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'Southern Charm': Did Madison LeCroy Hit on Danni Baird's Boyfriend While Dating Austen Kroll
John Wolfe
Southern Charm has been a maelstrom of arguments, accusations, and drama lately — and fans wouldn't have it any other way. This time, it's Madison LeCroy back at it again. When the Southern Charm crew decided to take a mini-vacation to Colorado, the crap hit the fan.
Right off the bat tensions were running high. Craig Conover and Chelsea Meissner got into a massive blowout, and not long after, Shep Rose and Madison LeCroy began another one of their infamous spats. Unfortunately, LeCroy let out a rumor that came back to bite her in the butt, and now fans are reminded of the time LeCroy supposedly hit on Baird's boyfriend — behind Austen Kroll's back.
Chlamydia rumors let loose
All dressed up with somewhere to go. Opening day at the Del Mar Race Track. #dontquityourdaydream
A post shared by Shep Rose (@relationshep) on Jul 17, 2019 at 12:57pm PDT
Southern Charm stars Madison LeCroy and Shep Rose have long been enemies, and their fights have become eye-roll scenarios for many fans and cast members alike. However, this particular spat was different. During their argument, LeCroy saw an opportunity to bring Rose down a notch — or so she thought.
"You don't f****** scare me. You're a bully. You want to know facts? I heard you gave her chlamydia. That's what I heard," said LeCroy of Danni Baird, who was in the same room. "That's a fact … Ask Austen."
When Shep Rose denied the accusations, LeCroy said, "Well if it's not true, that's fine." Rose and Baird weren't interested in LeCroy's backpedaling, however.
Rose replied, "It's not fine. I don't understand you. What's the anger come from? … And Austen told you? So now you've thrown him under the bus. You're a tornado. You just hurt three people, or tried to. Was it worth it?" asked Rose.
Baird followed up with, "If you want to hurt him, that's fine. But why the hell would you just do that to me? You truly don't know what you're talking about, and you are hurting people who shouldn't be hurt. I'm on your team, so why the f*** are you acting like this?"
Madison LeCroy targets Danni Baird
Life isn't perfect but my hair is.
A post shared by Madison LeCroy (@madison.lecroy) on Jul 31, 2019 at 2:12pm PDT
Danni Baird dished on the entire situation with LeCroy, and said that she felt as if LeCroy targeted her specifically. However, she revealed that there's a reason for that.
Baird revealed to The Daily Dish that LeCroy once expressed interest in her boyfriend, and had a friend DM Baird's boyfriend on LeCroy's behalf via Instagram. At the time, however, LeCroy was dating Austen Kroll. Baird told Craig Conover about it, and naturally, the news reached LeCroy and Kroll both.
"I think she had harbored that, and I had no idea. I mean, I had actually done everything I could possibly do to kind of protect her in that situation as it was unraveling and not have it escalate into something bigger, but I also had no idea that I had literally given Craig Conover ammunition," said Baird.
Now the two seem to be fighting it out over social media. LeCroy is claiming Baird is pushing a false story. She wrote on Instagram, "She showed me his picture and said, 'Isn't he hot,' to which I replie[d], yes, he's good looking. I never said fix me up with him… She wrote that on her own. I don't know why you are bringing this false narrative up again especially since he has broken up with you @Danni_Baird."
Back when Craig Conover and Shep Rose confronted Austen Kroll with the news about the DMs, Austen Kroll called it a witch hunt. However, Kroll and LeCroy have been on and off for a long time, and both have had to confront allegations of infidelity in the past.
Danni Baird's friendship put on ice
New spring works up at @artmeccaofcharleston on King Street❤. Palm leaves are also available on my site Dannibairddesigns.com. DM for more info. #gallerywall #seascape #charleston #landscape #lowcountry #artist #oilpastel #acrylic #southerncharm
A post shared by ℕℕ ℝ (@danni_baird) on Mar 14, 2019 at 3:18pm PDT
Since then, things have been a little rocky between the Southern Charm stars, or so Danni Baird claims. According to Baird, she felt seriously injured by LeCroy's outburst.
"Austen had this aggressive animosity towards me that I had no idea existed; I just kept hearing it from other people. And so that's why when the whole comment in Colorado came out, and she said she heard it from Austen, my mind was just spinning. I was like, 'This was absolutely calculated,'" Danni Baird said.
"It's gonna be hard for me to even look at either of them. I'm still very betrayed. I am very hurt. I feel as though I've seen their true colors, and no thanks," Baird explained. Allegedly, Baird has barely seen either LeCroy or Kroll since Season 6 of Southern Charm stopped filming.
According to Baird, Kroll hasn't even made an apology. She said, "Honestly, there's nothing really an apology could do. Believe it or not, Austen has never apologized to me for his role in this. He has never even addressed it with me. Madison did apologize right after, but I was too upset at the time to even hear it. I mean, they could apologize, but honestly the best thing they could do is literally just change how they treat people. You can't do this stuff to other people and not expect for karma to hit you like a freight train later."


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'User Experience Platform' Aims to Improve Usability, ROI of ERP
Companies can increase the value they get from ERP systems, along with employees' productivity, by deploying a "user experience platform" that makes ERP more intuitive.
ERP systems are much maligned for being difficult to use, and often for good reason. Complicated, unintuitive user interfaces that require employees to jump to different modules or systems to complete transactions not only impair productivity, but they can also lead to multimillion-dollar losses when companies find themselves forced to write off investments in those systems due to lackluster user adoption.
Even though ERP systems have a bad reputation among users, users' expectations of enterprise software have risen dramatically. Easy-to-use consumer apps designed for mobile devices have made them less tolerant of kludgey ERP systems and hungry for a more consumer-like experience from the applications they use for work. They want enterprise applications that intuitively and seamlessly integrate with their roles and day-to-day responsibilities.
It is now possible for companies to improve adoption by outfitting ERP systems with a "user experience platform" that knows the individual user, their role, and the information they need on a real-time basis to make them more productive, according to Jaco Van Eeden, a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP's Digital ERP practice. The user experience platform is an analytics-driven, dynamic user interface that wraps around the ERP system and provides employees with a single point of entry to it, other transactional systems, and collaboration tools.
Running on premise or in the cloud and built for mobile devices and desktops, the user experience platform uses analytics to proactively bring to users the priorities, data, and transactions related to their jobs in a single, easy-to-use interface, Van Eeden says. It can be tailored to specific roles and functions regardless of whether they exist inside or outside of an organization, such as customers, sales representatives, managers, vendors, buyers, technicians, or customer service agents.
"The purpose of the user experience platform is to make it easier for employees to do their work," says Van Eeden. "The platform shows them the prioritized activities they need to perform on any given day, allows them to execute tasks within three clicks or less, and reminds them of compliance policies, business workflows, leading practices for their roles, and standard operating procedures."
For example, a user experience platform designed for a procurement organization could guide procurement professionals step-by-step on cost effective and compliant ways to source raw materials. Because designers and developers build the procurement process, its policies and practices into the platform, it can highlight in real time materials that should be purchased together, correct quantities and shipment sizes, and recommended vendors, according to Van Eeden. It can also gather data from inventory management systems and use predictive analytics to determine when inventory levels are getting low and when purchase orders need to be placed.
"Identifying available or excess inventory, its location, and whether it can be moved to another manufacturing facility are extremely difficult tasks to execute in a traditional ERP system," says Van Eeden. "Consequently, procurement professionals either spend hours tracking down that information, or they don't do it at all, both of which lead to waste and inefficiency."
How the User Experience Platform Works
Designers apply the principles of persona design and process design to build the user experience platform. For example, they study users' jobs, including how they execute tasks and interact with existing systems, according to Van Eeden. Based on their observations of and discussions with users, designers come up with streamlined processes and common sense procedures for each role or persona; these processes are intended to bring the ease of use associated with many consumer applications to ERP systems.
Developers then build the processes, policies, and procedures into the new user interface typically using HTML5, JavaScript, and jQuery. The combination of programming languages allows the user experience platform to run on any device. Developers also integrate the user experience platform with a cloud-based architecture and an open-ended service oriented architecture (SOA). The SOA allows the user experience platform to bring together disparate systems. Pre-defined APIs and connectors let the user experience platform "call" back-end systems and databases (whether cloud-based or on premise), retrieve data from them, and ultimately populate the user interface with tasks and information.
When Users Benefit, the Enterprise Benefits
ERP systems aren't known for simplicity, but the user experience platform holds the potential to change that perception. "The goal is to make the user interface so simple that employees can do their jobs without training," says Van Eeden.
Making the ERP system's user interface more intuitive and tailoring it for specific roles can go a long way toward promoting adoption. "Companies that have deployed the user experience platform in functions where adoption lagged have seen tremendous momentum because the platform helps employees work more effectively," he says. "And because analytics, leading practices, standard operating procedures, and compliance policies are baked into it, the platform drives consistent behavior."
The user experience platform also helps employees focus on "high value" problem-solving activities, adds Van Eeden. Take the example of a chemical manufacturer that deployed a user experience platform for its customer service organization. The user experience platform shows to customer service reps the orders that are off track globally; they no longer spend hours hunting down that information, and can more efficiently determine the reason a customer hasn't received an order (for example, a shipment may be stuck in a port or documentation may be missing). The user experience platform also applies analytics to uncover patterns among problematic orders, such as shipments that repeatedly get hung up at a particular port. The manufacturer has since worked with the port to ease bottlenecks.
"User adoption can make or break an ERP implementation," says Van Eeden. "Enterprises that get enough employees using the ERP system in a consistent manner, tend to derive greater value from it. What better way to promote adoption than to provide employees with a system that makes them more productive, is easier to use, and allows them to focus on higher value activities?"
"Enterprise Software: Why the User Experience Matters"
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Eminent Domain: 3, Matt
February 3, 2017 January 7, 2017 / Apple Hill Cottage
Matthew Price peered out the window of his kitchen through the swirling snow. It wasn't letting up, and it had been snowing and blowing and howling for almost an hour and a half. He took the lid from the soup pot that was simmering on the back burner of the stove, and the window fogged up from the warmth. As he wiped the window with the kitchen towel in his hand, he could see a glimmer from the building across the road.
"Someone must have left the light on in the church. Darn, I'd rather not go out in this — Keener, won't you go out and check the light for me?" Since Ruthie had died two years ago, he had gotten into the habit of talking to his old yellow lab, Keener.
Although Keener sometimes talked to Matt, he was too comfortable on his blanket to make much of a reply tonight. He opened his dark eyes when he heard his name, but even when Matt put on his coat, the dog refused to move.
"Too cold for both of us, old boy," Matt stooped and petted the farm dog's head. "I won't make you come with me. This time."
He wrapped a knitted scarf around his neck and pulled on his warmest barn gloves. "If I'm not back in ten minutes, you come and get me," Matt told him, and pulled open the door. A burst of winter came howling into the warm kitchen, and he shut the door quickly before too much precious heat was lost. Keener put his head back down on his paws and was asleep before Matt was halfway down the walk.
It was slow going in the blizzard, and Matt pulled his scarf up over his nose and mouth. Living across the road from the church was convenient most of the time; he'd served on the deacon board for the past six years, and he was used to checking on things — going over early to make coffee for meetings, checking on stray lights, turning the furnace up or down, on or off. Especially the past two years, serving made him feel useful. Not that he was bored or had nothing to do. Ruthie had been the township tax collector, and when she had gotten too ill to keep the records, Matt had taken over. After she died, he kept at it and ran for the position on his own, last fall. It kept a little money coming in, plus his social security. He still helped Ethan up at the barn with the cows, and last year they had added on a small hog barn — just big enough for three or four pigs.
Stamping his feet at the door to the fellowship hall, he tried the door and found it unlocked. Surprised, he pulled it open and cautiously called out, "Anyone here?"
A familiar voice answered him from the hallway, and it was followed by the appearance of the tall, lanky pastor, Burton Stewart.
"Burton, what are you doing still here on a night like this? With no meetings tonight, you should be long gone home," Matt scolded him. "I saw the lights on and came over to turn them off."
"Ah, Matt, what would we do without you?" Burton smiled. "I thought I'd study up and write my sermon today, since I wasn't likely to have any interruptions. But then it got later, and I saw the snow getting worse, so I thought I'd just wait for it to finish its work before I fought my way home. I called Denise, so she wouldn't worry."
"Well, come on over and have some soup," Matt said. "I've got a pot simmering and some homemade bread that Lucy brought over yesterday."
"I think I'll take you up on that," Burton said. "That's the best invitation I've had all day. Just let me get my jacket. And come on back to the office, I have a book I've been wanting to give you to read. I've been thinking the Deacon board should read it together, and I want your opinion first."
Matt followed Burton into his office and waited while the pastor moved stacks of books, catalogs, and papers searching for the book. "It's called Prayer by Richard Foster," he said. "I sure would like to get our congregation invigorated about prayer, and the Deacons are a good place to start. Ah, here it is," he said, and he handed the book to Matt.
"I sure could use a good instruction book," Matt said. "I've been wearing my knees out praying for Reenie. And there has been no answer that I can tell. She seems just as hard-hearted as ever."
Burton nodded. "It's hardest when people we love don't believe. But we never know about what seeds we've planted, and how long it will take for those seeds to sprout. Look at Ethan. His faith is steadily growing — and he's bringing your grandkids to church and Sunday school. That's good, Matt. Praise God for that and keep praying for Reenie."
Matt sighed. "I am grateful about Ethan's new faith. I look at it as a blessing that came from Ruthie dying. She prayed for him so much — she was the prayer warrior in the family — you know that. And, well, you know…"
"Tell it out loud again, Matt. We never get tired of hearing what God does and how He does it."
Matt smiled. "Ruthie was dying and she didn't want Ethan to make any death bed promises he would feel bad about keeping or not keeping. She wanted God to call him in his own time, but she had prayed for him for years. Then one evening, Ethan came in and just knelt down next to her bed and sobbed. She had this light in her eyes that had not been there for months — she touched his hair, his head, lifted his chin and made him look at her. 'Don't cry, my Ethan,' she said. 'I know where I am going, and I'm excited to leave this worthless body. It will be the journey of my life, and I want to see you there sometime too.' Then she touched her finger to her lips and then his lips — it was their special Mom and son kiss — and she closed her eyes and died right then with that peaceful smile on her face. I tell you, Burton, I felt God's presence in that room that night."
"And so did Ethan," said Burton. He hugged the older man. "We never know who or when or why God calls. People don't like mysteries, you know, especially as regards our own lives."
"Well, I'd like it better if she were still here with me," Matt smiled. "But God's timing is His own, and that's one of the hardest things for us impatient creatures to understand."
Red flashing lights outside the window interrupted the men's conversation. "That's not just a snow plow," Burton said, as they put on their coats and walked to the door.
"Goodness, there's at least three vehicles," said Matt. "Must have been an accident. In this weather, it would be hard to keep a car on the road."
The two men bent into the wind and made their way over to the police car that had turned off Rte 492 onto Churchill Road and stopped. A wrecker and an ambulance were stopped on the main road blocking any cars from going any further south. The state policeman was just getting out of his car. "Evening, gentlemen," he said. "We've got a serious accident down the road, and a woman is still trapped in her car. We've got to set up a road block here to divert traffic down Churchill Road."
"Through the Game Lands on a night like this!" Matt spoke his thoughts out loud.
"Can't be helped. No one can get through yet — the accident is still on the road."
A large dark pickup truck pulled up next to the trooper's car, and a man in an orange snowmobile suit jumped out. "Just let me get my lantern, and I'm ready wherever you need me," he said. Another pickup turned in, and Matt motioned for him to pull into his own driveway.
"Let me get these boys situated, and I'm heading down," the state trooper said. "Pastor, do you want to come? It won't be pretty."
"Yes, I'll ride down with you, on the condition that you bring me back up here when you leave. Matt, I'm not forgetting that bowl of soup. I'll need it when I get back." Burton walked toward the state trooper's car.
"I'll have it warm and waiting," Matt shouted. He turned and trudged back up to his house, saying a silent prayer for a woman still trapped in her car.
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You mustn't wish for another life. You mustn't want to be somebody else. What you must do is this:
"Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In everything give thanks."
I am not all the way capable of so much, but those are the right instructions. -- Wendell Berry from Hannah Coulter
The world is charged with the grandeur of God. -- Gerard Manley Hopkins
"Fear is the original sin," wrote John Foster. "Almost all the evil in the world has its origin in the fact that someone is afraid of something."--L.M.Montgomery from The Blue Castle
It is only with the heart one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye. -- Antoine St. Exupery from The Little Prince
Art is the realization of a permanent idea in an ephemeral form. -- Charles Wagner from The Simple Life
We have deemed all these words necessary in order to explain that we have been traveling more slowly than was predicted; concision is not a definitive virtue, on occasion one loses out by talking too much, it is true, but how much has also been gained by saying more than was strictly necessary. --Jose Saramago from The Stone Raft
The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of men. -- G.K. Chesterton
Jane Holton, shifting slightly inside her nice black coat, was thinking that, after all, life was a gift--that one of those things about getting older was knowing that so many moments weren't just moments, they were gifts.-- Elizabeth Strout from Olive Kitteridge
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Salmagundi*
Peale Green (B.Moore paint color)
Schoolhouse lights, $105 from various used places.
Subway tile, $120, American Olean in Biscuit, from off the shelf in Lowe's. Oak window sill, $25. Faucet, Priceless…
Hardware, $250, from House of Antique Hardware. This also includes the hardware on the built-in cabinet.
Sunlight, Shadows, and Metamerism
We found the ladder under the house.
Ta daaa!
10. Cat in window misty color
The mail came bringing me old photos…
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Sulaiman Daud
Mahathir reveals new party name in poem, Shanmugam comments on 2 'interesting' lines
Literary analysis.
Sulaiman Daud | August 13, 2020, 12:10 AM
Law Awareness Week 2020
05 October 2020 - 13 November 2020
K Shanmugam, minister for law and home affairs, engaged in some literary analysis over Mahathir Mohamad's naming of his new political party.
Mahathir, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, recently left his old party Bersatu, which he founded after leaving his even older party UMNO.
He announced the formation of a new political party, although he did not announce an official name then.
Thanks for making me Fighter
Now it appears that the nonagenarian has settled on one.
In a Facebook post on Aug. 12, he revealed that the party's name is Pejuang, which translates to "Fighter" or "Warrior".
Also in his post, he implored Malaysians to fight against corruption and to choose his party, the "Fighters", perhaps in view of the rumoured upcoming Malaysia general election.
The post, which was also published on his blog, took the form of a Malay poem, which you can see below.
Shanmugam: Two lines in Mahathir's poem are interesting
But Shanmugam noticed something he felt was significant about Mahathir's post.
In a Facebook post of his own on the same day, he wrote:
Dr Mahathir introduced the name of his new party by reference to a poem. Party's name is "Pejuang" meaning fighter/warrior.
Two lines in the poem are interesting:
"Lihat Melayu negara jiran.
Melayu lagikah negara mereka?"
"Look at the Malays of the neighbouring country.
Is their country still Malay?"
And he added, "Wonder which country Dr Mahathir is referring to."
Mahathir didn't state outright if he was referring to Singapore, even as he announced the name of his new party.
Pejuang faces a rough road ahead
Mahathir may be free of Bersatu, but he might struggle to regain the heights of his power, as he did with the Pakatan Harapan coalition in 2018.
James Chai, legal consultant, researcher and columnist for Malaysiakini, noted that Mahathir's new party would likely split the vote even further, as Bersatu supporters are divided.
He theorised this would have the net effect of strengthening the UMNO-PAS (Islamic Party of Malaysia) bloc even more.
Pejuang also lacks the support of both the grassroots and the elite leadership, as that takes time to build.
But Mahathir seems willing to get right into the fray, announcing his new party's support for an independent candidate contesting the by-election of Slim, a state constituency in Perak.
Amir Khusyairi Mohd Tanusi, a 38-year-old lawyer, is set to contest the polls on Aug. 29.
Time will tell if Mahathir's support will be enough to swing the vote in his favour.
Top image from Shanmugam and Mahathir's Facebook pages.
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Woodlands had dinosaurs before it was cool.
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Step-by-step guide.


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Archives|Ruling May Embolden Other States
Ruling May Embolden Other States
By ROBERT PEAR MAY 19, 2003
WASHINGTON, May 19 — The Supreme Court decision today allowing Maine to move ahead with a drug-discount program is likely to embolden other states considering ways to make prescription drugs more affordable to their residents, health policy experts and state officials said.
Prescription drugs account for 11 percent of Medicaid spending, but have become a focus for state cost-control efforts, because Medicaid spending on drugs has been soaring at annual rates of 15 percent to 20 percent for the last several years.
Richard Cauchi, a health policy specialist at the National Conference of State Legislatures, said that 18 states were considering legislation to mimic the Maine Rx law, under which Medicaid discounts are offered to state residents not eligible for Medicaid.
The 18 states are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, West Virginia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas and Vermont.
Dozens of states, squeezed by soaring health costs and declining revenue, have cut Medicaid benefits and restricted eligibility. Over strenuous protests by the drug industry, states have also taken steps to rein in pharmaceutical costs: expanding the use of generic drugs, requiring drug makers to pay additional rebates, requiring doctors to get approval from a state agency before prescribing certain medicines.
Today's Supreme Court ruling, though preliminary, accepts several of the arguments made by states in defending these cost-control measures. The court accepts Maine's argument that some low-income people will be kept off Medicaid if they have access to discounted drugs. The court also accepts the contention that "prior authorization" requirements may help save money for Medicaid without harming beneficiaries.
To protect themselves from legal challenge, states may wish to establish stricter eligibility rules, so drug discounts are available to people of low and moderate incomes, not to higher-income residents, state officials said.
A version of this article appears in print on May 19, 2003 of the National edition with the headline: Ruling May Embolden Other States. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe


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Q: google apps script trigger event upon update from external source I have a Google Sheet that is updated via "Zapier" from my CRM (Capsule) application. I need to auto trigger an email to a given address whenever the spreadsheet is updated. The CRM software successfully adds a new record to the end of the spreadsheet when a new organization is created. I have a script that monitors the last row and sends an email to the addressee by an on change event but this only happens if I go in and change the spreadsheet data myself.
function sendEmail() {

var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
var sheet = ss.getActiveSheet();
var dataRow = sheet.getLastRow();
var emailCell = sheet.getRange(dataRow, 4);
var emailAdd = emailCell.getValues();
var newRecordSource = sheet.getRange(dataRow, 1, 1, sheet.getLastColumn());
var newRecord = newRecordSource.getValues();

//var message = "This record has just been added:" +newRecord;
var message = "New record added to Workflow Sheet!: " +newRecord;
var subject = "Test from Workflow Sheet!";

MailApp.sendEmail(emailAdd, subject, message);

}
Can anyone help?

A: If the emails will be sent to a Gmail address then you can do this without Apps Script:  Log into the account that will receive the emails, open the relevant spreadsheet, and select "Notification rules..." from the Tools menu and set it up as desired.
If you must do it from Apps Script, you will probably need to use a time-based trigger to monitor for changes, which is considerably more complicated than using onChange, unfortunately.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
What everyone has wrong about the American education system
AP Photo / J Pat Carter
This school in Miami hopes instructors from Teach for America succeed where veteran teachers have failed.
From our Series
Our home for bold arguments and big thinkers.
By Derek Thompson
Here's what everybody knows about education in the United States. It's broken. It's failing our poorest students and coddling the richest. Americans are falling desperately behind the rest of the developed world.
But here's what a new study from the Economic Policy Institute tells us about America's education system: Every one of those common assumptions is simplistic, misguided, or downright wrong.
When you break down student performance by social class, a more complicated, yet more hopeful, picture emerges, highlighted by two pieces of good news. First, our most disadvantaged students have improved their math scores faster than most comparable countries. Second, our most advantaged students are world-class readers.
Why break down international test scores by social class? In just about every country, poor students do worse than rich students. America's yawning income inequality means our international test sample has a higher share of low-income students, and their scores depress our national average. An apples-to-apples comparison of Americans students to their international peers requires us to control for social class and compare the performances of kids from similarly advantaged and disadvantaged homes.
That's precisely what Martin Carnoy and Richard Rothstein have done in their new paper, "What Do International Tests Really Show About U.S. Student Performance?" Carnoy and Rothstein dive into international standardized tests and compare U.S. performance, by social class, to three post-industrial countries (Germany, the UK, and France) and three top-scoring countries (Canada, Finland, and Korea).
"The US happens to have a very high fraction of low-social-class kids taking the PISA test," Carnoy said. "The composition of our test sample is very different from the higher-scoring countries and post-industrial countries. If you want to more clearly see how much students are getting from the school, you have to find some way to control for their families."
READING: A HAPPY STORY
One of the most heartening findings from the paper is that Americans are awesome readers. Literally, world-class. Our most advantaged students not only perform better than our European competitors, but also they perform about as well as any top-scoring country in the world, as the charts to the right show. [Hard lines compare most advantaged students; dotted lines are most disadvantaged.]
As you can see at the bottom of each chart, the story is equally inspiring for our poorest students, who are closing the gap in reading in Canada, Finland, and Korea.
"I was surprised that reading scores among our advantaged kids are so strong compared to all other countries," Carnoy said, pointing me to the graph on our right. "We're slightly lower than Finland, but it's hardly a difference. Our reading scores have gone up faster at the bottom, and they are as high or higher for advantaged kids as all other countries."
What's the explanation? Are American reading curricula the best in the world? Maybe. But there is a complicated story to be told, and it might start with immigration. Rich countries attract multicultural immigrants, Carnoy said, and it's predictable that immigrant children initially would have trouble with a new language barrier. In the U.S., a country with a long but decelerating legacy of Spanish-speaking immigrants, our schools along the border might be better prepared to deal with the language barrier than European countries whose African and Muslim immigration trends provide fresher challenges.
MATH: BEHIND, BUT CATCHING UP FASTER THAT YOU'D THINK
The single most surprising finding from the new paper might be in math. The conventional wisdom about U.S. math scores is that we're falling behind the rest of the world, and that's certainly reflected in our national averages, where we finished 25th in the last PISA test. But a closer look reveals that it's low-income American students who are clearly closing the gap with similar countries.
"It's not just [Americans] have been improving over time, but also that low-income students in similar countries have been getting worse, except for in Germany," Carnoy said.
In the graphs to the left [again: hard lines are rich students; dotted lines are poor], U.S. math scores in dark blue are compared to France, Germany, and the UK.
"What's really interesting is that, at the bottom, disadvantaged kids actually do as well as disadvantaged kids in France, Germany, and the UK," Carnoy said. "The problem is that our top-scoring kids do worse than every country we compared them to, except Great Britain."
When you hear pundits and politicians lament our math program, he pointed out, it's interesting to note that the real story isn't how bad our low-income students are doing, but instead how our advantaged kids are falling behind our competitors. "That points to a policy that focuses on our top scoring kids," he said.
The lugubrious pundits and politicians aren't entirely wrong. No matter how you slice the data, Canada, Finland, and Korea are beating us, at every level. There is no social class in the U.S. that out-performs a similar group of students in these high-flying countries in either reading or math.
But by focusing on misleading national averages rather than apples-to-apples comparisons, U.S. education critics are missing lessons that could lead to good policy.
"The big takeaway is that we're not doing as badly as the pundits are claiming," Carnoy said. "Our advantaged kids are doing very well in reading, as well as anybody in the world, and in math, disadvantaged kids have improved more than almost any other country. We're making progress, and we should be finding out why we're making that progress, or identifying what appears to be working, rather than saying we should all run over to Finland. Don't run to Finland if you want to learn about disadvantaged kids, because they're going in the wrong direction."
This originally appeared on The Atlantic. Also on our sister site:
America doesn't really want a black middle class
Will Mississippi clase its last abortion clinic
The big issues Obama left out of his inaugural address


The Morse Museum houses one of the most complete collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany arts and crafts. The comprehensive collection includes lamps, leaded glass windows, art glass, paintings, pottery and jewelry. You can also get a view of the chapel interior designed by Tiffany. The Morse museum also exhibits American art pottery and Visual art representation of the 19th and early 20th century American graphics, paintings and decorative art.


text:
4th May 2017 Business lunchesVenue inspiration
10 best places for lunch (in the South West of England)
Looking for the perfect spot for a lunchtime bite with clients or colleagues? Here are 10 of EventFULL's favourites in the South West
WEB • St Stephens Street, Bristol
Run by husband and wife team Teresa and Pietro Tallo, Europa Italian restaurant opened in 1990 – and has since become a popular hotspot for lunch in Bristol. Set across two floors, the award-winning restaurant's hearty lunch menu is extensive and extremely reasonable (it's only £6.50 for any pizza or pasta with garlic bread or salad). The venue is vibrant, but has a relaxed vibe and is a great spot for a casual business meeting.
Lunch is served from midday to 2.30pm, Monday to Friday
Souk Kitchen
WEB • Clifton, Bristol
This buzzing eatery, which was awarded Best Mediterranean Restaurant in Bristol at the Bristol Good Food awards in 2014, 2015 and 2016, serves a delightful menu of Eastern Mediterranean and North African cuisine. Dishes include shakshouka (baked eggs in tomato sauce with peppers and onions) and chargrilled lemon, thyme and oregano chicken shish. The restaurant, which has a sister venue in Bristol's Southside, is ideal for a quick working lunch.
Lunch is served from midday to 3pm, Monday to Sunday
The Bath Priory
WEB • Western Road, Bath
For fine dining with a view, head to the Bath Priory. Overlooking beautifully landscaped gardens, this Michelin-star restaurant has an excellent set-lunch menu (three courses cost £30). Serving seasonal British cuisine, the menu includes dishes such as caramelised onion tart with asparagus and Cornish cod with curried onions and mussels. There is also a mouth-watering choice of desserts including praline soufflé with apricot sorbet. The stylish surroundings make the venue the perfect spot for an important client meeting.
Lunch is served from midday to 2pm, Monday to Saturday
Little Barwick House
WEB • Barwick, Somerset
Just 10 minutes from the A303, this Michelin-recommended restaurant is great for carnivorous types. Headed up by chef Tim Ford, all the meat, which is mostly locally sourced, is cooked exactly to order. Dishes include rump of local lamb with baby spinach and dauphinoise potatoes, fillet of ruby-red beef with shallot puree and red-wine sauce, and saddle of wild roe deer with beetroot puree and savoy cabbage. The interior is smart without being stuffy, and the food is reasonably priced (three courses cost £29.95).
Lunch is served from midday to 2pm, Wednesday to Saturday
Riverstation
WEB • The Grove, Bristol
Only 10 minutes' walk from the city centre, overlooking Bristol's historic harbourside, the Riverstation is a modern European restaurant with a fantastic set-lunch menu. It's £16.50 for three courses (or £13.50 for two) and dishes include Cornish mackerel fillet with paprika potatoes, pork loin steak with buttered mash or wild mushroom and tarragon risotto. There's also an à la carte menu for those wanting more choice. The restaurant, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is a great place for a relaxed lunch with colleagues or clients.
Lunch is served from midday to 2.30pm, Monday to Saturday
WEB • Welshback, Bristol
This modern Italian restaurant opened in 1998 and has since become a hugely popular hotspot with office workers in Bristol city centre. Serving a range of Anglo-Italian cuisine, the restaurant's lunch menu (two courses cost £10.95) includes a selection of hearty dishes, which change from week to week. Starters include pan-fried chorizo and bacon with tomatoes and toasted foccacia, while main courses include options such as slow-roast pork cacciatore lasagne and honey-roast squash, sage and spinach penne pasta.
Lunch is served from midday onwards, Monday to Sunday
Acorn Vegetarian Kitchen
WEB • North Parade Passage, Bath
This cosy bistro is a wonderful spot for a healthy lunch. As well as an extensive vegetarian menu, there are also vegan, gluten-free and wheat-free dishes on offer. Head chef Richard Buckley's inspiring cuisine means this intimate venue is popular with vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. There is a set menu for lunch (£17.95 for two courses or £22.95 for three) and dishes include slow-cooked winter squash with pine-nut risotto and sautéed cauliflower heart with onion bhajis and cauliflower rice.
Lunch is served from midday to 3pm, Sunday to Friday
Goodfellows
WEB • Sadler Street, Wells
This stylish eatery in the heart of Wells serves seafood and classic European cuisine. The restaurant's light-lunch menu includes a special offer of fish cakes or quiche of the day with any drink and pastry for £10, or fish of the day with a glass of wine and pastry for £19. And for those with a sweet tooth the pastries are a must (the tarte au citron is delicious). There is also a more extensive lunchtime menu, which includes dishes such as duck confit, pan-fried scallops and seared tuna carpaccio.
Glassboat
Located on the floating harbour in the historic quarter of Bristol, the Glassboat, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2017, has stunning views across the water and is perfect for a leisurely lunch. This smart and stylish venue, which has an à la carte and a set-lunch menu (two courses for £12 or three for £15), serves classic French cuisine. Dishes include delicious pan-fried calves liver with potato puree and mustard sauce, roquefort and chive omelette, and grilled mackerel with Lyonnaise potatoes and garlic butter.
Clifton Sausage
WEB • The Paragon, Bath
This popular restaurant opened in Bath at the end of 2016, following the huge success of its Bristol-based sister venue, which opened in 2002. Situated near the centre of Bath, this grade-II-listed building has spectacular views of the city's skyline. As well as sausage sandwiches, lunchtime dishes include beef and chorizo burger and Cornish fish-finger sandwiches. The set-lunch menu is extremely reasonable (two courses for £9.95 or three for £11.95) and the restaurant is ideal for a quick working lunch.
Acorn Vegetarian KitchenAquabusiness lunchClifton SausageEuropaglassboatGoodfellowsLittle Barwick HousemeetingsRiverstationSouk Kitchensouth westThe Bath Prioryvenue inspiration
Through the keyhole with Celtic Manor's Rachel Phillips
Top sports venues for corporate events in the South West


Narrabeen is a part of Northern Beaches region and is a beach side suburb in northern Sydney. It is known for its surfing and swimming beaches. All beaches have their own Surf Life Saving Club and surfing competition are regularly held. There is also a lagoon at Narrabeen.
Whether for personal or professional reasons, people and travel go hand in hand. Cars are the best way to travel to Narrabeen for hassle free journey. Drive to Narrabeen with Blue Spider rental cars and experience a comfortable and relaxed journey. When it comes to Car Rental services in Narrabeen, Blue Spider stands out among others.
The thing that separates Blue Spider from the rest of the car rental companies is the scope and quality of services we provide. We are forever striving to make your journey easy and relaxed.
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If you are seeking realiable Car Rental Services in Narrabeen please call us at +61 488 842 583. Our team is here to help 24 hours a day 7 days a week.


text:
\section{Introduction}
The activity of galactic nuclei in the radio lasts for up to $\sim$$10^6$ years, therefore is episodic compared to the whole lifetime of an object, which could be orders of magnitude longer. The radio jet activity could also be recurrent, as suggested by several cases where two or even three aligned pairs of radio lobes are observed in the opposite sides of a central active galactic nucleus (AGN), at different separations. The relic lobes provide ``historical'' information on different activity cycles via e.g. their spectra, brightness, polarisation properties, size, and location. A comprehensive review of the observational evidence of recurrent activity in AGNs is found in \cite{Saik09}, where 15 examples of double-double radio galaxies and one triple-double radio galaxy are collected from the literature.

Recently \cite{Jamr09} identified 4C~02.27 (J0935+0204) as the first possible example of a double-double radio {\it quasar} (DDRQ). Its redshift is $z$=0.649 as measured in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey \cite{sdss}. The outer pair of lobes can easily be identified in the 1.4-GHz radio image (Fig.~\ref{FIRST-image}) taken in the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) Very Large Array (VLA) Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-centimeters (FIRST) survey \cite{Whit97}. The inner lobes, of which the north-east (NE) one is the brightest, are not well resolved in the FIRST image and blended together with a central ``core'' component. A VLA A-array image obtained at the same frequency \cite{Hint83} indicate that the separation of the inner lobes is nearly $10^{\prime\prime}$.

\begin{figure}[!h]
\centering
\includegraphics[bb=40 167 568 639, height=75mm, angle=0, clip=]{4C02.27-FIRST.PS}
\caption{1.4-GHz radio image of 4C~02.27 from the VLA FIRST survey \cite{Whit97}. The lowest contours are drawn at $\pm0.56$~mJy/beam (3$\sigma$ image noise). The positive contour levels increase by a factor of 2. The peak brightness is 205.19~mJy/beam. The Gaussian restoring beam ($6.4^{\prime\prime} \times 5.4^{\prime\prime}$, major axis position angle $0^{\rm o}$) is shown in the bottom-left corner. The components are labelled according to \cite{Jamr09}.}
\label{FIRST-image}
\end{figure}

There is a large brightness and arm-length asymmetry between the inner and outer pairs of lobes. This suggests that environmental asymmetries and relativistic motion together determine the appearance of this source. An alternative explanation could be a jet reorientation between the corresponding two cycles of activity, although it is less likely because of the special geometry required by the good alignment of the inner and outer lobes in the sky \cite{Jamr09}. It was found that the a bulk plasma velocity of $\sim$0.4$c$ and a jet inclination of $\sim$$40^{\rm o}$ with respect to the line of sight are consistent with the observed arcsecond-scale inner structure. In this scenario, the inner NE lobe is approaching to us.

While the source extends to almost $1.5^{\prime}$, there is a ``core'' component with a flux density of $\sim$90~mJy at 1.4~GHz, and a rather flat radio spectrum (inferred from other VLA data at higher frequencies: \cite{Swar84,Pric93,Boge94}). The position of the radio core nearly coincides with the quasar's optical position. 4C~02.27 has also been detected in X-rays with ROSAT \cite{Voge00}.

\section{Observations, results and discussion}

The source has never been imaged with Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) before. With the experiment described below, our goal was to detect any possible compact radio feature in the central component on $\sim$10-milli-arcsecond (mas) angular scale with the European VLBI Network (EVN). To this end, short 2-h exploratory e-EVN observations were initiated. The project RSF03 took place on 2009 September 30, involving radio telescopes at Effelsberg (Germany), Medicina (Italy), Onsala (Sweden), Toru\'n (Poland), Jodrell Bank Mk2, Cambridge, Knockin (United Kingdom), and the phased array of the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (The Netherlands). The observations were done at 1.6~GHz frequency, with the maximum bandwidth of 64~MHz in both left and right circular polarizations. The EVN Data Processor (Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands) performed the correlation in real time.

The target source 4C~02.27 was observed in phase-reference mode, using the nearby calibrator J0930+0034 (1.85$^{\rm o}$ far away). The NRAO Astronomical Image Processing System (AIPS) was used for data calibration and fringe-fitting in a standard way. It turned out that 4C~02.27, a compact source on VLBI scale with $\sim$60~mJy correlated flux density, could itself be fringe-fitted as well. The imaging, self-calibration, and model-fitting were done with the Caltech Difmap package. Here we present the image obtained with phase-referencing (Fig.~\ref{VLBI-image}), which is practically identical to that resulted from direct fringe-fitting to the target source data.

\begin{figure}[!h]
\centering
\includegraphics[bb=67 176 508 619, height=75mm, angle=270, clip=]{4C02.27-phaseref.ps}
\caption{1.6-GHz phase-referenced e-EVN image of 4C~02.27. The lowest contours are drawn at $\pm0.25$~mJy/beam. The positive contour levels increase by a factor of 2. The peak brightness is 60.7~mJy/beam. The Gaussian restoring beam (42.5~mas$\times$26.7~mas, major axis position angle $23^{\rm o}$) is shown in the bottom-left corner. The absolute equatorial coordinates of the brightness peak (J2000 right ascension $09^{\rm h}35^{\rm m}18.1946^{\rm s}$ and declination $02^{\rm o}04^{\prime}15.558^{\prime\prime}$) are within the accuracy of 2~mas.}
\label{VLBI-image}
\end{figure}

According to our e-EVN image, the core of 4C~02.27 is compact, slightly extended to NE. Its brightness distribution is well described by a central circular Gaussian component (60.8~mJy flux density, 1.6~mas diameter, full width at half maximum) and  a weak extension (1.6 mJy, 20~mas) at the position angle of $47^{\rm o}$, separated by 32~mas from the central one. The inferred rest-frame brightness temperature of the compact feature is 1.7$\times$$10^{10}$~K. Assuming the equipartition value of 5$\times$$10^{10}$~K for the intrinsic brightness temperature \cite{Read94}, it is consistent with the $\sim$$40^{\rm o}$ inclination suggested by \cite{Jamr09} and a reasonable jet bulk Lorentz factor $\sim$12. The apparently one-sided jet-like structure indicates that the NE side is the approaching one, just as deduced from the appearance of the inner lobes \cite{Jamr09}.

With VLBI we observe the base of the approaching relativistic jet in 4C~02.27, a currently active radio quasar. The jets provide the energy supply for the hot spots in the {\it inner pair} of the arcsecond-scale radio lobes seen in the VLA images. The asymmetry of the inner lobes is most likely caused by relativistic beaming effects. There is no need to invoke extreme misalignment between the mas-scale and arcsecond-scale structures. At the resolution provided by the e-EVN at 1.6~GHz, we found no sign of an innermost double structure (unlike e.g. \cite{Mare09}, in the case of the radio galaxy B0818+214) which would have indicated a third and most recent cycle of activity in this unique radio-loud quasar.

The appearance of the {\it outer lobes} is probably determined by environmental asymmetries and/or light travel time effects. We see a later evolutionary stage of the fading outer lobe in the approaching side (NE\_out), it could therefore appear fainter than its counterpart on the receding side (SW\_out). Considering an aligned source geometry with $\sim$$40^{\rm o}$ inclination to the line of sight, the light travel time difference is nearly $2\times10^6$~years between the two outer lobes.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Roseville Tennis provide the ideal Holiday program for kids of all ages.
A variety of coaching options and competition tennis.
WEATHER UPDATE- ALL LESSONS FOR TUESDAY MORNING 26TH MARCH ARE ON.
Want to be a BALL KID for the Sydney International 2020?? Click here!
This year our Roseville Tennis Holiday Programs will be held during the July/October/December school holiday periods. No holiday program during April.
CONGRATULATIONS DECLAN FOR BEING OUR YOUNGEST PLAYER OF THE MOMENT.
IT IS GREAT TO BE OUT ON THE COURT WITH A STUDENT WHO IS SO KEEN, ENTHUSIASTIC AND JUST LOVES HITTING BALLS!


Peanut butter. Crossfit. Yoga. Hiking. Happiness.
I'm back from my mini blog vacation! Today I'll fill you in on what Dana and I have been up to lately.
Since we're doing the West Coast Trail at the end of June, we've started training in preparation.
Two Saturdays ago, we took our time and headed out to Upper Kananaskis Lake for what would normally be an easy hike. We started at noon and the weather was gorgeous, about 15 degrees. The skies were a vibrant blue. In very little time, we were completely sweaty.
This hike is about 15 km around the lake. Very little elevation gain. Dana and I pictured most of the snow being melted, a bit of mud perhaps, but otherwise smooth sailing.
Unfortunately, I would not describe Upper Kananaskis Lake as a shoulder-season hike, especially mid-April. There was about 3 feet of snow still on the south (shady) side of the lake.
The first five kilometers were sheer ice and we shimmed like penguins up and down the little inclines, praying we wouldn't break a leg or worse. This was when Dana asked me if we should just turn back; however, strangely, I was having a great time even though it was incredibly awful conditions.
The next five kilometers featured something called "post holing" – basically where sometimes the snow/ice supports you and sometimes it does not. Your foot falls through the snow every other step, or so it seems. When you're only five feet tall, falling through snow that's two to three feet deep is exhausting! Hell, if you're Dana's height it's exhausting! But we kept trucking because our only alternative was to go back the way we came and I couldn't bear facing the ice again. Penny was such a trooper – she stayed right by Dana's side the entire time, even though she kept falling through too.
We ate lunch about halfway at Point campground. It was gloriously sunny and the break was much-needed. From there on, we were on the sunny side of the lake. We had to walk through deep snow and boulders to get back up to the trail, which was pretty tiring. Penny started looking at us like "Really guys? Can you carry me?" but she was always ahead of me so clearly she is in better shape.
Once we got up to the main trail, it was more melted and less of a slog. We made much better pace thankfully and were back at the car around 4:30 I think.
In conclusion, Upper Kananaskis Lake is not an April shoulder-season hike and if you insist on going right now, wear your crampons and be prepared for patience-testing conditions. I did have a great day though, despite it all!
On Saturday, we got out for our second hike of the year. Locals, you can laugh all you want, but we went to Barrier Lake and up to the Prairie View lookout and back along Jewell Pass. It was laughable because the parking lot was chaotically full of tourists and it was a bit of a circus at times with the crowds. Clearly we were not the only ones who wanted to get out hiking! The hike is about 16 km and 750 m elevation gain.
We did the loop counter-clockwise and were glad we did. The way up is a ton of switchbacks in the forest and not much to see, but the viewpoints at the top are very nice. We ate lunch away from the crowds, then carried on back down. It was another beautiful day in Kananaskis and very sunny! Thinking about the prior week's hike, I dressed too warmly and was sweating within minutes of starting. On the way down, my heels started getting hot and by the time we got back to the car the blisters had opened on one heel. Ow. Guess I have to break my feet in again.
The Barrier Lake hike was a much better shoulder-season hike. There was only a tiny bit of snow and ice at the top. Otherwise much of the path was dry! Later in the summer, I would definitely avoid Barrier because of the crowds, but for our needs, it was a great day out in the mountains.
We are already plotting next weekend's hike! Calgary area folks, any shoulder-season hikes you would recommend?
Haha I don't think you'll get off that easily this summer!
After years of loving fitness/health blogs, I started my own. Crossfit. Yoga. Peanut butter. Happiness. Life with my husband. Adventures around Calgary. Travel.


For making the best investment in your health, we advise purchasing the full package. When you opt for all 3 deals here, you will get a nice bit of discount, compared to purchasing individually.
Also, to our premium customers, we are currently giving away a unique wristband with the MasterBeat Self-Synchronisation sequence code. They come in stylish black or blue. Wearing one will remind you to synchronise yourself regularly.


I was incredibly lucky to take these pictures I am greatly indebted and trainers who allowed me access to photograph their incredible animals. The closure of the stadium after nearly a hundred years is a real blow to them and so many people who come from far and wide to witness the amazing spectacle of watching these animals do what they are born and trained to do which is run, like the wind. Greyhound racing these days, quite rightly, is heavily regulated to avoid any cruelty and ill treatment, all of the trainers have to sign up to a retirement scheme for their animals when they retire. A vet inspects the dogs before the race and afterwards and is there at all times during race days. I hope these photographs capture some of the close relationship the trainers have with their dogs and their devotion to them.


text:
Call of Duty: Warzone Update Will Adjust DMR 14, Mac 10 and More
These changes will only apply to Warzone.
Posted By Ravi Sinha | On 06th, Jan. 2021 Under News
Ever since Season One of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War started, things have been rather rough in Call of Duty: Warzone. The two have been integrated, which caused a number of errors, but over the holidays, a dominant meta has emerged with the DMR 14. Weapons like the Type 63 and Mac 10 have also been causing issues.
Raven Software has heard these concerns and provided an update on Twitter. "We've heard you and a balance update is coming soon to address concerns about the DMR 14, Type 63, Mac 10, and dual pistols." It also noted that all of these changes would be exclusive to Call of Duty: Warzone. Those worried about the weapons feeling weaker elsewhere can relax.
Despite issues with Black Ops Cold War being integrated into Warzone and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare being pushed into the background, the battle royale mode is still incredibly popular. As of December 4th, it's had over 85 million players while net booking for the franchise are up 80 percent year-over-year. We'll see what the future holds so stay tuned for more details on the next update in the meantime.
To clarify, these changes will be exclusive to #Warzone.
— Raven Software (@RavenSoftware) January 5, 2021
Tagged With: activision, Call of Duty: Warzone, Infinity Ward, pc, ps4, ps5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
Developer: Infinity Ward, Raven Software
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
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text:
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Interview With Porn
Sofa King Cool Caught up with PORN and we discussed the new single "Dead in Every Eyes", and the upcoming album No Monsters in God's Eyes, Act III which is being released March 27th, and how the Coronavirus impacted the release, how the quarantine stopped the band from touring, We discussed how the Pandemic effected him and what it is like in France.
PORN formed when psychology and sociology student Philippe Deschemin aka Mr Strangler decided to start a band. Named after the "Pornography" album by The Cure and influenced by bands like Alice In Chains, Type O Negative, Nine Inch Nails, TOOL and legendary acts like David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd… , his mission was to create dark, sexy and dangerous music : "something like a beautiful, tasty fruit with a razor blade inside." : called Murder Rock.
PORN released its debut album in 2004 and an EP a year later, available together on 'A Decade In Glitter And Danger'. These were followed by a 2nd album in 2011 'From the Void to the Infinite', plus the 2015 covers'n remixes compilation 'Deconstruct', which followed the publication of Deschemin's first novel, 'Contoyen'.
PORN released their 3td album in 2017, The Ogre Inside – Act I, first part of a trilogy about Deschemin's alter ego Mr Strangler, a fictional serial killer.
The 2nd part, The Darkest of Human Desires, Act II, was released in feb 2019, mastered by Tom Baker ( Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson…).
The Act III, finalized with Brian Lucey ( Ghost, Depeche Mode, Royal Blood… ) will be released in march 2020.
Mr Strangler is also member of An Erotic End of Times, who released their debut album in 2017. PORN shared stages with major rock and metal acts across Europe: Murderdolls, CKY, Front Line Assembly, OOMPH!, Christian Death, Hanoi Rocks, Lord Of The Lost, ASP … and as a headliner act in major venue.
PORN has premiered their official music video for new single "Dead in Every Eyes" off of their anticipated album No Monsters in God's Eyes, Act III. The music video was shot in Los Angeles with Fernando and Vicente Cordero from Industrialism Films ( 3teeth, Skold, Stabbing Westward, 69eyes…).
In this final act of the Mr Strangler Trilogy and No Monsters in God's Eyes album series, the convicted serial killer Mr Strangler is facing his death, imprisoned and waiting for his execution while also being studied by psychiatrists.
The end is near. Mr Strangler is dead in every eyes. After a first escape, he is now on his last run, close to being jailed again and executed. Ready to be seated on the throne of death, the electric chair that you can see on the artwork on the album No monsters in God's eyes ( 27 march ).
After collaborating with Tom Baker (responsible for the masterings of legendary albums like Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar, NIN's Downward Spiral, Ministry's Psalm 69 or Rob Zombie's Hellbilly Deluxe…), PORN gave Brian Lucey (Magic Garden Studio in Los Angeles) the task of mastering this album. Lucey previously worked with Ghost, Marilyn Manson, Depeche Mode, Arctic Monkeys, Royal Blood and more.
For More Information and Streaming please visit:
Official PORN Shop:
■ PORN on spotify : https://tinyurl.com/yam9tsfu
■ PORN on deezer : https://tinyurl.com/ya78s98y
■ PORN on instagram : https://tinyurl.com/y8mjkvuh
■ Subscribe on youtube : https://tinyurl.com/y7mjdbcr
PORN – High Summer Sun (Official Music Video):
https://youtu.be/DswL2HzbEfI
PORN – Some Happy Moments (Official Music Video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HZ1F6G8-RY&feature=emb_logo
PORN – Low Winter Hope, pt.2 (Official Music Video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgIZc5kHmx4
PORN – No Monsters in God's Eyes – Act III / NEW ALBUM Trailer / 2020. Click on thumbnail below. Or go here.
In 2017, PORN released its third album : The Ogre Inside.- Act I, the first act of a trilogy based on the enigmatic character Mr Strangler. In 2019, the band released the second act of its trilogy : The Darkest of Human Desires – Act II. On March 27, 2020, PORN returns with the final act : No Monsters in God's Eyes – Act III.
The Ogre Inside is an album about inner struggle, about dark desires, and how society can oppress your will. This is a fight no one can win, the Ogre that devours you from the inside always wins. The album is an invocation, a way to set the Ogre free, embrace your "true self" and allow your darkest desires to express themselves. It's an incitement to act. The Ogre Inside won this inner struggle, giving birth to Mr Strangler.
In the second opus, Mr Strangler, by embracing his "true self ", expresses his dark impulses without limitations and has no boundaries. With his crew, Mr Strangler commits murders and massacres. He also invites everyone to make a step forward and act, invites you to express your darkest desires and join his death cult. For Mr Strangler and his team, the Ogre was released. They let the darkest of human desires be : murder.
In this last part, Mr Strangler's bloody odyssey comes to an end. He is in jail awaiting execution. This final Act is his testament. Faced with the imminent end of his life, he takes stock of his life and begins a dialogue with his death and enjoins everyone to continue his work… the work of God, because if God exists everything is his. And even the worst monsters are the children of God. There is no monsters in God's eyes.
PORN formed when psychology and sociology student Philippe Deschemin aka Mr Strangler decided to start a band. Named after the Pornography album by The Cure and influenced by bands like Type O Negative, Nine Inch Nails, TOOL, Killing Joke… and legendary acts like David Bowie, Alice Cooper, and Pink Floyd. His mission was to create dark, sexy and dangerous music. "Something like a beautiful, tasty fruit with a razor blade inside called Murder Rock.
PORN has shared stages with major rock acts across Europe including Murderdolls, CKY, Hanoi Rocks, Christian Death, OOMPH!, Lord Of The Lost, ASP, Front Line Assembly and as a headliner act in major venues.
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The discovery and deep investigation of the microbiome has been one of the most significant recent biomedical advances. Extensive research suggests that dysbiosis of the gut microbiome plays a significant role in multiple gastrointestinal (GI) disorders such as; Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). There are currently no cures for these disorders and many available treatments are not effective at relieving symptoms, or well tolerated by patients. Thus, there is a huge unmet need for a new generation of therapeutics which may improve the lives of people with GI disorders such as these. Early research into microbiome modulators demonstrates their promise in meeting these unmet needs and thus, they are of great importance for the GI market. As of January 2018, there were four Phase I modulators in development.
Every human being hosts between 10–100 trillion symbiotic micro-organisms, including bacteria, viruses, and archaea. The collective genomes of these micro-organisms form what is known as the human microbiome.
The microbiome impacts human physiological functions in many ways, such as contributing to metabolic functions, protecting against pathogens, and interacting with immune system development. Research is now primarily focused upon investigating exactly how its interactions within the body contribute to health and disease.
A significant proportion of microbiome research is concentrated on gastrointestinal diseases, particularly irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD consists of two chronic and currently incurable diseases of inflammation involving the GI tract: ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. The microbiomes of patients suffering with IBD and its subtypes are thought to fluctuate more so than in healthy patients, and this fluctuation or potential dysbiosis is believed to contribute to the inflammation characteristic of IBD.
IBS, unlike IBD, has no associated inflammation of the gut or clear cause, and is instead better described as a collection of symptoms. The specific cause of IBS is still unknown, but the gut-brain axis has been implicated, with stress and changes in gut bacteria thought to result in alterations in both the nerves controlling bowel movement and fermentation within the intestines.
As a deeper understanding of the microbiome has been gained, the floodgates have opened for drug development companies to investigate the potential of microbiome modulating therapies for the treatment of both IBD and IBS, among other gastrointestinal diseases.
The market for microbiome modulator therapies for gastrointestinal disorders has been rapidly expanding in recent years, currently occupying the second largest space for number of novel pipeline microbiome modulators within each therapeutic area (figure 3). Of note is that of the 21 modulators for gastrointestinal disorders, 14 are for IBS and IBD.
The dominance of these two areas has resulted in gaps in other sections of the market. Despite the prevalence of drugs that can result in remission of symptoms of both UC and Crohn's there is still an unmet need for well-tolerated treatment that can bring about remission of symptoms quickly. These gaps highlight where the market can continue to expand, as currently only four modulators in total are in development for UC and Crohn's.
Figure 5 presents the number of drugs in development for IBD, IBS and their associated subtypes in Phase I or Preclinical stages. The four drugs in Phase I are Blautix; Thetanix; SER-287 and EB8018. We have provided more detail on each below.
Blautix is a single-strain probiotic product consisting of Blautia hydrogenotrophica. As an acetate producing bacteria, Blautix acts to reduce the levels of carbon dioxide and hydrogen in the gut, which are produced by fermentation by other bacteria. This correspondingly reduces the gas and bloating associated with IBS.
Thetanix is a probiotic product being developed by 4D Pharma for the treatment of pediatric Crohn's disease. Thetanix is thought to improve mucosal barrier function, resulting in a reduction in pathogens breaching the mucosal barrier, which could lead to reduced inflammation and increased immunity to pathogens.
SER-287 is an oral formulation of bacterial spores, being developed by Seres Therapeutics for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. The exact combination of bacteria that is used in SER-287 has not been disclosed, but Seres has indicated that by increasing the integrity of the mucosal barrier in the colon, SER-287 acts to reduce pro-inflammatory signaling from bacteria.
By blocking the attachment of these bacteria, it is hypothesized that EB8018 will act to reduce inflammation in the gut and improve patient symptoms, which could have benefits over currently available pharmacological anti-inflammatory agents, as these come with side effects such as a weakened immune system.
While the potential for microbiome modulators to treat disease is continuing to be realised, areas of unmet need represent a key opportunity and are likely to experience rapid growth. The future of microbiome modulators looks positive, and the role they play for treating gastrointestinal disorders is likely to be of increasing importance for drug development firms.
Turnbaugh PJ, Ley RE, Hamady M, Fraser-Liggett CM, Knight R, Gordon JI (2007) The Human Microbiome Project. Nature, 449(7164), 804–810.
 Shreiner AB, Kao JY, Young VB (2015) The gut microbiome in health and in disease. Current Opinion in Gastroenterology, 31(1), 69–75.
 Kennedy PJ, Cryan JF, Dinan TG, Clarke G (2014) Irritable bowel syndrome: a microbiome-gut-brain axis disorder? World J Gastroenterol, 20(39), 14105–25.
 Leclerc M, Bernalier A, Donadille G, Lelait M (1997) H2/CO2 Metabolism in Acetogenic Bacteria Isolated From the Human Colon. Anaerobe, 3(5), 307–315.
 Sivignon A, Bouckaert J, Bernard J, Gouin SG, Barnich N (2017) The potential of FimH as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of Crohn's disease. Expert Opin Ther Targets, 21(9), 837–847.


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idm, techno, glitch, minimal, dubstep
Moderat is a Berlin music group, which was created in 2002 from the merger of the musician Apparat (Sascha Ring) and the DJ duo Modeselektor (Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary). Before they could publish an album together, however, the band split again. It was not until 2009 that they relaunched their debut album "Moderat". The second album II was released in early August 2013 in Germany and the UK, in the USA the album was released on the label Mute. It reaches the charts in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and the UK. In Germany it rose to 10th place in the albumcharts in the first week after publication.
Moderat — past festivals
Pitchfork Paris
DJ Shadow, Warpaint, Chet Faker, Mount Kimbie, Moderat, Suuns
Sónar
Justice, DJ Shadow, De La Soul, Jon Hopkins, Moderat, Nicolas Jaar, Nina Kraviz, Damian Lazarus, The Black Madonna, AJ Tracey
Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire, Justice, The Weeknd, The Lumineers, Trentemøller, Modeselektor, Moderat, Of Mice & Men, Rag'N'Bone Man
Open'er Festival
Radiohead, Foo Fighters, The xx, The Kills, The Weeknd, James Blake, Mac Miller, Warpaint, Moderat, Prophets of Rage
The xx, Lana Del Rey, Goldfrapp, Aphex Twin, Flume, Jon Hopkins, London Grammar, Moderat, Angel Olsen, Bicep
FM4 Frequency Festival
St. Pölten, Austria
The Offspring, Placebo, Mumford & Sons, Band of Horses, Birdy, At the Drive-In, Flume, Noisia, Moderat, Robin Schulz, Gorgon City
Lowlands Festival
Biddinghuizen, Netherlands
Feist, The xx, Mumford & Sons, Editors, Iggy Pop, alt-J, Flume, Mac DeMarco, Moderat, Nothing But Thieves, Ben Klock, Dixon
MS Dockville
Flume, Mount Kimbie, Moderat, Glass Animals, SOHN, Oh Wonder, Roosevelt, Tale Of Us
Colours of Ostrava
Ostrava, Moravia-Silesia, Czech Republic
Norah Jones, Justice, Jamiroquai, Imagine Dragons, UNKLE, alt-J, Nouvelle Vague, Birdy, Moderat, Laura Mvula, Benjamin Clementine
Zürich Openair
Interpol, The Prodigy, Mumford & Sons, Major Lazer, Birdy, Parov Stelar, Phantogram, Flume, London Grammar, Mac DeMarco, Moderat, Nicolas Jaar
HOME Festival
Justice, Duran Duran, The Horrors, Soulwax, Moderat, Andy C, Chris Liebing, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Clap! Clap!, Liam Gallagher, Godblesscomputers
Dimensions Festival
Pula, Croatia
Grace Jones, Moderat, Joy Orbison, Floating Points, Jeff Mills, Nina Kraviz, Marcel Dettmann, Ben UFO, Craig Richards


"Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church" by Lauren Drain.
Lauren Drain's memoir is essentially about an abusive relationship — though not with another person. "Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church" details Drain's involvement with the cult-like congregation led by Fred Phelps, whose members often picket events such as soldiers' funerals carrying signs with hate-filled messages.
The story surrounding Drain's introduction to the church as a teenager is fascinating: Her father, a liberal atheist and aspiring filmmaker, wanted to make a documentary that would highlight the WBC's ridiculousness. But the more time he spent with its members, the more his skepticism turned to understanding — so much so that he eventually relocated his wife and two daughters from Tampa to Topeka, Kan., to become full-time church members. Drain enthusiastically embraced her father's new faith in order to get back into his good graces (having fallen out of his favor for chatting with a boy online).
Co-authored with Lisa Pulitzer, "Banished" chronicles Drain's years with the church until she was dismissed 10 days shy of her 22d birthday for being a "whore" — for talking to boys and communicating repeatedly with one outsider.
While Drain offers some insight into the mentality of the WBC's members, there's nothing revelatory here. Because she's writing as an outsider with the benefit of hindsight, it's clear that Drain now finds certain aspects of the church (its isolationism and hypocrisy, for instance) shocking. But while these realizations appear to be mind-blowing for her, to anyone who is even passingly familiar with the Westboro Baptist Church, they are hardly surprising. One eyebrow-raising tidbit: Many members of the Phelps family are lawyers whose legal fees are paid by the state when they represent the church in lawsuits. "So being sued was kind of a win-win," Drain notes.
Drain leaves little doubt that the church members truly get an intoxicating, almost chemical "high" from picketing — but it's not because they're trying to get people to repent. ("We didn't really believe their souls were salvageable," she writes. Rather, a sense of superiority is the driving force behind all of the church's actions, according to Drain.
"When we staged protests, we were proving that we were right and righteous, and everyone else was wrong and clueless," she writes.
Though Drain clearly now feels a sense of remorse about her actions, as a reader, it's often difficult to sympathize with her. Sure, as a high school sophomore she didn't have much say about her involvement with the church, but at what point does youthful obsequiousness become willful ignorance? Drain is nearly 22 when she's banished from the church, and though her complete abandonment by her parents is heartbreaking, many readers — especially those who don't have a strong sense of faith — may be unwilling or unable to pity her lack of independent thinking. Even though she has started to question the church's teachings, once things start to really go downhill with her family and other church members, Drain goes from indignant to contrite, begging for forgiveness and acceptance from the same people whose hypocrisy she derided pages earlier.
In fact, Drain's assertions occasionally provoke a sense of condescension. Regarding picketing immediately after Sept. 11, 2001, Drain (who was 15 at the time) writes, "I was too young and childish to care about and consider the feelings of people I didn't know." After the 2006 Amish school shootings, Drain (then 19) believes, "If it was God's will that I spread His Word . . . then even if I personally found it distasteful and exploitative to picket the funerals of small children, I was in no position to say no." Regardless of the degree of truth behind them, those are awfully convenient excuses to use when justifying such dangerous beliefs and behavior.
As the tale of one woman's struggle, "Banished" is a quick, interesting read. But for those looking for a clearer understanding of why something like the Westboro Baptist Church exists and what motivates its members, the book often raises more questions than answers.


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ThemeLD
School of International Relations and Politics
The School of International Relations and Politics was established as one of the founding academic departments of the Mahatma Gandhi University on 2 October 1983. From its modest beginnings, the School has over three and a half decades acquired for itself a solid and enviable reputation. It has made a mark in its sphere of scholarly activity and is one of the few institutions in the country to offer instruction and engage in research in areas like politics, international relations, human rights as well as public policy and governance. The vision and mission of the School is to provide the highest quality post-graduate and doctoral programmes in the frontier areas of Political Science, International Relations, Human Rights, and Public Policy and Governance, shaped by the distinctive perspectives of the faculty. The teaching-learning process at SIRP is shaped by a view of higher education as a process of developing a critical faculty on questions of polity, culture, economy and international society so that the students will become involved learners. The School provides wide-ranging opportunities for students and faculty to interact with each other as persons, to learn from each other in a cooperative community, an important aspect of which is collaborative student/faculty research. Hundreds of its alumni spread over the different continents of the world, engaged in different professions and active in various walks of life call it their "second home." This is no exaggeration because the philosophy of the School over the years has been to assist in the qualitative transformation of the student, by providing individual care and attention. This concern for those who have crossed the portals of the institution persists long after they have left, when we maintain a sustained interest in their lives and careers. Former students will testify to the fact that the School played a defining role in their lives and that it made a huge difference. This is the best testimony that we have received.
The School of International Relations and Politics (SIRP) aims to provide high-quality Post-Graduate and PhD programmes in Political Science, International Relations, Human Rights and Public Policy and Governance. To provide education of the highest quality with the emphasis on mutual respect, social harmony, sustainable development and world peace, SIRP's mission keeps in perspective the dynamic role of a caring faculty committed to creating an open and cooperative learning environment. The Teaching learning process at SIRP is shaped by a view of higher education as a process of developing a critical faculty on questions of polity, culture, economy and the international society so that the students will become involved learners. The School also provides wide-ranging opportunities for students and faculty to interact with each other as persons and to learn from each other in a cooperative community, an important aspect of which is collaborative student/faculty research.
Established in 1983 as one of the first statutory post-graduate teaching and research schools of Mahatma Gandhi University;
The first institution in South India to offer a post-graduate degree in Politics & International Relations, Politics & Human Rights and Public Policy & Governance;
The School offers teaching and research in Human Rights and Public Policy, and Governance
Students of the School come from both India and abroad.
Collaboration in student/faculty exchange with institutions outside India.
Seats reserved for foreign student.
Members of the faculty have teaching and research experience from reputed universities in India and abroad.
Time-bound innovative and interdisciplinary academic programmes.
The School Publish Indian Journal of Politics And International Relations (included in UGC Care-List) and the South Asian Journal of Diplomacy.
Publication of Occasional Papers Series.
Scholar-In-Residence Programme.
Diplomat Lecture Series.
KPS Menon Chair For Diplomatic Studies.
Nelson Mandela Chair For Afro-Asian Studies.
Priyadarsini Hills, Kottayam,Kerala,India, Pin: 686560
MGU © All Rights Reserved


The Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center (BZTEC) is located 29 miles from Belize City along the George Price Highway in the Belize District, Belize.
The Zoo is set on 29 acres of tropical savanna and was founded in 1983 by Sharon Matola who is the current director. BZTEC is in the heart of the Central Belize Corridor a mosaic of public and lands that provides resources and living space for over 19 rural communities, as well as a broad diversity of wildlife species, including the jaguar.
There is a truly special place in this world, just off Mile Marker 29 on the Western Highway, Belize, Central America. This little section of forest is home to the animals of Belize, large and small: those that fly and those that swim, herbivores and carnivores, those that stalk and the stalked. Among them the jaguar, the puma, the tapir, the river otters and American crocodiles, the scarlet macaw and the toucan, the Jabiru stork and the majestic harpy eagle. The inhabitants having arrived injured or orphaned, or having come into conflict with humans who came to live among them, it is unlike any "zoo" in the world.
The Belize Zoo has created a safe haven for many of the Central American Corridor's delicate native species.
It is home to 170 animals, representing 45 species that are all native to Belize. Several of these species are highly endangered/threatened: scarlet macaw, spider and howler monkeys, Central American tapir, jaguar, harpy eagle, Central American river turtle, and the white-lipped peccary. The animals at the zoo are orphaned, rescued, confiscated, born at the zoo, rehabilitating - no animals are acquired from the wild.
65,000 people visited the Zoo in 2014. Half were Belizean visitors, and 15,000 were school students and their parents and teachers.
Forty-two Belizeans are employed at the Zoo.
Caring for orphaned animals at her own zoo in the tropical country of Belize, Sharon Matola became one of Central America's greatest wildlife defenders. And when powerful outside forces conspired with the local government to build a dam that would flood the nesting ground of the only scarlet macaws in Belize, Matola was drawn into the fight of her life.
In The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw, award-winning author Bruce Barcott chronicles Sharon Matola's inspiring crusade to stop a multinational corporation in its tracks. Ferocious in her passion, Matila and her confederates–a ragtag army of courageous locals and eccentric expatriates–endure slander and reprisals and take the fight to the courtroom and the boardroom, from local village streets to protests around the globe. Barcott explores the tension between environmental conservation and human development, puts a human face on the battle over globalization, and ultimately shows us how one unwavering woman risked her life to save the most beautiful bird in the world.
The book beautifully details the life of Pat, a jaguar born in the jungles of northern Belize. When Pat is injured, he turns to killing cattle and becomes a "problem jaguar." However, as the book so eloquently puts it, he is not a problem jaguar... But rather a jaguar with a problem. Thus begins the story of Pat's rescue, rehabilitation, and finally relocation as a foundation sire to the jaguar population in America. Along the way we learn about jaguars, the Mayan culture, the jungles of Belize, the conservation efforts of the Belize Zoo, and the amazing friendship Pat forms with the lady who worked with him.
This story does a great job of balancing the issues of conservation with the realities of the needs of the local human population and does it without being preachy either way. It really is a great story about a great cat.
A Zoo that is developed around naturally existing vegetation where animals, found in Belize, can room in habitats similar to what they have in the wild. Zoo staff ensures a safe environment, behavioral enrichment, and proper diets.
A place where both Belizean and foreign students can learn and train about wildlife and conservation.
A staff that cares not only for animals and the places they live, but also for enriching the communities and schools in Belize about their precious natural resources and the long term conservation of habitats and wildlife.
The best way for you to help with the construction of the new Belize Zoo Commissary and Veterinary Clinic is with a donation. Any amount you can give is greatly appreciated and will go towards improving and saving the lives of the Belize Zoo's animals.
Make a difference and help protect an animal in need.


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Q: Absolute Jumps - Unexpected Behavior I was trying to work out how to jump to absolute addresses, and stumbled upon the FF 26 opcode, or "jump [addr]". I tried to use it in Turbo Debugger, and found a peculiar problem: The absolute jump never actually gets me to the address that I specify. I tried explicitly specifying cs as the segment, even though cs and ds point to the same segment in my tests so [addr] should be the same as cs:[addr]. Just to clarify, the jumps are still absolute. Using the same operand with jump from a different location still got me to the same place. The problem is that the locations I reach with these absolute jumps seem to have no connection whatsoever to the memory locations I specify in the operands. I have attached a few screenshots from Turbo Debugger.
The top line shows the instruction used, where I tried explicitly specifying the segment register.

The second attempt, this time jumping to [0002].

The result of the second attempt. As you can see, I reached [9D7D] instead of [0002].

Any explanation as to what I got wrong about absolute jumps and why they get me to the wrong places will be appreciated. Also, I will eventually use this in 8086 code. If this works differently in 8086, can you explain how it differs?