text:
Thursday Reads: Some Good News for a Change
Posted: May 31, 2018 | Author: bostonboomer | Filed under: morning reads, U.S. Politics | Tags: Affordable Care Act, Equal Rights Amendment, Howard Stern, Illinois, individual mandate, Jeff Sessions, Medicaid expansion, Melania Trump, New Jersey, the resistance, Virginia | 41 Comments
For once I can begin a post with some upbeat stories.
Chicago Tribune: llinois approves Equal Rights Amendment, 36 years after deadline.
The Illinois House voted Wednesday night to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment more than 45 years after it was approved by Congress, putting it one state away from possible enshrinement in the U.S. Constitution amid potential legal questions.
The 72-45 vote by the House, following an April vote by the Senate, was just one more vote than needed for ratification. It does not need the approval of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has said he supports equal rights but was faulted by Democrats for not taking a position on the ERA….
As has been the case for decades, the legislative debate over the Equal Rights Amendment was fraught with controversy. Opponents largely contended the measure was aimed at ensuring an expansion of abortion rights for women. Supporters said it was needed to give women equal standing in the nation's founding document.
Opponents also contended the measure may be moot, since its original 1982 ratification deadline has long since expired. Supporters argued, however, that the 1992 ratification of the 1789 "Madison Amendment," preventing midterm changes in congressional pay, makes the ERA a legally viable change to the constitution.
Read the whole thing at the link above. Some history:
On March 22, 1972, the Senate approved the Equal Rights Amendment, which banned discrimination on the basis of sex. The amendment fell three states shy of ratification.
In 1923, three years after the ratification of the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, suffragist Alice Paul drafted an amendment to guarantee equal rights for women. Known as the Equal Rights Amendment or the Lucretia Mott Amendment, it stated, "Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction."
The amendment was presented to Congress in 1923, and re-introduced to every session of Congress for nearly 50 years. It mostly stayed in committee until 1946, when a reworded proposal, dubbed the Alice Paul Amendment, lost a close vote in the Senate. Four years later, the Senate passed a weaker version of the amendment that was not supported by ERA proponents.
Opposition to ERA came from social conservatives and from labor leaders, who feared that it would threaten protective labor laws for women. Support for the amendment increased during the 1960s as the Civil Rights Movement inspired a second women's rights movement. The National Organization for Women (NOW), founded in 1966, led to movement for the passage of ERA.
In 1970, Rep. Martha Griffiths of Michigan succeeded in getting the ERA out of committee and before Congress for debate. The House of Representatives passed the amendment without changes 352-15 in 1971. The Senate passed the amendment on March 22, 1972, a day after voting against any proposed changes.
The passed amendment read: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."
The second bit of good news, from The Washington Post: Virginia General Assembly approves Medicaid expansion to 400,000 low-income residents.
The Virginia legislature voted Wednesday to make government health insurance available to 400,000 low-income residents, overcoming five years of GOP resistance. The decision marks a leftward shift in the legislature and an enormous win for Gov. Ralph Northam (D), the pediatrician who ran on expanding access to health care.
Virginia will join 32 other states and the District in expanding Medicaid coverage. The measure is expected to take effectJan. 1.
"This is not just about helping this group of people," said Sen. Frank Wagner (Virginia Beach), one of four Republicans in the Senate who split from their party to join Democrats and pass the measure by a vote of 23 to 17. "This is about getting out there and helping to bend the cost of health care for every Virginian. . . . It is the number one issue on our voters' minds. By golly, it ought to be the number one issue on the General Assembly's mind."
Another Republican who broke ranks, Sen. Ben Chafin (Russell), is a lawyer and a cattle farmer from a rural district where health care is sorely lacking.
"I came to the conclusion that 'no' just wasn't the answer anymore, that doing nothing about the medical conditions, the state of health care in my district, just wasn't the answer any longer," he said.
After the Senate vote, the House of Delegates approved the measure by 67 to 31 as the chamber erupted in cheers.
Also from the WaPo: Why Virginia's Medicaid expansion is a big deal.
It's another nail in the coffin for efforts to repeal Obamacare and a fresh reminder of how difficult it is to scale back any entitlement once it's created. Many Republicans, in purple and red states alike, concluded that Congress is unlikely to get rid of the law, so they've become less willing to take political heat for leaving billions in federal money on the table.
Years of obstruction in the commonwealth gave way because key Republicans from rural areas couldn't bear to deny coverage for their constituents any longer, moderates wanted to cut a deal and, most of all, Democrats made massive gains in November's off-year elections.
As President Trump steps up efforts to undermine the law, from repealing the individual mandate to watering down requirements for what needs to be covered in "association health plans," the administration's willingness to let states impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients has paradoxically given a rationale for Republicans to flip-flop on an issue where they had dug in their heels.
And in New Jersey: Phil Murphy signs law protecting Obamacare from Trump with N.J. mandate to have health insurance.
Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday signed a law preserving a critical yet controversial part of the Affordable Care Act that President Donald Trump's administration repealed last year.
One of the laws creates a statewide individual mandate, which will require all New Jerseyans who don't have health coverage through a government program like Medicare or their jobs to buy a policy, or pay a fee at tax time.
The landmark federal health care law, better known as Obamacare, imposed the mandate to ensure younger and healthier people who might otherwise forgo insurance will buy-in and share costs.
But the tax package approved by the Republican-led Congress and signed into law by Trump will end the mandate in 2019. The requirement was one of the more distasteful parts of the law for lawmakers and the public who believe it allowed government to intrude into people's lives.
State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, one of the prime sponsors of the law, said keeping the mandate "was needed to maintain a foundation for the insurance market and to allow the success of the ACA to continue."
The resistance is making progress!
In other news, The Daily Beast reports that Trump wanted Howard Stern to speak at the 2016 Republican convention, according to his interview last night with David Letterman (emphasis added).
Letterman doesn't spend much time on the subject of Trump, a person whom Stern has spent more time interviewing than anyone else on the planet, the host does ask the "King of All Media" how he feels about Trump's tenure as president.
"Well you know, it was a very awkward kind of thing, because Donald asked me to speak at the Republican National Convention," Stern reveals. "And he would call me from the campaign trail very often, and say, 'Are you watching?' I was tickled by this, because I really kind of felt, deep in my heart, that this campaign was really more about selling a book, or selling a brand. I didn't really understand that he would really want to be president." [….]
Stern continued: "I was put in a very awkward position of having to say publicly—and to him—that I was a Hillary Clinton supporter. I always have been, and I was honest with Donald. I said, 'Donald, you also supported Hillary.' And I do consider Donald a friend but my politics are different."
The AP has an interesting story on Republican efforts to protect Jeff Sessions' job.
In private meetings, public appearances on television and late-night phone calls, Trump's advisers and allies have done all they can to persuade the president not to fire a Cabinet official he dismisses as disloyal. The effort is one of the few effective Republican attempts to install guardrails around a president who delights in defying advice and breaking the rules.
It's an ongoing effort, though not everyone is convinced the relationship is sustainable for the long term….
The case that Sessions' protectors have outlined to Trump time and again largely consists of three components: Firing Sessions, a witness in Mueller's investigation of obstruction of justice, would add legal peril to his standing in the Russia probe; doing so would anger the president's political base, which Trump cares deeply about, especially with midterm election looming this fall; and a number of Republican senators would rebel against the treatment of a longtime colleague who was following Justice Department guidelines in his recusal.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has said that he will not schedule a confirmation hearing for another attorney general nominee if Sessions is fired.
Click on the link to read the rest.
Melania Trump has missing from the public eye for 20 days now. Yesterday her husband apparently decided to send a message from her Twitter account, but he forgot to make the language sound like her.
Someone is getting very sloppy at his new job of pretending to be @FLOTUS . . . pic.twitter.com/H7MncLn3Nu
— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) May 31, 2018
A few more stories to check out:
The New Yorker: How the Trump Administration Got Comfortable Separating Immigrant Kids from Their Parents.
Nicholas Kristof at The New York Times: Trump Immigration Policy Veers From Abhorrent to Evil.
The Washington Post: Trump plans to impose metal tariffs on closest U.S. allies.
The New York Times: For 'Columbiners,' School Shootings Have a Deadly Allure.
The Daily Beast: What Happened to Jill Stein's Recount Millions?
The New York Times: How Trump's Election Shook Obama: 'What if We Were Wrong?'
NPR: Russia's Lavrov Meets With Kim Jong Un, As Pompeo Tries To Salvage Summit.
CNBC: Trump will pardon conservative pundit Dinesh D'Souza, who was convicted of campaign finance violation.
Wednesday Reads: Razing the Barr
Posted: May 30, 2018 | Author: JJ Lopez aka Minkoff Minx | Filed under: Donald Trump, Fox News, morning reads, open thread, Political and Editorial Cartoons, racism, the GOP, U.S. Politics, white nationalists | 13 Comments
Popeye by E.C. Segar
News of yesterday in one tweet:
It's a stormy day in Trumpistan: Roseanne got fired for being racist, GOP Gov Eric Greitens resigned due to a sexual assault scandal, Trump's WH tried to cover up the fact 4,600 Americans died in Puerto Rico & Trump's campaign illegally tried to suppress the black vote. Pathetic.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) May 29, 2018
But they didn't just fire Roseanne from her new old show…check this out:
Viacom is pulling 'Roseanne' reruns from its Paramount Network, TV Land and CMT channels, TheWrap reports.https://t.co/1qKVTnuTYm
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 29, 2018
First they came for Roseanne, and I said nothing, because Roseanne sucks. Then they came for Bill Maher, and I said nothing, because Bill Maher also sucks.
— David Hill (@davehill77) May 29, 2018
Yes please…take Maher's sorry ass with you!
Then as if those moments didn't bring a fleeting tickle of joy, it seems like FoxNews is hitting a wall?
Fox News' Judge Napolitano Calls Trump's 'Spygate' Claims 'Baseless': There's 'No Evidence Whatsoever' https://t.co/nfPbHW9y3D (VIDEO) pic.twitter.com/lPVANdHmYq
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) May 30, 2018
Holy shit, Shep is on a roll today.
In just 2 minutes Shep dismantles almost every single recent Fox News narrative.
"Trump claimed Feds spied on his campaign … calls it Spygate. Fox News can confirm it is not. Fox News knows of no evidence to support the president's claim" pic.twitter.com/nMk7uNhuZU
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) May 29, 2018
Republican Trey Gowdy suggests FBI did nothing wrong using an informant to gather info on Trump campaign after being briefed on the situation. "I am even more convinced that the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do" he said on Fox. https://t.co/VoamBa2FFe
— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) May 30, 2018
Well, if you ever need to get a glimpse at what a tRump rally is like, but don't want to actually watch one, check out Daniel Dale twitter feed during one of them:
Talking about rebuilding America, Trump…goes out of his way to say he has big hands:
"We'll do it all with these big beautiful hands. Look at these hands."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) May 30, 2018
Dale fact checks tRump as he goes along. It is refreshing to see.
Trump has told three elaborate stories tonight in which he has talked to someone who called him "sir." I don't think any one of the stories has any basis in reality.
See what I mean…
If you are missing the Donald Trump rally let me just let you know that Donald Trump is making fun of Chuck Schumer for crying…
And Chuck cried while remembering losing family members in the Holocaust.
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) May 30, 2018
Depressing sight at Trump rally in Nashville: adorable young boy, probly about my son's age, pointing iPhone at me & other reporters & snapping pix while screaming "FAKE NEWS!" A child who will grow up believing a free & fair press is the enemy, a bad thing, to be mocked & hated
— Julie Davis (@juliehdavis) May 30, 2018
Can we get this asshole…gone already?
Oh about the news regarding the number of dead in Puerto Rico:
A new Harvard study estimates that nearly 5,000 people died in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria – a much larger number than the official government death toll of 64. https://t.co/Vkfv6S30vs
— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) May 29, 2018
And here is a bit of tRump foreign policy…in the works…
But the funny thing is…this is just what China did with all those Ivanka trademarks and that tRump tower deal, innit?
Enough of all this shit. Here are your cartoons:
05/29/2018 Cartoon by John Cole
05/29/2018 Cartoon by Bob Gorrell
You have to go click the link to see that one…I suggest you do it!
Trump and NFL offended by kneeling : 05/29/2018 Cartoon by David G. Brown
They aren't funny anymore…
For Profits: 05/29/2018 Cartoon by Paul Fell
Tap Dance: 05/28/2018 Cartoon by Ed Hall
take a knee – NOT: 05/27/2018 Cartoon by Deb Milbrath
Memorial Day 2018: 05/28/2018 Cartoon by Deb Milbrath
NFL Anthem Policy: 05/27/2018 Cartoon by Adam Zyglis
05/27/2018 Cartoon by MStreeter
Clay Bennett editorial cartoon: 05/27/2018 Cartoon by Clay Bennett
Memorial Day: 05/27/2018 Cartoon by Rob Rogers
How I wish….
I'm ending the post with news that Kim Kardashian is meeting with tRump and Kushner on prison reform. It seemed like the punchline to the start is another day in tRump hell.
Tuesday Reads: Where is Melania? And Other News
Posted: May 29, 2018 | Author: bostonboomer | Filed under: morning reads, U.S. Politics | Tags: conspiracy theories, Deep State, Donald Trump, Robert Mueller, Russia investigation, Where is Melania? | 37 Comments
Dump trucks lined up around Trump Tower in NY.
What has happened to Melania? I'm becoming obsessed with this question. It has now been 18 days since she's been seen in public on May 10. How much longer can the White House go on claiming she's living there without evidence? The latest rumor is that she has gone back to New York.
Melania surfaces in New York:
Secret Service has confirmed that Melania Trump has moved back to New York for the "foreseeable future" . Agents are assigned to her New York detail.
Costing us more $$$….
— Susan (@MsSusanMo) May 28, 2018
The evidence is that dump trucks have appeared all around Trump Tower. Apparently, that also happened the two times that Trump stayed in New York.
Exactly. The 2 Times he stayed there they were all there. He snuck out in the middle of the night to avoid protestors too I remember. #LiarGate #LIEGATE #TrumpLiesMatter #Followthemoney pic.twitter.com/NYMO765aqS
— Deke (@TapestryofPeace) May 28, 2018
The Inquistr reported yesterday that Melania's Twitter location had changed to New York. But it turns out that they were looking at the Twitter account Melania used before becoming first lady. The FLOTUS account that she uses now still says Washington, DC. So that's a red herring that was debunked by The Palmer Report.
Why wasn't Melania with her husband at yesterday's Memorial Day ceremony?
Michelle Obama accompanied her husband to the Arlington #MemorialDay observation. Why hasn't Melania? She's been missing for 18 days now. #WhereIsMelania pic.twitter.com/9LTJrBzvBd
— Cornelia (@PaladinCornelia) May 28, 2018
Trump claimed she was in a window looking down at a press gaggle outside the White House, but no one else could see her. The White House is going to have to explain what's happening eventually, or the occasional speculation is going become an uproar.
This is from a gossip site linked by The Palmer Report. Hollywood Life: Melania Trump Vanished After Surgery – She Wishes Donald's Presidency Was Over, Claims Source.
Melania Trump, 48, underwent kidney surgery on May 14, and has since secluded herself from the public eye. But her break isn't completely health-related – she's also trying to better her marriage to Donald Trump, 71."Melania has been taking a little 'me time' to work on fully regaining her health, and to try and strengthen her marriage again," a source close to the First Lady tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. "It's been a hideously stressful past few months, and Melania needs a break out of the media glare to recharge her batteries and take stock."
However, our insider noted that the president isn't making things easier for his wife. "Donald has been under an ever increasing ton of pressure, so he definitely isn't in the best of moods, which makes for a pretty tense atmosphere at home," the source continued. "Melania really is getting to the point now where she just wishes Donald's presidency was over, and she can't wait to return to her 'regular' life again, even though she realizes it will never be quite the same."
The Palmer Report claims this means Melania is having psychological problems.
This confirms that there was never any kidney problem; this is some kind of mental health break. It's been fairly obvious from the start that this has probably been a mental health issue, but due to the sensitive nature of the situation, we've gone out of our way not to explicitly say it.
I'm not sure we can assume this based on an anonymous source quoted at a gossip site, but what else could explain her disappearance from public view? At this point, I have to believe that Melania wants out of her marriage and that's why we haven't seen her since May 10. We've seen how she resists holding his hand–sometimes even batting it away.
This is interesting, from Riot Woman (second tweet in series):
Interactions like this have been captured several times. This is January 19th, 2017. It's the day before the inauguration. Trump and Melania are in a room full of supporters.
First he makes her agree that he's a nice person. She says she does not want to speak.
Watch his hand. pic.twitter.com/KN7puZa9Ik
— ☇RiotWomenn☇ (@riotwomennn) May 29, 2018
There's more. You can see the entire thread here. One more from Sarah Kendzior:
Trying to imagine the reaction if a previous president had a record of beating and raping his first wife, emotionally abusing his second wife, sexually assaulting multiple women…and then his third wife is abruptly hospitalized and not seen for 17 days and counting
— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) May 29, 2018
It's time for some serious journalists at the NYT and WaPo to locate Melania and find out what's going on.
A few days ago I posted a Politico article in which former SDNY prosecutor Nelson W. Cunningham offered some predictions about the Rus:sia investigation. Today he has more predictions, again at Politico: Bob Mueller's White Hot Summer.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller may well be in the final stages of wrapping up his principal investigation. Last week, I argued here in Politico that Mueller will want to avoid interfering with the November midterms, and so will try to conclude by July or August. On this one we can believe Trump's new lawyer, former prosecutor and New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who claims Mueller's target is September 1.
How will Mueller wrap up his investigation? What will he produce? And then – what can we expect from the other players in this saga: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, President Trump and his lawyers, and the Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress?
Nelson W. Cunningham
As a former prosecutor and Senate Judiciary and White House lawyer who has carefully studied presidential investigations since Watergate, the next steps in this constitutional dance seem clear. Mark Twain was certainly right when he said, "History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes." And this summer may well be the most consequential in presidential politics since 1974, the year Watergate came to a head.
Here are the predictions, which you can read about in detail at the link above.
– Mueller will not indict the president, but will issue a comprehensive and detailed report.
– Rod Rosenstein will decide to release the report to Congress and the public.
– Rosenstein's move to release the Mueller report will lead to his firing and perhaps another Saturday Night Massacre.
– And this is when the Senate and the Congress might finally engage.
If Cunningham is correct, we have an interesting summer ahead.
Trump is clearly obsessed with what Mueller is doing. He spent the long Memorial Day weekend tweeting about it. Yesterday, after inappropriately tweeting "Happy Memorial Day!" and then bragging about his so-called accomplishments, he sent multiple tweets about the Russia investigation, trying to twist it into a Democratic scandal. Politico:
Trump pivoted to tweeting about Fox News segments on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election – an investigation that Trump and his allies contend, without evidence, was politically motivated to harm Trump's campaign and his administration.
"'The President deserves some answers.' @FoxNews in discussing 'SPYGATE.'" Trump wrote on Twitter.
The "president" is bald.
Minutes later, he posted again: "'Sally Yates is part of concerns people have raised about bias in the Justice Dept. I find her actions to be really quite unbelievable.' Jonathan Turley."
"'We now find out that the Obama Administration put the opposing campaigns presidential candidate, or his campaign, under investigation. That raises legitimate questions. I just find this really odd…this goes to the heart of our electoral system.' Jonathan Turley on @FoxNews," he added….
Trump appears increasingly obsessed with what he is calling "Spygate" – the notion that his campaign was surveilled by the Justice Department for political purposes. There is no evidence to suggest this is the case. The FBI utilized an informant to talk to campaign officials after they discovered evidence that the officials had Russia-linked contacts during the campaign, while Russia was allegedly waging a covert disinformation campaign to harm Democrat Hillary Clinton and help Trump.
The NYT on Trump's attempts to reshape the narrative: With 'Spygate,' Trump Shows How He Uses Conspiracy Theories to Erode Trust.
As a candidate, Donald J. Trump claimed that the United States government had known in advance about the Sept. 11 attacks. He hinted that Antonin Scalia, a Supreme Court justice who died in his sleep two years ago, had been murdered. And for years, Mr. Trump pushed the notion that President Barack Obama had been born in Kenya rather than Honolulu, making him ineligible for the presidency.
None of that was true.
The "president's" narrative
Last week, President Trump promoted new, unconfirmed accusations to suit his political narrative: that a "criminal deep state" element within Mr. Obama's government planted a spy deep inside his presidential campaign to help his rival, Hillary Clinton, win — a scheme he branded "Spygate." It was the latest indication that a president who has for decades trafficked in conspiracy theories has brought them from the fringes of public discourse to the Oval Office.
Now that he is president, Mr. Trump's baseless stories of secret plots by powerful interests appear to be having a distinct effect. Among critics, they have fanned fears that he is eroding public trust in institutions, undermining the idea of objective truth and sowing widespread suspicions about the government and news media that mirror his own.
"The effect on the life of the nation of a president inventing conspiracy theories in order to distract attention from legitimate investigations or other things he dislikes is corrosive," said Jon Meacham, a presidential historian and biographer. "The diabolical brilliance of the Trump strategy of disinformation is that many people are simply going to hear the charges and countercharges, and decide that there must be something to them because the president of the United States is saying them."
Read the rest at the NYT.
The Washington Post has a piece on the ways Trump has reduced the White House to a one-man operation: 'The only one': In new West Wing season, Trump calls the shots and aides follow.
The White House communications director's job has been vacant for exactly two months. But in practice, it has been filled since the day Hope Hicks said farewell to her unofficial replacement — President Trump himself.
The president also has unofficially performed the roles of many other senior staffers in recent months, leaving the people holding those jobs to execute on his instincts and ideas.
And that's exactly how Trump likes his West Wing.
Largely gone are the warring factions that dominated life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the first year of Trump's term, replaced by solo players — many with personal connections to the president and their own miniature fiefdoms — laboring to do their jobs and survive.
Trump has brought in a handful of senior people who believe in him personally, are temperamentally in sync with the brash boss and are invested in his political success more than some of his first-year aides were. As one top official put it, "Ultimately he's the only one anyone elected."
The authors point out that this doesn't seem to be working for him in terms of accomplishments. They also write that WH staff has been reduced to simply trying to stop him from doing something completely crazy.
Rather than struggling to manipulate the president to follow their personal agendas, the senior staff members of Trump's Year 2 — or "Season 3," in Trump's reality television parlance — focus on trying to curb his most outlandish impulses while generally executing his vision and managing whatever fallout may follow. Most of all, officials said, they "get" Trump.
"Last year was the year of adjustment. He was constrained by an axis of adults and adjusting to be president," said Thomas Wright, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "This year is the year of action. He's giving the orders, even if there's resistance.
"Next year," he continued, "is the hangover year, the year of living with the consequences."
That doesn't sound too promising.
Anyway, onward into another day of hoping Trump doesn't blow up the world. What stories are you following?
Memorial Day Reads
Posted: May 28, 2018 | Author: dakinikat | Filed under: just because | Tags: China, History, Memorial Day, trade wars | 17 Comments
It's the Memorial Day Holiday!
Sewell Chan writes for the NYT about the 'unofficial' history of Memorial Day. It is something we discovered and shared before but it bears repeating because it explains why the holiday still gets short shrift in here in the Deep South. It also explains why some Southern States still have a separate Confederate Memorial Day. I still remain shocked that Mississippi refused to recognize it as a holiday until recently.
David W. Blight, a historian at Yale, has a different account. He traces the holiday to a series of commemorations that freed black Americans held in the spring of 1865, after Union soldiers, including members of the 21st United States Colored Infantry, liberated the port city of Charleston, S.C.
Digging through an archive at Harvard, Dr. Blight found that the largest of these commemorations took place on May 1, 1865, at an old racecourse and jockey club where hundreds of captive Union prisoners had died of disease and been buried in a mass grave. The black residents exhumed the bodies and gave them proper burials, erected a fence around the cemetery, and built an archway over it with the words, "Martyrs of the Race Course."
Some 10,000 black people then staged a procession of mourning, led by thousands of schoolchildren carrying roses and singing the Union anthem "John Brown's Body." Hundreds of black women followed with baskets of flowers, wreaths and crosses. Black men, including Union infantrymen, also marched. A children's choir sang spirituals and patriotic songs, including "The Star-Spangled Banner."
"The war was over, and Memorial Day had been founded by African-Americans in a ritual of remembrance and consecration," Dr. Blight wrotein a 2011 essay for The New York Times. "The war, they had boldly announced, had been about the triumph of their emancipation over a slaveholders' republic. They were themselves the true patriots."
The African-American origins of the holiday were later suppressed, Dr. Blight found, by white Southerners who reclaimed power after the end of Reconstruction and interpreted Memorial Day as a holiday of reconciliation, marking sacrifices — by white Americans — on both sides. Black Americans were largely marginalized in this narrative.
"In the struggle over memory and meaning in any society, some stories just get lost while others attain mainstream recognition," Dr. Blight wrote.
His claim is not universally accepted; the fact-checking website Snopes says of the 1865 remembrance: "Whether it was truly the first such ceremony, and what influence (if any) it might have had on later observances, are still matters of contention."
Here is BostonBoomer's blog from 2014 and Mink's from 2012. We remember the role of slaves freed by the sacrifice of Union Soldiers in our Civil War in celebrating that sacrifice.
I always remember Decoration Day because when I was very young we would do what my parents did as children. We went to small cemeteries in Kansas and Missouri to make certain the family grave sites were attended and clean. We picnicked and trimmed bushes then put peonies in jars on the graves of greats and cousins who died in war. For some reason, all of our family grave plots were resplendent with huge peony bushes. My mother always beat them back and would announce loudly how much she hated them. Peony bushes were not allowed any where near home. They were left to the dead in my family and they bloomed profusely each Memorial Day.
In Caney Kansas, where my own grandparents are now buried, lays my Great Uncle Jack along side his mother, my Great Grandmother Anna. He didn't die in the battlefields of Europe during World War 1 but came home with complications from Mustard Gas. He died quite young on the family farm but it was of his wounds brought home as a dough boy fighting in a trench. Many soldiers come home with wounds seen and unseen that eventually catch up to them. I never understood why I was told Dad's Uncle Jack wasn't quite included in the same way as those whose graves got the peonies properly but we gave him peonies because my Dad and Nana adored him and it felt right to me. Some times our country has a short memory with a narrow focus. It doesn't really remember all of the sacrifices of those who came before us including every single slave who died unfree.
Today, we also remember the sacrifice of every gold star family too. I hope Cadet Bonespurs plays golf and that his selfish, hateful face stays away from the one holiday he can truly sully with just his presence. Unfortunately, he left long enough to give a lofty speech at Arlington that should have been given by any better person. But, take heart, he still had a way of making it all about him!
Serial lying psychopath Trump celebrates Memorial Day by saying dead soldiers would have loved his presidency https://t.co/E24vYr24L4 #MemorialDay
— Bill Madden (@activist360) May 28, 2018
I read this article last night and even reviewed the variables and methodology of the original study. It's amazing to actually review the panel data and see which attributes are significant to the question at hand but the findings are not surprising. NBC shares "The Trump effect: New study connects white American intolerance and support for authoritarianism."
A new study, however, suggests that the main threat to our democracy may not be the hardening of political ideology, but rather the hardening of one particular political ideology. Political scientists Steven V. Miller of Clemson and Nicholas T. Davis of Texas A&M have released a working paper titled "White Outgroup Intolerance and Declining Support for American Democracy." Their study finds a correlation between white American's intolerance, and support for authoritarian rule. In other words, when intolerant white people fear democracy may benefit marginalized people, they abandon their commitment to democracy.
Miller and Davis used information from the World Values Survey, a research project organized by a worldwide network of social scientists which polls individuals in numerous countries on a wide range of beliefs and values. Based on surveys from the United States, the authors found that white people who did not want to have immigrants or people of different races living next door to them were more likely to be supportive of authoritarianism. For instance, people who said they did not want to live next door to immigrants or to people of another race were more supportive Iof the idea of military rule, or of a strongman-type leader who could ignore legislatures and election results.
The World Values Survey data used is from the period 1995 to 2011 — well before Donald Trump's 2016 run for president. It suggests, though, that Trump's bigotry and his authoritarianism are not separate problems, but are intertwined. When Trump calls Mexicans "rapists," and when he praises authoritarian leaders, he is appealing to the same voters.
The Chinese Trade Wars are showing winners and losers already. Winners include Trump himself–and now, Ivanka– plus Chinese Companies including ones that threaten US National Security. The losers are US companies. We seem completely unable to stop this.
Ivanka Trump's brand continues to win foreign trademarks in China and the Philippines, adding to questions about conflicts of interest at the White House, The Associated Press has found.
On Sunday, China granted the first daughter's company final approval for its 13th trademark in the last three months, trademark office records show. Over the same period, the Chinese government has granted Ivanka Trump's company provisional approval for another eight trademark s, which can be finalized if no objections are raised during a three-month comment period.
Taken together, the trademarks could allow her brand to market a lifetime's worth of products in China, from baby blankets to coffins, and a host of things in between, including perfume, make-up, bowls, mirrors, furniture, books, coffee, chocolate and honey. Ivanka Trump stepped back from management of her brand and placed its assets in a family-run trust, but she continues to profit from the business.
"Ivanka Trump's refusal to divest from her business is especially troubling as the Ivanka brand continues to expand its business in foreign countries," Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said in an email Monday. "It raises significant questions about corruption, as it invites the possibility that she could be benefiting financially from her position and her father's presidency or that she could be influenced in her policy work by countries' treatment of her business."
As Ivanka Trump and her father have built their global brands, largely through licensing deals, they have pursued trademarks in dozens of countries. Those global trademarks have drawn the attention of ethics lawyers because they are granted by foreign governments and can confer enormous value. Concerns about political influence have been especially sharp in China, where the courts and bureaucracy are designed to reflect the will of the ruling Communist Party.
Chinese officials have emphasized that all trademark applications are handled in accordance with the law.
More approvals are likely to come. Online records from China's trademark office indicate that Ivanka Trump's company last applied for trademarks — 17 of them — on March 28, 2017, the day before she took on a formal role at the White House. Those records on Monday showed at least 25 Ivanka Trump trademarks pending review, 36 active marks and eight with provisional approval.
Don't forget! Trump's Indonesia project has been financial enhanced by the Chinese Government after he announced he would help with ZTE. China is definitely on the winning side with the Trumps. However, what about US Businesses?
As Washington and Beijing try to resolve their trade disputes, several big companies are caught in the middle.
One is Qualcomm (QCOM), an American chipmaker whose $44 billion purchase of NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), a Dutch company, has been waiting for Chinese regulators' approval.
Far more controversial is the case of ZTE (ZTCOF), the Chinese phone and telecom equipment maker that was crippled by a US export ban issued last monthin punishment for what the US said were violations of its sanctions against North Korea and Iran.
Easing penalties on ZTE is a key priority for Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Trump has indicated he's willing to yield in order to move ahead with further trade discussions.
But members of Congress from both parties, many increasingly wary of China's trade practices, believe such leniency would be a mistake. A growing number of senatorshave drawn a red line on ZTE, and have been vocal in recent days about their opposition to restoring the company.
Are we winning yet?
Meanwhile, TrumpsterFires continue to break out as white men go after our national "enemies" like young men from China attending school here. This must be an additional feature to calling the police because black people are going about their lives in clear view!
California police say they thwarted a vigilante deportation attempt last week – in which a pilot allegedly kidnapped a foreign student, took him to an airport and tried to send him "back to China."
Jonathan McConkey, a pilot and certified flight instructor, is accused of orchestrating the kidnapping with his assistant, Kelsi Hoser, a ground instructor. Both reportedly worked at the IASCO flight training school in Redding, California.
Among IASCO's students were dozens of Chinese nationals with student visas, according to court records. KRCR News 7 reported that the school contracted with China's civil aviation authority to train its new pilots, one of whom was apparently Tianshu Shi.
Shi told reporters that he had been in the United States for about seven months – living with several other IASCO trainees at an apartment in Redding. It was there, police said, that McConkey and Hoser came for the student.
Some interesting stats from Axios you can review. Which part of our country has lost the most on the battlefield since 9/11?
Today is the 17th Memorial Day since 9/11. Since then, 6,940 U.S. military service members have died for America.
Why it matters: Every part of the country has lost soldiers to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. All were Americans — someone's neighbor, child, parent, mentor, buddy. Their average age was between 26 and 27 years old.
Have a great day and be safe if you're in the path of all that weather on the East coast and the panhandle of Florida!.
Sunday Reads: Please @UNHumanRights investigate US for the inhumane treatment of children…missing, abused and imprisoned at the border…
Posted: May 27, 2018 | Author: JJ Lopez aka Minkoff Minx | Filed under: child sexual abuse, children, Civil Rights, Crime, Domestic terrorism, Donald Trump, Human Rights, ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement, immigration, indefinite detention, Injustice system, morning reads, open thread, physical abuse, Real Life Horror, Refugees, the GOP, tRump crimes against humanity, U.S. Politics, Violence against women, Women's Rights | Tags: tRump lies lies lies | 14 Comments
I used the word US, for both the Country… the "U.S." and the "us"…as in we people…this thing we call ourselves. Americans.
What a disgrace!
Kamala Harris calls for Trump officials to testify on policy separating migrant parents and children at border https://t.co/xNu734SRnn pic.twitter.com/KbC8a08iPE
— The Hill (@thehill) May 26, 2018
Thank you Kamala. For giving a voice to these lost and abused and imprisoned children. Because the silence around you is deafening.
From this Mashable link: We've become normalized to Trump's tweets. Not this one.
Nowadays, it takes a lot for Americans to become incensed about Trump's tweets. We need at least one World War threat or nuclear weapon tangent to wake up and realize we're seconds away from doomsday.
The President still has that magical ability to completely eviscerate our joy. Take Saturday's tweet, where Trump — in one of his worst lies yet — had the audacity to complain that Democrats were responsible for separating parents from their children at the border.
This is the tweet of which they speak:
That is an outright lie.
The Mashable article also points to this tweet by Amee Vanderpool:
Allegations of Human Rights violations are being made to the United Nations against the United States of America for the mis-treatment of migrant children who pose NO THREAT by Health and Human Services and Homeland Security. Let that sink in. #WhereAreTheChildren pic.twitter.com/Knzx1kDYWL
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) May 26, 2018
This is a letter written to the Human Rights Branch of the UN, by the CEO of RINJ…an organization that:
…RINJ Women as a Civil Society Organization seek sustainable human development from a position of perceived feminine helplessness rudely imposed on women by a patriarch to which women traditionally acquiesced.So yes, we rise up above the misconception of weakness to love & support women and children, especially the most vulnerable. While we strive for all our rights we encourage others to joinus.
I am glad that this non-profit group is bringing this latest tRump administration atrocity to the attention of the UN. I just wish that there was some of those with more, and I am going to say it, power to move the UN to investigate the human rights crisis going on at our southern border. Where are the outcries and official demands for an investigation into human rights abuses from say, important Democrat congress people? Foreign policy wonks? Other nations? (As I write this, there has not been any commentary…btw, aside from Kamala Harris.)
(Well, I am calling for an investigation myself…)
Let's see some investigations into the Trump Administration…for crimes against humanity…and human rights abuses. #WhereAreTheChildren @UNHumanRights @IntlCrimCourt @amnesty
— JJ Lopez Minkoff (@MinkoffMinx) May 27, 2018
Twitter has been busy, from the Mashable link up top:
Now, social media is asking: #WhereAreTheChildren? The hashtag was a constant presence on Twitter all day on Saturday as people demanded answers on the missing children.
https://twitter.com/Goss30Goss/status/1000482458381553671
.@amjoyshow: Trump's Immigration policies: "Spliting up families & outright racist policies is a moral abomination. We need to be talking about this everyday. History will not judge anyone kindly who looked the other way" #WhereAreTheChildren pic.twitter.com/z140WbGwwJ
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@K_JeanPierre) May 26, 2018
Official US policy:
Until 1865, rip African American children from their parents.
From 1870s to 1970s, rip Native American children from their parents.
Now, rip children of immigrants and refugees from their parents.#ThisIsAmerica ?! #WhereAreTheChildren
— African American Research Collaborative (@AfAmResearch) May 26, 2018
Ripping young children away from their mothers is already beyond horrifying. But having some of the children sold into human trafficking is the greatest injustice this administration has ever done. It is a crime against humanity. #WhereAreTheChildren
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) May 26, 2018
If you're fine with undocumented children being ripped from their parents, put in concentration camps, and sold to sex traffickers, you don't get to call yourself "pro-life."
— OhNoSheTwitnt (@OhNoSheTwitnt) May 26, 2018
The fact that there is as of now no massive, bipartisan national outrage at the separation of little kids from their parents by ICE may be the biggest, most depressing part of this whole wretched story.
— Jeff Greenfield (@greenfield64) May 26, 2018
1,475 children.
1,475 children are missing.
1,475 children are missing due to the malicious incompetence of the US Gov after they were ripped away from their parents.
This is ALL of America's shame, not just Trump's, ICE's or the GOP's.
May history judge us accordingly.
— Pé Resists (@4everNeverTrump) May 25, 2018
The Genocide Convention of 1948, tragically relevant in the U.S. in 2018 #WhereAreTheChildren #AbolishICE pic.twitter.com/94kyxwL7TY
— elliot sperber (@elliot_sperber) May 26, 2018
That tweet there cites something of interest.
Take a look at this: How the Court works –International Criminal Court
The Court's founding treaty, called the Rome Statute, grants the ICC jurisdiction over four main crimes.
First, the crime of genocide is characterised by the specific intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by killing its members or by other means: causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; or forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
There is also this:
Second, the ICC can prosecute crimes against humanity, which are serious violations committed as part of a large-scale attack against any civilian population. The 15 forms of crimes against humanity listed in the Rome Statute include offences such as murder, rape, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, enslavement – particularly of women and children, sexual slavery, torture, apartheid and deportation.
The two other crimes the court can prosecute, war crimes and crimes of aggression can be found at the link above. I am mostly concerned with the first two. Genocide and crimes against humanity:
Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group-
Imprisonment, enforced disappearances, enslavement – particularly of women and children, sexual slavery…deportation-
Almost 1,500 Migrant Children Placed in Homes by the U.S. Government Went Missing Last Year
Federal officials lost track of nearly 1,500 migrant children last year after a government agency placed the minors in the homes of adult sponsors in communities across the country, according to testimony before a Senate subcommittee Thursday.
The Health and Human Services Department has a limited budget to track the welfare of vulnerable unaccompanied minors, and realized that 1,475 children could not be found after making follow-up calls to check on their safety, an agency official said.
Federal officials came under fire two years ago after rolling back child protection policies meant for minors fleeing violence in Central America. In a follow-up hearing on Thursday, senators said that the agencies had failed to take full responsibility for their care and had delayed crucial reforms needed to keep them from falling into the hands of human traffickers.
A few more examples to prove that tRump and his Administration, as well as anyone who does not officially speak out against this is complicit in crimes against humanity:
Read this headline.
Read it again.
We need to be shouting about this!
Under new orders from Sessions, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is already separating parents and children at the border, with no clear answer for when they will be reunited: https://t.co/KUQ7ToFr5S
— The Hummingbird 🐦 (@SaysHummingbird) May 26, 2018
"Somewhere in Texas"
"They placed 18 MONTH OLD in a federal shelter. Where? [his father] didn't know. 3 mths later he was deported. His child, agents told him, was "somewhere in Texas."
"I cried. I begged..No one could tell me." #WhereAreTheChildren https://t.co/kMxrgKhark
— Gabriela Domenzain (@GabiDomenzain) May 25, 2018
Border Patrol Kicked, Punched Migrant Children, Threatened Some with Sexual Abuse, ACLU Alleges
Migrant children under the care of United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were allegedly beaten, threatened with sexual violence and repeatedly assaulted while in custody between 2009 and 2014, according to a report released Wednesday from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the International Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School.
Based on 30,000 pages of documents obtained through a records request, the report includes gruesome, detailed accusations of physical and mental abuse at the hands of officers. The claims were filed by unaccompanied minors, most of whom hailed from El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. CBP officials have contested large swaths of the report, telling Newsweek that many of the allegations have been investigated and are "false."
Border authorities were accused of kicking a child in the ribs and forcing a 16-year-old girl to "spread her legs" for an aggressive body search. Other children accused officers of punching a child in the head three times, running over a 17-year-old boy and denying medical care to a pregnant teen, who later had a stillbirth.
Mitra Ebadolahi, ACLU Border Litigation Project staff attorney, said the allegations describe a law enforcement system "marked by brutality and lawlessness." The organization also accused Border Protection officials of failing to "meaningfully investigate" the allegations detailed in the public records.
I know this is a repeat…but follow this thread:
DHS sent children to homes where they were abused.
And HHS admits there is lax follow-up because, one presumes, there are not enough workers allocated to do the job.#WhereAreTheChildren pic.twitter.com/wd4F1mntRM
— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) May 26, 2018
Remember the outrage over the Bolo Harem girls? Even Michelle Obama tweeted to #BringBackOurGirls.
Terrorists took those schoolgirls. Our government agencies took these kids.
This story was broken over a month ago by NPR. Why no hashtag then? #WhereAreTheChildren pic.twitter.com/UE9uXTg6wq
PBS has confirmed that some of these children have been released to HUMAN TRAFFICKERS by the US government.https://t.co/muz4lCQXcD
— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) May 25, 2018
'You killed her'
Indigenous Guatemalan woman shot dead by US Border Patrol https://t.co/W2CxF562bG pic.twitter.com/qsDIW3T1Gr
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 26, 2018
ACLU: Border agents physically abused migrant children https://t.co/UPz56VeixC pic.twitter.com/9lmYVXcjPH
Please watch this and share it https://t.co/OPgLx2Omhz
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 26, 2018
And don't forget that ICE has requested to destroy the complaints of sexual abuse since last year:
ICE Plans to Start Destroying Records of Immigrant Abuse, Including Sexual Assault and Deaths in Custody | American Civil Liberties Union
Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently asked the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA), which instructs federal agencies on how to maintain records, to approve its timetable for retaining or destroying records related to its detention operations. This may seem like a run-of-the-mill government request for record-keeping efficiency. It isn't. An entire paper trail for a system rife with human rights and constitutional abuses is at stake.
1,224 Complaints Reveal a Staggering Pattern of Sexual Abuse in Immigration Detention. Half of Those Accused Worked for ICE.
The reports obtained by The Intercept include 1,224 complaints filed between 2010 and September 2017, primarily about incidents that took place in ICE custody. But in earlier responses, officials with the DHS Office of Inspector General indicated that the office received some 33,000 complaints between 2010 and 2016 alleging a wide range of abuses in immigration detention. The OIG provided records documenting investigations for just 2 percent of the complaints it shared with The Intercept.
But the sheer number of complaints — despite serious obstacles in the path of those filing them, as well as the patterns they reveal about mistreatment in facilities nationwide — suggest that sexual assault and harassment in immigration detention are not only widespread but systemic, and enabled by an agency that regularly fails to hold itself accountable. While the reports obtained by The Intercept are only a fraction of those filed, they shed light on a system that operates largely in secrecy, and they help hint at the magnitude of the abuse, and the incompetence and complicity of the agency tasked with the safety of the 40,000 women, men, and children it detains each day in more than 200 jails, prisons, and detention centers across the country.
Not sure if they are actually destroying the complaints….The New ICE Age: An Agency Unleashed | by Tina Vasquez | NYR Daily | The New York Review of Books
More stories of ICE's growing powers and abuses continue to emerge. This includes ICE's push to become an intelligence agency, which would grant the agency unprecedented access to vastly more information, and it request to destroy records of in-custody deaths and sexual assaults—both of which measures have received support from the Trump administration. There are growing signs that the agency is not just flexing its new muscles, but has gone rogue. In Philadelphia alone, according to reporting by ProPublica, there have been numerous allegations of ICE agents' engaging in racial profiling, conducting warrantless searches, detaining people without probable cause, fabricating evidence, and, in one instance, soliciting a bribe.
The former senior DHS official I spoke with said his "overarching fear" is that, with Trump's help, ICE is laying the groundwork for institutionalizing its independence, making it immune from Washington oversight: in essence, each ICE field office would operate as its own district with its own rules. If ICE acquires that sort of autonomy and power, it will be incredibly difficult to restore oversight, control, and accountability to the elected federal government in Washington, D.C.
"The American public needs to begin wrapping its head around the disproportionate political power that ICE wields," said the former DHS official. "The most extreme environment isn't extreme enough for them. Under Trump, ICE can do more damage than we've ever seen."
The best thing would be for you to read that entire New York Book Review article…by Tina Vasquez. There is a lot of information there, from the immigrants point of view. Please take a look and read it.
I think that covers many of the crimes the ICC can prosecute…I would like to see some investigations into the Trump Administration…for crimes against humanity…and human rights abuses. It is too disgusting to go on with the post, the rest of today's thread is cartoons.
That disgusting uh…disrespectful treatment of the US Flag are a men's bathing suit found at my local Walmart.
Bruce Plante Cartoon: Harvey Weinstein gets arrested: 05/26/2018 Cartoon by Bruce Plante
05/26/2018 Cartoon by David Cohen
05/26/2018 Cartoon by Joel Pett
Fear and loathing : 05/25/2018 Cartoon by Ed Hall
05/25/2018 Cartoon by Signe Wilkinson
Finally, I want to end with this,
'I'm not reading any more of these — they're lies': MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace refuses to read Trump tweets on air
MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace, said President Donald Trump's lies are getting out of control and they are more like "fairy tales and fantasy" at this point.
On Friday afternoon, Wallace began catching up with Trump's latest early morning tweet storm, reading them to her panel and viewers at home.
"It started with Donald Trump making up about the FBI spies implanted in his campaign," Wallace said. "It exploded to the point where the Justice Department had to brief lawmakers about what actually happened. And finally today, after those classified meetings where the only public statements we've heard have shot down the original allegation, the conspiracy theory seems to have been largely debunked for everyone but Donald Trump and his allies."
Wallace then read off President Trump's tweets about Russia.
You can go to the link to read the lying sack of shit's tweets.
However, before she could finish reading the tweets, Wallace paused and said: "I'm not reading anymore of this, these are bold face lies."
I wish more media people would do exactly what she did.


text:
Home/Nation/Fatima Bint Mubarak invites students to try to succeed
Fatima Bint Mubarak invites students to try to succeed
uae September 2, 2018 Nation Leave a comment
Dubai – Voice of the UAE
Her Majesty Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, chairman of the General Women's Union and chairman of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Youth, sent a congratulation to all employees of the education sector in the country in the new academic year 2018/2019.
In her speech on the occasion of the students' journey to their schools, she urged the students in the education sector, especially the teachers and teachers, to redouble their efforts in sponsoring and presenting their knowledge to our daughters and students, and students to strive for success in the educational achievements of all departments. Science at their schools provided by the state.
She said that we should follow the approach of the late sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God bless him and his family, who was the first before and after the establishment of the state schools and his sons and daughters invited students to share their part of the to take science and to compensate for the missed educational opportunities that were not available.
She noted that she still remembered inviting Emirati women from their homes to join the first school that had been opened for the trade union for many years.Today, UAE women make up more than 70 percent of the number students in schools who go to more than a million students after they have All educational components.
The mother of the UAE emphasized that excellence and creativity has become a fundamental goal for the sons and daughters of the nation, they are well aware that the excellent work and creativity are a key factor in building the Renaissance and continuing of progress to take the lead in the global competitive race.
Her Highness said that the United Nations is evolving to such an extent that science, knowledge and scientific research are making steady progress in understanding the way to build the present and the future, and these fields have always been the cornerstones of the development of his deceased daughters. Sheikh Zayed. HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the UAE Armed Forces Their Highs are members of the Supreme Court, rulers of the UAE, who witness great successes in all areas thanks to the interest in education and the education of generations.
She pointed out that different education and the improvement of resources and requirements is one of the priorities of the interests of the wise leadership, based on the conviction that the scientific views are the essence of the strategic goals of the vision of the UAE 2021 , emphasizing that UAE women now enter all fields of activity with their knowledge and achievements of scientific interest and now in science And has made great progress with the scientific team of the UAE project to explore Mars, and to participate in research and studies with the largest and largest space agencies in the world, and even UAE women make 40% of the total staff of the Emirates Space Agency and this has not succeeded N without science, research and determination and trust.
The mother of the UAE has expressed her confidence that her sons and daughters will be the country's best ambition to work and will endeavor to achieve the vision of Abu Dhabi 2030 and consider the UAE as a worthy place in the world .
By uae
A James Bond pistol is sold for $ 256,000
The price of the dollar in Lebanon today, Sunday December 6, 2020 … the pound wins
The date of the Saudi Al-Ittihad match against Al-Wahda today, Sunday and the transmission channels
The crisis of the Arab world between the presence of truth and the absence of power
A Japanese spacecraft with the first condensed samples from an asteroid lands successfully in Australia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Being home to millions of residents, it is one of the country's most prominent financial and commercial centers. Currently, it is a big industrial hub and China's major seaport. As a bustling metropolis with traditional and modern features, Shanghai serves as one of the best destinations for tourists and businesspeople alike. Shanghai can be reachable by air, by land and by water. Because it covers over 6000 square kilometers of land, locals and tourists need to use some form of transportation to travel around the province. Here's a guide on how you can get about the beautiful province of Shanghai.
The Shanghai Metro is the rapid transit system of China's biggest city. The Metro fuses the use of both light rail and subway lines. It's now the longest network in the world, because of its 11 metro lines, 278 stations and 270 miles of tracks. In 2011, it offered more than 2 billion rides all over the country.
The 11 lines of the Shanghai Metro are the following – Fujin Road to Xinzhuang (Line 1 - red), East Xujing to Pudong International Airport (Line 2 - light green), North Jiangyang road to Shanghai South Railway Station (line 3 - yellow), Yishan Road and Yangshupu Road (Line 4 - blue), Xinzhuang to Minhang Development zone (line 5- purple), Gangcheng Road to Oriental Sports Center (line 6 - pink), Meilan Lake to Huamu Road (line 7 - orange), Shiguang Road to Aerospace Museum (line 8 – sky blue), Songjiang Xincheng to Middle Yangao Road (line 9 – powder blue), Xinjiangwancheng to Honqiao Railway Station (line 10 – light purple), and North Jiading to Jiangsu Road (line 11 – maroon).


PREVAIL! is designed to help all employees (as well as public servants, private citizens and others) respond in violent situations involving an armed intruder/active shooter threat.
The result of a partnership between Sollah Interactive and Strategos International, the goals and objectives of PREVAIL! provide workplace leadership, management, security and front line personnel with information and strategies on recognizing and responding to the dynamic challenges and issues of violent incidents within the workplace.
As most of us are aware, violence on the job manifests itself in many forms; from emotional abuse to bullying to assault and even homicide. While the latter is the least common, it is the most devastating to employees, families, employers and their communities.
PREVAIL! will provide employees with the skills necessary to assess and strategically respond to a threat.
The PREVAIL! 3-OUT model is proactive, not reactive.
PREVAIL! increases capability while decreasing anxiety. The 3-OUT model is easy to remember. Easy to implement after a training session.
The PREVAIL! 3-OUT model is not linear; but it's principle-based (if/then). Your OUT depends on your location to the threat. And My OUT is not always Your OUT.
We drive home the key issue of normalcy bias – and how our body needs to get past sight – and trust other inputs. PREVAIL! does NOT reinforce natural instincts (instincts are not the highest level of human performance).
PREVAIL! changes your mindset – from just surviving to prevailing! Surviving is defensive; prevailing is about taking action.
The PREVAIL! model focuses on gross motor skills vs. fine motor skills. In a stressful event, fine motor skills are typically the first thing that goes.
The PREVAIL! 3-OUT model is easy to remember!
This program is designed for ALL managers, supervisors and employees within your organization. An active shooter event can happen anywhere. Training and preparation for the entire organization is a key to prevailing in such an event.
How can PREVAIL! be used in your organization?
PREVAIL! is a five module, easy-to-facilitate program.
PREVAIL! was designed in easy-to-use modules. Organizations using PREVAIL! have several implementation paths - including 1, 2 and 4 hour training options.
Typically, each training session starts with PREVAIL!. This 14-minute dramatic video sets the stage for the session by engaging participants quickly - emotionally - by watching an active shooter event unfold in their workplace.
Next, Preparing to PREVAIL!™ (9 minutes) level sets the session by discussing key points in an active shooter event. PREVAIL!: The OUT Actions™ (15 minutes) goes into detail about the 3-OUT Approach.
The program then discusses the psychology of the intruder/shooter in PREVAIL!: Understanding the Adversary™ (9 minutes).
There is also a manager program - Leading to PREVAIL!™ (15 minutes) - to inform and encourage managers to discuss potential scenarios and options within their teams – as well as a powerful meeting opener - Prevailing Is...™ (3 minutes) - to kick off each session.
Remember! Taking appropriate action during an armed intruder / active shooter event will increase your chances of ensuring that you and those around you will prevail!
Copyright 2016 - 2019. Sollah Interactive, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Call us with questions at 800-300-8880!


text:
SELECT
  units.name,
  count(stats.id) AS patient_count,
  0 as percentage_hb_gt_100,
  0 as percentage_urr_gt_65,
  0 as percentage_phosphate_lt_1_8,
  0 as percentage_access_fistula_or_graft,
  0 as avg_missed_hd_time,
  ROUND((count(number_of_sessions_with_dialysis_minutes_shortfall_gt_5_pct) / COUNT(stats.id)) * 100, 1)
    as pct_shortfall_gt_5_pct
  FROM (hd_patient_statistics stats
  JOIN hospital_units units ON ((units.id = stats.hospital_unit_id)))
  GROUP BY units.name;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Qt Android Build Error I'm trying to make my first android app with Qt and Qt Quick Controls 2, but when i try to run th application i gett with apache ant:
[aapt] android-build\bin\AndroidManifest.xml:4: error: Error:
String types not allowed (at 'configChanges' with value' orientation|uiMode|screenLayout|screenSize|smallestScreenSize|layoutDirection|locale|fontScale|keyboard|keyboardHidden|navigation').
 [aapt]

BUILD FAILED
Android\sdk\tools\ant\build.xml:653: The following error occurred while executing this line:
Android\sdk\tools\ant\build.xml:698: null returned: 1

Total time: 1 second
Warning: QML import could not be resolved in any of the import paths:    QtQuick.Controls.impl
Warning: QML import could not be resolved in any of the import paths: QtQuick.Controls.Material.impl
Warning: QML import could not be resolved in any of the import paths: QtQuick.Controls.Universal.impl
Building the android package failed!
10:16:43: The process "Qt\5.7\android_armv7\bin\androiddeployqt.exe" exited with code 14.
Error while building/deploying project appTest (kit: Android for armeabi-v7a (GCC 4.9, Qt 5.7.1))
When executing step "Build Android APK"

I have tried the fix here: Why is BUILD FAILED?
But it did not help or maybe i did it wrong, but if i try to build the project with gradel i get this error insted:
Successfully started process 'command 'D:\Coding\Android\sdk\build-tools\25.0.2\aapt.exe''
 Position 40:36-165 : String types not allowed (at 'configChanges' with value 'orientation|uiMode|screenLayout|screenSize|smallestScreenSize|layoutDirection|locale|fontScale|keyboard|keyboardHidden|navigation').

:processDebugResources FAILED
:processDebugResources (Thread[main,5,main]) completed. Took 0.19 secs.

FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.

* What went wrong:
Execution failed for task ':processDebugResources'.
> com.android.ide.common.process.ProcessException: org.gradle.process.internal.ExecException: Process 'command 'Android\sdk\build-tools\25.0.2\aapt.exe'' finished with non-zero exit value 1

* Try:
Run with --stacktrace option to get the stack trace. Run with --debug option to get more log output.

BUILD FAILED

Total time: 5.288 secs
Stopped 0 compiler daemon(s).
Warning: QML import could not be resolved in any of the import paths: QtQuick.Controls.impl
Warning: QML import could not be resolved in any of the import paths: QtQuick.Controls.Material.impl
Warning: QML import could not be resolved in any of the import paths: QtQuick.Controls.Universal.impl
Building the android package failed!
10:56:36: The process "Qt\5.7\android_armv7\bin\androiddeployqt.exe" exited with code 14.
Error while building/deploying project appTest (kit: Android for armeabi-v7a (GCC 4.9, Qt 5.7.1))
When executing step "Build Android APK"

Qt 5.7.1
QtCreator 4.2.0
AVD: API Level 16 armeabi-v7a

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
NBP wins terror-financing case in NY court
Recorder Report Published June 16, 2022
KARACHI: The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has won the case "Harold Brown Sr, et al vs NBP" filed in the United States District Court, Southern District Court, Second Circuit, New York. According to a statement issued by the bank, the NBP had filed a motion to dismiss which was vigorously contested through its US attorneys leading to the case against the NBP being dismissed in its favour.
The Harold Brown case falsely alleged the NBP allowed money transfers which resulted in financing of terrorism against US persons in Afghanistan which may have amounted to an offence under the US Anti-Terrorism Act, as amended by The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act.
The dismissal of the case has shown that the claim against the NBP was without any legal basis.
The NBP said that it has historically remained committed to combating financial crime through compliance with local and international laws, regulations and international best practices with regards to Anti Money Laundering and Know Your Customer related matters.
The NBP shall continue its strong adherence to such laws and regulations. The NBP is the largest public sector bank in Pakistan having a significant branch network of 1,500 plus branches across the country and a strong international presence.
NBP US attorneys terror financing case United States District Court


text:
Q: Chromatic number of a graph if it is a union of two subgraphs having null or single point intersection Consider two edge disjoint graphs $G_1$ and $G_2$ having the null graph on $k$ vertices as their intersection, where $k$ is less than or equal to the the total vertices in $G_1$ and $G_2$. Then, would the union (the union of edge and vertex sets) of $G_1$ and $G_2$ have chromatic number at most one more than the maximum of the individual chromatic numbers of $G_1$ and $G_2$?
I feel this is untrue. Any easy counterexamples? Or, is the proposition true? Thanks beforehand.

A: I assume you mean that $V(G_1)\cap V(G_2)=W$ where $W$ is a set of $k$ vertices which is an independent set in both $G_1$ and $G_2$? In this case it is true.
Start with any colouring of $G_1$ with colours $1,...,\chi(G_1)$, and any colouring of $G_2$ with colours $1,...,\chi(G_2)$. We use these to define the colours on $V(G_1)\cup V(G_2)\setminus W$, and then colour all vertices in $W$ with the new colour $\max(\chi(G_1),\chi(G_2))+1$.
The $+1$ is necessary, e.g. if $G_1$ is an odd path and $G_2$ an even path with common endvertices.


The Weeknd has bolstered his XO roster with Black Atlass, a mysterious R&B crooner from Montreal, according to various reports.
No formal announcement has been made, but the singer, who previously starred in the video for The Weeknd's "Secrets," just released his newest single "My Life" under XO Records/Republic, as per HipHop-N-More.
Black also unleashed an accompanying video for the single, which features a lingerie-clad model and a drive around Los Angeles. The vintage-themed clip also finds the model-turned-crooner singing in an empty theater, laying in bed, and getting scarred up and bloody.
Also known as Alex Fleming, the multifaceted singer has appeared as a model in The Weeknd's Puma XO ads in the past. His social media accounts also rep "XO" in the bio. Launched in 2012, The Weeknd's imprint has featured a diverse cast of artists, including Belly and NAV.
Get to know Black Atlass below.


text:
Q: Java Eclipse folder with git I've been working on a Java package using eclipse and have been using git for version control. I accidentally git rm'd a file, committed and pushed it.
In order to revert the effects, I did a checkout of the deleted files from a previous commit, did another commit and pushed it back. Now I have my files back.
However, those files do not show up in the package in Eclipse -- what could I be doing wrong?

A: I sometimes get inconsistencies between Eclipse and Git, to solve this I usually just refresh the Eclipse project. I could be more complex than this, but eliminate the simplest solution first.


text:
Mars Cycle
Mars is the first 'exterior' planet — that is, the first planet beyond Earth in the solar system — and it takes about two years to orbit the Sun. Mars is a rocky planet, and has a very thin atmosphere.
Because it is relatively close to Earth, it appears to be going retrograde only about nine percent of the time. Normally Mars spends four to six weeks in a Zodiac sign, but when it retrogrades, it spends over six months in one sign, truly emphasizing that sign's particular brand of action.
During a retrograde period, it is useful to keep in mind that things take much longer than planned. Some work has to be redone or readjusted in order to move forward. Tempers also seem to flare, so it's best to try to contain aggression.
Mars's appearance is distinctly reddish, which is befitting of Mars as the God of War. Mars varies greatly in brightness according to its distance from Earth. The easiest time to see it is when it is opposite the Sun, which is in the middle of its retrograde motion. Mars then rises at sundown and is at its brightest all night long. At other times it still appears red, but not nearly as bright.
Mars returns to its natal position in a chart about every two years. When it does, it is a very good time to initiate action on longer-term projects. In general, activities that require a burst of energy or physical strength are best conducted during the Mars return.
Mars (True Books: Space) by Elaine Landau
http://www.teachastronomy.com/
Mars is cold and dry, a frozen desert. The temperature ranges from about -120 degrees Fahrenheit, or 190 Kelvin, up to about -20 degrees Fahrenheit, or 240 Kelvin.
Related Astrological Terms:
Mars turns Direct
#MarsInAries is a time for fire breathing and getting stuff done. https://new.theastrologer.com/mars-in-aries-2-2/
Is he the One?
How Committed Is He? Long-Term Love Signals
Soul Mates or Just Another Date? Astrology Holds the Answers
How to Tell if Someone is Lying to You


Optical receiver GA8030(OR) is intended for work in FTTH (fiber in house) networks. The receiver performs converting of the optical amplitude-modulated signal into the radio-frequency (RF) wideband signal of TV range and following signal amplification for its distribution through the coaxial network.
The structural scheme gives a conception about functional structure of a receiver, location of control points and regulating nodes. To adjust a level and slope of output signal alternate attenuator and equalizer.
Structure of a receiver allows to install it both in premises and outside in boxes protected from water penetration. It is not recommended to locate devices under impact of direct sunlight, because it can lead to breaking of allowable heating rate. Working position of a receiver is arbitrary. It is not allowed to cover a housing with any materials, which can lead to worsening of cooling during operation.
GA8038 (OR ) optical receiver is designed for use in hybrid fiber-coaxial cable networks, FTTH / FTTB.


Aspire Law – a partnership between Aspire, a national spinal injury charity, and Moore Blatch, a personal injury law firm – is implementing Eclipse's Proclaim Case Management Software solution.
Aspire recently became the first organisation of its type to own a stake in an alternative business structure (ABS) law firm. The new venture will be dedicated to providing a specialist service to people with spinal cord injuries, creating a Social Enterprise Model which places clients' needs and requirements at the centre of work, delivering a highly personalised service. The service could in time expand to include advisory elements around housing, education, care and rehabilitation.
Aspire Law will make no deduction of fees from the compensation awarded to clients and – as a joint partner – the charity will receive 50% of profits to reinvest into projects, like the Aspire Housing Programme which provides accessible accommodation to spinal cord injured people discharged from hospital who would otherwise have nowhere suitable to live.
The new ABS is implementing Proclaim across the business, providing a desktop solution for fee earners dealing with a broad range of claims. Proclaim provides scope for the firm to expand its offerings into other areas, providing the ability to service the complete needs of its client base.


Come join us at the park! We still have plenty of space for your children to join us. We will be hosting a community-wide Easter Egg Hunt on April 20th at 10am at Udall Park. We will be located at Ramadas 7, 8 and 9. Age groups will be 1-4 year olds, 5-7 year olds, and 8-12 year olds.


text:
Q: SharePoint 2013 Online - Missing Site Settings? I am a Site Collection Admin, but for some reason these menu items are missing from my Site Settings menu:
Web Designer Galleries

*

*Site columns

*Site content types

*Web parts

*List templates

*Themes

*Solutions

*Composed Looks

Site Collection Administration

*

*HTML Field Security

*SharePoint Designer Settings

Any ideas why I can't see these menus?

A: As wjervis mentioned, Microsoft rolled out a feature in Office365 to limit the amount of scripting allowed in order to maintain the security and integrity of the sites in a tenancy.
When the cutom scripting is disabled, parts or features that support scripting are no longer visible.
Here is how to check:

*

*Log into Office 365

*Click the Office 365 header link in the top left.

*Click the Admin Panel from dashboard

*In the left menu, scroll down to Admin section and click to expand

*Then click SharePoint.

*In the SharePoint admin center. In the left menu, click settings

*Scroll down and find the Custom Script section.

There are settings to Allow or Prevent scripting from running of personal or self-service created sites.  If they are set to Prevent you may not see the settings you mentioned.
You will have to determine if you want these turned on.
For more information, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=397546
You can achieve this with power-shell commands as well.
Step 01: Open the SharePoint Management shell
Step 02: Type the below command to connect with SharePoint Admin Center in management shell. You have to replace your admin center url which is in line 1.
$spadminurl = "https://tanent-admin.sharepoint.com/"
connect-sposervice -url $spadminurl
Step 03: You will be asked to enter user name and password.
Step 04: Enter the below commands. You have to mention your site collection url where you need the sections.
$spsiteurl = "https://sitename.sharepoint.com"
Set-SPOsite $spsiteurl -DenyAddAndCustomizePages 0
For more information you can view the below blog post.
http://jsuhail.blogspot.com/2015/05/web-designer-galleries-section-is.html

A: The setting is here - thanks @wjervis

Was Custom Scripting disabled for your host? That would cause those to not be available. –  wjervis

A: Just to add to the other answers here. If you do allow custom scripts, it will take 24 hours to take effect. In the Microsoft documentation, it does suggest the PowerShell commands will work quicker than this but from my experience it also takes 24 hours to take effect.


text:
Reformed Focus tracts
More Reformed Focus tracts are available online here.
Why Sing Psalms Only?
By Rev. David Blunt
It is encouraging to witness a revival of interest in psalmody in some quarters. Believing psalm-singing to be commanded in the word of God as we do, we would expect to see nothing less if a genuine work of the Holy Spirit was indeed taking place.
While some churches are prepared to add the Psalter to their preferred hymn-book, few go so far as to reject man-made compositions altogether: we seek to show briefly why such a course is required of the church by her Lord.
T HE subject of congregational worship tends to generate strong passions among professing Christians. This is natural because, on the one hand, nothing so identifies and characterises a church as its public acts of worship and, on the other, nothing is so intensely personal and precious to the believing soul as communion with God. Churches have been rent asunder, particularly in recent times with the rise of the "charismatic" phenomenon, over differences concerning thecontent and conduct of services.
Many of the arguments which are advanced in connection with the church's form of worship proceed so obviously from sentiment alone that they are (or should be!) quickly dismissed as of no merit. We have in mind such commendations of particular elements and practices in worship as: "we like it;" and, "it's nice". Many doubtless "like" the mass and find it "nice" - even though it is a blasphemous affront to Christ and His "one sacrifice for sins for ever" (Heb. 10:12)!
Proscribed
Protestant defenders of many of the innovations in praise are quick to counter the suggestion that they are in any way akin to Rome in their doctrine of worship. "The mass is idolatrous and is therefore condemned by commandment of Scripture," they say. "We make use only of that which is not forbidden in the Bible."
This reasoning, which historically has been the position of Lutheranism and Anglicanism, sounds plausible on first hearing: to employ that which is not proscribed or written against. A little thought however will reveal how indefinite the church's pattern of praise then is, and how defenceless she becomes against the clamour for novelty and change. The mass may be kept out, but what of drama, dance, crosses and candles?
The Reformed view accentuates the positive: it looks for a specific warrant in Scripture for every aspect of the service of praise; only what is prescribed or legislated for is to be allowed. This is known as the "regulative principle," and is taught equally in both Testaments (Deut. 12:32; Matt. 28:18-20). It may easily be seen that the application of this rule would rid the church of a great deal of her modern practices.
Essentially the disputes about worship may be reduced to one fundamental question: Do we have divine authority for what we do? All other arguments are subordinate to this. Rather than being some dread form of bondage, the principle of divine appointment is the guarantee of true spiritual liberty for God's children. It is but the application of the second commandment: "The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his Word/The second commandment forbiddeth the worshipping of God by images, or any other way not appointed in his Word" ( Shorter Catechism, Q.'s 50/51). We intend to show that this law forbids the use of any songs other than the 140 psalms of David.
1. Why Sing?
We must begin then by asking, Why sing in worship? A desire to show one's gratitude to God, or to express other emotions and feelings, is not a sufficient ground for singing in church! We need a greater authority than that to allow song of any sort.
The first and last records of singing in Scripture (Exod. 15:1; Rev. 15:3) have a link: redemption is the common theme - the church praising her deliverer, her Saviour. But more than example, we have command to sing: "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing" (Psa. 100:2).
2. Why Sing Psalms?
If we are to sing praise to God, then the immediate question which arises is, What are we to sing? As regards the Psalms there can be no doubt about their appointment for singing: "O come, let us sing unto the Lord...Let us...make a joyful noise unto him with psalms" (Psa. 95:1,2). The New Testament contains similar exhortations, especially those couched in the two controversial verses - Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16 - which we consider below. Churches which today effectively practise an "exclusive hymnody" should at the very least be asking themselves why God's hymnbook has NO place in their singing.
3. Why Sing Psalms Only?
The key texts here are:
"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." (Eph. 5:18,19).
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Col. 3:16).
Surely, say many, here is the warrant we need! "Hymns," such as the compositions of Toplady, Watts or Wesley, and "spiritual songs," of which the modern chorus is a type, are permitted, nay commanded! Looking more closely at these passages however and bringing together their teaching, we find the following:
A. Believers are commanded to become filled with Christ's Spirit by the indwelling of His word.
B. This is to be accomplished by mutual instruction through singing.
C. Therefore the phrase "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" denotes the Psalms of David, because they alone satisfy both of these conditions, i.e., they are the word of Christ and they are designed for singing.
Such a triplet of terms to describe essentially the one thing is not unique in Scripture (see, e.g., Exod. 34:7; Deut. 30:16; Acts 2:22). We must also ask, What would this language have meant to those early Christians, mainly from a Jewish background, to whom Paul wrote? By the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, they would have recognised these terms as referring to existing compositions, namely the Psalter. In our English Bible, each of Psalms 120-134 is titled "A Song of degrees;" Psalms 115-118, sung at the Passover, are called a hymn (Matt. 26:30). There is no record of Jesus or His apostles singing anything but psalms.
The psalms, hymns and songs are all said to be "spiritual" or "Spirit-given." Which of our hymn-writers would claim that for his writings? We are sure though that the Psalms are the very words of the Spirit and therefore the perfect vehicle to serve the main purpose of singing in worship with regard to ourselves, which is, not the outpouring of our feelings, but the discipling of our souls.


text:
16 May 2015 / SF News / Carman Tse
Stanford Band Banned From Road Games For A Year
No surprise: the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band is in trouble once again.
Stanford University officials announced on Friday that the infamous marching band has been banned from attending all road games for a year. Although the Stanford band is known for usually annoying opposing schools with their halftime performances, this time they've ticked off their own school with their behavior off the field.
According to SFGate, an investigation by Stanford's Organization Conduct Board and Title IX Office found the band had broken rules regarding alcohol use, hazing, and sexual harassment. One tradition involved giving band members a drink designed to make them vomit in public; another was a "selection process" where students were asked "inappropriate questions on sexual matters."
Despite all this, Stanford says they want the band to be the goofy jackasses they're known to be—they just have to tone it down a bit. "The university's objective is to ensure a safe and harassment-free environment while honoring the band's traditions and its unique, irreverent identity," said Stanford associate vice provost and dean of residential education Deborah Golder.
This isn't the first time they've been in trouble with Stanford officials. In 2006 the band was suspended for wrecking the "Band Shak," the trailer that served as their facility. The band is more famous for being banned from rival campuses. In 1986, the band was suspended for two games after members urinated on the Washington field during a halftime performance. The band is banned from Notre Dame for a 1991 performance where a member dressed as a nun.
The Dub Sack: Watch Steph Curry Hit 62-Foot Circus Shot As Warriors Win Series
Technically, the Golden State Warriors did not seal Friday night's 108-95 elimination of the Memphis Grizzlies solely because of Stephen Curry's 62-foot, three-quarters-of-the-court, holy-shit-utterance-inspiring, buzzer-beating miracle heave as time expired in
Saturday Morning Special: The Patent That Could Kill Uber
BART's released the latest property crime stats from their stations, and the Fremont line wins the prize. [KRON4] How Silicon Valley is letting go if its "techie island fantasies." [Wired] A Sidecar patent
Carman Tse


text:
Q: How many square numbers exist that have the length $N$ in the decimal system? How many square numbers exist that have the length $N$ in the decimal system?
E.g. for the length $N=1$ there exist 4 square numbers (0, 1, 4, 9).
Thank you

A: $N=2$ squares are $10-4=6$. For $N=3$ squares are $31-10=21$...
If we call $q(N)$ the number of squares with $N$ digits then
$q(N)=\left\lceil\sqrt{10^N}\right\rceil-\left\lceil\sqrt{10^{N-1}}\right\rceil$

A: A number $m$ has $d$ digits when
$$10^{d-1}\le m<10^d.$$
A perfect square $n^2$ has $d$ digits when
$$10^{d-1}\le n^2<10^d$$ or $$\sqrt{10}^{d-1}\le n<\sqrt{10}^d.$$
Turning to integer bounds,
$$\left\lceil\sqrt{10}^{d-1}\right\rceil\le n<\left\lceil\sqrt{10}^d\right\rceil$$ gives you the answer.

Note that we can distinguish two cases on the parity of $d$:

*

*$d:=2k-1\to 10^{k-1}\le n<10^{k-1}\sqrt{10}$,

*$d:=2k\to 10^{k-1}\sqrt{10}\le n<10^k$,
and you can "read" all the requested counts from the expansions

*

*$\sqrt{10}-1\to21622776601683793319988935444327\cdots$

*$10-\sqrt{10}\to68377223398316206680011064555673\cdots$
taking $d/2$ digits from the left, alternatively and adding one for odd $d$.
For increasing $d$,
$$3,6,22,68,217,683,2163,6837,\cdots.$$
(The first count is $3$ because $0$ is considered a zero-digits number.)

A: Believe it or not.
If $N$ is odd, take $\sqrt{10} -1=2.1622776601683793319988935444327$ and multiply by $10^{\frac {N-1}2}$ and round up.
If $N$ is even, take $10 - \sqrt{10} = 6.8377223398316206680011064555673$ and multiply by $10^{\frac N2 -1}$ and round down.
That is because $10^{\frac {N-1}2}(\sqrt{10} - 1) = 10^{\frac N2 -1}(10 - \sqrt{10}) = 10^{\frac {N}2}- 10^{\frac {N-1}2} = \sqrt{10^N} - \sqrt{10^{N-1}}$.
$\sqrt{10^N}$ will be (with rounding) the number of perfect squares up to $10^N$ and $\sqrt{10^{N-1}}$ will be (with rounding) the number of perfect squares up to $10^{N-1}$.  The difference will be the number of perfect squares between the two, which will all have $N$ digits.
(You round up if $N$ is odd because the first $N$ digit number, $10^{N-1}$ will be a perfect square.  You round down if $N$ is even because the first $N$ digit number will not be.  The last $N$ digit number, $10^N -1$ is never a perfect square.)
Tedious details below:
==== old answer below:======
The smallest number with $N$ digits is $10^{N-1}$.  This is a perfect square if and only if $\sqrt{10^{N-1}}$ is an integer.  If not the first perfect square will be $m^2$ where $m = \lceil \sqrt{10^{N-1}}\rceil$.
The last $N$ digit number is $10^N -1$ and the last perfect square is $n=\lfloor \sqrt{10^{N}-1} \rfloor$.
Note $10^{N}-1 = 9*111111.......1$, [can not be a perfect square][1].
So the number of perfect squares are $n-m + 1$.
Case 1: $N-1$ is even.  Then $m = 10^{\frac{N-1}2}$
Neither $10^N$ nor $10^N -1$ are perfect squares so $m =\lfloor 10^{\frac N2}\rfloor$
So $n-m + 1 = \lfloor 10^{\frac N2}\rfloor - 10^{\frac{N-1}2}+1 = \lceil 10^{\frac N2} - 10^{\frac{N-1}2\rceil}$
$\lceil (\sqrt{10}-1)10^{\frac{N-1}2}\rceil$
Case 2: $N$ is even.
Then $n = 10^{\frac N2} - 1$  and $10^{\frac {N-1}2} < m <10^{\frac {N-1}2}+1$
So $10^{\frac N2} - 10^{\frac {N-1}2}-1 <  n-m + 1<10^{\frac N2} - 10^{\frac {N-1}2}$
So $n-m+1 = \lfloor 10^{\frac N2} - 10^{\frac {N-1}2} \rfloor$
$\lfloor 10^{\frac {N-1}2}(\sqrt{10} - 1)\rfloor$
So there are approximately, $10^{\frac {N-1}2}(\sqrt{10} - 1)$ (which is never an integer) $N$-digit perfect squares. Round up if $N$ is odd; round down if $N$ is even.
Test:  Then should be $\lfloor 10^{\frac {5}2}(\sqrt{10} - 1)\rfloor= \lfloor 1000 - 100\sqrt{10}\rfloor = 683$ $6$ digit perfect squares.  From $317^2 = 100489$ to $999^2=998001$.  So that is $683$ squares.
Whoa.... just realized something.  $\sqrt {10} - 1 = 2.1622776601683793319988935444327$ so if $N$ is odd there will be $10^{\frac{N-1}2}*2.1622776601683793319988935444327$ rounded up.  $3$ one digit squares (1,4,9).   and $22$ $3$ digit squares (from $100 = 10^2$ to $31^2 =961$ and so on.
And if $N$ is even, $10- \sqrt{10} =  6.8377223398316206680011064555673$ so there will be $10^{\frac {N-2}2}*6.8377223398316206680011064555673$ rounded down.  Ex. $6$ $2$ digit squares ($16=4^2$ to $81=9^2$) and $68$ $4$ digit squares.  (From $32^2 = 1024$ to $99^2 = 9801$.
And so on.