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Nigeria News Sport
SportFootballWorld
Lionel Messi says he does not want a life contract at Barcelona
a year ago read comments by Akan Anwankwo
- Lionel Messi has opened up he does not want to sign a life contract at Barcelona
- The Argentine insisted he only wants to be at competitive level with club instead of committing his whole career at Camp Nou
- Messi has a clause in his current deal with Barcelona that allows him to leave at the end of the season
Lionel Messi made a striking confession after revealing he does not want a life contract at Camp Nou despite his desire to remain at Barcelona.
The 32-year-old's future at the club remains uncertain when club President Josep Bartomeu revealed that their captain has a clause in his contract which enables him to leave at the end of the season.
Messi then eased pressure after stating he had no intention of leaving his boyhood club as Barca began preparations to him down with a life contract.
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But the Argentine talisman has come out in the open to state he does not want to be tied down at the Camp Nou for the rest of his career.
"At the time there was talk of a contract for life [at Barcelona], as they did with [Andres] Iniesta," Messi said in an interview with the 'Perros de la Calle' show on Radio Metro.
"What I said was that I don't want a contract that binds me.
"I don't want to be here if I'm not happy.
"I want to compete, perform and keep fighting for targets, not being here simply due to my contract.
"That is why I don't like [the idea of binding myself to Barcelona].
"But here [at Barcelona], I'd stay here all my life."
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Lionel Messi has again proven to be better off than his closest rival Cristiano Ronaldo after he was named the best player of the 21st century.
Liverpool eye mega move for Super Eagles star also wanted by Real Madrid and Barcelona
In a list compiled and broken down by British news media outfit Independent, each player were given points according to how they were ranked.
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Tension as Real Madrid top stars out of tough La Liga clash against Mallorca


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Home Vegan Recipes
Vegan Meal Program Promotes Plant-Based Nutrition Nationwide
in Vegan Recipes
While 71 percent of Americans have tried plant-based food, there remains a lack of access and education surrounding healthier eating. Approximately 10 percent of American households faced food insecurity in 2020, and now, a plant-based solution from Chef Dustin Harder – the culinary specialist for the Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and the host of a cooking show The Vegan Roadie – is seeking to solve this accessibility deficit.
This fall, Harder and PCRM will launch its Universal Meals tour, aiming to provide healthy eating tips to prisons, schools, and hospitals. The tour intends to highlight the benefits of plant-based foods while improving Americans' understanding of how vegan eating can help the environment, their health, and more.
The tour will begin on October 4, visiting North Carolina State University before traveling to the University of Miami in Miami, FL; Georgia State College and Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, GA; Washington State University in Pullman, WA; and Notre Dame University in South Bend, IN. Harder and co-hosts will hold dining hall pop-ups complete with taste testings, mini-seminars, and recipe instructions. Currently, the program costs participating institutions nothing.
"I was inspired to work with PCRM on Universal Meals because of their commitment with this program to create a seat for everyone at the table," Harder told VegNews. "The recipes streamline production for institutions, including recipes that are cost-effective, easy to produce, and most importantly, delicious."
Expanding the Vegan Meal Program
The Universal Meal program distinguishes itself from other plant-based initiatives by cutting out the top nine allergens from its recipe instruction, including milk, eggs, wheat, sesame, tree nuts, soy, fish, shellfish, peanuts, gluten-containing grains, animal-derived ingredients, and alcohol. Harder hopes that this program will provide consumers with a foundation for healthy, adaptable eating.
This week, the chef also introduced the International Conference in Medicine in Washington, DC. The conference highlighted how this meal program is beneficial to thousands of Americans looking to eat healthier and more sustainably. Harder was joined by Chef David Kamen from the Culinary Institute of America and registered dietician Lillian Correa from New York Health and Hospitals.
The program features recipes from DC Vegan Catering, Culinary Institute of America, Spork Foods, and Harder himself. The fall tour will feature recipes including Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala, Spinach Artichoke Flatbread, and Mac and Cheese with Presto Pesto and Shiitake Bacon. Following the fall tour, Harder hopes to see the program become incorporated into more high-volume businesses and institutions.
"My hope for the future is that institutions that serve high volumes start to navigate from a place of empathy for those living with food allergies and that diners will be able to order food with trust in how it is prepared," Harder says. "I would love to see Universal Meals offered far and wide in hospitals, universities, airports, prisons, and even restaurants."
Increase of Plant-Based Educational Programs
Last November, Wayne State University announced that its School of Medicine will introduce a plant-based nutrition requirement in its future curriculum. This university became the first higher education institution to ask future doctors to study the health benefits of plant-based nutrition. The Detroit-based university revealed that studies revealed substantial proof that whole food plant-based diets present significant health benefits.
"Advances in preventive medicine have demonstrated the crucial role of whole-food unprocessed plant-based nutrition in reducing disease burden," the statement reads. "Nutrition education and plant-based nutrition are seldom included in medical curriculum and are thus seldom incorporated into clinical care. Additionally, personal exposure to lifestyle modifications, including nutrition and diet, is associated with a provider's willingness to recommend lifestyle modifications in clinical encounters."
In the culinary world, vegan cooking is gaining recognition for the first time. Last October, Le Cordon Bleu – one of the world's top culinary schools – announced a plant-based pastry course. The class teaches students how to bake without common baking ingredients including butter, eggs, and milk.
Introducing Vegan Options to Hospitals
Hospitals worldwide have started acknowledging the importance of healthy, plant-based eating for patients. Last March, Hayek Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon became the first hospital in the world to serve only plant-based meals. The hospital revealed that it realized that the meat and dairy food offerings caused many of its patients' health problems in the first place.
"Our patients will no longer wake up from surgery to be greeted with ham, cheese, milk, the very food[s] that may have contributed to their health problems in the first place," Hayek Hospital wrote in an Instagram post.
Within the United States, PCRM is campaigning to introduce healthier options in hospitals. The organization's registered dietitians, nurses, and medical doctors host lunch-and-learn and employee wellness programs to promote plant-based eating and nutrition.
For more plant-based happenings, visit The Beet's News articles.
31 Delicious, Plant-Based Recipes to Make on Repeat
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Arts & Culture (7)
Business & Career (2)
Community Profiles (7)
Lifestyle & Fashion (4)
Religion & Spirituality (12)
Think For Actions (1)
The Platform Project
Canada, Press Release
Hate-motivated fatal car-attack on Muslim Family in London, Ontario
June 7, 2021. Calgary, AB
On June 6, 2021, in London Ontario, a Muslim family of five were targeted in a fatal hit-and-run while out for a walk. The attack left a 74-year-old women dead on the scene. A 46-year-old man, 44-year-old women and a 15-year-old girl were rushed to the hospital in critical condition but later succumbed to their injuries. A nine-year-old male, the only living member of the deceased family, was also taken to the hospital and is currently being treated for serious, but non-life-threating injuries.
The police believe that this was a planned, premeditated act motivated by hate and that the victims were targeted solely because of their Islamic faith. The 20-year-old male suspect and driver of a black pick-up truck, Nathaniel Veltman, was arrested a short distance away from the scene and is now in custody. The suspect has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, and faces possible terrorism charges.
The Canadian Muslim Research Think Tank (CMRT) is deeply saddened to hear about this horrifying terrorist attack on Canadian soil. "Harper and Trump's polarizing political rhetoric has promoted prejudice, racism and bigotry. Federal Bills S7 and C75; Provincial Bills 62 and 21 in Quebec have increased racism and discrimination by providing futile grounds to white nationalism, Neo-Nazis, and white supremacists. The government needs to take stronger action to address racism, violence and hate" said Dr. Mukarram Zaidi, Chairman of CMRT.
We call for the suspect to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, including terrorism chargers. Hatred and discrimination in all their forms have no place in Canada. We must continue our collective responsibility to demand justice and combat discrimination and hate to build a safe and inclusive Canada for all.
Anti-Muslim hatred has escalated to epidemic proportions. Hate crimes targeting Canadian Muslims increased 151% in 2017. The data released by Statistics Canada on November 18, 2018, indicated a significant increase in hate crimes against most racial, religious and other minority groups. Four years later, Canadians are still reeling from the terrorist attack in Quebec that claimed six lives and injured 19 others when Alexandre Bissonnette opened fire on worshipers in a Quebec City Mosque on January 29, 2017. Terror attacks by Muslims receive 357% more press. Terrorist attacks committed by non-Muslims (or where the religion was unknown) received an average of 15 headlines, while those committed by Muslim extremists received 105 headlines, research by the University of Alabama has stated. (The findings are based on all terrorist attacks in the US between 2006 and 2015).
For further information and comments please contact:
Dr. Mukarram Zaidi,
Canadian Muslim Research Think Tank,
587 890 8321,
chairman@thinkforactions.com
As a Conservative Muslim Leader I am ashamed of the letter published by Erin O'Toole and reject it as conservative member
Remains of 215 children found in Canada's largest residential schools serves as a reminder of the Indigenous genocide
Gross negligence by CMAJ in promoting Islamophobia
Fatal Facades by Fatima Zaidi
We request the Calgary Police Services and all levels of government to take stronger actions to prevent and stop Anti Muslim Racism and Islamophobia
We thank Erin O'Toole, Jagmeet Singh, Honorable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and all Members of Parliament for unanimously passing the motion to recognizing China's treatment of Uyghurs as a genocide
We thank Erin O'Toole for calling out on the Government of Canada to boycott the Beijing Olympics in China due to the Genocide of Uyghurs Muslims
Copyright © 2019 | The Platform Project


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Seb Pearce
Come again?: A foreign language listening tool
Try it out: http://sebpearce.com/come-again/
GitHub link: http://github.com/sebpearce/come-again
I'm an English teacher. Every Thursday morning, we have a class in the computer lab, and I walk around making sure that people are aware of what's available to them on the Internet. Most people have no idea. To them, as far as English is concerned, a computer is a means to visit grammar websites. They don't realize that they could learn the entire English language from their computer, including listening, reading, writing and even speaking.
Lack of knowledge of resources plays a big part in this. Mostly, though, the problem is that they don't know how to train.
That's train, not study. Studying suggests reading textbooks and taking notes, as you might do with sociology or history. But language learning, despite the way it's done almost universally, doesn't work like this. It's much closer to a sport or a musical instrument — things that require training.
If that word conjures up images of routine and repetition, then I've chosen the right word.
Bruce Lee once said:
"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."
If you want to be any good at a language and get beyond the intermediate plateau, you need to do your sets of 10,000. What I see as a teacher is that almost all people who learn a second language assume it's a good idea to read an article or watch a video once, abandon it, and find something else — because this is what people do in their first language when consuming media for entertainment. This is like practicing each kick once.
I realized this a few years ago after taking advice from people who had attained native-like pronunciation in English as an L2, like Luca Lampariello and Vladimir Skultety. These guys got their impressive accents by slowing way, way down and mastering little chunks of words and their intonation.
This episode of the Language is Culture podcast is an interview with Vladimir, where he details his approach to learning by "mass listening": listening actively with complete focus for as long as possible. Two of his points leap out at me as being crucial:
Pause the audio when you encounter a word you don't understand, rewind and repeat until you can figure out the spelling of the word.
The point is to listen until you hear the information and not the language itself.
Essentially, drench yourself in the words so many times that you start to hear them the way a native speaker does and they start bouncing around in your brain. If you want to improve your pronunciation (and speaking in general), you can then repeat the words along with the audio, analyzing them as you go, as Luca does.
To give you an idea of the kind of focus I'm talking about: I recently began learning Brazilian Portuguese. The first thing I did was get hold of some basic conversations from a Teach Yourself book and start listening. The first conversation I listened to was 21 seconds long, but I spent an hour on it.
That may sound like a long time to listen to a short conversation, but now I can reproduce that conversation and every expression in it from memory with good intonation and pronunciation, and I can listen to it effortlessly. I can also use the same expressions without thinking when I need to in a conversation. I can also write it from memory with the correct spelling because I drilled that, too. I can even tell the difference between a Rio accent and a São Paulo accent now, because after all that listening, you can't help but notice the little details in their voices. All this after one 21-second conversation!
In this way, you can train hard in a language just like you can in a sport. Once you give yourself permission to work at this level of intensity, you will enjoy a much faster and more satisfying rate of progress. That doesn't mean you have to do it every day (in honesty, I rarely do!), but when you want to take it to that level, that approach is there for when you need it.
Come again? is an app I made to help with this sort of training. Most audio apps like VLC and iTunes allow you to skip back and forth while listening, but the intervals are usually too long and the keyboard shortcuts too inconvenient (and sometimes don't even work). I made Come again? as an audio player dedicated to training your listening.


Be it any festival or event, Mexicans perform their traditional folk dances with gusto. Not only do these vibrant dance forms signify the time and age in which they were created, they also harbor the feelings and ideologies of the people of Mexico.
In 2011, 457 people set a Guinness record for the largest folk dance performance at the International Mariachi and Charreria Conference in Guadalajara, accompanied by over 300 mariachi musicians from Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, and the United States.
Mexico has always remained loyal to its traditions. The people of this amazing country continue to pay tribute to the customs and rituals of their forefathers. Not only do they make it a point to respect their past, they also take pride in celebrating it as a community. Creative forms of expression such as dance and music have always been a way of life for Mexicans, which is why many of these dance forms managed to remain intact in spite of the Spanish conquest and modernization.
However, Mexican dance forms underwent several changes during the Spanish conquest. Several new styles were introduced, costumes were altered, and certain dances were banned or reformed in order to suit the moral decorum of the authorities. Nonetheless, no amount of curtailing could drain the very essence from this ancient culture. Because these dances were taught and passed on from one generation to the other in the form of familial knowledge, certain integral aspects such as the use of bright colored costumes, exaggerated headgear, traditional music, and loud footwork managed to remain intact.
Mexican folk dances are known to vary from region to region, in terms of style, music, costume, and belief. Therefore, before we delve into the different types of Mexican dances, let's gain a deeper understanding of the history of Mexican dance and its evolution over the years.
During this time, dance was taught by parents since it was considered as an important part of a child's education. The various traditional dances were performed only during religious functions to appease the Gods and praise mother-nature for her blessings.
This era was greatly influenced by Christian values and beliefs. There were some noticeable changes in the way, traditional Mexican dances were performed during the Spanish conquest. The natives adapted their dance forms in accordance with the acceptable ideologies and customs of the Christians. Many dance forms were illegalized either for their sexual innuendos, explicit costumes, or rebellious undercurrent.
This era saw the amalgamation of traditional Mexican and Spanish dance forms. European dances such as ballet, waltz, and flamenco were introduced and mixed with traditional dance styles. Since many Spaniards permanently settled in Mexico, the dance forms of both communities were given equal importance.
Costume: The dancers wear indigenous clothing and wooden-soled shoes. They carry canes, wear pink masks, and white beards to make themselves look like old men.
Particularity: This dance form is very ancient and can be traced to the pre-Hispanic era. This dance signifies governance, wherein the spirit of elderly men return to their respective village in order to hear the complains of their people. The old men pay heed to the complaints and discuss the issues with the president. This is a five day ritual, wherein each elderly representative spends one day discussing the problems of his village with the president. The Danza de Los Viejitos is also a means to pay tribute to the elderly and bestow them with the right to act as representatives for the entire community. A grand feast is held in honor of the dancers in order to thank them for their efforts and blessings.
How it is done: The dancers walk with canes, acting like old men. They stomp their feet loudly by using their wooden-soled shoes. Some men dress up as female dancers in order to provide comic relief by laughing aloud during this folkloric play and dance sequence. The laughter of these maidens is meant to dispel disparities, mend relationships, and encourage forgiveness.
Costume: The dancers wear colorful costumes such as cloaks and headdress with bright feathers and gold trimmings. These costumes are infused with Aztec designs and symbolism. Many dancers, paint their faces with tribal Aztec designs and wear shells called Chachayotes on their ankles.
Particularity: The Concheros dance form depicts pre-Hispanic elements. The dancers believe that the ancient Gods still exist and the Spanish conquest did not succeed in subjugating the people. Concheros owes its name to one of the instruments used in the dance, which is a type of a conch made from the shell of the armadillo and is known as a 'Concha'. Unlike many other dance forms, this ritual allows women and children to participate. Over the years this dance form has tried its best to discard European influences in order to return to its original Aztec roots.
How it is done: Prior to the commencement of the dance, the Concheros call upon their ancestors and their deity to unite the past and the present. The dancers assemble in two concentric circles with the elders in the inner circle and the youth in the outer. Some dancers with drums, rattles, and other instruments stay in the center. Following a signal, the two circles begin to move simultaneously. While the dancers in the inner circle make slow subdued movements, the ones in the outer circle move vibrantly, taking big leaps and performing difficult movements. Each participant plays a musical instrument and sings while dancing.
Costume: The most iconic part of the costume is the fluffy headgear worn by the dancers. While the headgear is yellowish in color, the wooden mask is painted pink to mimic the hair and complexion of the 'White' man. The serape dress is worn by the male dancers, and the ladies wear ruffled peasant tops and bright floral skirts. They also wear an embroidered shawl and carry colorful rattles.
Particularity: The dance of the Parachicos has been marked as an Intangible Cultural Heritage, by UNESCO. This dance is performed every year in January to honor Catholic saints.
How it is done: The dancers take to the streets and are led by a patron saint who carries a guitar, whip, and flute. The dancers move gracefully to the melody of the flute and the rhythm of the drums. The masked saint sings out blessings at the end of the procession for the betterment and protection of the people, to which the dancers clap and rejoice!
Costume: The women wear 'China Poblana' outfits, which consist of brightly colored skirts and peasant tops. The men wear 'Charro' outfits that are based on Mexico's cowboy tradition.
Particularity: Also known as the Mexican hat dance, Jarabe Tapatio is the Mexican national dance. This dance form was specially created to mark the end of the Mexican revolution. However, because of its popularity the Jarabe Tapatio became an inseparable part of Mexican culture. Another reason why the Mexican Hat dance was banned was because, through this dance the Mexicans expressed their disdain at being suppressed by the Spanish regime. The Jarabe Tapatio was internationally popularized when Anna Pavlov, the famous Russian ballet dancer, introduced this dance into her performances.
How it is done: The dance is about flirting and courtship. It is performed by a couple or in groups of couples. This dance depicts how a man tries to woo a woman and after many struggles is finally successful in his romantic endeavor.
Costume: This ancient dance ritual is predominantly performed by men, however, there have been instances where women have become voladores as well. The dancers wear red pants and white shirts with a red sash across the chest. This sash is decorated with beads, mirrors, and embroidery. While, the red cloth symbolizes blood, flowers on the sash represent fertility, and the tiny mirrors stand for the sun. They also wear brightly decorated caps with colorful ribbons. All the costumes are made by the voladores (flying dancers) themselves.
Particularity: This dance form is part of an ancient Mesoamerican ritual which was performed during droughts in order to appease the gods. It is believed that the gods were angry for being neglected by humans, and cursed them with drought. In these treacherous times, 5 chaste men thought of performing a ritual that was worthy of Xipe Totec, the God of fertility. These men went into the forest and searched for the tallest tree. They then, offered prayers to Quihuicolo, the mountain God in order to cut down the tree. Stripped of all its branches, the tree was replanted into a deep hole that had been filled with offerings of food, tobacco, and live chickens. This gesture was meant to appease the God of land, so that it would hold on to the rootless tree and ensure the safety of the dancers. The five men, dressed themselves in red-colored clothes in order to emulate sacred red-feathered birds. These birds also represented the four elements of nature, while the sun was represented by the fifth man standing in the center.
How it is done: The dance ritual starts with the dancers gathering around the pole and asking for God's permission to climb it. Thereafter, one man sits on a small platform atop the pole, he starts to play the flute or drums while the others fasten ropes around their waist and fall backwards to descend to the ground. As the ropes unwind, they create a spiraling effect by spinning to create a moving pyramid. Each Voladore makes 13 rotations, thus completing 52 rotations to signify the number of years in the Aztec calendar. Their faith in God and years of practice, are the only safety-gear used by these Voladores while performing this life-threatening dance.
Costume: The dancers enacting the Spanish soldiers dress themselves in European costumes, while those dressed as the indigenous people wear feathered-headgear, traditional costumes, and carry bow and arrows. The Spaniards are depicted with wooden masks.
Particularity: La Conquista dance tells the story of how the Spaniards conquered the Aztec Empire. The dance depicts the conquest led by Pedro de Alvarado, and how he defeated the warrior Tecum Uman. The dance ends with the natives accepting Christianity as their religion.
How it is done: The dancers enact the battle between the two empires through dance and acting. The Spaniards are shown wearing wooden masks with rosy cheeks and fair complexion. While the Spaniards act fierce and authoritative, the natives act subdued. The performance ends with the defeat of the native warriors and their eventual baptism.
Costume: The main dancer wears an elaborate headdress depicting the head and neck of a deer. The hunter wears a mask and carries a bow and arrow. This dance is performed with various instruments such as rattle, bells, and drum.
Particularity: Also commonly known as the deer dance, this dance form depicts a confrontation between mother nature and humans, and how nature sacrifices herself for the betterment of mankind. La Danza del Venado, is one of the few dance forms of Mexico which has managed to retain its authenticity. The Yaqui tribe belonging to the region of Sinaloa and Sonora continue to perform this dance in its original form, thereby keeping it pure and free from European influence.
How it is done: The performance portrays the deer prancing around making agile movements, enjoying its freedom, oblivious to any lurking danger. The deer suddenly becomes alert when it notices a hunter approaching it. The deer tries its best to run away from the hunter, while the hunter pursues its prey. It ends dramatically with the deer being shot by an arrow that gradually slows down its movements. The deer eventually dies, thereby surrendering itself for the sake of humans. This heartfelt dance often makes the spectators weep and mourn, as they watch the deer taking its final breath.
Costume: People wear carnival masks and dress like the Spanish elite who are shown wearing 'fair-skinned' masks and black beards. A huge hat is also worn with this costume to showcase aristocracy. This dance was created when the Spaniards refused to allow the natives to participate in religious festivities. The natives decided to have their own little party, wherein they prepared elaborate costumes to mock the lifestyle, costume, and mannerisms of the ruling class. Chinelos masks are always made with a male face in order to showcase the dominance of the Spanish regime during the colonial rule.
Particularity: The concept of this dance was derived from carnival celebrations, wherein the participants could rebuke authority while remaining anonymous. The anonymity of the masks allowed people to make fun of the Spanish elite without facing legal consequences.
How it is done: Dancers disguised as Spanish elite enact or imitate the mannerisms of the Spaniards. The Chinelos is more of an act than a dance with its elaborate movements. Jumping is an essential part of this dance, wherein each dancer shows off his own innovate step and style of jumping or hopping.
Costume: The dancers wear colorful skirts, tunics, and headdress made from colored feathers. The headdress also has a veil of beads or net, that partially covers the faces of the dancers. Originally made from deerskin, these costumes are now made with synthetic fabrics. The skirts have a unique arrow pattern printed on them. The dancers wear wooden-soled sandals and carry rattles, flute, and bows.
Particularity: The Matachines is also known as the 'The Dance of the Moors and Christians', because the dance shows how the native people were defeated by the Spaniards. This dance is also performed in honor of the Virgin Mary, or 'Our Lady of Guadalupe'. The dancers are believed to be the soldiers of the Virgin Mary and dance in order to protect her.
How it is done: The dancers make elaborate movements with their hands and stomp their feet loudly. There are four main characters in this folkloric dance. The Aztec king Moctezuma, initiates the dance along with Cortez, his beautiful and innocent wife or companion. El Abuelo is the grandfather, who tries to protect Cortez from the devil. The devil, El Toro, is symbolized as a bull who is always creating mischief during the dance. His funny antics are a great source of entertainment for the crowd. El Toro is eventually slain by Moctezuma, which signifies the victory of good over evil.
Costume: While some people wear masks with skulls painted on them, many paint their faces white and black in order to resemble skulls. Many women paint their faces to look like 'Catrina', after the famous Elegant Skull painting by Jose Guadalupe Posada.
Particularity: The Day of the Dead is a festival, held in honor of the departed members of the family. Similar festivals are celebrated in other parts of the world as well. This festival is also associated with the All Saints and All Soul's Day. The family members make small alters for the dead family members and decorate it with small candy-skeletons and candles. A special type of bread (pan de muerto) and tea known as 'Estafiate' is made for the deceased. People conduct all-night vigils at the cemetery, where they pray around the gravestone of their relative. Some people sing and dance, and have picnics in order to celebrate this day. Gravestones of children are decorated with their favorite toys and candies, while the adults are offered bottles of alcohol and flowers.
How it is done: The dance is accompanied with loud clapping, singing, and music. The objective is to wake the dead, so that they may come visit the existing family members. Many types of traditional dances are also performed during to this festival. People dress up like the deceased and imitate their mannerisms. Family members and friends, also sit in groups to share funny stories and memories of the dead family members.
Although Mexican dance styles may vary from one region to the other, the commonality exists in the spiritual energy with which these dances are performed. Therefore, consider yourself lucky if you get to witness these spectacular and breathtaking dance forms.


Love Comes Softly is a 2003 made-for-television Christian drama film set in the 19th century, based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It originally aired on Hallmark Channel on April 13, 2003. It was directed by Michael Landon Jr., and stars Katherine Heigl as a young woman named Marty Claridge.
It is the first in a series of television movies made for Hallmark Channel based on the books and produced for Hallmark by Larry Levinson Productions. The order of the films to follow are: 1. Two prequels, Love Begins (2011), 2. Love's Everlasting Courage (2011), 3. Love Comes Softly 4. Love's Enduring Promise (2004), 5. Love's Long Journey (2005), 6. Love's Abiding Joy (2006), 7. Love's Unending Legacy (2007), 8. Love's Unfolding Dream (2007), 9. Love Takes Wing (2009), and 10.Love Finds a Home (2009), and Love's Christmas Journey (2011).
Marty Claridge (Katherine Heigl) has just moved out to the West with her husband Aaron Claridge (Oliver Macready), who dies in a riding accident shortly after. Expecting her late husband's baby, Marty has nowhere to go and needs a place to stay through the winter. Desperate, she accepts the proposal offered by widower Clark (Dale Midkiff). Clark offers to give her a place to stay for the winter and provide her with the fare for the wagon train heading back East in the spring. In exchange, Marty agrees to marry Clark and provide a maternal influence for his young daughter Missie (Skye McCole Bartusiak). Since the marriage is in name only, the pair keep separate quarters. Initially, it is not an ideal arrangement for any of them, and Missie resents Marty for attempting to encourage more feminine behavior from her. As winter passes, Marty learns more about "Clark's God" than she ever dreamed and an affectionate bond develops between her and Missie, allowing them all to begin to feel more like a family. Marty and Clark finally come to realize that they have both done what they thought was impossible: they have found love again. Missie has a new loving mother and Marty's baby is blessed with a wonderful new father.
In the book "Love Comes Softly", Missie is a toddler, turning two years old soon after Marty moves in; she is nine in the movie. Clark and Marty are also older in the film than in the book.
Marty's husband is named Clem in the novel, Aaron in the film.
The Grahams have 13 (11 living, two deceased) children in the novel. Ben Graham was a widower with four children, and Sarah Graham was a widow with three, one that died at age 7. They then had 6 together, one of which they lost in infancy. This is mentioned in Chapter 11 of the book. In the film, they only have four: Ben's two sons and Sarah's two daughters. In the novel, Sarah is only referred to as "Ma Graham" or Mrs. Graham. Laura is Ben's daughter in the novel and Sarah's in the film.
In 2004 Dale Midkiff won the Grace Award from MovieGuide for Most Inspirational Television Acting.
^ "Love's Christmas Journey". Hallmark Channel. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
This page was last edited on 24 August 2018, at 01:25 (UTC).


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Presl se poate referi la următorii autori care au denumit cel puțin o specie:

 Jan Svatopluk Presl
 Karel Presl

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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CS:GO September 16, 2020 / 5:46 pm
BLAST Shift Prize Pool Distributions for Future Events
BLAST, the organization behind the likes of the BLAST PREMIER, Astralis Group and more, have announced they are changing their prize distribution for the remainder of the PREMIER in 2020 and 2021.
The monetary award for the BLAST PREMIER in 2020 and 2021 is changing. (Photo courtesy BLAST)
UPDATE: Prize Pool shift, to strengthen the CS:GO ecosystem.
With full support of partner teams we will be increasing the participation fees paid to teams and reducing season prize money. Non-partner teams will also benefit from the 2021 season onwards.
#BLASTPremier
— BLAST Premier Fast Forwarding to 2021 ???? (@BLASTPremier) September 16, 2020
The organization announced they are going to re-shape their prize model to make the scene more sustainable, allowing them to safeguard the long-term future of all employees in esports. The BLAST's financial awarding will remain the same throughout the year, valuing at $4,200,000 USD. However, some of the events have their prize allocation reduced. The money will head to the contribution award to both non-partners and the BLAST's franchised partners alike.
BLAST believes that this is a better financial structure which creates a more sustainable model for the industry. Robbie Douek, BLAST's Chief Executive Officer, said: "We partner alongside the most progressive brands in esports, many of whom have also felt the impact of Covid-19. We believe this realignment will help sustain the broader ecosystem and ensure that we can all emerge stronger together."
Their idea is to create a better foundation for esports. They believe by investing in the foundations, they can reap the rewards for the future and create a thriving ecosystem for the years to come.
A lot of the reasoning behind this is because of the impact COVID-19 has had on the industry, which the BLAST has felt themselves. The restrictions it has placed on the ability to create shows, LAN events and get teams competing and training together has negatively impacted the scene. Because of these changes, the way fans interact, engage and watch has changed too. These reasons are at the basis of why BLAST think this is the play moving forward.
The BLAST has provided a breakdown of their financial system below.
Fall Series 2020 $150,000
Fall Showdown 2020 $150,000
Fall Final 2020 $425,000
Global Final 2020 $1,000,000
Spring Series 2021 $150,000
Spring Showdown 2021 $162,500
Spring Final 2021 $425,000
Craig is passionate about two things: History and Gaming. Whilst at university, Craig focused his degree on history and voluntarily wrote about esports on the side. Nowadays, he tends to write about esports whilst enjoying history as a hobby.
CS:GO Olivia Richman Dec 27 2021
CS:GO Zakaria Almughrabi Dec 14 2021
CS:GO Zakaria Almughrabi Dec 5 2021


text:
RIP Jerry Jeff Walker
Thread: RIP Jerry Jeff Walker
Oct-26-2020, 3:52pm #26
Aberdeen, Scotland
Re: RIP Jerry Jeff Walker
Mississippi You're on my Mind was by Jesse Winchester I think.
The following members say thank you to Bren for this post:
Mark Gunter
Saint Augustine Beach FL
Originally Posted by Mark Gunter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s69LBYHUdbQ
A great talent lost, like so many this year.
Thanks for the tune Mark, I was not familiar with it. I am very familiar with Roy Smeck ie "The Wizard Of The Strings" but had never heard of the "Stage Delux" mentioned in the song.
Last edited by Charles E.; Oct-26-2020 at 8:17pm.
A bunch of stuff with four strings
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C2WAVE2
Strange or not, I just started trying to learn mr BoJangles on guitar and sing it a few days ago, before mr walkers
Passing. I always like David Bromberg version, and stories of playing with Jeff. Especially, how they played mr bonjangles every night, and how
He never got tired of it..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhLiDgW42vI
Kentucky KM-270,Gibson F5-G, Eastman ER-M, Loar LM-700
allenhopkins
Mando accumulator
Rochester NY 14610
Copied from the Mr. Bojangles Wikipedia article:
Walker's song has been recorded by many popular artists: Kristofer Åström, Chet Atkins, Hugues Aufray (French version, 1984), Harry Belafonte, Bermuda Triangle Band, David Bromberg, Garth Brooks[citation needed], Dennis Brown, George Burns, JJ Cale, David Campbell, Bobby Cole, Edwyn Collins, Jim Croce[citation needed], Jamie Cullum, King Curtis, Sammy Davis Jr., John Denver, Neil Diamond, Cornell Dupree, Bob Dylan, Bobbie Gentry, Arlo Guthrie[citation needed], Tom T. Hall, John Holt, Whitney Houston, Queen Ifrica, Billy Joel[citation needed], Dave Jarvis, Elton John[citation needed], Frankie Laine, Lulu, Rod McKuen, Don McLean, MC Neat, Bebe Neuwirth, Harry Nilsson, Dolly Parton[citation needed], Johnny Paycheck, Esther Phillips, Ray Quinn, Mike Schank, Helge Schneider, Nina Simone, Corben Simpson, Todd Snider, Cat Stevens[citation needed], Jim Stafford, Jud Strunk,[5] Radka Toneff, Bradley Walsh, Robbie Williams, and Paul Winter.
A rich and varied panoply! Have to assume that royalty checks kept Walker from any financial uncertainties...
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
ccravens
Fingers of Concrete
This message has been deleted by MikeEdgerton.
Per ccravens request removed
MikeEdgerton
Isolated enthusiast
DFW, America
N/m
Last edited by Caleb; Oct-28-2020 at 10:15pm.
ajh
St Paul, Minn
Been listening to old JJW cassettes while on the treadmill for the last few days (and howling along when I can breathe). Today it was the Gruene Hall album. Heard some tasty mando that jumped out on Rodeo Wind and looked up who it was. Johnny Gimble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4l2X93NWJo
Oct-28-2020, 10:22pm #32
Frank Russell
Like some here, I grew up on Jerry Jeff. My parents had some of his albums, and we all enjoyed them equally. Then I went to college in Austin, and it seems like I saw him live dozens of times. On some nights, the best sets he and the band played were the ones where he was so smashed or stoned he could hardly remember the lyrics. They still played like there was no tomorrow. I remember standing in line at my local pharmacy/check-cashing store, having him tell me horror stories about his latest trip to rehab for cocaine, never seeming worried about tarnishing his reputation as a Texas treasure, all while making me laugh and cry at the same time. He could tell a damn good story just as well without music. I was real sorry to hear he was gone, but happy he'll never be old or feeble in my mind, as I quit watching him live years ago, and still picture him as a friendly guy who almost made me wet my pants with laughter in the cashier line. I'll listen to his version of Guy Clark's Desperados Waiting For a Train, and be thankful for all the great times I had while this man's music played. Frank
FJ Russell
Es mejor morir de pie que vivir de rodillas. E. Zapata
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brunello97, Jim Roberts, Mark Gunter, rfloyd
Oct-29-2020, 11:22am #33
Originally Posted by allenhopkins
Saw JJW at a concert at a fish farm in mid Minnesota years ago....no idea of the year. Was called Trout Air. He comes out on the stage with one other guy. Introduces him......then says he has a jet now to go play concerts and that the guy is his accompanist, pilot and golf instructor. The he said Mr Bojangles paid for it all. Don't know if any of that is true but I heard it myself and it made an impression.
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lflngpicker
Mando-Afflicted
I always thought of JJ Walker as part of the Dirt Band. I guess I was thinking of Jeff Hannah-- who was in the NGDB. The Bojangles songs is one of my favorites to play and sing with on the mandolin. A great cover that the Dirt Band did with it! Being from Long Beach, CA, and hanging out in the 70's at the same guitar store, the Long Beach McCabes, this announcement brings back memories of outlaw Country and all of us that were playing country rock -- that term is unrecognizable in the halls of country music in these times. Blue Grass is where you get the acoustic instruments more often than not. I love Walker's stuff and the LA Freeway is a wonderful song for those of us from there, and to those from all points north and east (I guess that's everyone)!
Dan Brooks
Pava Pro, Vintage Guild D55, Fender Deluxe Stratocaster, among others
Oct-31-2020, 1:01am #35
goose 2
Being a Texas boy I always thought of Jerry Jeff was thought as a deity. I heard him so many times. The most memorable was in a bar in Amarillo during a blizzard with John Inman on guitar. The Mount Rushmore of Texas music would be Townes, Willie, Waylon, and Jerry Jeff. RIP buckaroo!!!
It doesn't matter . . . I'm going to WINFIELD!!!!!
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The Amateur Mandolinist
Alvarado/Mansfield, Texas
Originally Posted by goose 2
There's a unique annual festival in Abilene called Outlaws & Legends run by Mark Powell, the largest single stage festival venue that I know of. The MO there is to have a hot current headliner on Friday night and a "deity" on Saturday night. I was involved there for a few years and got to meet quite a few heroes. Merle Haggard, Jerry Jeff Walker, Charlie Daniels, Leon Russell. Willie was scheduled this past Spring - cancelled of course. He's on the bill for next Spring. Gary P. Nunn and Billy Joe Chavers were regulars each year.
Many of us at the cafe are of an age to have grown up listening to giants in all genres of music, having lived through the maturing of radio and recording industry and the advent of television, it's sad to see so many entertainers, as well as old friends, fall to the ravages of time, but inevitable. There's a song in it somewhere.
WWW.MARKGUNTER.NET
"Life is short. Play hard." - AlanN
HEY! The Cafe has Social Groups, check 'em out. I'm in these groups:
Newbies Social Group | The Song-A-Week Social
The Woodshed Study Group | Blues Mando
- Advice For Mandolin Beginners
- YouTube Stuff
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BTW, a Mount Rushmore of Texas music without Bob Wills? Nah. I'd have to have Bob, Willie, and Stevie Ray up there. I'd have to think about the fourth one. Maybe Townes, maybe Blind Lemon.
These guys hoped to make a list of the top 10 Texas musicians, but they couldn't do it. They settled for attempting to "rank" the top 100.
https://www.centraltrack.com/100-to-81/
I've been a Texan my entire life and I've been often amazed that the average Texan (at least in my experience) has never heard of Jerry Jeff Walker, Townes, Billy Joe Shaver, Robert Earl Keen, but most are familiar with Lyle Lovett, SRV, and Jimmie Vaughan. Even as big as these guys were (are in the case of Keen), it's still a very small slice of the world that likes this type of music. I think more people would like it if they were exposed to it, but even in Texas these guys rarely made it to the radio.
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Robert Johnson's only sides were cut in San Antonio and Dallas; he played the street corners of Deep Ellum. Blind Lemon Jefferson was a Texan, a fixture of Deep Ellum. Lead belly and Lightnin' Hopkins, both Texas boys. Just a few of the early blues influencers. My Mount Rushmore would need a blues rep, a Texas swing rep, a country rep and a rock rep, maybe. It'd be a tough project. As much as I love JJW I don't see him in the top four for all time. But no disrespect to JJW, his music was really important in my own life. I'm a Louisiana migrant to Texas, 36 years a Texan now. I agree with Caleb, few people know the breadth and depth of Texas music. But music is everywhere.
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For many years I was in Houston a few weeks a month. I listened to KHYI then and streamed them online. They used to play local Texas folks like Robert Earl Keen and Terry Allen and all on a regular basis. I used to listen to discover new artists.
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them". These are the words of J. Garber.
The following members say thank you to MikeEdgerton for this post:
Originally Posted by MikeEdgerton
Some of the smaller stations around here (DFW) will play this stuff, but the big stations that everyone listens to (or used to, not sure about radio now) wouldn't play it. With this kind of music it's all about the song: the words and the meanings contained there in, like literature or poetry, where the popular stuff is about a catchy melody and the quality of the singer's voice. You have to actually sit down and listen to stuff like Townes or Guy Clark, where with George Strait or Kenny Chesney, you sing along or dance. No harm done. It's all about what a person likes.
Mark I agree with your Mount Rushmore lis. Like Waylon used to sing Bob Wills is still the king!!!
Ray Benson (Asleep At The Wheel) is one like Ramblin' Jack or JJW ... a Philadelphia guy who fell in love with the music of Bob Wills and made himself a Texan.
Bill Findley
Ashland, OR
Blind Willie Johnson should also be on the list. Played in Deep Ellum too. Must make a pilgrimage to Ellum one day.
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tiltman
Jimmy Buffet is putting out a new album during COVID - "Songs You Don't Know By Heart" - basically a lot of lesser known songs his fans chose.
Anyway, there's a series of YouTube videos with him alone playing these songs and reminiscing about his early days....and moving to Key West with JJW. They were roommates for awhile and wrote together over the years.
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Quick Navigation General Mandolin Discussions Top


text:
Q: Is there a way to register an onclick event handler on elements within an SVG image? I'd like to load an SVG image within a HTML5 page and make it's components clickable. If the user moves the mouse over the shapes presented by the SVG an onclick event should perform some action. The goal is to enable the user to either click on parts of the SVG image or to click on data rows provided in a table below that SVG.
All SVG components are g elements that have a text element which in turn has text content that could be used as an ID for later on distinguishing the individual components.
SVG-Example (abbreviated by having only a single g-component and the text "abc"):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd">
<svg width="232pt" height="260pt" viewBox="0.00 0.00 231.69 260.00" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">

    <g class="node">
        <ellipse fill="#008000" stroke="#ffffff" cx="61.545" cy="-90" rx="46.2923" ry="18"/>
        <text text-anchor="middle" x="61.545" y="-86.3" font-family="Times,serif" font-size="14.00" fill="#ffffff">abc</text>
    </g>

</svg>

Is there a way to use JQuery (or some other JavaScript library or pure JavaScript code) to register onclick event handlers on these g elements? And if so how can you do it?

A: I just added an ID to the g element, and with simple jQuery I could manage to get the onClick event.
<svg width="232pt" height="260pt" viewBox="0.00 0.00 231.69 260.00" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">

    <g class="node" id="myId">
        <ellipse fill="#008000" stroke="#ffffff" cx="61.545" cy="-90" rx="46.2923" ry="18"/>
        <text text-anchor="middle" x="61.545" y="-86.3" font-family="Times,serif" font-size="14.00" fill="#ffffff">abc</text>
    </g>
</svg>

$("#myId").on("click", function() { ... });

You can use whatever you want.
JSFiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/oc6zm1by/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Seven Years After Katrina, A Divided City
By Jordan Flaherty
[ A+ ] / [ A- ]
Posted in: Uncategorized | No comments
Seven years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has become a national laboratory for government reforms. But the process through which those experiments have been carried out rarely has been transparent or democratic. The results have been divisive, pitting new residents against those who grew up here, rich against poor, and white against Black.
Education, housing, criminal justice, health care, urban planning, even our media; systemic changes have touched every aspect life in New Orleans, often creating a template now used in other cities. A few examples:
– In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina, the entire staff of the city's public school system was fired – more than 7,500 employees lost their jobs, despite the protection of union membership and a contract. Thousands of young teachers, many affiliated with programs like Teach For America, filled the empty slots. As charters took over from traditional public schools, the city became what then-superintendent Paul Vallas called the first 100% free market public school system in the US.
– Every public housing development has either been partially or entirely torn down. The housing authority now administers more than 17,000 vouchers – nearly double the pre-Katrina amount –a massive privatization of a formerly public system. During this period, rents have risen dramatically across the city.
– The US Department of Justice has spent three years in negotiations with city government over reform of the police department. The historic consent decree that came out of these negotiations mandates vast changes in nearly every aspect of the NOPD and some aspects could serve as a model for departments across the US. But organizations that deal with police violence, as well as the city's independent police monitor, have filed legal challenges to the agreement, stating that they were left out of the negotiations and that as a result, the final document lacks community oversight.
– As the city loses its daily paper, an influx of funding – including $750,000 just from George Soros' foundation – has arrived for news websites and other online media projects. In a city that is still majority African-American, the staff of these new media ventures is almost entirely white, and often politically conservative. These funders – many of whom consider themselves progressive – rarely notice the city's Black media, which is continuing a tradition rooted in centuries of local resistance to the dominant narrative. These were the publications that covered police violence and institutional racism when the daily paper was not interested.
There is wide agreement that most of our government services have long deep, systemic problems. But in rebuilding New Orleans, the key question is not only how much change is needed, but more crucially, who should dictate that change.
New Orleans has become a destination for a new class of residents drawn by the allure of being able to conduct these experiments. For a while, they self-identified as YURPs (Young Urban Rebuilding Professionals). Now they are frequently known as "social entrepreneurs," and they have wealthy and powerful allies. Warren Buffet has invested in the redevelopment of public housing. Oprah Winfrey and the Walton family have donated to the charter schools. Attorney General Holder came to town to announce police department reforms. President Obama has visited several times, despite the fact that this state is not remotely in play for Democrats.
Many residents – especially in the Black community – have felt disenfranchised in the new New Orleans. They see the influx of college graduates who have come to start nonprofits and run our schools and redesign our neighborhoods as disaster profiteers, not saviors. "Tuskegee was an experiment. We have reason to be suspicious of experiments," says civil rights lawyer Tracie Washington, evoking a history of racist experimentation performed on Black bodies without their consent.
You can hear it every day on WBOK, the city's only Black-owned talk radio station, and read about it in the Louisiana Weekly, Data News, and New Orleans Tribune, the city's Black newspapers. This new rebuilding class is seen as working in alliance with white elites to disenfranchise a shrinking Black majority. Callers and guests on WBOK point to the rapid change in political representation: Among the political offices that have shifted to white after a generation in Black hands are the mayor, police chief, district attorney, and majorities on the school board and city council.
The population is smaller and whiter and wealthier than it was seven years ago. Even neighborhoods that did not flood have smaller populations, as single college graduates replace families.
In a recent cover story in the Tribune, journalist Lovell Beaulieu compares the new rebuilding class to the genocide of Native Americans. "520 years after the Indians discovered Columbus, a similar story is unfolding," writes Beaulieu. "New arrivals from around the United States and the world are landing here to get a piece of the action that is lucrative post-Katrina New Orleans…Black people are merely pawns in a game with little clout and few voices. Their primary role is to be the ones who get pushed out, disregarded and forgotten."
People hear the term "blank slate," a term often used to describe post-Katrina New Orleans – as a way of erasing the city's long history of Black-led resistance to white supremacy. As New Orleans poet and educator Kalamu Ya Salaam has said, "it wasn't a blank slate, it was a cemetery." Where some new arrivals see opportunity, many residents see grave robbers. In response, those who find anything to praise in the old ways are often accused of being stuck in the past or embracing corruption.
Hurricane Isaac has demonstrated that New Orleans is still at risk from storms – although the flood protection system around the city seems to be more reliable than it was before the levees failed and eighty percent of New Orleans was underwater. But have the systemic problems that were displayed to the world seven years ago been fixed by the radical changes the city has seen? Is reform possible without the consent of those most affected by those changes? These are polarizing questions in the new New Orleans, and it may be years before we have an answer.
Jordan Flaherty is a New Orleans-based journalist, and the author of Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Six.
A version of this article originally appeared on TruthOut.org.
Flaherty's:
Z Commentary
Shameful Attack On Community Leader
How Savior Mentality Stands in the Way of Solidarity Organizing
Failing New Orleans
Fighting Sex Trafficking or Targeting Women?
Treme Rewrites Post-Katrina History
Race, History, and Revolution Take Starring Roles in the Year's Best Films
Harsh Justice in Phoenix
Police Profiling, Harassment, and Violence Against Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People
World Social Forum Highlights Shock Doctrine in Tunisia
World Social Forum Opens in Tunisia


text:
Pellet price
Frequently asked questions about pellet
What is pellet?
Pellet is a revolutionary, high-calorie, renewable biofuel produced by technologically processing the turning chips, i.e. sawdust that remains after processing wood, and whose humidity is initially reduced to a certain percentage, by drying and pressing it with special presses. The wood, which is dried and crushed enough, then passes through a pellet, which completely grinds the parts of the wood and pushes it into the matrix.
More about the pellet and everything you need to know about pellet heating ...
How did the wood pellets come about?
The beginning of the pellet production in Europe and South America was caused by an oil crisis known as the First Oil Shock in 1973 and 1979. Wood pellets attracted people's attention at the time because of their exceptional quality and because it was a good alternative to oil. However, soon the price of oil on the market stabilized. In the nineties, the production of wood pellets was again experiencing expansion and it has become the main competitor to the solid, liquid and gas fuels.
How to make wood pellets?
Wood pellets are made of chopped wood or sawdust, they are cylindrical in shape with a diameter of 6-8 mm and a length of 10 to 30 mm. Wood pellets are produced at extremely high pressures, the temperature of the wood is raised at high pressure and the natural 'glue' is created so the pellets can manage to keep the cylindrical shape even after cooling. Pellets are usually produced in a matrix, and the total moisture content is usually less than 10% in the moisturized mass. It is made of oak, beech, ash, hornbeam, poplar, linden and other types of wood. It is a very calorific fuel whose combustion produces only 1% of ash.
When delivered, beside weight, moisture, ash content and net calorific value are also monitored. The maximum moisture content of wood pellets must not exceed 10% of the mass percentage in the received state (wet basis). Due to their shape and size, they are easily transported, the furnace burners that we use to heat our homes are easily filled with them. They fully meet the high ecological standards that enable us to live a better life without compromising the environment and nature. A kilogram of pellets can produce about five kilowatt hours of heat energy. The amount of energy we get by burning 2 kg of pellets is equal to one liter of oil fuel. In addition to energy savings, pellets are also environmentally-friendly raw materials.
Reasons for the increasing use of pellets.
Economical cost-effectiveness - cheaper heating.
Pellet heating is the most economically feasible of all other types of heating.
Energy efficiency - a high degree of utilization
Due to its composition and production characteristics, the level of utilization of wood pellets is extremely high, so that the ash residue is below 1% (depending on the manufacturer).
Ecological profitability - negligible gas emissions and the renewable energy sources.
In addition to energy savings, pellets are also environmentally-friendly raw materials. Burning pellets produces the same amount of CO2 that the tree has used during its growth. Therefore, the pellet is a neutral CO2 carrier. In the production, preparation and transport of the pellets, a negligible amount of CO2 is generated. In contemporary life conditions, the emphasis is on preserving the environment and the biomass-produced fuels are gaining in importance.
Why use pellets?
The use of energy in pellets is over 90%, while in classical coal and wood furnaces, boilers and fireplaces, it is no more than 70%
Pellets are two to six times cheaper than those derived from fossil fuels
By using pellets, the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere is reduced
The special advantage of pellets is based on the reduced storage requirements in relation to wood
Only the most suitable part of the tree
Pellets, in contrast to petroleum and coal-based fuels, do not contain substances that are toxic to humans and the environment.
They are simple to transport and store.
They are made from high-calorie wood.
Modern production and prescribed quality standards contribute to the pellet's balanced fuel and constant energy.
Energy value 4,9 kW/kg
2 kg of pellets = 1 liter of oil fuel
1 m3 of pellets = 320 liters of oil fuel
Pellet weight 1 m3 = approx. 640 kg
Combustion remains are 1% of ash
What is biomass?
Biomass is a biodegradable part of products, waste and residues of biological origin from agriculture (including plant and animal matter), forestry and related industries, as well as biodegradable parts of industrial and municipal waste. Law on Energy ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia", No. 145/2014).
The Republic of Serbia is one of the countries that are rich in biomass resources, and also from the aspect of their biodiversity and distribution. All studies and analyses show that the biomass is the most important potential of renewable energy sources in Serbia. It is estimated at 3,405 Mt per year, of which 55% are agricultural and 45% are wood biomass. The potential of the wood mass is 1.53 Mt. Forest biomass is the most prevalent in the south and in central Serbia, and its utilization rate is very high up to 66.7%. The estimated potential of agricultural biomass from the remains of agricultural crops, residues in fruit growing, viticulture and fruit processing is 1.67 Mt per year. Agricultural biomass is present mostly in the north of Serbia. However, despite its widespread distribution, its potential is used in a negligible percentage of 2%.
Current capacities for pellet production in the Republic of Serbia are about 150,000 tons / year. Until a few years ago, nearly 90% of production was exported. Today, this percentage is somewhat less than 65-70%.
Wood biomass
Residues and waste from sawing, grinding, blinding ...
It is often the waste that burdens the operations of a wood processing company
It serves as a fuel in its own boiler rooms, as a raw material for products, briquettes, pellets
Fuel from forest biomass is cheaper and better quality
Combustion of biomass yields heat energy that until recently was most often used for heating, cooking or heating hot water. In the last decade, biomass has also been used to produce electricity. For bioenergy purposes, biofuel can also be used, obtained by converting biomass into liquid state, as well as biogas, obtained by decomposing various biological waste into a gaseous state.
According to the aggregate state, with the influence on energy use, biomass is divided into solid, liquid and gas biomass.
Solid biomass includes the remnants of crop production, residues of fruit and vineyard residues, forest residues, plant mass of fast growing plants, and above all fast-growing forests, part of the selected municipal waste, residues from the wood processing industry, residues of primary and secondary processing of agricultural products, and others.
Liquid biomass includes liquid biofuels - vegetable oils, transesterified vegetable oils - biodiesel and bioethanol.
Gas biomass is biogas, which can be produced from animal excrements or energy plants (grass and corn silage), but other raw materials can also be used as raw materials. Gas, even liquid, biomass, is also a product of gasification, that is, pyrolysis of solid biomass.
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Izrada sajta: LakoDoSajta.NET


text:
HomeAnalysisClinton Campaign Statement on Donald Trump's Comments on Meeting with Putin
Clinton Campaign Statement on Donald Trump's Comments on Meeting with Putin
October 18, 2016 Press Analysis, Commentary
NEW YORK–(ENEWSPF)–October 18, 2016. Hillary for America Senior National Spokesperson Glen Caplin released the following statement today after Donald Trump's comments saying he, "Could see myself meeting with Putin and meeting with Russia prior to the start of the administration."
"It's unclear why Donald Trump needs to meet with Vladimir Putin on November 9th since he's already repeating all his talking points, pushing his policy agenda and taking advantage of his espionage operation. Rest assured that as president, Hillary Clinton will stand up to Putin in the face of his unacceptable behavior, not coddle him."
Hillary for America previously released a new video cataloguing Trump's disturbing connections to Russia and why they are so concerning. Watch it here.
The campaign also recently released a Medium post on the Russian hack that Donald Trump refuses to admit or condemn laying out an important question that voters deserve to know – "What did Trump know, and when did he know it?" Read it here.
Here are 15 facts you should know about Donald Trump, WikiLeaks and Russia:
1) The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that top Kremlin officials are behind the hack of the DNC and other Democratic organizations to influence the elections – and named WikiLeaks as part of their effort.
Washington Post: "Intelligence officials have identified WikiLeaks and other sites as among those receiving or publishing information from Russian intelligence, a claim that Assange has dismissed in the past.
2) According to the Wall Street Journal, "FBI Suspects Russia in Hack of John Podesta Emails"- top Russian officials meanwhile shifted away from denying a role in separate hacking of the Democratic National Committee.
3) Long time Trump campaign associate Roger Stone says he is in contact with Julian Assange. Stone unwittingly admitted the Russians are the source for WikiLeaks when he said, "The DNC heist documents…were hacked and first made public by Guccifer 2.0, almost a month ago, and when that did not get the appropriate traction, he took them to WikiLeaks who then leaked them." Stone also seemed to predict Podesta's emails would be released as far back as August, suggesting possible collusion.
4) According to reports, "several current and former officials who have worked in the Justice Department, FBI and intelligence community said they have little doubt federal law enforcement is looking into the different questions surrounding the different current and one-time Trump campaign operatives.
5) Julian Assange's own ties to the Kremlin are extensive and well-documented:
Assange hosted a talk show on Putin's propaganda network, RT.
Forbes: The Breathtaking Hypocrisy of Julian Assange, Kremlin Pawn
A recent New York Times examination of Assange's time in exile found that WikiLeaks' activities have consistently benefitted Putin's Russia at the expense of America and our allies.
National security experts have criticized Assange and WikiLeaks for doing Putin's bidding by releasing documents obtained by Russian hackers:
Defense One: How Putin Weaponized Wikileaks to Influence the Election of an American President: "Considerable evidence shows that the Wikileaks dump was an orchestrated act by the Russian government, working through proxies, to undermine Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign."
Former NSA analyst and counterintelligence officer, John Schindler: "Russian hackers working for the Kremlin cyber-pilfered the DNC then passed the purloined data, including thousands of unflattering emails, to Wikileaks, which has shown them to the world. This, of course, means that Wikileaks is doing Moscow's bidding and has placed itself in bed with Vladimir Putin."
National Security expert Michael Weiss: "In a bizarre mind-meld that could only happen today, the WikiLeaks founder is refusing to say whether he got the hacked DNC emails from Russia, and Trump is defending Putin."
6) Trump was reportedly briefed by U.S. intelligence officials before the last debate that Russian intelligence services were behind the hacks. Despite that information, Trump stood on the debate stage and claimed to 80 million Americans that it could be anyone including someone "sitting in their bed who weighs 400 pounds." Why?
NBC News: "A senior U.S. intelligence official assured NBC News that cybersecurity and the Russian government's attempts to interfere in the 2016 election have been briefed to, and discussed extensively with, both parties' candidates, surrogates and leadership, since mid-August. 'To profess not to know at this point is willful misrepresentation,' said the official. 'The intelligence community has walked a very thin line in not taking sides, but both candidates have all the information they need to be crystal clear.'"
WaPo: Headline: "Trump refusal to accept government assessments on Russian hacks dismays former officials"
"The former officials, who have served presidents in both parties, say they were bewildered when Trump cast doubt on Russia's role after receiving a classified briefing on the subject and again after an unusually blunt statement from U.S. agencies saying they were "confident" that Moscow had orchestrated the attacks."
7) Donald Trump himself encouraged Russian hackers to spy MORE on Hillary Clinton: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said. "I think you'll be rewarded mightily by our press!"
8) Trump's business interests in Russia run deep…and present HUGE conflicts of interest. Because Donald Trump won't release his taxes, the full extent of his Russian business interests that could conflict with American national security interests is largely unknown. But just some of the recent headlines have revealed hundreds of millions of dollars related to Russian business interests; connections to business groups with ties to the Kremlin like Bayrock; business dealings with alleged Russian mobster Felix Sater and a 30-year history of pursuing business with Russia including the Miss Universe pageant. Trump's son has said that "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section" of the Trump Organization's assets and that "we see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."
9) Trump's policies are concerning experts because they align closely with Putin's agenda, contrary to American interests.
Op-ed by Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul: "Putin has rational motives for wanting Trump to win: Trump champions many foreign policies that Putin supports. Trump's most shocking, pro-Kremlin proposal is to "look into" recognition of Crimea as a part of Russia…. Trump has demanded that other NATO members essentially pay us for protection… Trump has also disparaged our allies in Asia, creating new opportunities for Russian influence…. On the whole, Trump advocates isolationist policies and an abdication of U.S. leadership in the world. He cares little about promoting democracy and human rights. A U.S. retreat from global affairs fits precisely with Putin's international interests."
Vox: Trump's policies are objectively pro-Russia. "Nothing Russia could do, on its own, would help its foreign policy more than what Trump is proposing. He is literally suggesting the United States transform global politics to make it more favorable to Russian interests."
Slate: Putin's Puppet: If the Russian president could design a candidate to undermine American interests—and advance his own—he'd look a lot like Donald Trump. "Donald Trump is like the Kremlin's favored candidates, only more so. He celebrated the United Kingdom's exit from the EU. He denounces NATO with feeling. He is also a great admirer of Vladimir Putin."
Politifact: "Trumps [sic] comments on backing away from NATO, supporting Russia on the Ukraine and rethinking sanctions against Russia certainly qualify as statements that dovetail with what the Putin administration would like."
10) Former Acting CIA Director Michael Morrell has concluded, "In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation."
11) The Trump campaign's ties to Russia are deeply disturbing.
One-time Foreign Policy Adviser Carter Page is being probed by U.S. intelligence agencies for meeting with sanctioned Kremlin officials including Igor Diveykin. "A former Russian security official, Diveykin now serves as deputy chief for internal policy and is believed by U.S. officials to have responsibility for intelligence collected by Russian agencies about the U.S. election, the Western intelligence source said."
The Trump campaign lied about Page having "never been a part of our campaign. Period" to cover up his involvement. In fact, Trump announced Page himself to Washington Post editorial board back in March 2016 as one of his foreign policy advisers, which was confirmed by Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks to CNN.
Campaign Chair Paul Manafort was forced to resign after the New York Times revealed, "Handwritten ledgers show $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments designated for Mr. Manafort from Mr. Yanukovych's pro-Russian political party from 2007 to 2012…Investigators assert that the disbursements were part of an illegal off-the-books system whose recipients also included election officials."
Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the adviser who joined Trump for his classified intelligence briefing, has been paid by Kremlin-run RT and sat two seats down from Putin at the outlet's 10th anniversary gala. "The presence of such an important figure at Putin's table startled current and former members of the Obama administration. 'It was extremely odd that he showed up in a tuxedo to the Russian government propaganda arm's party,' one former Pentagon official told me. Like Trump, Flynn has advocated forging closer ties with Russia."
Mike McSherry, an aide who helped lead Trump's convention strategy, worked alongside Manafort and Gates to lobby for Putin puppet Yanukovych.
Howard Lorber, a Trump economic adviser, traveled with Trump to Moscow in the 1990s seeking real estate deals. Lorber was just the the "latest in a long list of relationships that give Trump a financial stake in warm U.S.-Russian relations."
Boris Epshteyn, a senior Trump adviser and surrogate, moderated a 2013 forum at the "Invest In Moscow!" Conference and has echoed Kremlin talking points on TV. As a surrogate for Donald Trump's campaign he argued that Russia has not seized Crimea from Ukraine, even though Vladimir Putin seized the region more than two years ago. While discussing the GOP nominee's recent remarks about Putin on CNN Sunday, campaign surrogate Boris Epshteyn said, "First of all, Russia did not seize Crimea."
Richard Burt, who has been an adviser to Trump and helped write his first major foreign policy speech, has deep ties to Russia as well. Burt sits on the board of directors for the US-Russia Business Council, formerly sat on the senior advisory board of Russia's Alfa Bank, and has argued against U.S. sanctions on Russia.
Michael Caputo, a former top Trump adviser who also recently resigned, had a contract with Russian conglomerate Gazprom Media in 2000 to improve Putin's image in the United States.
12) Trump allies, WikiLeaks and Russia pushed a nonsensical conspiracy theory about the DNC hacks. "Trump campaign surrogates are fueling a conspiracy theory that a murdered Democratic National Committee staffer was connected to the hacking of the DNC, a theory being pushed by WikiLeaks and the Russian state-controlled press. Some experts have gone as far as to say that Putin is explicitly using Trump to further his agenda."
13) Even top Republicans have raised serious concerns about Trump's relationship with Putin's Russia. 50 G.O.P officials warned that Donald Trump would put the nation's security at risk: "They viewed Mr. Trump's comments on NATO as an abandonment of America's most significant alliance relationship. Mr. Trump has said throughout his campaign that he intends to upend Republican foreign policy orthodoxy on everything from trade to Russia, where he has been complimentary of President Vladimir V. Putin, saying nothing about its crackdown on human rights and little about its annexation of Crimea."
14) Top Democrats on four House committees that oversee national security on Friday called on the FBI to investigate Donald Trump's purported ties to the Russian government and its alleged hacking of Democratic groups and operatives.
15) Trump has praised Putin for a decade, and Putin has returned the favor.
Trump, 2007: "[Putin's] doing a great job. In rebuilding the image of Russia and also rebuilding Russia period. Forget about image."
Trump, 2011: "I often speak highly [of Putin] for his intelligence and no-nonsense way…. Putin has also announced his grand vision: the creation of a 'Eurasian Union' made up of former Soviet nations that can dominate the region. I respect Putin…"
Trump, 2013, on Putin's NYT op-ed denouncing American exceptionalism: "I thought he did an amazing job…. He's making him look like a — he's the professor and the President is a school child… He really becomes with this letter, almost, the world leader"
Trump, 2013: "Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow – if so, will he become my new best friend?"
Washington Post on Trump's 2013 Miss Universe Contest in Moscow: "Putin canceled at the last minute, but he sent a decorative lacquered box, a traditional Russian gift, and a warm note"
Trump, 2014: "Putin has become a big hero in Russia with an all time high popularity."
Trump, 2015: "In terms of leadership, [Putin's] getting an 'A,' and our president is not doing so well."
Putin, 2015 on Trump: "He's a really brilliant and talented person, without any doubt."
Trump, 2016: "[Putin] called me a genius, I'm going to disavow it? Are you crazy? Can you believe it? How stupid are they."
AP, 2016: Russia's Putin Reaffirms Praise for Trump, Calling Him 'Bright'
Source: http://hillaryclinton.com
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