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PAUL WILES: Anthony Albanese is the working class, public housing kid from Sydney who went on to be Deputy Prime Minister and now counts Chris Pyne as one of his mates. Anthony Albanese welcome to CAAMA.
ALBANESE: Good to be with you Paul.
WILES: For those who don't know Anthony, yours is one of those stories that the working class bloke loves to hear. Growing up in Sydney for you, like many young men, grew up within a single parent situation – your mother brought you up – then you went on to Uni and started your journey. But the actual beginning of the involvement with Labor, where did that start?
ALBANESE: It started really from my family. I was brought up with three great faiths – the Catholic Church, the Australian Labor Party and South Sydney Rugby League Football Club. And I say in the book that came out recently that I don't think I met anyone who didn't vote Labor until I went to University, because I grew up in a public housing community – City Council Housing in Camperdown – and it was a very working class community. People were pro-union, pro-footy and pro-Labor.
I remember handing out for Gough Whitlam in 1972 and when the Whitlam Government was elected it was like our team has won for the first time in my lifetime. It was just one of those things. I didn't join the Labor Party to go into Parliament, I joined the Labor Party because, by and large, that was what people did in the community where I grew up. My mum was a rank and file member of the Party and my grandfather was a rank and file member of the Party and I guess it was a natural thing to do.
WILES: Just getting back to that part of your life story and you do talk about it in the book, about not knowing your father and there is a story attached to that, but what I'm interested in is how you felt when you realised that your father was alive.
ALBANESE: Yes. I was told that at the time it occurred it was difficult for a Catholic woman to have a child out of wedlock. And so in 1962 my mother had travelled overseas, met my father, became pregnant to him. He told her was betrothed to someone from the town he was from in Italy. So she came home, told people that she had married him overseas and that she then was widowed – that he'd died in a car accident. I was due to be adopted out. That happened quite a lot to young women at that time and of course, that is a story that is pretty familiar to the Indigenous community.
WILES: And that's where I'm taking you right now, because as a city boy growing up obviously you felt pretty connected to your mother but then finding out later in life there was another whole part of your life journey you didn't know about. And, as you have rightly suggested, there are so many Aboriginal and Islander Australians who were removed at childbirth and knew nothing.
ALBANESE: Absolutely, and so I relate very much to the need to have a sense of identity. My mum told me when I was old enough, about 14 or 15, that in fact my father hadn't died and that I was due to be adopted out but that she was determined to keep me. At the time I was a pretty headstrong bloke and I said "Well he didn't care too much about me so I don't need to look for him".
But as you get older and later in life and as I had a son of my own, my mother had passed away in 2002 and my son was born in 2000, there was a particular time at Rookwood Cemetery, we were visiting my mum's grave, he was a little boy and he must have been 5 or 6 and he said: "where's your daddy?" and I didn't know. I had a name and he was from Italy and that was about it. The book outlines the incredible, fortuitous circumstances whereby I did end up finding him and meeting him and getting to know him a little bit before he died in 2014.
But I very much relate to people who speak about the need for identity. It is hard to explain but once I got told someone had found him I had a real physical need to meet him. There was a sense of urgency about it that is hard to explain. By then I was 46 years of age and had never met him and in the end I met him and I have a whole family in Italy – a brother and a sister, cousins, nieces and nephews and all of that.
WILES: You touched on another important matter, the sense of identity. We know that for many first nation's peoples this is an ongoing issue. Since colonisation 200 years ago we've seen Aboriginal people marginalised, living on the outskirts of Australian society. It is only of late that we have seen more Aboriginal Members of Parliament. It has doubled which is a good thing. But when we talk to people living out in communities we look at the appalling suicide rates, incarceration rates, the signal is very clear and strong that the mental well-being of a large number of Aboriginal people is not good and when we talk to them they say "we don't know who we are in our own country".
And I'm wondering at the big end of town and sitting in Parliament, and I know we have more Aboriginal representation in Parliament, but prior to that Aboriginal issues – former Coalition Prime Minister wanted to be the Prime Minister for Indigenous peoples, of course Kevin Rudd made the apology but it is almost like yesterday's news in a way. For Aboriginal people the intervention, the flow on affects, the ongoing impact of all of those things are daily, they don't go away.
ALBANESE: Absolutely, and you look at one of the things that arose of course from the apology is the closing the gap, which is so important. It is not just figures. Those figures represent people, they represent tragedies, they represent real circumstances and one of the things when I was first elected – I grew up with a lot of indigenous people around Redfern.
I was very close to there, I played footy with them and they went to my school, but as a Member of Parliament one of the first committees I nominated for was the House of Reps Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Committee because I felt a responsibility as a new MP who had never been to the Northern Territory. I'd never been to the Torres Strait, never been to a whole lot of communities like Bourke, Walgett – places in NSW outside of the big capital cities and to try to get some understanding of what the challenges were of those communities.
We have an absolute responsibility far greater than anything else to deal with these issues, with the consequences of dispossession that's occurred. This is the fourth or fifth trip I've made to Alice Springs and on each and every occasion I talk to people about the consequences of that and how we address the inequity that's there – employment, in health, incarceration rates, in education, right across the board, life expectancy, the issues of domestic violence that impact on women and children.
All of those issues require more consultation, more involvement, more discussion and more action by the Federal Government. A start has been the election of, at the last election, Pat Dodson, just before the last election to join Ken Wyatt, Malarndirri McCarthy, Linda Burney who is my local member. She lives around the corner from me and is a very dear friend. I think the best first speech I've ever heard in Parliament was Linda Burney's.
WILES: Well Linda is a Wiradjuri Warrior from a long time back. She takes people by surprise I think because she is very tiny, she is very forthright.
ALBANESE: She is, and she is disarming because the way she advocates her causes is disarming and it is hard – she never gets angry but she is as tough as they come. And if you know of her background that was written in her biography in the last couple of years that is an extraordinary story and the fact that she has overcome such hardship without any sense of bitterness. She is an inspirational person and I'm very proud she is my local member.
WILES: Again, getting to the big picture scale – we talk to politicians, they fly in they fly out. They consult with Aboriginal people. The bureaucrats fly in and out of communities giving advice on what needs to be done. At the very end of the day solving these problems, and it's been proven in most research, the problem has to be solved from within and allowing the Aboriginal people and the Torres Strait Islanders to be part of the problem solving – to not only have input but to be part of the decision-making process.
Now, governments come and governments go, Ministers come and go, Prime Ministers come and go but the Mob are going nowhere. While we have seen greater engagement there is still reluctance at different levels and particularly within bureaucracies, even though Ministers may have views and opinions, getting that process through the bureaucracies is not an easy thing.
ALBANESE: We've had five Prime Ministers in the last six years but the bureaucrats are the same. Hence we need to understand, and they need to understand as well, that solutions cannot be imposed from outside. Unless the community has ownership of those solutions, involvement and authorship of them they won't fly on the ground.
In my time when I was on the Parliamentary committee looking at issues like CDEP that is still an issue of conflict. People losing their entitlements under circumstances whereby if they were in a different employment program they wouldn't and a lack of understanding of the need to ensure Indigenous people are empowered to make the decisions is very much critical to getting good outcomes.
WILES: Anthony, as a senior member of Labor, and we know that over the years the Mob have attached themselves very strongly to Labor going back to the days of Gough. Gough was certainly an inspirational moment in the lives of Aboriginal people and he is still held in very high esteem. But, as I say, governments come and go, policies that continue to impact on Aboriginal people, we have seen here in the Northern Territory a Labor Government come and go and they ae now back in again getting back to this implementation of policy that is always coming from a white-fella area telling black-fellers what they should be doing with their lives. What is the reality of that changing?
ALBANESE: Well, it certainly needs to change and that is why empowering Indigenous people to make decisions themselves. It was a tragedy what happened over the time since I've been in Parliament, what happened with ATSIC, where we saw a body that was empowered to represent Indigenous people, and it fell by the wayside. So, it is a challenge but it is one that we can't skirt around, we can't just dismiss or say it is inconvenient because unless Indigenous people are empowered then the solutions won't come.
WILES: And if you had a message for the Mob around the country about hanging in there, they've been hanging in there with white-fellas in the country for 200 years.
ALBANESE: And the truth is it would be perfectly understandable the frustration that is there but at the end of the day I guess I'm an old fashioned progressive, or lefty if you like, and I think the world does move forward. Sometimes it is slower than we would like. Most of the time it is slower than we would like and, certainly for the original inhabitants of their land, it has been far too slow but there has been advances.
In the time that I've been in Parliament, the fact that there are now four representatives in the Federal Parliament; the fact that we are talking about not whether there should be recognition in the Australian Constitution but what form it should take; the fact that we are saying that we need to have a discussion about a treaty as well, dealing with those longer term issues.
I sat in the Parliament for 12 years under the Howard Government where we were told that an apology would lead to division in the community. And, in my view, I have been in the Parliament for 20 years this year, and it was the finest moment since I have been in Parliament. The entire country, whether it be Indigenous people here in Alice Springs, or my son at Dulwich Hill Public School in Sydney all stopped, the whole nation stopped and was uplifted by that.
It was a magnificent moment; of course it needs to lead to much more practical change, the closing of the gap plus that range of indicators that essentially means, wouldn't it be a great day if firstly, you had respect for the fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders owned this land and secondly, if then you couldn't have an indication of people's economic health or social wellbeing by their race. And the fact is that you do today and all the key indicators and it will be a great day when that gap is truly closed right across education, health, employment, incomes, life expectancy, incarceration rates, right across the board.
That's the vision that I have and this is the vision that I think most Australians would like to see. It is not clear how you get there. If it was easy someone would have done it but it is clear that we need to work together towards that aim.
WILES: Anthony Albanese thanks for your time.


Also known as the heart of the capital's downtown area, the elegant neighbourhood of Vedado is Havana's most popular hotspot for a good reason, or rather, quite a few. One of them is being home to some of the country's most majestic and memorable mansions, as full of history and glamour as they are resilient, stoically withstanding the test of time and admired by locals, many of whom still remember the old stories surrounding them and the famous characters that inhabited them.
Vedado. A neighbourhood that witnessed the flourishing of a city at the turn of the 20th century and saw the settlement of the emerging upper classes in newly-built mansions exquisitely erected in a variety of styles (from Neoclassical to Art Deco with touches of Art Nouveau in some cases) this is one of habaneros' favourite haunts. Beyond palatial homes, there's a wealth of galleries, cinemas, jazz clubs and nightlife that simply can't be matched elsewhere in the city.
Beloved Vedado, as admired as it is desired (it's a fact that most habaneros would like to reside here), full of leafy avenues that lead to the city's famous seawall, is an obligatory stop for anyone visiting Havana, and one of its most scenic attractions is precisely mansion-spotting. There are so many and so varied in colour and style (although they follow a similar pattern in many ways) that you could spend days ticking them off a list. But for most a list of top ten Vedado mansions would do and seeing that the vast majority of these have either become embassies, government offices or cultural centres like libraries or museums, you can step inside to ogle at their roomy, elegant interiors, still bearing original features and fixtures of a bygone era.
Today I'm going to focus on five mansions of exceptional beauty and unique historical value, home to famous members of the "criollo" aristocracy of the times and of the world of arts and literature. These are the homes whose owners frequently appeared on the society pages of local magazines and whose lives many habaneros followed with a mix of admiration and respect. To this day, habaneros look longingly at these grand homes and try to envisage the lives of its past owners, the grandiose lives they led and their exuberant parties.
Quite possibly the most visually impressive of all the mansions on this list, this grand home feels and looks like a palace inside out, an abode fit for princes and princesses, lord and ladies. Of course, no autochtonous "criollo" Cuban bore regal titles in post-colonial Cuba, but that didn't stop this small palace's wealthy owners from hosting members of European royalty. As a matter of fact, this mansion's famous owner was a countess with a nobiliary title from Spain.
This was the not-so-humble residence of the Countess of Revilla of Camargo (Condesa de Revilla de Camargo), a title created on 14th November 1927 by King Alfonso XVIII of Spain to honour the founder of the schools of Revilla de Camargo in Cantabria, Spain. The title was first granted to Agapito de la Cagiga y Aparicio, and his wife, Maria Luisa Gomez-Mena y Villa inherited it and bore it until her death in 1953.
The widowed countess was famous for being a patron of Cuban arts and artists, an influential figure in the Havana of her time. Her palace hosted parties and gatherings attended by society's upper crust and socialites from the world over, from Hollywood movie stars to intellectuals, writers, painters, politicians and other members of the nobility. Most notably, the Counts of Barcelona, the Duchess of Alba and the Dukes of Windsor, which were all visitors between the 1940s and 1950s.
The countess and her family fled the country upon the triumph of the Revolution in 1959 and their former palace lay abandoned for years, until in 1964 it reopened as the Museo Nacional de Artes Decoratives, showcasing an invaluable collection of personal objects comprising over 33,000 art pieces of singular historical value with objects spanning the reigns of Louis XV, Louis XVI and Napoleon III and oriental pieces spanning the 16th to 20th century. Other valuables include masterpieces from renowned French manufacturing companies such as Sevres, Paris, Chantilly and Limoges, as well as English names such as Wedgwood, Derby, Chelsea, Worcester and Staffordshire.
An elegant building that stands out for both its monumental size and eclectic style, with Art Nouveau and colonial architectural touches, you´ll find our next beautiful mansion on the wide and leafy Avenida de Paseo. It´s also the oldest in this list, built in 1912 on the residential area known then as Monte Vedado.
After inheriting the 7th and 8th parcels of the block between 13th and 15th streets, Rafael Maria Munos y Rodriguez decided to erect a magnificent building, two floors high and with an annex building that served as garage and home to the servants. The property was surrounded by beautiful tropical gardens and fenced off from prying eyes to guarantee the owners ´privacy.
After the abandonment of its first owners, the house was auctioned off and bought by a rich Italian couple of merchants and Italian marble traders who had set up a commercial store (Casa Pennino) on the nearby Infanta street. The house was named after the owner´s wife, Emmanuela, affectionately called "Lita" and thus it became known as Villa Lita. Its original name can still be seen in the large inscription adorning the entrance.
After the last member of the Pennino clan passed away without descendants in 1980, the servants' families took over the home until the property passed hands to the Ministry of Culture and Villa Lita was remodelled and converted into the Servando Cabrera Moreno Museum and Library (Museo Biblioteca Servando Cabrera Moreno), a Cuban painter famous for his work depicting Cuban peasantry and part of the "vanguardia" movement.
Its rich marbles can still be admired today, as can its beautifully framed stained-glass window on top of the stairs and in a room overlooking the gardens.
The former residence of the internationally-acclaimed Cuban poet and writer this now cultural centre is named after, this grand home has a rich historical and cultural past. One of the first mansions to be built in the Vedado neighbourhood, this colossal property was the family home of Dulce Maria Loynaz, winner of the Miguel de Cervantes Literary Prize (the Nobel equivalent in the world of Hispanic language), the National Literary Prize and received of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, as well as being a member of the Real Academia Espanola (Royal Academy of the Spanish Language, abbreviated as R.A.E.).
The house, now a museum in her memory, preserves many of its original features in an immaculate state, with exquisite furnishings and beautiful decorations, from ornate ceiling lamps to expensive porcelain. You can still admire many of her lavish possessions in three rooms: El Dorado, El Colonial and La Capilla (The Chapel), where you can get to know more about the life and works of this great author, whose writings were translated into several languages.
Perhaps the most emotionally compelling of all the mansions in the list, there's a great love story behind the construction of this beautiful residence. Havana's most scandalous couple of the time happily resided here until death did them part.
Of all the ones in this list, this mansion also the most visually stunning interior-wise, with an eclectic mix of styles, but most notably because of its impressive Art Deco touches, taking over entire rooms in a dramatic, jaw-dropping way. You can tell of the love that went into the building of this house by the painstaking effort that went into designing and decorating every little space of this home, the ultimate haven of two lovers whose devotion for each other defied mortality (upon her untimely death, he built her a colossal mausoleum in Havana's Colon cemetery, one of the most eye-catching and famous, right on the cemetery's main avenue).
Made to order, this grand abode was built by wealthy Spanish landowner Juan Pedro Pedro and his beautiful Cuban wife, Catalina Lasa, famous for being a renowned beauty in the upper-class society of her time and for having previously married into one of Cuba's most influential families. He loved her so passionately that after overcoming the many hurdles their relationship was faced (society scorned them and looked down on divorce) he built a sanctuary like no other and hired gardeners to create a yellow rose he named after her and which was to adorn the house's gardens. Her divorce rocked the nation and they were forced to elope.
Their romance was so notorious it appeared on the society pages of local and international magazines and upon refusal from the local authorities to dissolve their marriage they travelled to the Vatican to meet with the Pope who finally divorced them. The house is a testament to undying love that defied all odds. Nowadays it has been turned into Casa de la Amistad (House of Friendship) and welcomes the public with frequently-held concerts in its patio, as well as a restaurant and bar.
Another mansion that popped as a result of Cuba's booming period, otherwise known as "Danza de los Millones" (Millionaire Dance), this stately home stands tall and proud on the corner of Avenida Paseo, boast ample gardens and has two entrances, the main one of which looks out to 15 Street.
The previous residence of wealthy banker Pablo Gonzalez de Mendoza, this two-story building is regal to stay the least. Both front and back facades are ornately and exquisitely designed with the interiors being just as impressive. Divided into spacious rooms flooded with natural light, a beautiful marble staircase stands out for its undulating, twisting design giving way to the second floor, with six bedrooms, four bathrooms and a sitting room.
An amazing indoor pool was added in 1918 by American architect John H. Duncan, famous for having designed the clock tower in Havana's Fifth Avenue. Built among columns and latticed glass walls while crowned by wooden beams on a glass ceiling, this beautiful pool was referred to as the Mendoza's Roman bath, with its design having been clearly inspired by ancient Greece and Rome. From bronze candelabra with mythological creatures hanging from the ceiling beams to the room's focal point - the sculpture of Aphrodite, with a dolphin at her feet pouring water over the pool, no small detail goes unnoticed.
Since 1950 the property has become the official residence of the UK Embassy in Havana and a visit here will show you the exquisiteness of its interiors (I don't know about the pool though, and whether visitors are able to get a glimpse of it, but it's definitely worth a try).


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Home » Public Protector receives the Johannesburg Press Club Newsmaker of the Year Award
Public Protector receives the Johannesburg Press Club Newsmaker of the Year Award
Public Protector Adv. Thuli Madonsela today received the Johannesburg Press Club Newsmaker of the Year Award for 2012 at a function held at the Wits Business School. In her acceptance speech, the Public Protector said she was humbled and honoured for sharing the nomination with one of the icons of South Africa Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
"What I find humbling about the award is that Johannesburg Press Club says it doesn't just consider the amount of news generated by the office but also the quality of the news. We only do our job the best way we can and whether we make news or not, it is the decision of your community, the media", she said.
The event was attended by Prof Wendy Ngoma, the Director of the Wits Business School, Mr. Mixael de Kock, Chairperson of the Johannesburg Press Club, Prof Kalu Ojah, the Deputy Head of the Wits Business School, Ms Amina Frense, Deputy Chairperson of the Johannesburg Press Club and the members of the media and public.
Public Protector reiterated the value of the media and the academic community as stakeholders in the work of her office as they contribute to the endeavours to ensure the office's services are accessible to all persons and communities, especially because it is in compliance with section 182(4) of the Constitution.
During her public lecture titled "Active Citizens are Key to Good Governance" she reflected on the role of citizens in promoting good governance in state affairs. She emphasised on how citizens often fail to act just because they do not want people they do not like or approve of to benefit by referring to the "The Cold Within" parable. It is a story about six people bound by fate because of their differences. They were sitting around a fire that was slowly dying down on a bitterly cold dark night. Light and warmth were essential to get them through that cold dark night but they all died because they only focussed on the things that separated them.
She appealed to South Africans to be responsible citizens and co-architects of their own destiny and democracy by following the examples of organisations like Corruption Watch, Business Unity South Africa and NPO's like Ndifuna Ukwazi and the Right To Know Campaign who stand against corruption. She said these organisations are doing more than just pointing fingers regarding their concerns on crime and corruption but also mobilise citizens to take responsibility for being part of the solution. "Citizens and others need to work with the many institutions that work hard to stem maladministration within the state in its different form. It is said that each set of citizens gets the government it deserves. If we want an accountable government that acts with integrity and the best interests of its entire people, we need to up our input towards the pursuit of good governance and ultimately a strong constitutional democracy," she said

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


After being on Sirius a few years ago, I finally made it back to Satellite radio. This time on the XM wing of the company.
Talk about the news of the day and get insight on your team's roster moves from former GM Jim Bowden.
Unless your name is John Orelud, each baseball player has to go down to the minor leagues, and work his way up the food chain. It is not an easy journey for a player trying to force his way onto a major league roster. Every step along the way, the minor league players performance is analyzed and scrutinized. The players results are compared to the their peers in the current season, and historically to any player who has come through a similar path.
However, each year we pay attention to these players known as a prospects, phenom, young talent, the future, what ever name you want to give these guys. Some of these players make it, some do not. Another factor in all of this is opportunity. There are some players who did not shows up on the big time prospect lists and go on to have wonderful careers as late bloomers. Matt Holiday is one guy in this mold. Jason Bay is another. How can we forget Big Papi started his career out as with Twins? Johan Santana certainly didn't start with the Twins organization either.
Now, one last thing that you can't put a number to (at least yet) is a player make up. The player who has a good head on his shoulders and can get over the failures from previous day, and move on and get past the bad day is better equipped to be successful. The game of baseball is one of always making adjustments and dealing with failure.
With this mind, when you think prospects, think about the combination of talent, opportunity, and makeup. These three together give you an indication of what kind a player you have.
Each year, USA Today comes out with their 100 names you need to know for the upcoming season. This is a good resource of getting to know some of the minor league players that are usually at that point of their career where they are ready make a big impact at the major league level.
Bullpen is the answer to the first big question about the Cuban flamethrower for this season. That's where he'll pitch, though the Reds aren't ruling out a future role in their rotation. The next question revolves around when and if he could take over for closer Francisco Cordero, who is entering the final guaranteed year of his contract ($12 million option for 2012) and allowed baserunners last season at the highest rate of his career.
Kimbrel, 22, got a taste of key late-inning situations late last season and in the playoffs. His 14.4 strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate through three minor league seasons was impressive enough, but he boosted that to 16.9 in his 25 combined regular season and playoff innings in the majors last year.
Freeman will show up this spring with the first base job and expectations he can be as impactful as Heyward. A lefty like his close friend Heyward, Freeman's best attribute might be his defense, though he finished in the Class AAA International League's top 10 in batting before turning 21 in September. His 18 homers last year dispelled concerns the 6-5, 225-pounder might not develop big-time power.
Florida has plenty to chirp about with its trio of young studs on offense. Twitter-happy Morrison – and not Mike Stanton or Gaby Sanchez – remains eligible for our list thanks to his late-July 2010 call-up. Morrison moved to the outfield last year after older Sanchez beat him out for the Marlins' first base job.
As the Mets had one of their worst offensive seasons in team history in 2009 scoring only 671 runs, with only 95 HRs. As, compared with 799 runs and 172 HRs the previous year. We have former Mets executive Tony Bernazard to blame, but when David Wright goes yard to the right side for the first time in a while (inside edge database reference).
With a new approach at the plate instilled by hitting coach Howard Johnson, along with added muscle, we expected a big bounce back from Wright. The Citi Field dimension change sure helps too. Ike Davis is not too far away either .
The *Free* Amazin Avenue Annual is out.
These aren't necessarily baseball's 100 best prospects because many top prospects are too far down in the minor leagues to contribute in the majors this season. Others are stuck behind established major leaguers.
Not all of the players on our list have rookie status, either, but our standard for inclusion is that a player must have had more innings (for pitchers) or at-bats (for hitters) in the minor leagues in 2009 than he has had during all of his major league time.
Conversely, Baseball America released their top 100 prospect list for 2010 .
The Top 100 Prospects list is the culmination of our offseason prospect coverage, which begins with our reviews of the top talent in each minor league and proceeds with ranking the talent in each major league farm system.
In preparing for your fantasy drafts for 2010, most owners will target a few sleepers to go along with the consistent performers. However, most of the time with sleepers, you have to have the roster flexibility, and realize they might not make an immediate impact early on. But, if you can uncover a player you can get at a below market value, that can provide long term dividends, that might be the difference to give you a competitive advantage.
One avenue that I check out each and every year, is to take a look at the Rule V draft selections, that are chosen at MLB's winter meetings. Last year, I selected Everth Cabrera in all of my leagues, after researching all the players in the 2008 Rule V class. When I announced his name at the draft, everybody was like who??? I had seen that with the Rockies minor league system, he had achieved over 70 stolen bases. Moreover, I had witnessed that Cabrera could hit, whereby he launched a triple while watching a spring training game on TV. I was sold on this player going into draft season.


I saw one at a cemetery in Key West that read, "I told you I was sick!". I thought that the woman's family must have had a sick sense of humor. I loved it!
On tombstone: I told y'all I was sick!
Photo looks like Liberty Hill Cemetery in Cleburne County, Alabama.


This week we are dividing this post between two people. Why? Because it's too good to not share both. The experiences are unique and offer a different look into those who hold the identity of Asian-American.
These are the types of greetings I get every day in China from curious taxi drivers to cashiers to grandmas, all who want to tell me that I should know better about one thing or another. Being mixed in China is a challenge, but not one that should scare you away from experiencing this beautiful country for yourself.
I'm half white and half Asian-Pacific Islander. My mom is a native Pinay (Filipina) citizen and my father was in the US Air Force. As a military brat, it was normal for me to be around mixed race children in different parts of the world.
Living here in Lishui, Zhejiang Province, China, there are some Chinese people I've met who have been abroad, but not many. People are more familiar with non-Han Chinese (Han being the majority ethnic group) than other ethnicities. Since my features don't look Han, Chinese people automatically assume I am one of the 55 Chinese minorities, pointing out my "big" eyes, curvy build and curly hair as different from the norm. I must always be prepared for someone to ask about what area of China I'm from and explain that yes, I am Asian: Asian-American.
There are many pros and cons to living in China as an Asian-American. For one, you don't get the overwhelming amount of attention that your more "foreign-looking" (AKA white) colleagues do. You blend into the crowd more and, thankfully, people don't try to take pictures of you all the time. Walking down the street doesn't cause motorbike accidents or onlookers to gawk and jostle each other to try to get a look at you. Another plus: if you know some Chinese, you're more likely to get a better deal when you (inevitably) bargain with vendors. You are also less likely to be taken advantage of by taxi drivers and tour guides. Furthermore, your every move isn't subjected to be part of some random person's WeChat story (the main social media platform) like your more obviously foreign friends.
On the other hand, when said foreign-looking colleagues are around, you're often overlooked or even outright dismissed – and not just when walking down the street. For instance, at the last academic conference I went to, all the Chinese officials greeted the non-Asian teachers, but did not try to introduce themselves to or interact with the Asian-American teachers at all. I later heard that one of the Chinese citizens there said they were surprised our English was so good! Obviously, that is a little frustrating.
It's a big responsibility to live and work in China as an Asian-American because you're an ambassador – often the first of "your kind" that Chinese citizens interact with. Chinese citizens mostly think that Americans are "white" and "sometimes black" from the little exposure they get through Chinese media. The term "ABC" or "American-born Chinese" is used in China to describe Americans of Chinese descent revisiting their ancestors' homeland, but that's about it. The fact that there are other types of Asian-Americans doesn't immediately occur to many Chinese people.
My experiences as a Korean-American in Quzhou, China.
Everyone thinks I'm Chinese, which isn't really surprising. I have an Asian face, I look quite similar to the people here, so the first thing they think when they see me is "he's Chinese". This has been a bit of a nuisance and yet also a bit of a blessing at the same time. All the rumors and stories you hear about people getting ripped off in taxis or in shops never happened to me because they think I'm Chinese. I generally blend in with everyone else and can quietly go about my day without too many people staring at me or hearing people say "waiguoren" (foreigner) everywhere I go. But, there have been times when I wish I didn't have this face. I've ordered food or asked for directions and have been met with very upset and perplexed responses.
I took a course in Mandarin before I came to China, so I had some background knowledge of the language prior to arriving. Naturally I wanted to improve and use the Mandarin I had learned, but when it came out wrong or when I didn't understand what people were saying, they would get really upset or annoyed with me. If it's a busy morning and I'm trying to get breakfast, I could get the attention of the entire storefront once my Mandarin starts failing. Things are then uncomfortable for a bit, but once they know I'm a foreigner they become very friendly. One time I was asking for directions and I said, "I don't understand what you're saying." Even though I really didn't understand what the person was saying, it felt as though she had responded, "I'm speaking Mandarin, what do you mean you don't understand what I'm saying??" And then she just walked away. I've also had one interesting experience where my Mandarin wasn't very good and I heard the store owner say to a customer about me, "Of course he's Chinese, he's probably just not from Quzhou (the local city I'm teaching in)." I felt compelled to tell her that I wasn't Chinese and afterward she gave me the most shocked look and asked me, "You're not Chinese??" as if to say, "How can this be??"
Students could care less how someone looks, they are happy with having native English speakers in their classes teaching them.
On another level, if I say that I'm American I may get a response of disbelief. They might straight up say, "No you're not" or they will say, "No, you must be Korean." This kind of reaction actually made me think more about myself and who I am. I don't share a long history with America and I only have somewhat of a shadow of what it's like to be Korean. Interacting with people in China has left me somewhere in the middle, not fully western and not eastern. So now I'll just say, "I come from America" or "I was born in America."
I tried to avoid mentioning that I was a foreigner, but it was apparent that sometimes it has to be explicitly said in order for some people to even consider that I'm not Chinese. Through the negative experiences I learned to just get over the fact that some people aren't going to understand, things are going to be uncomfortable sometimes, and it's better to just keep at it, move on, and look forward.
All in all, the people here in Quzhou and China in general are very warm and kind. I have found it to be quite safe and people are generally willing to help. There are just different expectations for different people, so the interactions I have can vary widely.


CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A woman in North Carolina has been charged with stealing an ambulance from a hospital.
WCNC-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1YNFsYE) that security cameras caught 36-year-old Autumn Prieschl getting behind the wheel of the ambulance around 10 p.m. Thursday at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.
The ambulance had a GPS tracker, so police were able to stop it. A spokesman for MEDIC says crews often leave keys in their trucks so they can get to an emergency quickly.
Prieschl has been charged with larceny of a motor vehicle and trespassing. It wasn"t known if she had an attorney.


text:
Bishop C. Andrew Doyle to preach at convention
Home Posts News Leadership News Bishop C. Andrew…
Katie Sherrod
"Met Jesus on Pilgrimage, still walking."
That's the six-word autobiography of the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, and preacher at the opening Eucharist at the 2014 Diocesan Convention at 1 p.m. Friday, November 14 in the Jack Daniel's Club at Globe Life Park in Arlington. More information on convention and visitor registration is here.
Like most of the people of this diocese, Bishop Doyle unabashedly Episcopalian. That's even the title of his book – Unabashedly Episcopalian: Proclaiming the Good News of The Episcopal Church. Doyle serves on the Task Force for Reimagining The Episcopal Church (TREC). He writes a blog, tweets @TexasBishop to his 6,324 followers, and was featured in the August, 2009, issue of Texas Monthly.
Charles Andrew Doyle (Andy) was elected bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Texas on May 24, 2008 and was consecrated on November 22, 2008 at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, Houston. He was seated as the ninth Bishop of Texas on June 7, 2009 at Christ Church Cathedral, Houston, following the retirement of the Rt. Rev. Don Wimberly.
Doyle was born in 1966 in Carbondale, Illinois, and raised in Houston. He holds a bachelor of fine arts from the University of North Texas and served at St. Stephen's Episcopal School, Austin, before receiving an M Div from Virginia Theological Seminary. He was ordained deacon in 1995 and priest the following year. He served at Christ Church, Temple, St. Francis, College Station, and as Canon to the Ordinary for Bishop Wimberly.
Here is his expanded autobiography from the diocesan website:
"This 11 year old didn't know what to expect when he agreed to spend nine days walking 168 miles across Mexico from San Miguel de Allende to San Juan de Los Agos with his father. Having grown up as a High Church Anglo-Catholic in the Diocese of Texas, this pilgrimage was a new faith experience.
"Pilgrimages are full body prayer journeys: walking, seeing, singing, praying, sensing, and eating. My immersion in the culture opened my eyes to see the diversity of God's people. It also made firm my commitment to serve the poor and the stranger, as they had served me.
"Walking with my dad shaped my fatherhood. Logging hours, miles and days on the road as bishop, requires attentive planning to assure that JoAnne and I provide a stable family, community and church life for our children Caisa and Zoë.
"As a child, I met Jesus. He is the same Jesus who lights my path today when I walk into a valley and out the other side. Throughout my 20+ years of diverse ministry in this diocese Christ has walked by my side. He guides my every step today."
Tagged with 2014 diocesan convention, Episcopal Diocese of Texas, The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle
Cherie Shipp named to Brite Board of Visitors
Bishop High confirms seven, receives two, at St.…
[…] Bishop C. Andrew Doyle, Diocese of Texas, to preach at Convention […]


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Weather forecast of the House of the Meteorite of Easter shows Wales warmer than Portugal and Spain
April 17, 2019 by canada
The Easter break is expected to bring Wales to the hottest temperatures so far this year, beating the likes of Portugal and Spain.
Meteorologists are predicting 22 ° C highs in parts of Wales during the long weekend.
Welsh expert Derek Brockway said the improvement is due to a "change in wind direction", bringing a dry, sunny and much warmer climate.
But make the most of it, as there will be a change on Easter Monday.
Good weather is expected to start on Wednesday and will improve with rising temperatures through Friday.
Max 22 ° C on Good Friday
According to the Met Office, today you will see "a lot of sunlight and high winds of around 18 ° C".
The forecast service says for Thursday: "Another dry and sunny day, after any fog and cloud of distance. Maximum temperature of 21 ° C.
"Prospects for Friday to Sunday are generally very hot, dry and sunny during the outlook period, and North Wales sees more clouds on Sunday afternoon, with the possibility of some slight rain in the afternoon."
It is likely to bring a boost to the seaside resorts such as Barry Island when the summer season begins.
But in good weather, there is also a warning about increasing pollen levels.
For about 18 million people suffering from hay fever, holidays can be ruined by symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, stuffy or clogged nose or headache.
The hay fever season began three weeks earlier thanks to an exceptionally hot winter that brought record highs of 21 ° C and is now being followed by spring temperatures 10 degrees warmer than normal.
Sonia Munde, head of services at Asthma UK, told Mirror Online: "A deadly pollen bomb is expected to be hit this week, putting people with asthma at risk for a potentially fatal asthma attack.
"About 3.3 million people with asthma are affected by pollen, which can cause symptoms such as wheezing, chest tightness or coughing.
"The trees have been releasing pollen for several weeks, but the hot spring weather will cause these pollen levels to increase.
"If you already have symptoms, it's not too late to help you get well."
Being in good physical condition would prolong life
Burozhieva: The difference between GERB and BSP is increasing – News from Bulgaria


The Public Health program offers a range of educational programs that focus on life skills promotion for a better future for the whole family.
Educate to prevent future Child Abuse within the family. Educate parents about regulations and child rights for safety and protection. Educate about acceptable versus non-acceptable disciplinary action against a child to prevent separation of the family.


text:
News + Knowledge
CuroKnowledge
Ennis Britton Case Study
increase in revenue after first year of moving to the Cloud.
lawyer and staff satisfaction with new technology tools and processes.
"Working with Curo has really brought our practice to the next level, allowing us to scale easily, keep costs down, and operate with a significantly more efficient process. The team at Curo was easy to work with and have the expertise we needed to successfully move to the cloud."
-Bronston McCord, Managing Partner
Like many established firms, Ennis Britton had an aging technological infrastructure that was in imminent need of replacement. This included legacy software and an on-site server. Quotes for replacing the hardware were astronomical, especially because the Cincinnati-based firm was looking to expand into other cities, adding lawyers. At the time, the firm was not aware of options to avoid replacing the server infrastructure.
EB began working with CuroLegal to explore alternatives to the on-site legacy technology. The firm decided to move almost entirely to the cloud. A core cloud infrastructure of Clio, Box and Google for Work created a more cost-effective and modern way to operate the firm. The capital cost of replacing an expensive server was not necessary.
CuroLegal worked with EB to make this transition a reality by:
1. Assessing their existing technology setup, workflows and firm culture to determine the best technology options to position the firm for its existing team, as well as growth in the future.
2. After a tech infrastructure was agreed upon, CuroLegal worked with the EB team and their outside IT service provider to migrate data to the new platforms. Curo also customized the set up based on existing and new workflows. All team members were trained in a fashion to fit the group and individual needs.
3. We continue to work with the firm to tweak and train as needed. This includes on-site work and remote solutions.
EB has become a modern law firm that continues to do sophisticated work for its school district clientele. The lawyers have always been mobile, but now accessing information from anywhere in the world is as easy as as if they are in the office. Revenue has grown by 10% just after one year of being in the cloud. All team members are satisfied with the solutions and utilize them to collaborate internally and with clients.
The firm is positioned for continued growth and the cloud infrastructure allows them to explore new ways of serving clients much easier than a traditional infrastructure. It also positions the firm culture to include a spirit of adopting new ideas that keep it ahead of the curve.
Ready to discuss what Curo can do for you?
Send us a message at info@curolegal.com


I was scrolling for inspiration with no direction. Look what nice things I found! Who would have thought at polymer clay custom tableware. The correct answer is PetitArtStudio . It's a really nice shop on etsy.com. I gathered some of the fimo/ polymer clay tableware to inspire you. Be creative and use your favorite flowers or models to customize your tableware.
Which one of this handmade polymer clay custom tableware do you like the most? Would not it be nice to offer a personalized gift to a baptism? Why not to choose from these polymer clay custom tableware?
If you are a mother with a more pretentious child when it comes to eating, with this idea everything becomes a play, you can make the tableware with its favorite characters. And if the little one is actually a little bigger, you can spend quality time building fimo custom tableware together. I am convinced that any child would appreciate such an initiative!
Thanks for visiting and don't forget to follow my Pinterest page to get new ideas and updates on free polymer clay/fimo diy tutorials.


Published in Human Rights Review 7:1 (October 2005), pp. 49–75; doi: 10.1007/s12142-005-1002-3 Copyright © 2005 Springer Verlag. Used by permission.
This article explores Alan Gewirth's argument for a secular foundation for the idea of human rights as a possible response to Michael J. Perry's claim "that the idea of human rights is … ineliminably religious." I examine Gewirth's reasoning for constructing a theory, namely that existing theories are fundamentally flawed and leave the idea of human rights without a logically consistent foundation, before considering in detail his claims for the Principle of Generic Consistency (PGC). Having looked at his critique of numerous other theories, as well as at his own argument about human action grounding basic rights to freedom and well-being, I then offer a critique of Gewirth's PGC. Ultimately my conclusion is that Gewirth's theory relies too heavily on the notions, first, that we have a meta-desire not to contradict ourselves and, second, that we are unable to find persuasive justifications for our behavior that might allow us to avoid self-contradiction. If one is not troubled by charges of self-contradiction or, as is more often the case, one does not recognize that one's victim is as much a human being as oneself, Gewirth's theory will not seem particularly persuasive.


Played a total of 2898 times by 344 registered members. Finished by 269 users who rated the difficulty as easy.
Suzan ~ T-H-A-N-K Y-O-U !!! I had gotten bits and pieces of a solution but couldn't even bring them all together for a respectable score. This is great ! Now I don't have to be dying of curiosity as to how to get to even 134 ! Happy Thanksgiving !
clues to 134 Q J first plus nano's clues. After the flip, pass up the 2 and 3 until you get to the 5 and play the 6 and 7 up straight, which gets you the 3 and a bunch of low spades go up. Then play backward putting the 9 where the 9 was and put the 8 on the 9 . 2 3 4 4 6 6 7 J 10 Q go straight up or over. When the J goes up, bring down the J and put the 10 and 9 on it to dig out that elusive 5 . Can't find 133...have to give it a go tomorrow, maybe by then I can figure out Layla's clue.
Thanks so much, Donna ! I'll have to check it out tomorrow.
For 133, it got to think to arrange those cards out of the box!
did that help? I can't make the 9 s first work that well... but it must be right if Nano is doing it.
Boy, oh boy !! Some clues from anyone getting 140 or less would really be appreciated!!
I had said 3 s comes down...I was wrong..it plays over.
I am missing something that is going on here. just from the quick reads sound like lots of ole times are leaving? and all for the same reason?


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Q: Springboot not returning index.jsp When I am running my Sprinboot Application, it is just returning index as string. It is not giving me index.jsp page. Also I have tried to add some jstl compiler in it still it is not working
The code of Main file:
package com.hello.first;

import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;

@SpringBootApplication
public class FirstApplication {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SpringApplication.run(FirstApplication.class, args);
    }

}

The Controller file:
package com.hello.first;

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

@RestController
public class firstpage {

    @RequestMapping("/")
    public String hello(){
        return "index";
    }
}

Application.properties:
server.port=8000
spring.mvc.view.prefix=/WEB-INF/
spring.mvc.view.suffix= .jsp
POM.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
    <parent>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
        <version>2.6.3</version>
        <relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
    </parent>
    <groupId>com.hello</groupId>
    <artifactId>first</artifactId>
    <version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
    <name>first</name>
    <description>Demo project for Spring Boot</description>
    <properties>
        <java.version>11</java.version>
    </properties>
    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
        </dependency>

        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>

        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-devtools</artifactId>
        </dependency>

        <!-- JSTL for JSP -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
            <artifactId>jstl</artifactId>
        </dependency>

        <!-- Need this to compile JSP -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.apache.tomcat.embed</groupId>
            <artifactId>tomcat-embed-jasper</artifactId>
            <scope>provided</scope>
        </dependency>

        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.eclipse.jdt.core.compiler</groupId>
            <artifactId>ecj</artifactId>
            <version>4.6.1</version>
            <scope>provided</scope>
        </dependency>

    </dependencies>

    <build>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
                <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>

</project>

index.jsp:
<%@ taglib prefix = "c" uri = "http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core" %>

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Document</title>
</head>
<body>
    Hello this is my page!!
</body>
</html>

Output I am getting:
index

A: I was able to solve the problem by replacing the return "index" with return "index.html" and replacing the files from templates folder to static folder as I was simply trying to return simple HTML file.
Also the above code is working fine if I add thymeleaf dependancy

A: use
return "index.jsp"  instead
 return "index"

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