text:
Reduce Food Imports- US Ambassador Featured
The United States (US) has appealed to the Government of Ghana to reduce the country's food imports by increasing investment in the agricultural sector.
Outgoing US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson, who made the call on Tuesday, July 24 at a press conference in Accra, said "Ghana is still importing far more food than it should, given its capacity."
He encouraged the country to be more self-reliant in food production to help reduce its bill on the importation of food.
According to him, increasing investment in agriculture is key to ensuring food security in Ghana.
The Akufo-Addo administration has been working hard to improve the local production of food through the 'Planting for Food and Jobs' policy.
Government, in 2017, set a target to reduce the volume of rice imported into the country by between 6 and 10 percent by the end of that year.
It's estimated that Ghana imports about $500 million worth of rice annually, representing about 70 percent of rice consumption in the country.
The government planned to use the 'Planting for Food and Jobs' policy to reduce the rice import volume in 2017.
The initiative, according to the Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, who addressed the media recently, was able to drastically reduce maize imports, as well as lower the prices of corn on the domestic market in the first year of implementation.
Under the 'Planting for Food and Jobs' initiative, government would support one million farmers across the country over the next four years.
Scandalous Bill
The move is to help the country reduce its reliance on food imports that cost about $2.2 billion annually.
President Akufo-Addo in 2017 described Ghana's food import bill as "simply scandalous.
US Projects
The US believes with more work, Ghana could reverse the trend and ensure food security in the country.
Mr Jackson, who lauded the 'Planting for Food and Jobs' programme, said that "in agriculture, we continue to invest in the three Northern Regions and the fishing industry and those investments are helping to take people out of poverty.
"We still have a lot of work to do in the agricultural sector and we continue to invest in everything from the quality and quantity of cocoa to grains, palm oil."
"These are important investments and as you know, Ghana is still importing far more food than it should, given its capacity," he said.
He revealed that the US Government's sponsored poultry project in Ghana was making significant progress in producing more eggs, chicks and chickens.
Mr. Jackson explained that "that industry is becoming more sustainable so that companies like KFC can source locally and that reduces Ghana's import as well."
dailyguide
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Tommy Lopez, Weekend Anchor / Reporter
Published: October 9, 2017, 6:11 pm
Tags: New River Valley, Local, News
Virginia Tech says it's working to prevent sexual assault
University responds after information about an increase in reported incidents
BLACKSBURG, Va. – University officials in Blacksburg responded Monday with what they're doing to address the issue of sexual assault, after crime reports last week showed that the number of reported rapes at Virginia Tech doubled from six in 2015 to 12 last year.
Virginia Tech spokesperson Mark Owczarski said prevention has been a focus this year.
"Anything that we can do to help keep our students safe, to inform them we have no tolerance for this and to educate them about what individuals can do to help support others, prevent this from happening, is so important for us," he said.
It's not a new problem.
"Sexual assault is an issue on every college campus in the country and Virginia Tech is not an exception to that. We take it very, very seriously because one is one too many," Owczarski said.
The university has made an online class on sexual assault mandatory for all incoming freshmen as of this semester. The class teaches students of the dangers, and explains the resources available for victims to report incidents.
Organizations have been holding awareness events for years, like Take Back the Night and the Clothesline Project that uses T-shirts as symbols. The police department offers defense courses.
"People are still afraid to talk about it," senior Irene Jenkins said. "Once it's more accepted to have these conversations without the worry of offending someone, then that's when change can really occur."
University officials say they want to create a climate where more students feel comfortable coming forward to report incidents.
"There's a positive in the sense that if people do feel comfortable about reporting sexual violence and sexual assault, that's a good thing. We don't want victims of sexual assault to be unheard, to not get help," Owczarski said.
The online classes are open to anyone at the university.
Tommy Lopez
Tommy is a news reporter and anchor at WSLS 10. You can see him Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 to 8 on Virginia Today.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Creating a custom NSViewController without a nib I recently started learning Objective-C and I've run into a slight problem. I'm trying to use a custom view controller without a nib, so the view is created in the code. The view controller itself is created in the AppDelegate.
When I run the program, it first displays a default empty window. After I close this window, a second window pops up which correctly contains the view. I obviously don't want that first window to appear, but I don't know what causes it. The only information I could find on this subject was for iOS development, which isn't quite the same.
I also get this message of which I'm not really sure what it means: Could not connect the action orderFrontStandardAboutPanel: to target of class MainViewController
AppDelegate:
- (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(NSNotification *)aNotification
{
    mainViewController = [[MainViewController alloc] initWithFrame:_window.frame];
    _window.contentView = mainViewController.view;
}

MainViewController:
- (id)initWithFrame:(NSRect)frame
{
    self = [super initWithNibName:nil bundle:nil];
    if (self)
    {
        [self setView:[[MainView alloc] initWithFrame:frame]];
        [self loadView];
    }
    return self;
}

A: In short, override loadView and set self.view to your view. You'll want to give it a frame before you set it.
The default implementation of loadView is where it tries to load the nib. You're intended to override this if you don't want that.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
ArtGeek
Art Travel Blog
Museum List by State
American Mosaic: Picturing Modern Art through the Eye of Duncan Phillips
Exhibition Website
Aug 6 2016 - Dec 4 2016
Orange County Museum of Art
View scheduled Exhibition Venues & Dates
This exhibition, organized by The Phillips Collection, presents a thematic journey that reveals the breadth of America's modernist vision.
Beginning with the great American art heroes of the late 19th century, whose work set the course for modern art in the United States, to conclude with the Abstract Expressionists, whose new visual language turned American art into a global force.
Included are 65 works created between the 1860s and 1960s by artists such as Milton Avery, Alexander Calder, Richard Diebenkorn, Thomas Eakins, Helen Frankenthaler, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, and Georgia O'Keeffe.
Exhibition overview from the museum website
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text:
Passing it along: The generous people of Fortín de las Flores
by Amy Frykholm
As yet another cargo train thunders past her house in Fortín de las Flores, Mexico, Benita Juárez wraps a scarf around her head and looks up. In addition to its usual load of sugar cane, coffee and automobiles, the train carries migrants traveling north from Central America. As the train passes, Juárez, 84, glimpses the migrants who huddle in the wells at the back of the cars, ride on top, or cling to the sides of the train.
She sees pregnant women, women nursing babies, and children younger than her youngest grandchild. She sees people whose lips are parched and cracked from lack of water, and people who are poorly dressed for a trip that will take them into the Eje Volcánico Transversal Mountains, where the nights will be bitter cold. She sees people who have been beaten, robbed and raped. Hundreds of thousands of economic refugees have passed through Fortín de las Flores.
Amy Frykholm
The Century associate editor is the author of Rapture Culture, Julian of Norwich, and See Me Naked.
Sometimes, if the train slows down, Juárez sends a grandchild to the train with a packet of food to pass up to the migrants or a plastic bag filled with water to toss up. Her gestures are not extraordinary in this town of around 20,000.
Fortín de las Flores is located at the foot of the mountains in the state of Veracruz. When the mists clear, the 18,490-foot Pico de Orizaba volcano, the highest peak in Mexico, comes into view. While remote from resorts popular with U.S. tourists, Fortín is situated on a well-traveled highway between the cities of Orizaba and Córdoba. An ancient center of agriculture, the area produces an abundance of fruits and vegetables as well as coffee, sugar and flowers.
Most of the people in Fortín are not wealthy or even middle class by the standards of Mexico City. While a few families own large tracts of land and haciendas hidden behind high stone walls, most people live in tiny homes built close together. Families support themselves by running a small shop or café, by teaching or working for the government, or by doing a little shoe shining, a little farming, a little construction.
Though their resources seem limited compared to the rest of North America, the people of Fortín welcome the strangers who pass through on the trains and share whatever they can. When the trains stop, residents often go down to the tracks and chat while handing up fruit, sandwiches or water.
Sitting in Juárez's courtyard one afternoon with her children, a daughter-in-law and a few grandchildren, I asked them how they can afford to give to the migrants day after day, year after year. Inez, one of Juárez's daughters, looked at me, a little puzzled. "Right now, we're eating," she explained. "When we are finished, there will be a little left over. That we can pass along." People in Fortín talk not about giving away the food but about passing it along—as if the food did not belong to them in the first place.
In her book Enrique's Journey, Sonia Nazario chronicles one immigrant's journey from Honduras to the U.S, and she singles out this region of Mexico for its hospitality. I came to Fortín de las Flores because I wanted to witness some of this generosity for myself.
Ciro Gonzáles and his wife, Erika Hernández, run a small café across from the railroad tracks. Every day migrants stop by and ask for food and always come away with something: a torta with meat, chicken or beans, a few tacos, a bag of chicharones. Gonzáles told me that even if the migrants have money, he won't accept it.
"How do you know they are migrants?" I asked.
"They have a little different way of speaking," he said. "And it's in their eyes."
As I talked with the Gonzáles family over the counter at their café, neighbors began to gather to find out what was going on. From his perch on a stool behind the counter Gonzáles can keep note of the comings and goings of the people along the street, watch the trains go by, talk with the neighbors and keep an eye on his five-year-old son, Rodrigo, who sells me candy and cough drops from a basket that he keeps for just such occasions.
José Romero, one of Juárez's sons, joined the conversation and explained to me that Fortín de las Flores is located in a pass through the mountainous jungle. It is neither an isolated village nor an urban center. Most people know one another, so the presence of a stranger is obvious—but not threatening.
Gonzáles underscored this point as he gestured to the railroad tracks. "They come through every day," he said without frustration or resignation. "Every day they ask for food. Every day." He wanted me to understand that feeding migrants is not an extraordinary event or even something to be noticed. It is just a part of everyday life. No organization was formed to do this work. Feeding the stranger is as basic as feeding one's own family.
"We try not to give them money," Gonzáles said. "We will give food, clothing, whatever they need. But we don't want money to go for drugs, and sometimes it does."
Romero invited me across the street into his mother's courtyard, and soon I was caught up in the clamor of a family dinner of pork stew and tortillas. The Juárez family told me what they've seen and heard along the railroad tracks and argued among themselves about what it means. In this region at least, residents identify more with the migrants than with the authorities who try to control or exploit them. The people of Fortín know that corruption pervades the official immigration system, and they don't blame people who are living in terrible poverty for trying to improve their lives. Offering help seems to come naturally.
"But how do you know that you will have enough for yourselves?" I asked.
Romero's wife, Maura Hernández, answered, "Whatever we give, God multiplies. We help because they are suffering more than we are."
Hugo Pérez, who manages the kitchen at the resort Hotel Fortín de las Flores, has a unique perspective on the culture of Fortín. He left the town for six years to live in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he worked as a dishwasher on a work visa. He returned home because he felt that despite the good money he made in the U.S. by Mexican standards, life in Veracruz offered another kind of abundance.
"The central value of this society," he said, "is compartir—to share. A business in Fortín is first and foremost a place from which to share." As he said this, I recalled how many times I had heard business owners in the U.S. say—without any belligerence or lack of generosity, just stating the obvious—"This is not a charity. It's a business."
Inside the café Mesón Maná del Cielo (the House of Manna from Heaven) five tables are crowded together, and a television blares from the corner. A menu board lists the specials of the day. A few tortas sit under a glass dome. The café is run by Aurora Flores and Abisai Osorio. When migrants come by and ask for food, they're offered a little of whatever is on the menu. "Yesterday," Flores told me, "a girl came and asked for a sandwich. Sometimes a lot of people come; sometimes no one."
She seemed unconcerned about the impact of these migrants on her small business. Shrugging, she dismissed my question about it as insignificant—and refused to accept money for the bowl of vegetable soup that she brought me. Then she animatedly described the frightening condition of the migrants she encounters. More and more women come by her place, she said, and they are often in bad shape. They've been beaten, robbed and raped. "Really ugly things happen along the way."
When I asked her why she helps, she shrugged again. "It's a good thing to do," she said at last. "It's how we are taught. We like to do it. There's one part of the Bible that says to feed and clothe people."
I found some evidence that generosity does not always come easily to the people of Fortín. Flores said that some of her neighbors disapprove of helping migrants and think of them as a lower class of people. Others fear that the migrants are bringing drugs and violence to this quiet corner of Mexico. Flores said she understands their concerns. Her family once took in a migrant for several months, and he turned out to be a drug dealer.
"Would you take in another migrant?" I asked.
"We would," said Flores, "if the circumstances were right. But we have lost a little confidence."
Disasters along the tracks are not uncommon. Last year a young migrant was climbing aboard the train with a soft drink in one hand. He missed the handhold and was pulled under the moving train, which crushed him. José Romero's daughter Dulce, 14, saw it happen.
"He had passed up some food to his friends," she said, "and then he slipped and fell." A small wooden cross marks the place where he died, a reminder of the perils that migrants face. Thousands lose limbs every year, and hundreds die. A woman in Orizaba runs a house for migrants who lose limbs to the train; she raises funds to buy prosthetic limbs and houses people for many months while they recover.
One afternoon I stood with members of the Juárez and Gonzáles families as a train rolled through town. Often the townspeople wave and the migrants blow kisses.
"Why do you wave?" I asked Inez Juárez.
"Just to say, 'We are with you,'" she answered.
When fruit is in season, the residents share their oranges, pine apples, guavas, mangos, avocados and coconuts. Hugo Pérez takes a bag of oranges down to the tracks and talks with the migrants, asking them where they're from and where they're going.
When I asked him about this practice, he explained it with one word: "Empathy. When we see those people on the train, leaving their homes, leaving their families, that is what we feel."
As I inquired about the hospitality and generosity shown by the people of Fortín, I realized that my questions often reflected my own fears and values. I was looking for a boundary: How much giving is enough? When does a family draw a line to make sure they'll have food for the next day? Residents of Fortín have few possessions and, at the same time, fewer restrictions on their generosity. They respond directly and immediately to those in need, as if, through the migrants, God is communicating with them personally.
Out on the central plaza, Pico de Orizaba made a brief appearance through the clouds, and my last morning in Fortín was momentarily warm. I was finishing my coffee at a café when a young man approached my table. "I'm from Honduras," he said. "I'm traveling through. Could you give me some money?"
I handed him some pesos and then watched as he made his way to the central church, where he was joined by another young man. The people on this Sunday morning were spilling out from the church onto the street. The first young man asked them for money and then headed up a side street.
I caught up with the two young men again as they returned to the train. They were brothers, Eduardo, 17, and Miguel, 16. They'd been traveling for 27 days, Eduardo told me, while his brother stared at the ground. Eduardo's voice was strained by a cold he'd caught on the train. "The nights have been really cold," he said. They had found a little work along the way, and hoped to make it to the U.S. border in about two weeks. There they planned to work to raise the $250 they need to pay a coyote to take them across.
"Are the people here kind?" I asked. "Have they helped you?"
Eduardo shrugged. His brother had still not looked up. "There are good people and bad people everywhere," he said. "We have to find the good ones and avoid the bad ones, that's all."
"What was your worst day so far?"
"Four days ago, we got chased by the immigration police, but we got away. It was awful."
Up the street, the owners of a small café were watching. As we turned to go, they called "Chavos!" to the young men and handed them a sweatshirt, a jacket, a pair of jeans and a packet of food. "Gracias," the boys said, and then turned toward the train.


Every entrepreneur I know can't find enough hours in a day to do the good things they want, and yet they often find themselves saying yes to new requests. Perhaps because they are optimists by nature, or they just hate to disappoint others, they end up hurting their health, credibility and effectiveness by not being able to deliver on everything they promise.
In addition to saying yes too often, some entrepreneurs under pressure say no poorly, by attacking the requestor or by avoiding any definitive response. Either of these approaches always make a difficult situation worse, often leading to guilt or a later accommodation.
1. Establish boundaries and honor them for all to see.
Let your constituents know your priorities and limits. Don't continually break your own rules about when you are available or what requests are acceptable. Your actions must match your words, so don't say yes when you mean no.
2. Ask for time to check your calendar.
It's an acceptable business practice to review your schedule or converse with other principals before committing to an answer. Don't respond with a quick yes that you can't deliver, or a quick no that will ruin a relationship. In all cases, it's important to commit to a date or time for a final yes or no.
3. Give credence to your initial instinct.
Recognize that your brain and your body often register information that is more accurate than an optimistic emotional reaction, or a negative reaction after a long hard day. Take a deep breath, clear your mind of any external distractions, and analyze your gut reaction before providing any answer.
4. Voice both the pros and cons to a trusted cohort.
Speaking the considerations out loud will help you make sure you understand the full implications of either a yes or a no answer. Every yes answer increases your workload, and every no answer may cut off an opportunity you need down the road. Talking it out also buys you time.
5. Explore the possibility of a reciprocal favor.
This will help the requester understand the impact of the request, and potentially reconsider. In other cases, you may actually get back more than you give up. Every yes should be a win-win proposition, just like strategic partnerships can bring huge growth to both businesses, despite the work.
6. Explain your constraints before saying no.
Rejection without giving context implies an unreasonable request or a problem with the requestor. People making a request may not understand your budget limitations, current workload or competitive pressures. In this context, you can also make an encouraging statement about future requests.
7. Say yes to the person and no to the task.
Make sure the requestor understands first how positively you feel about them, despite the fact that the requested task cannot be accommodated in your current workload, strategy or other boundary. Requestors are then less likely to be left with the impression that your rejection is a personal affront.
8. Sandwich your no between two positives.
Make your answer more palatable with a positive explanation. For example, if your partner asks you to cover a conference, but you have development deadlines at risk, explain these commitments (first yes), how they lock you in town (no), and finish by confirming your focus to an on-time product (second yes).
9. Defer the decision to a better environment.
Ask for the opportunity to discuss the request when you can give the requestor your full attention. When you are in the normal chaos of the startup day, both parties can be easily misinterpreted. Pay attention to body language and tone that often make the negative response more difficult to receive.
10. Make sure your words are non-defensive but clearly stated.
No one wins when a requestor reads your softly spoken no as a yes or a maybe. Long, detailed explanations are usually read as defensive or confrontational. The answer should be strong and non-emotional. Just say no clearly, and smile as you say it.
You don't have to be viewed as a yes person to be viewed as a leader. In fact, if you look at the leaders around you, they are not afraid to say no to the conventional wisdom, and they gain respect for doing it. They have learned the art of saying no with the same conviction and passion they use in saying yes. That's the best way to change the world and save yourself, so start today.


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Within the last month, a proposal from Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has evolved from a longshot to a legitimate ACA threat. The potential bill, which is still being worked on by lawmakers behind closed doors, has the support of President Trump and a growing contingent of Republicans.
Cap medicaid expansion and eliminate federal subsidies that keep premiums and deductibles lower.
At press time, Graham-Cassidy also preserved several aspects of the ACA, including most of the law's taxes and provisions allowing dependents to be covered until age 26.
The numbers are tight for Republicans hoping to pass Graham-Cassidy in the Senate. With only 52 out of 100 seats, the GOP can hardly afford defections. As in the past, it's expected that Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) could play pivotal roles in either passing or quashing this latest repeal effort. As the latter two are expected by most Washington observers to vote no, it could yet again be McCain who provides the decisive vote. Senators Graham and McCain are said to enjoy a close friendship, and generally align on most bills.
The Congressional Budget Office is expected to release a preliminary analysis of the bill's potential impact on uninsured rates and premiums early next week. Namely will continue monitoring the proposal's progress and potential employer impacts.


text:
2011 Canadian National SCRABBLE Championship qualification system
Revision as of 11:38, 27 March 2009 by Davidboys95 (talk | contribs) (→Qualification Criteria)
A total of 52 entrants will qualify to compete at the next Canadian National Scrabble Championship (CNSC).
This event will likely take place in either 2010 or 2011.
All participants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
All participants must be NASPA members in good standing.
Defending CNSC Champion
Adam Logan receives an automatic CNSC berth as defending champion.
Peak Rating (PR)
Excluding Adam Logan, the top 47 active tournament players in Canada based on PR within the qualifying period automatically receive CNSC berths.
These 47 players may be subject to a yet-to-be-determined minimum tournament games played formula to determine if he/she is an active tournament player.
This formula will be announced in due time.
Those who qualify under this provision must indicate their intention to play in the CNSC before a deadline that is to be determined in due time.
Those who choose not to participate or who do not indicate their intention to play before the deadline will be replaced by those who are next on the PR list.
Qualifying Tournament (QT)
It is the intention of NASPA's Canadian Committee (CC) to award the final CNSC berths to four players who qualify from two special qualifying tournaments. Please note: The CC reserves the right to cancel these QTs if for reasons of logistics and practicality, they become unworkable. In that event, the remaining CNSC berths will be awarded to four players based on PR.
The two QTs will be held after the 47 PR berths have been awarded.
One QT will be held in western Canada and the other will be held in eastern Canada.
The sites, dates, and formats of these events will be announced in due time.
The QTs may be held in conjunction with other Scrabble events.
The QTs will be restricted to players who have not already qualified for the CNSC through their PR.
Only players who are eligible to play in the CNSC and who intend to play in the CNSC will be allowed to compete in the QTs.
Players may compete in only one QT.
Players who wish to compete in a QT will be required to meet the same minimum tournament games played criteria as those who qualified under the PR provision.
There is no minimum PR requirement to play in a QT, but interested players must notify the director in advance to confirm their intention to play in a QT.
The director of each QT has the right to limit the number of entrants based on the size of the venue.
The top two finishers at each QT will receive CNSC berths.
If any of the four players who qualify from the QT process is unable to compete at the CNSC, he/she will be replaced by the next person from the PR list.
Retrieved from "http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/wiki/index.php?title=2011_Canadian_National_SCRABBLE_Championship_qualification_system&oldid=1208"


text:
Jerry Lawson, Phoenix Musician and Longtime Persuasions Singer, Has Died
El West Hosting Benefit Show for Cancer-Battling Relative
Van Halen, US Airways Center, 6/16/12
Mike Escoto
Mike Escoto | June 17, 2012 | 9:00am
Van Halen US Airways Center Saturday, June 16
When the recently reunited Van Halen (featuring original vocalist David Lee Roth) announced it was postponing a handful of dates on its current tour, most people assumed that it was due to some conflict within the band. Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth wasted no time dismissing the theory and chalked it up to the band's biting off more than it could chew with this tour.
See our entire Van Halen slideshow. Fortunately for Van Halen fans in the Valley, the band's Phoenix date went down as scheduled, and if there is any animosity within the Van Halen camp, they certainly didn't display it. But, after watching the band perform Saturday night in front of a packed US Airways Center, another reason for the postponing of those tour dates seemed more likely: They're not very good.
Allow me to clarify. I'm not suggesting that Van Halen is a shitty band, because it isn't. In fact Van Halen, fronted by David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar, is undeniably one of the greatest rock bands of all time. (The Gary Cherone-fronted Van Halen? Not so much.)
And it's not even that the members of the Van Halen clan aren't very good: From a technical standpoint, drummer Alex Van Halen was good and virtuoso guitarist Eddie Van Halen was amazing (the later performing a guitar solo -- surprise -- that was without question the highlight of the night), and even Eddie's son, Wolfgang (the least experienced of the crew) held his own on stage. This brings us to David Lee Roth, who sadly was the weak link of the group on Saturday evening.
To his credit, Roth was just as much the showman as he's ever been. The problem was he focused too much on the antics and not quite enough on the musicianship (which can be a big problem when, you know, Eddie Van Halen is onstage).
Any time Eddie Van Halen ripped into a guitar solo, Roth would strut around the stage, hamming it up for the audience. It was funny at first -- "Hey, it's Diamond Dave" -- but at a certain point, he just started to look awkward. Essentially, he turned into that guy who shows up at a party and just tries way too hard to impress everyone there. You wanted to say, "You're David Lee Roth. You don't have to try so hard. We already like you."
When Roth wasn't goofing, he'd engage the crowd with stories that lacked much sense, and you wondered if you were missing an inside joke. There was also a video package of Roth with his sheepdogs, and it felt strange and out of place.
Minor gripes aside (Roth's always been eccentric), all real offense came from the vocals. Roth just seemed to be all over the place. For the most part, all the songs were performed in a sing-speak style, and he had a hard time hitting the high notes and just omitted large chunks of songs for no apparent reason.
As much as I wanted to like this show I didn't. There is an inherent coolness to seeing Van Halen perform songs like "Hot For Teacher" or "Runnin' With The Devil." But a minute or two into each song, I realized that Dave was kind of fucking up the song, and the nostalgia factor just went right out the window. So if they need to postpone some dates so that they can recharge their batteries and get Roth sounding better, then I'm all for it.
I don't think anything sums up this concert better than this. On the light-rail ride home, a man in the same car as me started singing the song "Hypnotized" by Bob Welch. A woman sitting behind me yelled out, "You sing better than David Lee Roth." The sad thing is, she wasn't wrong.
Critic's Notebook:
Last Night: Van Halen and Kool & the Gang at US Airways Center
Personal Bias: I've always really liked Van Halen, more so with Roth than Hagar, so it was a pretty big disappointment I didn't like this show.
The Crowd: Mostly older couples and a few parents with their younger children.
Random Notebook Dump: Enough with the kung fu moves already, Dave.
One more thing: Kool & the Gang seem like a really weird opener for Van Halen, but they were actually really great.
Unchained Runnin' With The devil She's the Woman Romeo Delight Tattoo Everybody Wants Some!! Somebody Get Me a Doctor China Town Hear About It Later Oh, Pretty Woman You Really Got Me That's the Trouble With Never Dance the Night Away I'll Wait And the Cradle Will Rock... Hot for Teacher Women in Love... Beautiful Girls Ice Cream Man Panama Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love Jump
Commentary: Will Track Club Help Level Up Downtown Phoenix...
The 10 Best Concerts in Phoenix This Week


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Defence Institution Building
Last updated: 09 May. 2018 16:14
The Partnership Action Plan on Defence Institution Building (PAP-DIB) aims to reinforce efforts by partner countries to reform and restructure their defence institutions to meet domestic needs as well as international commitments.
Effective and efficient state defence institutions under civilian and democratic control are fundamental to stability in the Euro-Atlantic area and for international security cooperation, PAP-DIB was launched at NATO's Istanbul Summit in June 2004.
The reform of defence and security institution is often a long and difficult process, and often partner countries are hampered by scarce resources and limited experience. PAP-DIB offers support by defining common objectives for partnership work in this area, encouraging exchange of relevant experience, and helping tailor and focus bilateral defence and security assistance programmes.
The objectives of the Action Plan on Defence Institution Building include:
effective and transparent arrangements for the democratic control of defence activities;
civilian participation in developing defence and security policy;
effective and transparent legislative and judicial oversight of the defence sector;
enhanced assessment of security risks and national defence requirements, matched with developing and maintaining affordable and interoperable capabilities;
optimising the management of defence ministries and other agencies which have associated force structures;
compliance with international norms and practices in the defence sector, including export controls;
effective and transparent financial, planning and resource allocation procedures in the defence area;
effective management of defence spending as well as of the socio-economic consequences of defence restructuring;
effective and transparent personnel structures and practices in the defence forces;
effective international cooperation and good neighbourly relations in defence and security matters.
Key tools for implementation
Implementation of the Action Plan makes maximum use of existing partnership tools and mechanisms.
Planning and Review Process
One of the key instruments that contribute to defence institution building is the Planning and Review Process (PARP). It encourages partners to develop forces and capabilities able to operate alongside Allied nations in operations and other activities. Furthermore, PARP plays a prominent role in the transformation and defence reform of partners' armed forces. This includes support to the development of national defence and security policy and architectures; efficient and democratically responsible defence institutions and armed forces under democratic and civilian control; and defence planning. PARP is also crucial for countries aspiring to join the Alliance to prepare their forces and capabilities for possible membership.
Participation in PARP is open to all NATO's partners with the ambition to pursue a closer relationship with the Alliance. Euro-Atlantic partners participate on a voluntary basis, and other partners may participate as well, upon approval of the North Atlantic Council. Currently, 19 partners take part in PARP – each has its own history and pace of progress, as well as unique needs and priorities.
Under PARP, Allies and each of the participating partners negotiate a set of tailored planning targets for the individual partner country, known as Partnership Goals. The fulfilment of the Goals is reviewed regularly. In sum, PARP provides a well-established framework to assist partners to develop effective, interoperable, affordable and sustainable armed forces as well as to promote wider defence and security sector transformation and reform efforts.
(Learn more about PARP)
Defence and Related Security Capacity Building Initiative
Since 2014, defence institution building is also pursued through the Defence and Related Security Capacity Building (DCB) Initiative. It reinforces NATO's commitment to partners and helps project stability by providing practical support to a number of partners in the form of so-called DCB packages. The aim is to complement support already provided by other NATO partnership tools and programmes, such as PARP. The DCB packages are based on specific requests for NATO assistance and agreed by the North Atlantic Council. They are tailored to the unique needs and priorities of each country, and rely on mutual political commitment and local ownership. DCB puts great emphasis on sustainability and long-term effects of the assistance provided.
Currently, DCB packages have been launched for four countries: Georgia, Iraq, Jordan and the Republic of Moldova. Each of the individual DCB packages contains aspects relevant to defence institution building. The support provided by NATO under DCB includes strategic-level advice on defence and security sector reform and institution-building; development of local forces through education and training; and advice and assistance in specialised areas such as logistics or cyber defence. The packages are implemented thanks to the generous contributions of Allies and partner countries, who provide advisors, trainers and coordinators to work with the recipient countries, as well as funding projects through a DCB Trust Fund.
(Learn more about DCB)
Professional Development Programme
The Professional Development Programme (PDP) assists interested partner countries in developing the professional skills of civilian personnel employed in their defence and security institutions.
The Programme works with the legislative and executive branches to:
increase the professional skills of key civilian specialists responsible for national security and managing reforms;
contribute to increasing the resilience of state institutions by focusing on the skills of personnel responsible for addressing security challenges;
build the capacity of professional development agencies, in this way directly contributing to establishing self-sustaining local training capacities for the defence and security sectors;
address sectoral requirements including effective implementation of specific reform concepts and strategies.
By addressing these objectives, the Programme contributes to increasing the effectiveness of civil and democratic control of security forces and assists partner countries in establishing modern defence and security institutions in which civilian expertise plays vital roles. Currently, the Programme operates in Georgia and Ukraine.
NATO Trust Fund on Military Career Transition
The NATO Trust Fund on Military Career Transition promotes responsible governance in partner countries focused on the development of sustainable and integrated approaches to managing the resettlement of military personnel in the Armed Forces and other defence and security-related state organisations. As its key component, the Programme provides policy advice by identifying all requirements in terms of the recruitment-retention-transition nexus, to assist a partner country to develop the desired human resource management system.
The work under the Programme extends to developing the necessary legal and normative documents, including guiding documents for human resources management processes, mechanisms, tools and financing as well as implementing communication strategies related to military career transition.
Practical assistance also takes the form of professional retraining courses to support the successful transition to civilian professional life of released military personnel and facilitating their resettlement by enabling them to acquire an additional professional qualification orientated at the demand of the civilian labour market. The Programme also offers psychological rehabilitation seminars aimed at mitigating post-traumatic stress syndrome disorders among demobilised military servicemen.
Defence Education Enhancement Programme
The NATO Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP) is a vehicle for institutional reform. It contributes to international security by making defence education institutions compatible to NATO defence education standards and values.
DEEP addresses the defence education component of defence institution building, helping to facilitate institutional adaptation by:
supporting defence education institutions through faculty development (how to teach) and curriculum development (what to teach);
tailored support to meet individual partner defence education requirements, as every defence education institution is different and should be treated individually;
multi-year programmes of cooperation managed jointly by NATO and the Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes to assist the host nation government defence education system to support the modernisation process.
(Learn more about DEEP)
Building Integrity Programme
The NATO Building Integrity (BI) Programme is part of NATO's commitment to strengthening integrity, transparency and accountability in the defence and related security sector. Launched in 2007 by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, BI stems from the PAP-DIB objective to assist nations in reforming their defence and security sector.
BI promotes the values and principles of good governance. It helps to develop effective and efficient defence institutions under civilian and democratic control, providing tailored support at the institutional and individual levels based on strategic advice and capacity-building activities.
At the July 2016 NATO Summit in Warsaw, Allied leaders endorsed the BI Policy, recognising that poor governance and corruption are a security threat. The ensuing BI Action Plan noted by Allied foreign ministers in December 2016 provides further guidance for the implementation of BI into NATO's three core tasks (collective defence, crisis management and cooperative security) as well as to NATO member states and partner countries.
(Learn more about BI)
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC)
Building Integrity
Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP)
Partnership for Peace Planning and Review Process (PARP)
Marking International Anti-Corruption Day09 Dec. 2011
Afghanistan to be included in defence sector integrity-building initiative12 Nov. 2010
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council launches Phase II of Building Integrity Initiative03 Jun. 2010
NATO helps fight corruption in defence establishments30 Apr. 2010
Building integrity: NATO/EAPC project helps tackle corruption in defence institutions01 Apr. 2010
Istanbul Summit Communiqué issued by the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic...28 Jun. 2004
Partnership Action Plan on Defence Institution Building (PAP-DIB)07 Jun. 2004
Partnership Action Plan on Defence Institution Building - Reference curriculum


text:
Pre-Race Expo
Cyclist Advisory
Beginner's Training Plan
Colon Cancer Prevention
Faces of Colon Cancer
Susie's Legacy
Rotary Charities
Race Volunteer of the Year
Sponsors & Teams
Mercer Island Half Sponsors
Peter Hunt
Peter Hunt was shocked with his diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer in August 2011, at age 51. A longtime Microsoft employee, he had never taken a sick day or leave of absence. When he turned 50, he delayed the recommended colonoscopy, because he felt so healthy. Finally, deciding to undergo the colonoscopy, he woke up to his sobbing wife and a grim looking physician by her side. Treatment started immediately since the cancer had spread to his liver and lymph nodes.
"The people looking after me have been unbelievable," said Peter. "My oncologist contacted me three times a day on his day off to see how I was doing." The doctors at Swedish Medical Center, Peter adds, are the best in the world. He feels fortunate to have the support of friends, colleagues and family around the world. The cancer has reconnected him with friends, family and colleagues in South Africa and other places he once lived. "I see goodness in people around me." He has been able to keep his daily routine hardly changing or missing a day of work.
View all of the FacesShare a Face and a Story
© Mercer Island Rotary Foundation. All Rights Reserved.


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text:
Q: How can I play multiple gifs in sync? (Reactjs) I am building an app that displays a customizable avatar using overlayed divs with CSS background sprites that are gifs. Currently, I am setting the background image using inline component styling, like this:
<div id="head" style={{backgroundImage: `url(${headSheet})`}}/>
<div id="hat" style={{backgroundImage: `url(${hatSheet})`}}/>
This works most of the time, but occasionally when loading the page the gifs will not start at the same time and so the animations will not be in sync. I have tried these solutions:

*

*Load and display multiple animated gifs at the same time (synchronised) with Javascript

*How synchronize more gif pictures?
but they did not work for me. They are also fairly old, so hopefully there is a more modern solution using React.

A: Really, you won't be able to do what you want consistently with an animated gif, or set of gifs.
You should probably break each frame into a separate gif/png (you can do transparent png at <= 256 color palette with alpha transparency, so may be a better option).  Combine this with a canvas, and control the swapping via JS.  Look into window.requestAnimationFrame as well for your control flow.
You should combine this with the useEffect hook to register/unregister your animation shifts.  You will likely want to manipulate the canvas element directly (useRef) as opposed to having React handle (re)renders.


Denise Stark is a licensed CPA located in Sugar Land, TX 77479. Denise Stark has been issued a Texas license number 90131. All CPAs, including Denise Stark, have at the minimum an undergraduate degree in accounting, passed a rigorous national exam and adhere to mandated continuing education requirements of their states in which they are licensed. CPAs can work in private industry, education or government but most people think of CPAs during tax season as the experts in tax preparation. Their overall training in business and knowledge in principles of general law and taxation provide CPAs with the skills to help individuals with both personal and business financial decisions.


text:
<?php
/*
 * SolusVM TestConnection
 *
 * Test connection with the MASTER SolusVM node and display / log any errors
 *
 * @package		SolusVM
 * @category	WHMCS Provisioning Modules
 * @author		Trajche Petrov
 * @link		https://qbit.solutions/
*/
	class SolusVM_TestConnection extends SolusVM
	{
		function _exec()
		{
			try
			{
				// fetch simple information from the API to check the connection
				$check = $this->_api(array
				(
					'action' => 'listnodegroups'
				));

				// handle connection testing
				if(isset($check) and is_object($check))
				{
					if($check->status == 'success')
						return array('success' => true);
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						throw new  Exception($check->statusmsg);
				}
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					throw new  Exception('Recieved emtpy or mailformed response. Check module log for more information!');
			} catch ( Exception $error ) {
				// log the errors
				$this->_log( 'Connection_Test', $this->input, $check, $error );

				return array('success' => false, 'error' => $error->getMessage());
			}
		}
	}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The stress and the sorrow that come with the loss of a loved one are inexplicable. Having to figure out what to do with the finances of the departed can be tricky, too. The "What to Do After the Loss of a Loved One: Checklist" will help you get things in order and avoid delays and confusion. When you are filing a claim with your life insurance company, these are critical steps.
Request your free copy of "How to Survive the loss of a Love" One of the ten most recommended books by clinical psychologists to their clients according to The New York Times. If you've suffered a loss, we want to help. This book offers a dose of emotional first aid, and it's our gift to you. Email us at deathclaim@accuquote.com and we'll ship you a paperback copy at our expense.
Most parents want their children to get a college education. They make sacrifices to make sure they can pay for tuition. When a parent dies without life insurance, finances get tight. For many, college no longer seems like an option.
Every year, Life Happens sponsors the Life Lessons Scholarship Program, which helps students whose parents have passed away continue their education and follow their dreams. If you'd like to find out more, click on the link above.
How Long Will Your Death Benefit Check Last?
According to a 2014 survey, the average American would like for the proceeds of a breadwinner's life insurance policy to last 14 years after his or her death. In reality, they are likely to have exhausted the death benefit within 3 years.
Would you like to turn your life insurance benefits into a life-long income? An annuity may be exactly what you're looking for.


Lyrics to New Divide song by Linkin Park: I remembered black skies The lightning all around me I remembered each flash As time began Lyrics to "Numb" song by Linkin Park: I'm tired of being what you want me to be Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface Don. Linkin Park "Numb" off of the album METEORA. Directed by Joe Hahn. linkinpark.com com iTunes: lprk.co/ml/3pb. Linkin Park "Crawling" off of the album HYBRID THEORY. Directed by Brothers Strause. linkinpark.com com iTunes.
Lyrics to "New Divide" song by Linkin Park: I remembered black skies The lightning all around me I remembered each flash As time began Lyrics to Numb song by Linkin Park: I m tired of being what you want me to be Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface Buy New Divide (Dubstep Remix): Read 1 Digital Music Reviews - Amazon.com. На нашем сайте собраны, как старые любимые тексты песен, с которыми у многих возникают. Linkin Park - Crawling (SHVR rmx). 5 years ago5 years. Dubstep. Comment must @hiro-cruz-1: www.dropbox.com/s/la4nerkrb3nd21q…20rmx%29.mp3?dl=0.
Create a SoundCloud account. Sign in. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IUkd51Ge …annel_video_title · numb linkin park dubstep girl chopstix102. Show more. Own a website? Manage your page to keep your users updated View some of our premium pages: google.com. yelp.com. yahoo.com. microsoft.com. Upgrade to a Premium. 'Lying From You' is the perfect example of what the band did best early in their career and is a must for the 10 Best Linkin Park Songs. Zoeken naar muziek, audio downloads, download muziek downloaden, mp3, download muziek. You have requested the file: Name: H320 Feat newbeginning212 - Numb ( dubstep remix).mp3. Size: 9.64 MB Uploaded: 07-04-2011 12:41. Last download. Amazing Female Vocal Chillstep Dubstep mix! 'SodlingProductions' Duration: 59: 19 - Source: youtube - FileType: mp3 - Bitrate: 320 Kbps. play download. Numb.
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text:
Katten Murrs tankar om livet (tyska: Lebens-Ansichten des Katers Murr) är en humoristisk roman av den preussiske författaren E.T.A. Hoffmann, ursprungligen utgiven i två band 1819 och 1821. Handlingen följer den briljante och excentriske tonsättaren Johannes Kreisler, samt den självgode katten Murr, som gör sig lustig över diverse företeelser.

Boken har undertiteln Samt fragmentarisk biografi över kapellmästaren Johannes Kreisler i form av slumpvisa makulaturblad ("Nebst fragmentarischer Biographie des Kapellmeisters Johannes Kreisler in zufälligen Makulaturblättern"). Ett tredje band var planerat men fullbordades aldrig. En svensk översättning av Margareta Zetterström med förord av Horace Engdahl gavs ut 2006 genom Bokförlaget Atlantis.

Utgåvor
 1828 –
 1909 –
 1994 –
 2006 –

Källor

Externa länkar
 Katten Murrs tankar om livet på Projekt Gutenberg-DE
 Katten Murrs tankar om livet på det svenska förlagets hemsida

Skönlitteratur 1819
Tyska romaner
Tyskspråkig litteratur
Verk av E.T.A. Hoffmann
Katter i kulturen

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
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import getList from './data';

export {
    DataTable,
    getList
};


Today's truth check: Green building is good for Ohio!
This morning, USGBC joined expert witnesses from across Ohio's diverse green building industry to tell state legislators that LEED works for Ohio. A handful of DC industry lobbyists flew in for the second time, today, to say that it is not.


Niagara's Clos Jordanne has just released its 2007 Pinots and Chardonnays ($25-70) and they are as impressive as the previous releases from this organic winery. I think that the Chardonnays will need a year to lose their youthful sweetness and the single vineyard Pinot will certainly be more together with time. However, there's one Pinot that's ready to go and it's the Village-Reserve, which happens to be the least expensive – and has always been one of my favourites from this winery.
I like it for its vitality, its rustic country feeling and honesty. Sure the high-priced single vineyard wines may be prettier and more gifted, but the Village-Reserve is more down-to-earth and a more engaging drink and food partner. It will keep you at the table and suggest a second bottle. The original purpose of wine.
Winery manager Thomas Bachedler has done an amazing job with Le Clos and just in case you missed my earlier blog, the good news is the wines are now sold at Wine Rack stores.
P.S. Le Clos Jordanne is one of the few premium Niagara wines marketed internationally (other than Icewine). Too bad the label is so conservatively nice! How Canadian eh.
I saw Clos Pinot and thought I had to send a cease and desist.
Nice notes–I'll look for these tasty offerings.


Fasson Fibers Look captured the right balance of artisan craft and premium-brand elegance.
A non-woven, uncoated paper with felt marks and visible fibers, Fibers Look offers a rougher-hewn counterweight to the monocle-wearing dandy in the label's illustration. Its craftier look belies its water resistance, which ensures that the label holds up behind the bar or in a home liquor cabinet. Rendered simply in sepia and white, with the appearance of an antique etching, GinTellMan's label bulls-eyed the sweet spot for its target audience: middle-aged men balancing quality and price.


Question 1: Do you, in relative terms, think that there has been a shift towards Paganism over the past years, as it appears that more and more people are turning to the Pagan Community for whatever their reasons?
I don't really know – I haven't come across any 'hard facts' about this, although my sense is that this is so. But there is hard evidence of a big shift from the established religions to the category known as SBNR – Spiritual But Not Religious. About a fifth of people in the UK now fit into this category, according to Prof Michael King from University College London. In the USA, In a 2012 survey, 7 percent of all Americans, a bigger group than the atheists, and way bigger than Jews, Muslims or Episcopalians identified as SBNR. And this is good, I feel. We don't need to get too identified with labels, so I think broader, vaguer terms like 'spiritual' or 'nature-based spirituality' are sufficient.
Question 2: You have been a Druid for many years now, and still as passionate about bringing Druidry to as many people as possible. What keeps you motivated?
What keeps me motivated is seeing the effect Druidry has on peoples' lives. I get to read the reviews that students who are taking the OBOD course send in at the end of all their studies – through the Bardic, Ovate and Druid grades – and I am constantly amazed at the stories I read of transformation, healing, and inspiration.
I think a spiritual path needs to offer at least six very practical, tangible benefits: it needs to help us find equanimity, calm, in a world that is often stressful and challenging to say the least; it needs to give us hope, to inspire us, so that however much despair we might fall into with our own failings or the failings we see in the world and people around us, we can still find joy and feel that life is worth living; it needs to offer us a sense of community, so that we don't feel isolated and alone. We are social, even tribal animals, but modern society has tended to foster alienation, so that loneliness is now a huge problem. A spiritual path brings people together, fosters celebration, relationship and community, and in doing so enhances people's physical and mental health, as studies have shown. It needs to give us a way of finding meaning in life, too. That doesn't mean that everything has to be explained in a fundamentalist, dogmatic way, but a spiritual path needs to offer a way of looking at the world that renders our lives meaningful rather than meaningless. This meaning can be conveyed rationally through philosophical, ethical and theological ideas, but it also needs to be conveyed 'transrationally' through story, myth and ritual.
In addition to these 4 functions of a spirituality – providing ways of finding equanimity, hope, community and meaning – I think to be truly fulfilling a path also needs to help us find ourselves and lose ourselves. By that, I mean it should help us feel more whole, more 'the person I really am deep down' – so more authentic, more true to 'thine own self', more self-aware. But – and this is crucial, otherwise we fall into the trap of narcissism, focusing only on our own development – it needs to help us forget ourselves – to get off our story line, having fully owned it – and be concerned about the rest of the world and other people. That is why 'service' or 'charity', or in Eastern terms 'seva', is a vital component of a spiritual path.
I'm sure one could tease out what is needed of a spirituality even more, but perhaps here I should end with just one last function I think it needs to offer: a means of engendering altered states of consciousness, mystical states or experiences of transcendence or Oneness, whether that is through ritual, meditation, singing or chanting, going on pilgrimage, reading sacred texts – whatever it is, the path needs to offer ways that help us step out of our everyday awareness to enter states of communion, bliss, or simply deep calm and a sense of peace.
Have there been times when you have worried that Druidry as we know it, has /is going in the direction you envisaged it?
Question 3: Do you think that Druidism should become part of the main stream spiritualities and if so why?
I don't think we need to worry about being 'accepted' or 'mainstream'. Those categories are changing all the time, and slowly what was once considered 'nuts' by the mainstream is becoming accepted. Meditation was considered quite odd until it was popularized in the West by people like the Maharishi in the 1960s and now it's totally mainstream – with Mindfulness being recommended by the NHS, for example.
But really the whole question of whether something is 'mainstream' is perhaps a red herring. Much of what is considered 'normal' is completely aberrant and toxic, while much that might be considered 'weird' is life-affirming – think of the food industry, the farming industry, the military-industrial complex, 'Big Pharma', the list of what in the 'mainstream' is harmful is endless. So I don't worry about being considered weird or eccentric – I am proud of the long tradition that Druidry has of colourful eccentric characters who have challenged the status quo, such as the Druid William Price who broke the law in the 19th century to cremate his son, and whose right was upheld in court thus making cremation legal in Britain.
Question 4: Do you think that enough is being done regarding Fracking, as in raising ever more awareness of what it would do to the land sea and sky if it happened here in the UK, considering what has happened in places where they have and are fracking in other parts of the world?
There's a fantastic group – The Warrior's Call – driven by a core group of Pagans and Druids – which does a great job in that respect. Have a look at their site if you don't know about them.
In addition to that, many Druids have been working to oppose fracking in their own ways up and down the country. So yes, I think enough is being done. I am optimistic (but not I hope complacent – we still have to be vigilant) that fracking will not happen in the UK, not least because the economics behind it don't stack up.
Question 5: What are your views, if any at the moment, regarding the proposed Stonehenge Tunnel, especially taking into consideration the recent archaeological finds, such as Blick Mead and Marden Henge? Do you think that a tunnel is necessary, either the long bore or short bore, when any disturbance could potentially ruin any further archaeological artefacts not yet discovered. What, if anything, would be your solution?
I like the idea of the southern by-pass route, which I understand is now being considered, which would involve no tunnel at all and would divert the A303 well away from the Stones. I think the more we can see and experience the whole area as a sacred landscape with the minimum of interference the better.
Question 6: What would your advice be to anyone that felt they were called to walk a Druid path, and could they walk it along side another spirituality if they had one, eg, Druidism with Catholicism/CofE etc etc?
If you feel called to walk the Druid path that's wonderful! You can always walk a little way and then change direction if you want. With Druidry you can follow the path alone, making your way with the guidance and inspiration of books, the internet and the Spirit of Druidry speaking to you through the world of Nature and through Awen, or you can follow one of the distance-learning programmes in Druidry that now exist – there are at least three as far as I know: OBOD, BDO, and NOD. If you don't want to follow it alone, there is a wonderful community out there, with online forums and gatherings. OBOD alone has over 150 groups that meet regularly around the world.
And we have a whole section on the OBOD site about combining Druidry with other paths.
Question 7: You are obviously a very well educated man, a quiet man, going about his business in a manner that is confident, yet subtle, you are very well respected in the Pagan Community and your views/opinions are valued. According to some of our members, you and OBOD are the respectable face of Druidry, saying that you are a person that is always willing to listen to reason and discussion, without dismissing people and ideas out of hand. Our members see you as a humble man, is this the way you see yourself?
Thank you for saying those things, even though you finish with a trick question! If I say "Yes, I see myself as humble," that doesn't sound very humble! For me it's not so much about being humble or not, but about taking a position which values the principle of Uncertainty. We all want so much to be certain about things, but every judgement we make is based upon partial information, and so it seems crazy to me to be insistent that one must be right. I'm always open to changing my mind, revising my opinions or beliefs if new information arrives. Openness brings humility perhaps, because the opposite of humility is a kind of arrogant pride, and there is often an awful arrogance amongst those who refuse to change their minds, who are convinced they are right, that they know the Truth!
Question 8: Where you think, Druidry/Paganism will be in the next 5 years in as much as, do you think the modern Pagan Community will continue to grow and will the general public be more understanding of these spiritualities than they are now?
I think an acceptance will slowly grow, and even today there is much more than there was a few years back. I've just come from an exhibition that OBOD loaned some artefacts to, on Wicca and Modern Paganism at Preston Manor in Brighton, and there it was in the middle of a very mainstream museum. I think we'll see more and more of this kind of thing.
Question 9: It is interesting that you don't use any "official" title when referring to yourself regarding Druidry, why is that?
Well, my official title of 'Chief' or 'Chosen Chief' can feel alienating I think. Some people tell me they like it, they like its tribal resonances. But in psychology you talk about the Top Dog and Underdog positions that people can adopt and a title like that suggests a Top Dog position which can immediately push people's buttons into either feeling an Underdog or in feeling reactive and wanting to fight to be Top Dog.
The problem is, though, that any group needs a leader – someone who takes responsibility for steering the ship, however light a touch they have on the tiller, and what do you call them? I try to simply not mention my title when I don't need to, or say something like 'I help to lead the Order' or 'I lead the Order'. Sometimes 'Head' of the Order sounds less over-bearing than 'Chief'.
Question 10: What are your views regarding the reburying of the bones at Stonehenge?
I don't have strong feelings about this issue. Perhaps it is because I am a Naturist and wrote A Brief History of Nakedness, the whole business of feeling private or coy about the body in whatever state it is – naked or simply in skeletal form, doesn't mean much to me. I accept that other people feel shy, ashamed, or embarrassed about being seen, or simply feel privacy around being seen is important to them, but because I don't have such feelings it is hard for me to get exercised about this issue. At another level, I believe our core identity is the soul, and that when we die our physical remains are the equivalent of an old overcoat that we have sloughed off, so when people are looking at bones, they are just looking at the husk, part of the clothing that has been left behind, and they are not therefore violating the identity of that person.
Question 11: What do you do to relax when you get a rare day off?
I like to swim and enjoy the garden and I love hiking in the country. I'm off to Cornwall in a few weeks to spend four days hiking.


Employment – Over the next year the charity will help find over 1,500 jobs and opportunities for young people in London.
Cake Bake - volunteers can bake and sell their delicious creations.
Auction of promises - in your work place a prospective volunteer can offer their time and service to complete odd jobs for money be it making tea for a week or cleaning everyone's shoes! Have fun with it.
Lunch club competition - participants compete over a week to bring in lunch for their colleagues. Lunch is sold to raise money with people scoring the meal out of 10 each day and the winner being announced at the end of the week.
Quiz night - One evening after work.
Baby picture competition - Participants brings in a photo of themselves as a baby and everyone pays to enter and play along. The winner is the person who guesses the most images correctly.
Exercise bike in the office - Work off those cakes in this fat to fit challenge and raise money!
Waxing for Money - Men are sponsored to wax their hairy legs and chests. A fun one for the ladies to watch.
Karaoke - Participants pay to nominate a colleague to sing, however the catch is if they don't want to they need to donate a higher amount!
We all need to work towards eliminating poverty in today's society and give our children a successful and prosperous future in the 'greatest city on Earth.' – Boris Johnson, Mayor of London.


I'm very excited to be back doing theoretical physics, in particular, Crypto-Stochastic Space-time theory.
The Fiction page lists my published stories. There are also, where available, reproductions of the covers of the magazines in which the stories appeared.
BUY MY E-BOOKS goes to a page showing all my works available on Kindle and Nook.
Darkzoo is an on-line novel (or perhaps, novels). It is multi-viewpoint and multi-tracked. Each of the tracks is a separate story. One can click to switch between tracks. It was something of an experiment. I'd very much appreciate hearing impressions of it from readers.
In one of those, 'it seemed to be a good idea at the time' flashes, I decided to make a computer programme to translate genomes directly to 'music'. I used the fruit fly genome. I took the output from the programme and ran it through a synthesizer (another of my programmes). I was so impressed with the music, that I wrote a science fiction story about it (it was published in Analog). The Fruit Fly Genome Music page has the story, an MP3 of 'The Little March of the Fruit Flies', and a description of the translation process. These items also were featured on the Analog website.
Ever since I first saw the famous 'blivit' (3-pronged tuning fork illusion), I was fascinated with these unrealizable drawings. The Ambiguous Figures page shows some of the figures that I have created.
Years ago, we had a space festival here in Ithaca. We started the Mars Government in Exile, created a flag for Mars, and wrote the Martian National Anthem. It was a very popular song among kids in our city for a while. On request, we even gave the words and music to the astronaut who visited Ithaca for our festival.
I'm a physicist and it seems only natural that I have a page dedicated to physics.
I'm also a writer and it seems equally natural that I have a bio page.
There are also pages with contact information, random photographs, and favorite links.
There's also a blog-like description of progress on my Kral music re-creation system, and finally, another novel.


1. Introduce potential members to your organization.
2. Share resources with co-hosting groups (such as promotional items, mailing lists and audience reach, supplies, inventory, giveaways).
3. Boost attendance at the event.
4. Save money and increase budget allowances.
5. Connect with new people and expand your network on campus.
6. Increase student engagement through collaboration and delegation of tasks.
7. Manage workflow: Assign tasks online, share and edit files, chat with your team of officers and event organizers on CampusGroups mobile app.
Interested in learning more about Groupment for educational communities? Please do not hesitate to contact us or set up a demo!


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Analising Current Regulatory Framework For Smart Contracts
Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash
We've seen a growing trend in the adoption of digital-based contracts in the past decade. Globalization and now – the COVID-19 pandemic – created new barriers to doing business but also presented new opportunities for the increased adoption of blockchain technology. And more specifically – smart contracts.
The main driver behind the adoption of smart contracts lies in the technology that defines them. Through smart contracts, participants on a distributed ledger can enter in agreements, record, and perform the obligations of a legally binding contract. This capacity of smart contracts, sometimes referred to as smart legal, gives them universal utility and applicability across businesses, industries, and markets on a global scale.
With smart contracts, all of the terms are recorded in or performed by a computer program deployed on a distributed ledger. By taking out the human element, they achieve greater efficiency, trust, and certainty in business. We also see increased transparency as well due to the immutable nature of the blockchain on which smart contracts are written. Contracting parties, therefore, don't need to trust each other as the trust resides in the code of the smart contracts.
While the use of computer programs to automate the performance of contractual obligations is not a novel practice, the regulatory framework for smart contracts and blockchains is still a work in progress.
In England and Wales, there are certain requirements for a smart contract to be considered legally binding (and therefore legally enforceable) under the law.
The first requirement for the formation of a legally binding contract is an agreement, comprising an offer to be bound on specified terms, and an acceptance of those terms. In keeping with the nature of blockchain technology, which allows for anonymity, there is no requirement under the law of England and Wales for contracting parties to know each other's real identities. Smart contracts can therefore be established between any two parties who wish to enter into an agreement.
However, this agreement must be "certain and complete" to constitute a contract. The type of smart contract: Natural language contract with automated performance, Hybrid contract, or Solely code contract can have an impact upon when and how it is formed, how it is interpreted and the remedies available to the parties if things go wrong.
If the terms of a smart contract are set out in a natural language document, then the smart contract would satisfy an "in writing" requirement. Where the terms of a smart contract are recorded in a natural language document, the smart contract could be signed in the ordinary way. Where a smart contract consists solely of code, the parties could sign the contract electronically, for example by using a digital signature to authenticate a piece of code deployed on a DLT system.
While there is considerable clarity in the agreement and expectations pertaining to the outcome from it set within the smart contract, the execution is a different story. The principles of contractual interpretation could be applied if a court was asked to interpret a smart contract but the court may face practical difficulties in rectifying coded terms.
Because smart contracts are backed by incredibly complex technology and courts still don't have in-house blockchain specialists, it is difficult to determine what can render a smart contract void. In the smart contract context, there is a risk that events beyond the parties' control may affect the execution of the code. The same applies for parties that enter into smart contracts without knowing the real identity of their counterparty. This poses obvious challenges for determining the applicable jurisdiction regime and regulatory framework for smart contracts.
Smart contracts can thus pose certain unique legal challenges when seeking to reinforce them or to mediate a case of not meeting the terms agreed upon. To resolve such jurisdictional difficulties, we will need to see the legal and regulatory framework for smart contracts created in collaboration with specialists to achieve the necessary level of understanding of the new phenomenon.
Regulatory Framework For Smart Contracts and the Allocation of Liability
Allocation of liability.
Many types of deficiencies or mistakes may arise when negotiating, concluding or performing a smart contract. Some of these issues are common to all types of contract, some are additional.
The following examples of deficiencies or mistakes could involve both smart contract and traditional contracts:
misunderstandings of the parties relate to the purpose, content, features of goods;
mistakes relating to the party's authority/capacity to approve a transaction;
the contract may violate mandatory legal requirements;
problems may arise when things don't go as planned and parties have not made provision for dealing with the unexpected.
As said, smart contract may present additional issues:
the smart contract software could contain coding errors. The error may cause the program to stop or it may cause a cascade of ever more disastrously wrong trades if the program in question is linked to multiple transactions;
smart contract software could contain a bug in the code. Furthermore, smart contract developers need to be aware of the contract's interaction patterns to mitigate potential losses due to malicious behaviors such as frauds and attacks;
smart contract may need to access external data through oracles which are off-chain sources of digital information that translate outside events into smart contract readable data. Although oracles open up numerous possibilities, those data sources may be out-of-date, unavailable, or incorrect; may also reduce security by offering a point of entry;
a smart contract can interact with other contracts (e.g., transferring funds to the contract). The interaction of smart contracts can result in an increased number of interconnected contracts over time. Therefore, how to predict the contract behaviors could become challenging.
Parties are called to evaluate the amount of risk they can bear if one of the above points of failure occur, because traditional protections like representations, covenants, and indemnity may be difficult to code into the smart contract.
It will also be necessary to take into account the technological chain/framework within which one operates to determine the allocation of liability.
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Blockchain, Legal, Smart Contracts, Uncategorized
traktiAnalising Current Regulatory Framework For Smart Contracts 04.12.2021
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Q: The target origin provided does not match the recipient window's origin I am getting below error in console when I try to open a Visualforce Page.

AuraAlohaFrameNavigator.js:5Failed to execute 'postMessage' on 'DOMWindow':   The target origin provided ('https://ap2.lightning.force.com') does not match the recipient window's origin ('https://c.ap2.visual.force.com').

Below is my code on VF page
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Works fine if I remove target="__blank". But page opens in same tab and in classic view. I want the same to open in new tab and in lightning similar to how it behaves in classic.


The architect will work with you to develop a design that meets your needs. From that design, he or she will develop construction documents (plans and specifications) that define the requirements of the construction project, so you know what to expect from the finished house. These are the materials that the contractors will use to bid the work and to obtain building permits.
The architect can also visit the site during construction to help you assess whether the contractors are providing what was expected, and when it is appropriate to make scheduled payments.
Don't architects only design big, expensive, and unusual houses for the rich and famous?
Some do, and those are the ones that get published in magazines because they're more interesting to read about and photograph. But many of us work with average people on fairly normal houses, bringing our expertise in design and construction to the task of making your house work better for you.
As you will see on our Past Projects page, most of our residential projects have been for fairly average size houses and use conventional design approaches and construction techniques. Among other factors, insurance companies are not interested in cutting edge architecture for their projects, especially if it costs more! While we would love to do projects with large budgets for owners who want something truly unique, we also welcome projects where we can contribute our expertise to make a modest addition or new house work well. We want to give you the house you need, not the one that looks most spectacular in our portfolio.
What does it cost to work with an architect?
High quality architectural services are not inexpensive. Architects are highly trained professionals, as are the structural and other consultants we may work with on your project, and custom design and construction detailing is a time-consuming process (stock plans, by comparison, recoup these costs by selling the plans hundreds of times).
For standard design and construction documentation services on a new house, you should expect that an architect's fee would be at least 6-8% of the cost of construction; the proportion could increase for projects with greater complexity, or for renovation projects where there are extensive existing conditions to document and work around. Services during construction would typically add another 1-2% of the cost of construction.
We will develop a specific proposal for you based on our understanding of the project after the initial meeting; the proposal will document the costs for our services. See WHAT TO EXPECT FOR YOUR ACCESSIBLE HOME PROJECT for more on this process.
The municipal building inspector will be inspecting the house during construction. Why would I still need an architect involved?
The inspector is looking at the work to determine if it meets minimum code requirements, and nothing else. Since accessibility is not a code issue for single family residences, they would not be evaluating whether the construction actually incorporates those features; similarly, they would not be inspecting to determine whether you were getting the quality of finishes or fixtures that you had selected. Without an architect's involvement, you would need to review those items yourself.
A contractor is suggesting that they can do the design and permit drawings (a design-build approach). Do I need an architect?
The architect may have specialized expertise that you need, such as in accessible design.
With an architect's detailed drawings, you can get competitive bids from multiple contractors. The design-build contractor may not allow you to use their drawings that way, and even if they do the drawings may not be detailed enough to make the bids comparable.
The architect gives you an independent advisor, whose advice is unaffected by potential profits on certain materials and construction methods.
One advantage of the design-build approach is the potential to include the cost of design into a construction loan instead of paying for it out-of-pocket. We would be happy to work with you and your bank to determine if this can be done for our services.
I have a stock plan (such as from a magazine or plan book) that I like. Can you modify it?
Designs are copyrighted by the designer, so we would have to investigate what would be involved in obtaining permission to use the design. Although there may be some costs involved, it would still usually be less expensive than a custom design.
I want to build a home in another state (other than Michigan). Can you provide architectural services in other locations?
We are happy to work anywhere, although we would have to check the laws of your state to determine the best process. If a licensed architect is required for your project, we can usually get reciprocal licensure fairly quickly.
Will you guarantee construction costs?
Only a contractor working from detailed materials take-offs based on final plans can guarantee costs, and even then only for work that can reasonably be expected (i.e. not including hidden conditions, such as inside existing walls, or below the surface of the ground). If you give us a desired budget, we will do our best to design to it, and we can provide cost estimates through the design process to help you determine your financing needs.
I want to include "green" (environmentally friendly) features in my home. Can you do that?
We would be happy to do that, and seek to incorporate it wherever we can. We have done several projects that included significant aspects of green design. Many methods of green design will save you money in lower energy payments, and give you a quieter, higher-quality home. These same qualities should also help your home maintain and enhance its resale value in the future.
I am interested in modular construction. Do you know anything about it?
Modular construction can save both costs and construction time, and the end result can be indistinguishable from a site-built home in both appearance and quality. We have some experience in it, and there are modular building companies willing to work from a custom plan and willing to incorporate accessible design features. However, your design flexibility will be more limited, and the more custom it is the less likely you will realize savings. Contact us to discuss if your project is right for modular construction.
I want to do a commercial construction project. Do you have experience in commercial design?
We have extensive experience on many types of commercial, industrial, institutional, and multi-family housing projects, through our parent firm, Cornerstone Design Inc. Please check out our website at www.cdiarchitects.com.
How did you get interested in accessible design? Do you have personal experience with disability?
I (MAH manager David Esau) have always been interested in the social aspects of architecture: how it affects, and can help improve, people's lives; accessible design is one of the major areas where such improvements are possible. I moved to Ann Arbor, MI about the time the Americans with Disabilities Act took effect, and connected with the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living to help them work to implement the law in Michigan; I have worked in the field ever since. Although I do not have a disability, I did have a grandfather who was blind most of his life, and of course have met and made friends with many people with various disabilities through my work in the field.


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Patronyme
 Anna Clyne (1980) est une compositrice britannique.
 Alan Clyne (1986-) est un joueur de squash écossais.
 Nathaniel Clyne (1991- ) est un footballeur anglais.
 Nicki Clyne (1983- ) est une actrice canadienne.

Homonymie de patronyme


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Home » News » News Archive - 2011-01 (January 2011)
2011-01-30 Arab Totalitarians want Tech for National Security Emergencies
Submitted by Alexa O'Brien on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 07:42
Information technology as development has been central to Egyptian economic policy since 1999, when Mubarak appointed Ahmed Nazif, the recently resigned Prime Minister, to a newly created post, Minister for Communications and Information Technology.
As the former Minister of CIT, Nazif established Egypt's free internet connectivity plan and improved public access to computers (Source: Wikipedia). But, as Prime Minister, Nazif extended the application of Egypt's thirty-year old state of emergency law. The Overseas Press Club of America observes that notwithstanding remarks made by the regime that the law is "only to be invoked during proclamations of emergency," the fact is "authorities continue to use the emergency law to detain dissidents, including journalists and respected bloggers."
Dr. Tarek Kamel was elevated to his current post as Egypt's Minister of CIT when Nazif, his former boss was appointed PM. Nazif in turn picked Kamel to replace him. (Source:Khaled Fatta)
Kamel, like Nazif believes that social and economic channels exists primarily to reinforce regime power. As a techno-bureaucrat, Kamel lobbies the Internet as the "backbone of social-economic development," but only when it pacifies public dissent and 'backbones' the regime. When public dissent threatens the status quo, the Internet gets turned off.
Since 2004, Kamel (also Chairman of the Board of Egypt's National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority) - has acted as Chairman of the Executive Bureau of the Arab Telecommunications and Information Council of Ministers, a specialized ministerial council under the Arab League. Egypt is also currently vice president of the Council.
Yemen News Agency reports that the Arab Telecom and Info Council was due to meet in Beirut this Wednesday - the same day that Egypt left the Internet - in what Renesys described as a sequence of Egypt's Internet service providers - Link Egypt, Vodafone/Raya, Telecom Egypt, Etisalat Misr - "getting phone calls, one at a time, telling them to take themselves off the air."
The Ministers' Beirut meeting was scheduled to occur in parallel to the Arab Telecom & Internet Forum 2011. According to the event Web site, the forum was cancelled "[d]ue to the unfortunate incidents that Lebanon is witnessing" - referring to violent protest against Hezbollah's nomination of a candidate for the post of prime minister.
Hosted by inter-governmental organizations, sponsored by multi-national telecom and defense firms, and "in the presence" of government ministries, the focus of this year was to be "the importance of the role of IT during emergencies and crises." (Source: Al-Iktissad PR)
Thuraya Telecom Co, a satellite telecom firm, had scheduled a dedicated session on the role of information and communication technology (ICT) solutions in managing national security. (Source: Maritime Executive)
Thuraya satellites cover 140 countries and can reach remote land and sea areas unreachable by terrestrial networks. They provides 'NettedComms' or secured autonomous networks for government segments - that is, "satellite-based 'solutions' that integrate different telecom technologies into a single closed user group, enabling users with different telecom devices to communicate effectively during security and disaster recover activities."
The overlap between high tech and defense is driven by myriad forces: the economics of the global marketplace; the instinct for self-preservation and for power by business, bureaucrat, and tyrant alike; and even by the social instincts and amusements of consumers.
Dr. Amr Badawi, Executive President of Egypt's National Telecommunication Regulator Authority spent nine years at GTE & General Dynamics before he became a Senior Advisor to the Minister of Communications and Information Technology. He represents a common transfer of human and intellectual capital across sectors. In a like matter to, military surveillance, targeting, and weapons systems, use technology developed primarily for motion pictures and entertainment software - or the consumer electronics market.
The U.S. government employs Panavision's 300x compound zoom lens for military surveillance. According to an interview that I conducted with the senior vice president of worldwide sales at Panavision in 2006, federal contracts with the U.S. State Department are the fastest growing segment of Panavision's business.
More provocative is how Hollywood and video games drive the development of high-speed, high-resolution digital image capture, management, transmission, and display that have implications for fields where these advanced technological applications would be economically unviable to develop on their own.
Entertainment software has led to faster introduction and deployment of processors, broadband networks, and high definition disks like HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. But, "IBM places value on chips made for entertainment software that goes beyond revenue and profits," says Dr. John Kelly, senior vice president and group executive for IBM Technology Group: "These chips help drive technology in other areas."
The Mercury Computer's CELL based blade server, for example, can handle the requirements of sonar and radar computation for military or scientific applications, because of its ability to process real time data streams. "The Cell BE processor was originally designed for the volume home entertainment market," says Craig Lund, chief technology officer of Mercury Computer Systems, "but its architecture of nine heterogeneous on-chip cores is well-suited to the type of distributed, real-time processing that will power tomorrow's digital battlefield."
The U.S. military hegemony is based on the ability of the U.S. Navy to dominate the world's oceans - due partially to the superior numbers and technology of U.S. naval vessels, which are augmented significantly by U.S. dominance in space-based reconnaissance technology, and made possible by entertainment software consumers and movie goers world-wide.
Neither technology, nor the instincts towards self-preservation, power, or social amusement are good or evil in themselves. They arise naturally in every man and nation. The causes of faction cannot be removed, writes Madison in Federalist 10. The only relief "sought is in the means of controlling its effects." The Federalist authors control effect through structuring institutions that are capable of decentralizing the concentration of power in the hands of dominant factions or interests.
The organs of communication and concealment are the organs of power. Their capacity is a means to power. Technological authoritarianism, the centralized control of digital organs of free association and expression, is a recipe for tyranny. The Egyptian model is a dangerous because the regime has centralized power over the vital organs and spheres of society. The precedent set Thursday is made nightmarish by the compliance of the Egyptian ISPs: Telecom Egypt, Raya, Link Egypt, Etisalat Misr, and Internet Egypt . But, the development is not surprising. Its institutional model relies on enlightened statesmanship. And, as history demonstrates, enlightened statesmen are not always at the helm.
‹ 2011-01-30 Al Jazeera no longer welcome in Egypt up 2011-01-30 Egyptian government orders Al Jazeera shutdown ›