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Home/Features/Continued investments in energy sector are an ingredient for industrialisation-PMRC
Continued investments in energy sector are an ingredient for industrialisation-PMRC
Evans Mumba August 24, 2021 Features, News Comments Off on Continued investments in energy sector are an ingredient for industrialisation-PMRC 979 Views
The Policy Monitoring and Research Centre (PMRC) executive director Bernadette Zulu says the continued investments in the energy sector are an ingredient for industrialisation.
She said if investors reciprocate by investing in key economic sectors, the government's heavy investment in power generation over the last decade will soon change the country's economic trajectory.
Zambia's central location and Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) will, on the other hand, make it possible to export excess power and earn more foreign exchange.
PMRC encourages the country to use its expanded power generation capacity and SAPP membership to boost power exports in a policy analysis statement.
Zambia could also build the capacity to sell into the SAPP, thereby generating foreign exchange for the country through power exports.
"As as a member of SAPP, it is timely that the country continues to invest in electricity production through the extensive power generation pipeline earmarked for development and opportunities being realised in developing alternative energy supply," Ms Zulu says.
Huge infrastructure investments such as the Kafue Gorge Lower (KGL) power plant have created an industrial base around the plant that exploits the energy being produced.
"The completion and commissioning of the KGL have a multiplier effect on job creation, the country's industrialisation agenda and improved human development," says Ms Zulu.
She adds that the government's commitment to the increased generation capacity of electricity reached its peak with the commissioning of the first unit of the KGL hydroelectric power station by President Edgar Lungu on July 23, this year.
Ms Zulu also observes that the government embarked on other non-renewable energy projects during the same period through the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) which will increase the country's power generation capacity.
"Other renewables include; the construction of the Chunga Solar Power Plant, located in the Kafue National Park and construction and upgrading of mini-Hydro's in North-Western and Northern provinces," she says.
Ms Zulu says such projects have been instrumental in increased installed capacity in the country.
Mini-hydro projects such as the Kasanjika mini-hydro in Mwinilunga of North-Western Province generates about 0.64 megawatts and provides power to approximately 12,000 households in the district.
The switching on of the 750 MW will contribute to the attainment of 3,350 MW, thus placing the country on a better footing in terms of electricity supply sufficiency.
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David Miliband with Hillary Clinton.
I want to scream! I missed this op-ed from January 27th, but the International Rescue Committee is re-tweeting it this morning and it caught my eye.
Here we have David Miliband, the former Labour Party British Foreign Secretary lecturing Donald Trump about "fundamental American values" after Trump announced his Executive Order to keep America safe by temporarily halting immigration from known terrorist hotspots.
And, to make matters worse Miliband's organization pulls in over $450 million in government grants every year (click here). Some of that money is used to quietly place refugees in American towns and cities and give George Soros Freedom Awards!
Miliband's annual salary as CEO of the IRC is a whopping $591,846! But, Leftist media like the NYT never reports any of this!
President Trump's executive order suspending the entire resettlement program for 120 days and banning indefinitely the arrival of Syrian refugees is a repudiation of fundamental American values, an abandonment of the United States' role as a humanitarian leader and, far from protecting the country from extremism, a propaganda gift to those who would plot harm to America.
The next paragraph of Miliband's Op-ed is a prime example of the selective information people like Miliband put out in their propaganda.
Yes, he is right that most of the refugees entering the U.S. from Iran are non-Muslims (I say most because we do admit some Muslims, why from Iran?). However, he doesn't tell you that almost 100% of the Syrians admitted to the US are Muslims of both Islamic sects, and only a tiny handful of the persecuted Christians are admitted.
In my data report, here yesterday, I told you that of a recent group of 402 Syrians admitted only 2 are Christians!
The order also suggests that the resettlement program should make persecuted religious minorities a higher priority, implying that they have been neglected in the past. This is incorrect; existing law already places strong emphasis on religious persecution among the criteria for resettlement. For example, most of the refugees from Iran — a Muslim-majority country — who are resettled by my organization are not Muslim.
And, here we go again with this 36 month c***! 18-24 months was the number they previously used and now they are talking about 36 months for refugees waiting (not being screened for 18, 24, or 36 months). And, in fact, in April 2016, the Obama Administration reduced the Syrian screening down to 3 months, see here.
They never mention that in October 2015 FBI Director Comey said here that there is no way to thoroughly screen the Syrians (and I maintain the Somalis either!) because they come from a failed state with NO RECORDS!
And, here, in September 2016, Senator Sessions and Cruz pulled testimony out of the Obama USCIS head that they must often RELY ON THE STRENGTH OF PERSONAL STORIES because they have no data on the refugee.
Nevertheless, Miliband continues to spin his propaganda!
Compared with other types of immigrants, refugees are the most thoroughly vetted group to enter the United States. The resettlement process can take up to 36 months and involves screenings by the Department of Homeland Security, the F.B.I., the Department of Defense, the State Department and the National Counterterrorism Center and United States intelligence community.
There is more, continue reading here if you want to get fired up for the day!
See our growing archive on Miliband here.
Yesterday, we posted on the NatSecDailyBrief about the ACARS-Inmarsat data reports on smoke detected aboard the ill-fated EgyptAir MSFlight 804. We noted comments by a commercial pilot on an Aviation Herald article speculating that there could have been an internal explosion in the nose of aircraft possibly affecting the avionics and fly by wire computer system. That might have caused the downing.
Watch this U.K. Telegraph of Debris recovered from MSFlight 804.
"It looks like the right front and side window were blown out, most probably from inside out," said the pilot, who flies an A330 similar to the crashed A320 and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Until investigators find the aircraft's black boxes, which are still missing in the Mediterranean, the ACARS offers the best sense on what was happening aboard.
According to the Wall Street Journal, people "familiar with the matter" say that the alerts could be an indication of a problem with the flight control system.
While not ruling out a bomb, Bob Mann, a US aviation expert, says the latest data indicate a number of possibilities. "The data could indicate rapid decompression or smoke and a progressive loss of flight control systems.
Although no terrorist group has claimed responsibility, French detectives are examining a pool of around 85,000 people with "red badge" security clearance that gives them access to restricted areas of Charles de Gaulle airport.
The task is complicated by the fact that many work for sub-contractors and turnover is high. Screenings are often limited to checking an employee has no criminal convictions and does not appear on a terror watch list.
Last December around 70 red badges were withdrawn from staff at Charles de Gaulle who were found to have praised the attacks in Paris, prayed at mosques linked to radicalism or showing signs of growing religiosity like refusing to shake hands with women.
A French trade union also warned that short stopovers like that made by Flight 804, which was on the ground a little over an hour, gave little time for security staff to carry out thorough security checks.
It has emerged that the crashed aircraft had once been daubed with graffiti by vandals who wrote: "We will bring this plane down".
The New York Times reported that the vandalism was done two years ago and was a protest against Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Egyptian president who seized power in a coup, rather than a jihadist threat.
The airline went on to fire a number of staff with alleged Muslim Brotherhood sympathies in 2013 as part of a general purge of suspected Islamists after the military takeover.
And in the weeks following the Paris attacks in November, French police said Arabic graffiti such as "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) were found daubed on EasyJet and Vueling planes at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and at Lyon airport.
Charles de Gaulle airport will begin testing a passenger screening tool known as the passenger name record (PNR) next week. The system, already in use in Britain, identifies passengers whose profiles indicate a potential risk. It cross-references names, addresses and means of payment with police crime and terrorism files.
However, EgyptAir will not be among the eight airlines that will take part in the trial, which the interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, says is long overdue.
The system is to become fully operational by the end of the year in France, which has received nearly £14 million in EU aid to finance its introduction. It can detect passengers who have travelled to countries such as Syria and Yemen, with their return dates.
The evidence keeps piling up that supports the comments of ex-CIA director Ambassador Woolsey and investigations by the Lisa Benson Show National Task Force for America that international airports, including those in the US, are not secure. That is particularly acute given the difficulty of profiling airport workers with security access to aircraft on the tarmac and now we learn vetting passengers from terrorist hot spots.
EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in NatSecDailyBrief.
President Obama went to Baltimore for a friendly gathering at the Islamic Center of Baltimore Mosque in Catonsville, Maryland. He was there to convey a message that Muslims are as American as apple pie. Problem is that he chose a Mosque deep into political Islam, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood affiliate, the Islamic Society of North America , supporting suicide bombers and professing hate for U.S. ally Israel. All despite the FBI file sent to the White House confirming this information. No matter. It was a photo op moment to show support for embattled American Muslims given statements from Republican hopeful, Donald Trump that he would stop immigration of Muslims.
The scene was replete with introduction by a hijab swathed college student on track for a medical career. The President in his remarks pointed out another hijab wearing fencing marvel that may be carrying the U.S. flag at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero this summer. The President spoke of the kind comments of founding Fathers John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson who purportedly included Mohammedans in the ambit of freedom of worship in America guaranteed by our First Amendment.
Problem is that he forgot to mention the real reason Thomas Jefferson had a copy of a Qur'an in his library at Monticello. A Qur'an, upon which , the first elected U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) swore a private oath of office on January 4, 2007. I know I passed by his office with a clutch of TV cameramen recording this for posterity. Ellison was at the ISB gathering, as was the second elected Muslim Congressmen, Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN). Doubtless, as this was the President's alleged first visit to an American Mosque, there may have been notables at the Mosque in Catonsville from CAIR and ISNA. But not too worry this was kumbaya day at the ISB.
American Muslims that he pointed out in his remarks assembled Ford automobiles in Michigan, built the first continuous Mosque in Cedar Rapids,, Iowa, served honorably in the US military and some were buried in the hallowed ground of Arlington National Cemetery. Yes, there were those small pockets of extremists in the Muslim Ummah like ISIS or ISIL as he likes to call it with its self-declared Caliphate in Syria and Iraq. Barbarically beheading Christians, enslaving minority Yazidi women and children, destroying ancient cultures in the name of Allah, their God. Then there are the extremist Taliban in both Afghanistan and Pakistan killing women, homosexuals and Christian infidels. Oh, we forgot the Mahdist Shia in Tehran who the President makes deals with to prevent a nuclear war, he thinks. Last year, they only executed 1,000 for crimes of gender, homosexuality and heterodox beliefs.
The Ambassador answered us that it was founded on the laws of their Prophet; that it was written in their Koran; that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners; that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners; and that every Mussulman [Muslim] who was slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise.
Clearly, Adams and Jefferson knew something that President Obama doesn't choose to admit in public. That Islam is not the religion of peace and tolerance that its religious theocrats make it out to be. Subsequently, as the Third President of the US, Jefferson would conduct a covert war that freed American hostages with a few Marines at the fabled 'walls of Tripoli' from the likes of the Sharia-mad Bey.
But there was another problem with the choice of the ISB, the occurrence of gender apartheid prior to this auspicious occasion.
So, the President did what he wanted to do with the ISB visit; show solidarity with the plight of American Muslims, sidelined by GOP hopeful Donald Trump. He chose to avoid the advice of the FBI busily tracking down and arresting ISIS inspired lone wolves out to kill Americans on the streets here in the US that he Mosque leaders consorted with terrorist networks. That would upset the President's alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood seeking their active participation in countering violent extremism and conducted a less than strenuous war against the Islamic State inspiring tens of thousands from across the Ummah to join and practice the pure Islam in the self declared Caliphate.
EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review. The featured image is of President Obama at the Islamic Center of Baltimore in Catonsville, Maryland, February 3, 2016 – Source: Reuters.
On Tuesday, June 16, 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry held a video conference with a number of news media journalists on prevailing issues. Less than fourteen days remain till a definitive Joint Plan of Action might be available for Congress review under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA). That is, if there isn't a delay.This video conference revealed still yet another stunning concession on the critical element of Iran's previous military developments (PMD): perfect knowledge of all prior nuclear developments making IAEA verification virtually impossible. Kerry was backtracking on his November 2013 and April 2, 2015 statements.
QUESTION: Sir, I'm Michael Gordon, New York Times. You mentioned that possible military dimensions, which is the term of art for suspected nuclear design work and testing of nuclear components, has to be addressed as part of a prospective Iran agreement. Do these concerns need to be fully resolved before sanctions are eased or released or removed or suspended on Iran as part of that agreement? Is that a core principle or is that also negotiable? Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: Michael, the possible military dimensions, frankly, gets distorted a little bit in some of the discussion, in that we're not fixated on Iran specifically accounting for what they did at one point in time or another. We know what they did. We have no doubt. We have absolute knowledge with respect to the certain military activities they were engaged in.
What we're concerned about is going forward. It's critical to us to know that going forward, those activities have been stopped, and that we can account for that in a legitimate way. That clearly is one of the requirements in our judgment for what has to be achieved in order to have a legitimate agreement. And in order to have an agreement to trigger any kind of material significant sanctions relief, we would have to have those answers.
This is a crucial question. Without Iran divulging the degree of its past work on nuclear weaponization, inspectors will have a harder time establishing a baseline for assessing Iranian compliance with the terms of a deal.
Disclosure on the nuclear program's military dimensions is also an early yardstick of Iranian good faith.
The International Atomic Energy Agency submitted 12 queries to Iran about its weaponization work in 2011. Tehran had only responded to one of them as of February 2013, and the IAEA's leadership has acknowledged that it doesn't think Iran will come clean before the June 30 deadline.
That makes some sense from Iran's perspective, as the country's negotiators have deftly used the ambiguities surrounding the country's weaponization work for negotiating leverage. But that rationale disappears once a deal is signed, at which point the sides will have spent whatever leverage they had while theoretically having a mutual incentive to make the agreement work. And it won't work as well if inspectors don't have an understanding of the full extent and history of Iran's nuclear program.
Kerry's answer is puzzling for a number of other reasons. The administration's assessment of the nuclear dimensions of Iran's program is not just secret, but non-disprovable for anyone who hasn't seen US or allied intelligence on Iranian weaponization.
And Kerry doesn't elaborate about "what they did." Was Iran testing nuclear detonators, or diverting fissile material to a weapons program? Is the extent of Iranian weaponization work greater or less than the public record — which establishes that Iran may have tested nuclear weapons triggers at the Parchin facility up until 2003, andmaintained a research group dedicated to weaponization activities?
Kerry's statement raises more questions than it answers. But it appears that the Obama administration isn't going to insist on full Iranian disclosure of the extent of its nuclear program as part of a comprehensive deal.
That's a shift from just two months ago; right after the parties reached a preliminary deal, when Kerry told PBS that Iran would need to divulge its past nuclear activities as part of any final deal.
"They have to do it. It will be done. If there's going to be a deal; it will be done," he said.
Whether it is collaborative research with North Korea on nuclear warheads or ICBM technology or another country in the axis of resistance, Iran will not permit any verification of prior military developments by the IAEA through inspection of the known military sites in country. Going forward on that basis is impractical and unsafe. Iran doubtless may already have achieved nuclear weapons capabilities. Moreover upon lifting upwards of $50 billion in sanctioned funds, Iran may accelerate the means of delivering them, as well as, funding more chaos in neighboring Afghanistan and Iraq. The days are running down towards a debacle with an untrustworthy Iran, increasing the unease of Congress on the cusp of reviewing it under the INARA. A negative vote which may trigger a veto by President Obama that the Congress may not have the votes to override.
There inside a gleaming plant at the Oak Ridge nuclear reservation were giant centrifuges — some surrendered more than a decade ago by Libya, others built since — that helped the scientists come up with what they told President Obama were the "best reasonable" estimates of Iran's real-life ability to race for a weapon under different scenarios.
The classified replica is but one part of an extensive crash program within the nation's nine atomic laboratories — Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and Livermore among them — to block Iran's nuclear progress. As the next round of talks begins on Wednesday in Vienna, the secretive effort remains a technological obsession for thousands of lab employees living the Manhattan Project in reverse. Instead of building a bomb, as their predecessors did in a race to end World War II, they are trying to stop one.
This Business Insider article demonstrates how the Department of Energy had used nuclear enrichment equipment surrendered by Gaddafi's Libya in 2004 to replicate the enrichment cascade hall at Natanz in Iran in an attempt to estimate the time to breakout. The fact that the New York Times disclosures underestimated what third party experts like David Albright's Washington-D.C. – based Institute for Science and International Security (the good ISIS) and others had determined was the technical assessment that Iran's actual breakout time was less than three months is an indication of the incredible cupidity of the Administration that Iran couldn't obtain a nuclear device in less than one year a decade from conclusion of an agreement. The obvious move by Congress is hold hearings on this disclosure with qualified third party experts. The other implication is that Israeli PM Netanyahu may have had independent verification that the quantity of low enriched uranium could easily be converted into fissile material for a nuclear weapon, hence his argument that the Administration's negotiation stance using the Department of Energy simulations would lead to what he deemed a 'very bad deal" in the P5+1 negotiations with Iran.
This "Manhattan Project in reverse" is situated on the grounds of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It uses placeholder centrifuges meant to represent Iranian equipment — an assembly that including centrifuges once belonging to Libya's disbanded nuclear program.
Scientists apparently proposed redesigns, centrifuge cascade configurations, limits on types of centrifuges, and other fixes that they believed would keep Iranian breakout at under a year. Eventually, they reached an equation that the Iranians could accept.
The Obama administration has premised its arguments for a nuclear deal with Iran on the claim that for a period of 10 years, limits imposed on the Islamic Republic would make it nearly impossible for the country to build a single nuclear weapon in less than a year without the international community learning about it and formulating a response.
The Times doesn't go into much detail as to what those fixes actually consist of, but reports that government scientists reached a high level of confidence that their formula could keep Iran at a one-year breakout.
In a report issued on April 11th and authored by a group of scientists that included physicist and former International Atomic Energy Agency expert David Albright, the Institute for Science and International Security noticed a curious aspect to the administration's breakout estimates: they didn't seem to take into account Iran's supply of 20% enriched uranium, fissile material has undergone around 90% of the revolutions needed to reach weapons-grade.
Iran oxidized half of its 20% stock (and down-blended the other half to a lower level of enrichment) under the November 2013 Joint Plan of Action signed between Iran and a group of 6 countries led by the US.
As the ISIS report explains, in leaving the oxidized 20% stocks out of its breakout estimate, the administration seems to believe that reconverting that 20% to a state where it can be further enriched and weaponized would be such a time-consuming, intensive, and obvious process that Iran's 20% stocks simple don't need to be factored into weaponization scenarios.
The ISIS report is skeptical. It says Iran could render its 20% stocks usable in just a few months and that it's hugely relevant to any breakout scenario.
"The near 20 percent LEU stock, unless largely eliminated or rendered unusable in a breakout, could be an important reserve in reducing the time to produce the first significant quantity of weapon-grade uranium (WGU) and rapidly producing a second significant quantity of WGU," the report states.
According the series of fact sheets released after the Lausanne, Switzerland nuclear talks concluded, Iran would be allowed to keep a stockpile of 300 kilograms of uranium enriched to 3.67% under a final deal. Even a small amount of uranium at 20% enrichment would far surpass this stockpile in weaponization potential: "a rule of thumb is that 50 kilograms of near 20 percent LEU hexafluoride (or about 33 kilograms uranium mass) is equivalent in terms of shortening breakout time to 500 kilograms of 3.5 percent LEU hexafluoride," the report says.
As Bloomberg reported on April 21, the administration only declassified its actual breakout estimate — which states that Iran is currently between 2 and 3 months away from building a single nuclear weapon, if it chose to do so — on April 1st, the day before the series of announcements that marked the conclusion of the Lausanne, Switzerland round of nuclear negotiations. Ali Khadery, a former advisor to U.S. Central Command and the U.S. official who spent the longest time in Iraq during the American military campaign in that country, suggested on Twitter that an approximate 2-3 month breakout estimate dated from as early as 2009.
The New York Times article gives an idea of the scientific infrastructure the US is using to evaluate its breakout claims. It's now known that there are scientists using a mock-up of Iranian nuclear facilities to produce conditions for reaching a one-year breakout time.
The methods they're actually using for reaching those conclusions, and the relationship between the administration's public breakout claims and Iran's actual timetable under a final deal, both remain as vague as ever.
EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review. The featured image is of the Y-12 National Security Complex Oak Ridge Tennessee. Source: National Nuclear Security Admin – Reuters.
Our Iconoclast post title about a denouement today on the P5+1 Iran Nuke agreement review legislation was realized this afternoon in a unanimous Senate Foreign Relations Committee vote approving a compromise measure. The Committee action reasserted Constitutional prerogatives forcing President Obama to relent his opposition. The vote was 19 to 0 based on the compromise language worked out between Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-TN) and Ranking Member Benjamin Cardin (D-MD). Assenting to the new version of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, originally co-sponsored by embattled New Jersey U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and Sen. Corker, were two Committee Members, announced GOP Presidential Contenders, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Marco Rubio (R-FL). Corker had not been a signatory to Arkansas Tom Cotton's letter that was sent to the Leaders of the Islamic Republic in Tehran apprising them of the Senate's advice and consent on major treaties and agreements.
This legislative victory preserves the right of the Congress to review changes in the prevailing sanctions against Iran occasioned by the presentation of the Administration of any definitive agreement reached between the P5+1 and Iran by the intended date of June 30, 2015. Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif announced at a ministerial meeting in Spain today, that negotiations leading towards a possible definitive agreement would start April 21st in Lausanne, Switzerland. U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said the House would approve the veto proof measure. A vote on the measure should reach the floor of the Senate shortly, at which time Amendments might be introduced for possible consideration.
The compromise language, which was worked out by Corker and ranking Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin (D – Md.), shortened the amount of time of Congress would get to review a nuclear agreement with Iran from 60 days to 30, and softened some other provisions of the bill.
The bill is consistent with a poll released today by Suffolk University showing that Americans favor congressional review of any nuclear deal with Iran by a wide margin—72% to 19%.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that President Barack Obama would sign the compromise bill, reversing the administration's longstanding objection to any congressional oversight of a potential nuclear deal with Iran.
Why Mr. Obama gave in after fierce opposition was the last real dispute of what became a rout. Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, said Mr. Obama was not "particularly thrilled" with the bill, but had decided that a new proposal put together by the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee made enough changes to make it acceptable.
Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee and the committee's chairman, had a far different interpretation. As late as 11:30 a.m., in a classified briefing at the Capitol, Mr. Kerry was urging senators to oppose the bill. The "change occurred when they saw how many senators were going to vote for this, and only when that occurred," Mr. Corker said.
Mr. Cardin said that the "fundamental provisions" of the legislation had not changed.
But the compromise between him and Mr. Corker did shorten a review period of a final Iran nuclear deal and soften language that would make the lifting of sanctions dependent on Iran's ending support for terrorism.
The agreement almost certainly means Congress will muscle its way into nuclear negotiations that Mr. Obama sees as a legacy-defining foreign policy achievement.
Under the agreement, the president would still have to send periodic reports to Congress on Iran's activities regarding ballistic missiles and terrorism, but those reports could not trigger another round of sanctions.
The measure still faces hurdles. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, fresh off the opening of his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, dropped plans to push for an amendment to make any Iran deal dependent on the Islamic Republic's recognition of the State of Israel, a diplomatic nonstarter.
But he hinted that he could try on the Senate floor.
"Not getting anything done plays right into the hands of the administration," Mr. Rubio said.
Senator Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, abandoned an amendment to make any Iran accord into a formal international treaty needing two-thirds of the Senate for its ratification, but he, too, said it could be revived before the full Senate.
The measure will be brought up for a floor vote later this month and is expected to pass both the Senate and the House in near veto proof form.
It is clear that the victors in this battle are the Republican Majority and concerned Democrats who have been monitoring polls and constituent opinions regarding Congressional Review prerogatives. In retrospect Sen. Cotton's letter and the March 3rd address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before a Joint Meeting of Congress alerted Americans to problems with the P5+1 framework for a deal announced on April 2nd despite the objections of President Obama and certain leading Democratic minority members of both the Senate and House. Perhaps the diktats announced last Thursday by Ayatollah Khamenei demanding the lifting of all sanctions upon signing of an agreement and denial of intrusive IAEA inspections of military nuclear weapons development sites conveyed to Senate Democrats that there were different opinions about the two Facts Statements. The one released by the State Department versus that of the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Add to that was Monday's removal of a 2010 moratorium on the sale of an advanced Russian S-300 air defense system to Iran an indication that President Putin and Ayatollah Khamenei could void weapons sanctions agreements at will.
The losers in this episode are Secretary Kerry and President Obama. How those negotiations go starting April 21st will determine if Congress will have anything to review on June 30th.
Minneapolis the U.S. Hub for Islamic State Recruitment?
The Sunday New York Times had a front page story on the chronicle of a pair Somali émigré youths in the Twin Cities, one of whom successfully traveled to Syria to join ISIS, while his friend was stopped before he could board a flight to join his fellow mujaheddin, "From Minneapolis to ISIS: An American's Path to Jihad".
Abdi Nur was the 20 year old community college attendee who originally wanted to become a lawyer, instead opting for becoming a Jihadist recruit for the Islamic State Caliphate in Raqaa, Syria. His unlucky comrade, 18 year old, Abdullah Yusuf didn't make it and finds himself sentenced by the court to the equivalent of a re-education program by a federal judge. Both boys may have been recruited by a youth leader at a Bloomington, Minnesota Al Farooq Mosque.
The article covers the story we wrote about last September concerning the death of Abdirahmaan Muhumed an ISIS jihadi, a 29 year old Somali Emigre from Minneapolis, who had airport security access while working as a airline cleaner. The article attempts to explain what attracted Somali émigré youths and other American Muslims to the Salafist Jihadist Takfir doctrine. Why they were motivated to pick up stakes, abandon their families, cruise IS social media, eventually downloading a veritable Fodor –type guide for Hijrah (immigration) to the Islamic State and obtain free plane tickets to travel to the Caliphate. The Times authors focus on federal investigations and local community intervention and re-education programs that appear to offer few if any relevant answers.
This is the latest story of how the U.S. humanitarian refugee program, controlled by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, flooded this major Midwestern community with 100,000 East Africa Muslims. Many of them failed to assimilate into American culture with radical Mosques recruiting dozens of native born jihadists to fight and die for first al Shabaab in Somalia and now for ISIS in Syria. We have written about this repeatedly since 2008. The Times article didn't delve into how the Somali refugees came to the Twin cities with the assistance of voluntary agencies paid by the State Department and Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement to process them, provide cash assistance, Medicaid and receive a green card to eventually citizens. All while many of these Muslim émigrés rejected American values, instead seeking to impose their Sharia law on the host non-Muslim community.
Erick Stakelbeck on Tuesday, March 17th, aired his version of this story on CBN's The Watchman, "Minneapolis- the U.S. Capital of ISIS" – a prelude for his latest book, ISIS Exposed: Beheadings, Slavery and the Hellish Realities of Radical Islam, by Regenery Publishing. We are rapidly ploughing through it and will review it for the April NER; hopefully along with a short interview with Stakelbeck about ISIS and the failure of U.S. policy. Stakelbeck's latest book, like his previous books on The Brotherhood; America's Next Great Enemy and Terrorist Next Door: How the Government is Deceiving You About the Islamist Threat reads like a thriller, but with a very important message. Stakelbeck knows the Somali émigré terror recruit story and how our humanitarian refugee program played a major role in creating the radical Muslim environment in these communities that indoctrinated and recruited these youths. He visits the areas that have the look and feel of Mogadishu in Minnesota. He speaks with frustrated Somali community and former law enforcement officials about the futility of trying to divert these youths from a likely dead end that have befallen dozens who preceded them. He also delves into what attracts these young American Somali and other Muslim émigrés and converts to follow this delusional self destruction jihadist cause.
Watch Stakelbeck CBN ISIS program.
https://drrichswier.com/wp-content/uploads/minneapolis-islamic-state.jpg 464 640 Jerry Gordon http://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.png Jerry Gordon2015-03-23 04:33:502015-03-23 04:44:30Minneapolis the U.S. Hub for Islamic State Recruitment?


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dnd memes
Dungeons & Dragons Memes For When You're Not Rolling The Dice
It's been a while since our Dungeons & Dragons group was able to meet, but we're able to enjoy vicariously through memes and comics like these. This big old batch of D&D goodness has something for everyone. It'll be relatable for everyone from the newbie to the crankiest Dungeon Master you know.
dungeons and dragons memes
27 Dungeons & Dragons Memes To Satisfy Your Nerdy Cravings
The people have spoken. And the people want more Dungeons & Dragons memes. Fortunately we're not ones to keep y'all wanting.
47 Super-Fresh & Dank Dungeons & Dragons Memes
We know y'all nerds love it when we share super dank Dungeons & Dragons memes, and today we've got a whole lot more of 'em for you. Whether you're a Paladin or a horny Bard, or even the DM, these memes are sure to make you chuckle.
nerdy memes
28 Hilariously Relatable Dungeons & Dragons Memes To Send To Your Party
Whether you're weeks deep into a campaign or just trying desperately to start a new one with some fresh faces, these memes and tweets are guaranteed to hit home. It doesn't matter if you're a barbarian or a bard, or even a self-sacrificing DM. These memes'll get to you.
For more Dungeons & Dragons memes, check out thisdankly demonic list.
office memes
19 Dank Dungeons & Dragons Memes For The Dice Addicts
Happy Monday y'all. As many of you can imagine, we'd definitely rather be rolling and bickering with our group than toiling away at work. Unfortunately we are forced to be semi-functioning members of society, so we'll have to settle for these memes. Whether you identify as chaotic neutral or a lawful good, these funny Dungeons and Dragons pics are probably gonna resonate with your nerdy a$$.
video game memes
nerdy shit
nerd shit
30 Delightfully Nerdy Dungeons And Dragons Memes
This one is for all you DnD freaks - if you can tear yourself away from seducing anything and everything!
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Maminas es un municipio del distrito de Shijak, en el condado de Durrës, Albania.

Se encuentra situado en la zona centro-oeste del país, a poca distancia al noroeste de Tirana y al este de la costa del mar Adriático, con una población a finales del año 2011 de .

Referencias

Enlaces externos

Condado de Durrës

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Ultius›Blog›Ultius›Sample Case Study: Gaming and Gambling Online
Sample Case Study: Gaming and Gambling Online
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Creating relevant and succinct content like this is exactly what we do at Ultius day in and day out. This sample case study provides an example of Ultius custom writing services.
About online gaming
The world of online gaming is extensive and comes in so many textures and flavors, it could easily be the subject of endless discussion. But what is online gaming? Who likes to play? Who has been ignored? What are the risks associated with online gaming? Online gaming is the use of video games across a network which utilizes the Internet allowing simultaneous interactive play between multiple remote users on a computer or a game console, located adjacently or anywhere in the world.
Online gaming history
Online gaming has been in existence as far back as 1973, with the advent of a game called Empire created by John Daleske (Daleske). The game is arguably considered to be the first in its and was a space craft game of war where players entered their commands through keystrokes (Hachman).
The environment used by Daleske, a student at Iowa State University, was called PLATO, a pre-Facebook educational social network which had instant messaging, email, network games and a notes system (Daleske). Maze War, by Steve Colley, was the first peer-to-peer (P2P), 3D first person shooter multiplayer game, and possibly the first frames per second (FPS) (Hachman). Since PLATO, social media has grown in popularity and influences our culture.
The game had a major impact on subsequent titles. Other titles that operated on the PLATO network in the 70s were Spasim, Moria, and Dubliette, and Multi-User Dungeon (MUD). The 1980s saw the birth of Multi-Access Dungeon (MAD), the first global access game, so popular that it was prohibited from residing on its network, BITNET, after only two years of operation.
In 1984, the Islands of Kesmai was the first online role playing game. The game was part of the Compuserve internet provider service, a predecessor of AOL, Verizon, and Xfinity. Additional gaming players in the 80s included Habitat, SGI Dogfight, Air Warrior, Netrek, and Federation (Hachman).
The 1990s saw the creation of Meganet, a console-based online gaming choice, dropped in Japan due to failure to launch and was consequently never introduced to the North American market. The 1990s had a healthy birth of online games offering unique contributions to the evolution of the class, notably, NeverWinter Nights, on AOL in 1991, the first three-dimensional MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game).
Microgaming, the first online casino in 1996, Intertops, Everquest by Sony, brags the first game to sell in-game virtual products with real money and the first with over 100,000 concurrent users, and Snake II, the first multiplayer mobile access game (Hachman). In the new millennium, online gaming transitioned to even greater heights than previously known. The 2000s have spawned the enhancement of online games to a level that millions of players around the world are obsessed with.
Online gaming demographics
The demographics age for gamers is quite stunning! The average gamer is 31 years old (Grubb). Not what you were thinking? Next shocker – there are more gamers over 36 than there are within the age bracket of 18 to 35 or under 18 (Grubb).
Let's continue with the astonishing statistics:
58% of gamers are men
48% are women
64% of online gamers are women
There is a difference between most of the online favorites for women (Witkop). Cake Shop 2, World of Warcraft, Bejeweled 2, Crosswords and Sudoku and Farmville are the top five favorites for women. Men are more drawn to fighting games, role-play, action and strategy games (Phan, Jardina Hoyle).
Sadly, some women are experiencing sexual harassment, a form of cyber bullying, in online gaming (Rosen). Perhaps it should not be so surprising because it is a reality in the real world. It is likely that when a person believes that they are under the cover of anonymity, as is the case in online gaming, that they might be more likely to do what they would not do normally since they have a false sense of limited consequences or meaningful retribution. Some women have reported threats of rape and death.
Actually, threats in the online gaming world are not limited to women. A former Microsoft Xbox expert stated that he regularly fielded reports of threats from other players, and they were not all women.
There are over half a billion people who play online games around the world (Singh). Daily online players are geographically distinguished, with those located in Asia Pacific having the highest representation, at 47.9 million; Europe is not far behind with 45.6 million; North Americans are no slackers – with 30.3 million online gamers playing daily. Latin American has 14.9 million, while Middle East Africa comes in at 6.2 million (Singh).
There is not a lot of socioeconomic data regarding online gamers and their backgrounds. In fact, MacCallum-Stewart, in her book entitled Online Games, Social Narratives, balks at the notion that we can identify the socioeconomic standing of the online gamer and says:
The ". . . often repeated definition of the 'average gamer' as 35, lower middle class, white . . . is . . . virtually meaningless" (2014).
Yet, if you look at the Microsoft Xbox Live page, which is an invitation to consumers who visit the page to become a Microsoft online subscriber, the advertisements stereotype particular genders ;and all images appear to be young whites ("Microsoft"). It is reasonable to assume that the key demographic, the broadest cross-section of people who purchase their online live product, would be fairly represented in their advertising.
It is also reasonable to assume that Microsoft is a smart company who understands the importance of ensuring their imaging is appropriately directed to their key demographic, so, it is fair to say that the majority of subscribers for Microsoft's online gaming are probably young, white males and females, who have enough disposable income to purchase their subscription consistently, and who can afford to purchase their games and other accessories.
Online gaming genres
There are a number of online gaming genres. They are categorized to aid players in identifying the type of game they would enjoy playing most. Some of the major online gaming genres are:
Action Adventure – like Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge – adventures of the leader of a fortune hunter gang
Card Board – like Scrabble – the classic board game
Family – like Rockstar Table Tennis – game of tennis
Fighting – like Prison Break – prisoner reconnaissance inside penitentiary
Racing Flying – like Project Gotham Racing 2 – auto racing
Role Playing – like Phantasy Star Online Episodes I II – investigative hunters embark on the search for missing pioneers a new planet
First Person Shooter – like Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3– close combat, sniping, terrorism and counter-terrorism, where the villain tries to create an international Fascist movement
Sports Recreation - like ESPN NHL Hockey - hockey
Strategy Simulation – like Battle Stations Pacific – action strategy directing air, sea and undersea units (Goldstein)
Video gameplay is fun, but online gaming intensifies the stakes, and it's fun playing against or with others who share the same passion.
While people still play the lottery more than online gambling, another type of gaming is found in online games of chance or online gambling. In 1994, Antigua and Barbuda passed legislation that allowed companies to apply to establish online casinos ("The History"). Then number of online casinos mushroomed from 15 to over 200 within a very short period of time, with revenues in excess of $830 million in 1998. In 1999, multiplayer online gambling was introduced, allowing gambling, communication through chat, and interactive interplay ("The History").
In 1996, the first sports book made its appearance online ("The History"). Sports book allows a gambler to place bets on sports competition outcomes, including horse racing, basketball, football, baseball, boxing, and others. The sports book is legal in Delaware, Oregon, Nevada, and Montana. Online sports book wagering sites have matured and achieved great success.
In addition to the standard approach, in the year 2000, the industry introduced peer-to-peer wagering, where gamblers create their own betting topic and bet amongst themselves. The next iteration in the category was live sports book, where players could place their bets while the sports event was actually occurring ("The History"). The most recent development has been mobile betting by phone or by tablet.
Other Online Gambling
Other online gambling categories include poker which represents approximately 21.43% of gambling-type games, bingo which represents 13.47%, lottery which represents 4.68%, horse race betting, and mobile gambling. (Church-Sanders).
Online gaming addiction
All fun and exciting things, when taken too far create problems. If you eat too much, you'll get fat, if you drink too much, you could become an alcoholic, and similarly, if you are obsessed by video games or online gaming, you can also develop an addiction. This is the dark, often hidden side of online gaming. We are used to hearing about drug addictions and understand the devastating effects, but online gaming addiction has an odd ring to it. South Korea is one of the world's most technologically advanced countries from a broadband perspective and a leader in diagnosing and treating online gaming addiction (Sutter).
A government report indicates approximately eight percent of the country have experienced gaming or online gaming addiction. In the United States, although the problem is not yet recognized as a disorder, the American Psychiatric Association has proposed to include "Internet Use Disorder" in the official Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the next time the manual is revised, as needing additional study (Sutter). Today, Dr. Han Doug-hyun, from South Korea, is a noted leader in the field. His treatment process for the addiction is similar to the way that alcoholics are treated. He incorporates counseling and virtual-reality therapy.
Dr. Han suggests the following warning signs:
Disrupted regular life pattern. If a person plays games all night long and sleeps in the daytime, that can be a warning he or she should seek professional help
The potential gaming or Internet addict loses his or her job or stops going to school in order to be online or to play a digital game
Need for a bigger fix. Does the gamer have to play for longer and longer periods in order to get the same level of enjoyment from the game?
Withdrawal. Some Internet and gaming addicts become irritable or anxious when they disconnect, or when they are forced to do so
Cravings. Some Internet and gaming addicts experience cravings, or the need to play the game or be online when they are away from the digital world (Sutter)
Online gaming is fun. It's especially great because you can access it at your convenience any time of day, under any circumstances. There seems to be an online gaming genre that can appeal to everyone's proclivities. Though with all enjoyable and entertaining choices, we must learn to implement controls, otherwise, addictions could be in-store.
Church-Sanders, Rachel. "Special Report: Online Poker – Industry Trends." IGB Affiliate. Web. 4 April 2016. http://www.igbaffiliate.com/resources/articles/special-report-online-poker-%E2%80%93-industry-trends.
Daleske, John. "PLATO for Education and Training." PLATO. John Daleske. 2008. Web. 4 April 2016. http://www.daleske.com/plato/.
Goldstein, Hilary. "The Top 10 Xbox Live Games." IGN. Ziff Davis, LLC. 23 April 2004. Web. 4 April 2016. http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/04/22/the-top-10-xbox-live-games?page=4.
Grubb, Jeff. "Gaming advocacy group: The average gamer is 31, and most play on a console." VB. Venture Beat. 29 April 2014. Web. 4 April 2016. http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/29/gaming-advocacy-group-the-average-gamer-is-31-and-most-play-on-a-console/.
Hachman, Mark. Infographic: A Massive History of Multiplayer Online Gaming." PC. Ziff Davis, LLC. PCMag Digital Group. 11 August 2011. Web. 4 April 2016. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390917,00.asp.
Klepek, Patrick ."Study: 64% of Online Gamers are Women." 1Up.com. IGN Entertainment Games. 10 June 2006. Web. 4 April 2016. http://www.1up.com/news/study-64-online-gamers-women.
MacCallum-Stewart, Esther. Online Games, Social Narratives. London: Routledge, 2014. Print.
"Microsoft Xbox Live Gold." Microsoft. Web. 4 April 2016. http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/gold?xr=shellnav.
Phan, M. H., Jardina, J. R. and Hoyle, W. S. "Video Games: Males Prefer Violence while Females Prefer Social.' SURL. Software Usability Research Laboratory. Wichita State University. 23 August 2012. Web. 4 April 2016. http://usabilitynews.org/video-games-males-prefer-violence-while-females-prefer-social/.
Rosen, Christopher. "The Awful Truth Behind Sexual Harassment Of Women Gamers." Huffington Post. TheHuffintonPost.com Inc. 13 March 2015. Web. 4 April 2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/13/gtfo-sexism-in-gaming_n_6804106.html.
Singh, Amarpal. "Asia Pacific Has Largest Daily Online Gaming Audience." ComScore. comScore, Inc. 11 June 2013. Web. 4 April 2016. https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Data-Mine/Asia-Pacific-Has-Largest-Daily-Online-Gaming-Audience.
Sutter, John, D. "5 warning signs of gaming addiction." CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 6 August 2012. Web. 4 April 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/05/tech/gaming-gadgets/gaming-addiction-warning-signs/.
"The History of Online Gambling." OnlineGambling.com. 11 June 2013. Web. 4 April 2016. http://www.onlinegambling.com/online-gambling-history.htm.
Witkop, Lorie . "Top 5 Most Popular Online Games for Women." Love to Know. LoveToKnow Corp. Web. 4 April 2016. http://online.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Top_5_Most_Popular_Online_Games_for_Women.
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Home/Reviews/Critic vs. Critic: 'Don't Breathe'
Critic vs. Critic: 'Don't Breathe'
Christian Toto Send an email September 8, 2016
Jane Levy stars as a burglar who, along with two cohorts, target the worst possible house. The home's owner, a blind Iraq War veteran, seems like easy prey at first blush.
DON'T BREATHE - Official Trailer (HD)
This critic found "Don't Breathe" to be a treat in this sorry summer movie season. Solid performances, including an eerie turn by Stephen Lang as the "victim," contribute to the roller coaster ride.
Only HiT contributor Matt Morava, couldn't disagree more.
Matt Morava: You're right, I hated it. HATED IT. In a year of over the top violence ("The Purge: Election Year," "Batman v Superman" and "Suicide Squad") this was by far the worst.
Everything about it seemed exploitative: the "crazy vet" stereotype, using urban decay in Detroit as a backdrop and the three unmemorable teenagers with whom we're meant to feel empathy for because they have it rough at home.
Like in the equally awful "Suicide Squad," the lack of coherent ethics on the part of the protagonists leaves a lot to be desired. Viola Davis' Amanda Waller kills four hardworking FBI agents in cold blood for zero reason and nary a peep from the protagonist. Here, you have three teens breaking and entering, and it's all "okay" because mom's an alcoholic and kinda mean.
I love scary movies but will admit that slasher films are my least favorite. This is the kinda torture porn that "Cabin in the Woods" satirized brilliantly. There's no "there" there. It's just too violent and not enough story to make it work.
When the blind Iraq war vet eventually launches into dialogue (and this movie might have been better had he never said a word) it's outright laughable how preposterous his motivations are. Hollywood has a long history of outlandish torture and revenge porn, but there are scenes in this movie so bad I really do want to warn viewers away.
Christian, how given the violence, torture and ridiculous motivation of the bad guy can you recommend "Don't Breathe" to anyone?
Christian Toto: I liked that the film gave us a glimpse into the lives of the burglars. I didn't think it excused their actions. It was a rare blast of context in a a genre that often skips that.
I'm the first to shred Hollywood for mocking war veterans. This case, though, is more sophisticated. The blind vet is defending his turf, and he's suffered much more than the loss of his eyesight. Those two qualities make him a worthy adversary for the burglars.
Don't Breathe Movie CLIP - Tension (2016) - Stephen Lang Movie
I did find the third act reveal to be a bit silly, but by then the movie had hooked me. So many tense moments. Such good use of light and shadow. And Stephen Lang's visceral performance as the blind man fascinated me.
RELATED: Horror Vet Lynch Defends Our Need for Nightmares
Violence wise? It's a horror thriller. You have to really shove entrails in my face to make me complain.
Didn't you find the cat and mice games exciting? Wasn't the fact that he was blind intriguing to their standoff? What part of the violence would you have cut (no pun intended)?
Matt Morava: I agree that Stephen Lang is the best thing going in this mess. Yet it wasn't enough to keep me interested.
It samples far too much from better films like "Cujo," "Silence of the Lambs," "Funny Games (1997)" "The Descent
" and the reigning champ of cat and mice games, "Wait Until Dark."
The problem I have with the violence isn't with the visuals, it's with the lack of a coherent context. Take "Hostel Part II Unrated
" for example, plenty violent, and similar in that it follows a female protagonist get out of a hairy situation.
Everything that happens, though, connects coherently to a larger context. Here, we lead up to the most ridiculous bit of horror every filmed, and I won't give it away, but it involves a turkey baster. I literally LOL'd, and that's never a good thing in a horror movie.
I'm trying to put my finger on the exact moment I started really hating this film. I think it began with using the urban decay in Detroit. It would have been a thousand times more interesting to have it set in a wealthy thriving suburb of say outside of Atlanta. The "crazy vet" thing could've been avoided all together and just focused on blind man who's fighting for his life.
Don't Breathe Movie CLIP - The Blind Man Confronts Money (2016) - Daniel Zovatto Movie
And they could've written it in a way to care more about both sides. I've got crazy pants on one side and three kids who've done nothing to earn my empathy on the other. Just a wee bit more investing in building up the two sides and more discipline in the use of violence once their in the house and skip the Cujo thing entirely and you might have had something worth seeing.
Instead we're left with this mess of a movie.
Christian Toto: Well, I'm not gonna defend the turkey baster … even if it struck me as an original note in an otherwise shopworn genre.
I didn't mind the film's setting. If they had the kids coming from fairly affluent families, it would have been harder to root for their survival. As is, one of the three kids was more or less going along for the ride with a heaping helping of unrequited crushing.
Making Lang's character a military veteran allowed him some skills other blind folks might not have. So I think that bit of background helps.
I loved the recent Netflix horror film "Hush," which featured a deaf protagonist. To me, this offered a clever wrinkle along similar lines. Didn't the "don't breathe" gimmick get you on any level?
Matt Morava: It didn't work on any level for me. I was exhausted by the end and was downright gleeful to leave the theater.
The final thought I'll give this movie is that whomever was in charge of marketing should get a huge bonus because they really sold the film as a thoughtful, suspenseful horror story. What you got instead was a paint-by-the-numbers home invasion story with a few regrettable twists.
This thing was a turkey that could've done without the baster.
Libby_CO says:
Sounds a bit like "You're Next"?


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Home » Celebrities » Vanessa Kirby Reveals Interesting Details About Filming the Labor Scene in 'Pieces of a Woman'
Vanessa Kirby Reveals Interesting Details About Filming the Labor Scene in 'Pieces of a Woman'
Vanessa Kirby is opening up about what is was like to film that intense labor scene in her new movie Pieces of a Woman, which is streaming now on Netflix.
One of the first scenes of the film is a 24-minute one-shot take of Vanessa's character giving birth, from the contractions through a heartbreaking conclusion.
In a new interview with The New York Times, Vanessa revealed that the scene was shot six times over a span of two days and each take was different.
The article notes that the differences included how "Martha and Sean's conversations shifted, the way Martha's body reacted to the contractions was distinctive each time."
"It was, I think, probably the best career experience I've ever had," Vanessa said about shooting that scene.
While preparing for the scene, Vanessa observed a woman's six-hour labor and she says the experience "changed me so profoundly. Every second of what was happening to her, I just absorbed." She added that the woman's "body was taking over and doing it, so that helped me so much for the scene."
When it was time for Vanessa to shoot the scene, she "tried to think as little as possible, she said, and not judge what her body was doing in the scene."
Vanessa recently made a statement in response to the abuse allegations against her co-star Shia LaBeouf.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry unveil gorgeous new photo together in their California home
Iggy Azalea Goes Off On Playboi Carti For Skipping Son's 1st Xmas To Celebrate Album Release
The 'Wonder Woman 1984' Premiere Date Is Delayed To Christmas 2020
Tatler removed the 'Top CEO' sections from their Duchess Kate cover story
Stevie Nicks Loved That Viral TikTok As Much as Everyone Else
Pieces of a WomanVanessa Kir
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Tottenham omit Rose from Asia tour 'to explore opportunities with other clubs'
David Silva Comments On Manchester City Future
Pep Guardiola's champions remain in touch with early pacesetters Liverpool and Chelsea, two points off the Premier League summit in third.
German Leroy Sane, recalled after being left out of the squad against Newcastle, scored inside two minutes with a close-range finish after Fernandinho capitalised on some sloppy passing from the visitors.
Manchester City will host a discount version of itself as they meet Fulham at the Etihad Saturday at 10:00 a.m. ET on NBCSN or live online at NBCSports.com in a highly-anticipated clash of similar playing styles.
"We never - even in this period when he didn't played - doubted Leroy's quality", Guardiola said after Sane's first Premier League start of the season.
"He will be so important for the club".
Guardiola disputed that but did warn Sane, he must show he is ready to fight for a place this season, with increased competition from Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and new signing Riyad Mahrez.
At times last season, Bernardo appeared to be on the fringes of Pep Guardiola's squad, but in his second season since his move from Monaco, he has delighted him.
Cleveland Browns release WR Josh Gordon
After the Browns arrived in New Orleans, the team's brass gathered and decided it couldn't trust Gordon and should move on. The Browns announced their plans to release 27-year-old wide receiver and NFL Pro Bowler Gordon on Saturday.
France calls for the mobilisation against the african swine fever
Belgian authorities said they were working at various levels of government to prevent the possible spread to pig farms. There is no vaccine for African swine fever and mortality rates can be as high as 100%.
Washoe health officials say West Nile case likely acquired locally
Health officials emphasize the importance of people taking precautions as suggested by the CDC to keep mosquitoes from biting. The other three EEE cases in 2018, all euthanized, were in Monmouth and Camden counties.
City's record breakers also collected the greatest number of wins in a Premier League season, the most consecutive amount of victories, highest goal tally and goal difference, as well as the biggest winning margin in the Premier League's 26-year history.
"It's a challenge for him - not just for him, for everybody". He's a nice guy, so I don't have any bad words about him - we are here to try to help, not just him, but everybody. He's so competitive and professional.
A superb piece of midfield skill from Bernardo Silva played Sterling clean through on goal only for the England global to strike the crossbar. Everybody is here because after three seasons I want to work with them and I think they want to work with us. "He started in an incredible condition and he deserves to play".
Eighty six percent of you believe that Pep's Barcelona team would beat his current City team if they went head-to-head against each other.
"We can not forget he is 22 years old".
"It is nearly impossible to be more pleased as a manager with him", the City boss said. He said, "But we were aggressive when we had the ball and we created chances".
"I've always said that I'd like to play for Las Palmas - my local team".
In Serena, women should learn to stand up against bullies
Probably the greatest tennis player of her generation, she has been an inspiration to young girls and athletes around the world. After the tournament was over, the six-time US Open champion was fined $17,000 for her actions during the match .
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Swedish striker scores 500th career goal in style
The six-foot-five (1.95 metre) Ibrahimovic released a perfectly-timed roundhouse kick in the 43th minute that fooled goalkeeper Alex Bono for his 17th goal of the season.
Florence punishes Carolinas with torrential rain, flooding; 8 dead
Zooming out to the full projection, shown above, the core of the storm is slated to enter North Carolina around 2 p.m. There have been seven storm-related deaths since Florence, then a Category-1 hurricane, made landfall Friday morning.
Gennady Golovkin vs. Canelo Alvarez II
The two fighters switched roles, with Triple G trying to counter Alvarez and the Mexican fighter coming forward much of the fight. Golovkin, the big puncher from Kazakhstan, has gone the distance twice in his last three fights, including the draw with Alvarez.
Ronaldo scores first goal for Juventus
However, Sassuolo gave Juventus a late scare when Khouma Babacar scored in the 91st minute to make it 2-1 at the Allianz Stadium. Douglas Costa could face a lengthy ban after he was sent off for appearing to spit in the mouth of Federico Di Francesco.
'Friends' star Matthew Perry reveals three-month hospital stay following surgery
He has also spoken openly about his time in rehab two years later and described the experience of getting sober as "hard". Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and emergency surgery is usually required.
Botham Jean's Mother Demands Justice And Calls Out 'The Devil,' Amber Guyger
The news and the tweet , which received criticism online, had nothing to do with why Jean was killed the night of September 6. Guyger has since been charged with manslaughter and a quick search of her social media reveals some rather offensive posts.
Govt committed to keep fiscal deficit within budgetary target, says Jaitley
He added that CBDT was "very clear" that this year the government would be able to collect taxes in excess of the budgeted target. Jaitley said the income tax collections have been robust with expanding the base and collections will exceed budgetary targets.
Led command approves South Korean border crossings into North Korea
But its operation was suspended in 2016 amid an escalating standoff over North Korea's long-range rocket launches. The office is the first of its kind since the two countries were divided at the end of World War II in 1945.
Zimbabwe's government criticized over cholera outbreak
Harare has also requested for drinking water from agencies under United Nations as well as from private organization. An emergency has been declared and public gatherings banned in Harare to prevent the spread of infection.
Boks break nine-year hoodoo by beating All Blacks at home
New Zealand lead the way with a three-from-four record and 17 points. His All Blacks counterpart Steve Hansen has congratulated the Boks.
Delta II ICESat-2 Launch Highlights
The launch is a follow up to a satellite that was launched in 2003 and operated until 2009, the AP reported. Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems built the satellite, which weighed 1,514 kilograms at launch.
Eliud Kipchoge sets new marathon world record in Berlin
Amos Kipruto of Kenya was second in 2:06:23 with Kenya's Wilson Kipsang , the former world record holder, third in 2:06:48. Perhaps the most remarkable split of Kipchoge's run was the 60:33 final 13.1 miles the Kenyan ran coming home.
This is why the new iPhone XS Max could soon look small
The iPhone X was released a year ago but it had the same price as the iPhone XS so it only made sense for the company to move on. For folks who follow Apple's naming conventions: It's an "S" upgrade, Apple's every-other-year cycle for big new launches.
Weather Report: Tropical Storm Isaac still expected to affect Barbados
Cameras outside the International Space Station captured dramatic views of rapidly strengthening Hurricane Florence at 8:10 a.m. Rip Currents: High risk for rip currents at all beaches today and likely into this weekend.
PSG boss discusses Champions League meeting with Liverpool after breaking club record
The Brazil superstar was left out of the matchday squad to play Saint Etienne, along with France forward Kylian Mbappe. Today we were without Neymar and Kylian and I'm happy to have used players that were here during the worldwide break.
Florence's rain bands lash Carolinas — WHAT'S HAPPENING
Torrential rains brought about significant flooding in some areas, with the rains expected to continue over Oahu through Thursday. Parts of the Carolinas could see 50 cm to 76 cm, with isolated areas getting 101 cm, over seven days along the coast.
F1 reveals images of 2021 auto concepts
F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn said the main objective was "to produce cars that are more raceable". If you remember Manor a few years previously couldn't sell the team.
Razer Phone 2 leaks, but not much has changed
That image? That's a leak of the Razer Phone 2 , and yeah, we'll forgive you if you thought it was the original Razer Phone . It has 120 Hz refresh rate on its UltraMotion screen with Dolby ATMOS and THX certified stereo speakers.
Florence barreling closer to coast of Carolinas
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Israeli Missiles Target Iran Arms Depot Near Damascus Airport
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Florence weakens to depression, flood risk rises
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Carolina coast battening down, boarding up as hurricane nears
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Liverpool and Chelsea set Premier League first with ideal starts
Eden Hazard paid tribute to Olivier Giroud as "maybe the best targetman in the world" for his role in Chelsea's win over Cardiff. His form has been ridiculously good and he turned in one of his finest ever displays in a Chelsea shirt against Cardiff .
Flood waters rise as Florence pummels Carolinas; at least eight dead
That, and the storm's vast circumference of hundreds of miles, means Wilmington will be inundated with rain, the advisory said. The dead included a mother and baby killed when a tree fell on a house in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Border Patrol agent went on 2-week killing spree
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Fans go WILD as Meghan Markle photographed picking up dog poo
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I have a new student sitting in my office, and I have just asked her the same question she has been asked at least five different times since her initial admissions appointment: "Tell me more about yourself." I ask all my students to tell me about themselves because it is important for me, as a professional, to understand where my students have come from in order to get them where they want to go.
As a former communication professional turned student affairs professional, I still view interactions with my students through a communicative lens. Specifically, I love hearing stories from my students because I believe narratives shed light on human nature. Even the smallest detail from a student can help me devise an academic plan or suggest an activity in which they might be interested. Mostly, though, I enjoy hearing students talk about themselves because they have such different backgrounds than me.
Understanding another background, personal point of view, or mission can assist us, as student affairs professionals, in providing an outstanding educational opportunity to our students. Steven Covey said it best in his pivotal work The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Habit 5 is "Seek first to understand, then to be understood."1 As human beings, we want to share information with each other – it is part of our nature. We are inherent storytellers and these stories help us form relationships and create contexts for future interactions.
But too often, we focus on making sure another has heard our point of view or statement instead of listening to others and discovering the true intent of someone's actions. The difference between listening and hearing cannot be underestimated here. Hearing is an automatic response and does not require the absorption of information. Listening allows a person to process information and use higher order thinking skills while interacting with another individual.2 Listening, real listening, is a student affairs professionals' best friend – it can foster relationships, understanding, and compassion.
Moreover, listening can aid in rich interactions. Since we are also social by nature, we thrive on substantive interactions. Engaging in dialogue, asking questions, and showing respect regardless of a different point of view can also help a professional understand a student. Creating lasting and meaningful interactions show acknowledgement of the other person's narrative, validating their experience, which can help a student blossom within the college or university.
And this philosophy isn't just for the professional-student relationship. Inter-professional relationships and interactions can also benefit from this mindset. Just because we are all student affairs professionals doesn't mean that we are exempt from listening to each other. Being in the same field doesn't mean we all share the same stories or backgrounds. We may have several experiences in common, but we do ourselves a disservice by not taking the time to understand each other and focus on how that information can create better working environments (which ultimately benefit our students too!).
I have always used Covey's standard when working in the communication field, and I found that it is just as relevant and important in student affairs work. It goes right to the heart of what we try to do with our students and lends itself nicely to our mission to be empathic and compassionate to all. So, when my student takes a deep breath to begin telling her life story for the fifth time, I want her to understand I'm doing this because I want to understand her, not only as a student, but as a human being who is spending some time with me.
Covey, S. (2013). The seven habits of highly effective people: Anniversary edition. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Carmack, A. (2006, July/August). Communication matters: Part I. Topics in Patient Safety, 6(4), 3.
Amy is the Director of the Eastern Massachusetts Campus of Bay Path University in the greater Boston area. A Missouri transplant who recently moved to New England, she loves watching the fall foliage and wearing wool socks from LL Bean. She is a graduate of the MS in Student Affairs in Higher Education program at Missouri State University, as well an alumnae of Truman State University and Eastern Michigan University. An avid movie lover and travel fiend, she enjoys mixing her communication background with her higher education research interests. You can find her on Twitter at @amylcarmack.


text:
Araneus grossus es una especie de araña del género Araneus, tribu Araneini, familia Araneidae. Fue descrita científicamente por C. L. Koch en 1844.

Se distribuye por Francia, Kazajistán, Federación Rusa, Italia, España, Grecia, Bulgaria, Brasil, Portugal, Afganistán, Alemania, Georgia, Croacia, Hungría, Kirguistán, Montenegro, Macedonia del norte, Ucrania y Kosovo. La especie se mantiene activa durante los meses de enero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto y octubre.

Referencias

grossus
Especies descritas en 1844
Arácnidos de Europa
Arácnidos de Asia


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The name Elavo has been synonymous in the sport of basketball. Over the years, the name has withstood time for generations with their siblings carrying the name at the national and regional tournaments.
The name Elavo has been synonymous in the sport of basketball.
Over the years, the name has withstood time for generations with their siblings carrying the name at the national and regional tournaments.
from the squad who are preparing for the Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa in July.
Three of the Elavo siblings have been dropped or are likely to be dropped from the final side for the 5×5 version of the game.
2013 had his name scrapped from the 2015 Pacific Games squad due to a knee injury.
Elavo was replaced by Cornelius Muri that year.
injury saw him dropped again for the Pacific Game in Samoa slated for July this year – news that still has not settled down well with him.
Plus Tamaraws to join PMBL champions, the Kutubu Security Services Southern Flames.
Flames' head coach Moi Muri to at least prove his worth.
for a possible return to representative level.


The Old Cumberland Trail is a new trail that we helped cut in at the Coal Creek OHV area in Oliver Springs, TN. This trail was in the making for about a year and a half. Recently it was finished with the help of the Atomic City Fourwheelers and Rattlerock 4wd Club. If you've ever been to the Coal Creek area you know that there are many levels of trails ranging from gravel road to difficult. The area is about 72,000 acres and is ever changing with the mining in the area as well as erosion prevention. Some trails get closed and the reopened, and then some get closed and new formed. This new trail is located just off of Walden Ridge Rd. at the crest of the ridge. This area of Coal Creek has never been used for OHV use until now. There are several obstacles along the trail and a great view throughout. I would recommend that 33″ or larger tires be used on the trail and a winch mandatory. I've attached a video to give you a taste of what to expect when you tackle this trail.
The TJ spent the early part of it's life in Chicago so the rust really slowed down the install. The transmission skid had spun a nutsert that had to be drilled out. A flanged nut was then welded in place for a better than factory attachment. The lower control arm bolts had rusted and become one with the bushing sleeves of the lower arms. Those arms were destroyed with the red wrench just to get it apart. And, finally the track bar lower bolt had also rusted to the track bar bushing sleeve which required complete removal of the lower track bar mount. Thankfully, Rubicon Express makes the RE9989 replacement bracket. Since this had to be welded on, it was moved 1/2″ closer to the driver side of the axle to compensate for the offset that the 3″ lift creates (stock track bar was reused).


text:
Salmaan Taseer Shaheed – remembering a brave heart
Martyred Salmaan was held in highest esteem by the people who respected his boldness to proclaim loud and clear that he believed in liberal and secular politics. He was targeted for elimination for having defended the rights of minorities against the black and discriminatory laws introduced by dictator General Ziaul Haq to terrorise the people into submission to his totalitarian rule
by Wajid Shamsul Hasan
in Opinion, What's In
Wajid Shamsul Hasan
Tuesday January 4, 2011 was one of the darkest days of our times. It spotlighted our history with the ghastly assassination of one of its most bright, brilliant and secular leaders of an age when the country was hounded by vultures of bigotry. As he was known the then as Governor Province of Punjab Salmaan Taseer was on a carefree visit to Islamabad Super casually walking around fearlessly despite the fact he had been forewarned of him being targeted by the Taliban or the extremists opposed to his leader martyred Benazir Bhutto.
Just a few days before his horrendous assassination I had met him in London when he walked in my office casually as ever. I protested over his carefree approach when threats were mounting. And more so being Governor of Pakistan's biggest province he was under rules of business detained adequate protocol that of course included bulletproof automobile for his transport, a security guard and normal care. Being younger to me and having known him for over 30 years, I could take him like an elder to task for his swashbuckling style. I asked him as to why did he not ask for the embassy car to make his movement easy. He put his hand in his front pocket, pulled out London Transport's Day Pass and said 'Wajid Bhai, why bother you, when I have London's whole transport in my pocket. It is much easier to move than a car.' Having lived in London for Charter Accountancy that he did much more than I had until then, Salmaan knew what was easier and comfortable. Indeed, I could hardly argue and disagree with him.
Salmaan's untimely death was a severe blow to Pakistani politics and especially Pakistan People's Party's soon after the dastardly assassination of PPP Chairperson martyred Benazir Bhutto. The vacuum caused by his sad demise was a severe jolt for the Pakistani nation, Pakistan People's Party, President Asif Ali Zardari and the government of the day. There was no doubt that he was bravest of the brave hearts, courageous and daring–a great man who dared to speak out in defence of blasphemy victim—Aasia Bibi— rotting in jail for years for want of justice from a anorchous judiciary that could dare defend the rights of the people including minorities. Salmaan Shaheed was totally committed to the high democratic ideals and the secular vision of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and martyred Benazir Bhutto. Had he not been that profoundly committed to justice to minorities he would have had no business to visit Aasia Bibi in her Punjab police dungeon to assure here that soon she would be given amnesty by the President.
Martyred Salmaan was held in highest esteem by the people who respected his boldness to proclaim loud and clear that he believed in liberal and secular politics. He was targeted for elimination for having defended the rights of minorities against the black and discriminatory laws introduced by dictator General Ziaul Haq to terrorise the people into submission to his totalitarian rule.
I have had the distinction of knowing him closely for 30 years as an unflinching fighter for democracy and defender of the rights of the people. He not only braved worst persecution and prosecution at the hands of anti-democratic forces in power. My hair raise at their ends whenever I recall how brutally he was tortured by Punjab police when skin peeling rollers were run over his thighs for supporting martyr Benazir Bhutto's long march. At the wishes of the rulers who were true heirs to dictator General Zia, he was executed Gestapo like treatment for his commitment to democracy and secular politics. His tragic demise – a sacrifice in blood — at the critical juncture when Pakistan was carrying on a battle to do or die to defend Islam's pristine values of compassion, tolerance and equal treatment to all its citizens irrespective of caste, creed, colour or gender, to save the county from becoming a victim to extremism—indeed, carved for him a permanent niche in the hall of fame of those great leaders who preferred death to surrendering to the obscurantist forces immortalising in history.
Besides being a political activists of the highest calibre, in his prime of life he was at the top of his profession as a chartered accountant of international fame, he as well made his mark as a leading entrepreneur and contributed immensely in objective and bold journalism through his newspaper Daily Times, Weekly Friday Times, TV channels Auj Aur Kal and Business Plus.
As a politician he had been a member of the Punjab provincial assembly, suffered long periods of incarceration, braved torture inflicted on him in the dungeon of notorious Lahore's Old Fort-a hell on earth. The entire nation shall always share the sad memories of Salmaan Taseer's assassination, we shall always remember him by rededicating to his high ideals and pledge that his commitment to truth will be the agenda to follow – to pull out extremism from its roots — after all its perpetrators have penetrated deeply into our otherwise peaceful society.
His sacrifice in blood will always be remembered as a land mark in the ongoing battle for survival of Pakistan and to return to the Quaid's vision. We will have to separate religion from politics—come what may—as a tribute to Bhutto Sahib, martyred Benazir Bhutto and Salmaan Taseer Shaheed. We must not fear fear as Bibi used to say. We have to fight back anti-Pakistan elements that create and nurture extremists, the politicians and the people in media who support religious extremists and those incite violence from the pulpit as accomplices to extremism. Such elements shall have to be eliminated. This is clearly written on our walls as the need of the hour. If the nation continues to remain complacent and follow a policy of appeasement of running with the hare and hunting with the hound-we will end up sliding down the eddy of doom and disaster. Every one will perish.
Shaheed Salmaan Taseer, had committed his life to foster secular politics, eradicate extremists and legatees of ruthless dictator General Ziaul Haq. As a brave man and a devout follower of the Quaid, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and martyred Benazir Bhutto — a victim of terrorists and those in power behind them – his warnings were very apt: "Beware of the mullahs. They have to be confronted or they will take over our lives."
Shaheed Taseer was a trusted associate of martyred Benazir Bhutto. According to leading columnist/author Ahmed Rashed: "Taseer could talk for hours on his favourite subject: the price that Pakistan had paid for jihad and the need to turn back from this "deadly legacy".
When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took to challenging the well-entrenched forces of status quo, Salman became his staunch supporter and later after ZAB's judicial murder he joined his daughter Benazir Bhutto to continue the democratic mission of her father and to save Pakistan from falling into the hands of religious extremists god-fathered by General Zia.
Martyred Benazir Bhutto saw in him a relentless warrior for the right causes, she selected him as PP party's candidate in 1988 general elections. Taseer won the seat in the Punjab provincial legislature, riding the wave of popularity for the young Benazir Bhutto. Throughout his life he remained a dauntless and fearless follower of Benazir Bhutto and opposed tooth and nail all the anti-democratic forces including General Zia's "baqiyat" (heirs to Zia's legacy).
Shaheed Salmaan made his mark as an outstanding secularist in a country when there were very few who could speak out for fear of intimidating religious extremists. In a Financial Times interview just months before his assassination he insisted – with both pride and defensiveness – that Pakistan would not go the way of Afghanistan. "Pakistan is a vibrant democracy," he stoutly believed. "It has an educated middle class, a civilian government and a free press." Many times he was warned that "they were after him". Always he brushed the death threats aside with contempt. Following Benazir's footsteps, he preferred to do and die for the cause that was dear to him – secular democracy, empowerment of the poor, women and less privileged. Indeed, after his demise none of his colleagues had that much of dare to speak against obscurantist forces as Chairman Bilawal Bhutto.
Tags: Aasia BibiAsif Ali ZardariBenazir BhuttoBilawal BhuttoBlasphemy lawsPPPSalmaan TaseerTributeZiaul Haq
A Lahori welcome
امریکی فضائی حملے میں قدس فورس کے سربراہ میجر جنرل قاسم سلیمانی ہلاک