. A person is then given the injection and that needle and syringe are disposed of. Then a completely new needle and syringe are loaded from the MDV and so it goes on. Where's the problem? How can cross infection occur? Alex I think the risk is that from the moment you first open the vial, there is potential for the contents to be contaminated… the level of risk would increase with the amount of time that passes between first opening the vial and taking the last dose from it. If the whole vial is used up within say half an hour as vaccinees roll through a clinic in a mass immunisation programme, it shouldn't be a problem. In lower-volume situations where you do one immunisation per day or even per week, the risk would be much greater. The concern is not so much contamination with the virus that you are vaccinating against, but with any old bacteria/virus particles that might make their way in. My mother in law (MIL) took a regular flu shot about nine months ago, was paralysed within 24 hours and couldn't walk for three months. Doctors said it wasn't Guillain Barre but admitted it could have been the vaccine. They then proceeded to treat her as if it were Guillain Barre. She is still not back to normal nine months down the track. So why do we need this again? Is it going to be like the strain of Swine Flu that with the help of the client follower media scared the heebie jeebies out of the US population in 1976. The media event was supported by a multi million dollar governmental campaign to inoculate anything and everything. Well the campaign had to be abandoned after too many people began dying from the vaccine or suffering debilitating sickness just like my mum in law. The dying people (25 admitted), turned out to be a little embarrassing for the authorities because they could only uncover only one person actually dying from the flu itself. A further 5000 suffered Guillain Barre syndrome, a particularly nasty nerve disease; however some writers say the actual figure would have been dramatically higher to force the government to quit such a major program. The Asia Times reported yesterday that 60% of Hong Kong's health workers are going to refuse the H1N1 shot and now according to the Guardian newspaper, UK medicos have been warned of the dangers of the untested vaccine by leading authorities (it takes years to test these things properly – not six weeks!). So without adequate testing, reportedly dangerous levels of mercury and squalene in the cocktail and according to some reports, lots of other "nasties, we are supposed to stand idly by while they dose up our youngest and fairest. Does this strike you as a little odd? And something for the conspiracy buffs, an Austrian investigative journalist who has been tracking Baxter labs for a long while, one Jane Burgemeister has filed bioterrorism charges with the FBI as well as local Austrian authorities against WHO and the UN along with many significant others including the major producer of the H1N1 vaccine Baxter Labs against whom she is alleging "there has been a deliberate act to cause and profit from a pandemic". http://www.opednews.com/populum/diarypage.php?did=13611 Baxter is no stranger to complaints. As was reported in the India Times, Baxter was behind some strange synthetic flu virus inadvertently being released into the Czech Republic's ferret population. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health-Science/Science/Virus-mix-up-by-lab-could-have-resulted-in-pandemic/articleshow/4230882.cms. The article states that: "It's emerged that virulent H5N1 bird flu was sent out by accident from an Austrian lab last year and given to ferrets in the Czech Republic before anyone realised. As well as the risk of it escaping into the wild, the H5N1 got mixed with a human strain, which might have spawned a hybrid that could unleash a pandemic" You won't find these items reported in the mainstream Western press needless to say. Pause for thought though wouldn't you say?

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Inspired By: Valerie Williams (Mother), Oprah Winfrey, and Stacia Pierce. A Vixen is a self-motivated driven woman. She is in a constant state of progression and growth. She reinvents herself with each milestone in life and sets goals and reaches them. A Vixen stays focused and is career-oriented. With life's success, she remains true to herself, humble, beautiful interior and exterior.

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Ofsted has published figures revealing the scale of the problem of unregistered schools in England. As many as 6,000 children are being educated in the unregistered settings, Ofsted has found in its inspections to date. These children are potentially at risk because there is no formal external oversight of safeguarding, health and safety or the quality of education provided. Almost a quarter (23%) of the settings investigated are in London, with the rest spread fairly evenly across the country. Alternative provision is the most common type of setting (28%). Around a quarter (26%) of the settings are general education providers, and a fifth (21%) are places of religious instruction. The data shows that 15 of those settings have since closed, while 39 have changed the way they operate in order to comply with the law, and 9 have registered as independent schools. Ofsted's Deputy Director in charge of the unregistered schools taskforce, Victor Shafiee, said: "We continue to have serious concerns about unregistered schools. As today's data shows, this is not simply an issue with faith settings, nor is it limited to certain areas of the country. Unregistered schools come in many shapes and sizes, and not all of them are run with malicious intent. But, all children deserve the best. These settings deny children a proper education and can leave them at risk of harm. "The problem here is first and foremost about safeguarding. Many of these places are unsafe – with poor facilities and hygiene, badly trained or untrained staff, who may not have had any employment checks made on them, and little care for children's health and well-being. "We need to make sure children are safe and receiving a good education that prepares them for life in modern Britain. Ofsted will continue to do everything we can to investigate and inspect unregistered schools, and where necessary we will seek to prosecute those running them." To be required to register as a school, a setting must be providing full-time education to at least 5 children of compulsory school age, or one child who is looked after by the local authority or has an education, health and care plan. The setting must operate from a building, and must offer a curriculum that includes maths and English.

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Welcome to Orion, your new business hub in SantaCruz. Another first of its kind. This corporate building is the first in the locality of SantaCruz, and comes from the stable of successful projects by the renowned realtors - Fortune Investments - A division of the reputed A.P. Properties Group of Companies. Orion boasts of magnificent facilities, beginning with its perfect location in the heart of Buzzing SantaCruz (East). Just off the W.E. Highway and a two minute walk from SantaCruz railway station. Now, convenience and time saved in travelling can prove beneficial when you have meeting to attend, for you get to office in a shorter span of time. You will appreciate Orion's prime sport - Just 5 minutes way from Bandra Kurla Complex, the buzzing commercial hub of the suburbs. It's an easy 5 minutes drive from the domestic airport and 20 minutes to the International airport. Those travelling on the Central Suburban Railway line will find Kurla station just 15 minutes away. When SantaCruz-Chembur link road comes into operation, travelling Navi Mumbai and Pune will be a breeze. So make the right business move. To Orion at SantaCruz. A premium corporate property where you can be at the heart of all business activity and closer to home. An elegantly fashionable lobby invites you into the cool environs of air-conditioned comfort. Orion's unique architecture is characterised by its column less fee, which is built on a very secure and stable foundation. With the high-speed, sophisticated elevator, 14 feet high ceiling and the grandness of imported granite floorings, Orion's corporate spaces are sure to make a great corporate impression. Space not being a restriction, you can choose the right office for your business within floors dedicated for corporate needs. This utilizes a concrete centralised column, which opens up the area for a more luxurious and spacious appearance and gives you the benefit of a bigger carpet area. As a additional advantage, the building has two side road facing.

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Chile digs up Salvador Allende to answer: suicide or murder? By Jan-Henrik Foerster and Jim Wyss McClatchy Newspapers SANTIAGO, CHILE—Chilean investigators pried off a concrete slab and carried a flag-draped coffin to a laboratory Monday, hoping to put an end to the 38-year-old debate about how President Salvador Allende died. In doing so, Chile joined the growing number of Latin American countries that have dusted off their dead in the name of nationalism and forensics. Chilean medical examiners said they did not know how long it would take to determine Allende's cause of death. What is known is that on Sept. 11, 1973, the body of the socialist icon was pulled from the national palace during a military coup that brought Gen. Augusto Pinochet to power and helped define the Cold War. An eyewitness claims Allende shot himself with an AK-47 given to him by Cuban leader Fidel Castro as bombs rained down on the palace. But a rushed autopsy and the ensuing years of military rule only fuelled suspicions that he was executed. A medical examiner probing 736 alleged rights abuse cases ordered an exhumation to determine which version is right. But digging up the dead is about more than just determining the cause of death for Allende, an increasingly important historic figure and founding father of the Latin American left, said Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs in Washington. "He would probably be far more valuable dead as a result of external violence than suicide," said Birns, who was in Chile during the coup. "He presented himself as a heroic figure and presumably the coda of that story would require him being murdered by the anti-democratic forces of the country." Latin America has a rich history of disinterring its heroes. In 2006, the body of Argentina's former president, Juan Domingo Peron, who died one year after Allende, was moved from its crypt in Buenos Aires to a museum. In 2008, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa moved some of the ashes of independence hero Eloy Alfaro to a new mausoleum. And last year, Mexican President Felipe Calderon ordered the exhumation of 12 independence figures, only to find two extra bodies mixed in among their remains. Perhaps the most analogous case to Allende's took place last year, when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez opened the tomb of Latin America's founding father, Simon Bolivar, hoping to prove he was poisoned. The procedure was broadcast live on TV and Chavez live-Tweeted the event, but since then the government has largely been silent. "They haven't said anything, because there's nothing to say," said Gottfried Rybak, a forensic pathologist in Venezuela, who teaches graduate-level criminal forensics at Carabobo University. "It has been clear for years that Bolivar died of tuberculosis." In the Allende case, however, the authorities should have a good chance of solving the mystery once and for all. Because Allende is said to have had a head wound, it should be relatively easy to determine the bullet's trajectory, and the weapon's distance from the body, Rybak said. Looking for gunpowder embedded in the skull and the patterns carved out by the bullet should allow researchers to know what kind of weapon was used. "They should be able to determine whether the bullet was Soviet, Belgian — it should be very interesting," he said. "Forensics is about uncovering the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, regardless of who it implicates." According to Patricio Guijon, a member of Allende's medical team and the only eyewitness to his death, Allende shot himself inside La Moneda presidential palace as the Chilean air force bombed the building. Last week, Guijon repeated that account to Associated Press. He said he removed the rifle from between Allende's legs and sat beside his corpse for 15 to 20 minutes "scared to death and having no idea what would happen." But in the South American nation of 17 million, suspicions run strong. The military prohibited family members from seeing Allende's body in 1973. When his casket was moved in 1990 from Vina del Mar to Santiago, only Guijon saw the corpse, according to El Mercurio newspaper. Mireya Baltra, minister of labour under Allende, said press reports at the time of his death talked about Allende's body having 36 bullet holes. None of these versions "have been validated," she told Venezuela's TeleSur. "This exhumation is about finding the truth." Sergio Bitar, also a former Allende minister, said the investigation would not change the facts of that day. "Suicide or not, history is written," he said. "Allende was killed by the military — directly or indirectly." When Allende was elected in 1970, he was hailed by Latin America's left as the man who would prove that socialism and democracy could work hand-in-hand. But he was viewed with suspicion by others. Still reeling from Cuba's fall to communists in 1959, President Richard Nixon authorized a covert campaign to undermine the Chilean economy and discredit Allende. Allende's death turned him into a Cold War martyr, even as Pinochet became one of the United States' top allies in the region.

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In Jon Lampel, LeasEquip, Inc. has a founder and president who is an entrepreneur at heart. Over the years, he has had considerable experience working for businesses of all sizes and types and he understands exactly what businesses of all sizes and types need. His success and his accumulated business knowledge have improved his outlook, especially in the many years since the devastating recession of 2008. Until Jon Lampel and LeasEquip came along, many companies of all sizes and types suffered because it was often difficult to acquire sufficient capital to get the expensive equipment they needed to start up or expand their business. That was the primary reason why Jon Lampel founded the company that would eventually become LeasEquip, Inc. back in 1981. The company has grown a lot since then, and in the years since the Great Recession in 2008, they have become a leader when it comes to helping businesses get over the bump in the road created by the need for expensive equipment, without having to take on high interest loans. By providing them with easily affordable leases, large and small companies are able to obtain the equipment they need affordable, which allows them to compete on a level playing field. Jon Lampel, LeasEquip's leader, knows how business works and he is well aware of what all businesses need, regardless of their industry or size. Ultimately, all businesses of all sizes are aiming for the same goal; to do business as efficiently as possible. By investing in leases rather than buying expensive machines outright, companies can plan for the future because their costs are more predictable. Leasequip Inc. is a company that leases equipment, offers commercial financing and investment banking to other companies. It was cofounded by Jonathan Lampel who is also its current president in 1981 with the name Prudential Capital Corporation. In 1988 the two founders sold the name and rebranded their company Leasequip Inc. ever since its founding, the firm has experienced numerous success. It has supplied over six hundred companies with commercial leases either from its generated capital or in partnership with other banks. Under the leadership of Jon Lampel, the Leasequip has supplied loans to companies in aerospace, alternative energy, construction, medical and entertainment like during the 2008 economic crisis. Before becoming the president of Leasequip Inc. Mr. Lampel worked with different companies in the financing industry. He has over twenty-five years of experience with helping companies with financial difficulties, to lease equipment and acquire loans. Mr. Lampel got his first job in the financial industry with a New Jersey-based firm called Dun and Bradstreet. At Dun and Bradstreet, he worked as a credit reporter. From Dun and Bradstreet, he joined the Crocker National Bank where he worked as a loans officer, credit analyst and as a portfolio manager. Jonathan then joined Wells Fargo Leasing Corporation in the same capacity before being put in charge of overseeing the leasing in twelve different states. He worked for Wells Fargo or four years between 1972 and 1976. He left Wells Fargo for Topa Equipment Leasing Inc. before finally opting for self-employment whereby he cofounded the Prudential Capital Corporation.

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XIMB(Xavier Institute Of Management and Buisness ) is a buisness school loacted in Bhubaneswar, the captial of eastern Indian state of Odisha. It is governed by the Government of India, Government of Odisha and the society of Jesus. It is going to organize its cultural fest of the year Xpressions. XIMB, a 30 years old business school of global repute is the Flagship School of Xavier University. Xpressions 2018, the management cultural fest of XIMB, one of the biggest Management-Cultural fest of India, is a three-day extravaganza which is scheduled to take place from 16th to 18th November 2018. And the students are all geared up to make this event a grand success. Xpressions 2018 plans to reach out to the best minds of business schools to test and challenge their business acumen as well as their zeal and vigor towards life. The three days are packed with business simulation games, cultural activities, fun-filled games, art exhibitions, and much more. As a prelude to Xpressions, social events X-Athon and X-Enable are conducted every year. With only 10 more days to go, here are the events that are scheduled to make Xpressions eventful and memorable. Veritable business acumen is required to do well in the corporate world, and Xpressions gives the perfect platform to test one's managerial skills. The different business events include, Case Connect (a National-Level Case Study Competition), Inquizzitive (a Flagship Quizzing Competition), Maven (a National-Level Case Study Competition, organized by Constrat: the strategy association), MPower (A Marketing based Business event), Nirnay (Online Simulation Game), Trade Wars (a Trading Simulation Game), Vakritva (An SRC and SpeakUp featured event), Vriddhi (A CSR Action Plan Competition), XIMB MUN(UN Simulation Competition by SpeakUp, the Oratory Club), Resonance (a business simulation gaming event), Aarohan ( the operations based case study event), Finasco (a finance based case study competition), and Ad Valorem ( the event to showcase one's entrepreneurial acumen). Other events Decibelz, Goonj, Thirkan, Aaghaz, Carnival De Vogue, Paint@XIMB, Pratibimb, Viraasat, Flight of Fancy , MAXIM Mela , LENSATION, ZORB IT OUT, FINAL CUT etc. Laughalaughi is one of their online media partners in the year 2018. It is a break for students from their hetic schedule. This fete has the legacy of amzing reviews from all over the states. The environment turns more festive than ever and it is a lifetime experience for everyone who attends the fest. It's an escape for all the students who are going to be here and of course this fest wont disappoint them.

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Incredibly soft and absolutely unshrinkable, this colorblock tee is sure to be a favorite from the very first touch. The easygoing style flows out towards the hem for exceptional comfort. This long-sleeve tee comes with a promise to keep its perfect shape wash after wash. In soft, breathable cotton with modal for beautiful drape and just a bit of stretch for ease. In a blend of 56% cotton, 38% modal and 6% spandex. Colorblocked on shoulder seam and yoke. Center front seam at top yolk. Not too loose, not too close, the soft-draping tee fits and feels wonderful.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

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{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

Cairo Roots Museum Exploring the History of Cairo, NE Pioneer Life on Glass – The Balcom-Green Collection The Grand Island and Wyoming Central Railroad began laying out the road bed northwest from Grand Island in 1886. The railroad had made three surveys…..one route further south would have taken the railroad through the sod town area, but it was rejected because of the hilly terrain. Railroad officials then decided that a depot for a new community would be placed on the northwest corner of the Walter Kellogg farm. However, one of the railroad men happened to stop at the home of George Bussell, whose farm made up the present 'west' side of Cairo. While eating the evening meal the stranger asked Bussell what he would take for his land. Bussell named a high price and was surprised when the gentleman wrote out an agreement to that effect. The land transferred ownership on January 19th, 1886. This land was homesteaded on May 8th, 1876 and George Bussell made the necessary improvements to "prove up" his claim. He built a sod house, 12 by 14 feet in size, a frame stable and granary, dug a well, and set out 200 trees. In 1882 he made final proof on his homestead, and his neighbors gave witness to his cultivation of the land and the required residency there. He received title to the land on January 20th, 1883. George Bussell then built a frame two-story house, which replaced the sod house the young family had been living in. The Bussell home was located at what is now 205 Suez street in Cairo. The land that makes up the 'east' side of Cairo was owned by Henry Bussell, a brother of George, and was sold to the railroad for 17 dollars and 50 cents an acre. The deed was recorded on April 9th, 1886 " The man who once owned the land on which the present city of Cairo is built has come back from Colorado to see it. Henry Bussell came from England in 1871 and in 1872 bought the land – railroad land – for 4 dollars an acre. It was an eighty. The next year he bought another 80 at 12 dollars per acre. His brother George later bought 160 acres. A few years thereafter, Henry Bussell sold his 160 at $17.50 per acre and George sold his for $20. The Burlington depot, the elevator and part of the town is on Henry Bussell's old land and the rest on that of his brother. The Bussell's reside at Holyoke, Colorado now, having retired from active farming in that vicinity. Mr. Bussell moved to Chase County, near Imperial, in 1886 and some years later to Colorado"…..July 3, 1925 Grand Island Independent With the purchase of the land for the new town complete, the railroad sent out a surveyor who mapped out the new town of Cairo on May 13th and 14th, 1886. The town of Abbott was surveyed the next day. " I hereby certify that on the 13th and 14th days of May, 1886, I surveyed the town of Cairo, situated on a part of the northwest quarter of section 19, township 12 north, range 11 west, and a part of the northeast quarter of setion 24, township 12 north, range 12 west, which is clearly shown by the plat hereto attached which is a correct delineation of said survey drawn to a scale of 200 feet to an inch. The streets and alleys are laid out parallel with and at right angles to the line between said northeast quarter and northwest quarter sections, except Railway street which is parallel with the railroad except where otherwise clearly shown. Bur oak stakes are driven well into the ground at the front corners of each lot, and stone are planted low down in the ground at the places indicated on the plat. The width of streets and alleys and dimensions of lots are indicated in feet and decimals by said figures on the plat. Each lot and block bears its own number Witness my hand, this 14th day of June, 1886 Anselmo B. Smith" With the survey of the new town of Cairo complete, businessmen quickly began making plans to locate here. "We understand that our friend George Elfers, who formerly lived near Alda, and at present in our city, is going to establish a grocery business in the new town of Cairo, the second station on the B & M railroad, now building from Grand Island to the northwest. The first station on this road will be Abbott. The second about 2 ½ miles from the former Runelsburg, will be Cairo. In a few days Mr. Elfers is going to take his family out to his new place of residence. We have no doubt that Mr. Elfers, who is an able and reliable man, will succeed in his new business…." Editor, The Independent May 21, 1886. "Building operations have commenced in the new town of Cairo, the second station on the Grand Island and Wyoming Central, 18 miles northwest of Grand Island. Mr. Willing is agent for the town lots, who will be glad to show lots and give such other information as is desired. Mr. Elfers is having his lumber for a grocery store hauled out today. Work on a hardware and drug store will be commenced in a few days. Also the petition for the establishment of a post office at Cairo has been forwarded to Washington." Editor, The Independent – May 25, 1886 "Cairo is the second station from this city, on the line of the Grand Island and Wyoming Central. It is situated about 18 miles from Grand Island, and is therefore far enough distant to make a fair country town. It is surrounded by a fine agricultural region, and has a splendid town site. Several buildings are being erected, and quite a number of others are completed. Mr. George Willing is putting up a two-story building 60×22 feet to be used as a furniture and hardware store. Mr. Willing is also agent for the Lincoln Land Company and lots are now on sale. Thomas Shurtz of Auburn is building a drug store 22 x 40 feet in dimensions. George Elfers is having a two-story building erected, which he intends using as a grocery store. As yet no dry goods man has put in an appearance, but this chance will not remain long. It is expected that track laying will be completed this evening." The Independent – May 29, 1886 "Steel has been laid on the Grand Island and Wyoming Central railroad hardly a week, and about twenty-five carloads of stock have been shipped from the new town of Cairo. That seems to be more of a natural trading point than Ravenna, and as soon as the town lot company dispose of their lots at fictitious prices, Ravenna will be a thing of the past" The Independent – June 26, 1886 "Cairo is a beautiful little town situated in Hall County on the B & M 16 miles west of Grand Island, in one of the most fertile farming districts in the state. But one year ago, what is now the main business street of Cairo was a field of thrifty corn. But, one, to believe the magic rapidity with which some of the western farms are converted into substantial, thriving towns, must see them for himself. Fortunes are made in a few years and men raised from poverty to easy circumstances within a few months. This great waste of desert land in our father's time, has become farms of the most prolific character for the sons. The rapidity with which the west is developing, is bound to place it in the front rank of wealth at no distant day, and the man who procures a good farm now will have an inheritance for his old age. Cairo at this time offers rare advantages for any who wish to locate in a good community and grow up with the country. It is one year old with a population of 200, and nearly all branches of business are represented. The present year, while in the east and north and south they are suffering with drought and failures, Hall County flourishes in the midst of great abundance. This prosperity has given Cairo the weight in the balance, and it has taken on a good healthy growth. Arrangements are being made by the G. A. R. post to erect a large hall. As neat a church as can be found in the west, built by the United Brethren, graces the village. Steps have been taken to erect a church of the Methodist faith, which will be done in the spring. That educational advantages might not be lacking the infancy of the village, the people erected a good building with private funds and dedicated it to school purposes until such a time as a building that will be credit to the town and the people could be erected, which will be done this winter or the coming Summer. Real estate in Cairo is steadily advancing and all indications are that it will not be long in doubling up its value." Editor – The Cairo Tribune, September, 1887 R. C. Perkins, who homesteaded southeast of Cairo in 1873, moved to St. Paul, Nebraska around 1889 and got started in the newspaper business. On August 23, 1889 Mr. Perkins wrote for the Phonograph concerning his former home town: "Having occasion to visit this thriving little city, we found all engaged with their usual energy in their various lines of business. Wood Brothers were busy as usual attending to the wants of their numerous customers. The boys were complaining somewhat of dullness in business but from our standpoint their house seemed the center of activity. The Wingert Brothers were agreeable as usual and seemed to be enjoying a fair share of trade. The boys can supply all the necessities of life to any who mean business, and those who want to swap talk can always make a deal with our venerable friend, P. G. Wingert, father of the above named firm, whose headquarters are with the Brothers. He, besides discussing politics, weather and general news is always ready to serve his friends by drawing deeds, mortgages and other legal documents. Dr. Kern seemed quite busy but reported the health generally, pretty good. The only man that I met who made serious complaints of the state of trade was the shoemaker, who was a little blue because, during the warm weather a good many people go barefooted. However, he thought it would all come right before winter. The genial Elfers seemed gay and happy and is deservedly popular. George is a very obliging and can accommodate a customer to anything from a needle to a tariff discussion. The meat market has changed hands, Charles Ivers having sold to Mr. Chase. Mine host of the Cairo house seemed busy rushing from all directions with well filled baskets of supplies. From the amount of good things that are known to enter the house, John must certainly entertain his guests pretty well. From the amount of lumber sold the North Platte lumber company are in a prosperous condition. The jolly I. M. Cole has charge of the business and is laboring night and day to advance the interests of his company. The harness manufacturer, O. D. Perkins, was very busy preparing for the fall trade. Omer is a new man here but has captured a fair business by his fairness in dealing and obliging disposition. They say his work never rips, cuts, tears, wears out or gets dirty. Dr. Severe was quite busy attending to the ills that human flesh is heir to. Our friend Stoeger of the Irvin house is always on the alert for everything that will add to the comfort or enjoyment of his guests. Mr. Goodrich of the pioneer drug store carries a fine stock. Jodie and his efficient assistant, Johnnie Bourke, thoroughly understand the drug business and their customers are always satisfied. Leonard Smith reports loans and collections fair and hopes for improvement as the season advances. Len is a good boy and can do as well by his friends as any one. The blacksmith business of Glock and Lelane is dissolved, Lelane retiring. Randolph Glock is a thorough workman, very obliging, and his prices are always satisfactory. Dell Thompson carries an extensive stock of hardware and machinery. The quality of goods carried, reasonable prices and established reputation for fairness in his business has already obtained for Dell a very large business. The grain buyers, L. W. Lyons at the first elevator and August Thompson at the second, are both anticipating a heavy business this fall and winter. Dr. Robinson is genial and jolly as of yore, always ready to administer quinine or taffy as may be desired." R. C. Perkins The first settlers in northwestern Hall County came to what some still considered a part of The Great American Desert. They saw much more than a desert, they saw the potential of the land here. They came with a vision to build up a life on the prairie, cultivate farms and create homes for their families. More than 100 settlers were veterans of the Civil war, at least two of those being former slaves. They came here with a deep love of country and saw themselves as the defenders of American values. 306 Berber St, Cairo, NE 68824 Hours: Open Saturday mornings from 10 a.m. till noon Or make an appointment to stop anytime. Call Sherry at 308-485-4159 or Walt at 308-380-9024 The museum is located inside the Cairo Community Center, two blocks west of Pathway Bank. Copyright 2012-18, Cairo Roots Museum Website by: Hamilton.net

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

Perks of a top manufacturer's store! A selection unavailable in other stores. "Vstone Robot Center Tokyo Akihabara store" <Hobby> <Robot> "Vstone Robot Center Tokyo Akihabara store" is operated by Vstone Co., Ltd., which develops a variety of robots including manufacturers' promotional robots and its original robots, like "Sota." Many robots can only be seen here, such as the Vstone products, limited edition "TV Anime-version Tetsujin No. 28," actual robots that appeared in movies like "Kikaider REBOOT", and campaign goods developed through collaborations with other companies like "NISSIN YAKISOBA U.F.O." and "NISSIN Cup Noodle." It is a store that is not only great for buying robots, but also for looking at them. "Sota," communication robot, welcomes you at the entrance. In addition to the standard greetings, it can tell you the weather and temperature, and tell you the recommended product. It is expected to be useful in the field of psychological care, for its ability to independently perform simple communications. Sota has its own website (https://sota.vstone.co.jp/sota/). There is a space for robot demonstrations in the store. Ask the staff to see it. 100 units of "TV Anime-version Tetsujin No.28" were released in 2006. This is a super popular model, for its accurate recreation of the robot and the number of avid fans, which sold out almost immediately after it came on the market. Subsequently, more units were produced, but they also sold out. Therefore, this is a very valuable piece. "Black Ox" is a rival robot to "Tetsujin No. 28," released on a limited basis in 2008. It has modified functions of TV Anime-version Tetsujin No. 28, which reflects their rivalry in the original story, and in turn makes the fans squeal. The robots that appeared in the movie "Kikaider REBOOT" by Shotaro Ishinomori are displayed. They are not for sale, of course. "Frying U.F.O." which imitated "NISSIN YAKISOBA U.F.O." was created for promotional purposes and as gifts for the consumers. They were made to actually fly. "Droid," the mascot for a smartphone OS, "Android." This is also not for sale. Naturally, it has Android, and can be controlled by Bluetooth. "Danboard," a popular character that appears in a comic series, "Yotsubato!," was made into a robot. It is currently sold at ¥76,000 (excluding tax) for a basic set. Purchase a controller module to manipulate it remotely. A different kind of robots created in collaboration with Ijima Yuuichi ,a ceramic artist are also displayed. These are all one-of-a-kind, but for sale. It is fun to use commercially available robots as they are, however, the real charm of robot creation is in customizing them to meet your specific needs. You can take comfort in purchasing from a store operated by the manufacturer. Check the company website for information on its support center, for inquires regarding repairs and technical issues. https://www.vstone.co.jp/contact/index.html A wide selection of parts for customization; from the authentic Vstone robot parts to a variety of electronics parts. There are multi-purpose kits with electronic components that can accommodate a variety of ideas. We found a kit for a "device to play Tetris" on demo. It was small, but offered a legitimate gaming experience. The free lecture, programming for "Sota" that is carried out every week, and store-specific events and campaigns are offered. Check out the company website for details (https://www.vstone.co.jp/news/all_news.html). This is a great place to see, experience, and learn through a variety of robots. <SHOP DATA> NAME:Vstone Robot Center Tokyo Akihabara store ADDRESS:Uchida Bldg. 4F, 1-9-9, Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-0021, Japan HOURS OF OPERATION:(MON-FRI)From 11:00AM to 8:00PM, (SAT,SUN,Holiday) From 10:00AM to 7:00PM CLOSE:The year-end and New Year holidays. TEL:+81-3-3256-6676 HP(EN):http://www.vstone.co.jp/english/index.html 投稿日: 2016年5月1日 2016年5月3日 作成者 BEACON AKIBA編集部 カテゴリー SPOT

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

HomeRise in U.S. weekly jobless claims clouds labor market recovery Rise in U.S. weekly jobless claims clouds labor market recovery The number of Americans filing a new claim for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly back above the 1 million marks last week, a setback for a struggling U.S. job market crippled by the coronavirus pandemic. Still, in a sign some rehiring is underway, the rolls of those continuing to receive jobless benefits is slowly declining, the Labor Department reported on Thursday, and other data indicated recovery from the recession triggered by COVID-19 continues, though at a more fitful pace than earlier. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 1.106 million for the week ended Aug. 15, from an upwardly revised 971,000 in the prior week. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 925,000 applications in the latest week. The previous week's level had marked the first time since March that new claims had registered below 1 million, and had fueled some optimism that the pace of layoffs would slow further. Last week's reversal soured that, and new weekly claims have been above the 1 million marks for 21 of the last 22 weeks. "The labor market is a long way from being healthy," Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note to clients. The volatility in benefits activity follows the lapse of an extra $600 weekly unemployment benefit at the end of July. The enhanced benefit had been in place since the spring under the massive coronavirus stimulus package passed by Congress in late March, but Democrats in Congress and the White House have failed to reach agreement on extending it. While President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that includes a provision extending the supplement at a reduced rate of $400 a week, there has been confusion over its implementation. States are required to cover $100 of the benefits, but many governors have indicated they don't have the financial capacity after revenues were decimated in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The remaining $300 will be funded from a limited emergency disaster relief program, which economists estimated could be depleted as early as September. Oxford's Vanden Houten noted that only seven states have been approved to pay the extra benefits. 'LOSING STEAM' New COVID-19 infections continue to spread across the nation, forcing authorities in some of the most afflicted areas to either shut down businesses again or pause reopenings. The newest twist in the path of the outbreak includes the eruption of hot spots associated with some colleges reopening their campuses. First-time claims peaked at a record 6.867 million in late March. "Claims are still down 325,000 from the last full week of July," economists at Jefferies said in a note to clients that described the overall increase as "disappointing." "The next few weeks will be telling in terms of how much of the recent improvement has been fundamental as the Sun Belt has recovered from their COVID surge, or technical as the $600 benefit expired," the Jefferies economists said. While new claims are up, the number of people continuing to collect jobless benefits beyond the first week fell to the lowest level since April. So-called continuing claims declined to 14.844 million in the week ending Aug. 8 from a revised 15.480 million in the prior week. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast continued claims at 15 million. Including those enrolled in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which provides benefits for those out of work who would not ordinarily qualify for standard state jobless benefits, the total number of people receiving assistance was 28.06 million in the week ended Aug. 1, down roughly 200,000 from the prior week. Only 9.3 million of the 22 million jobs lost between February and April have been regained so far, and the economy suffered its largest slump since at least the end of World War Two in the second quarter, contracting by nearly 33% at an annualized rate. Nonetheless, two other reports on Thursday showed a recovery is underway, although the pace has slackened in recent weeks. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing index showed the pace of activity growth in the mid-Atlantic region slowed for a second straight month in August. FILE PHOTO: Job seekers apply for the 300 available positions at a new Target retail store in San Francisco, California August 9, 2012. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo The Philadelphia Fed's business index slid to a reading of 17.2 from 24.1 in July. A reading above zero indicates expansion. Economists polled by Reuters had been looking for a reading of 21. And the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index rose 1.4% in July, following increases of 3.0% and 3.1% in June and May, respectively. "Despite the recent gains in the LEI, which remain fairly broad-based, the initial post-pandemic recovery appears to be losing steam," said Ataman Ozyildirim, the Conference Board's senior director of economic research. "The LEI suggests that the pace of economic growth will weaken substantially during the final months of 2020."

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaCommonCrawl'}

> to prove scan is done when iwlist is executed. handler, does it dis-allow a scan when connected? > > appear and others are missing. > > Can someone help me please. > ____________________________________________________________________________________Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos & more.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

WebInspector.DatabaseQueryView = function(database) { WebInspector.View.call(this); this.database = database; this.element.addStyleClass("storage-view"); this.element.addStyleClass("query"); this.element.addStyleClass("monospace"); this.element.tabIndex = 0; this.element.addEventListener("selectstart", this._selectStart.bind(this), false); this.promptElement = document.createElement("div"); this.promptElement.className = "database-query-prompt"; this.promptElement.appendChild(document.createElement("br")); this.promptElement.addEventListener("keydown", this._promptKeyDown.bind(this), true); this.element.appendChild(this.promptElement); this.prompt = new WebInspector.TextPrompt(this.promptElement, this.completions.bind(this), " "); } WebInspector.DatabaseQueryView.prototype = { show: function(parentElement) { WebInspector.View.prototype.show.call(this, parentElement); function moveBackIfOutside() { if (!this.prompt.isCaretInsidePrompt() && window.getSelection().isCollapsed) this.prompt.moveCaretToEndOfPrompt(); } setTimeout(moveBackIfOutside.bind(this), 0); }, completions: function(wordRange, bestMatchOnly, completionsReadyCallback) { var prefix = wordRange.toString().toLowerCase(); if (!prefix.length) return; var results = []; function accumulateMatches(textArray) { if (bestMatchOnly && results.length) return; for (var i = 0; i < textArray.length; ++i) { var text = textArray[i].toLowerCase(); if (text.length < prefix.length) continue; if (text.indexOf(prefix) !== 0) continue; results.push(textArray[i]); if (bestMatchOnly) return; } } function tableNamesCallback(tableNames) { accumulateMatches(tableNames.map(function(name) { return name + " " })); accumulateMatches(["SELECT ", "FROM ", "WHERE ", "LIMIT ", "DELETE FROM ", "CREATE ", "DROP ", "TABLE ", "INDEX ", "UPDATE ", "INSERT INTO ", "VALUES ("]); completionsReadyCallback(results); } this.database.getTableNames(tableNamesCallback); }, _promptKeyDown: function(event) { if (isEnterKey(event)) { this._enterKeyPressed(event); return; } }, _selectStart: function(event) { if (this._selectionTimeout) clearTimeout(this._selectionTimeout); this.prompt.clearAutoComplete(); function moveBackIfOutside() { delete this._selectionTimeout; if (!this.prompt.isCaretInsidePrompt() && window.getSelection().isCollapsed) this.prompt.moveCaretToEndOfPrompt(); this.prompt.autoCompleteSoon(); } this._selectionTimeout = setTimeout(moveBackIfOutside.bind(this), 100); }, _enterKeyPressed: function(event) { event.preventDefault(); event.stopPropagation(); this.prompt.clearAutoComplete(true); var query = this.prompt.text; if (!query.length) return; this.prompt.history.push(query); this.prompt.historyOffset = 0; this.prompt.text = ""; this.database.executeSql(query, this._queryFinished.bind(this, query), this._queryError.bind(this, query)); }, _queryFinished: function(query, columnNames, values) { var dataGrid = WebInspector.panels.resources.dataGridForResult(columnNames, values); var trimmedQuery = query.trim(); if (dataGrid) { dataGrid.element.addStyleClass("inline"); this._appendQueryResult(trimmedQuery, dataGrid.element); dataGrid.autoSizeColumns(5); } if (trimmedQuery.match(/^create /i) || trimmedQuery.match(/^drop table /i)) WebInspector.panels.resources.updateDatabaseTables(this.database); }, _queryError: function(query, error) { if (error.message) var message = error.message; else if (error.code == 2) var message = WebInspector.UIString("Database no longer has expected version."); else var message = WebInspector.UIString("An unexpected error %s occurred.", error.code); this._appendQueryResult(query, message, "error"); }, _appendQueryResult: function(query, result, resultClassName) { var element = document.createElement("div"); element.className = "database-user-query"; var commandTextElement = document.createElement("span"); commandTextElement.className = "database-query-text"; commandTextElement.textContent = query; element.appendChild(commandTextElement); var resultElement = document.createElement("div"); resultElement.className = "database-query-result"; if (resultClassName) resultElement.addStyleClass(resultClassName); if (typeof result === "string" || result instanceof String) resultElement.textContent = result; else if (result && result.nodeName) resultElement.appendChild(result); if (resultElement.childNodes.length) element.appendChild(resultElement); this.element.insertBefore(element, this.promptElement); this.promptElement.scrollIntoView(false); } } WebInspector.DatabaseQueryView.prototype.__proto__ = WebInspector.View.prototype;

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaGithub'}

Q: Tricky problem about quadratic forms Let A be symmetric matrix of order 3. Consider set $S=\{x\in\mathbb{R}^{3}:\; x^{T}Ax=a\}$. 1 (true). If S is unbounded for any $a\in\mathbb{R}$, then A is indefinite. 2 (false). If S is bounded for any $a\in\mathbb{R}$, then A is positive definite. 3 (false). If S contains a line for any $a\geq0$, then A is positive semidefinite. Please, give me a hint how to solve this problem. A: Assume that $A$ is diagonal. You can assume so because the questions are independent of the basis of $\mathbb{R}^3$. So you are free to choose the coordinates to answer the questions. Do you need help assuming $A$ diagonal? Question 1). Then (up to a change of coordinates) $S = \{(x,y,z) \in \mathbb{R}^3 : \lambda x^2 + \beta y^2 + \gamma z^2 = a \}$ Assume that $S$ is unbounded for all $a \in \mathbb{R}$. We are going to show that it is not possible that either $\lambda,\beta,\gamma \geq 0$ or $\lambda,\beta,\gamma \leq 0$. Indeed, in the first taking $a = -1$ the set $S$ is empty hence is not unbounded. In the second case take $a=1$ and again $S$ is the empty set. So at least one of $\lambda,\beta,\gamma$ is negative and the other is positive. That is to say $A$ is indefinite. So claim 1) is true. Question 2). As before $S = \{(x,y,z) \in \mathbb{R}^3 : \lambda x^2 + \beta y^2 + \gamma z^2 = a \}$ and assume $S$ is bounded for all $a \in \mathbb{R}$. Observe that taking $\lambda=\beta=\gamma=-1$ we get $S = \{(x,y,z) \in \mathbb{R}^3 : x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = -a \}$ which is bounded for all $a \in \mathbb{R}$ and $A$ is negative definite. Thus, claim 2) is false. Question 3) Set $\lambda=0$,$\beta=1$ and $\gamma=-1$. Then $S = \{(x,y,z) \in \mathbb{R}^3 : y^2 - z^2 = a \}$ and $A$ is not positive semidefinite. Notice that for $a \geq 0$ the set $S$ containes the line $(t,\sqrt{a},0), t \in \mathbb{R}$. So claim 3) is false.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaStackExchange'}

We specialize in tree trimming, tree/stump removal, and fire mitigation for the greater Colorado Springs area. Our goal is to help you improve and sustain the health of your trees while ensuring the safety of your home and property. We guarantee prompt and professional service as well as fair pricing for homeowners and property managers. You don't have to take our word for our work! We're highly rated on Home Advisor, Yelp, and Thumbtack. We're proud to support reforestation in Colorado through our partnership with One Tree Planted. Every job you book with us plants a minimum of 1 tree! We've planted 500 trees this year. Help us reach our goal of planting 1,000 trees in Colorado by yearend. Branch Removal: We remove damaged and dead branches to prevent disease and enhance growth. Stay warm all winter long with quality firewood, delivered right to your doorstep! Our firewood is hand selected to ensure your fire is longer-lasting. "Excellent service and work. Great attention to our needs. Very careful of our property. Fastidious clean-up of the work areas. We are telling friends and relatives. "Called when they were on the way and very prompt. Cleaned up completely afterwards. Tree looks better than it has for many years. "We had 3 trees with broken or dead limbs. Garrett Tree Service had all of them looking terrific in less than 4 hours. Excellent work and service. We're proud of our happy customers! One aspen tree is actually only a small part of a larger organism. Even if the trees of a stand are wiped out, it is very difficult to permanently extinguish an aspen's root system due to the rapid rate in which it reproduces. Read on to learn about aspen care. On average more than 100,000 wildfires rage through U.S.'s western states, including Colorado, each year. Protect your home by creating a defensible space. It's important to screen tree care professionals because improper tree care can end up damaging or killing your trees, which add to your property value. Following strong storms, it's important to remove damaged and dead branches to prevent disease and encourage new growth.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

Searched for "spanish". Found 81 results in 12 milliseconds. Displaying results 41 to 50 of 81. Relevance: 10% - available in four languages: English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Over the next three years, subtitles are to be added for the 30 most spoken languages of the world. Here is the Trailer of the Movie.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

You can see how Hoak families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Hoak family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Hoak families were found in the USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 14 Hoak families living in Yorkshire. This was about 29% of all the recorded Hoak's in the UK. Yorkshire had the highest population of Hoak families in 1891. In 1881, Annuitant, Brass Finisher and Builder & Contractor Firm Of Wall & Hook Employing 139 Men were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Hoak. A less common occupation for the Hoak family was Clerk. The most common Hoak occupation in the UK was Annuitant. 25% of Hoak's were Annuitants. There are 642 immigration records available for the last name Hoak. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

Team GreenMust from Morocco took a look at the environment and developed a Web/Mobile platform called Greenmust. Their app connects producers of large-quantity trash with recyclers from around the world. "A waste producer could geolocate himself through a Windows Phone Application; Collectors are then notified and could include this one into one of their collection campaigns. Industrial waste producers can make auctions on their recyclables so Recyclers can bid or outbid on them," the team explained.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

Q: Image class not found in intervention plugin Image class not found in intervention plugin. are there any body help me how can I install this plugin step by step?? I was read already a lot thing about installation this package. but it does not work. and I cant successfull to install. please help me... A: Add this on the top : use Intervention\Image\Facades\Image as Image;

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When it comes to adding value to a house, sellers are sometimes tempted to spend on beautiful kitchen upgrades or room additions. What many don't understand is that while these major projects will certainly add value, the price jump they'll see won't be as much as they spent on the project. Remodeling Magazine's 2013 report details how much return sellers are likely to see from their completed upgrades. The results show that homeowners will normally see a 54-72% return on their cost. For example, typical kitchen remodeling averaged just under $54,000, but added less than $35,000 to a home's resale value. I encourage people to perform expensive upgrades if they want to achieve a new look and feel for their home while they're living in it, but to save renovation dollars if they're planning to sell right away. The best way to improve what a buyer will pay for your home is to go the extra mile in smaller ways such as these. Give your house the kind of curb appeal that makes buyers eager to step inside. Attractive landscaping, fresh paint, and a tidy appearance will set the stage for how receptive they will be as they step through the front door. Inside, a house that appears ready for a new family will appeal to your buyer's emotions. It can be tricky finding the right balance between a cozy, inviting look and one that is too personal, which makes buyers aware that it's not their home. If they can visualize themselves living there, they'll be more likely to make an offer. Proper maintenance of both the interior and exterior is critical to getting top dollar for your home. Buyers will happily pay a premium price for a house that feels well-loved and is impeccably tended. Loose doorknobs, damaged screens, peeling paint, and cobwebs in the corner can detract from a property's desirability and lose buyers. Worse, even when a buyer does step up and make an offer, they may ask the seller to pay to have these maintenance items completed anyway. Consistently caring well for your home now and balancing your needs and tastes with what is likely to be important to the next owner is the best path you can take to raising your home's resale value. Would you like a stress-free real estate experience? If you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell in the next few months, call me today at 403-605-6440 403-605-6440 or email me at bradwillson@remax.net and I'll put you and your needs first. Brad Willson has been making home buying, selling and investing in the Calgary area smooth and stress-free for nearly a decade. He is an awardee in the Calgary Real Estate Board Million Dollar Club, a member of the RE/MAX 100% Club and a recipient of the RE/MAX Hall of Fame Award, and is one of the few Certified Condominium Specialists in the Calgary area. Brad is as devoted to his clients as he is to his wife and two children who are now young adults. For nearly a decade, Brad has been a hardworking Calgary real estate agent with RE/MAX and specializes in residential real estate and working with investors. He prides himself on making transactions smooth for both buyers and sellers and continually expands his knowledge of the industry. Brad is one of the few Certified Condominium Specialists in the Calgary area. Brad's level of professionalism has also brought him recognition as an awardee in the Calgary Real Estate Board Million Dollar Club and as a member of the Re/Max 100% Club. Brad originally hails from Penticton, British Columbia and moved to Calgary with his wife Bette and their two children in 2002. Prior to his becoming a realtor, he was the General Manager for a printing company that employed nearly 200 people. When Brad isn't busy selling Calgary real estate, he is usually making plans for his annual vacation trek to Central America. This entry was posted in Buy and Sell Homes in Calgary, Calgary Real Estate, Home Staging, Real Estate Agent, Real Estate in Calgary, Seller Tips and tagged Brad Wilson, Brad Wilson Calgary Realtor, Calgary real estate, Selling Homes in Calgary. Bookmark the permalink.

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What adds most value to a property? The recent product launch of a new range of shower booster and universal head shower booster pump ranges from Grundfos have been getting excellent reviews. Sweat and sewage to power future homes?

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Home Town HallCouncilAccountability and Transparency The Municipality of Sioux Lookout values and supports the principles and practices associated with accountability and transparency. Council makes consistent and strong efforts to keep the public engaged in and informed on matters of public policy through a variety of communication and consultation mechanisms. Closed Meeting Investigations Municipal Councils must conduct business only at meetings that are open to the public but there are some exceptions where we have closed meetings. Members of the public have the right to complain if they feel the Municipality held a closed meeting that did not follow the rules/ exemptions listed in the Municipal Act, 2001, Section 239.2 (1) or with any procedure By-laws under Subsection 238 (2). Our Municipality has appointed the Ontario Ombudsman as the Closed Meeting Investigator. If any complaints are received by the public about closed meetings, the Closed Meeting Investigator duties will include: Conducting an investigation when a complaint is received about a meeting or part of a meeting that is closed to the public Determine whether the meeting complied with the Municipal Act/Municipal Procedure By-law Report the results of the investigation How to Submit a Complaint: Any corporation or member of the public can submit a complaint to the investigator about a meeting or part of a meeting that is closed to the public. Complaints are always confidential. To submit a complaint, follow these steps: To submit a complaint, please click on the following link: https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/have-a-complaint/make-a-complaint/complaint-form-general For more information regarding the Complaint process, please click on the following link: https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/have-a-complaint Complete the form including ALL information fields. Provide as much information as possible. If you do not complete the form the investigator will not accept it. Municipal staff must not see or forward complaints. Only the investigator should receive complaints. The details of the procedure the investigator follows once he receives a complaint is detailed in Policy No. 1-1 below. Municipal Act, 2001 - Includes what Ontario municipalities are responsible for, how they must be accountable to the public and what powers they have. Policy 1-1, Closed Meeting Investigation Policy and Procedure - outlines the full details of the complaint procedure and the policies the Municipality must follow when dealing with a closed meeting investigation. Council Code of Conduct Integrity Commissioner Many Municipal Councils have implemented a code of conduct that ensures Council members and Council-appointed board, committee and commission members conduct themselves ethically. We have done this in Sioux Lookout. To ensure that this Code of Conduct is followed, our Municipality has appointed an independent Integrity Commissioner. This person is responsible for: Receiving inquiries/requests about ethical behavior from and about Council and Council-appointed board, committee and commission members Managing complaints about ethical behavior of Council and Council-appointed board, committee and commission members Determining whether the behavior of Council and Council-appointed board, committee and commission members complies with the Municipal Act, the Code of Conduct and/or related policies or requirements Integrity Commissioner is Meaghan Barrett. How to submit a complaint/request for Commissioner inquiry Any corporation or member of the public can submit a complaint to the Integrity Commissioner about the conduct of a Council or Council-appointed board, committee or commission member. Complaints are always confidential. To submit a complaint, follow these steps: Download and print the Code of Conduct Protocol/Complaint Form. The form is also available at the Customer Service Desk at the Municipal Office or from the Integrity Commissioner Meaghan Barrett (contact information below). Mail or deliver the form to the Integrity Commissioner in a sealed envelope (faxed or emailed forms are not accepted): Meaghan Barrett 181 Bay Street, Suite 1800 Toronto ON M5J 2T9 Municipal staff must not see or forward complaints. Only the Commissioner should receive complaints. How to inquire/seek clarification from the Integrity Commissioner if you are a Council or Council-appointed board, committee or commission member Members of Council and Council-appointed boards, committees and commissions can also submit an inquiry or request to the Integrity Commissioner. These confidential requests help members check whether any conduct they are unsure about is appropriate. Municipal Act, 2001, Section 223.3 - Outlines municipalities' abilities to appoint an Integrity Commissioner, their powers and duties and how inquiries work. Policy No. 1-4, Code of Conduct - Rules/ clarifications for council, board, committee and commission members' conduct and actions. Integrity Commissioner Reports February 21, 2018 Report of the Sioux Lookout Integrity Commissioner (re: D. Goodfellow, Complaint against Council regarding Drainage) May 16, 2018 Report of the Sioux Lookout Integrity Commissioner (re: M. Quince, Environment Committee) May 6, 2018 Report of the Sioux Lookout Integrity Commissioner (re: S. Forbes, S. Bradley) October 15, 2015 Report of the Sioux Lookout Integrity Commissioner (re: N. Roy, Economic Development Commission Chair) Declaration of Interest Registry The Municipal Conflict of Interest Act requires municipalities to maintain a registry of all declarations made under this Act. Members of Council shall identify and disclose any pecuniary interests on any item or matter in question and file a written statement of the interest and its general nature with the Clerk on the Declaration of Interest Form. The Declaration of Interest Registry of the statements and declarations of members of Council will be kept updated on the website. The Forms and Minutes of Meetings are available for public inspection at the Clerk's Office during regular office hours. Sioux Lookout ON P8T 1A4

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Amy Perkins Actor.Singer.Dancer Trash: The Musical The Wild Party Little Women the Musical Electra X Had so much fun with this cast of loonies- "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" is sadly over 😦 Farewell and Bali Hai to "South Pacific" at San Diego Musical Theater. What a wonderful run! The Sold Out run of "The Full Monty" at San Diego Musical Theater closed today! Here is a photo of Amy as Pam Lukowski opposite Steven Freitas as Jerry Lukowski. Home for the holidays and on a two week break between performances. Just completed playing Margot Frank in Moxie Theater's production of "The Diary of Anne Frank." What a gift to bring her story to life. Happy closing to Amy and the cast of San Diego Musical Theater's "Billy Elliot." What a fantastic and memorable run. and we are open! Come see Billy Elliot the Musical at the Spreckles Theater in Downtown San Diego. Tickets available at: http://www.sdmt.org Happy Closing to Animal Crackers at Cygnet Theatre! What a great run! On the Twentieth Century has been running to full houses! Check out this fabulous set by Sean Fanning Happy Holidays! It is closing night of "A Christmas Carol" at Cygnet Theater and Amy is thrilled to have performed her understudy track at 3 performances! Come visit Amy at Sea World this summer as Iris the Mermaid! Amy is hard at work as the swing for two different roles in Lamb's Players Theater's production of American Rhythm. Tomorrow is the first of two special benefit concerts of Hair at the Cygnet Theater in San Diego. Let the Sun Shine in! Don't wait- get your tickets for The Rocky Horror Show today! Here is the amazingly talented cast of The Rocky Horror Show at Cygnet Theater- knee deep in rehearsal! Last night was the closing performance of "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" which Amy directed and choreographed in Thousand Oaks, CA. Thanks to everyone who came to the Bee!! Here is a photo of Amy (holding the trophy) with her amazing cast. What an amazing night at the Rockwell Table and Stage in Los Angeles. Amy was thrilled to be playing Toby Walters in the Staged Reading of "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion the Musical." You haven't seen the last of this show! Only two weeks left to come see the Bee! Purchase tickets today at: http://www.intrepidshakespeare.com Check out this great article about the ladies of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at Intrepid Shakespeare Company in San Marcos, CA http://www.intrepidshakespeare.com/bee-ladies/ RENT closes to sold-out audiences every night. It's just about time to start RENT rehearsals in Thousand Oaks, CA. Amy could not be more ecstatic to be making her directorial debut with her favorite musical. Spring Awakening opens in San Diego with rave reviews! Don't miss out on this great show. Tickets available at http://www.cygnettheatre.com Rehearsals are underway for Spring Awakening at Cygnet Theatre in San Diego, California. Amy is very excited to be playing Martha! Happy New Year! Get your tickets for Godspell- opening in less than a week! Today Amy beings rehearsals for "Godspell" at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks, California. She is grateful to do a show in the same city as her family which will enable her to spend the holidays with them this year. For ticket information go to www.hillcrestarts.com Today Amy read the role of Toby for a preliminary reading of "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion the Musical" at The Shepard Studio at The Complex in Los Angeles. A nearly sold-out run, "Of Thee I Sing" closes at the Theater at Monmouth to great praise! "Of Thee I Sing" Cast Last weekend of performances as Miss Benson in "Of Thee I Sing" at The Theater at Monmouth. Reviews are in: "Another of the familiar Gershwin songs that's central to the plot is 'Love Is Sweeping the Country.' That number features fine vocals and tap dancing by Ned Donovan and Amy Perkins." –David A. Sargent, Encore Amy will soon be moving to Monmouth, Maine for the month of September where she will perform the role of Miss Benson in "Of Thee I Sing." For more details visit: www.theateratmonmouth.org Come see Amy Perkins as Monteen in Parade the Musical at Cygnet Theater in San Diego, California! The run is already half-way over and you don't want to miss our on this is incredible production. The Cast of Parade Amy is currently in rehearsals for Parade the Musical at Cygnet Theater in San Diego, California. More details to follow but ticket information is below: The show runs from 3/8/12-4/22/12 To purchase tickets click here! Amy is currently performing as a tap-dancing porter in On The Twentieth Century at The Theater at Monmouth in Monmouth, Maine. The show runs September 23rd- October 2nd. Click here to purchase tickets to the show! Amy will be relocating to New York City this September and then returning to her home-state for Cygnet Theater's Production of Parade March 8-April 29th 2012 in San Diego. Click here for information on Parade Amy will next be seen in Moonlight Stage Productions' Annie in Vista July 20-August 6 Amy plays a Boylan Sister/Ensemble After the memorable performance of her one-woman show(case) Amy Perkins graduated from UC Irvine with her BA in drama, Honors in Musical Theater, and a 3.7 GPA! Amy will be performing next in: ThE CrAzY SisTeR: One-Woman Show(case) WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY AMY PERKINS with Myrona Delaney on Piano Come Hear the Story: UC Irvine's Winifred Smith Hall 6/8/11 at 8:00pm For more information visit: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=209383189091910&ref=ts Amy is currently writing her one-woman show which she will perform at UC Irvine on June, 8th 2011 Today Amy performed "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Me" at the Orange County Performing Arts Center for a master-class taught by Broadway and Television's Megan Mullally. Last night, Amy sang in the onstage chorus for Broadway Memories. The concert's goal was to raise money for Alzheimer's. It starred Sutton Foster, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Karen Olivo, Pamela Winslow, Kerry Butler, and Stephen Tewksbury. The event was hosted by Colleen Ballinger, Paul Canaan, and Matthew Risch. For full coverage visit: http://broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Flash_BROADWAY_MEMORIES_Fundraiser_20101006Backstage with Kerry Butler Come see Black and White Christmas, a new musical, at UC Irvine this weekend starring Amy Perkins as Monica. "It's Christmas Eve, and Monica Ness, would just like it all to be over. Turning on her TV to escape the usual holiday hoopla, and the thought of another evening living next door to Steve, a neighbor she can't stand, Monica's apartment is suddenly invaded by the ghosts of Jimmy Stewart, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby and Natalie Wood, who miraculously pop out of their Christmas movies and through her TV screen in an effort to offer her a little holiday cheer, Hollywood style. Realizing that she's not so easily cheered, the stars cook up a scheme which truly transforms Monica's Christmas." September 18th and 8:00pm and September 19th at 4:00pm. Originating the role of Monica Ness in "Black and White Christmas" Please visit http://www.newworksfestival.webs.com/ for ticket and location information. Amy celebrates her 21st birthday at Disneyland! Come see Amy as Nicole in Aging Out: the Musical at the NoHo Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. July 21, 27, 28; August 3, 4. All shows at 8 pm All shows $20 except 8/4, $40 (proceeds benefit foster youth) This is Amy's second time workshopping this incredible new musical. Check out facebook.com/agingoutthemusical to see what the buzz is all about. Amy leads the cast in "Downward Spiral" from "Aging Out: the Musical" Don't miss Amy Perkins as Nadine in UC Irvine's mainstage production of The Wild Party opening next weekend. Performs May 28th, 29th, June 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th at 8PM May 29th, June 5th at 2PM UCI Claire Trevor Theatre Stage "Andrew Lippa shows us what happens when all of these characters collide at the party-to-end-all-parties. The Wild Party spins us into a world of power, control, consumption, sexuality, and violence. Lippa has written a jazzy, compelling, and melancholy score that highlights the feeling of the 1920s: a time of freedom that borders on reckless abandon, when every part of social life has break-neck dynamism. Everyone has excess time and money to spend, an "I want more" attitude, and devil-may-care behavior. The Wild Party is a UCIrvine Premiere that is not to be missed." As Nadine in "The Wild Party" Follow Amy On Social Media View perklepants's profile on Facebook View perky4you's profile on Instagram View moulin724rouge's profile on YouTube

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Report Blasts Turkey for Deploying 7,000 Turkistani Terrorists in Syria On Oct 8, 2018 20:36:51 Ankara has paved the ground for the traffic of thousands of members of the Turkistani terrorist group to Syria, the Syrian media sources reported on Monday. The Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper referred to Turkey's all-out support for the Turkistani terrorist group, claiming that Ankara has provided the ground for the militants' deployment in Syria. It added that the Turkistani terrorists entered Syria late in 2013 along with their family members and were stationed at the bordering areas with Turkey in the Northern mountains of Syria and Western Idlib. Al-Watan said that the number of Turkistani militants surged to 7,000 in early 2016, adding that other terrorist groups, including Jund al-Aqsa, also joined the group later. According to the report, the Turkistani terrorists are in possession of a large number of heavy weapons in the newly-formed demilitarized zone and in areas 10km away from the Syrian Army positions in al-Tabibat, al-Shaqar base, Kafr Yadin, al-Najiyeh, Northern Lattakia and Sahl al-Qab. It also launches attacks on Syrian army positions in Northeastern Lattakia and Sahl al-Qab in Hama in collaboration with other terrorist groups, the report added. Relevant reports said last Saturday that Turkey had played a role in delaying the implementation of a Russian-US agreement to evacuate the militants from al-Tanf region at the borders between Iraq and Syria. The Arabic-language website of Sputnik news agency quoted an informed source as saying that Turkey was behind the delay in transferring all terrorist groups from al-Tanf region and al-Rakban camp to Northern Syria to pave the ground for civilians' return to their villages and towns. He added that the Turkish side had not yet fully accepted to transfer the US-backed terrorist groups, including al-Qoryatayn, Maqawir al-Thawra and Ahmad al-Abdou, stationed in al-Tanf to regions in Northern Syria. Based on the report, Turkey wanted to shelter the foreign terrorist groups, including Turkistani, Turkaman, and other militants who consider themselves as remnants of the Ottoman government in Northern Syria, and prevent the Syrian militants from residing in that region. The source also said that delay in the implementation of al-Tanf agreement had also delayed the US forces' withdrawal which depended on the retreatment of all terrorist groups by receiving government amnesty or their transfer to Northern Syria, adding that Ankara had revealed its opposition after a likely agreement with the US in this regard.

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Zombie Night Terror review – Oh No! More Zombies GameCentralFriday 22 Jul 2016 1:00 am Zombie Night Terror (PC) – don't be a lemming, be a zombie Amiga classic Lemmings is reimagined for the zombie-obsessed modern age, as you try to lead the undead hordes to victory. At this point, we greet the prospect of a new zombie game with about the same enthusiasm as we would an actual undead apocalypse. It's not there hasn't been plenty of classic zombie games over the years, but the number of poor quality, and yet inexplicably popular, games has become epidemic. It wouldn't matter so much if they weren't all so similar, but thankfully Zombie Night Terror is very different. Because in this game you get to be the zombies. We use the plural there because you don't control just one zombie (that's been done often enough in itself) but all of them. Starting off a zombie apocalypse by injecting a hapless citizen with a drug called 'Romero', each level has you trying to increase your army of the undead until you either reach the exit or infect a set number of humans. As French developer NoClip openly admit, Zombie Night Terror is heavily influenced by Amiga classic Lemmings. But that's perfectly allowable given that this is easily the best attempt at evolving the concept since the franchise's glory days. Even the smartly animated pixel art is similar, albeit considerably gorier. (Not that Lemmings was short of the odd splash of claret, but this is on an entirely different level.) Just as in Lemmings, the default action for your zombies is simply to trundle in one direction and then turn around the other way when they hit a wall or other obstacle. Which means they'll blindly fall off the edge of buildings, wander into spinning saw blades, and completely fail to get out of the way of oncoming vehicles. The only thing they'll do on their own initiative is eat a human if they stumble across one. Although not everyone is defenceless, and weapon-wielding would-be apocalypse survivors are the other major obstacle to your world-conquering plans. If you know Lemmings you'll know what's coming next, and that's the various different abilities you can bestow upon your brain dead hordes. A few are even the same, such as blowing up a zombie to make a hole in the scenery and setting up an Overlord – the equivalent of a blocker, who can direct your zombies to move in a specific direction. But Zombie Night Terror goes a step further by allowing you to combine different abilities, which is where Overlords come into their own by being able to give more complex commands to any zombie that passes them. A correctly placed Overlord can have zombies leaping through the air, climbing up walls, or running towards a gun-toting human. Later on you're also able to transform zombies into Left 4 Dead style mutations that are considerably faster and stronger. Or even intelligent enough to climb ladders. Despite the slow movement of your zombies the action can suddenly heat up very quickly, at which point it's usually sensible to pause the game and set up your abilities from there. There's also some fun bonus stages that changing the pacing, with several chase sequences – such as one memorable level where you're been pursued by an underground train – and others which require you to manage a smaller number of zombies in more detail. Zombie Night Terror (PC) – not all zombies are created equal But Zombie Night Terror is a puzzle game at heart, and since most levels have multiple solutions it's an unusually freeform one – where the emphasis is on improvising tactics as you go rather than working out the exact solution that the developer wanted you to find. The only downside to this is that the game is pretty easy, and you'll whip through most of the 40 levels in no time. As long as you remember to make good use of the pause button most levels can be completed in just one or two goes, although finding all the secrets can take considerably more effort. The game's sense of humour is also disappointingly crass, and mostly limited to atmosphere-ruiningly bad puns and toilet humour. Although the many references to '80s horror and sci-fi films add some welcome visual variety to the predominately black and white visuals, which otherwise can get a little monotonous. None of these are very serious faults though, and especially given the price this ranks as one of the best indie games of the year. And definitely the best one to feature zombies, regardless of whether you're fighting them or helping them. In Short: The best Lemmings game since the Amiga days, except with flesh-eating zombies instead of mindless mammals. Pros: The use of abilities is very clever and a real step up from Lemmings. Some great level design, nice pixel animation, and plenty of content. Cons: Often trivially easy, which makes the game seem a lot shorter than it really is. Lowbrow humour is disappointing. Score: 8/10 Formats: PC Publisher: Gambitious Digital Entertainment Developer: NoClip Age Rating: N/A Email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk, leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter Games reviewsPC Games Eclipse: Edge Of Light review – VR world of mystery Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot review – same old story PS5 will cost £449 and launch with Gran Turismo 7 claims rumour Leaked Xbox Series X photos reveal mystery port connection Doom Eternal hands-on preview and interview – if chess was an arcade shooter Two new Silent Hill games in development claims insider Games Inbox: PC versus console gaming, Doom Eternal multiplayer, and Half-Life: Alyx without the VR Home › Entertainment › Gaming

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What are we getting for the $61 billion spent on health insurance in the relief plan? Remaking Health Care By Trudy Lieberman (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the health insurance provisions tucked into the giant stimulus legislation known as the American Rescue Plan is not the financial help directed at those seeking coverage on the Obamacare insurance exchanges or the six months of free COBRA coverage aimed at laid off workers. It was the signal that the health insurance industry was back, commanding once again its privileged position as the payer of American health care. It was no longer the villain it had become in the late 2000s, before the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Back then, demonizing insurers made good copy. When Los Angeles Times investigative reporter Lisa Girion revealed that insurance giant Wellpoint was raising premiums for thousands of policyholders because the cost of their care exceeded what they had paid, that revelation helped push the Affordable Care Act over the finish line a few weeks later. This year, however, there has been no public outcry about profiteering insurers. Indeed, there's been little acknowledgement of the fragility of work-sponsored coverage. There have been few questions raised about the Congressional gift of $61.3 billion, which will help lower premiums for people who already buy insurance in the Obamacare exchanges and give new subsidies to help those with high incomes (over $104,800 for a family of four and $51,040 for a single person) buy coverage. These increases ushered in by the pandemic are temporary and end after two years. People who've lost their jobs in the past year and the health insurance that came with them got some help too — up to six months of free COBRA coverage, allowing them to extend their health insurance. After Sept. 30, 2021, laid-off workers must start paying their premiums again to keep their insurance. COBRA requires workers to pay all of the premiums plus a 2% administrative fee, and for most people, coverage lasts 18 months, longer in special circumstances. So the question is: Did the country get a lot of bang for its buck? Or were there other ways to spend that much money — $34 billion to extend the ACA subsidies for two years, $22.8 billion for COBRA subsidies, and $4.5 billion for the full costs of ACA premiums for people getting unemployment insurance — to improve health care? For example, in late 2019 the Congressional Budget Office estimated that it would cost $30 billion over 10 years to pay for vision care for all people enrolled in the Medicare program. If those kinds of tradeoffs were discussed, they never rose to the level of public discussion. "I'm not a bit surprised at the numbers," said former insurance executive Wendell Potter, a sharp critic of private insurers who is spearheading a business initiative to establish a more inclusive health care system. "COBRA is costly, inefficient, and a huge waste of taxpayer dollars. It is just enriching the insurance industry, which doesn't need enriching. Many companies had their most profitable year ever." Indeed, some companies have expanded their offerings in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces this year. Cigna, for example, announced late last year it was increasing the number of counties in which it does business to 200 in the 10 states where it sells Obamacare policies. Indeed, a tweet from Business Insider health care reporter Shelby Livingston wrote that "big health insurers are truly bullish on the ACA marketplace these days," noting that Cigna had announced plans "to double its geographic coverage of the individual market from 20% to 40% by 2025" and that "United Health and Aetna are also getting back into the space." Potter believes the new provisions won't make a huge difference in the uninsured, adding that insurers are betting they will be able to make a significant profit now, especially since the Biden administration was looking to improve the affordability of the ACA. "One way of doing it was to increase the number of people eligible to pay the premiums," Potter said. A few in the media have also questioned exactly what the country is getting for its money. Kimberly Leonard, also a senior health reporter for Business Insider, wrote that the $61.3 billion in federal subsidies for ACA premiums and COBRA "would only make a small dent in reducing" the number of Americans without insurance. That figure stood at 29.6 million before the pandemic hit, and an estimated 5.4 million lost coverage between February and May 2020 alone. "Instead," she wrote, "they'd shift how people get coverage and lower premiums for people who already have insurance." What Americans often fail to understand and the media often fail to report is that the full cost of health insurance is not just the monthly premium. The real cost includes deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. In her newsletter The Health 202, The Washington Post's Paige Winfield Cunningham reported "the cost (of the insurance package) is more per person than the government spends to insure people through its major insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid — and illustrates just how expensive it is to rely on the nation's for-profit insurance industry to get Americans covered." She also reported that the enhanced subsidies wouldn't last forever, noting that the Congressional Budget Office predicted the uninsured rate would return to current levels by 2023. It's unlikely the public and even members of Congress who voted on the bill understood the health insurance provisions. Winfield noted, "the cost of the provision is flying under the radar amid the broader debate in Congress over the $1.9 trillion relief package." Sarah Kliff at The New York Times also reported how smoothly the insurance provisions moved through Congress "with little opposition" because the health care industry, and Democrats see the plan as a quick and easy way to expand coverage. Kliff noted "private health plans typically pay higher price prices to doctors and hospitals." So why would they want to look a gift horse in the mouth? Most Americans probably didn't focus much on the insurance provisions of the stimulus since most were unaffected by them. (The stimulus package also gave substantial financial inducements to the 12 states, mostly in the South, which have refused to expand their Medicaid programs. I will discuss those provisions in a future post.) However, if people did read a recent story from the Associated Press, they would have gotten a much different view of the relief bill's health insurance provisions than the nuanced one Leonard, Cunningham, and Kliff gave their readers. The Associated Press sent out a glowing report about the health care provisions. One headline on the AP story summed up Congressional action: "COVID bill to deliver big health insurance savings for many." After giving a couple examples of how some people might benefit from the law financially, the story advised readers that "because health insurance is so complicated, consumers are going to have to do their homework to figure out if there's something in the bill for them." It also reported that the "biggest winners" were "the more than 11 million people already enrolled in Obamacare as well as those who are now shopping for HealthCare.gov coverage," noting that generous tax credits would make coverage "more attractive" for some people. What Americans often fail to understand and the media often fail to report is that the full cost of health insurance is not just the monthly premium. The real cost includes deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. It is not uncommon for an insurer to lure customers into a plan with a low premium and skip over or give short shrift to other costly policy elements — like an $8,000 deductible — that can and have sent sick people to the proverbial poor house. To see what this cost sharing looks like, I checked out 10 policies now available on HealthCare.gov for a 35-year-old man living in Indiana. The monthly premiums for bronze and silver policies range from $311 to $414, which might be considered reasonable. But the cost-sharing was not. Deductibles ranged from $5,100 to $8,300 and out-of-pocket maximums ranged from $7,000 to $8,550. Appraisals of the stimulus package health care provisions need to be far more nuanced and realistic than the AP reported. After all, the AP has a huge readership still reaching deep into every corner of the country. But not everyone is so gloomy about the relief act's health insurance provisions. Katherine Hempstead, a senior policy adviser at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation who specializes in health insurance, says the insurance provisions in the stimulus package "is a major 2.0 moment for the ACA affordability." She added, "I think this is a big deal, and you'll see all these plans participating more and more, and the marketplace will be a more important destination." Even so, Hempstead agreed cost-sharing is a problem. "Making premiums affordable is not enough. There's a real risk with cost-sharing. There's a lot of interest in working on that piece." But will these ACA exchanges continue to offer insurance with deductibles and other cost-sharing mechanisms that Hempstead characterizes as "too much financial responsibility on people who have these plans?" Will they clearly reveal all the costs of becoming insured with particular policies? We know from the last survey taken by The Commonwealth Fund (an organization that also supports the Center for Health Journalism's webinar series) right before the pandemic that 43.4% of Americans ages 19-64 were inadequately insured. Half of all adults who were uninsured or underinsured said they had problems paying medical bills or were paying off medical debt over time. Those numbers hadn't changed much from the previous survey in 2018. Some of those findings were undoubtedly fueled by insurance plans that came with such high deductibles and coinsurance that people couldn't pay their medical bills. It remains to be seen whether the insurance provisions in the stimulus package will change those alarming numbers. There's no indication they will. The stimulus package sanctioned business as usual for the health care system with yet another Band-Aid fix. Veteran health care journalist Trudy Lieberman is a contributing editor at the Center for Health Journalism Digital and a regular contributor to the Remaking Health Care column. Did you like this story? Your support means a lot! Your tax-deductible donation will advance our mission of supporting journalism as a catalyst for change. This powerful series on diabetes from Reuters lays bare our health system's gravest faults Shopping for Medicare Advantage plans is a maze of confusion for seniors This checkbox is to test whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Recaptcha response

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@interface ViewController ()<XPButtonBarViewDelegate> @property (nonatomic, strong) NSArray<XPButtonItem *> *buttonItems; @end @implementation ViewController #pragma mark - Lifecycle - (void)viewDidLoad { [super viewDidLoad]; UIView *view = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0.0, 0.0, MAXFLOAT, 50.0)]; view.backgroundColor = [UIColor purpleColor]; self.tableView.tableHeaderView = view; } - (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning { [super didReceiveMemoryWarning]; // Dispose of any resources that can be recreated. } #pragma mark - <UITableViewDataSource> - (NSInteger)numberOfSectionsInTableView:(UITableView *)tableView { return 10; } - (NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section { return 10; } - (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath { static NSString * const identifier = @"Cell"; UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:identifier]; if (nil == cell) { cell = [[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleDefault reuseIdentifier:identifier]; } cell.textLabel.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%ld-%ld",indexPath.section,indexPath.row]; return cell; } - (UIView *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView viewForHeaderInSection:(NSInteger)section { if (1 == section) { XPButtonBarView *headerView = [[XPButtonBarView alloc] init]; headerView.delegate = self; headerView.navigationBar = self.navigationController.navigationBar; headerView.buttonItems = self.buttonItems; return headerView; } return nil; } #pragma mark - <UITableViewDelegate> - (CGFloat)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView heightForHeaderInSection:(NSInteger)section { if (1 == section) { return 40.0; } return 0.0; } #pragma mark - <XPButtonBarViewDelegate> - (void)buttonBarViewWillShow:(XPButtonBarView *)barView { CGRect rect = [self.tableView convertRect:barView.frame toView:barView.superview]; // 如果有导航栏并且automaticallyAdjustsScrollViewInsets为YES时,请偏移-64pt [self.tableView setContentOffset:CGPointMake(0.0, rect.origin.y-64.0) animated:NO]; self.tableView.scrollEnabled = NO; self.tableView.scrollsToTop = NO; } - (void)buttonBarViewDidHide:(XPButtonBarView *)barView { self.tableView.scrollEnabled = YES; self.tableView.scrollsToTop = YES; } - (void)buttonBarView:(XPButtonBarView *)barView didSelectedMenus:(NSArray<XPMenuItem *> *)items forButtonItem:(XPButtonItem *)buttonItem { NSString *result = buttonItem.identifier; for (XPMenuItem *item in items) { result = [result stringByAppendingFormat:@"-%@", item.name]; } NSLog(@"%@", result); [[[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:result message:nil delegate:nil cancelButtonTitle:@"OK" otherButtonTitles:nil, nil] show]; } - (void)buttonBarView:(XPButtonBarView *)barView emptyDataAtIndex:(NSInteger)index leftMenuItem:(XPMenuItem *)item { // 右侧数据为空,可以在此发送数据 NSLog(@"%ld-%@", index, item.name); // 这里可以显示一个HUD到keyWindow,禁止用户点击其他菜单按钮 [[[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"正在请求网络,请稍等,5秒后将出现数据。" message:nil delegate:nil cancelButtonTitle:@"OK" otherButtonTitles:nil, nil] show]; // 注意block循环引用,这里演示就不处理了 dispatch_after(dispatch_time(DISPATCH_TIME_NOW, (int64_t)(5 * NSEC_PER_SEC)), dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{ dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{ // 模拟网络请求回来的数据 NSMutableArray *subitems = [NSMutableArray array]; for (int j=0; j<MAX(arc4random_uniform(20), 5); j++) { XPMenuItem *subitem = [XPMenuItem itemWithName:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@-商圈%d",item.name,j] identifier:nil detail:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%u", arc4random_uniform(1000)]]; [subitems addObject:subitem]; } // 将数据回传给下拉菜单 [barView reloadRightPanelWithItems:subitems atIndex:index]; }); }); } #pragma mark - Actions - (IBAction)barButtonItemAction:(UIBarButtonItem *)sender { UIAlertView *alert = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"Test" message:nil delegate:nil cancelButtonTitle:@"OK" otherButtonTitles:nil, nil]; [alert show]; } #pragma mark - setter & getter - (NSArray<XPButtonItem *> *)buttonItems { if (nil == _buttonItems) { XPButtonItem *item1 = [XPButtonItem itemWithName:@"全部" identifier:@"all"]; item1.menuItems = @[ [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"甜点饮品" identifier:nil detail:@"2843"], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"生日蛋糕" identifier:nil detail:@"43"], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"火锅" identifier:nil detail:@"243"], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"自助餐" identifier:nil detail:@"843"], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"小吃快餐" identifier:nil detail:@"53"], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"日韩料理" identifier:nil detail:@"843"], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"西餐" identifier:nil detail:@"787"], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"聚餐宴请" identifier:nil detail:@"245"], ]; [[item1.menuItems firstObject] setSelected:YES]; XPButtonItem *item2 = [XPButtonItem itemWithName:@"附近" identifier:@"location"]; XPMenuItem *fujin = [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"附近" identifier:nil detail:nil]; // 附近的数据固定 fujin.subitems = @[ [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"1km" identifier:nil detail:nil], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"2km" identifier:nil detail:nil], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"3km" identifier:nil detail:nil], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"4km" identifier:nil detail:nil], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"5km" identifier:nil detail:nil], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"6km" identifier:nil detail:nil] ]; // 宝安区的商圈也固定 XPMenuItem *area1 = [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"宝安区" identifier:nil detail:nil]; area1.subitems = @[ [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"商圈1" identifier:nil detail:@"28"], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"商圈2" identifier:nil detail:@"0"], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"商圈3" identifier:nil detail:@"98"], ]; // 区域的商圈数据需要请求服务器,则不设置subitems即可 XPMenuItem *area2 = [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"南山区" identifier:nil detail:nil]; XPMenuItem *area3 = [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"罗湖区" identifier:nil detail:nil]; XPMenuItem *area4 = [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"龙华新区" identifier:nil detail:nil]; NSMutableArray<XPMenuItem*> *marray = [NSMutableArray arrayWithObjects:fujin, area1, area2, area3, area4, nil]; item2.multiplePanel = YES; item2.menuItems = marray; [[marray firstObject] setSelected:YES]; [[[marray firstObject].subitems firstObject] setSelected:YES]; XPButtonItem *item3 = [XPButtonItem itemWithName:@"智能排序" identifier:@"order"]; item3.menuItems = @[ [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"智能排序" identifier:nil detail:nil], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"离我最近" identifier:nil detail:nil], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"好评优先" identifier:nil detail:nil], [XPMenuItem itemWithName:@"人气最高" identifier:nil detail:nil] ]; [[item3.menuItems lastObject] setSelected:YES]; _buttonItems = @[item1, item2, item3]; } return _buttonItems; } @end

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaGithub'}

Industry and Energy Business Unit ensures the execution of EPC projects. As a result of its excellent location in terms of maritime transport, it ensures the execution of the project's fabrications (piping, metallic ducts, metallic structures, equipment and various boilers) in Portugal. On-site assembly is ensured by highly qualified teams with strong national and international experience, capable of managing the various stages and specialties of the projects, delivering to the client a complete service.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

If the sight of tiny seed beads gets you excited, you might like to try bead weaving. While others concentrate on making beaded jewelry, bead weavers can create flat picture creations to use in their fashionable ways. This article gives you a basic guide to bead weaving with a needle. No bead looms or other special equipment are needed. Bead weaving results in a flat piece of beading. These creations show pictures or icons, or are done in patterns. Southwester style bead weaving is popular, as is Native American style. Finished bead weaving pieces decorate clothing and fabric decor, belts, hats, and other accessories. They can be used for flat jewelry pieces as well, such as pins or hair clips. The first step to bead weaving is creating a pattern. Use graph paper to design a picture or pattern that you would like to create. You can also find bead weaving patterns in some craft books or online. Begin bead weaving by threading beading quality thread onto a beading needle. You might like to use a very skinny quilting needle if the beading needle is too long. Thread on the first row of seed beads. Every spot on the graph paper indicates which color of seed bead you should use to make the picture or pattern. Position the work so that it matches the graph and leave a long tail or a knot at the end of the beading thread. When the first row is complete, turn the beading needle and push it through the second to last bead, forming a loop over the final bead in the row. Push the needle through the rest of the beads in the first row. The second row and all subsequent rows are working in the same way. Begin by threading all applicable seed beads onto the thread. Then loop the needle and thread through the loop covering the last bead on the first row. This attaches the two rows together. Now, thread the needle back into the second row of beads. Ever three or four beads, loop the thread over the first row's thread before returning to the current row of beads. Repeat these instructions for as many rows of beads that you need. Bead weaving is a great hobby for those who like working with delicate seed beads. The finished patterns can be used for a variety of projects such as pins, purses, belts, and clothing.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

What could you do with a home that offers a great layout, updated finishes, and tons of storage? Check out this newly remodeled bungalow that features a fresh kitchen with stunning granite counters, subway tile backsplash, beautifully tiled restroom, and other charming features. After touring the upstairs flex space, be sure to go see the awesome 2 stall garage where you have plenty of room for all your storage needs or to start some handy projects.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

@import Quartz; #import "MT_Focus.h" @interface ViewController : NSViewController <MT_FocusDelegate> @property (weak) IBOutlet NSTextFieldCell *currentApp; @property (weak) IBOutlet NSTextFieldCell *button1; @property (weak) IBOutlet NSTextFieldCell *button2; @property (weak) IBOutlet NSTextFieldCell *button3; @property (weak) IBOutlet NSTextFieldCell *keys; @property (weak) IBOutlet NSTextFieldCell *mLoc; @property (weak) IBOutlet NSImageView *leftEye; @property (weak) IBOutlet NSImageView *rightEye; @property (weak) IBOutlet NSImageView *appImgWrapper; @property (weak) IBOutlet NSImageCell *appImg; @property (weak) IBOutlet PDFView *appPdf; @end

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaGithub'}

The Post Office Café has been a Long Island favorite for 40 years. Known for their juicy burgers, signature cocktails and welcoming staff, the Post Office is sure to deliver every time. To make a reservation call us at 631.669.9224.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

Cardero Resource Corp. ("the Company") is pleased to announce further results from its current exploration program on the 33,000 hectare Olaroz Project in the Province of Jujuy, northwestern Argentina. The Company has received assay results from a third batch of channel samples, collected during January and February 2003, located within the historical mine workings of the La Providencia silver deposit. The channel sampling program is designed to provide assay and geological data over the exposed mineralized zone and delineate the geological controls on the genesis and distribution of mineralization. Previous channel sample panel results were reported in news releases dated January 14, 2003 and December 11, 2002 and are also presented upon the appended map. The weighted average value of the same channel samples from all of the above pits is 286 g/t Ag. Silver-copper and lead-zinc bearing hydrothermal fluids exploited numerous discrete north-south oriented faults. In the mine area this set of mineralizing structures appears to dip steeply to the east. These primary structures are repeated at least every 100 meters over a lateral extent of about 700 meters, and provide specific drill targets for vertical "feeder-zone" style mineralization. In 1982, during the original evaluation of the property, a diamond drill exploration program was carried out to the east of the current mine workings. In spite of the overall poor core recovery, drill holes DDH 10 (67 g/t Ag over 106 m), DDH 9 (121 g/t Ag over 42 m) and DDH 8 (132 g/t Ag over 39 m) all appear to have been halted in mineralization (see appended map). This mineralization, which persists at least 152 meters below surface, in the vicinity of the mine soccer field, may be adjacent to a north-south "feeder zone". After rising up the north-south faults, the mineralizing fluids are inferred to have then spread laterally into the hanging-walls of these "feeder zone" faults, along the second set of steeply dipping northeast structures. This lateral migration of silver mineralization, to the northeast for about 100 to 200 meters, is strongest in the conglomerate rock units, and is accompanied by pervasive carbonate alteration. The conglomerate units, potential favorable hosts to "lateral" mineralization, have been inferred to be preserved close to surface in structural domains occurring to the northeast, northwest and south of the main Providencia silver deposit area. Thus an area extending approximately 1,600 meters north-south, by at least 650 meters east-west is projected to have potential to contain near surface "lateral" style mineralization. The "area of interest" is now about 8 times larger than the original area (500m x 250m) chip sampled. Where not eroded, the favorable host rock units are estimated to be at least 50 meters thick. All the remaining work and data analyses required to prioritize drill targets is currently being completed. The Company is planning a reverse circulation drill program to provide a preliminary evaluation of the main Providencia deposit zone and exploration of the large mostly overburden covered area of potential surrounding the deposit. The shallow bedrock sampling program at Chingolo is scheduled to be completed before the end of March. Samples are being collected on 50 x 50 meter centers to better define the 400 x 600 meter silver, lead, zinc, arsenic and antimony geochemical anomaly. A reverse circulation drill program will follow completion of this program to evaluate the depth potential of the Chingolo silver prospect. An additional consulting geologist has been retained to focus on the detailed mapping and sampling of the remainder of the Olaroz project area, including the Ramona target located several kilometres due north of Providencia.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

Description: Cover of the Tony Cook album Back to Reality. 6 oz. 100% Cotton Tubular Jersey. Preshrunk to minimize shrinkage. Body Width: S=18 inches, M=20 inches, L=22 inches, XL=24 inches, 2XL=26 inches. Length: S=28 inches, M=29 inches, L=30 inches, XL=31 inches, XXL=32 inches.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

3/3/16 – The GOP's first hearing on "baby parts" began today. Here are a few shocking excerpts. "You know, we have commodified what have been referred to as the 'products of conception' — I mean, babies and baby parts. And yes, they are for sale, supposedly to cover one's costs, but those costs seem to be quite variable," Dr. Kevin Donovan, Georgetown University Medical Center, Bioethics Medical Director said. Posted on March 3, 2016 by ShofarChicPosted in Faith, Health, Politics, U.S.Tagged Abortion, Fetal Tissue, Human Body Parts, Induced Abortion, Product of Conception.

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}

Polyclonal antibody for LYSMD4 detection. Host: Rabbit.Size: 100ul. Tested applications: WB. Reactive species: Human. LYSMD4 information: Molecular Weight: 32066 MW; Subcellular Localization: Membrane ; Single-pass membrane protein .

{'redpajama_set_name': 'RedPajamaC4'}