Australian brokerage officially announced that it will stop charging fees for clients' payments processing.
Online foreign exchange and CFDs brokerage DMM FX has announced that starting from Monday (February 8th, 2016) it is waiving all fees on deposits and withdrawals. The policy will take effect from 10:00PM (GMT). The new fees structure includes all deposits and withdrawals for transactions above 1000 units of base currency (or 100,000 units when in Japanese yen).
In the terms and conditions of the offering we find that DMM FX reserves the right to refuse the payment of funds if it would lead to a negative balance on the client's account after the payment order is processed. Should the withdrawal be unsuccessful due to incorrect banking or payment details provided by the client, the brokerage will charge the standard fee when processing the new payment request.
As for the new DMM FX withdrawals policy, we are seeing the offering as a response to an ongoing trend. While more and more brokers choose to lower their commissions and fees charged on deposits and withdrawals, peers in the industry have little choice but to follow through in a market which is already highly competitive.
The change comes after DMM FX's has been introducing upgrades to its offering during last few months. In December 2015, the Australian branch of DMM FX introduced the MT4 WebTrader, joining IC Markets as the second brokerage to deliver the product in the region. The step was taken due to increasing customer demand and has since grown into a full blown trend for all MT4 brokers.


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Meriden City Council hears presentation on budget surplus
Meriden City Hall, Thurs., Mar. 14, 2019. Dave Zajac, Record-Journal
By Matthew Zabierek, Record-Journal staff
MERIDEN — The City Council in the coming weeks will need to decide what to do with a projected $1 million surplus left over from Fiscal Year 2018-19.
One option that councilors will consider is using the money on various approved capital projects -- such as library renovations, new hangars at Meriden Markham Airport, and a new banquet facility at Hunter Golf Course. Finance Director Michael Lupkas said other possible uses include applying the funds toward next fiscal year's 2020-2021 budget, effectively lowering the burden on taxpayers, or allowing the money to roll into the city's "rainy day fund," which is currently funded at levels below standards set by the city's own financial policies.
Lupkas on Tuesday presented details about the surplus to the council's Finance Committee on Tuesday.
Lupkas told councilors that when the city completes its annual audit later this year, it expects to finish with a total surplus of $1.6 million. That figure includes $632,000 in unanticipated revenue the city received as a result of the past misevaluation of Eversource Energy's personal property. The City Council voted earlier this year to set aside that $632,000 and use it to replenish the city's rainy day fund, which is currently funded below levels recommended by the city's adopted financial policies. Lupkas said that leaves about $1 million of the surplus money for the council to spend on certain expenses if it chooses. If the council decides to not spend the money on anything, the money would get rolled into the city's rainy day fund.
Lupkas told councilors he wouldn't recommend they use the one-time funds on recurring expenses such as salaries or maintenance items. In his presentation to the Finance Committee, Lupkas included a list of possible uses for the money that department heads have suggested recently. The library, airport hangar, and banquet facility projects were included on that list, along with a "cell block conversion" project suggested by police (estimated to cost $450,000) and a "downtown district playground, basketball court and/or skatepark (no cost listed).
The list also included items the city removed from its budget or capital improvement plan in the latest budget process, including a city-wide computer replacement (estimated to cost $90,000), a virtual/physical desktop deployment ($220,000), a fire department storage structure ($200,000), a complete repaving of Centennial/Oregon Ave. ($200,000), and police administration vehicles ($150,000). The Parks and Recreation Department also requested the following wishlist items: a pickup truck and plow ($50,000), a splash pad at Hubbard Park ($75,000), a sidewalk plow ($35,000), and a "3-point hitch aerator" ($20,000).
Councilors on Tuesday did not discuss how to use the surplus money. City Manager Tim Coon expects the subject will be raised in the coming weeks. Lupkas told councilors it's "preferable" that they make a decision by the end of September because otherwise the money will get rolled into the city's rainy day fund. If the council then chooses to take the money back out and spend it next year, it would show up as a deficit on the city's fund balance sheet because the city's fund balance would have dropped year-over-year.
MERIDEN — Local and federal officials spoke about the importance of remembering Martin Luther King...
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Municipal offices are closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.In Meriden, the annu...
Frustrated by state family violence program, alleged victim speaks out in Meriden
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Glasgow Airport Commuter Carshare
Welcome to Glasgow Airport Commuter
I am delighted to welcome you to the Glasgow Airport Staff Commuter Website. This portal provides information for staff to help you choose a cheaper, greener and healthier way to travel to and from the airport.
In recent years we have invested and upgraded various transport options to provide you greater flexibility and choice when travelling to work, alongside improved facilities at the airport. This work is ongoing with a particular focus on healthier, more sustainable access.
I hope you find the website useful when deciding how to travel to the airport, and remember - we are "on a journey together"!
Staff Travel Plan
Use Traveline Scotland to find your route by various forms of transport.
Glasgow Airport has a number of bus services connecting directly with the local area and further afield. Staff working at the airport can take advantage of discounts on bus travel. For more information on discounted bus travel please visit the Travel and Visitor Information Hub in Domestic Arrivals.
McGill's bus services timetable & routemap
First airport bus services timetable & routemap
Citylink airport bus services timetable & routemap
ScotRail services
Ride-to-Work
Ride-to-Work is a cycle leasing scheme for Glasgow Airport Ltd employees only. Ride-to-Work can save you around 30% off the cost of purchasing a new bike to travel to and from the airport. Glasgow Airport has good connections to the local cycling network, including a new bespoke route running east/west through the campus alongside the runway through the Paisley Moss nature reserve. We have cycle parking provided at key points across the campus including racks, shelters and cycle lockers. Our cycling facilities can be found here. Twenty minutes of gentle cycling burns up to 100 calories!
FAQs and 6 steps
In partnership with SPT Journeyshare


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5 Player Prop Bets to Target for Bengals at Titans
Updated Big 12 Championship Odds for 2021
Mike Noblin | May 23, 2021
Home » CFB » Updated Big 12 Championship Odds for 2021
Is it September yet? The NBA Playoffs, NHL Playoffs, and even the PGA Championship are fun to bet on, but we all know that football will always be a king amongst hardcore sports investors! Fear not, my fellow sports bettors! September will be here before we know it and our wagering lives will be complete once again!
One fun way to pass the time is to check out the college football futures odds and see if there is any value on the board to get down on. Today we will check out the Big 12 Championship odds and cover three teams that may be worth putting a few dollars on. First things first, here are the current odds from the fine folks over at Fanduel Sportsbook:
Current CFB National Championship Odds
Updated Odds from FanDuel
Oklahoma -175
Iowa State +250
Texas +700
Oklahoma State +1600
TCU +1600
Baylor +3000
Kansas State +5000
West Virginia +5000
Texas Tech +8000
Kansas +25000
While Oklahoma (along with Texas) are trying to make a move into the SEC, the rest of the conference is trying to find a way to take out the Sooners on the field. Oklahoma has won five straight Big 12 titles, but currently hold only a slight edge over Iowa State in the betting odds.
Favorite Bet to Win Big 12 Championship: Iowa State +250
Okay, we will admit it: We have had a man-crush on Cyclones coach Matt Campbell for quite some time. This guy is the best coach in the conference and one of the best in the country! Lincoln Riley is a brilliant offensive mind and the Sooners will be tough to beat, but we think this is the year that Iowa State gets it done in the Big 12. We are a little disappointed that the odds are only +250 on the Cyclones, but there is still some value in that number and it certainly looks better than Oklahoma's -175 odds.
Iowa State shocked Oklahoma by beating them during the regular season in 2020. The Cyclones did eventually lose to the Sooners in the conference championship game, but only by six points! Nevertheless, the win in October last year over Oklahoma will give Iowa State a nice mental boost for 2021.
Campbell and his Cyclones will not be intimidated going up against Oklahoma like most Big 12 teams are. Iowa State has all of their key starters coming back on the offensive side of the ball in QB Brock Purdy, RB Breece Hall, and TE Charlie Kolar. Purdy is a seasoned veteran who knows how to win and take good care of the football.
Hall was a unanimous All-American selection in 2020 as well as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year! Heck, this kid was even sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting last season behind five NFL draft picks! The scary thing is Hall's stat sheet may look even better in 2021 because all of the big starters on the offensive line are returning this season as well.
Kolar is an absolute beast of a man (6-6, 257 pounds) and provides Purdy a nice reliable target over the middle when protection breaks down. Kolar knows how to find the end zone as evidenced by his 17 career touchdowns. Though underrated, we expect Kolar to be a nice NFL prospect heading into next year's draft.
Best Longshot Big 12 Title Bet: West Virginia +5000
We simply cannot resist taking a flier on the Mountaineers at this 50 to 1 price tag. Neal Brown is one of the best young coaches in college football and he has this West Virginia program headed in the right direction. The 'Neers went 6-4 in 2020 and should take another giant step forward in 2021.
A new coach really is not able to develop a new program until around year number three. Guess what year this will be for Brown and his staff? Bingo, year three! So, we are getting West Virginia in what should be their best year since the Rich-Rod era, at +5000 odds at most US sportsbooks.
You may be shocked to learn that the Mountaineers defense led the conference in points per game allowed last season (20.5). Unfortunately, West Virginia does lose some key contributors on defense to the NFL. The good news is there is a strong defensive nucleus returning with guys like Dante Stills, who can really be a disruption in their opponent's backfields.
On the offensive side of the ball, Leddie Brown returns at running back after he had a breakout year in 2020! The 5-11, 210 pounder scored 11 total touchdowns and ended up with over 1,000 yards on the ground. Quarterback Jarett Doege played decently last season with 14 touchdown passes. However, the Lubbock native must take his game to a higher level in order to keep defenses from stacking the box and keying on Leddie Brown.
Bonus Bet for Big 12 Championship: Texas +700
Is Texas finally back? Shoot, everyone in Austin has been asking that same question since the Colt McCoy era ended back in 2009. Former head coach Tom Herman found out that everything is indeed bigger in Texas, and that especially includes the expectations for the Longhorns football program.
Poor ole Herman posted four straight winning seasons and a 32-18 overall record for Texas but the big oil-money boosters were not pleased enough to keep him around. For Longhorns fans, they now enter the exciting Steve Sarkisian era. Don't forget that Sark has a decent track record as a head coach, both at USC and at Washington. We are a big believer in Coach Sark, so we will take the 7 to 1 odds.
Sark knows how to run an offense (just look at what he did with Mac Jones at Bama) and he learned some invaluable recruiting lessons from Nick Saban. We expect Sark to do some impressive things right off the bat with this Texas offense. Running back Bijan Robinson has loads of potential and Sark will find ways to get him the ball on a more frequent basis.
The loss of QB Sam Ehlinger will sting (didn't it seem like he was there for 7 years?). However, sophomore QB Casey Thompson looks like the real deal as a legitimate dual-threat guy for the Horns. Thompson torched the Colorado Buffaloes defense in the Alamo Bowl back in January.
The Horns defense will be the team's question mark, as they lost four stud players to the NFL (mainly Joseph Ossai). However, DeMarvion Overshown will provide plenty of leadership from the linebacker position. The former safety really found his stride last season after he moved to linebacker.
Mike Noblin
Mike has been involved with sports for over 30 years. He played college baseball and has been betting on sports for more than 20 years. He has a degree is in Sports Psychology and covers the NFL and CFB for EatWatchBet. @MikeNoblin
After a Wild Card week that was full of blowouts and only one lower-seed win (49ers over Cowboys) we have made it to the final eight, or as most people call it, the Divisional Round. Now is when we find out who is truly a Super Bowl contender, and who is just here because they […]
Best Player Prop Bets for 49ers at Packers - NFC Divisional Round
We've made it to the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs, which means that only 8 teams are left in the race for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. One of the most intriguing matchups this weekend pits the San Francisco 49ers against the Green Bay Packers. These two teams have had some iconic battles in the […]
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text:
Evaluation of 99Tcm nonspecific polyclonal IgG in the detection of rejection in a single lung transplant canine model
G. Larcos, A. J. McLarty, C. McGregor, M. L. Brown, J. C. Hung, M. K. O'connor, H. D. Tazelaar
Acute rejection is an important cause of graft failure in single lung transplantation, however, current noninvasive tests are neither sensitive nor specific for this diagnosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether 99Tcm-labelled human nonspecific polyclonal IgG (99Tcm-lgG) may serve as a marker for acute pulmonary rejection following allotransplantation in a dog model. Seventeen mongrel dogs were studied, including four controls and thirteen dogs which underwent surgery [right autotransplant recipient (n = 4), right unmodified allotransplant recipient (n = 5), and right immunosuppressed allotransplant recipient (n = 4)]. At 6 days following surgery, all dogs received 67Ga-citrate and 99Tcm-IgG. Two days later all dogs were sacrificed. Post-mortem examination revealed acute lung rejection in nine animals. No significant difference was found in the percentage uptake of both 99Tcm-IgG and 67Ga-citrate per gram of tissue between rejecting and nonrejecting transplanted lungs. In cases of moderate to severe rejection (n — 5), only 67Ga-citrate showed a significant difference (P = 0.03) in uptake between rejecting and contralateral native lungs, respectively. We conclude that 99Tcm-IgG does not accurately identify acute lung rejection in the early postoperative period.
Nuclear medicine communications
Dive into the research topics of 'Evaluation of 99Tcm nonspecific polyclonal IgG in the detection of rejection in a single lung transplant canine model'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Canidae Medicine & Life Sciences 100%
Immunoglobulin G Medicine & Life Sciences 86%
Dogs Medicine & Life Sciences 82%
Citric Acid Medicine & Life Sciences 74%
Lung Transplantation Medicine & Life Sciences 26%
Autografts Medicine & Life Sciences 24%
Larcos, G., McLarty, A. J., McGregor, C., Brown, M. L., Hung, J. C., O'connor, M. K., & Tazelaar, H. D. (1993). Evaluation of 99Tcm nonspecific polyclonal IgG in the detection of rejection in a single lung transplant canine model. Nuclear medicine communications, 14(1), 64-69. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006231-199301000-00012
Evaluation of 99Tcm nonspecific polyclonal IgG in the detection of rejection in a single lung transplant canine model. / Larcos, G.; McLarty, A. J.; McGregor, C.; Brown, M. L.; Hung, J. C.; O'connor, M. K.; Tazelaar, H. D.
In: Nuclear medicine communications, Vol. 14, No. 1, 01.1993, p. 64-69.
Larcos, G, McLarty, AJ, McGregor, C, Brown, ML, Hung, JC, O'connor, MK & Tazelaar, HD 1993, 'Evaluation of 99Tcm nonspecific polyclonal IgG in the detection of rejection in a single lung transplant canine model', Nuclear medicine communications, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 64-69. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006231-199301000-00012
Larcos G, McLarty AJ, McGregor C, Brown ML, Hung JC, O'connor MK et al. Evaluation of 99Tcm nonspecific polyclonal IgG in the detection of rejection in a single lung transplant canine model. Nuclear medicine communications. 1993 Jan;14(1):64-69. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006231-199301000-00012
Larcos, G. ; McLarty, A. J. ; McGregor, C. ; Brown, M. L. ; Hung, J. C. ; O'connor, M. K. ; Tazelaar, H. D. / Evaluation of 99Tcm nonspecific polyclonal IgG in the detection of rejection in a single lung transplant canine model. In: Nuclear medicine communications. 1993 ; Vol. 14, No. 1. pp. 64-69.
@article{9d39d9da1acb420d926cfe6ac37bb745,
title = "Evaluation of 99Tcm nonspecific polyclonal IgG in the detection of rejection in a single lung transplant canine model",
abstract = "Acute rejection is an important cause of graft failure in single lung transplantation, however, current noninvasive tests are neither sensitive nor specific for this diagnosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether 99Tcm-labelled human nonspecific polyclonal IgG (99Tcm-lgG) may serve as a marker for acute pulmonary rejection following allotransplantation in a dog model. Seventeen mongrel dogs were studied, including four controls and thirteen dogs which underwent surgery [right autotransplant recipient (n = 4), right unmodified allotransplant recipient (n = 5), and right immunosuppressed allotransplant recipient (n = 4)]. At 6 days following surgery, all dogs received 67Ga-citrate and 99Tcm-IgG. Two days later all dogs were sacrificed. Post-mortem examination revealed acute lung rejection in nine animals. No significant difference was found in the percentage uptake of both 99Tcm-IgG and 67Ga-citrate per gram of tissue between rejecting and nonrejecting transplanted lungs. In cases of moderate to severe rejection (n — 5), only 67Ga-citrate showed a significant difference (P = 0.03) in uptake between rejecting and contralateral native lungs, respectively. We conclude that 99Tcm-IgG does not accurately identify acute lung rejection in the early postoperative period.",
author = "G. Larcos and McLarty, {A. J.} and C. McGregor and Brown, {M. L.} and Hung, {J. C.} and O'connor, {M. K.} and Tazelaar, {H. D.}",
journal = "Nuclear Medicine Communications",
T1 - Evaluation of 99Tcm nonspecific polyclonal IgG in the detection of rejection in a single lung transplant canine model
AU - Larcos, G.
AU - McLarty, A. J.
AU - McGregor, C.
AU - Brown, M. L.
AU - Hung, J. C.
AU - O'connor, M. K.
AU - Tazelaar, H. D.
N2 - Acute rejection is an important cause of graft failure in single lung transplantation, however, current noninvasive tests are neither sensitive nor specific for this diagnosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether 99Tcm-labelled human nonspecific polyclonal IgG (99Tcm-lgG) may serve as a marker for acute pulmonary rejection following allotransplantation in a dog model. Seventeen mongrel dogs were studied, including four controls and thirteen dogs which underwent surgery [right autotransplant recipient (n = 4), right unmodified allotransplant recipient (n = 5), and right immunosuppressed allotransplant recipient (n = 4)]. At 6 days following surgery, all dogs received 67Ga-citrate and 99Tcm-IgG. Two days later all dogs were sacrificed. Post-mortem examination revealed acute lung rejection in nine animals. No significant difference was found in the percentage uptake of both 99Tcm-IgG and 67Ga-citrate per gram of tissue between rejecting and nonrejecting transplanted lungs. In cases of moderate to severe rejection (n — 5), only 67Ga-citrate showed a significant difference (P = 0.03) in uptake between rejecting and contralateral native lungs, respectively. We conclude that 99Tcm-IgG does not accurately identify acute lung rejection in the early postoperative period.
AB - Acute rejection is an important cause of graft failure in single lung transplantation, however, current noninvasive tests are neither sensitive nor specific for this diagnosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether 99Tcm-labelled human nonspecific polyclonal IgG (99Tcm-lgG) may serve as a marker for acute pulmonary rejection following allotransplantation in a dog model. Seventeen mongrel dogs were studied, including four controls and thirteen dogs which underwent surgery [right autotransplant recipient (n = 4), right unmodified allotransplant recipient (n = 5), and right immunosuppressed allotransplant recipient (n = 4)]. At 6 days following surgery, all dogs received 67Ga-citrate and 99Tcm-IgG. Two days later all dogs were sacrificed. Post-mortem examination revealed acute lung rejection in nine animals. No significant difference was found in the percentage uptake of both 99Tcm-IgG and 67Ga-citrate per gram of tissue between rejecting and nonrejecting transplanted lungs. In cases of moderate to severe rejection (n — 5), only 67Ga-citrate showed a significant difference (P = 0.03) in uptake between rejecting and contralateral native lungs, respectively. We conclude that 99Tcm-IgG does not accurately identify acute lung rejection in the early postoperative period.
JO - Nuclear Medicine Communications
JF - Nuclear Medicine Communications


Carillion Energy Services has been named as the preferred bidder for an ambitious scheme to end fuel poverty among thousands of low income Birmingham households.
The firm is set to be the city council's private sector partner delivering the Birmingham Energy Savers scheme, which is backed by £2.6 million of Government funding.
Some 60,000 homes stand to benefit from improvements including insulation and new boilers by 2020, and will see their energy bills drop by up to £300 a year.
Homes where the estimated saving on bills equals or exceeds the cost of the improvement work will qualify.
Payment for the improvements is recovered in instalments through energy bills.
The scheme, one of the largest in the country, will make Birmingham a "cleaner and greener" place to live and work in, according to cabinet member James McKay.
Coun McKay (Lab Harborne) said: "This decision represents a major milestone in Birmingham's green ambitions, and demonstrates that the social justice and environmental agendas go hand-in-hand with each other.
"It will reduce energy bills for citizens by up to £300 per year – taking up to 40,000 people out of fuel poverty by 2015 – create jobs in the technology supply chain and ensure that there are less carbon emissions from the city.
Carillion Energy Services managing director Nigel Taylor said: "The strength of our bid is in how we will work with communities, our supply chain, small businesses and social enterprises such as Groundwork to deliver a very local solution which leaves as much economic and social value as possible in Birmingham.


Nice to meet you; I'm Tony.
As the newest member of the Alliance Healthcare Professional team, I figured I would take this opportunity to write my first blog to introduce myself to the rest of the team, clinic patients and visitors. It is my hope to use this outlet with some regularity (ideally bi-weekly) to introduce and educate the public on massage therapy and other topics pertaining to massage treatment and health.
I graduated from Brock University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Political Science. Despite my best intentions, I recognized pretty early on in my studies that my conscience and morality would be a serious detriment to a career in politics. Oddly, I have never craved public approval so the idea of spending any time convincing the general masses that I am acting in their best interests did not appeal to me. I have never been a salesman and I do not imagine I would ever be a good one.
I accepted a few dead-end jobs – I had student loans to repay – before eventually entering the burgeoning Information Technology (IT) field in 2002. I caught break when my best friend offered me an opportunity to join a small start-up company (ie. Ranger Online) with lofty dreams. It didn't take long before I was cut up in the rat race of working long hours in the hopes of a huge financial windfall. In a short period of time, we did enjoy a lot of success though Ranger Online was not immune to the IT bubble burst.
Oddly, I had worked many physically laborous jobs in my life but it wasn't until I began my career with Ranger Online working 60-70 hours a week being seated at a computer terminal before I began experiencing pain. Although I had been physically active almost my entire life — including playing organized soccer, football, baseball, hockey in addition to playing those same activities recreationally with friends on almost a daily basis — I never experienced any major or even minor injury, for that matter. I had never experienced a broken bone or even had tonsils removed, for that matter, so I had very little need or knowledge of the health-care industry and services.
After a year of enjoying a sedentary lifestyle, I gradually began experiencing a constant dull ache in my mid-back that was aggravated following an extended period of time sitting in front of the computer. I lived with the discomfort and managed it — which included having coworkers walking on my back — until I reached my pain threshold and decided to seek some professional help. I was made aware that my extended health benefits included massage therapy — massage therapy seemed like a logical course of treatment — and sought my family doctor for a referral.
I hadn't known anybody who had ever had a massage and could offer a referral to a particular therapist. So I looked for a therapist in the yellow pages and selected a random therapist working out of a multidisciplinary clinic. The initial visit was fairly uneventful — the R.M.T. did not perform an assessment of any kind and simply inquired about my symptoms — but I was very pleased with the results. My pain was constant pain from the day it began and following my initial massage treatment, I enjoyed about a week from symptoms. I continued with a few additional treatments on a bi-weekly basis but I noticed that each subsequent treatment the effects did not last nearly as long as the previous. I decided to try new massage therapists and over the years — as I continued in the same sedentary lifestyle and career though with different companies — and visited with as many as 7 different therapists before finally settling with a therapist. Since becoming a massage therapist I've experienced many more therapists.
In 2005, at the age of 31 and my wife expecting our first child, I decided to complicate everything and undergo a career change. With the help of Nicholas Lore's "The Pathfinder: How to choose or change your career for a lifetime of satisfaction and success", I eventually came to the conclusion that becoming a Registered Massage Therapist (R.M.T.) would fulfill my professional requirements. I was enrolled in the Canadian Therapeutic College (C.T.C.) massage therapy program (2-year full-time program) a few weeks later and began class a few days after our first child (Liam) was born. Despite the difficulties of raising a young child while keeping up with scholastic responsibilities, I found it advantageous to return to school as an "adult" student. Although the course was more challenging than I ever expected, I can proudly say I exceeded my own expectations.
While massage school introduced us to the basics of massage therapy, it didn't take long to appreciate the enormous scope of massage therapy and manual treatment. The possibilities are endless and only limited by the practitioner. A good manual therapist requires becoming a lifelong student. It's a huge commitment of time, energy and money but the reward is priceless. It's a privilege to meet new people who entrust you with their care… so that you can share and practice all the amazing knowledge and skills you've developed so that you can apply it for their benefit and good health. My patients motivate me to become a better therapist every day.


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Personal-Website
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My Portfolio Website (under construction)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Are you using Facebook too much?
New tools from Facebook and Instagram let users track their time spent within the apps. By empowering users to curb their browsing habits, Facebook appears to be betting on long-term growth over short-term profitability.
Instagram is experimenting with IGTV carousels in the main feed. Aiming to boost awareness and usage of its new feature, Instagram will begin surfacing IGTV content at the top of the main app and outside of the standalone hub.
YouTube's website now supports vertical videos without black bars. This update puts YouTube more in line with its rival platforms as brands and users continue producing content meant for mobile viewing.
Last weekend, Domino's let hungry Snapchat users order a pizza directly through the app via a shoppable augmented reality lens.
No two Twitter users are alike, and each CMO offers their own lens through which they view their industry, marketing, and the world. From IBM's Michelle Peluso to Mastercard's Raja Rajamannar, here are the top 12 we recommend following.
On the latest episode of "All the Social Ladies," Likeable CEO Carrie Kerpen chats with Heidi Zak, co-founder and co-CEO of ThirdLove, about how to evolve your marketing mix as a company scales and why brands need to create content that reflects real people.


Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) brought the curtain down on the Canadian WorldTour races on Sunday with a win in the GP Montreal. The victory cemented his 'double' after winning the GP Quebec last week.
The two races also saw the end of Simon Gerrans' WorldTour career. The Australian was the last rider to win the Canadian double, back in 2014, and we discuss his career and extensive palmares, as well as Matthews', who exclusively talks to Cyclingnews about how he modeled his recent performances on Gerrans' 2014 displays.
We also discuss the relevance and stature of the Canadian races – both in terms of their importance to the North American scene but also the global calendar. Hosted by Daniel Benson and Kirsten Frattini, we also debate the need for a women's WorldTour race in Canada after the UCI president David Lappartient visited Montreal and issued part of his blue print to improve women's cycling.
This podcast brought to you in association with Prendas Ciclismo, Pinarello and Floyds of Leadville.


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Saint Onuphrius is a tempera painting created by Emmanuel Tzanes.  Tzanes is one of the most important Greek painters of the 17th century.  He was active in Crete, Corfu, and Venice, Italy.  Both of his brothers were painters.  He has a massive art catalog attributed to him.  According to the Hellenic Institute over one hundred thirty of his works survived.  He belongs to the Late Cretan School and Heptanese School of painting.  He was part of the movement that introduced Flemish Engravings into the Greek world.

Saint Onuphrius lived in seclusion in the desert of Upper Egypt.  He was from Ethiopia.  The name Onuphrius is a Hellenized version of the Coptic name Unnufer from the Egyptian word wnn-nfr meaning the perfect one.  He was a monk near Thebes.  He studied law and philosophy before becoming a monk.  He eventually left the monastery and lived in the desert for over sixty years.  The only visitor he had to his monastic cell was an angel who delivered sacred bread every night. He also ate dates from desert palm trees. During his final days on earth, he was visited by a man named Paphnutius.

When Paphnutius first saw him he was a scary wild figure covered with hair and wearing a loincloth of leaves.  He frightened Paphnutius.  He ran away from the scary homeless-looking man. The figure cried out: "Come down to me, man of God, for I am a man also, dwelling in the desert for the love of God."  Paphnutius followed the wild-looking half-naked man.  He told him that he was a hermit living in isolation for over seventy years for God.  He endured extreme discomforts such as hunger and thirst.  An angel brought him to this place.  Paphnutius stayed with him for the night.  Bread and water miraculously appeared outside of the hermit's cell.  Paphnutius recorded the story and his story.  Onuphrius became a saint.  He is venerated as Saint Onuphrius.

Countless artists have depicted the subject matter namely Greek, Spanish and Italian painters.  An early depiction of the monk can be found in the Greek Monastery of Varlaam.  Notable works were completed there by Frangos Katelanos.  Different versions were also completed by Francisco Collantes and his contemporary Jusepe de Ribera.
Another exceptional depiction similar to Tzane's work was Lorenzo Lotto's masterpiece.
Onuphrius is typically depicted with wild hair, in a leafy  perizoma or loincloth as depicted in his story.   The masterpiece is part of the collection of Rena Andreadis in Athens Greece.  The collection is frequently exhibited at the Benaki Museum.

Description

The work is composed of egg tempera paint, gold leaf, and wood panel.  The height of the work is 31.5 cm (12.4 in.) and the width of the work is 25 cm (9.8 in.).  It features a thickness of 1.7 cm (.7 in.).  In 1662, two years after Tzanes became the priest at San Giorgio dei Greci in Venice he completed the masterpiece.  It is considered one of the painter's mature works.  The work is an emblem of the evolution of the Cretan School and reflective of the mannerisms of the Heptanese School.  Artists of the Ionian Islands began to humanize their figures.  They paid attention to the human anatomy.  Their painting style reflected the physical human form.  Onuphrius is covered in finely painted grey and white hair.  His long hair is knee-length.  Long hair lines are clearly visible.  His facial expression and pose are humble and unpretentious.  He holds a wooden cane.  The painter reflects the humanistic side of the heavenly saint.

His ribs are clearly visible reflecting the true nature of   Onuphriu's lifestyle. His face arms and legs feature humanistic elderly wrinkles.  The painter clearly demonstrates the figure's knees and elbows.  Tzanes also adds a magnificent palm tree growing out of the mountain.  A beautiful waterfall is also flowing from the mountain into a stream. It appears to our right in the lower portion of the painting.  This is the place Onuphrius ate and drank.  To our left, the painter adds a magnificent landscape establishing a foreground, a middle ground, and a background.  The painting is three-dimensional.  A cave appears to our left with an opening.  The artist clearly defines his monastic cell.  It is in the middle ground behind a tree.  Three mountains appear in the background.  A dove is also present signifying the Holy Spirit.

The icon is full of Greek inscriptions.  The top features the term.  Ὁ ἉΓΙΟC ΟΝΟΥΦΡΙΟΣ — HO HAGIOS ONOUPHRIOS  [The] Holy Onuphrius.   Onuphrius is also featured holding a scroll with the Greek inscription:  ΟΣΤΙΣ ΔΩΡΟ[Ν] ΦΕΡΕΙ ΕΙΣ ΤΗΝ ΕΜΗΝ ΑΝΑΜΝΗΣΙΝ ΚΑΜΕ ΕΥΡΗΣΕΙ
ΠΡΟΣ Τ[ΟΝ] ΘΕΟΝ ΠΡΟΣ-
ΤΑΤΗΝ OSTIS DORON PHEREI EIS TEN EMEN ANAMNESIN KAME EURISEI PROS TON THEON PROSTATEN (Who a gift brings in my memory, will find me a protector/patron before God).  The artist also signed his work: ΧΕΙΡ ΕΜΜΑΝΟΥΗΛ ἹΕΡΕΩC
ΤΖΑΝΕ ΤΟΥ ΕΚ ΡΗΘΗΜΝΗC CHEIR EMMANOUEL HIEREOS
TZANE TOU EK RETHEMNES "[the] hand of Emmanuel Priest
Tzane[s] the-one from Rethymnon" The date given is 1662.

Gallery

References

Bibliography

17th-century paintings
Paintings in Greece
Paintings of the Heptanese School
Paintings by Emmanuel Tzanes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: UIImages Show Up On Simulator But Not Device I'm using a Web Service that returns images which I put into a tableviewcell. I can see these images on the iPhone simulator, but they don't show up on the device. Here is the code for me getting the image:
NSString *imgurlString = bestPageDictionary[@"image_url"];
NSURL *imageURL = [NSURL URLWithString:imgurlString];
NSData *imageData = [NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:imageURL];
UIImage *zeeimageForCell = [UIImage imageWithData:imageData];
[dVC setItemDisplayImage:zeeimageForCell];

A: Because you are downloading image from calling a URL. Might be connection lost or data lost.  Please download it via using any third party such EGOImageLoadingUIImageView or sdWebImageview.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
ECCLESIASTES, BOOK OF:
By: Morris Jastrow, Jr., David Samuel Margoliouth
Name and Authorship.
The name "Ecclesiastes"—literally, "Member of an Assembly," often thought to mean (after Jerome) "Preacher"—is the Septuagint rendering of the Hebrew "Ḳohelet," apparently as an intensive formation from the root "ḳahal," with which such forms as the Arabic "rawiyyah" (professional reciter) have been compared. The Hebrew word is given by the author of the book as his name, sometimes with the article (xii. 8, and probably vii. 27), but ordinarily without it: similar license is allowed in Arabic in the case of some common nouns used as proper names. The author represents himself as the son of David, and king over Israel in Jerusalem (i. 1, 12, 16; ii. 7, 9). The work consists of personal or autobiographic matter, with reflections on the purpose of life and the best method of conducting it. These, the author declares, were composed by him as he increased in wisdom, were "weighed," studied" corrected, expressed in carefully chosen phrases, and correctly written out (xii. 9, 10), to be taught to the people.
The fact of the author describing himself in the foregoing style, together with his statements concerning the brilliancy of his court and his studies in philosophy (i. 13-17, ii. 4-11), led the ancients to identify him with Solomon; and this identification, which appears in the Peshiṭta, Targum, and Talmud (compare 'Er. 21b; Shab. 30a), passed unquestioned till comparatively recent times. The order of the Solomonic writings in the canon suggested that Ecclesiastes was written before Canticles (Rashi on B. B. 14b); whereas another tradition made their composition simultaneous, or put Ecclesiastes last (Seder 'Olam Rabbah, ed. Ratner, p. 66, with the editor's notes). The fact that Kohelet speaks of his reign in the past tense (i. 12) suggested that the book was written on Solomon's death-bed (ib.). Another way of accounting for it was to suppose that Solomon composed it during the period in which he was driven from his throne (Giṭ. 68b), a legend which may have originated from this passage. The canonicity of the book was, however, long doubtful (Yad. iii. 5; Meg. 7a), and was one of the matters on which the school of Shammai took a more stringent view than the school of Hillel; it was finally settled "on the day whereon R. Eleazar b. Azariah was appointed head of the assembly." Endeavors were made to render it apocryphal on the ground of its not being inspired (Tosef., Yad. ii. 14; ed. Zuckermandel, p. 683), or of its internal contradictions (Shab. 30b), or of a tendency which it displayed toward heresy—that is, Epicureanism (Pesiḳ., ed. Buber, viii. 68b); but these objections were satisfactorily answered (see S. Schiffer, "Das Buch Ḳohelet," Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1884). It was assumed that Solomon had taken the name "Ḳohelet," just as he had taken the name "Agur" (Prov. xxx. 1), as a collector (see, further, Eppenstein, "Aus dem Ḳohelet-Kommentar des Tanchum Jeruschalmi," Berlin, 1888); and probably the Septuagint rendering represents a theory that the name contained an allusion to I Kings viii. 1, where Solomon is said to have gathered an assembly.
As to the age of the work, there is an indication of the latest date at which it could have been written in the fact that Ben Sira repeatedly quotes or imitates it (Ecclus. [Sirach] xxvii. 26, from Eccl. x. 8, verbatim [comp. LXX.]; xviii. 5, from Eccl. iii. 14, inverted, probably for metrical reasons; xxx. 21, from Eccl. xi. 10; xxxiv. 5b, from Eccl. v. 9; xiii. 21, 22, after Eccl. ix. 16; xxxvii. 14, after Eccl. vii. 19; xxxiv. 1, after Eccl. v. 11; comp. "The Wisdom of Ben Sira," ed. Schechter and Taylor, Introduction, pp. 13 et seq., and p. 26, note 2). Since Ben Sira declares himself a compiler from the Old Testament (xxiv. 28), whereas Ecclesiastes claims originality (xii. 9, 10), it seems certain, in the case of close agreement between the two books, that Ben Sira must be the borrower. This fact gives some date about 250 or 300 B.C. as the latest possible for the composition of the book in its present form; for this repeated borrowing implies that Ben Sira regarded it as part of his canon, which would scarcely contain any works that had been produced in his lifetime. With this fact the nature of Ben Sira's language, as preserved in Talmudic quotations, agrees; for such decided Neo-Hebraisms as ("business"), ("lest"), and ("authorize") are not found in Ecclesiastes, though, had they been in vogue in the author's time, he would have had constant occasion to employ them. He uses instead (vii. 16, 17; also used in the Phenician Eshmunazar inscription), and . Though allusions to Ecclesiastes arenot common in the New Testament, Matt. xxiii. 23, R. V., "These ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone," seems clearly a reminiscence of Eccl. vii. 18. It is therefore necessary to reject all theories that bring the book down to a date later than 250 B.C., including that of Graetz, who regarded it as Herodian—in which he is followed by Leimdörfer (Erlangen, 1891), who makes Simeon ben Shetaḥ the author—and that of Renan, who places it somewhere before 100 B.C. These theories are largely based on conjectural interpretations of historical allusions, which, though often attractive, are not convincing. The Grecisms supposed to be found in the book are all imaginary (for instance, has no connection with φθέγμα the phrase "under the sun," which occurs so frequently, is also found in the Eshmunazar and Tabnith inscriptions, not later than 300 B.C., as the equivalent of "on earth"), and the suppositions as to borrowings from Greek philosophy which some have professed to detect are all fallacious (See Ad. Lods; "L'Ecclésiaste et la Philosophie Grecque," 1890).
On the other hand, there is much in the language which, with the present knowledge of Hebrew, one should be disposed to regard as characteristic of a comparatively late period. H. Grotius, in the sixteenth century, collected about a hundred words and phrases of this sort occurring in the book; but several apparent modernisms may represent usages which must have been introduced into Palestine at an early period (e.g., ש for , and the abstracts in , both from Assyrian), or words which may have been largely used in ancient times (e.g., "taḳḳen," "to correct," also Assyrian); and even in the case of some idioms which seem especially characteristic of late Hebrew, the likeliest account is that they were preserved through long ages in remote dialects (so "kebar," "already," occurring only in this book—apparently an old verb, "kabur," "it is great"; i.e., "it is a long time since"; comp. the Arabic "ṭalama"); certain Persisms, however ( , "account" [viii. 11], Persian "payghām"; , "park" [ii. 5], Zend "pairidaeza," Armenian "partez"), seem to provide a more certain clue; and that the book is post-exilic may be asserted with confidence, though how near the latest possible limit the date can be brought down can not be fixed with precision. Hence the Solomonic authorship (which few now hold) may be dismissed; nor indeed could the second king of the dynasty have spoken of "all which were in Jerusalem before me."
Beyond the fact that Ḳohelet was uncritically identified with Solomon, it seems impossible to discover any connection between the two names. The interpretation of the word "Ḳohelet" as a substantive is purely conjectural; and though the phrase rendered "masters of assemblies," but more probably signifying "authors of collections," lends some color to the rendering "collector," it is not free from grave difficulty. As a proper name, however, it might be derived from "ḳahal" in one of the Arabic senses of that root, though its use with the article would in that case constitute a difficulty; finally, it might be a foreign word. The Talmud seems rightly to call attention to the importance of the past tense in i. 12; for one who says "I was king" implies that his reign is over: he must be speaking either as a dead man or as one who has abdicated. Ḳohelet is then either a fictitious person or an adaptation of some monarch, like Al-Nu'man of Arabic mythology (Ṭabari, i. 853), who, becoming conscious of the instability of the world, abandons his throne and takes to devotion. Similarly, Ḳohelet appears to pass from king to preacher, though it is not actually stated that he abandons his throne. The references to kings in all but the earliest chapters rather imply that the author is a subject; but this may be unintentional. The author's idea of a king would seem to be modeled on the monarchs of Persia, with kings and provinces subject to them (ii. 8); and the gardens with exotics (ii. 5) and irrigated parks (ii. 6) are likely to belong to the same region.
The Israelitish name for God is nowhere employed, nor does there appear to be any reference to Judaic matters; hence there seems to be a possibility that the book is an adaptation of a work in some other language. This supposition would agree with the fact that certain of the idioms found in it are not so much late Hebrew as foreign Hebrew (e.g., vii. 24, viii. 17, xii. 9); with the frequent use of the participial present (e.g., viii. 14); with the unintelligible character of several phrases which are apparently not corrupt (e.g., iv. 17, x. 15, much of xii. 4-6); and with the want of sharpness that characterizes some of the aphorisms (e.g., x. 9). Further, the verb (xii. 9), which describes a process to which the author says he subjected his proverbs, should, on the analogy of the Arabic "wazan," refer to the numbering of syllables; and the following phrases, apparently meaning "searched out and corrected" or "carefully straightened," have the appearance of referring to metrical correctness, though their exact import is not easy to fix. Of any such formal technicality the verses of Ḳohelet bear no trace in their existing form; yet there are places where the introduction of words would be more intelligible if the author had a fixed number of syllables to make up (e.g., xii. 2, "while the sun or the light or the moon or the stars be not darkened"). If this be so, the character of the idioms noticed (e.g., xii. 9, "the wiser Ḳohelet became, the more did he teach") renders it probable that the language of the model was Indo-Germanic; and the introduction of the names "David," "Israel," and "Jerusalem," as well as the concealment of all names in the case of the anecdotes which the author introduces (e.g., iv. 13-15, ix. 14-16), is with the view of accommodating the work to Jewish taste.
In Ecclesiastes there are some continuous sections of considerable length: (1) Ḳohelet's autobiography, i. 12-ii. 26; (2) a statement of the doctrines of determinism and Epicureanism, ix. 1-12; (3) a description of death, xii. 1-8. The rest of the book is in short paragraphs or isolated aphorisms; and the author in xii. 11, 12 declares that the aphoristic style is superior to the continuous discourse—a doctrine which in modern times has been associated with the name of Bacon. In the autobiography the author states that he experimented with various forms of study, pleasure, and enterprise, in the hope of finding the meaning of the endless chain of phenomena, but that heabandoned them in disgust. The morals that he draws, however, appear to be inconsistent; since, while some verses encourage the theory that pleasure is the summum bonum, others seem to warn youth against any such view. This inconsistency, which could probably be paralleled from the works of Oriental pessimists like Omar Khayyam and Abu al-'Ala of Ma'arrah, attracted attention, as has been stated, in early times; but the various attempts that have been made to bring the author into harmony with himself are too subjective to be convincing. Thus some would regard all the edifying passages as interpolations (so Haupt, "Oriental Studies," pp. 243 et seq.); others would regard the Epicurean passages as to be read with interrogations (so some rabbis), while it has also been suggested (by Bickell, "Der Prediger") that the sheets of the book have been displaced. None of these opinions can be received without external evidence. It seems more probable, therefore, that the author expresses the varying sentiments of different moods, just as the second of the writers mentioned above alternates between orthodoxy and blasphemy.
After his personal history the author proceeds to give illustrations of more general experiences. In these he speaks as a subject rather than as a king; he cites the prevalence of injustice in the world, for which he had some tentative solutions (iii. 17, 18); later, however, he relapsed into the Epicurean conclusion (iii. 22), accentuated by further observation into pessimism (iv. 1-4). At this point he proceeds to introduce a variety of maxims, illustrated by anecdotes, leading up to the conclusion (vii. 17) that the plan of the universe is incomprehensible. Chapter ix. formulates the doctrine that men's actions and motives are all foreordained, and advises gaiety on the ground that whatever is to happen is already fixed, and that there will be no room for activity in the grave. This is emphasized by anecdotes of the unexpected happening (11-16). There follows another series of maxims leading up to a poetical description of death, and, after some observations on the value of the aphorism, to the assertion that the substance of the whole matter is "Fear God and keep his commandments, . . . for God shall bring every work into judgment" (xii. 13-14).
The felicity, wisdom, and profundity of many of the aphorisms probably endeared the book to many who might have been displeased with the Epicurean and pessimistic passages. Yet without the idea that Ḳohelet was Solomon one could scarcely imagine the work ever having been included in the canon; and had it not been adopted before the doctrine of the Resurrection became popular, it is probable that the author's views on that subject would have caused his book to be excluded therefrom. Mystical interpretation of the book began fairly early (see Ned. 32b); and the work was a favorite source of citation with those rabbis who, like Saadia, were philosophers as well as theologians.
See, besides the commentaries of Hitzig, Delitzsch, Volck-Oettli, Siegfried, and Wildeboer, the following: Ewald, Poetische Schriften des Alten, Testaments, iv.;
Renan, L'Ecclésiaste, Paris, 1882;
Graetz, Koheleth, Breslau, 1871;
C. H. H. Wright, The Book of Kohelet, London, 1883;
Bickell, Kohelet, 1886;
Plumptre, Ecclesiastes, Cambridge, 1881;
Tyler, Ecclesiastes, London, 1874;
Wünsche, Bibliotheca Rabbinica, Midrash, Koheleth, 1880;
Cheyne, Job and Solomon, London, 1887;
also the following monographs on special points: Haupt, The Book of Ecclesiastes (Oriental Studies of the Philadelphia Oriental Club), 1894;
Euringer, Der Masoratext des Kohelet, Leipsic, 1890;
Köhler, Ueber die Grundanschauungen des Buches Kohelet, Erlangen, 1885;
Bickell, Der Prediger über den Wert des Daseins, Innsbruck, 1884;
Schiffer, Das Buch Kohelet Nach der Auffassung der Weisen des Talmuds und Midrasch, 1884;
Renan, Histoire du Peuple d'Israel, vol. v., ch. xv.;
Piepenbring, Histoire du Peuple d'Israel.
For further bibliography consult Palm, Die Qoheleth Litteratur, Tübingen, 1888;
and Siegfried, Commentary, pp. 25-27.
J. Jr. D. S. M.
V:5 P:32


TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,375, May 22, 2006.
May 22, 2006, Alert No. 1,375.
5/18. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced HR 5417 [5 pages in PDF], the "Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006".
The bill would also provide exceptions "to protect the security of such network", "to give priority to emergency communications", and "to prevent a violation of a Federal or State law, or to comply with an order of a court to enforce such law".
The bill would also define the term "broadband network provider" broadly. It would mean "means a person engaged in commerce that owns, controls, operates, or resells any facility used to provide broadband network service to the public, by whatever technology and without regard to whether provided for a fee, in exchange for an explicit benefit, or for free".
The bill would also define "broadband network service" broadly. It would mean any "2-way transmission service that connects to the Internet and transmits information at an average rate of at least 200 kilobits per second in at least one direction, irrespective of whether such transmission is provided separately or as a component of another service".
Rep. Boucher (at left) stated in a release that "The measure which we are introducing will assure that the status quo is preserved and that the market power broadband providers now exercise over transmission is not extended to control of content". He added that "This measure is particularly important and timely because H.R. 5252, the Energy and Commerce Committee video franchising measure, is insufficient to ensure that broadband network providers do not abuse their market power to discriminate against competitive Internet content or services."
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) stated in the same release that "The Internet has revolutionized the way Americans communicate with one another and do business. It's just common sense to keep that revolution where it belongs--in the hands of ordinary individuals instead of a handful of big corporations. Our bill will prevent an Information Superhighway Hijacking."
This bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. It would amend antitrust law.
There is also a House Commerce Committee network neutrality bill, HR 5273, the "Network Neutrality Act of 2006 ", introduced by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) and others on May 2, 2006. See, story titled "Rep. Markey Introduces Network Neutrality Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,363, May 3, 2006.
Herschell Abbott, of BellSouth, stated in a release that "This bill proposes to fix a problem that does not exist. It proposes to regulate the internet that has developed in an atmosphere of freedom devoid of regulation. That is a bad idea. Consumers are poorly served by this legislation. The end result of this legislation is that consumers will be forced to bear the entire cost of the internet. Moreover, if network service providers cannot offer customers a quality product, something the details of this legislation would all but prohibit, then the opportunity for a bigger, better, faster broadband will be something available only in other countries. We oppose this legislation."
Earl Comstock, of Comptel, stated in a release that "Chairman Sensenbrenner and Congressman Conyers have always been staunch advocates for consumers and a competitive communications industry. This bill demonstrates that members of the House Judiciary understand the dangers posed by the reconsolidation of Ma Bell and the adverse impact that it could have on the open Internet. This bill is a great step in the right direction toward establishing much needed safeguards, especially in light of the FCC's complete capitulation to those who would restrict access to the Internet."
The Free Press, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Media Access Project and U.S. PIRG released a joint statement in support of the bill. They wrote that the bill is an "important step toward preserving a free and open Internet. From its inception, the Internet has prospered on a foundation of equality and neutrality, open to all and protected from discrimination by unnecessary gatekeepers. Network Neutrality is about preserving the Internet as truly free market that encourages competition and innovation."
5/19. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), and others introduced S 2917 [9 pages in PDF], the "Internet Freedom Preservation Act". It would amend Title I of the Communications Act by adding a section titled "Internet Neutrality".
Sen. Snowe described her bill. "The legislation we introduce today keeps the rules where they always have been, until last year. First, the bill bars network operators from blocking, degrading or impairing Internet traffic. Second, the bill ensures that network operators are not allowed to create a two-tiered Internet--an Internet that treats those who can afford to do business with large nationwide broadband providers more favorably than those who do not. Virtually everyone has called for more widespread deployment of broadband facilities: this bill ensures that those high-speed networks are available for all users of the Internet." See, Congressional Record, May 19, 2006, at Page S4840.
She also stated that "If we allow companies to set up tollbooths along the Information Superhighway, we will fundamentally alter every Internet user's experience and stifle the entrepreneurship that flourishes on the world's last remaining frontier. Network operators should not have the power to decide which Web pages load faster, which content their customers can access, and whose data has the highest priority. Network operators already enjoy near-monopolistic privileges in many markets across the country. Should this market power now be extended to messaging services, streaming video, or online shopping, just to name a few?"
Back on March 2, 2006, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who is also a cosponsor of S 2917, introduced S 2360, the "Internet Non-Discrimination Act of 2006". See, story titled "Sen. Wyden Introduces Net Neutrality Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,324, Tuesday, March 7, 2006.
5/17. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) introduced HRes 819, a two paragraph resolution regarding the National Security Agency's (NSA) access to records of communications companies.
It provides as follows. "Requesting the President and directing the Attorney General to submit to the House of Representatives all documents in the possession of the President and the Attorney General relating to requests made by the National Security Agency and other Federal agencies to telephone service providers requesting access to telephone communications records of persons in the United States and communications originating and terminating within the United States without a warrant."
"Resolved, That the President is requested and the Attorney General is directed to submit to the House of Representatives, not later than 14 days after the date of the adoption of this resolution, all documents in the possession of the President and the Attorney General, including all legal opinions, relating to requests made without a warrant by the National Security Agency or other Federal departments and agencies to telephone service providers, including wireless telephone service providers, for access to telephone communications records of persons in the United States (other than as authorized under title I of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) or chapter 119 or 121 of title 18, United States Code), subject to necessary redactions or requirements for handling classified documents."
There are no cosponsors. This resolution was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, of which Rep. Wexler is a member.
Rep. Wexler (at left) also issued a release in which he wrote that on May 12, 2006, he "sent letters to executives at AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon requesting that they immediately stop providing their customers' phone records to the National Security Agency (NSA), until an independent investigation has been conducted to determine the full scope and legality of the Bush Administration's domestic spying program."
Rep. Wexler's resolution, and his letters, follow the article published on May 11, 2006, by the USA Today that states that "The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth". See also, story titled "Bush Responds to USA Today Story Regarding NSA Database of Phone Calls" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,369, May 12, 2006, and story titled "BellSouth and Verizon Attack USA Today Story" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,372, May 17, 2006.
In addition, Rep. Wexler is a cosponsor of HR 5371, the "Lawful Intelligence and Surveillance of Terrorists in an Emergency by NSA Act", or "LISTEN Act". Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) introduced HR 5371 on May 11, 2006.
HR 5371 provides, in part, that "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, chapters 119 and 121 of title 18, United States Code, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) shall be the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance may be conducted."
5/19. A grand jury of the U.S. District Court (CDCal) returned a superceding indictment [105 pages in PDF] that charges the law firm of Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman (MWBS), David J. Bershad (a partner in MWBS), Steven G. Schulman (a partner in MWBS), Seymour M. Lazar (a frequent class action plaintiff), and Paul T. Selzer (an attorney of Lazar) with various crimes associated with the bringing class action cases (including securities cases).
The indictment, which covers the time period of 1981 through 2005, alleges various crimes associated with the payment of kickbacks to named plaintiffs in class action lawsuits filed by MWBS. It alleges that Bershad and Schulman "and others known and unknown to the Grand Jury agreed to and did secretly pay kickbacks to named plaintiffs in class actions and shareholder derivative actions in which MILBERG WEISS served as counsel."
Moreover, the indictment alleges that to conceal these illegal kickbacks, the defendants engaged "in various fraudulent and deceptive acts, practices, and devices".
The indictment alleges the payment of illegal kickbacks in class actions against Infinity Broadcasting, Barnesandnoble.com, Sun Microsystems, and numerous other publicly traded companies.
MWBS responded in a release that "The government's allegations of wrongdoing have been categorically denied by the indicted partners, and the firm intends to join with them in vigorously defending against the charges."
It continued that "The government's insistence that the firm waive attorney-client privileges as a condition to avoiding indictment is in derogation of one of the bedrock principles of American law and extended to parties the firm did not control. Governmental insistence on such broad waivers has been criticized by the American Bar Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and is currently being reviewed by Congress. The prosecutors also insisted that the firm make unfounded statements accusing its own partners of crimes and otherwise become an agent for the government. Unfortunately, the prosecutors insisted on indicting the firm unless it made these impossible concessions."
Lisa Rickard, President of the U.S. Chamber's Institute for Legal Reform (ILR), stated in a release "The Chamber has long been concerned about the questionable practices of Milberg Weiss and has repeatedly sought an investigation into their activities by the Federal Government". However, she continued that "Apparently, the Justice Department based its decision to indict Milberg Weiss, at least in part, on the firm's refusal to waive its attorney-client privilege. The Chamber opposes any attempt to deny the constitutional right to attorney-client privilege to individuals and organizations. While there are many ways to demonstrate cooperation in an investigation, it is fundamentally wrong for anyone to be denied the right to consult freely and confidentially with their attorney."
The indictment alleges violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (conspiracy), 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) (racketeering conspiracy), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341 & 1346 (mail fraud), 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h) (money laundering conspiracy), 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(B)(i) (money laundering), 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1) (subscribing to false tax return), 18 U.S.C. § 1503 (obstruction of justice), 18 U.S.C. § 2 (aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done), 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c), 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 21 U.S.C. § 853 (criminal forfeiture), 18 U.S.C. § 1963 (criminal forfeiture), and 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(1) and 21 U.S.C. § 853 (criminal forfeiture).
The original indictment, which was unsealed last summer, charged only Lazar and Selzer. It did not charge MWBS, or any of its partners or attorneys. See, June 23, 2005, release of the U.S. Attorneys Office.
Debra Yang (at right), the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, stated in a release that "This case is about protecting the integrity of the justice system in America ... Class-action attorneys and named plaintiffs occupy positions of trust in which they assume responsibility to tell the truth and to disclose relevant information to the court. This indictment alleges a wholesale violation of this responsibility."
This case is USA v. Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, David J. Bershad, Steven G. Schulman, Seymour M. Lazar, and Paul T. Selzer, U.S. District Court for the Central District of Los Angeles, D.C. No. CR 05–587(A)-DDP.
The Senate will meet at 1:00 PM. It will resume consideration of S 2611, the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006".
CANCELLED. 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event titled "The Telecommunications Economy: Internet Evolution and Innovation". The speaker will be David Farber of Carnegie Mellon University. The Chamber notice states that "There is a limited amount of reserved seating for credentialed journalists. For more information, or to register, contact" press at uschamber dot com or call 202-463-5682. Location: Room HC-6, Capitol Building.
12:30 PM. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) will give a speech. Location: Ballroom, National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.
Around 5:30 PM. The Senate Finance Committee will meet to consider the nomination of Susan Schwab to be the U.S. Trade Representative. See, notice. Location: Room S-219, Capitol Building.
The House will meet at 9:00 AM for morning hour, and at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It will consider the agriculture appropriations bill. See, Republican Whip Notice.
9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing titled "Reconsidering Our Communications Laws: Ensuring Competition and Innovation". See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
CANCELLED. 10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime may hold a hearing on HR __, the "Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today's Youth (SAFETY) Act of 2006." This bill contains a data retention mandate. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202-225-2492.
2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Intellectual Property may hold a hearing titled "Perspectives on Patents: Post-Grant Review Procedures and Other Litigation Reforms". See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold the second of two hearings on S 2686 [135 pages in PDF], the "Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006". See, notice of hearing, statement [5 pages in PDF] by Sen. Stevens, and Sen. Stevens' section by section summary [7 pages in PDF]. See also, stories titled "Stevens Introduces Telecom Reform Bill" and "Section by Section Summary of Sen. Stevens' Telecom Reform Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,362, May 2, 2006. Press contact: Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202-224-3991 or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202-224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Location: Room 106, Dirksen Building.
5/19. Randy May has founded, and is the President of, the Free State Foundation (FSF). He is currently Director of Communications Policy Studies at the Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF). The FSF web site states that it is "a non-profit Maryland-based think tank. Its purpose is to promote, through research and educational activities, understanding of free market, limited government, and rule of law principles in Maryland and throughout the United States. FSF focuses on eliminating unnecessary and counterproductive regulatory mandates, reducing overly burdensome taxes, protecting individual and economic liberty, reforming civil liability laws, and making government more effective, efficient, and accountable." See also, PFF release. May will leave the PFF on May 31, 2006. As of June 1, 2006, May's contact information will include 301-299-3182 and rmay at freestatefoundation dot org.
5/19. President Bush announced his intent to designate Steven Aitken to be acting Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, effective June 3, 2006. See, White House release.
5/19. Jarrod Agen was named Deputy Press Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
5/17. Denise Michel was named Vice President - Policy Development at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). See, ICANN release.
5/19. President Bush gave a speech at Northern Kentucky University in which he referenced intercepted communications. He stated that "the enemy" is "cold blooded killers", "driven by an ideological fervor", that is "totalitarian in nature", and akin to "fascism and communism". He continued that "After all, they've told us what their ambitions are. It's in intercepted communications and the different ways of finding out information. They have made it clear in their communications with each other that democracies are soft, capitalism is a failed system, and that it's just a matter of time before the United States of America were to lose its nerve." He added that "They want to reestablish roots in a country like they did in Afghanistan so they can help topple moderate governments in the Middle East, as well as launch attacks against the United States of America. That's what they have said."
5/19. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced its intent to award a sole source contract to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to perform Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) services. The NTIA stated in a release [PDF] that "These functions include coordination of the assignment for technical protocol parameters, administration of certain responsibilities associated with Internet DNS root zone management; and allocation of Internet Protocol Version (IPv4) and Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) address space".
5/19. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) released its report [PDF] titled "Report on Informal Consumer Inquiries and Complaints: 1st Quarter Calendar Year 2006".
5/18. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) released a paper [30 pages in PDF] titled "Canadian Quandary: Digital Rights Management, Access Protection, and Free Markets". The author is Michael Einhorn. See also, PFF release. In 1997 Canada agreed to ratify the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. These treaties require the signatories to provide "adequate legal protection and effective legal remedies against the circumvention of effective technological measures" used by copyright holders to protect their works. Canada has not adopted enacting legislation. However, there is little in this paper about Canada. Rather, it is a review of digital rights management (DRM), anti-circumvention laws, peer to peer (P2P) music file sharing, and broadband deployment. It is a cross national study of developed nations. For example, it finds a statistical correlation between broadband deployment in these nations, and decreases in music CD sales. This paper is a defense of DRM and enforcement of property rights in digital works.


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The Dreaded Backlog
Mini Media Bites
Dissecting Your Daily Media Diet
The Help: The Most Racist Anti-Racism Film Ever
August 5, 2014 by T.J. Fisk
The 2011 film The Help has many things going for it; Emma Stone, high emotions, Emma Stone, great acting, Emma Stone, timely humour, Emma Stone, skin crawling villains, Emma Stone, passing the Bechdel Test with flying colours, and most importantly Emma Stone.
It also has Emma Stone
But…it's also racist. Why I hear you say? "It's about civil rights! How can it be racist?!" The Help is based on 2009 novel by Kathryn Stockett. It is semi-autobiograpgical as many of the plot elements and events are based on the real childhood moments of Kathryn Stockett. So the plot is basically a young white girl helps publish the underrepresented stories of the mistreated and underpaid black maids from her town. Now Stockett never did this in real life, so this is essentially a fantasy. A fantasy where Stockett lives out her desire to repay her childhood maids by creating a fiction of her coming to the rescue by literally giving black women their voice. Whilst the maids in the story have their backstories and motivations, none of them drive the narrative until the white girl decides to start writing stuff down. The reaction of the town's people is what drives the narrative. So The Help is about a white girl writing about black women for other white people to get angry about. I was joking when I said Stone was the most important element, The Help is not.
Above: White people talking and then fighting
And then there is the reliance on the mammy stereotype… To those who don't know this stereotype is of the black female servant, who is often overweight, who loyally and passionately serves their white master/employer. They also often have great affection for the master/employer's kids too. Hey…that all kinda sounds like the characters in The Help…
One of them is basically thin right?
Early in the narrative Emma Stone's white girl signs on for a job at the local paper, her idea for a story is the previously mentioned maid's stories. To pitch it she talks about how much she loves her old maid and how these mammies need to be talked about in a more positive and heroic light. That's right, she actually specifically refers to the mammy stereotype as a good category of people. So now The Help is literally saying these women's stories need to be told because they're heroes, except that they're heroes because of how much they help and love small white kids in their care. Let's recap; The Help is about a white girl writing about some black maids because their worth is serving white people, for some other white people to talk about.
She's also described as sassy, that's okay right?
Now I hear you, it's enjoyable film and its heart is in the right place. "It can't be all that bad? It's got more than one black female character who is fully developed." Yes, but as I pointed out before, the story isn't about them. It's about the white girl and how it affects her standing in the town. All the character choices that drive the narrative are made by white people; maids getting hired and fired, the choice to write the book and to publish it and so on. The only choices the maids get to make that affects the narrative are to let the white girl write their stories down. They're there to enable the white girl's story. "But what about its good heart?" Its good heart is of an author who decided she felt bad and appreciative for her own childhood mammy figure and decided to immortalise herself as a heroic Mary Sue who champions the poor voiceless black women. When she decided to write a book on this topic based on her own experiences she had a choice, make herself the villain to highlight injustice or alleviate guilt by lying and inventing fictional heroism.
Now yes, Stockett wouldn't be able to write a story from the maid's perspective. She was on the other side of this horrible dynamic. It would most likely be inappropriate and problematic for her to even try. But as I said previously, she could have written a semi-autobiographical piece where she was the villain, or at least ambivalent about the whole thing. She chose to make herself the condescending hero. It also stands out that the studio chose to green light a story from a white perspective. It's not much of a leap to assume that plenty of well written and accurate scripts have been written on the topic of black maids from a black perspective. It is a role of suffering from history that was shared by many many people and yet it has barely been mined for story opportunities. Those scripts must be out there.
Come on America, don't just leave your decent civil rights films to British people.
In conclusion, The Help's ethics are fatally compromised. It isn't really about black women finding their voices, but a white girl finding them for them. The film itself is more likely aimed at a white audience, the audience that most likely has guilt it wants cheaply alleviated. I suppose it's nice to have a film with a basically all female ensemble cast. There was no pandering to a male audience. In fact there were only two male characters, both were black and one beat his wife…oh wait…that's more bad stereotyping…Wait, now you're telling me that the book also had the white characters dialogue in perfect grammar and the black characters spoke with overly accented fractured grammar? Wow, this just gets worse the more you dig. At least Hollywood doesn't make a habit of making films about black people with white leads…
Oh…never mind!
Category : Film & Television, Literature, Politics, Society
Tags : Emma Stone, Empowerment, Issue 4.0, Kathryn Stockett, Racism, The Help, White Guilt
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7 thoughts on "The Help: The Most Racist Anti-Racism Film Ever"
hollievulpes on August 5, 2014 at 6:24 pm said:
Unfortunately, the white person saving the black person trope is heavily overused in film. Though I don't think Stockett would have benefited from painting herself as a villian. Like you said, her heart was in the right place, but maybe there needs to more films from the perspective of the people who need to be heard and not those speaking for them.
T.J. Fisk on August 5, 2014 at 6:33 pm said:
I am not so sure her heart is in the right place though, her heart seems to be singing "me, me, me, me, me, me, me, I am awesome, me, me, me".
Well what would be the alternative? How would she dial down her supposed narcissism but still talk about the admiration she had for the women that worked for her?
Play it neutral and ambivalent. Wasn't just racist people keeping the bad stuff going. Was also people who simply didn't care. Could make the main character someone who unwittingly takes advantage in ways only obvious to the audience.
Also you could have the story be she is a clueless young woman who just got the journalism job and one of the old maids approach her when they realise she is desperate. And it is the maids themselves that collect and write up all the stories. It is just the main character who publically publishes them under her name…
cedge52 on August 17, 2017 at 1:13 am said:
I think you may have missed the whole point of the movie. This is Aibileen's story, the director says so himself. Aibileen is the narrator and the film starts and ends with her. Yes Skeeter is the person who gives them the voice to share their stories, but in Jackson during this time there is no way a maid would even think of suggesting to a white woman to share their stories, it was too dangerous. Skeeter is merely the mediator, she does not change their stories in anyway, but rather simply reveals the truths about their lives to a much larger audience. There are white male characters in the film presented badly, Stuart specifically. It is definitely not about "the white hero". Again I enforce, this was Aibileen's story.
T.J. Fisk on August 25, 2017 at 4:00 pm said:
The director may have said it was her story, but that doesn't undo any of the points of my analysis I wrote 3 years ago. Once a director releases a film it can be interpreted any which any, it's no longer 'theirs'. And the fact that films have writers and are collaborative in general (plus this was a studio film AND an adaptation) means it was never the director's in the first place. This is hardly an auteur's work. And if Skeeter is just the window into these stories why does she feature in the film so much? For comparison 'Life of Pi' is a film with a writer being told a story, but isn't remotely involved. I could break down who incities what actions in the narrative of The Help, but like I said, I wrote this 3 years ago. My piece didn't miss the point of the movie, in fact my piece essentially says that that movie tries to be what you're saying, but I felt that it utterly failed. You can disagree with my beliefs about the movie, but to say I didn't understand the intended point means you missed the entire starting point of my arguments.
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It's a great company to work for, it's in the suburbs and has free parking in a large lot. Stays competitive with the larger health plans, the goal is to help members get the care they need. Some positions are being outsourced to Cognizant now.
Like their parent company Emblem Health, they're going through a transformation and outsourcing many jobs to Cognizant. Time will tell.


Tonight's special guest is Todd Hildebrandt from Maple Grove, Minnesota, an advocate for adult survivors of child sexual abuse so they know they are not alone in the challenges they face. Todd explains, "The Minnesota Child Victims Act (which lifted the statute of limitations for adult survivors of child sexual abuse for three years and ended May 25, 2016) has given me a voice to share my story. Out of a pool of male candidates, my case was one of the first chosen to start the process of the civil lawsuits against the Children's Theater Company of Minneapolis pertaining to their lack of protecting children whom participated in their plays and programs in the '70's and '80s." As an adult survivor of child sexual abuse he wants other survivors to know that there is a clear link between child abuse and adverse adult health. "My life is a manifestation of this link. I am committed to speaking, educating, and advocating by sharing my story with support groups and the medical community," he explains. "My message is adults who experienced abuse as children are at risk for post traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, guilt, impaired sense of self, feelings of isolation, substance abuse, interpersonal difficulties, suicidal thoughts, and suicide completion. Each adult victim is unique in how these conditions might or might not manifest themselves." He goes on, "I don't think I was ever happy due to my self blame and negative talk which I carried into my adulthood. Only recently my depression had been treated but this was after a suicide attempt." Todd concludes, "I learned from my treatment that my low self esteem and negative self talk from my abuse laid the ground work for my self harm."


text:
Black Voters Extremely Skeptical of Trump's Voter Fraud Claims
Giuliani has private sector cybersecurity experience. (Rob Kunzig/Morning Consult)
By Eli Yokley
October 17, 2016 at 4:08 pm ET
While about four in 10 American voters said they agreed with Donald Trump that the election could be stolen from him due to voter fraud, black voters – more than most other demographic groups – strongly disagree.
A POLITICO/Morning Consult survey found 72 percent of African Americans disagreed with the Republican nominee's recently ramped-up claims of a "rigged" election, which have come as his poll numbers continue to decline amid the fallout from a leaked 2005 tape capturing him bragging about committing sexual assault.
"Of course there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day," Trump wrote Monday morning on Twitter. "Why do Republican leaders deny what is going on? So naive!"
Only 15 percent of black voters said they agreed with Trump, compared with 46 percent of white voters. On the other hand, 44 percent of white voters disagreed with Trump, compared with almost half (49 percent) of the general electorate.
While there has been scant evidence of fraud in modern U.S. elections, Republicans have over the past few years pushed state laws enforcing more stringent voter identification requirements. A court recently found one such law, in North Carolina, included provisions to "target African Americans with almost surgical precision."
Over the weekend, former New York Major Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump's top campaign surrogates, delivered racially veiled criticisms of the integrity of the voting process during an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union."
Still, nearly six in 10 voters (58 percent) think raising questions about the democratic process and the accuracy of the 2016 presidential election results is necessary because of their belief that it could be compromised by voter fraud or a foreign government. The number is nearly the same among white voters (59 percent), but dropped to 52 percent with black voters.
Only about a quarter of both the black and white populations (24 percent) said raising those questions could be dangerous to the democratic process because it could spread distrust, a claim raised in a joint statement Monday by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
"This issue is bigger than any of us and bigger than this election. This is about each of us doing our part to ensure the continued functioning of our democracy," the two leaders wrote.
On Saturday, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) affirmed his own confidence in election results. AshLee Strong said, "the speaker is fully confident the states will carry out this election with integrity."
Eli Yokley
Eli Yokley is a senior data reporter at Morning Consult covering politics and campaigns. @eyokley
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WARNER ROBINS, Ga. – Police have arrested a pastor in Georgia for protesting outside a high school against its demon mascot.
Police spokeswoman Tabitha Pugh said 36-year-old Donald Crosby was arrested Monday in the central Georgia city of Warner Robins.
Crosby and supporters picked the opening day of classes to protest against the pitchfork-wielding mascot. Crosby, of Kingdom Builders Church of Jesus Christ, says his son attends the school and he doesn't want him exposed to the name's devilish connotations.
Crosby was charged with picketing without a license and disorderly conduct. He was released on bond. He did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
School officials say the mascot honors a World War II fighter squadron nicknamed the "Screamin' Demons."


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How much do I want to see this movie?
All the muches. That's how much.
Sadly, the chances of it ever coming to this sad little town are slender. Right now, our theaters are still showing that ridiculous movie about how heaven is real; another equally eye-rollingly bad movie about how some hard-drinking rock-music playin' guy finds Jesus through the sweet loyalty of his faithful woman; the racist one about Moses; and about sixteen movies where things blow up.
We do have the one tiny theater that shows decent movies -- our sole hope for foreign films, anything that has LGBT themes, and anything even slightly Leftist or intellectual. Right now it's playing The Theory of Everything. Maybe it will show Selma. One can hope.
Compared to my home city, Ft. Smith sounds like an improvement.
One would have to drive over an hour to see The Theory of Everything. We don't even have a theater that would show foreign or intellectual films.
The local art gallery consists of a single hallway at the local college, with the total number of items on exhibit hovering around 30 at any one time.
It is possible to take a bus to Pittsburgh and see a real art museum. However, Greyhound's schedule is such that the earliest bus to Pittsburgh arrives there around 6 p.m., and the latest bus from Pittsburgh leaves there around 10 a.m. If you can't drive, you might as well forget going there.
True story: last month, the local newspaper printed an op-ed reinterpreting A Christmas Carol, with Ferguson, Missouri cast in the role of Scrooge, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and Abraham Lincoln as two of the ghosts. The op-ed was written by a former high school English teacher.
What a wonderful place to live.
That's appalling. And sounds very much like many towns around here! Fort Smith is one of the *better* places to live in Arkansas, believe it or not.
Up until four or five years ago, we didn't have our little theater either. It's new. We love it! Previous to that, if we wanted to see anything decent, we had to drive up to Fayetteville -- an hour up the mountain.
Is the scream about the community, or about the fact that the local paper paid someone to write the aforementioned column?
The column. Though to be fair our local paper will run equally horrific crap from time to time.
Is your newspaper content to print such "horrific crap" only in the letters to the editors, or do they go the extra mile and pay people to produce it?


text:
CubaPLUS
"With Vision 2020"
With five years of work experience, the Empresa Industria Electrónica (EIE) underpins its work in the lighting market, ever more dynamic and complex, to guarantee every demand and create solutions to fit clients and the areas of use.
We have a modernised assembly line to assemble LED lights, with a production capacity of 1 million units per year, for which the area is made up of production line, ageing line, test laboratory and completed production, explained Edel Gómez Gómez, General Director.
With the creation of an easy-to-install product, with high energy efficiency and light quality, the national industry seeks to consolidate itself in the lighting sector, as forecasts of future prices of electricity show a clear upward trend which goes together with the constant rise in demand for energy.
In this way, the time is favourable to invest and convert ourselves into a producer of energy in keeping with the times, which is why the decision to install a photovoltaic solar park is one of those alternatives that has never been more affordable, advantageous and easy for a company as it is today. Now is the time to transform our company for economically sustainability and prepare it for the future with a clear energy strategy, he assured. In explaining EIE's role in the construction of the photovoltaic park he said that at the start they constructed flat photovoltaic parks, in parking lots, bicycle parks, on rooftops and they will continue building them. The factory has completed five photovoltaic parks and they intend to make them not only in the industry, but also in other factories that need them, allowing the country to save energy as long as they are industrial photovoltaic parks.
In this respect, Gómez Gómez added that "with this photovoltaic field, the advantage we have in our company is that it goes directly to the sources of our energies, there's no loss of power and it reduces our street electricity cost to what we have today. Before, we paid between 40,000 and 50,000 pesos and today we're paying between 27,000 and 29,000 pesos." (equivalent in dollars) Currently, EIE has the potential to generate around six hundred and sixty-six kilowatts peak from solar energy, which implies the total installation of two thousand six hundred and sixty four photovoltaic modules in photovoltaic solar generators connected to the organization's internal system. Once all the planned power is installed, more than two hundred and sixteen megawatts / hour per year will be produced with the consequent saving of diesel, equivalent and the reduction of tons of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere.
"To achieve these goals, we have installation services for photovoltaic systems from one hundred kilowatts peak and even projects with over a hundred mega watts for implementation and professional support throughout the process. We adapt our solutions to different systems and to the conditions of the floor, roofs and facades", he added.
Later he signalled that "our industry has solutions for the different photovoltaic systems in the production of electrical energy as well as the assembly and installation of these systems. We also have technical availability to provide warranty and post warranty services and technical assistance to investors. And we plan to create a control room for monitoring the main measurable parameters of different photovoltaic parks in service through a scaled system. Meanwhile, a factory is currently being built in order to serve investors, whether they be investors that we have installed in the factory or investors that have the electrical connection installed in different places", he said.
"The EIE", he continued, "is a company that today works with electronic commerce, we are pioneers in electronic commerce; we work in the currency markets, we work with the closed systems of tourism in different facilities and we work in Mariel. Therefore we are working based on the things needed by the state without forgetting the needs of the population that the country must satisfy".
Finally, he stressed that the organization is preparing itself from this point of view for the national market in two ways and, at the same time, "we are preparing to be the first export models. We are looking for this status because the country needs fresh money and the Camilo Cienfuegos company depends on the guidelines and needs that the country has at this time".
Ave. 349, # 18001 e/180 y 160, Reparto 1ro de Mayo, Boyeros, La Habana.
Phone: +53 5213 9010 General Director / +53 5213 1758 Business Direction
Email: nayade.iribar@eie.co.cu
www.eie.co.cu
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