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On Wednesday April 14th the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship, in partnership with the Committee for Environmental Responsibility, cordially invited the entire College community to attend a luncheon to celebrate the kick-off of the "Going Greener" campaign!
CPGC is walking the walk when it comes to going greener. The café is using corn based flatware that can be composted. New containers have been clearly labeled for composting, recycling and trash. Food scraps are collected and delivered to the dining center for composting.
Below is the menu for the "Local Food" luncheon prepared by the dining center.
Richard Ball: Economics Professor, Tree Man, Organic Gardener.
Tucked away on Featherbed Lane, a little stone house built circa 1935 by Mathematics Professor Cletus Oakley, houses one of Haverford's many hidden garden treasures. Five years ago Richard Ball took over the reins when Professor Lyle Roelof moved on to Colgate University and he has waged war on invasive plant species ever since. Gout weed, Lesser celandine and Norway maple don't stand a chance when faced with Richard's boundless energy. He won't admit how many hours he spends in the garden but looking at what he's accomplished over the last several years, it's quite a lot.
While Richard loves most plants he considers himself a tree man. Scattered around his wooded garden are, at last count, 25 small trees that he has planted. Whether he bought them from the Forest Farm nursery catalog, a local native plant sale, or plucked them out of cracks in the sidewalk in Avalon, each plant is lovingly labeled the year it was planted and fenced off. Not just for protecting it from deer, but his own feet as he moves through the garden.
Chemical free, Richard has some unique ways of dealing with invasive species. Lesser celandine over the last decade has taken over our local woodlands, choking out the native flora. Richard has hand dug the bulbs, wheelbarrowed them over to a remote part of the property, and has covered the bulbs with a tarp. He's hoping, one day, to be able to use the soil again. Another technique is picking up discarded boxes from the Dining Center and laying them over the plants he wants to eradicate and covering them with compost or wood chips. Previously, he had been using old carpet to smother the plants, but felt the cardboard boxes were a more sustainable approach as they can be tilled in once they break down.
Moving through the Dahlias, Crocosmia and Daylilies you come upon a grove with stone picnic benches built by Oakley, the home's original owner. Shaded by evergreens, the tables and benches are covered with rocks. When asked about them Richard replied, "They just grow by themselves." What to do with them? "My plan is to make a plan," he replied.
His love for the garden is unmistakable. As horticulturists, the Arboretum crews have often walked through his garden and appreciated his work. Richard commented that this is the first year he feels that he's seeing results that even the lay person can appreciate. So next time you bump into Richard on campus, ask him about his garden, he'll be happy to fill you in.
Posted in Composting, Conversation, General, marquee, Recycling | Comments Off on Richard Ball: Economics Professor, Tree Man, Organic Gardener.
This spring, Haverford College Dining Services along with the Committee on Environmental Responsibility(CER) started composting pre-consumer food waste. Since its inception in March of this year we've composted almost 10,000 lbs of melon rinds, potato peels and lettuce leaves etc. In turn the composted material is being used in the student garden located at the Haverford College Apartments (HCA) and in the community gardens located below Facilities Management. CER is currently working on in-container composting system where both pre and post consumer waste is composted.
Over a 10-week period in March and April Haverford competed in Recyclemania. This friendly contest and benchmarking tool for college and universities measures and ranks the recycling efforts of the schools that participate. Haverford achieved an impressive showing for a first-time entrant.
Haverford ranked #17 nationally (out of 293 schools entered) and was #1 in the state (out of 30 schools entered).
Haverford ranked #171 nationally and #15 in the state, with 61,307 pounds of recyclables collected.
Haverford ranked #28 nationally and #5 in the state.
Posted in General, marquee, Recycling | Comments Off on Recyclemania Results are In!
Used cellphones and laptops can't go in the recycling with the empty soda cans and cereal boxes. So where do they go to be recycled once consumers find new ones? The National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER) is working on that very problem.
Visitors who go to www.electronicsrecycling.org can click on the "Ecycling Basics" tab on the left side of the page to be taken to links to three websites that allow you to search by zip code or an interactive map of the U.S.
In the "Resources" tab on the left side of the page, there are many links to resources that include Advocacy Group Reports, Electronics Disposal Studies, Environmentally Sound Management Guidelines, and International documents. Visitors interested in keeping up with the news from NCER, can sign up for their newsletter in the Google groups box, which is located below the menu on the left side of the page.
From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2009.
RecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. Over a 10-week period, schools report recycling and trash data which are then ranked according to who collects the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, or have the highest recycling rate. With each week's reports and rankings, participating schools watch how their results fluctuate against other schools and use this to rally their campus communities to reduce and recycle more.
Oil is used in the manufacturing process in making bottles and bags.
Consider using a reusable water bottle.
Hook up a purifier to a water faucet.
Purchase cloth or reusable bags.
The Haverford College Bookstore sells reusable bags and water bottles!
"We are currently revamping our recycling program. Allied Waste Management – our waste management/ recycling vendor – has switched to a Single Stream System. This system allows us to consolidate or various categories of recycling in one container. As a result of Single Streaming we are going to stream-line our process.
So far this year we have recycled over 1,300.00 yards of recycling, paper, cardboard, cans, bottles and plastics. We are hoping to expand our recycling effort to include more recycling items.
View a PDF of what materials can be recycled on campus.
The recycling dumpster (pictured above) at the facilities complex is emptied every two weeks during the school year.


Home / CASSANDRA Pencil Skirt LAST ONE!!!
CASSANDRA Pencil Skirt LAST ONE!!!
Pink/white marbled boucle knit skirt with Black micro suede stripes along sides is perfectly proportioned to work with a variety of separates.


Klein Technique™ is a process-based system of work through which the body is analysed and understood in order to improve and to further movement potential, decrease and heal injuries. The technique was developed by Susan Klein in the early 80's and has been studied and used by an entire generation of dancers and choreographers, including Trisha Brown, Sasha Waltz and members of their companies. Susan Klein, along with the certified teachers and those working to become certified, is always looking at the body in stillness and in motion to create new ways to explore it and to amplify its capacity to create greater efficiency and therefore to greater ease of movement and expanded movement choices.
In the Stretch and Placement classes, we will work slowly, thoughtfully and deliberately; we will work in order to find and improve the body's connections on the level of the bone; and we will learn to use the deep muscles of postural support (the psoas, the hamstrings, the external hip rotators and the pelvic floor) to integrate our bodies and improve our dynamic posture thus finding more effective ways of moving, dancing and choreographing.
The best way to understand what is Klein Technique™ is to experience it first hand. If you'd like to read more about it you can check what Susan Klein says about the technique at the Klein Technique™ website.
Antonio is a London-based choreographer and performer with a background in physiotherapy and Pilates. Antonio took their first Klein Technique™ workshop with Susan Klein in 2010 and since then they have studied regularly with her. In March 2016, Antonio joined the fourth Klein Technique™ Teacher Certification Program, taking place between New York and Europe.
Antonio has been influenced by this work since their first encounter with it. They have applied the concepts and principles of Klein Technique to his own practice and to teaching dance. Since the summer of 2018, Antonio can teach regularly Stretch and Placement classes in London*.
Please note there will be no class on Good Friday 19 April. All Levels Welcome.


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Q: send google cloud text-to-speech audio file from node server to a react application I'm having some doubts about sending an audio file to the react frontend of my application from the Nodejs server. I have a few questions,

*

*Do I have to save the mp3 file locally before sending that to the frontend.?

*What is the best way to send an audio file to the frontend.? (stream/send as a file/any suggestion)

*Are there any services that send back a URL to the converted mp3 file when sending a string.

So far no problem with converting and saving the audio files locally. I want the most convenient option for sending an audio file to the FrontEnd. Thanks in advance.

A: You don't need to store mp3 file locally in your server because you get the audio stream from your 3rd service.
So what you need to do is to pass the stream back to your client (frontend), do something like this (assume that you use express):
import textToSpeech from '@google-cloud/text-to-speech'
import { PassThrough } from 'stream'

const client = new textToSpeech.TextToSpeechClient()

export default class AudioController {
  static async apiGetPronounce(req, res, next) {
    try {
      const request = {
        input: { text: req.query.text },
        voice: { languageCode: req.query.langCode, ssmlGender: 'NEUTRAL' },
        audioConfig: { audioEncoding: 'MP3' },
      }

      res.set({
        'Content-Type': 'audio/mpeg',
        'Transfer-Encoding': 'chunked'
      })

      const [response] = await client.synthesizeSpeech(request)
      const bufferStream = new PassThrough()
      bufferStream.end(Buffer.from(response.audioContent))
      bufferStream.pipe(res)
    } catch (e) {
      console.log(`api, ${e}`)
      res.status(500).json({ error: e })
    }
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Will the Fourth Industrial Revolution, otherwise known as Industry 4.0, deliver on its promises or is it just industry hype? Are we really in the midst of another revolutionary transformation of the industrial sector, which will drive productivity gains, economic growth and business success to Australian manufacturers? And which Asia-Pacific country is winning the race?
It is becoming clear that no industrial organisation can afford to ignore the fundamental changes that Industry 4.0 will bring about. Ultimately, they need to adapt now or watch the competition grow and almost certainly push them out.
What is all the hype about though? Simply put, Industry 4.0 combines smart manufacturing and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and is characterised by a collection of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), that are connecting the physical, biological and digital.
This revolution has already moved beyond futurist talk and is having an impact globally across multiple sectors, simplifying things by streamlining processes, reducing human labour, fostering global interconnectedness and leading to unlimited possibilities. But is Australia an Industry 4.0 leader or follower, and why is there still so much negativity surrounding it?
There has been a lot of scaremongering about the risk to jobs due to automation, but technology and changing consumer preferences are driving the demand for new skills and jobs. In many cases, these emerging technologies have improved processes without shedding jobs and have made businesses more competitive than they have ever been, resulting in lower prices for consumers, higher wages for employees or higher profits, leading to increased demand and more jobs.
The previous industrial revolutions have shown us that, in the long run, technology and other labour market changes have been positive for many employees, removing the jobs that nobody wants to do as they can be unpleasant, physically exhausting and dangerous or boring and repetitive.
In smart factories, the emphasis will be on adding value, and up-skilled workers will be highly sought after for their specialist knowledge and ability to innovate.
There are a lot of myths surrounding AI, and science fiction movies often portray it as robots with human-like characteristics taking control and using their super-intelligence against us.
I have read a lot of articles about the risks of AI, and some have made the safety debate seem more controversial than it really is. After all, fear sells, and articles using quotations out of context to predict imminent doom will no doubt get more clicks than well-informed and balanced ones.
There's no doubt that AI does raise a whole host of complex questions, and that the current way the industry does certain things will become defunct.
We can't ignore the fact that the Australian manufacturers that are leveraging AI have made their companies far more efficient and productive. This is a trend that their leaders see as inexorable, and the pressure on them to adapt and compete is huge.
Automation is working extremely well in several different manufacturing scenarios, particularly when finite precision is needed, in challenging or dangerous work environments, where repetition happens and when personalisation and configuration are required.
So, what does automation look like in practice in an industrial environment? There are many tasks that could be carried out by a robot; not only would they be more efficient, but also the employees could then focus on more complex work.
The real benefits of automation are what makes it truly worth the investment, including increased efficiency, reduced costs, improved safety and wellbeing for employees, due to avoiding monotony and a clear competitive advantage over manufacturers that choose not to automate.
Where Australian manufacturers are really innovating and creating new revenue streams using industrial automation is through the creation of an extensive range of new products. The individual requirements of many different customers can now be met without excessive development and labour costs, keeping costs competitive. Automation is the future of Australian manufacturing and its influence will only increase as competition from China grows.
Which country is winning the Industry 4.0 race?
While the term 'Industrie 4.0' was coined by the German Government, the idea has resonated globally with manufacturers that want to achieve a competitive edge. The assumption has been that the West has been quicker to embrace Industry 4.0, but the reality is that the world's biggest manufacturing power, China, is undoubtedly winning the Industry 4.0 race.
China has embraced smart manufacturing with open arms. This has enabled Chinese manufacturers to respond to the needs of increasingly demanding consumers around the world and it will be the backbone of the next stage of China's extraordinary growth and development.
How can Australia compete with China though? In these times of economic and political uncertainty, focusing on the long-term challenge of Industry 4.0 will bring us together as a nation and make our manufacturers more competitive. In my view, the best way to bring about the Fourth Industrial Revolution here is to make Industry 4.0 technologies more affordable for smaller manufacturers, to fund specialist research centres and to encourage more education and professional development in advanced manufacturing skills.
Do you service your company vehicles and forklifts? Of course you do. Maintaining your vehicles provides assurance that they will continue to run the way you need them to, as well as minimising the danger of having to spend thousands of dollars in major repairs or replacement of parts.


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Breaking Bad's spin-off prequel Better Call Saul is back for a third season with another cool visual gag.
Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Bob Odenkirk is hiding in plain sight as the series follows the evolution of nice small-time lawyer 'Jimmy McGill' as he slowly becomes the less good-natured, morally-ambiguous 'Saul Goodman' from the original AMC series that we all know and love.
These season three paint striped billboards were photographed along Beverly Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard from March 16 to March 27, 2017.
Fans of the drama series can also enjoy these previous season promo billboards for Better Call Saul from recent years.
This ad creative hints at the possibility that jail time may be in the character's future, but how will life behind bars affect his future legal career? We'll just have to watch and see.
UPDATED: Bob Odenkirk is in the spotlight in his orange prison jumpsuit in this Emmy consideration billboard for the show's third season spied along La Brea Avenue on May 23, 2017.
The actor has garnered two previous Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, can he make it third time lucky?
Plus here's another example spied along Santa Monica Boulevard in West L.A. on May 27, 2017.
And a cool portrait version spotted high above Hollywood & Vine on May 28, 2017.
Plus another example photographed along West Hollywood's Sunset Strip on June 1, 2017.
UPDATED: Better Call Saul continues to be a critical darling with its third season, garnering nine Emmy Award nods this year.
This classy Emmy nominations billboard was snapped for your consideration along West Hollywood's Sunset Strip on August 2, 2017.
Plus here's another example of the ad creative spotted further west along the Sunset Strip the next day.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Caverns of Mars: Recharged Announced
[Jan 25, 2023, 11:36 am ET] – Post a Comment
Continuing to plumb its back-catalog for rechargeable titles, the current iteration of Atari announces Caverns of Mars: Recharged is the next game to go on the recharger. A reimagined version of this vertically scrolling shooter first released for the Atari 2600 in 1981 is coming to PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and VCS this (northern) spring. Word is the game will be on display along with two other titles which haven't yet been announced in March at the 2023 Game Developers Conference. The Announcement Trailer shows the modernization in the recharged version of the game. Here's more:
In Caverns of Mars: Recharged, players progress through 30 unique missions set within three primary "depths" of Mars, descending deeper and deeper into enemy territory. Blast through oncoming hostile fire, bull through debris and obstructions, and dodge other obstacles all while keeping a close eye on fuel and ammo reserves. Featuring a unique local co-op mode, players can team up with one partner assigned to navigation while the other player shoots the drone!
Keeping in tune with the rest of the Atari Recharged series, Caverns of Mars: Recharged includes a global leaderboard where players can compete for points or speed, as well as an original soundtrack from award-winning artist and composer Megan McDuffee.


Home Health Can Marijuana Help Alzheimer's Patients?
People with Alzheimer's diagnoses face bad prospects. There is no cure, and no effective treatment for the symptoms that often accompany memory loss – disappointments and even hallucinations, which can make patients agitated or aggressive.
But it is possible that marijuana may give some relief.
A new study at the McLean Hospital in Belmont will test the drug's effect on dementia patients. And a local family with personal experience with dementia is making it possible to study.
While Alex Spier, a Foxboro resident, was struggling with dementia, he began to relive his childhood memories of the Holocaust. His son, Greg, said that before Alzheimer's disease, Spier rarely spoke of those days.
"It was just awful to see the kind of memories that had been suppressed all his life back from him," Greg said.
The story of Spier's life is remarkable and there are parts of it that no one would like to relive.
At 14, Spier was fighting the Nazis with the Dutch resistance when he was captured. He spent the next three years in three different concentration camps.
"He survived in the fields because he [had] I learned to be a watchmaker. He had the habit of fixing the watches for German soldiers in exchange for food and water, "Greg said." And my father had always been a wise person. After he repaired the clocks, he would spit them out. And so those watches would work for about 90 days and then they would have to be repaired again. "
Alex Spier at his first jewelry store in Mansfield, Massachusetts.
After the war, Spier decided to come to America, settling in New Bedford. With little more than his skill as a watchmaker, he opened a jewelry store and created a huge real estate business. He has dedicated his last years to philanthropy.
"It was a well-lived life. It didn't end well," Greg said.
Spier was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in February 2017 and spent the next few months in rapid decline.
Alzheimer's rarely follows a linear pathway and the disease progresses differently in each patient. The most recent memories could be the first to go and the memories that remain can be processed in ways that become delirious. Some dementia patients may actually find themselves trapped in the past.
Alex Spier examining a watch, not long after he arrived in the United States, his skills in repairing watches helped him survive in concentration camps. The tattoo of Spier's prisoner number from the field is visible on his left forearm.
Spier progressed rapidly from memory loss to behavioral symptoms that were more difficult to manage, becoming agitated and aggressive. The worst part was to relive the memories of the Holocaust.
"It was devastating to see that he came back out, in reality he was just talking about both German and Dutch words, asking his mother, [saying]"Let me out of Auschwitz." It was horrible, "said Greg." My mother [found] he tries to get into his car one day at 2 am to escape. "
Dr. Brent Forester, the head of geriatric psychiatry at McLean Hospital, said that these types of psychotic reactions are generally referred to as "behavioral symptoms of dementia" and are particularly difficult for family members and health professionals.
"These are the problems that are running out," he said. "They guide the burden of the disease. They envisage placement in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes or assisted living facilities, because families basically can no longer manage."
For families like Spiers, Forester said that conventional medicine has little to offer.
"The FDA has to date never approved a single drug to treat one of the behavioral symptoms of dementia," Forester said. "Any medicine we would use to calm or reduce those symptoms is completely off-label."
With or without approval, families and doctors are reaching the "off-label" options. Forester recently completed a study showing dronabinol (also known by its trade name marinol) seemed to reduce agitation in a small group of dementia patients. Dronabinol is a pharmaceutical version of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient of marijuana.
Dronabinol is generally prescribed to reduce nausea and stimulate the appetite for patients undergoing chemotherapy or who are living with HIV, but it seems that both stimulate the appetite and reduce agitation in the small group examined by Forester.
"There was no control group," he said. "We were just treating people and measuring pre and post-, and it seemed to reduce agitation."
"What is interesting to me," said Forester, "is that there is such an interest in finding something new that many of us [dementia] patients are treated with drobaninol without this data from their doctors because they are simply desperate for something that is probably safe and can actually help. "
But dronabinol was not available to Spier, and no other treatment provided any relief from his horrible disappointments. The family was, however, able to obtain edible marijuana from a clinic in Colorado.
"We thought, why not try it?" Greg said.
They were amazed by the results.
"The first night we gave him was the first night he slept all night, I would say weeks. It was remarkable," Greg said. "I mean, it was evident the first time. The next day was positive … we had a really good time … we could have a discussion with him that seemed to understand".
Forester has listened to other anecdotal stories of patients like Spier, who has found relief in medical marijuana in his last months. But despite the widespread availability of medical and recreational marijuana, doctors do not have the data necessary to prescribe it responsibly.
"If I had to tell one of my patients to go to the store, I wouldn't know what relationship between THC and CBD to recommend. I wouldn't know which of the many products you can buy on the counter would actually be useful or right for them," said Forester. "There are so many very detailed questions that are completely unanswered in this area."
Those questions remain unanswered, thanks to current federal marijuana regulations that prevent them from funding their studies, Forester said.
"There really is no capacity that I am aware of at federal level to get funding for this kind of research, given current federal regulations on marijuana use," he said.
But there are no restrictions on how to spend private money. Long before he became ill, Spier started a charitable foundation that also supports medical research. Greg said that "they try to find those studies that are not necessarily able to get funding elsewhere".
Now, the base is entering marijuana research.
The Spier Family Foundation is funding a study that will explore marijuana as a treatment for the behavioral effects of dementia. Forester is planning the study, which will take place at McLean Hospital. Greg said it's hard to imagine a result that would have pleased his father the most.
"One of his little mottos was:" I want to leave the world in a better place than I found, "said Greg.
Between the Holocaust and Alzheimer's, life has been very far from Spier. Even in death, he found a way to repay.


Award-winning hotel Crowne Plaza Queenstown has a fresh new look for guests to enjoy following upgrades to public areas, rooms and conference spaces. New furniture in the lobby, threesixy restaurant and The Atrium will add a modern twist to interiors. The majority of the hotel's rooms have large balconies, so new balcony furniture ensures an extra level of comfort for guests admiring spectacular and panoramic alpine views. The half a million-dollar refurbishment also includes new carpets throughout several areas.


text:
* [//docs/android_build_instructions.md](/docs/android_build_instructions.md)
* [//docs/android_dynamic_feature_modules.md](/docs/android_dynamic_feature_modules.md)
* [build_config.md](build_config.md)
* [coverage.md](coverage.md)
* [java_toolchain.md](java_toolchain.md)
* [java_optimization.md](java_optimization.md)
* [lint.md](lint.md)
* [life_of_a_resource.md](life_of_a_resource.md)
* [../incremental_install/README.md](../incremental_install/README.md)
* [//docs/ui/android/bytecode_rewriting.md](/docs/ui/android/bytecode_rewriting.md)
* [go/doubledown](https://goto.google.com/doubledown) (Googlers only)

See also:
* [//build/README.md](../../README.md)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Hector Martinez Maldonado, a former Puerto Rico senator.
(The Weissman Report) WASHINGTON — Hector Martinez Maldonado, a former Puerto Rico senator, and Juan Bravo Fernandez, the former president of the largest private security firm in Puerto Rico, were each sentenced to 48 months in prison for their roles in a bribery scheme involving the passage of legislation beneficial to Bravo Fernandez's business, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.
The men were sentenced by Judge Francisco A. Besosa. Judge Besosa also ordered Bravo Fernandez to pay a $175,000 fine and Martinez Maldonado to pay a $17,500 fine.
On March 7, 2011, a jury convicted former Senator Martinez Maldonado, 43, and Bravo Fernandez, 56, of a bribery scheme in which Bravo Fernandez conspired to secure the passage of two bills favorable to his business interests by bribing Martinez Maldonado and Jorge De Castro Font, a former Puerto Rico senator, with a first-class, all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas and ringside seats to see a championship boxing match. Specifically, the jury found Martinez Maldonado and Bravo Fernandez guilty of one count of bribery related to federal funds and found Bravo Fernandez guilty of conspiracy related to this criminal scheme.
According to evidence presented at trial, Martinez Maldonado was elected to the Puerto Rico Senate in 2004 and began serving a four-year term in January 2005. He was re-elected in 2008. Bravo Fernandez was the president and chief executive officer of Ranger American, the largest private security firm in Puerto Rico. De Castro Font served in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from 1989 to 2004, and served in the Puerto Rico Senate from 2005 to 2008. Beginning in 2005, De Castro Font served as chair of the Committee on Rules and Calendars, exercising significant control over which bills, confirmations, and other matters were brought to a vote on the floor of the Senate and when they were brought to a vote. Beginning in 2005, Martinez Maldonado served as chair of the Public Safety Committee, exercising significant control over legislation related to community safety and the private security industry.
As chair of the Public Safety Committee and chair of the Committee on Rules and Calendars, Martinez Maldonado and De Castro Font, respectively, exercised significant control over the fate of the legislation benefitting Bravo Fernandez's business interests. Specifically, Martinez Maldonado's committee had jurisdiction over Bravo Fernandez's two bills and was required to approve the legislation before De Castro Font could schedule them for a vote before the entire Senate.
In order to secure passage of the two bills, Bravo Fernandez, Martinez Maldonado, and De Castro Font agreed that Martinez Maldonado and De Castro Font would take official acts supporting the legislation benefitting Bravo Fernandez's business interests in exchange for things of value provided by Bravo Fernandez. Evidence at trial established that Bravo Fernandez agreed to provide Martinez Maldonado and De Castro Font with a trip to Las Vegas to watch the May 14, 2005 championship boxing match between Winky Wright and Felix "Tito" Trinidad, a popular Puerto Rican boxer. As part of this agreement, Bravo Fernandez provided, among other things, first-class airfare, hotel rooms at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, tickets to the Trinidad vs. Wright boxing match worth $1,000, hotel rooms in Miami for the return trip, as well as meals and drinks. In addition, from 2004 to 2008, Bravo Fernandez provided numerous cash payments to De Castro Font that were concealed in an envelope and provided through personal assistants.
Evidence at trial established that on March 2, 2005, the day Bravo Fernandez paid for the boxing tickets, Martinez Maldonado submitted one of the bills for consideration by the Puerto Rico Senate. Also, on April 21, 2005, Bravo Fernandez used his personal credit card to reserve a hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The deposit for this hotel room was credited to Martinez Maldonado's hotel room. The reservation was made the day after Martinez Maldonado presided over a Public Safety Committee hearing for one of the two bills at which Bravo Fernandez was the only representative from the private security industry to testify. Immediately after the hearing, Martinez Maldonado authorized a committee report in support of Bravo Fernandez's bill.
On May 17, 2005, the day after the three men returned from their trip to Las Vegas, Martinez Maldonado and De Castro Font both cast their vote in support of one of Bravo Fernandez's bills in front of the full Puerto Rico Senate. On May 18, 2005, the other bill was approved out of the Public Safety Committee, chaired by Martinez Maldonado. That bill was passed by the Puerto Rico Senate on May 23, 2005.
De Castro Font pleaded guilty on January 21, 2009 to 20 counts of honest services wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion. He was sentenced on May 17, 2011 to 60 months in prison.
Former New Progressive Party Sen. Héctor Martínez was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday for his conviction last year on federal corruption charges.
The former lawmaker will also have to serve three years probation, complete a substance abuse program for an unspecified addiction and pay a fine of $17,500, U.S. District Judge Francisco Besosa said.
Co-defendant Juan Bravo, a local businessman and former head of Ranger American, one of the island's largest security companies, was also sentenced to four years behind bars and three years probation. He was ordered to pay a fine of $175,000 and perform 200 hours of community service.
Martínez was freed following the sentencing, but ordered to surrender later Thursday to begin serving his prison sentence.
Bravo, who has health issues, was given until April 16 to start serving his term behind bars.
"It could have been worse," said Bravo's defense attorney David Chesnoff, who express confidence that his client's conviction would be overturned on appeal.
In March 2011, a federal jury found Martínez guilty on bribery and conspiracy counts. However, Besosa dismissed his conspiracy conviction. The jury acquitted him of an obstruction of justice charge and a count of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of racketeering.
Bravo, the former president of Ranger American security company, was convicted on all three charges he faced — bribery, conspiracy and the interstate commerce violation.
The two were convicted after Bravo in 2005 gave Martínez and convicted former Sen. Jorge de Castro Font an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas and boxing tickets in exchange for the passage of two bills that would have benefited the businessman financially.
Federal prosecutors had sought a prison term of between 15 and 19 years for Martínez and from 10 to 15 years for Bravo.
Peter Koski, deputy chief of the criminal division of the public integrity section at the U.S. Justice Department, had asked Besosa to levy a $20,000 fine on Martínez and a minimum $200,000 fine for Bravo.
Koski also said Besosa should consider the more than $1 billion Loomis Fargo stood to lose if the local Legislature approved a Senate bill to amend the island's private detectives law.
Defense lawyers argued that there was no evidence presented at trial that the Las Vegas trip was aimed at driving Loomis Fargo out of the local market.
Martínez and Bravo pleaded for mercy during the first day of the sentencing hearing on Wednesday Martínez and Bravo pleaded for mercy.
A tearful Bravo pleaded for Besosa to show compassion for his family.
Martínez, meanwhile, struggled to come to terms with the final chapter of the legal saga.
His defense asked the judge to send the disgraced former lawmaker to a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program at a federal correctional facility for an unspecified addiction.
Federal Bureau of Prison guidelines say the rehabilitation program is designed for inmates with a history of drug or alcohol abuse in the 12 months leading up to sentencing.
Martínez's attorney Abbe Lowell sought to get his into the program at a federal facility in either Florida or Alabama. Participants are separated from the general prison population.
Completion of the nine-month program, during which inmates get a minimum of three hours of addiction treatment per day, can lead to sentence reductions.
The prosecution did not object to the motion, but details of the addiction were kept under wraps by the court.
The prosecution and defense teams delivered their final arguments for sentencing earlier Wednesday.
Koski pushed the government's case for stiff prison terms at the upper range of sentencing guidelines.
The maximum prison sentence for both men is 10 years under sentencing guidelines for 2005, the year in which the crimes were committed. However, prosecutors requested a stiffer sentence, stating that the 2011 version of the sentencing guidelines are applicable in the case.
Lowell, Martínez's attorney, argued that there was no quid pro quo in the case, so Besosa should stick to the guidelines.
In a court filing earlier this month, Lowell argued that Martínez should not serve prison time. The defense described the former lawmaker as an extraordinary man who worked his way through law school but rather than pursue a career in the private sector opted to go to public service.
Lowell noted in court on Wednesday that Martínez lives with his 77-year old mother and takes care of her.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The minority leader in Puerto Rico's House of Representatives resigned Tuesday and dropped out of the race for mayor of the island's capital amid allegations of domestic violence, delivering a heavy blow to his party.
Hector Ferrer had been a member of the House for nearly 12 years. He also resigned as vice president and spokesman of the Popular Democratic Party, one of the island's two main parties.
Alejandro Garcia Padilla, the party's leader, accepted Ferrer's resignation, but accused the governing New Progressive Party of political motives in pursuing the case against Ferrer.
"Domestic violence and all kinds of gender violence, all kinds of aggression, is unacceptable," Garcia said, but he complained that "there has been a clear pattern of the government using its power to affect political opponents."
"These worrisome circumstances should be investigated until their last consequence," he said.
Ferrer was arrested Thursday after police said they received a call from his estranged wife alleging domestic violence at their home in a San Juan suburb. Police said there was evidence that Ferrer damaged the home and made crude statements to his wife in the presence of their 5-year-old son.
His attorney, Osvaldo Carlo, has said that the couple is separating and got into an argument but that there was no physical violence.
The island's justice department has referred the case to a special prosecutorial office in charge of investigating public officials to avoid possible political bias.
Gov. Luis Fortuno, leader of the New Progressive Party, denied local authorities pursued Ferrer because of political motivations, saying domestic violence should not be tolerated.
"It is deplorable that Senator Garcia Padilla has taken a week to address such a fundamental matter as is gender violence," he said.
Ferrer's departure is a big loss to his party, said political analyst and former House secretary Nestor Duprey, who described Ferrer as a smart political strategist known for his willingness to compromise.
"He was one of the most effective voices for the oversight of government," Duprey said. "He was a figure who earned a lot of respect from his adversaries."
Duprey said he expected Ferrer's resignation to unleash some of the most negative political campaigning in the island's recent history. Hours before Ferrer quit, someone posted dozens of flyers across San Juan showing the figure of a man trying to beat a woman and Ferrer's party logo above the drawing.
Ferrer's resignation provides ammunition for the New Progressive Party, whose pro-statehood leader, the governor, is seeking a second term in November.
Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz demanded Tuesday that Garcia resign, noting that another member of Garcia's party, longtime Barceloneta Mayor Sol Luis Fontanes, was recently arrested on federal bribery charges.
"The Popular Democratic team led by Garcia Padilla is truly embarrassing," Schatz said.
Garcia said the party acted in a timely and proper manner.
On Monday, Ferrer accused authorities of abusing their powers and pledged to file a letter against Fortuno detailing his allegations. Ferrer's estranged wife, Eliza Hernandez, has since lifted a restraining order imposed against him.
A legislative replacement for Ferrer has not yet been appointed and his party leaders will meet to choose a new candidate for San Juan mayor.
Puerto Rican Politico Gets 4 Years in StirCourthouse News Service(CN) - A former Puerto Rican senator and the former head of the largest private security firm in Puerto Rico were each sentenced to 4 years in federal prison for bribery. Former Senator Hector Martinez Maldonado, 43, also was fined $17500.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A major Puerto Rican political figure and a candidate for mayor of the island's capital has been arrested for alleged domestic violence. A police statement says Hector Ferrer was arrested at his home.
During the heat of a political campaign, I write lots of letters to the editor. As I get to know each candidate, I often change my mind. One day I like a candidate and the next day I dislike the same candidate. I keep flip flopping all through an election campaign in my approvals and disapprovals of various candidates. I can't seem to make up my mind. I am a chronic flip flopper. If I like what a candidate says one day, I am gung ho for him. If I don't like what he just said a day or so later, he is on my political enemy list.
It takes a chronic flip flopper like me to know one. Republican Mitt Romney is also a chronic flip flopper. Gosh! He is a worse flip flopper than me and always dishonest as a flip flopper. I usually do my flip flopping over a few days depending on each candidate's latest behavior and comments which can vary pro and con over a period of time. It takes me days to do a flip flop. Romney can flip flop within a couple hours such as when he was gut level against the Republican Senator Blunt anti-woman rights amendment sneaked onto the desperately needed Transportation Bill to fund much needed public works. After his advisors got to him, a couple hours later he was strongly and intellectually for the Blunt anti-woman amendment. Romney flip flopped from what his gut told him to what his head told him to win votes. Principles or convictions did not matter. A dishonest appeal for votes was all that mattered to this constant and desperate flip flopper.
Republican Luis Fortuño of Puerto Rico is most definitely not a flip flopper. As Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner and now as Governor of Puerto Rico, Fortuño has stayed steadily the course. Despite constant complaints and hostile noise from special interests and the left, Fortuño has stayed the course based on his principles and convictions. He never flip flops to get approvals. He has his own personal principles and convictions to stay the course for Puerto Rico's recovery as he and his advisors see it. Being honest is more important for him than public approval or votes.
Mitt Romney is a close political friend of Luis Fortuño. Romney is even considering Luis Fortuño as a Vice Presidential running mate to win the Latino voters in the states. Unlike Romney, Fortuño has proven countless times that he is not a flip flopper. Maybe, there is one honest flip flop for a political candidate.
... Otero because Otero understands which economic policies will create prosperity for all and and that he will use his background and experience to improve the economy of the country and expand business with Puerto Rico.
... economic policies that create prosperity for all and will use his international and congressional experience to improve the economy of Tampa Bay, and the rest of the country, as well as expanding business with Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño endorses Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney days before the Florida primary, Latino vote will be a key factor.
В рамках своего проекта "365″ фотограф Хосе Родриго Мадера [исп] делал одну фотографию в день на протяжении двух лет. Его фотографии были доступны только друзьям через Фейсбук, пока журнал Revista Cruce не опубликовал 20 из них [исп], позволив всем насладиться творчеством Мадера.
… профессиональный фотограф, никогда не изучавший искусство. Учился на факультете коммуникаций в Universidad Interamericana, хочет преподавать фотографию. Верит в институт брака и считает себя сторонником "левых". Все его работы посвящены единственному мужчине в его жизни, Эмилю Александро, и женщине, которая является любовью всей его жизни, Пенелопе.
Питчер: 1. Человек, по какой-либо причине не выполнивший обязательство, данное по собственной инициативе. 2. Человек, не отвечающий на телефонные звонки.
*Все фотографии опубликованы с разрешения фотографа и Revista Cruce. Названия переведены с английского.
Puerto Rican Politician Says Authorities Cooked Up His ArrestLatin American Herald TribuneSAN JUAN – Lawmaker Hector Ferrer, deputy leader of Puerto Rico's main opposition PPD and candidate for mayor of San Juan, said his arrest last week during a verbal altercation with a former girlfriend was an example of police misconduct.
Originally published in The Windy City Times The brutally murdered body of a 19-year-old gay man was found in the late evening of Nov. 13 in Puerto Rico. It has set off a storm of activism across Puerto Rico and the mainland United States.
From Dishwasher to Business Leader - Thanks AbuelaFox NewsBorn in 1904 in Puerto Rico, Muñoz de Seraballs, or "Abuela," came to New York City in 1924, becoming a small business owner, running a pharmacy and retail store in the 1940's. For the late Muñoz de Seraballs, education was everything.
San Juan, March 1 : Rapper Vico C has released his new music video "Oye", which is one of the tracks from his most recent album, "Colaboraciones de ayer y hoy", his representatives announced Wednesday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Selection of articles highlighting the best of Puerto Rico.
TIMELINES: What group of people were granted US citizenship on March 2, 1917?
On March 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signs the Jones-Shafroth Act, making the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico a U.S. territory and granting its residents U.S. citizenship.
Hoping to catch the eye of tourists, the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, is investing $50 million in a planetarium, hotel, and new visitor facilities near its 1000-ft radio telescope, whose eye-like feed assembly is shown above.
On March 2, 1917, Puerto Rico became part of the United States when then President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones Act.
Gutierrez, 23, said he was about 11 years old when Trinidad visited his hometown of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, long before he moved to Tallahassee.
Recently on VDARE.com, I discussed the Puerto Rican question in the article ¡Viva Puerto Rico Libre! Free Puerto Rico (and the U.S.) Now! My position is.
Fort Lee School Superintendent Steven EngravallePhoto by Louis Burgdorf | Morning Joe producer. Mike Barnicle, StudentsFirst's Michelle Rhee, NJ Gov. Chris Christie ... Governor Luis Fortuño Predicts Puerto Rico Will Be.
I'm a guy that's blessed with the ability to go up and down and beat the best fighters they have in the sport of boxing." "This will be one of the biggest fights you have ever seen. "On May 5, I am going to make Puerto Rico very proud.
Sports in Brief: Iverson to play in Puerto Rico?
By James Ramage Hefty deals out of Puerto Rico, Houston, New York City and Maryland should pace a strong primary market. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is expected to come to market with a $1.5 billion public improvement refunding deal.
San Juan, Puerto Rico Coast Guard rescue crews rescued a man adrift for three days aboard a capsized catamaran Monday, approximately five nautical miles off the northern coast of Loiza, Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rican cuisine is evolving along with the food culture. Dena Braun-Roché examines how celebrity chefs are modernizing traditional recipes.
Yanni, a musical world citizen and popular contemporary composer, fulfills a 20-year-old dream to perform at the 16th-century Castillo San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
LUIS DEL VALLE: "I FELL I GOT THE GOODS TO BE A WORLD CHAMPION"
The delegates will now include two people from Puerto Rico and two from Washington, DC bringing the total number of expected delegates to 878, one man and one woman from each of the 435 congressional districts and one delegate from each US Territory.
Puerto Rico's 2012 Festival Casals has been underway since February 25 and will continue until March 17, 2012, at the Performing Arts Center, Ponce de León Avenue (Stop 22 ½) in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In a Feb. 21 story, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the governor of Puerto Rico would require all public schools to teach English.
Video Report: The Heroin Cure?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the Battery Recycling Co. of Puerto Rico has agreed to pay a $112,500 penalty and reduce lead contamination at its facility.
Culebra's most famous playa is Flamenco Beach. The crescent shaped stretch of powdery white sand and translucent turquoise water on the northwest side of the island has become a fixture on Caribbean's Best Beaches lists.
Peter Greenberg.com Travel NewsCelebrity Chefs & the New Puerto Rican CusinePeter Greenberg.com Travel NewsPuerto Rican cuisine is evolving along with the food culture. In advance of the Saborea Puerto Rico Culinary Festival next month, Dena Braun-Roché heads to the island to examine how celebrity chefs are modernizing traditional recipes.
Jose Marti offers a glimpse of life in San Juan through his online photography project "Photos of the Day."
This website provides news, press releases, and up-to-date information on Coast Guard activity in the Southeast United States.
Ricky Martin With Christina Aguilera - Nobody Wants To Be Lonely HD All my videos are taken from "Original DVD" and convert into HD format.
Classic Puerto Rican Music.. Video And Picz Made by Slim..
This panel will give Left Forum participants the opportunity to hear official representatives of the revolutionary Cuban government in an open, unrestrained, free discussion and debate.


The state of the union concept doesn't work as well in Strasbourg as it does in Washington, mainly because the President of the Commission doesn't set the political direction of the EU, this is done by the member states. However the speech is a major EU set piece even though it rarely contains anything too radical.
This year's speech saw Mr Juncker focus on EU renewal post-Brexit, the main headline being his call for a single pan-European President combining the roles of Commission and Council President. He also called for a eurozone finance minister and further EU enlargement in the Western Balkans as well as expanding the schengen free movement area to Romania and Bulgaria. In fact so focused on the future was Mr Juncker that he only mentioned Brexit once in passing.
At the end of last week the EU followed the UK's lead and published five position papers setting out the EU position on a variety of areas ahead of future negotiations. These papers were mainly aimed at addressing the immediate problems which will happen on the day after the UK leaves the EU. For example, how will British goods be treated if they have been imported into the EU before the 30th March 2019, but have not yet been sold by that date. In addition there are a number of other practical details, for example how to protect data that companies have collected prior to Brexit, currently this data has to comply with the EU Data protection rules but the EU fears that the UK could ignore these rules post brexit. Public procurement rules are another, in particular how to deal with ongoing tenders for public projects or contracts which have been awarded to EU companies in the UK before Brexit.
In general these papers propose that goods, services, data and intellectual property that have been generated before Brexit should continue to be governed by the EU rules until they have been exhausted. So for example if a British company shipped lots of cars to Europe in March 2019, they could all be sold tariff free in the EU after that date. Similarly data generated before Brexit should comply with EU rules until an adequacy agreement between the EU and UK can be agreed. This adequacy agreement would compel the UK to ensure data of Europeans is protected at least up to EU levels, as is the case with the EU-US privacy shield.
For public procurement the same demand is made, that existing contracts should be honoured and any tendering process or contract ongoing on the date of Brexit should continue under EU procurement rules.
These guarantee EU companies an equal opportunity to get the business as UK companies, and vice versa. However the reality of public procurement is much more subjective than that. For example in Air Traffic Control (ATC) German companies have won significant contracts at British airports, yet despite operating under the same procurement rules, NATS, the main UK provider,has not been able to win any contracts at German airports. The rail industry tells a similar story. Public procurement rules alone don't therefore guarantee equal access to markets.
However the most interesting EU paper was the one on intellectual property, mainly because it included a section on geographical indicators (GI's). The EU proposes to continue recognition of intellectual property rights post brexit if they were held prior to the UK leaving. However by defining GI's as intellectual property in the same paper the EU has inadvertently revealed one of its greatest weaknesses in these negotiations.
GI's are normally a key EU demand in any trade negotiation. They relate to agricultural products such as champagne, Parma Ham and Melton Mowbray pork pies. However they are controversial because they undermine the system of trademarks which operates in much of the rest of the world. For example champagne has to be produced in the champagne region of France. Coca Cola for example can't come in and buy the name and start producing it in California. As a result many other countries think they are a protectionism mechanism designed to protect European monopolies and to stop other countries getting into the market.
The EU has to work very hard and expend significant political capital in trade deals to ensure that other countries agree to them. Normally the EU gives away a lot in return for recognition of GI's. Although the UK has developed some GI's we are nowhere near as focused on the system as many EU countries, and this worries the EU.
In addition, GI's are not normal intellectual property, they are squarely related to the future trade deal. To demand the issue is addressed now and not in the future trade negotiations undermines the EU's own stance of only negotiating the future trade deal once the UK has agreed to pay a divorce bill and addressed the citizens rights issue.
So the EU's papers are full of contradictions, this can clearly be seen with their paper on Ireland which also came out this week. In it the EU makes it clear that it wants special rules for Northern Ireland which ensure no hard border, Ireland remaining in the single market and customs union and that any solution here can't be used as the basis of the rest of the UK trade deal. In other words it wants the UK/EU border to be in the North Sea. As I explained in a previous blog (https://www.danieldaltonmep.co.uk/news/brexit-briefing-no3-ireland) this will not be acceptable to the UK in any situation.
So the EU's papers do not move us along very far. If anything they highlight the need for negotiations on the future trading relationship to start as soon as possible, because until they start both sides will continue to posture and to make unrealistic demands.
Some have suggested that the UK positions are not realistic, but judging by the EU papers released this week the EU is being just as unrealistic. All the issues of what happens immediately after Brexit, can be solved if the future trading relationship is agreed, yet it appears that it will be some time before these negotiations even start.


One year ago today, I was experiencing the beginning of my first hurricane. And it was a big one. Hurricane Irma was the strongest storm on record to exist in the open Atlantic region. It was projected to be a Category 5 hurricane, the highest on the storm scale when it made landfall in the Caribbean. For a week, we watched as it grew larger, stronger and moved westward on a path headed directly for us on the island of Antigua.
Having previously lived all my life in the landlocked Western United States, I had no idea what to expect during a hurricane. I talked to neighbors and friends. I read from government hurricane preparedness pamphlets and attentively checked the news channels. I watched in dismay as Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston and video animations showed the damage a category 5 storm could cause.
Tropical storm and hurricane watches and warnings were issued. Many Americans in Antigua booked flights off the island. But for our family of 7, the price was exorbitant and so, like the majority of the islanders, we did our best to prepare and weather through the storm.
When a massive force of nature is staring you down, you realize how little control you have over anything. It is at once both terrifying and awe-inspiring.
In the days leading up to predicted landfall, the island was abuzz with preparations. Trimming trees, picking all fruit off trees, clearing debris, boarding up windows. We did all we could to prepare and to minimize the risk to ourselves and our property. We prayerfully considered whether to weather the storm at home or in another shelter. Every day we made preparations, yet I never felt prepared. Every day the satellite prediction images showed the storm inching closer and closer.
Our family and friends back in the States were worried about us. They prayed for us and frequently checked in. Island neighbors gave us tips on how to protect our belongings, what foods and supplies to stock up on. Their eyes held a look of horror when they recalled the devastation caused by the last major hurricane to directly hit Antigua, in the 90's, rendering many without electricity for 2 months afterward.
We busied ourselves preparing as best as we could, getting as much as possible off the floors and wrapped in plastic preparing for the onslaught of water that everyone said accompanied hurricanes. We boarded up windows, tightly closed windows and doors and stuffed towels around them to help absorb the water.
Irma was expected to pass over us in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Sept 6, 2017, with winds and rains beginning in the late afternoon of Tuesday, Sept 5. Governments issued warnings not to be outside after 9 pm and that they would cut the power (to lessen the risk of electrical accidents) island-wide as the storm intensified.
We felt best about sheltering at our church during the hurricane so in the early afternoon on Tuesday, we loaded up our car with non-perishable food, a change of clothing, blankets, pillows, some toys and games to help pass the time, and many, many gallons of water, and headed out. I wondered what state our home would be in the next time we saw it. Clouds were gathering and the winds had already started.
When we arrived at our church building, we learned of several church members who wanted to shelter there but had no transportation to get there. My husband made several trips out with our van to help bring others to the church building, including our dear friends with their 3-day old baby.
The kids started playing with their friends. As the winds picked up and rains began, we settled in for a long night.
A few days later, after it was all over, my sister in law asked my husband and me via text "What was it like to go through a hurricane?" These are our experiences, his and hers.
Honestly, it was a great deal of waiting and watching and worrying. There's so little that you can control. We had to move everything in our house a foot off the floor and cover things in plastic. Because last time a hurricane hit, the neighbors had 18″ of water come in. And that was just a category 3 hurricane. It was like packing up to move.
You grocery shop because it takes two weeks after a hurricane before food ships get back here. You stock up on things you can eat if the power is off for a long period of time. You shop for food every day.
You check the storm prediction websites every day when you wake up and the purple cone of terror (the path of the storm) is creeping closer and closer to you. You check multiple times a day. You worry. You pray. And pray. But it is headed right for you. And it's the 2nd biggest storm in history.
You've seen the video footage from other hurricanes. And it's awful. And you're scared. But trying to have faith, not fear.
The dreaded day arrives. Hurricane's coming and you go to the place you think is safest. But you really don't know because there are so many unknown factors. You can't control a single thing. Not one single thing.
Then the wind starts and it gets worse and worse and worse. There's some rain. The whole city goes black except for the few lucky ones with the right type of generator. Which thankfully our church had.
After sandwiches for dinner, you get ready for bed. The last scripture you read before turning the lights out says "because of the prayers of the righteous, they were spared." It gives you some peace because so many friends and family from home have said they are praying for you.
There's a time set by the government when all people should be indoors and sheltering. Your husband goes out into the storm after that to keep two ladies from walking to try to help an old man who's just had a stroke. You pray fervently for his safe return. He's gone for what feels like a very long time.
He comes back safely, mission accomplished.
Your whole family manages to fall asleep, thanks to noise-canceling headphones on the easily excitable 8-year-old. They miraculously all sleep through the night. Except for your teenage daughter, who stays awake the whole night listening to an audiobook she can't put down. She doesn't really hear the storm because of her earphones and said book.
You can't sleep because of the howling winds and the fear that the windows aren't going to hold or the roof is going to blow off. And because you're laying on a tile floor with 1 blanket under you and only a sheet over you. You packed for sweltering heat thinking there would be no power, thus no AC, fans or airflow, so you're in your most lightweight pajamas.
But there is power, and the AC is cranked up and you are FREEZING because you gave the blankets to your kids and the people who came in off the street. And the thermostat is in someone else's room. You put a towel over you like a blanket. And your son's sweatshirt on your feet trying to get warm.
You pray like you've never prayed in your life. You stare at the ceiling tiles and wonder about them falling on your family. You sleep a little. And wake up every time the wind howls differently and shakes the roof or the rain pounds.
You pray a lot. You check your kids to see if they are ok and have enough blankets. You are so grateful they are sleeping peacefully and not awake and terrified.
You look outside. You can't see much because it's dark and there's a fence. You can see the flood puddles outside on the ground. They are getting wider and deeper. You hope the walls can keep it out. Because you just saw footage of Texas and Hurricane Harvey and all the flooding.
You worry about objects outside flying through the air. That your car will be smashed to bits. You worry you might have to make a run for it at some point so you get up and put a bra back on and your phone in a plastic bag and your eyeglasses right next to your head.
The wind blows and blows and blows. For hours and hours. And it rains and rains and rains. For hours and hours.
When it gets light enough, you see no significant differences outside except it's really wet and the trees have fewer leaves and the light outside is dangling precariously above your car. Someone went out in the night and tied it to a post so it wouldn't fall onto your car.
You see more rain falling than you've ever seen. The winds are blowing the opposite direction from when you last went outside.
You are so relieved you survived the night.
Then your husband wakes up and says "that wasn't so bad." Turns out he slept through the whole thing.
The younger kids think we just had the coolest church slumber party ever. You feel so relieved.
You pack up your carload of gear. You drive home slowly. There are billboards blown over, downed tree limbs and a lot of leaves in the roads. But the buildings look ok.
You worry about what your house will look like. Surprisingly, it looks the same. You wonder how much water got in. A few of the towels you stuffed by windows and doors are wet. There are puddles in your laundry room, your bed, your daughter's bed, and your husband's bedside table. You mop up the water.
The generator is running. You feel for the first time that the higher rent you pay for having a generator is worth it. You put some fans on.
You feel very grateful and yet let down all at once. All the hype. And the worry. All the preparations seem a little unnecessary. But you know they weren't because…What If?!!!? It could have turned out so differently.
You worry about your friends. Are they ok? Are their houses ok? You can't really find out because no one has power. One by one reports trickle in. And they are all ok. You feel so grateful. And bone weary tired now that the adrenaline is wearing off.
You hear there's another hurricane coming in a few days. You leave everything packed up and in plastic. Except you set up the tv and wifi router.
You marvel that you have working wifi. Because on a normal day you hardly have working wifi. The kids find their screens.
You go upstairs and take a nap on your wet bed in your clothes and sleep so soundly that you could be dead, but you aren't quite because you just can't go on a minute longer.
And then you wake up and check the forecast out of habit. And that dreaded purple cone is headed your way again.
And you see the news and the utter devastation others suffered just mere miles away from you. And you're just so grateful and dumbfounded.
It could have been us. It could have so easily been us.
And you pray and pray and pray. Prayers of gratitude because you know the Lord sheltered and protected you.
It was actually like a normal day in Idaho 😊. It was just really windy. So windy that your heart races constantly and you fear for your life and the lives of your family.
You get to help lots of people from the church and from the streets find shelter and then feed them food and give them your blankets so that they stay warm, but your wife ends up freezing at night because she no longer has a warm blanket, but she never complains.
Then you get to drive on the scary windy streets after the storm starts because some stranger who recently had a stroke and is paralyzed on one side is making distress calls to a woman at the church who hardly speaks any English asking for help.
After you get back from the scary drive you finally get to lay down and go to sleep. You are scared until you fall asleep and then you wake up and the scary wind has slowed down. You then have really sore hips for two days from sleeping on the cold hard tile floor.
You find out that you slept most of the night, but your wife was up with a scared child while she herself was scared. Then you feel awful that you snored through the storm while your wife was up scared and cold.
You go outside and the wind is blowing in the opposite direction than it was when you went to bed. You look around and there are lights hanging from the church that blew off during the night and there are lots of trees and fences blown over.
Then it starts to rain like you have never seen before and it rains and rains and rains. You eat well because your awesome wife packed good food for at least a three-day stay plus extra because you don't know who else is going to need food.
Then after it calms down you get to take several people back to their homes from the church on multiple trips driving through obstacle courses created by fallen debris.
Then you get home and find out that you get to do it all over again in three days because there is another hurricane coming.
Then you find out your sister island was destroyed and you spend the next couple of days working on ways to help them.
Then you get a huge relief when you find out the second storm is not going to hit your island and the weather turns out to be much better than a normal day in Idaho.
The Hurricane season of 2017 was utterly devastating for many of the Caribbean islands. As reports of the terrible chaos and destruction spread, the world was moved with compassion. Donations, prayers, and aid were made readily available.
Antigua's sister island, Barbuda, was completely devastated, rendered uninhabitable, and everyone had to evacuate to Antigua.
I stopped by the relief center as Antiguans prepared to receive the Barbudan refugees. My heart was warmed by the number of donated goods and people gathering to help and serve, all of which had been assembled within a few hours notice.
I watched as the first boatload of Barbudans arrived, bone weary, traumatized and with very few personal belongings. Food, clothing, and shelter awaited them. They were enveloped by kindness and compassion.
I was struck anew with the overwhelming conviction that people are good. People are loving. And love is more powerful than every storm.
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An incredible score for this price range!
Villa Poggio Salvi will be official sponsor of the 9th edition of Tuscan Rewind, a classic rally event that will take place on the earth roads in Montalcino next 24-25th November 2018.
Villa Poggio Salvi is on Instagram!
For the fourth year in a row the prestigious TV talent show X Factor, produced produced in Italy by FremantleMedia Italia and aired by Sky Uno HD every thursday, will be accompanied behind the scenes by our Villa Poggio Salvi wines.
The wines selected for this exclusive partnership are Tosco IGT Toscana Sangiovese, Vermentino and Moscadello di Montalcino Vendemmia Tardiva (late harvest) – Aurico.
Villa Poggio Salvi will attend the next edition of Vinexpo Hong Kong that will take place on next May 29th to 31st.
Our stand will be placed at Level 1 – Booth FG66-1 (Promosiena Area).
Given the recurrence of reports of fake bottles found on the European market, with this report we want to make the situation public in order to warn and protect our customers.
The ones we're referring to are bottles of Brunello di Montalcino Villa Poggio Salvi 2008 Lot L-B222.
The labels have been printed in a lower definition than the original ones, and the cap is anonymous, while all our caps have a stamped company logo (obviously it can be seen only once the bottle has been uncorked, therefore it's not immediately possible to notice the difference).
The greatest mistake was made with the application of the DOCG label: on the fake bottles, it is placed in vertical (left image), while in all our original bottles it is placed horizontally around the bottle neck (right image).
For the third year in a row, Villa Poggio Salvi will be the "official supplier" of the Moto GP Aprilia Racing Team.
The wines from Villa Poggio Salvi will be offered for tastings during any of the European Moto GP events inside the Aprilia hospitality area.
The prestigious magazine Wine Enthusiast has given a 92/100 rating to our Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2012.
Villa Poggio Salvi will attend the next edition of Prowein, which will take place in Düsseldorf next March 18th to 20th.
The second international presentation of the New Vintage of Brunello di Montalcino 2013 will take place in Canada.
On March 5th in Toronto and on March 7th in Montreal, Villa Poggio Salvi will present their Rosso di Montalcino 2015, Brunello Riserva 2012, Brunello Annata 2013 and Brunello Pomona 2012.
The prestigious magazine Wine Enthusiast has given a 91/100 rating to our Brunello di Montalcino 2013.
The first international presentation of the New Vintage of Brunello di Montalcino 2013 will take place in the USA.
On January 29th in New York and on January 31st in Chicago, Villa Poggio Salvi will present their Rosso di Montalcino 2015, Brunello Riserva 2012, Brunello Annata 2013 and Brunello Pomona 2012.
Villa Poggio Salvi has been selected to participate at the third edition of Wine & Siena, which will take place on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th of January.
Our stand will be located inside the Town Hall (Palazzo Comunale) at position Rocca Salimbeni – Table 83.


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Calabar Police officer killed by armed individuals
Another incident of a police officer's murder in Calabar at the hands of armed individuals has surfaced in the news.
CrimeNewsNigeria
Another incident of a police officer's murder in Calabar at the hands of armed individuals has surfaced in the news. The reasons of the incident remain unclear.
The Police Command of the cross river area has confirmed that unknown armed individuals killed one of its personnel, Sgt. Peter Ikwen at Edgerton Street, Calabar. The incident happened on Saturday, October 29, 2022.
SP Irene Ugbo, the Police Public Relations officer in command of the Cross River area, confirmed the incident. She revealed to the media that the police officer was shot dead by unknown individuals. Following the incident, the assailants took his weapon rifle and escaped the scene of crime. The police officers have revealed no other details of the incident
Further, the police spokesperson revealed that the investigations into the incident have started. The police command is determined to unravel those behind the act.
Additionally, the Police Public Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, described the incident as condemnable.
The incident of the killing of a police officer in the Cross River area is not new. A few months ago, one of the Police officers serving in Cross River State Police Command was killed by armed individuals in Calabar. The identity of the police inspector was revealed to be Inspector Ngoro Edim. He was shot dead at a supermarket along the Federal Housing Estate Road 5 in Calabar Municipal local council, where he was out to shop for monthly groceries.
According to the sources, The armed men, in that case, were on a mission to kidnap the shop owner. However, when they saw the deceased police officer Edim in uniform, they shot him. Following this, the armed individuals escaped with their victims.
Reportedly, the police officer was taken to the nearby hospital so that he could receive treatment. However, he could not survive his injuries.
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DEANPARISIAN.COM
Retired CEO of CHIPPEWA PARTNERS, Native American Advisors, Inc., now CEO of the Parisian Family Office. A White Earth Chippewa, Dean helped Native Americans for decades. Raised conservative, began Wall Street career in 1982, met game changer William O'Neil in 1984. In a world on a dopamine, hypomanic binge, this is his take on financial chicanery, political crime and life well lived at their Ghost Ranch in MT or Pamelot, the Parisian's TN farm.
SURVIVOR, Texas Style
Due to the popularity of the "Survivor" shows,
Texas is planning to do one entitled, "Survivor, Texas-Style!"
The 8 contestants will all start in Dallas, and then drive to Waco,
Austin, San Antonio, over to Houston and down to Brownsville.
They will then proceed up to Del Rio, El Paso, Odessa, Midland, Lubbock, and Amarillo.
From there they will go on to Abilene, Fort Worth and finally back to Dallas.
Each will be driving a pink Volvo with bumper stickers that read:
"I'm a Democrat,"
"Amnesty for Illegal's,"
"I love the Dixie Chicks,"
"Boycott Beef,"
"I Voted for Obama",
"George Strait Sucks,"
"Hillary in 2012" and
"I'm here to confiscate your guns."
The first one to make it back to Dallas alive wins.
Native American Advisors CHIPPEWA PARTNERS
Dean Parisian, Founder & Chairman
DEAN THOMAS PARISIAN
GO IN LIGHT......
COME OUT HEAVY.....
Dean Parisian Daily Speculations
Dean Parisians 60th Birthday
Dean T. Parisian Native American Scholarship Donation
Ghost Ranch
Hillary Clinton Cattle Trading
Jordan Parisian HS OUTDOORS
Where is Geithner headed?
Alpharetta & Milton Georgia investors wake-up call
Bon Voyage LulzSec
Georgia, leading the way........
Just be honest Ben.........
Free Money for the Crooks: business as usual
Healthcare Fraud Hotline
Pondering intelligence, attitude and savvy..........
In the Windy City.......
Clueless Canadian CEO's give RIMM job to shareholders
Southern Ute Tribe
Dad's Theme Song........
Dad..............
Mudd, Syron, Raines, Frank, Clinton etc....thank y...
Douglas Eugene Parisian
One problem in the Beltway......
Some hot summer humor..........
Recovery Summer, Beach Blanket Style!!!
Bernanke Speech in Atlanta, June 7, 2011
What's wrong with this picture?
Kids on scooters......
Jordan Parisian on the Missouri River........
Andy Dean, excellent show!!!!!!!!!
Quack, quack.............
Hilda Solis
It's Friday folks, some levity for all...........
Dutch auction Groupon.......come on.......
Your lesson in "Owe-bama" economics today...........
Gun Safety Issue
Here's some real change and it ain't chump...........
Increasing the debt limit by $2.4 trillion a no-go...
Dean Parisian founded CHIPPEWA PARTNERS, Native American Advisors, Inc. a Registered Investment Advisor, in 1995 and closed in 2019.The firm was a manager to an exclusive clientele and was closed to new clients for many years. As a Registered Investment Advisor, their expertise developed over 35 years balanced experience, integrity and tremendous work ethic. Dean Parisian is a member at the White Earth Reservation of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, a former NYSE and FINRA arbitrator and trader who began his career with Kidder Peabody and later worked for Drexel Burnham Lambert in LaJolla, CA. His philanthropic interest is in Native American education and he's endowed a significant scholarship for Native Americans at the University of Minnesota. His greatest accomplishment includes raising two sons and 28 years of marriage. The Parisian family enjoys outdoor pursuits at Pamelot, their farm in Tennessee and at the Ghost Ranch, their ranch on the Yellowstone River in Montana. For media requests contact Dean via email: ChippewaPartners (at) gmail dot com, on Twitter: @DeanParisian. Global 404-202-8173
The Parisian Family Office with interests in real estate, consulting and investments . Watermark theme. Powered by Blogger.


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Students appreciate first Faculty Recital
The D'Angelo School of Music hosted its first faculty recital in Walker Recital Hall on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 8 p.m.
The faculty recital series serves as a place for the faculty of the music school to perform their primary instruments for students and the community.
This month, the featured artist was Brent Weber.
Weber is an assistant professor of voice at Mercyhurst College and performs tenor voice.
He was accompanied by Erik Meyer, who is an adjunct professor of organ at the 'Hurst.
Students enjoy watching their favorite teachers perform.
Freshman Chad Bonifazi said, "It's nice to hear them for once. We spend all year performing for them, and we never get to really listen to their talent."
The program of Weber's recital consisted of a few large pieces.
He started the concert with "Unverganglichkeit" by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
This piece consisted of five movements and is sung in German.
The next piece that Weber performed was "Airs Champetre" by Francis Poulenc.
These were originally written for soprano voice, but were adapted for tenor, and are performed in French.
After a short intermission, Weber performed the last five movements from a piece titled "A Young Man's Exhortation" by Gerald Finzi.
These movements explore the changes that occur in a young man's life.
The last piece Weber sang was "Five Movements For My Father" by Susan Kander.
For this piece, a small ensemble was brought out, including Samuel Rotberg on violin, Rebecca Wunch on clarinet, Robin Hasenpflug on cello and Erik Meyer on piano.
Only three movements were performed, two of which were in English, and one of which, based on a poem, was in French.
Overall, the audience had a very warm response to Weber's recital.
Junior Lynn Dula said, "I love to watch the man who has taught me so much perform in his own concert."
"I'm proud to say that Mr. Weber is my voice teacher," junior Randi Heitman said.


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bluebird opens gene therapy plant as EMA backs gene therapy
by Dan Stanton Friday, March 29, 2019 7:48 am
The EMA has recommended approving Zynteglo, bluebird bio's one-off treatment for beta-thalassaemia. Meanwhile the cell and gene therapy firm has cut the ribbon on a 125,000-square-foot facility in Durham, North Carolina.
The EMA's Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT) recommended Zynteglo (autologous CD34+ cells encoding βA-T87Q-globin gene) – also know as LentiGlobin – today, paving the way for bluebird bio to bring its gene therapy product to market.
The product uses a lentiviral viral vector to add functional copies of a modified β-globin gene into a patient's own stem cells, addressing the underlying genetic cause of patients for whom a related donor for stem cell transplantation is not available.
Image: iStock/metamorworks
The European Commission (EC) will now review the product before granting bluebird marketing approval or not. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) meeting was the first to be held in Amsterdam following the EMA's arrival in the Netherlands due to the current Brexit debacle.
NC manufacturing plant
In November 2017, bluebird bio acquired a facility in Durham, North Carolina and after investing $80 million in the site, the firm has now cut the ribbon on the lentiviral vector facility.
The plant will support bluebird's cell and gene therapy candidates including bb2121 and bb21217 for the treatment of multiple myeloma and LentiGlobin for the treatment of transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDT) and sickle cell disease.
The 125,000 square-foot facility is the first inhouse production site for bluebird, which has relied up to now solely on contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) and services firms including Brammer Bio, Novasep and MilliporeSigma. The new plant will not affect these multi-year contracts, the firm has said.
The facility is "a crucial step toward our mission of bringing a new generation of treatments to people living with severe genetic diseases and cancer," said bluebird CEO Nick Leschly.
The company did not respond to this publication when contacted for more details.
Related news: Regeneron teams up and takes $100m stake in bluebird bio
Categories: BioProcess Insider, Facilities & Capacity, Regulations
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Tech3's Smith prepared for fight to top 5 at Texas
Posted on Apr 13, 2014 by Monster Yamaha Tech 3
The Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team's riders produced another strong-minded display in qualifying today and will begin the Circuit of the Americas Grand Prix with Bradley Smith in 8th for the second round of the MotoGP World Championship. Smith moved straight into the qualifying practice2 as he made further steps forward after a challenging start in yesterday's opening sessions.
Bradley produced another sterling display at the long and twisting Texan track with the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team. Despite the complexity of the Circuit of the Americas, Smith continued his encouraging performance and leapt forward to 5th in FP3, as he was the quickest of all the Yamaha MotoGP riders. During QP2, he knocked off another two hundredth of a second from his FP3 time, but ultimately finished in 8th place, only half of a second behind the Factory Yamaha of Jorge Lorenzo. His fastest time was also a colossal improvement from last year's best qualifying time, by almost three seconds. The young British rider's performances so far this year confirm his determination to be the leading satellite bike, as he aims to fight for a top 5 finish in the 21 lap race tomorrow.
Bradley Smith - 8th - 2:03.800:
"In general, I am quite satisfied with 8th poshave improved by 1.6 seconds from yesterday, which is positive and also a huge leap compared to the qualifying time from last year. I set a good lap time in FP3 which I was then able to better by two tenths later on in QP2. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the last sector during my fastest lap which cost me around 3 tenths, and I would have been only 0.2 seconds from the Factory Yamaha bikes if this hadn't occurred, which is an acceptable gap. So now we need to analyse the information, see where we can improve furthermore and make another step during tomorrow's warm up. Anyway, I am really looking forward to the race where I will focus on getting a good start, and being as aggressive as possible to get into the top five at the first corner. No doubt, it will be a tough GP with plenty of overtaking, so I have to be prepared to pass other riders and keep a good lap time for all 21 laps.
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