Having a smart home means many little conveniences. You can set temperature, control TV and Internet access from anywhere. A smart home also allows for home security by remote, with smart cameras that track what is going on in your house. Amazon is finally entering the realm of smart home security with the Cloud Cam and Key. While they are hardly the first to do so, this product comes with a twist.
Late this year, Amazon added another member to the Echo family: Cloud Cam and Key. Key is a unique service for Amazon Prime Members where Amazon will deliver packages into your smart home. Yes, you read that right. With Cloud Cam, the ever-wise Alexa will track and provide real-time visual footage of what's going on inside smart homes. Real-time activity could now include that moment when approved delivery workers to unlock your door, open it, and leave your packages inside. For anyone who has ever had to deal with delayed delivery notifications, if you have ever waited for packages to arrive so you don't leave it out on the stoop and possibly forget because you enter the house another way, the possibilities are endless.
Key isn't just – or even mainly – for Amazon deliveries. Ultimately, the purpose of Key is to allow you to allow anyone into your home, wherever you may be. Cloud Cam and Key will – with your approval – recognize and admit Amazon delivery workers. Key will also allow you to admit other people too, such as that spouse or child who keeps getting locked out, such as yourself – if you often find yourself locked out of your own house. In time, Amazon hopes to make Cloud Cam more intelligent, able to tell the difference between masked intruders and your troublesome pets. What do you think of this development? Can you picture how a spare Key like this one could work in your home?


text:
Category Archives: 30 second reviews
Jah Wobble: Merry Go Round
April 19, 2015 30 second reviews, MusicJah Wobble, Record Store Day, vinylGabriel Koen
I'd almost forgotten about Jah Wobble, until I saw this at the store. If there's one bassist I've tried to emulate, it's this guy.
I played the whole thing through marveling at it. Then I realized partway through Public Image Limited it was a 45rpm record and I was playing it at 33. I replayed it at the correct rpm, and couldn't help but be a little disappointed.
Daniel Ash: Stripped
April 19, 2015 30 second reviews, MusicDaniel Ash, Record Store Day, vinylGabriel Koen
I was a little wary of this album (especially for the price tag!), but I shouldn't have been. It's actually pretty cool. It's Daniel Ash going back and re-recording a bunch of Bauhaus, Love & Rockets, and Tones On Tail songs. Sounds like a recipe for disaster and a bad nostalgia trip, but somehow it works.
April 19, 2015 30 second reviews, MusicRecord Store Day, Social Distortion, vinylGabriel Koen
The punk rock hour on one of the local Dallas radio stations had this on heavy rotation, we taped it a couple times while my parents were out. I played the hell out of those tapes, and the tracks from this album always stood out. It was re-released for Record Store Day yesterday. It feels a little special getting it new again.
Twin Shadow: Eclipse
March 30, 2015 30 second reviews, MusicRecord Store Day, Twin Shadow, vinylGabriel Koen
The best album from the 80's, written and released in 2014/15.
December 16, 2013 30 second reviews, MoviesgravityGabriel Koen
Gravity is good, but also kind of miserable.
It's basically the feeling of being lost or free falling through space for 90 minutes. Within moments of putting the characters on somewhat solid ground it throws them out of control again. Absolutely nerve wracking.
Johnny Cash — Everybody Loves a Nut
December 1, 2013 30 second reviews, MusicJohnny Cash, Record Store Day, vinylGabriel Koen
Fantastic album. It's hard to find an actual pre-90s Johnny Cash album, most are compilations. There's not much more to say for the music, it speaks for itself. I mean, it's classic Johnny Cash.
Found this while out shopping for Record Store Day Black Friday releases (pretty much the only Black Friday shopping I don't feel guilty for doing). I couldn't pass it up. It looks to be an original release, judging by the wear on the sleeve. The record itself has some pops and scratches but the vinyl looks very clean and unmarked. The cover was painted by Jack Davis (you know his work even if you don't realize it).
The title song, among others, was written by Cowboy Jack Clement (RIP), who produced some of the Sun studios tracks on U2's Rattle and Hum (among many, many other notable things). I bought this album alongside the most recent U2 single. One of the U2 tracks he recorded was Woody Guthrie's Jesus Christ; I also got Mermaid Ave, a series of albums where Billy Bragg and Wilco record a bunch of Woody Guthrie songs (lyrics without music to be precise). Funny how things sometimes tie together.
U2 — Ordinary Love (single)
December 1, 2013 30 second reviews, MusicRecord Store Day, U2, vinylGabriel Koen
The A side is great. Reminds me of Electrical Storm, in that it is well written and easy to listen to on its own, catchy and interesting. I liked the production values, and then I read it was produced by Danger Mouse. Cool beans.
The B side is not great. It's an interesting take on "Breathe", but I just can't get past the distortion on Bono's sibilants. It makes the song sound like filler. I get that it's supposed to sound stripped down, like a campfire song or something, but that sibilant distortion is just so bad.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Elevhemslagen eller Lag  om elevhem för vissa rörelsehindrade barn m.fl. var en lag i Sverige som trädde i kraft 26 maj 1965 och var första steget mot en integrering av elever med fysiska handikapp in i det svenska samhället. Lagen innehöll sju paragrafer som bland annat sade att fysiskt handikappade barn hade rätt till inackordering i ett särskilt elevhem om detta krävdes för att fullfölja skolgången. Även barn som inte ännu hade börjat skolan, men var beroende av vård på grund av sina funktionsnedsättningar hade rätt till en liknande placering. Alla elever vid elevhemmen hade rätt till vård samt skola eller förskola.

Det var landstingen om ansvarade för elevhemmen och de var således tvungna att i den egna kommunen eller i samrådan med en grannkommun ordna ett elevhem. Lagen förbjöd dessutom landstingen att ta ut avgifter för placeringen i elevboendet, utan det var landstingen som skulle stå för den kostnaden.

Lagen upphävdes, tillsammans med bland annat Omsorgslagen,  1 januari 1994 i och med lag (1993:387) om stöd och service till vissa funktionshindrade.

Källor
http://www.riksdagen.se/webbnav/index.aspx?nid=3911&bet=1965:136

Funktionsnedsättning
Sveriges lagar

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Stephanie Hill Rogers appeared before Circuit Judge Quincy Ross, Friday morning.
A brief plea and arraignment hearing took place, where the defendant pled "not guilty" to 2 counts of solicitation of murder.
A bond reduction hearing then began, in an effort to lower the defendant's bail from its original $500,000.
The hearing included testimony by her daughter, who told the court that Hill-Rogers had been a lifelong resident of south Arkansas.
When asked about bail, she responded that her husband, former mayor Joe Rogers, would be posting her bond.
It was also stated the Rogers had successfully requested that the no-contact order between the defendant and he be canceled.
Next to testify was MPD detective Kenny Cox, who described the events that led to her arrest. This included comments allegedly made about her husband, his ex-wife and another family member.
His ex-wife was then called to the stand. Her testimony included information about relationships and financial issues.
The defendant was represented by Patrick Benca, of Little Rock.
Deputy prosecuting attorneys Crews Puryear and Sandra Bradshaw represented the state, supported by private attorney Robert Gibson.
She has been in custody since October 18. It was stated by her attorney that this is her first court appearance since her October first appearance hearing.
After closing statements, Judge Ross asked about the availability of ankle monitoring, before making a ruling.
The bond was the reduced to $100,000, with the stipulation of a GPS enabled ankle monitor.
Judge Ross also re-instituted the restraining order with her husband, against his wishes. The defense asked for the court to reconsider, but that ruling remains in place.
Formal Charges Filed In Double Murder for Hire Case, December 14, 2018.
Friday, prosecuting attorney Thomas Deen filed formal charges against Stephanie Hill Rogers, of Monticello, who was arrested in October for the alleged murder for hire conspiracy against her husband and his ex-wife.
If convicted, each of the 2 first-degree murder solicitation charges carries a maximum sentence up 6-30 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
Stephanie Hill Rogers had been president of the youth soccer league for several years, and a state employee. Her husband, Joe Rogers, is a former mayor of Monticello, who was seeking election to that position again, at the time of the arrest.
The first appearance hearing for a 48 year old Monticello woman was held in the Bradley County Courthouse, Friday afternoon, by District Judge Bruce Anderson.
ASP and MPD investigators presented the state's case, describing recorded audio and video, multiple times, "More than not circumstantial evidence," which led to a $500,000 commercial bond.
Stephanie Rogers, 48, of Monticello was arrested yesterday (Thursday, October 18, 2018) by Special Agents of the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division. She is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Capital Murder and Solicitation to Commit Capital Murder.
On October 16, 2018 officials of the Monticello Police Department contacted the state police criminal investigation division requesting assistance in a case involving information that Rogers wanted a particular individual killed.
Special Agents presented their findings yesterday to Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Deen who subsequently charged Rogers. She was later arrested and placed in the Drew County Jail. A first appearance court hearing is expected to occur today.
48 year old Stephanie Hill Rogers, best known as president of the local youth soccer league, was arrested Thursday afternoon on the charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
She is the wife of former mayor and current mayoral candidate, Joe Rogers.
No Bond has been set, at this time.
This entry was posted on Friday, February 8th, 2019 at 10:25 am	and is filed under Police /Legal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


text:
package cloud.orbit.actors.extensions.dynamodb;

public class DynamoDBConfiguration
{
    public static class Builder
    {
        private DynamoDBConfiguration dynamoConfig;

        public Builder()
        {
            dynamoConfig = new DynamoDBConfiguration();
        }

        public Builder withCredentialType(final AmazonCredentialType credentialType)
        {
            dynamoConfig.setCredentialType(credentialType);
            return this;
        }

        public Builder withAccessKey(final String accessKey)
        {
            dynamoConfig.setAccessKey(accessKey);
            return this;
        }

        public Builder withSecretKey(final String secretKey)
        {
            dynamoConfig.setSecretKey(secretKey);
            return this;
        }

        public Builder withSessionToken(final String sessionToken)
        {
            dynamoConfig.setSessionToken(sessionToken);
            return this;
        }

        public Builder withRegion(final String region)
        {
            dynamoConfig.setRegion(region);
            return this;
        }

        public Builder withEndpoint(final String endpoint)
        {
            dynamoConfig.setEndpoint(endpoint);
            return this;
        }

        public Builder withMapperConfigurer(final DynamoDBMapperConfigurer mapperConfigurer)
        {
            dynamoConfig.setMapperConfigurer(mapperConfigurer);
            return this;
        }

        public DynamoDBConfiguration build()
        {
            return dynamoConfig;
        }
    }

    private AmazonCredentialType credentialType;
    private String accessKey;
    private String secretKey;
    private String sessionToken;
    private String region;
    private String endpoint;
    private DynamoDBMapperConfigurer mapperConfigurer;

    public AmazonCredentialType getCredentialType()
    {
        return credentialType;
    }

    public void setCredentialType(final AmazonCredentialType credentialType)
    {
        this.credentialType = credentialType;
    }

    public String getAccessKey()
    {
        return accessKey;
    }

    public void setAccessKey(final String accessKey)
    {
        this.accessKey = accessKey;
    }

    public String getSecretKey()
    {
        return secretKey;
    }

    public void setSecretKey(final String secretKey)
    {
        this.secretKey = secretKey;
    }

    public String getSessionToken()
    {
        return sessionToken;
    }

    public void setSessionToken(final String sessionToken)
    {
        this.sessionToken = sessionToken;
    }

    public String getRegion()
    {
        return region;
    }

    public void setRegion(final String region)
    {
        this.region = region;
    }

    public String getEndpoint()
    {
        return endpoint;
    }

    public void setEndpoint(final String endpoint)
    {
        this.endpoint = endpoint;
    }

    public DynamoDBMapperConfigurer getMapperConfigurer() { return mapperConfigurer; }

    public void setMapperConfigurer(DynamoDBMapperConfigurer mapperConfigurer) { this.mapperConfigurer = mapperConfigurer; }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Singapore 'offers expats one of the best lifestyles'
PEOPLE looking for a better life overseas should consider moving to Singapore, the United Arab Emirates or the United States, according to latest research.
The three countries topped a poll of the best places to live as an expatriate in terms of providing the highest living standards, best financial opportunities and nicest accommodation, according to HSBC Bank International.
But at the other end of the scale, Jersey was ranked as the least desirable place to live, largely due to the poor accommodation and low level of luxury on offer to expats.
The UK and France also ranked poorly, coming in 14th and 13th places respectively, for the same reasons.
Spain did little better, coming in 12th place, while Australia was 10th, scoring highly in terms of the level of luxury people could obtain, their access to good accommodation and the opportunity to earn and save money, but scoring badly in terms of the amount of time that people stayed there.
The research, which was based on a survey of 2,155 expatriates across four continents, looked at the opportunities and challenges faced by people living away from home, as well as how easy people found it to integrate.
Hong Kong provided expats with the highest salaries in the world, with nearly half of all foreigners earning more than £100,000 a year, with those in the finance and management sectors the highest paid.
India, the UAE and Singapore all scored highly in terms of providing people living there with the opportunity to save money.
People who had relocated to Singapore were also most likely to be happy with their accommodation, with 74% saying it had improved since leaving their home country, followed by 61% of people in the US and 59% in Belgium.
But the UK was deemed to be the most expensive country for foreigners to find accommodation in, with more than 85% saying their living costs had increased.
The report also looked at the level of luxury people had in their new country, such as access to private healthcare, having more than one property, employing domestic staff and having a swimming pool. The UAE was rated the most luxurious location, followed by Singapore and India, while the UK was deemed to offer the least luxurious lifestyle.
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All cell phones, pagers, or other electronic devices should be turned off, or set to vibrate. Cell phone calls must be initiated or accepted outside the building. Patrons who fail to comply with this policy will be asked to leave the building.


text:
A Philadelphia-area native offers a layman's perspective.
Robert J. Cavanaugh, Jr.
Born November 7, 1954 @10:40 am to Robert and Rita at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital, Upper Darby, PA (USA)
Justification or Atonement
August 23, 2019 (4,217 words)
It's not uncommon for young, headstrong people to make poor choices and bad decisions while in their halcyon teens and 20s, and sometimes even into their 30's and 40's.
But once we reach the calmer waters of our 50's and 60's it's natural to look back, take stock, and recognize where we may have veered off course. We begin to own up to our mistakes, even if hesitantly and a bit haltingly. This is when humility makes its first appearance in many of our lives.
That doesn't seem to be happening with the same frequency it once did. More often than not these days, with waves of encouragement from the culture of personal autonomy and self-fulfillment, yesterday's rebels are digging in their heels and doubling down on their apostasy.
They are refusing to acknowledge the flaws in their youthful thought process, and choosing instead to stand by and defend their often flagrant miscues.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, endless justification of our wayward behavior strikes me as an unfortunate form of self-flattery. I suppose the proper word would be "narcissism," though, wouldn't it?
This came to mind recently when I happened across the June cover story of The Atlantic magazine. It's entitled "Abolish the Priesthood," and is written by that famous ex-priest, James Carroll.
By way of full disclosure, I have not followed Mr. Carroll's illustrious post-ordination journey, nor am I the least bit familiar with his oeuvre. But I have read his long Atlantic piece several times now, and I think I get his gist.
A simple internet search reveals Carroll was ordained in 1969 at the tender age of 26, and left the priesthood in 1974, at the equally tender age of 31. This brief, five-year stint inspires his confident assertion: "I know this problem from the inside."
whistle-blower status as a badge of honor…
Indeed, his whistle-blower status appears to be his calling card, a badge of honor, and the basis of his subsequent forty-five year (and counting) writing career. By all accounts he has successfully mined this limited experience again-and-again, in award-winning books of fiction and non-fiction.
Along the way he has developed a reliable reputation for dire observations about the Catholic Church and the ordained life that our contemporary world has been only too eager to embrace.
If that is so, if his five years as a young priest are the foundation of all that has followed, then it would be safe to say the ideological bent of this current magazine article is fairly representative of the whole. So I can't be accused of jumping to conclusions.
But make no mistake, the man can write. The acclaim and plaudits he has garnered for his fluent prose style have merit. And to be clear, it's not my intention here to clumsily disparage or casually dismiss James Carroll's heterodox ideas just because I may disagree with him.
On the contrary, I readily grant many people think and feel the same way he does. My objective is not to throw stones, but to balance the scales in some small way. Since polite society already agrees with everything Mr. Carroll has to say, the field is ripe for someone to push back a bit on the conventional wisdom of the day.
his eloquence lends nobility to the average skeptic…
Since he is not saying anything new at this point – merely adding yet more evidence to buttress his basic argument – his writing is now a case of preaching to the choir. Though his eloquence does make the average skeptic feel much nobler about their own rebellion.
Regarding that choir, he himself acknowledges his recent 2018 decision to stop attending Mass and receiving the Eucharist will probably be met with indifference among his rank-and-file readership: Who cares? It's about time!
Nevertheless, for a layman like me to tackle this professional's polish and erudition is a daunting task. Just considering this long magazine article alone, one has no choice but to admit how accomplished the 10,000 word effort is, and how comprehensive is its scope.
Not only is it beyond my ability to address and rebut each example of priestly malfeasance and institutional corruption Mr. Carroll cites, but it would require 10,000 words of my own to even attempt the challenge.
So I will limit myself to a few broad strokes, as his my wont. For starters, one notices Carroll's five short years in the priesthood did not lead him to conclude that perhaps he wasn't cut out to be a priest. Instead it apparently taught him there is something fundamentally wrong with the priesthood itself. All two thousand years of it.
When hearing confessions of young people who were racked with guilt because of "a Church-imposed sexual repressiveness," it does not occur to him the formation he received at his liberal (by his own admission) seminary may have been lacking in the fundamentals on this important subject.
Alternatively, he can't bring himself to simply call out the obvious: How challenging it can be for a young priest to properly discern an authentic Catholic perspective on this most important, elemental aspect of the human condition.
reaching the same conclusions as our cultural arbiters…
Nor does it seem to register with Mr. Carroll that he has coincidentally reached the same conclusion regarding the Church's "sexual repressiveness" has have so many others, who also happen to be our leading cultural arbiters. He does, however, articulate that viewpoint with far more panache, employing a slew of impressive historical antecedents to underscore the standard complaints.
For those who go in for this sort of thing, he locates the source of all the repression in the fourth century, and identifies Augustine's "theology of sex" as the culprit. The way Augustine reads Genesis, Carroll tells us, paints the original act of disobedience in the Garden of Eden, involving Adam and Eve, as a sexual sin.
This "put sexuality, and anything related to it, under a cloud, and ultimately under a tight regime. The repression of desire drove normal erotic urges into a social and psychological netherworld."
And then before you know it, we arrive at: "The celibacy of priests… may have been put forward, early on, as a mode of intimacy with God, appropriate for a few. But over time the cult of celibacy and virginity developed an inhuman aspect – a broader devaluation and suspicion of bodily experience."
Adding to this "suspicion" and "devaluation," the original act of disobedience in Eden "led to the blaming of women for the fatal seduction – and thus for all human suffering down through the generations. This amounted to a major revision of the egalitarian assumptions and practices of the early Christian movement."
For James Carroll, "The Church's maleness and misogyny became inseparable from its structure." That structure is based not on the Gospels, but "in the attitudes and organizational charts of the late Roman Empire… under the Emperor Constantine, in the fourth century, Christianity effectively became the imperial religion and took on the trappings of the empire itself.. with the bishop in Rome reigning as monarch."
This, then, is the origin of "clericalism," that deadly condition which "explains both how the sexual-abuse crisis could happen, and how it could be covered up for so long." It all began in that treacherous fourth century, with:
"the vesting of power in an all-male and celibate clergy… The conceptual underpinnings (of which) can be laid out simply: Women were subservient to men. Laypeople were subservient to priests, who were defined as having been made 'ontologically' superior by the sacrament of holy orders."
"Removed by celibacy from the competing bonds of family and obligation, priests were slotted into a clerical hierarchy that replaced the medieval feudal order."
It is a measure of Mr. Carroll's cleverness as a polemicist and skill as a writer that he can stitch together these various strands of conspiracy theory into a coherent narrative that appears to our modern, emancipated selves as a beautiful tapestry.
But when all is said and done the astute James Carroll is just another prisoner of his age. Like many other young bucks coming up in the 1960s, he wanted the Catholic Church to be "pularistic, committed to peace, a champion of the equality of women, and a tribune of justice."
He saw the papacy of John XXIII (1958-1963) as emblematic of those values, and the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) that John initially convened as "a vast theological recasting of the Catholic imagination… raising basic questions of ethos, honesty, and justice, setting in motion a profound institutional examination of conscience."
a Rorschach test for Catholics…
But as we have seen in the fifty some years since the close of Vatican II, its legacy is far from cut-and-dried. It has become something of a Rorschach test for Catholics, with each side of the liberal/conservative dialectic claiming its heralded documents either dramatically reformed or creatively re-affirmed this or that teaching.
For his part, Mr. Carroll entered the priesthood in the wake of the Second Vatican Council as a member of "a liberal American order known as the Paulist Fathers… (They) redefined themselves around (what they saw as) the vision of Pope John, and made me an advocate of that vision."
The problem for all of us, Carroll included, is how we have fallen into the habit of identifying our modern-day Popes as either good guys or bad guys. We are quick to give each of them the thumbs up or down, as if we are all back in the Coliseum, watching lions maul Christians.
But this incessant setting up of what we like against what we don't like is a disease of the mind. We should be looking for the continuity of the Magisterium from one papacy to the next, instead of this partisan interpretation of each gesture or statement as a "much needed reform of a backward teaching" or a "staunch re-affirmation of hallowed tradition."
reform-minded initiatives thwarted by clericalism…
In Mr. Carroll's view, all of Pope John's reform-minded initiatives of the late 1950s and early 1960s were ultimately thwarted by clericalism, "with its cult of secrecy, its theological misogyny, its sexual repressiveness, and its hierarchical power based on threats of a doom- ladened afterlife…"
And while Pope Francis struck Carroll in the beginning "like a rescuer," he has proven to be just another ordained disappointment, despite what our author approves of as several papal attempts at paradigm shifting. In the end, though. "Francis has stoutly protected the twin pillars of clericalism – the Church's misogynist exclusion of women from the priesthood and its requirement of celibacy for priests."
This clericalism "is at the root of Roman Catholic dysfunction… If the structure of clericalism is not dismantled, the Roman Catholic Church will not survive, and will not deserve to." Oh, my. The poor man goes on like this for several thousand more words.
James Carroll has been aware of the priest sex abuse scandal since the early 1990s, but he is only now deciding the priesthood itself must be abolished. What is responsible for this ratcheting up of his protest?
It was the recent 2018 visit of Pope Francis to Ireland. Or more specifically the Pope's comments made to reporters on his return trip to Rome, that until then he had known nothing of the infamous Magdalene Laundries or their scandals. (For reference, please consult the movie Philomena, starring Judi Dench.) Mr. Carroll solemnly reports, "As I read the Pope's words, a taut wire in me snapped."
As no doubt that same taut wire snapped in many of us, as well. Any decent human being naturally reacts with frustration and disgust to all of this. The following summary, prepared by yours truly, no doubt expresses the sense many of us share:
The emotional, physical, and sexual abuse perpetrated by ordained men and consecrated women around the world is deplorable. It is a violation not only of their sacred vows, but of the basic norms of decency, of which Christian charity forms the basis. This abuse has caused grievous hurt to numerous young people, and their hurt cries out to heaven for healing.
This abuse should never have been permitted, nor should its revelation have ever been covered up. The perpetrators of both the abuse itself and the subsequent cover-up should be brought to justice.
What that justice looks like is subject to debate, however, and is beyond the scope of my short essay here.
Also subject to debate is why all this abuse happened in the first place. Contrasting the Carroll narrative is an alternate chain of causality put forth by, among others, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. Just this past April, Benedict published a widely distributed article in which he identifies the source of the sex abuse crisis as follows:
#1) Moral laxity of the 1960s
#2) Godlessness of contemporary culture
#3) Existences of homosexual cliques in seminaries
Mr. Carroll is having none of it, however, and dismisses the Pope's remarks as "a diatribe that was extraordinary as much for its vanity as for its ignorance."
Now, one may be inclined to think an unflattering thought or two in the wake of Benedict's all-but-unprecedented "retirement" from the papacy. But describing this humble servant – a truly modest man possessed of a towering intellect – as "vain" and "ignorant" is woefully off the mark.
James Carroll is out to kill two birds with one stone. Abolishing the celibate all-male priesthood eliminates what he sees as the source of the sex-abuse crisis. And this, in turn, will open the door to the "theological recasting of the Catholic imagination" young James had such high hopes for back in the 1960s.
Then, at last, Catholicism will be free to finally and fully adopt the ethos and norms of the pluralist, democratic order, which was first introduced by the ideology of "classical liberalism" some five hundred years ago, and which the Catholic hierarchy has been wrestling with ever since.
This belated adoption would immediately result in equality for laypeople – especially women – as office-holders in the Church.
Once we rid ourselves of the toxic notion of priestly celibacy, the "broad transformation" the moribund Catholic community is so desperately in need of can at last get underway:
"Yes to female sexual autonomy; yes to love and pleasure, not just reproduction as a purpose of sex; yes to married clergy; yes to contraception; and, indeed, yes to full acceptance of homosexuals. No to male dominance, no to the sovereign authority of clerics; no to double standards."
Carroll has his sights set on The Full Monty, as it were, as his argument clearly hinges on the meaning and purpose of sexual behavior.
For an intelligent Catholic writer to suggest the Church believes sexual intercourse should be strictly limited to reproduction, to the exclusion of "love and pleasure," gives this intelligent Catholic reader pause.
Granted, Church teaching on the special bond created by the unitive and procreative aspects of the coital act, between one man and one woman in a committed relationship for life, has been successfully drowned out by society.
When even casual advertising of the most mundane consumer products is often blatantly pornographic, when promiscuity is readily promoted via mass entertainment, and our pluralist public square relentlessly preaches we are entitled to "follow our bliss" at all times, without consideration for the ones we may be hurting by our wonton selfishness, the Church's stubbornly counter-cultural message can be difficult to decipher.
Regarding this long list of suggested improvements, the obvious reaction is to wonder why anyone would spend time advocating for such broad-based reforms in the Catholic Church, when there are over 200 distinct Protestant denominations one can choose from that have already implemented the very changes Mr. Carroll is so enthusiastic about.
trying to fit a square peg in a round hole…
And that's the ultimate take-away here. Why are you trying so hard to fit a square peg into a round hole? It's as though our old friend James Carroll just needs to get out for some fresh air and clear his head.
How can someone come up with the slogan: "To save the Church, dismantle the priesthood" as a response to the sex abuse crisis, when that same person observes "a relatively small number of priests are pedophiles."
How can one rail against a fetid hierarchy in one breath, and cite the fruits of the Catholic faith that are overseen and administered by that same hierarchy in the next breath:
"The virtues of the Catholic faith have been obvious to me my whole life. The world is better for those virtues, and I cherish the countless men and women who bring the faith alive. The Catholic Church is a world-wide community of over 1 billion people. North and South, rich and poor, intellectual and illiterate – it is the only institution that crosses such borders on anything like this scale."
"Around the world there are more than 200,000 Catholic schools and nearly 400,000 Catholic hospitals and health-care facilities, mostly in developing countries. The Church is the largest nongovernmental organization on the planet, through which selfless men and women care for the poor, teach the unlettered, heal the sick, and work to preserve minimal standards of the common good.
Reading this inspiring passage one wants to cry out, "Well done, Mr. Carroll, I couldn't have said it any better."
But such optimism is in short supply, and is dispensed with quite early in the article. The overarching theme here is "desperate times call for desperate measures." Unfortunately, being a prisoner of his age limits Carroll's ability to see the big picture.
For more on this big picture, we have Letter to a Suffering Church: A Bishop Speaks on the Sexual Abuse Crisis. This short 105-page book was just released in May by Bishop Robert Barron, who is an "auxiliary" bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Barron reminds us that when it comes to sexual immorality and licentiousness on the part of our clergy, we have been here before, and we have survived. Throughout our history there have even been Popes whose behavior was so notorious one historian described Benedict IX (1032-1045) as:
"…a demon from hell, in the disguise of a priest, (who) occupied the Chair of Peter and profaned the sacred mysteries of religion by his insolent course."
Victor III, a papal successor, spoke of Benedict's " rapes, murders, and other unspeakable acts of violence and sodomy."
There were plenty of other profligates, and Bishop Barron mentions a few of them. Like John XII (955-964), who died in a married woman's bed. And Alexander VI (1254-1261), who fathered a string of illegitimate children with numerous woman.
For additional perspective, Barron quotes a letter Saint Peter Damian addressed to the then Pope in 1049, on the subject of clerical sex:
" The befouling cancer of sodomy is, in fact, spreading so through the clergy, or rather like a savage beast, is raging with such shameless abandon through the flock of Christ."
Then this saint, in the same letter, directed his anger at bishops who had sexual relations with seminarians and younger priests.
These florid historical anecdotes are not intended to make us feel any better about today, about what Bishop Barron calls "the storm of wickedness that has compromised the work of the Church in every way and has left countless lives in ruins…"
In fact, Robert Barron aggress with James Carroll there are many good reasons to criticize ordained and consecrated representatives of the Catholic Church, and to be angry with the corruption, stupidity, careerism, cruelty, greed, and sexual misconduct on the part of certain Church leaders.
But the two men part company in one very important respect. Barron quotes Hillaire Belloc to help draw the distinction:
"The Catholic Church is an institution I am bound to hold divine – but for unbelievers a proof of its divinity might be found in the fact that no merely human institution conducted with such lavish imbecility would have lasted a fortnight."
Mr. Carroll is no longer subscribing to Belloc's famous line of reasoning, and is advising the rest of us to abandon it as well. He wants Catholics to detach themselves from the clerical hierarchy, and in the process take the faith back into their own hands.
He himself wants to "be part of what brings about the liberation of the Catholic Church from the imperium that took it captive 1,700 years ago."
His vision of this impending liberation is suitably romantic:
"What if multitudes of the faithful, appalled by what the sex-abuse crisis has shown the Church leadership to have become, were to detach themselves from – and renounce – the cassock-ridden power structure of the Church and reclaim Vatican II's insistence that the power structure is not the Church?
The Church is the people of God. The Church is a community that transcends space and time. Catholics should not yield to clerical despots the final authority over our personal relationship to the Church. I refuse to let a predator priest or a compliant bishop rip my faith from me."
Okay, one wants to reply, then don't let them…
"Replacing the diseased model of the Church with something healthy… will involve, for many, unauthorized expressions of prayer and worship – egalitarian, authentic, ecumenical; having nothing to do with diocesan borders, parish boundaries, or the sacrament of holy orders…"
"In what way, one might ask, can such institutional detachment square with actual Catholic identity? Through devotions and prayers and rituals that perpetuate the Catholic tradition in diverse forms, undertaken by a wide range of commensensical believers, all insisting on the Catholic character of what they are doing."
There you have it, folks. We don't need no stinking priests, all we need are commensensical believers…
In the end, if you will allow a friendly euphemism, James Carroll's beautifully articulated proscription is also a bit of a hoot.
He recognizes how no non-governmental organization has more power to promote change for the better around the world than does the Catholic Church. But he tells us that good work can only continue if the calcified institution becomes enlightened, reforms itself, and gets with the pluralist democratic program.
the need to fend off Catholic "triumphalism"…
If it can manage this overdue transition, "the Church will still have a world-wide reach, with some kind of organizing center… but that center will be protected from Catholic triumphalism by being openly engaged with other Christian denominations."
One hardly knows where to begin by way of response.
As if sexual abuse is non-existent in the rest of society, outside the Catholic clergy. As if the earnestness of everyday believers, insisting on the Catholic character of what they are doing, is all the encouragement any of us need on the road to salvation. As if belief in the "one, holy, and apostolic Church" is somehow holding us back.
For the record, I share Mr. Carroll's obvious enthusiasm for the word "egalitarian," and his equally obvious disdain for the word "hierarchy." I like to keep to myself, go my own way, and take pride in strange behavior.
But whether we like it or not, an organization of any size requires some sort of chain of command to accomplish anything at all. Otherwise total chaos ensues. In other words, as appealing as egalitarianism might be to our rugged sense of individualism, it has its built-in limitations.
And can't we all agree an organization with one billion members is a lot to corral? There will inevitably be some serious problems along the way. Let us not forget that people everywhere, in every time and place, will always be susceptible to the seven deadly sins. Those who have chosen of their own volition to wear a collar or a habit are not magically exempt from such temptations.
Having said that, my money will always be on the "selfless men and women" who serve the Church, many of whom happen to also be ordained or consecrated. The problem is not the priesthood, Mr. Carroll, it is with men who fail to live up to their vocation, or fail to take it seriously.
We should pray for the former, for the continued strength of our servant priests to deal with the occasional bouts of isolation and loneliness, as they dedicate their lives to helping us gain eternal salvation.
And by the way, this prayer intention extends to all of us, not just ordained men who are indeed "ontologically changed" by the sacrament of Holy Orders. We are all called to live the virtue of chastity, even married men. Not many of us have managed to do so recently, in this our sexually liberated age.
Here's a thought to close with: Just because the publishing houses that print his books and feature his articles in their magazines happen to agree with James Carroll and consider him a cutting-edge prophet, doesn't mean we have to.
Saving the Catholic Church does not require dismantling the priesthood.
What we lay believers need to detach ourselves from is not the clerical hierarchy, but rather the egalitarian impulses of the pluralist democratic order that have infested our thinking, and undermined our belief and practice, lo these many years.
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text:
est un film d'animation japonais réalisé par Kunihiko Yuyama et Motonori Sakakibara.

Il s'agit du  film d'animation de la série cinématographique Pokémon, faisant suite au long-métrage Le pouvoir est en nous, et basé sur le premier opus de la saga, Mewtwo contre-attaque. Le film est sorti le  au Japon.

Le film est disponible en France, sur la plateforme Netflix depuis le , en référence à la date de sortie des premiers jeux Pokémon ("Pocket Monsters Aka" (Rouge) et "Pocket Monsters Midori" (Vert)) au Japon, le .

Synopsis
Un Pokémon synthétique, Mewtwo, se rebelle contre les scientifiques de la Team Rocket qui l'ont conçu. Ayant soif de vengeance, il invite plusieurs dresseurs à un tournoi, avec pour intention de créer une armée de clones à partir de leurs Pokémon.

Fiche technique

Distribution

Voix originales
Source : Anime News Network.

Voix françaises
 Jean-Marc Delhausse : Mewtwo, ambiances
 Aurélien Ringelheim : Sacha
 Didier Colfs : Miaouss
 Fanny Roy : Ondine
 France Bastoen : Miranda
 Catherine Conet : Jessie
 David Manet : James
 Daniel Nicodème : Giovanni
 Antoni Lo Presti : Pierre
 Delphine Chauvier : Infirmière Joëlle, ambiances
 Marie Du Bled : Mew, ambiances
 Julie Basecqz : Agent Jenny
 Franck Dacquin : Dr. Fuji
 Marie Braam : Neesha
 Jean-François Rossion : Pirate, ambiances
 Fabian Finkels : Corey, ambiances
 Pierre le bec : Raymond, ambiances
 Michel Hinderyckx : narrateur, ambiances
 Lise Leclerq, Nicolas Ossowski, Brieuc Lemaire, Delphin, Elisabeth Guinand, Fabienne Loriaux, Marie Braam, Frédéric Clou, Grégory Praet : ambiances

Production
La première bande-annonce du film sort le . Une nouvelle bande-annonce ciblant le marché occidental est dévoilée le , annonçant la diffusion prochaine du film sur Netflix. Cette nouvelle sortie est prévue pour le .

Accueil

Notes et références

Voir aussi

Article connexe
 Liste des films de Pokémon

Liens externes

Film japonais sorti en 2019
Film d'animation japonais
Film Pokémon
Film réalisé par Kunihiko Yuyama
Film sur le clonage


text:
EA wants your feedback on Origin, Q&A to follow
Tell EA how you really feel
By emilygera May 3, 2012, 10:06am EDT
Via Side Mission | Source EA
Share All sharing options for: EA wants your feedback on Origin, Q&A to follow
EA is asking for customer feedback regarding the Origin digital distribution service
EA is asking users to provide feedback for its digital distribution service Origin, by leaving a comment on the official EA website regarding their favorite Origin feature and one they'd like to see added or improved upon.
"Since its launch in June 2011," states a post on the EA blog, "Origin has undergone a quiet evolution, smoothing corners, strengthening foundations, and adding-piece by piece-the elements needed to make it a truly enjoyable gaming platform. However, in focusing so intently on what's to come, we haven't always succeeded in communicating what's already available."
The publisher will host a live Q&A with Origin creative director Robert Kissinger and product manager Mike Lewis on May 8 at 10:00 a.m. PST.
Further information on how to RSVP for the event will be provided "soon," says EA.
Origin accumulated a customer base of more than 9.3millin users since its launch last June.


After spending a couple of hours weeding and sprucing up her own yard this summer, A.L. looked over at her neighbor's house, the two-family building next door, and noticed the overgrown shrubs, weeds growing just a few feet from the foundation, and grass that needed a good trim.
The houses in A.L.'s neighborhood are close together, and her yard touches on the neighbor's yard. Aside from regularly mowing the entire lawn between their houses -- a portion of which belongs to the neighbor -- A.L. is uncertain how to improve the rest of the neighbor's yard, which goes untended.
The owner of the house next door does not live there and rents out each of the apartments. Several roommates live in each unit. These neighbors are nice, quiet, respectful people, A.L. says. She hasn't seen the owner of the house for months.
It would probably take A.L. an extra hour or so to mow the rest of the neighbor's lawn, do some weeding and trim the unruly hedges. Other than mowing between their houses, however, the only other things she's ever done are to prune an overgrown rose bush that caught the garments of anyone walking on the side lawn, and remove a dead azalea bush.
A.L. knows the neighbor's yard would look a lot better -- as would the neighborhood -- if she just want ahead and spruced up the property herself.
"Is it my responsibility to look after (my neighbor's) yard?" A.L. asks. "Would it be wrong if I just walked over there and spent some time cleaning up the place?"
It's obviously not A.L.'s responsibility to maintain her neighbor's yard. And while it might seem neighborly to simply take care of the mess, this would be inappropriate. It is her neighbor's responsibility to decide how she wants the yard maintained...or not maintained. If A.L.'s attitude is that her neighbor would never notice any work she did, this is not justification for tending to her neighbor's property.
The right thing, if A.L. really believes the neighbor's lawn maintenance issue should be addressed, is to talk to the owner of the house. She can choose how to broach the subject, perhaps letting the owner know that since she last visited, the weeds, shrubs and lawn have gotten out of control. A.L. could then offer to mow the lawn and do some basic weeding. She should be sure to clear all such work with the owner before doing anything.
However, if the homeowner takes A.L. up on her offer, she might then expect A.L. to take permanent responsibility for maintaining the yard at her rental house. This already seems to be the case with the side yard they share. Such an arrangement may be fine with A.L., but the right thing to do is talk with her neighbor before taking on the task.
K.S., a reader from the Midwest, "had a great time studying and teaching" at her alma mater, but she whenever she's solicited for donations to the annual fund, she refuses.
While K.S. was working on a graduate degree in the mid-1990s, she also taught writing classes to freshmen and sophomores at the university. She continued teaching for a year after she completed her degree, then resigned to accept a new job in a new town.
After leaving the university, K.S. received two additional paychecks. Recognizing that they were sent in error, she returned the checks and explained that she was not entitled to them.
Shortly afterward, K.S. received a call from a university representative who told her that in addition to the checks she returned, she also had to repay the money that had been withheld from the two checks for taxes.
K.S. pointed out that it was not her responsibility to recover that money from the government, but rather the university's since it had made the error. University officials disagreed. Complicating matters, when the university sent her W2 indicating her earnings for that year, it included the two erroneously issued checks K.S. had returned. The university refused to issue a corrected W2 until K.S. repaid the university the money it had withheld from the two checks for taxes.
K.S. then called the IRS, which told her that all the university had to do was to call the IRS to recover the tax money it had withheld. She conveyed that information to the university, but was told they still wanted her to repay the money herself.
Since K.S. didn't have the money to hire a lawyer, she writes that a representative from the IRS helped her file her taxes by using her pay stubs from the university, rather than the incorrect W2.
"Everything turned out all right in the end," writes K.S. But because the university tried to make her pay for its mistake, she declines to send donations.
Should K.S.'s experience with university administrators over the erroneously sent paychecks outweigh the fact that her experience studying and teaching at the school were great? Since the years of positive experiences far outweigh the time it took to deal with this one negative incident, does K.S. owe it to the school to overlook what happened?
The right thing for K.S. to do is weigh her experience. If her final experience with her former employer soured her on how it treated a recent graduate, she has every right to turn her back. Of course, even if that experience had never happened, K.S. has no obligation to donate funds to her alma mater. How she decides to allocate any charitable contributions is up to her.
The university in question would do well to remember that it's not just the alumni affairs office that should consider how it treats the people once they leave the school. The right thing would have been for school officials to have worked with K.S. to resolve the problem, rather than forcing her to turn to the IRS for help.
As a small business owner trying to generate sales, is it ever a good idea to advise customers to not avail themselves of your services?
A few weeks ago, homeowners in parts of the Northeast where I live began to receive notices that revised flood plain classifications made it necessary for us to start carrying flood insurance on our homes. This wasn't exactly a surprise, since there had been talk of the revisions for some time. The unknown factor was how much coverage might cost.
The notices and subsequent discussions with insurance providers or banks holding mortgages began to make the costs clear.
My wife and I were among those who received a notice a couple of weeks ago from the bank with holds our mortgage, telling us the bank could sell us flood insurance. The banks quoted a price, but encouraged us to shop around among other providers for the best rate.
Our insurance broker informed us that to pinpoint an accurate price, she'd need a flood elevation certificate. While we knew we were in a flood plain and could consult FEMA maps to see what elevation zone we were in, no elevation certificate yet existed for our house. To get one, we'd have to hire a surveyor, which would cost between $600 and $1,000.
What we didn't know was whether the surveyor's findings would result in a lower premium than what our bank was offering. Because we and our neighbors were in the same boat -- most of them had no flood elevation certificates, either -- we couldn't compare prices on insurance.
The bank wasn't particularly helpful in letting us know how it determined the cost of our insurance without an elevation certificate. Uncertain what to do, we asked a surveyor, who'd done work for us before, whether it was worth spending the money on his services that could equal almost half of what the bank quoted as a price for flood insurance. He said it could just as easily turn out that once the elevation certificate was completed, other insurance company premiums might be lower -- but they might also be higher than the bank's quote.
If the surveyor had told us he thought the wise thing to do was go ahead and get the elevation certificate, we would have hired him for the job. Instead, he said, "I'd wait." He advised us that rather than spend money on his services, he'd recommend going with the bank's offer, then speaking with neighbors about their experiences. If it became clear later on that the elevation certificate was worth it to receive a lower rate, he'd be glad to handle our insurance.
He didn't turn down the job because he didn't want it. He works for a small company in town and could use the business. He advised us not to rush into hiring him because he believed this was honest advice and the right thing to do for a valued customer. When the time comes to get a flood elevation certificate or any other surveying services, his company has our business.
Does treating someone badly warrant a lack of civility in return?
A reader from Ontario, Canada, and her spouse were going through a rough patch with her teenage daughter. The problem was nothing extraordinary, but simply the type of behavior many parents of teens face as their children struggle for independence. Suddenly, a usually compliant child has turned into a young adult who wants to make decisions on his/her own. Some of these decisions can upset parents.
Because the reader was consumed by her daughter's behavior, she found herself more distracted than usual.
"When I was at the post office, a young girl -- 14 or so -- held the door open for me," she wrote. "I was so distraught I could not respond."
When no "thank you" was forthcoming from the reader, the teen said in a very sour voice, "Well, thank yoooooooou!" In light of what was going on in the reader's life at the time, she now wishes she'd the presence of mind to tell the girl what holding that door had meant to her.
It's not unusual for people to become distracted by daily concerns to the point of forgetting to acknowledge the small acts of kindness around them. The reader is correct: The right thing would have been to stop fretting about her daughter long enough to thank the girl for her kindness in holding the door.
Still, people make mistakes. Years ago, when I was shopping before work at the original Filene's Basement in downtown Boston, a fellow shopper shouted at me after I'd passed him in the aisle.
"Don't you say 'excuse me'?" he asked. When I looked at him in confusion, he shouted for all to hear, "The guy just hit me with his briefcase and he doesn't bother to say 'excuse me'!" I was certain he was correct and that my overstuffed briefcase must have struck him as I walked by, but I'd been completely oblivious.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't know." The apology didn't satisfy him, but each of us went on our way.
Did the reader's missed "thank you" call for a snarky response from the young door holder? No. The right thing would have been for the teen to simply hold the door and recognize that she'd done something nice for someone. A "thank you" would have been appropriate, but the lack of one doesn't diminish the kindness of her action. Her words did, turning a kind act into a churlish hurl of words.
Be kind, but don't turn on someone if they're not kind in return. Their actions should not alter your original intent. Some people, like the reader, are simply preoccupied and most often do not let acts of kindness pass unnoticed.


text:
Q: JDBC - Resultset is false I have the following problem.
I'm using JDBC and doing a query. But the qry doesn't work. If I let print out rs.next() it returns false.
The same qry works on the SQL-Developer itself, just not in JDBC.
QRY:
ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery("select account_id, oper_type, new_value from action where account_id = 1");
        //ResultSet rsAccount = stmt.executeQuery("select account_id from accounts");
        System.out.println("Accounts Update");
        System.out.println(rs.next());
        if(rs.next() == true){
            System.out.println("Not null");
        }

A: Ok, I "solved" it. The problem was that my project tutor forgot to add commit; at the end of the sql file

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
IndividualsProfessionalsInstitutionsInvestors
About Athene Careers
Athene Wins Three Awards at the 2019 Structured Retail Products (SRP) Indexed Insurance Awards
Company Release - 10/22/2019 4:30 PM ET
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Athene USA ("Athene"), a leading provider of retirement savings products, was recognized as a top performer at the Structured Retail Products (SRP) Americas Indexed Insurance Awards held in Des Moines recently, winning "FIA of the Year," "Carrier Hedging Team of the Year" and "Best Educational Initiative." The SRP Awards are designed to recognize the best buy- and sell-side companies, as well as identify the best service producers and distributors.
Athene Annuity and Life Company received the "FIA of the Year" award for Athene AgilitySM1, an annuity product that adapts to the needs of retirees whether for growth, income or help with the unexpected. The product achieved more than $1 billion in sales premium in its first 12 months from launch, making it one of the fastest-growing annuity products in the industry. Powered by a diverse and innovative selection of indices, Agility helps retirees plan for the unexpected.
The "Carrier Hedging Team of the Year" award recognizes the top carrier hedging team operating in the field of indexed annuities, based on innovation, price competitiveness, understanding client needs and after-sales support. Athene received this award based on the superior results received from the company's buy-side counterparties.
The "Best Educational Initiative" award is based on comprehensiveness, clarity and accessibility of educational material. Athene won this award for its four-part video series, created in partnership with "The Trust," the Wall Street Journal's creative consultancy and content group, on the hidden biases that affect the decision to purchase an annuity.
"We're honored that SRP continues to recognize Athene as a leader in the indexed insurance market and retirement services industry, year after year," said Grant Kvalheim, Chief Executive Officer and President, Athene USA. "Our goal is to serve our customers by providing them with innovative solutions to help them be financially prepared for the future. These awards are dedicated to our employees, distribution partners and index partners who help us achieve that goal every day."
About Athene USA
Athene USA is an Iowa-domiciled corporation that serves as the U.S. holding company for Athene's annuity operations in the United States. Headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, Athene USA serves customers in all 50 states, and through its predecessor companies, has been serving American consumers for more than 100 years.
1Important Information
This annuity has limitations and charges. For costs and complete details, please request a Certificate of Disclosure.
The interest earned is subject to certain limitations such as an Annual Spread, a Cap Rate, and Participation Rate. These limitations are declared by the Company before the beginning of each Index Term Period. Please note that the interest you earn may be zero; however, the interest that you earn will never be less than zero.
Withdrawals and surrender of taxable amounts are subject to ordinary income tax, and except under certain circumstances, will be subject to an IRS penalty if taken prior to age 59½. Withdrawals are not credited with index interest in the year they are taken. Withdrawals in excess of the free amount are subject to a Withdrawal Charge and MVA which may result in the loss of principal.
Athene Agility [GEN (09/15) NB], Income and Death Benefit Rider [IR (06/18)] and Enhanced Income Benefit Endorsement [EIBR (06/18)] or state variations are issued by Athene Annuity and Life Company, West Des Moines, IA. Product features, limitations and availability vary; see the Certificates of Disclosure for details. Products not available in all states.
This material is provided by Athene Annuity and Life Company (61689) headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, which issues annuities in 49 states (excluding NY) and D.C., and Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York (68039) headquartered in Pearl River, New York, which issues annuities in New York.
ATHENE ANNUITIES ARE PRODUCTS OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY AND NOT GUARANTEED BY ANY BANK NOR INSURED BY FDIC OR NCUA/NCUSIF. MAY LOSE VALUE. NO BANK/CREDIT UNION GUARANTEE. NOT A DEPOSIT. NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY. MAY ONLY BE OFFERED BY A LICENSED INSURANCE AGENT.
About Structured Retail Products (SRP)
SRP is the most comprehensive online database of structured products in the world with over 22 million individual product listings from almost three thousand companies, representing total sales of over $8.73tn. Our product and market data spans over 16+ years across 54 different countries and is supplemented by extensive independent analysis, daily news, people moves and exclusive interviews from key figures within the structured product space.
SRP has become an invaluable tool for a wide range of institutions involved in the manufacture and distribution of structured products across the globe. We specialize in company-wide, corporate access. Our clients include the world's largest investment banks, index providers, regulators, law firms and distributors.
SRP's mission is to demystify the industry by using our extensive and dynamic data, latest news and global events to showcase the value of structured products.
SRP clients range from blue chip companies to the smallest distributors, including:
All the major global financial services groups
Financial regulators
Index creators
SRP owns and maintains the specialist industry website structuredretailproducts.com.
Karen Lynn
klynn@athene.com
Noah Gunn
ngunn@athene.com
Source: Athene USA
Individuals Professionals Institutions Investors
© 2020 Athene. All Rights Reserved.
The institutional channel includes reinsurance and group annuity contracts related to pension risk transfers.
Reinsurance Pension Risk Transfer (PRT)


Caffeine Free - The rooibos plant grows naturally without any caffeine. It means that anyone can drink it, including those who do not want to drink caffeine such as children & pregnant women. The other key benefit of no caffeine is that it can be consumed in unrestricted amounts.
Contains powerful antioxidants €" Rooibos tea contains a wide array of antioxidants, which help to protect the body in a number of ways. Two polyphenol antioxidants called aspalathin and nothofagin are found in high concentrations in rooibos tea. These antioxidants protect the body by fighting free radicals. The polyphenols also have anti-inflammatory properties and can safeguard against heart disease.
High mineral content €" One of the key health benefits of rooibos is that it contains several minerals that are vital to health. These include: magnesium (essential for the nervous system), calcium & manganese (essential for strong teeth and bones), zinc (important for metabolism) and iron (critical for helping blood & muscles distribute oxygen).
Relieves stomach complaints €" As rooibos tea contains high levels of flavonoids, especially one called quercetin. It has the ability to relieve numerous abdominal ailments such as cramps, diahorrea and indigestion. Flavonoids are known help to reduce spasm, inflammation and allergies.
Aids absorption of iron €" Unlike most black teas, which prevent the body from absorbing iron effectively because of the tannins they contain, Rooibos Tea benefits and supports the body in absorbing iron. It contains less than half the tannins of black tea.


text:
Fear of ending a bad relationship
By Tom P Blake Finding Love After 50
When marriages crumble, there are always two sides to the story. In today's column, we hear of only the wife's side about being stuck in an unhappy second marriage.
Before men blast off emails of protest for not giving equal time to her husband, let me say we are not passing judgment on the husband. He could be a wonderful guy and he'd likely have a far different version of this story.
What's important today is the message at the end of the column that applies to all women in relationships, whether married or otherwise. Ending a relationship or ending a bad marriage is difficult, but is often the best thing.
Trapped by fear in a second marriage
A wife, in her late 40s, emailed: "I've been in a marriage for 15 years: we haven't had sex for four years. I am so alone and ready to end this relationship. I am ready to have love in my life and to live again. I am tired of living in a dead and buried marriage." Then, she elaborated on four things that are wrong, focusing mainly on her husband:
- "When he is home, he is glued to the TV and purposely seems to ignore me. He is unaffectionate and has always seemed uncomfortable with affection, and has lacked confidence in his sexual abilities
-His mother is extremely controlling and has always hated me and never permitted me or my children to come to her house
-I have gone through years of pain and loneliness living with a depressed passive- aggressive workaholic who shows one face in public and another in private
-The man who married us told me after counseling with us that my husband had never truly made a commitment in the whole thing and that I was the one who was committed. I should have given up then but I had invested so much in my dreams. Here I am five years later."
I asked why she has such trouble ending a bad marriage.
Her reply: "I have never had financial security and it has always been a source of fear in my life and in this relationship. Because we have no common goals and have had no common financial goals, I have always been in fear."
What's she going to do about her situation?
"I am investing in school and a way to give myself a financial floor to stand on. I would just like a chance to find out what I want and build a life that I picture for myself. That doesn't necessarily mean a relationship with anyone. I need a relationship with myself and to explore my new career. I would like to make some new friends as well.
"I love him but you can't change another person. If someone wants to cut their own nose off to spite their own face and you are married to them, they are cutting your nose off too. It is impossible to deal with a stubborn, passive-aggressive man."
There's a lesson in today's column
It applies to all women in marriages and relationships. Easier said than done, but women should not allow themselves to become completely dependent on men for financial security. They should never become so paralyzed by or locked into a situation that fear forces them to stay--fear of not being to make it on their own, fear of not finding another mate, fear of any kind-- when they'd be better off leaving.
I respect and admire wives and women in relationships who prepare themselves to be on their own should something negative happen to the relationship they're in. Some go back to school, others back to work, and others attend educational seminars. It's important for women to have a life outside of their relationship, with women friends and involvement in activities and hobbies they enjoy. Doing so likely makes their marriage or relationship even stronger. It is, in effect, preparing one's self to be single, if, God forbid, that ever happens.
I hear from single moms who are financially strapped, trying to raise kids without any financial help from the man or men who fathered their children. It is a huge problem. I know it is easier said than done, but somehow women need to ensure they have financial security especially as they look to their later years. At the least, they need social security and must earn the credits for that in their younger years.
Had this woman been better prepared, she would have said "adios" to a stifling marriage years ago, instead of it now being, "five years later."
And as I stated upfront, there are two sides to every story. I wasn't picking on the husband. Very few men act the way he allegedly did.


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text:
Q: Is it allowed to print the address of a dangling reference? Consider this code, which is slightly modified from here:
#include <iostream>

void foo() {
    int i;
    static auto f = [&i]() { std::cout << &i << "\n";};
    f();
}

int main() {
    foo();
    foo();
}

The lambda f is initialized only on the first call, during the second call the captured variable ceased to exists, the lambda holds a dangling reference, but only prints its address. No obvious issue with gcc and output looks ok:
0x7ffc25301ddc
0x7ffc25301ddc

Is it undefined behavior to take the address of a dangling reference, or is it ok?
For a very similar example gcc ( -Wall -Werror -pedantic -O3) produces a warning:
#include <iostream>

auto bar() {
    int i;
    return [&i]() {std::cout << &i << "\n"; };
}

int main() {
    bar()();
}

warning:
source>:5:14: error: address of stack memory associated with local variable 'i' returned [-Werror,-Wreturn-stack-address]
    return [&i]() {std::cout << &i << "\n"; };
             ^
<source>:5:14: note: captured by reference here
    return [&i]() {std::cout << &i << "\n"; };

Of course, the fact that gcc compiles the first example and produces expected(?) output while warns for the second does not mean a thing. Where in the standard I can find whether using the address of a dangling reference is fine or not?
PS: I suppose the answer is somewhere in [basic.life], though I was browsing it several times, but I have a hard time to see what applies and what it is trying to tell me.

A: I believe this is poorly specified, but may be implementation-defined.
The question and the other answer presumes that i is a dangling reference. That presumes that it is a reference at all. But that's not correct!
It is notable that a reference capture is not a reference. The standard explicitly and intentionally says that a reference capture may not result in non-static data members of the closure type. [expr.prim.lambda/12]:

It is unspecified whether additional unnamed non-static data members are declared in the closure type for entities captured by reference.

That's why the rewriting for entity names only happens to copy captures. [expr.prim.lambda/11]:

Every id-expression within the compound-statement of a lambda-expression that is an odr-use of an entity captured by copy is transformed into an access to the corresponding unnamed data member of the closure type.

The same is not true of reference captures. The id-expression i within the lambda body refers to the original entity. It is not, as one might reasonably assume, a non-static member of the closure type which acts as an int&.
As far as I can tell, this dates back to some rewording in N2927 before C++11. Prior to that, during standardization, reference captures apparently did result in closure type members and did trigger a rewrite in the body just as copy captures. The change was intentional.
So... the lambda body names an object i of type int which on the second invocation is not only outside its lifetime, but the storage has also been released.
With that in mind, let's try to infer if that's okay.
The standard explicitly allows using the name outside lifetime but before storage re-use. [basic.life/7]:

after the lifetime of an object has ended and before the storage which the object occupied is reused or released, any glvalue that refers to the original object may be used but only in limited ways. For an object under construction or destruction, see [class.cdtor]. Otherwise, such a glvalue refers to allocated storage ([basic.stc.dynamic.allocation]), and using the properties of the glvalue that do not depend on its value is well-defined.

That doesn't actually apply, because here storage is released. However, when storage is not released, you can infer that the committee generally intends that naming entities that do not depend on the value of it are OK. In practice, mostly avoid the lvalue-to-rvalue conversion.
The standard also explicitly invalidates pointers on storage release. [basic.stc.general/4]:

When the end of the duration of a region of storage is reached, the values of all pointers representing the address of any part of that region of storage become invalid pointer values. Indirection through an invalid pointer value and passing an invalid pointer value to a deallocation function have undefined behavior. Any other use of an invalid pointer value has implementation-defined behavior.

We don't have a pointer. Of note, references aren't "zapped", but we don't have a reference either.
So, how do we put this together?
Is naming i alone a problem? It is explicitly allowed to name i after its lifetime but before storage release. I cannot find any prohibition against naming i after storage release. It must refer to the same object, which is outside its lifetime. In other words, the rules say i is an lvalue representing some object, and they also say that continues after the object lifetime. They do not say it stops at storage release.
Is using but not accessing i a problem? By taking the address, we do not trigger lvalue-to-rvalue conversion, and we do not "access" i. I cannot find a prohibition. The address operator ([expr.unary.op/3]) says it will return the address of the designated object, which is the object the lvalue names.
What is the result of &i? The language about pointer zapping could be read to mean that the result, which is a pointer representing the address of storage which was released, must be an invalid pointer value.
Can we print &i? The language on invalid pointer values is clear that indirection and deallocation are undefined, but everything else is implementation-defined.
So... it may be implementation-defined.

A: Yes, it is undefined behavior, because applying the & address-of operator to a reference retreives the address of the object being referred to, which in your example does not exist anymore as it has gone out of scope and been destroyed.  You can't take the address of an object that doesn't exist.


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