Note: It takes an abundance of bravery to share our most painful experiences. My many thanks to Laura who chooses to open her heart to the world and be a voice of honesty and inspiration. She reminds us that no matter how cold and dire our metaphoric Winter may be, it is by no means forever. Seasons will shift, the days will warm; the sun will linger longer. And suddenly we find ourselves surrounded by the palette of Spring: the renewal of hope. The renewal of life.
It was a clear day without a rustle in the sky when the beautiful goddess Persephone went outside. She noticed a precious flower, and since she was so beguiled by its soft dewy petals, she decided to pluck it from the ground. As she went to grasp its green stem, a crack in the earth appeared and out came Hades, the god of the underworld.
She feels the rapid horse hoof beats of her heart as she goes to scream out for help, but before any noise could escape from her lips, he covers her mouth and seizes her. She bites his hand in an attempt to wrestle a scream free, but he is strong, and pushes her down into the crack to meet her new home in the Underworld.
Demeter, the harvest goddess, looked for her daughter, happy to tell her some story she had heard while she had been tending to the grain crops. To her surprise, her daughter was gone. What had happened to her precious daughter? Only two people were privy to this information: Zeus, Persephone's father, and Helios, the god of the sun who saw all on the ground during daylight hours.
Clearly not the nicest dad in the world, Zeus had given Hades, who was his brother, permission to take Persephone for his wife. He left Demeter in the dark, and went about his business while she ravaged the earth, and questioned everyone in her path. Who knew where her daughter was? Who might have seen her last? No one was to be trusted. Her instinct told her to trust no one. As she made her journey, Demeter stopped growing grain, and the world sunk into a vicious famine.
I am alone at home, playing with my daughter. It is my favorite time of year—fall, yet I am consumed with grief. Despite being a social butterfly, I avoid people and social media. What could I really post on Facebook or Twitter that would be acceptable to write? I read statuses of happy families and people, and I boil. No one wants to be honest, and I can't share my pain in such a public forum right now. I would be too honest.
This past summer, I conceived a child yet due to extreme illness and stress, I lost the pregnancy. This would have been my second child, and my due date was in March, just two days before my daughter's birthday—right before the start of spring.
I imagined the child's name and face. Where he or she might sit at our dinner table. If he or she would look like our daughter, or maybe more like myself. I wondered how our family dynamics would change. I wondered how I would handle two kids, and how much they would love (and sometimes, hate) each other.
The pregnancy was slow hell; I had hyperemesis gravidarum, and lay in bed attached to an IV pole around the clock, while fluids and medications ran through my PICC line.
I request that her babysitter bring her up to sit on the bed with me since I wasn't well enough to pick her up and put her down. At this point, I was malnourished and about to be put on TPN—total parenteral nutrition, since I couldn't keep enough food in to sustain me. I had gone through this with my daughter, yet despite what the doctors told me, the second time around was no better, and actually quite a deal worse. After being a mostly stay-at home mom who took constant care of my child, all I could do was talk to her as she sat beside me, or read her a book during one of my good moments. I wasn't even able to change her diaper. I was just curled up in a comma shape, day after day, while I literally and metaphorically disappeared from my daughter's life.
My daughter always cried when she was away from me. She would call for me, and I would listen as someone else met her needs. She started to cry less and form a bond with her sitter. I knew it was better for her to not be distressed, yet I felt as if she were parting from me…forgetting the bond I had strove very hard to make and maintain. No more mommy, now I was an invalid. I watched television reruns, and attempted to sleep. I puked and puked, while waiting for the next day to come quickly. I rarely left my bed. I called or texted people when I felt well enough as I was desperate for others to help us. It was humbling in the worst way. Have you ever asked people to vacuum your floors or help do laundry and you weren't paying them?
A few months later, all I could conjure up is pain and embarrassment for needing so much help…and struggling to get it, minus a few good friends and our babysitter. Family members were either unable to help, or didn't offer; some even made the most ridiculous excuses to avoid really helping us. This didn't make life any easier for my little family. The emotional stress underlying the physical discomfort made every day feel like I was ready to snap, and my husband was on the edge. I barely recognized who he was underneath his anger and stress.
I don't talk to people often, because I know that the question "What happened?" or "Will you have another child?" is in their minds. Some days, I think the same things.
When I tell people, it's the sad face I hate most. That pitying look that life has dealt this woman, me, such a blow. How I will never feel complete with only one child (them). How I wonder if they are right, and that maybe, I will grieve for the rest of my life (me).
I feel uncomfortable when I see a pregnant woman, and find myself saying extra nice things to her that way my real feelings of envy won't come out. While I watch siblings play at the park, I wonder if my child will be okay on her own.
The biggest question that I find myself facing repeatedly is how will I tell my daughter that pregnancy is not friendly to my body? That as much as I want her to have a sibling, my body does not respond to pregnancy well, and that sadly, she may suffer the same fate.
All this time I thought I would be caring for two wee ones under two, and that some of my life goals would be pushed aside. Now that the baby won't be here, I don't know what to do with myself. I feel like I can't move forward. I am a flawed woman. My fertility, while plentiful, is punishing.
Demeter's depression over the loss of her daughter puts her in a horrific place. She fights with Poseidon, her third brother, who rapes her. Demeter's days jumble into one another. She imagines her daughter, but finds it harder to picture her face and remember the sound of her voice as the days went on.
While Demeter searches for her girl, Zeus is dealing with the famine. Things are not going well for his people, and he realizes that he can't allow this to go on. He had thought that Demeter might have gave up, but she has proven a rather worthy opponent, so he will just have to make Hades listen to him before the world of the living is full of the dead. He permits Persephone to come back to her mother.
I start to feel as if I have to do something. I'm not sure with how my husband is truly coping with everything, and all of my attempts to move myself forward feel thwarted. I thought finding a full-time job would provide much-needed financial relief and mental stimulation now that I knew my time at home would be disrupted without the arrival of child number two. Imagine my distress to see that even with pounding the metaphorical pavement, the job economy is still bleak beyond my already low expectations. I make an effort to push myself physically at the gym so I will feel good physically again. The pregnancy has worn at my body and ate away at my muscles. I might be skinny, but I am not as strong as I once was. I hope that as my strength grows, so will my sanity, but it doesn't feel like enough. I need something to nourish, something inside of me to nurture that isn't a baby, but a part of me that will allow me to feel happiness again in the middle of my emotional famine.
Persephone, a smart cookie, has done her best to fast while down in the underworld with her new beau. If she eats something from the underworld, she will be unable to return to the land of the living. Hades, feeling kind for some reason or the other—maybe he was trying to stay on Zeus' good side?—decides to let her go back to her mother…but not without offering her a pomegranate first. Nope, he wasn't about to let this one go easily. Her hunger has to be chipping away at her sanity, and so he figures offering her something now while she's feeling elated about her return home is a smart move. She will eat it in her happy delirium.
Persephone, drunk on the knowledge that she will see her world, mother, and home again, trips up exactly like Hades though. Giddy with excitement, she slips up and eats some pomegranate seeds. Those little seeds guarantee that at some point or the other, Miss Persephone will come back to the underworld.
For myself, I grieve a child I will never get to see. I mourn the juxtaposition between how fertility works for me, and how I imagine it is for many women. It questions my womanhood. This calls in to account my own feelings of inferiority. The reality that how I envision family to be is not the reality I am most likely going to know for multiple reasons mostly outside of my control. Demeter was unable to bring Persephone back as Zeus held the reins in this particular situation; it was out of her own control to retrieve Persephone, but she did what she could in order to increase her chances. Putting the world in a famine seemed a pretty good way to shake Zeus into submission.
Despite those seeds, Persephone is able to return to the living, and the earth flourishes again under Demeter's care for two-thirds of the year. This return is what we call spring; she stays with her mother until the Underworld and Hades beckons her back for that one-third of the year, when winter blankets the earth.
I have been dwelling under that one-third of the year, and now it is time for me to find a way to bring Persephone, my own spring, back from the underworld. I start seeing friends and visiting my former place of residence, New York, to start making a connection to people and places that matter to me or I find interesting. I make a point to really reflect on what I want, and feel that returning to my former profession in the entertainment industry would make me happy, albeit in a slightly different capacity. Instead of avoiding the big five-hundred page manuscript that I have labored so heavily on, I go back to work on my memoir, and began actively seeking more writing work and projects. I push myself at the gym, and sign my daughter up for a new activity that we can do together. I'm not putting the world into shock or a large famine, but I am doing whatever I can in my control to steer my life in the direction it needs to go in, for the best.
I'm not sure yet if I have found Persephone. Some days I feel as if I am becoming closer to the person I want to be, and other times I wonder if I will ever feel like I have jumped this hurdle, and made my way to what I feel I deserve both emotionally and intellectually.
Like Demeter, I am looking for Persephone. I am turning every stone and corner until I find a fertile place from which to begin again. I will not give up until I find her. She has to exist.


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BlackBerry Torch Sales Either 'Steady' or 'Tepid,' Analysts Say
By Jennifer Valentino-DeVries
Aug. 16, 2010 5:33 pm ET
Initial sales of the BlackBerry Torch are either "healthy" or "underwhelming," depending on which Wall Street analyst is looking at the results from the smartphone.
Checks of AT&T stores throughout the U.S. showed no lines at stores on Thursday's opening day, wrote Citi analyst Jim Suva, who called initial sales "tepid." Goldman analysts said results were "underwhelming" and that most buyers appeared to be existing BlackBerry users. But Mike Abramsky at RBC Capital Markets said sales looked "healthy" and "steady," and Shaw Wu at Kaufman Bros. said sales were "going well."
BlackBerry maker Research and Motion declined to comment, and AT&T didn't immediately respond to requests.
BlackBerry watchers didn't expect demand to be like that seen at the launch of Apple's iPhone, but recent non-Apple devices, like the Droid X, which is made by Motorola and runs Google's Android, have sold out on opening weekend.
Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus and RBC both put opening-weekend sales of the Torch 9800 at about 150,000 phones. In comparison, Apple said it sold1.7 million iPhone 4s in its first three days, and Global Equities Research estimated 275,000 to 300,000 sales of Droid X at its launch in July. Estimates during the launch of the BlackBerry Storm in November 2008 ranged from 100,000 to 200,000, although shortages of the device resulted in long lines and sold-out stores.
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Great Mind Series
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No Amount of Hand-Washing Can Clean Ivanka Trump's Dirty Hands from Deep Corruption
Ilene Proctor
Listen my children and ye shall hear of a sordid and filthy tale of America's First Beauty and the Beastly Trumps.
Sitting on Daddy's lap through most of her childhood, Ivanka Trump obviously lapped up all the Trumpster's filthy money-laundering techniques and lifestyle. Have we all become so inured to the outright corruption of this White House that we simply accept the fact that all the Trumps and Kushners have merged their business interests with their jobs working for the president?
It's not just the first family either. The NRCC is just coming right out and dumping money directly into the Trump family pockets. One million here from the Saudis, two million there from the Russians, three million from the inauguration, four million from Mar-a-Lago and the Trump golf courses and hotels. Soon it adds up to real money.
CORRUPTION IS RELATIVE
In case you were wondering, the Trump Hotel is doing very, very well, what with them luring their lemming lobbyists and foreign dignitaries relentlessly to have them spend huge wads of cash there over the past two years.
Sons of the pitch master-baitor, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, known hunter gathers of Russian money launderers, are handling the business, with Trump himself looking over some quarterly reports .
It's survival of the shitmeister (deliberate pun) amongst us even as it turns out that Ivanka's brand, like her father's brand, stinks to high heaven. Obviously, even their China made MAGA slogan pertains to all others, because nothing can stop the Dirty Trumpsters from pulling in money wherever money is to be pulled in. Since shame is not in the Trump vocabulary, nor any semblance of moral consciousness, Ivanka's business history is nothing to be proud of. Recent investigations into the Trump real estate empire show that she had been involved in the company's most suspicious dealings with shady oligarchs and mobbed-up money launderers.
If Donald Trump is in the crosshairs of federal investigators for nefarious financial transactions with disreputable characters, his daughter will just as likely be caught in that same net. When the Japanese Prime Minister visited the Oval Office, Ivanka walked away with a dung-heap of new trademarks. Emoluments be dammed.
Photos: Ivanka Trump and Alexandre Ventura Nogueira at Trump Tower, New York in 2006, and Donald Trump with Nogueira at Mar-a-Lago in 2007.
Reuters and NBC reported on a particularly nasty deal in Panama called the Trump Ocean Club, which big Daddy Trump dubbed Ivanka's "baby." It was the Trump Organization's first international hotel venture in 2007, and Ivanka was the lead family member on the project, working closely with a shady Brazilian development broker named Alexandre Ventura Nogueira,
Because the Trumpster's like Other People's Money, they never seem to want to keep their hands clean because Other People's Money is soooo attractive…
Involved in Ivanka's "baby" was a money launderer from Colombia who is currently incarcerated in the U.S., a Ukrainian human trafficker, and a Russian investor who was jailed a few years earlier for kidnapping and threatening murder in Israel. Nogueira himself was arrested in Panama on unrelated fraud charges and fled the country; there are still four criminal cases pending over the Trump project. Ivanka apparently claims not to remember the man, although funnily enough, she knew him well enough to make a promotional video with him.
The daughter also sinks with another notorious Ivanka project, the 2014 Trump Tower Baku in Azerbaijan, which she personally oversaw. This was the project that, according to a New Yorker report, was partially funded by the infamous Iranian Revolutionary Guard and served as a cash laundromat for the country's government. All Trump hands were on deck with this compromised cash cow, from the gold-heavy furniture to the landscaping.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act requires that American companies not make profits from illegal activities overseas, and simply claiming ignorance (a Trump trademark excuse), that you didn't know where the money was coming from, isn't good enough. Federal authorities have put people in prison for doing business with money launderers in Azerbaijan in recent years. Courts have held that a company needn't be aware of specific criminal behavior but only that corruption was pervasive. The Trump ostrich defense doesn't hold up because the family they were in business with was widely known as "the Corleones of the Caspian."
Donald Trump's who has the business ethics of a nursery-school dropout famously expressed his oliguric attitude: "Every other country goes into these places and they do what they have to do," he said. "It's a horrible law and it should be changed." If American companies refused to give bribes, he said, "you'll do business nowhere."
Ivanka white washed all information about the Azerbaijan project from her website.
You don't have to be a graduate of Trump University to believe that the Trump's didn't know that they were involved in these massive corruption schemes. The evidence was right in front of their eyes. Now that evidence is right in front of an investigative team that has a mandate to go wherever the evidence takes them. Ivanka Trump is as legally vulnerable as her husband and the rest of her family
Ivanka, before you're reputation goes down in flames, turn evidence so that you don't relegate your young children to orphan-hood. Eventually the nation will trump the Trumps, who will burn in our collective memory as the worst chapter in the American presidency.
Oedipus wrecks.
Founder, Great Mind Series | Website
The Great Mind Series aims to share the best ideas from the greatest minds. It was founded in 2010 by publicist and activist Ilene Proctor. The first event took place at Teddi Winograd's home in Beverly Hills, CA. Since then, a grand total of 91 Great Mind Series salons have entertained and stimulated audiences of open-minded progressives.
Past even have featured Reza Aslan, Gore Vidal, Gabe Sherman, Mikey Weinstein, Gloria Allred with Lisa Bloom, Robert Baer, Ralph Nader, Larry Beinert, Max Blumenthal, Sidney Blumenthal, Jane Goodall, John Dean, Robert Dreyfuss, Robert Scheer, Oliver Stone, Amy Goodman, Professor Peter Drier, Reese Elrich, Elliot Gould, Former Rep. Alan Grayson, Libee HaLevy, Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Dahr Jamail, David Cay Johnston, Dennis Kucinich, Esai Morales, Harold Myerson, Ralph Nader, John Nichols, Greg Palast, Michael Parenti, Nomi Prins, Danny Schechter, Gabe Sherman, Robert Sheer, Lance Simmens, David Swanson, Harvey Wasserman, Marianne Williamson, Ambassador Joe Wilson, and Vincent Bugliosi, among others.
Posted in Opinion, Politics
Ilene Proctor's Great Mind Series #94: Corporate Power vs. Progressive Populism feat. Norman Solomon
Ilene Proctor's Great Mind Series #93: End Medical Debt feat. Jerry Ashton — August 23, 2019
Ilene Proctor's Great Mind Series #92: John Carlos Frey — June 28, 2019
How Trump has escalated the war against immigrants and the militarization of the border
Greg Palast Awarded Prize for International Reporting from Club de Periodistas de México
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Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday signed two bills that would block new offshore oil drilling in California by barring the construction of pipelines, piers, wharves or other infrastructure necessary to transport the oil and gas from federal waters to state land.
This locks into law the vows of Brown and other state officials who declared earlier this year they would do whatever it takes to stop the Trump administration from opening California waters to drilling on an unprecedented scale.
Bills AB 1775 and SB 834 prohibit the State Lands Commission, which has jurisdiction over tidelands and waters extending roughly three miles offshore, from granting leases for new pipelines and infrastructure — the most economical way to transport oil and gas to land.
The Senate version of the bill also bans the commission from renewing an existing lease if that action would result in increased oil or natural gas production from federal waters.
A similar Senate bill last year had failed amid pressure from oil and business interests that said stripping the state of this decision-making authority could do more harm than good.
Polls today show 69% of California residents oppose more drilling off their coast. Both the Republican and Democratic candidates vying to be the next governor have declared that the state's commitment to block new offshore drilling would not change under their leadership.
Oil and gas production from the state's tidelands peaked in the 1960s and has been more or less declining ever since. The state has not issued a new offshore oil and gas lease since the devastating 1969 spill in Santa Barbara turned public sentiment against offshore drilling. In 1994, the state Legislature passed the California Coastal Sanctuary Act, which prohibits new leasing in state waters.
Over the decades, governors across party lines, as well as the State Lands and California Coastal commissions have fought off additional offshore drilling — successfully challenging federal efforts in court when necessary.
Now, with the Trump administration proposing to open vast areas off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to oil and gas exploration and drilling through a leasing program beginning as early as 2019, state leaders say California is waking up to a new reality.


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International Trade and Brexit
Making procurement work — for environment and employment
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Nearly 40 years ago, the European Commission published its first public procurement directive, arguing that the billions spent every year by public bodies could, if opened up to more competition, provide a huge boost to the economy. The same ideas are perhaps even more valid today. Paul Clarke examines the current state of play with regard to harnessing the spending power of central and local government and looks at recent ideas such as using procurement to promote the drive towards sustainability.
Over £150 billion a year is spent in the UK on the goods and services needed to deliver public services. To achieve value for money for the taxpayer, a key government objective, effectively managed procurement is seen as essential. Public procurement ranges from basic requirements such as stationery, food and furniture to complex projects such as new hospitals, schools or even aircraft carriers. It also includes important services in areas such as welfare-to-work, further education, social care and health. The Government argues that it must apply the highest professional standards when it spends money on behalf of taxpayers, to ensure it gets a good deal and to provide appropriate goods and services to the quality required to meet user needs.
The Cabinet Office has a particular role in this regard with a remit to "better manage procurement expenditure as part of the Government's deficit reduction and growth agenda". Responsible for managing the relationship between government and its strategic suppliers, leveraging buying power to deliver a better deal for taxpayers and to resolve any disputes swiftly, it claims to have saved £800 million in just one year.
Doing business with the Government
As part of its role, the Cabinet Office now makes available the tools and information intended to help businesses take part more efficiently in the procurement process.
Contracts Finder: a one-stop-shop for suppliers to access live procurement opportunities and to see potential opportunities that have still to be finalised. The system takes feeds from a number of regional procurement portals across the country, as well as the EU's Tenders Electronic Daily (TED), which includes contracts from all 27 Member States and from a number of other countries that have trading agreements with the EU.
Mystery Shopper Scheme: a way for businesses to tell the Government where there are problems with the system. Suppliers can use this service anonymously to tell the Cabinet Office about problems in government supply chains. It promises to provide reasoned feedback to enquirers on their concerns.
Help for SMEs: this includes the abolition of pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs) for contracts under £100,000 in value and the introduction of product surgeries. These are designed to enable selected smaller firms to pitch innovative products and services to a panel of senior decision-makers in government departments.
Government Procurement Service
An executive agency of the Cabinet Office, the Government Procurement Service (GPS) provides commercial procurement solutions, which are fully EU compliant. These cover energy, travel, fleet, office solutions, communications services, print, professional services, ICT, eCommerce and property and facilities management. Strategic alliances with other public sector buying organisations in local government, health and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have helped to improve procurement efficiency and drive increased savings across the public sector. The GPS website provides useful information for both suppliers and buyers.
Crown representatives
In 2011, the Cabinet Office introduced a new approach to how the Government engages with its key suppliers, introducing the Crown Representative network to act as a focal point for particular groups of providers looking to supply the public sector. This network co-ordinates across departments to ensure that a single and strategic view of the Government's needs is communicated to the market, to identify areas for cost savings and to act as a point of focus for cross-cutting supplier-related issues. Crown representatives work with departments' existing commercial teams. Often they will step in to resolve disputes or lead on negotiations where a government-wide deal is being sought.
Ministers have stressed the importance of the Government acting as a "single customer". The Crown representatives play a key role in this regard by ensuring that areas for cost savings are identified. The network was strengthened in May 2013 when six senior private sector leaders were appointed. They include: Ian Tyler, until recently the chief executive of Balfour Beatty; James Hall, previous UK managing partner of Accenture; and Graham Jackson, who was the head of UK commercial contracting for HP. Their role is to use their business experience to engage with suppliers at an early stage, to improve commercial relationships and to negotiate the best possible contracts.
Basically, public procurement rules are meant to regulate the purchasing activities of contracting authorities with a view to making them more efficient. However, increasingly, there is a move towards complementing this requirement with the addition of useful societal goals. Operated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the National Sustainable Public Procurement Programme (NSPPP) is a good example of this change in emphasis. It seeks to make clear to civil servants and others that sustainable procurement is good practice that can generate significant benefits as well as save money. The programme demonstrates how to apply sustainable good practice throughout the purchasing cycle. A series of e-learning modules can be accessed via http://moodle.wrap.org.uk. These include good practice procurement wording and sample contract clauses, to help users implement sustainable procurement decisions.
Using public contracts to boost employment
The Scottish Government recently launched a consultation on new laws designed to improve the way the public sector buys goods, works and services, arguing that public contracts could do much more to boost jobs, apprenticeships and the economy. In Scotland, the public sector spends over £9 billion every year and, in 2011, over 45% of this spending was with small and medium enterprises. A Procurement Reform Bill will seek to ensure that all public bodies adopt transparent, streamlined and standardised procurement processes that are "friendly to Scottish businesses". A recently-launched consultation on the Bill explores ways of substantially expanding the use of community-benefit clauses in higher-value contracts, with the aim of promoting training, apprenticeships and opportunities for the disabled and long-term unemployed.
The EU moves on
Several of the ideas described above — using procurement for environmental gains and to encourage employment and training — originated from the European Commission. In 2011, having first published a Green Paper on procurement, which opened these concepts up to wider debate, it brought forward proposals to modernise existing EU procurement legislation in order to make it better suited to deal with "the evolving political, social and economic context".
As well as protection of the environment and employment and social inclusion, its draft directive provides for public contracts to be used to encourage higher resource and energy efficiency, to combat climate change, promote innovation and to ensure "the best possible conditions for the provision of high quality social services". The proposal will not receive its first reading by the European Parliament until September 2013 but the European Commission is used to playing a long game. After all, Harold Wilson was still Prime Minister when it began the move to open up public procurement to wider competition.
Last reviewed 11 June 2013
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Learner centredness meets the various needs of learners, it transmits learning strategies and cultivates a sense of responsibility in learning (Chen 2007). We agree it's important. If you have recently taken a CELTA course, or are about to, you'll have heard or will hear all about learner centredness. But learner centredness in large classes of 30-40, isn't easy and especially if the students have only ever experienced, or have faith in, a teacher-led classroom.
Introducing learner centred approaches into the classroom takes time. We have three issues. One, we need to guide our students to reconsider their assumptions about what learning a language is all about, secondly, beliefs about the role of the teacher in the classroom mean the focus is entirely on the teacher. Thirdly, how can we work with larger classrooms? In this article we look at the how to take the focus off the teacher as the source of learning and practical wasy to arrange learner centred activities in large classes.
We know teaching English in large classes isn't easy. But there are advantages. Meaningful interaction and comprehensible input (Krashen) aids our journey to language proficiency. The teacher, the IWB, the coursebook or the video aren't the only sources of language in the classroom. With large classes, consider the amount of resources of language you really have – in your students.
Not only do you have resources, but also help. Stronger students, when working with slightly weaker students naturally take on roles of teacher-aid when working in pairs and groups (Hess, 2001). Vygotsky proposed, as a result of his observations, the "Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)" that learners succeed at tasks and learning with the support of others. This doesn't need to be a teacher, but a teacher figure. This can be a peer, an elder or family member – anyone with more world knowledge than the learner. This increases learning opportunities and learning itself. Students partnered together or in small groups have more opprotunity to absorb a new concept or to notice an aspect of language and reflect on it. Working in these groups, a learner has more chance to focus on the language according to their need at a more individual level.
However, it's not easy to convince learners about the benefits of fluency focused activities learner to learner. How can we prepare students to maximise the learning that can take place? These activities, and more so in a large class, can look unfocused and unstructured to learners who don't understand why they are done. And I doubt your students have ever heard of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. Isn't this just the blind leading the blind? Where is the teacher, our source of knowledge?
As a result, we can see clearly that if students don't believe in a teaching approach, this will reduce it's benefits. New Oriental argued that we need to find a combination that would help train learners to see the benefit of learner-centred approaches, while giving them the comfort zone of the traditional approach. After all, the focus is on the learning and receptiveness is a key state of mind. Therefore, communicating clear objectives and benefits of the different approaches is absolutely necessary. This includes getting learners to recalibrate their own ideas about where learning happens -is it in us? Or up there with the teacher next to the IWB? What are our aims?
When we have our students onboard. Then we can start shaking things up! Let's now consider some space and furniture arrangements for our learner-centred moments.
Many schools still use traditional rows because of class sizes and space. Although this makes it difficult for communicative and learner centred teaching approaches, there are things you can do.
You have for example, pairs sitting together and if some turn around, you have groups of four or six.
Try to have a little more space between rows, so you can monitor and move around people.
Also think about the spaces at the front of the class and the sides of the classroom. For mingle tasks make use of these. If you aren't using this space, use it to create more space around your desks.
Also, are there alternative spaces in the school for group activities, such as the corridors, the playground, the gymnasium or hall?
If you move your students between spaces, remember to consider how you are going to do it without disturbing, and, if you are teaching young learners, how you are going to get their attention in a wider bigger space once you get them there (leaving class can be exhilarating and consequently stir children up – anticipate this).
There are two areas where a teacher can sit. They can move around the class a lot and have space to move between groups.
How are my learners organised? Can I see all of their faces? Can they see me and each other?
The desks or small tables are "nested" or grouped to sit 6 children. They have their names on the desk where they sit, so everyone knows where to go. Each team or table has a team name.
How do my learners enter and leave the classroom?
There is also the area for lining up before leaving the class. Children line up outside the classroom before coming in. Or, they can line up inside.
Where can we all be together?
The carpeted area is used for activities like stories, videos, and singing. If children want to stand up, move and respond with their bodies to music and language, where could they do this? Many don't like children walking on carpet with their shoes. What other alternatives are there and how could this be organised?
Where can we move about?
If you do run and point activities in the classroom using all of the class, make sure there is space to move around and between desks.
How do I monitor and check work?
In large classes, it can be hard to get around everyone. Don't forget that you have an enormous amount of resources and teacher aids in the classroom – your learners. Use think-pair-share as a way of getting students to check their own work, and each other's work before you get involved.
Create a good variety of opportunities for teacher-learner(s), learner-learner interaction to happen.


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Home biography Breeda Wool
Breeda Wool Biography
Facts of Breeda Wool
Craig Bierko
Breeda Wool
Rapper ,songwriter ,comedian
Matt Friedman
Mary Jo Eustace (m. 2006)
'Kendrick Kurt Patino( b.2012),'Kellen William Patino(2015)
Northwestern University, Boston University
Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in a Musical
Drack brown
Rex Bierko
Pat Bierko
Facebook,Wikipedia,Twitter,instagram
: Mathematics Learning Centres Ages 8-9 Years: Activities for Developing Mathematical Skills
Sean Pen ( 2015)
Professional Rapper, So Hard
Quick Timeline of Breeda Wool
2015 Appeared in the television series, Unreal
2013 Won Woods Hole Film Festival
2014 Nominated in Victoria TX Indie Film Fest
Detail Timeline of Breeda Wool
Breeda Wool grew up with a huge dream of acting. She was also able to accomplish this dream in 2007 by starring her role in the short drama film Dandelion Fall. Later on she starred in the movies like Craters of the Moon, Masterpiece and so on.
Appeared in the television series, Unreal
Breeda Wool is an actress from United States who has appeared in several movies and TV series. She got her rise in fame after she began starring the role of Faith in the TV series Unreal.
Won Woods Hole Film Festival
In 2013, she got nominated in Woods Hole Film Festival for the first time in her life. She was nominated in this award for her role in the short drama series Lambing Season. She won this award for Best Shorts Actress.
Nominated in Victoria TX Indie Film Fest
She is also famous for starring an outstanding role in the movie Craters of Moon. For this role she got her first nomination in Victoria TX Indie Film Fest in 2014. She got nominated in this award for Best Actress.
Wool has a pretty face and an amazing acting talent. Like her date of birth and birth place, her love circle has also been kept secret. Information related to her love affairs, girlfriend, married life and divorce is unknown in the media.
Breeda Wool grew up with a huge dream of acting. She was also able to accomplish this dream in 2007 by starring her role in the short drama film Dandelion Fall. Later on she starred in the movies like Craters of the Moon, Masterpiece and so on. She got her rise in fame after she began starring the role of Faith in the TV series Unreal. The actual figure about her net worth and salary is unknown.
Related Posts on Breeda Wool
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Sandip Dangal


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Tag: Olympics
"Dimensions Unknown 2020: Warriors of Olympia" – John Paul Catton – Interview
John Paul Catton is a recognised force to be reckoned with in the field of Japan-based urban fantasy. I first came into contact with him some years back as a fellow-member of SWET, the Society of Writers, Editors, and Translators in Japan, and I helped produce an early edition of his alternative history, Moonlight, Murder & Machinery.
Since then, he and his imprint, Excalibur Books, have gone from strength to strength, with the next major planned release being a collection of Olympics-themed stories by a number of authors. The series was originally entitled Tales from the Unknown (as in the earlier version of a cover from the series here), but has been retitled as Dimensions Unknown.
The idea of an Olympics-themed anthology, to be published in a year when Tokyo is preparing to host the world's athletes (though at the time of writing, this remains in some doubt) is an intriguing one, so I decided to ask a few questions about it:
Q: What's the working title for your new Olympics anthology? How many stories and how many authors do you expect it will end up being?
A: The official title is Dimensions Unknown 2020: Warriors of Olympia. This is Volume 3 of the Dimensions Unknown series, and it will have twenty stories from eighteen talented authors, both veteran and new.
Q: How Japan-centric do you expect the collection to be?
A: About half and half. There are some stories focusing on Japan the host country, and its society and culture. Settings include both the samurai and swordplay of the Edo period, and the bizarre technology of the nation's near future. The other stories are Alternative History stories set in previous Olympic years, such as Berlin 1936, Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Sydney 2000, and of course the first Tokyo Games in 1964.
Q: Do you expect the stories to have any links with each other than Olympics (characters in common, or from your other books)?
A: This is a kind of Excalibur Books Crossover event, so there will be links to other stories and characters in the "Dimensions Unknown" series and the "Sword, Mirror, Jewel" trilogy. Simon Grey from Charles Kowalski's novel "Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts" and Hina Takamachi from Cody L Martin's "Zero Sum Game" will be reappearing. I must stress, however, that this is designed as a stand-alone volume of short stories and novelettes that can be enjoyed without having read any other releases from Excalibur Books.
Q: Since Japan has been in Olympic hysteria mode for about six years now, there's no need to ask about the inspiration for an Olympic anthology. But what about some "alternative Olympics"? Will there be a Yōkai Olympics, for example?
A: Not an Olympics exclusively for Yōkai, but Japan's supernatural critters do make an appearance in Reiko Furukawa Bergman's story. The "Sword, Mirror, Jewel" trilogy features a huge number of Yōkai as both protagonists and antagonists.
Q: Japan's had bad luck with Olympics – the 1940 games which never were, and now there are serious doubts about the 2020 games. Almost a story in itself?
A: I wouldn't say Japan has had bad luck, because the Tokyo 1964 Olympics was a tremendous success. It announced Japan's return to the world as a modern, high-tech nation with an invigorated pop culture. In a wider sense, it encapsulated the "Golden Age of Modernist Science Fact and Fiction" optimism that, a few years later, was to transform into a Post-Modern pessimistic dread of approaching Apocalypse. That's not a reflection on the Tokyo Games; it was a result of the inevitable gravitational pull of global technology and culture.
Q: And how do people submit their stories? Or are they all picked already? If any have been picked, would you like to say something about them, and a teaser about their story?
A: We promoted the anthology guidelines for two years on social media, and the deadline closed at the end of 2019. The content is now finalized, and includes Alternative History versions of the previous Olympics mentioned. For example, there's a Steampunk story where the modern Olympics started not in Athens 1896, but London 1860; there's a Low-Gravity Olympics set on the Moon, in 1966; and we have a story set in 1964 Japan, which is a blend of two of the nation's greatest film franchises – a kind of "Tora-san meets Godzilla". Last and not least, there's a non-fiction account of the original 1964 games, in an excerpt of J-Boys, by Shogo Oketani.
Excalibur Books has set up a Patreon to attract interest and to help pay for formatting and book cover costs. There are stories, both excerpts and full, going up on the Patreon on a weekly basis along with all kinds of bonus content, so if anyone likes the sound of this anthology then I ask them to join us on the Patreon. Let's be positive! Whatever happens to the real-time Olympic games, we promise that this collection will be an awesome souvenir of 2020! Who wants to be part of it?
Posted on March 15, 2020 March 26, 2020 by Hugh Ashton


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What Came First?: That Winter the Wind Blows Edition
Posted on 5 August 2015 by NeeNee	4 comments
Hi, hi, hi! I'm back again to talk about the roots of dramas. I thought originally that this series would be more constricted to simply live action adaptations of mangas, but nope, not 100% of the time. This second post is going to explore just what came first when it comes to the heavy melodrama That Winter, the Wind Blows (그 겨울, 바람이 분다; Geu gyeoul, barami bunda).
The 2013 Korean drama plot sounded so familiar to me at the time, I had to run and look up Moon Geun Young's filmography and sure enough, that drama was exactly the same as the 2006 Korean movie Love Me Not (사랑따윈 필요없어; Sarangddawin Piryoeopseo), but that's still not the original!
Ok. So, first off, what is this series about? There are two men who exist with the same name. One of them is a fairly decent guy who is also friends with the other who is not a very nice person (more like a conman when it comes to women among other things). It turns out the nice guy is actually the son of a wealthy family who left home years ago and is being sought after by his blind little sister. Due to an accident, the bad guy decides to assume the nice guy's identity and pretends to be this thorny young woman's brother. But what happens when he starts to fall in love?
This drama (not based on a manga to my knowledge), goes back to 2002. Forget Love (愛なんていらねえよ、夏; Ai Nanta Irane Yo, Natsu) was written by Tatsui Yukari and starred Hirosue Ryoko as Takazano Ako (the blind daughter of a rich family); the awesome Watabe Atsuro as Shiratori Reiji; and Fujiwara Tatsuya as Akutagawa Naru. Reiji is a pimp who went to jail for six months and when he gets out he's lost everything except a 6 million dollar debt. Ah, this is because one of his women was actually a poor bank teller who embezzled money and heaped the blame on him. Mistaken for the nice Reiji who passed away while trying to protest the bad Reiji's false incarceration, he claims Nice Reiji's identity in order to gain access to the inheritance left to him by his recently deceased father. What starts out as a con does slowly turn into love for the Ako who is Good Reiji's sister. I just recently found this drama with English subtitles. I'm definitely watching as I do like Watabe Atsuro and Fujiwara Tatsuya.
Then came the 2006 Korean movie Love Me Not which starred Moon Geun Young as the cold, blind heiress Ryoo Min and Kim Ju Hyeok as Julien. Julien is very much a narcissist who loves to con money out of his wealthy lady clients, but he gets into big trouble when he expands his business too fast. Thus he takes on Ryoo Min's older brother's identity in hopes to bump off the blind girl and claim her fortune to save his life. Of course the two fall in love and the disease that took Ryoo Min's eyesight years ago returns to threaten her life. I haven't watched this all the way through yet, but it's not too bad from what I've seen.
Finally we come to the last incarnation (that I know of), the 2013 Korean drama That Winter, the Wind Blows. This drama starred two Hallyu icons – Song Hye Kyo and Jo In Sung as our two main characters. Oh…we can't forget that Kim Bum is also in this drama. Oh Soo was abandoned as a child and as he grows up he became very cold and callous. He's an exceptional gambler and involved with an actress. This jealous woman frames him for her own embezzlement to make sure he doesn't leave her while she goes out of the country for a year. When Oh Soo gets out of jail, he has nothing left and is still saddled with paying back the embezzled money. He's given 100 days. He gets mistaken for Oh Young's brother (who was Oh Soo's friend/underling also named Oh Soo) and knowing that he is in desperate need of money, he undertakes the role of being the blind woman's older brother in hopes of gaining the inheritance to save his life.
So…they all have similar plots, but I'm sure you can tell the original stories have been tweaked and changed. One thing to note is that the original drama figured heavily in summer ("natsu") while both the Korean dramas played heavily on winter "gyeoul").
tagged with Ai nante irane yo natsu, 바람이 분다, 그 겨울, Forget Love, Geu gyeoul barami bunda, 사랑따윈 필요없어, Japanese drama, jdrama, kdrama, kmovie, Korean drama, Korean Movie, Love Me Not, Sarangddawin Piryoeopseo, That Winter The Wind Blows, 愛なんていらねえよ、夏
NewKDramaAddict
5 August 2015	8:19 AM
Yes! I actually saw all three! I really did like the drama strangely!! My first Jo In Sung drama that I truly LOVED!!
lynette31
5 August 2015	9:43 PM
I liked it to. There where a few logic typical lapses toward the end, but overall I thought it was good. The scenery alone made it worth watching, not to mention the combined pretty of Song Hye Kyo and Jo In Sung .
The whole time I watched, I was dazzled by all that pretty!!
I've never been able to find the 2002 version with subs. I'll have to do another google search now that I know it's out there.


Les Deplorables became an internet and campaign rally sensation during the 2016 Presidential Campaign. A take off from the well-known Les Miserables imagery.
Thank you Hillary. The material never ended. 🙂 Looking forward to a bright future! Thank you for playing and take care now granny.


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$30 a Month for Email? This Company Thinks It's Worth It
Superhuman is an email app with an extensive, exclusive application process, a $30 price tag, and a handful of features that aren't entirely new.
By Eric Limer
There are plenty of things to not like about email that applications like Slack and Google Inbox have tried to solve. Now a new, very exclusive email app called "Superhuman" is starting to turn heads in Silicon Valley, boasting an in-depth application process and, most notable of all, a $30-per-month pricetag.
Recently reviewed by The New York Times, the Superhuman email app has a bunch of email features that are handy but not especially groundbreaking, including the ability to "undo" sent emails, call up LinkedIn information for the people who you're emailing with and insert pre-written responses to messages in your inbox. What few really novel features the app has, like detecting when an email is an introduction and automatically moving the original sender to bcc when you respond, sound like legitimate if minor quality of life improvements.
What's most unique about Superhuman though, appears to be its business model. At the sky-high price of $30 per month, it's outlandishly expensive but you can't just sign up. According to The New York Times, getting onboard involves a lengthy application process and mandatory video conference tutorial. But, despite that friction, founder Rahul Vohra claims there is a waiting list some 180,000 people long.
From the outside looking in, it's impossible to say whether the app's growing popularity is due to actual usefulness, exclusivity and hype or simply a cultural appetite for something, anything, that can make email just a little bit less of a drag. If you're willing to pony up the cash and spend some time in line, you can request access to try and find out for yourself.
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Here's What Makes These Boots Worth $775 — and a 4-Month Wait


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Closed systems with compositional change
The internal energy in eq. (98) is a function of only two independent variables, <math>E = E(S,V),</math> when dealing with a single phase, single-component system. When a compositional change is possible, i.e., for multicomponent systems, internal energy must also be a function of the number of moles of each of the <math>N</math> components:
The internal energy in eq. <math>dE = TdS - pdV</math> from [[Maxwell Relations]] is a function of only two independent variables, <math>E = E(S,V),</math> when dealing with a single phase, single-component system. When a compositional change is possible, i.e., for multicomponent systems, internal energy must also be a function of the number of moles of each of the <math>N</math> components:
<math>E = E(S,V,{n_1},{n_2},...{n_N})\qquad \qquad(1) </math>
Where <math>j ≠ i</math>. The first two terms on the right side of eq. (2) refer to conditions of constant composition, as represented by eq. (98). Comparing eqs. (2) and (98), the coefficients of the first two terms in eq. (2) are
Where <math>j ≠ i</math>. The first two terms on the right side of eq. (2) refer to conditions of constant composition, as represented by eq. <math>dE = TdS - pdV</math> from [[Maxwell Relations]]. Comparing eqs. (2) and <math>dE = TdS - pdV</math>, the coefficients of the first two terms in eq. (2) are
<math>{\left( {\frac{{\partial E}}{{\partial S}}} \right)_{V,{n_i}}} = T\qquad \qquad(3) </math>
The internal energy in eq. dE = TdS − pdV from Maxwell Relations is a function of only two independent variables, E = E(S,V), when dealing with a single phase, single-component system. When a compositional change is possible, i.e., for multicomponent systems, internal energy must also be a function of the number of moles of each of the N components:
Expanding eq. (1) in terms of each independent variable, while holding all other properties constant, produces the following:
Where ji. The first two terms on the right side of eq. (2) refer to conditions of constant composition, as represented by eq. dE = TdS − pdV from Maxwell Relations. Comparing eqs. (2) and dE = TdS − pdV, the coefficients of the first two terms in eq. (2) are
The third term on the right-hand side of eq. (2) corresponds to the effects of the presence of multiple components. The chemical potential can be defined as
Therefore, the above expanded fundamental equation for a multicomponent system, as seen in eq. (2), can be rewritten as
which is known as the internal energy representation of the fundamental thermodynamic equation of multi-component systems. Other representations can be directly obtained from eq. (6) by using the definitions of enthalpy (H = E + pV), Helmholtz free energy (F = E − TS) and Gibbs free energy (G = E − TS + pV), i.e.,
It is therefore readily determined from eqs. (7) – (9) that other expressions of chemical equilibrium exist; these are
In addition, the following expressions for the fundamental thermodynamic properties are valid:
which will be very useful in stability analysis in the next subsection.
Retrieved from "http://m.thermalfluidscentral.org/encyclopedia/index.php/Closed_systems_with_compositional_change"


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Homesick's Friends Central Perk Candle Smells Like NYC & Coffee
Alexa, play "Smelly Cat."
by Olivia Cigliano and Lara Walsh
Courtesy of Homesick
We may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
They say smell is the strongest trigger to take you back to a nostalgic moment in time — even as far back as the '90s. Scents like wet pavement, two hot pizzas (Joey's Special), and smelly cats might bring you to the streets of Greenwich Village, but the sweet aroma of freshly brewed coffee is sure to lead your imagination into the Central Perk cafe where a quirky collection of "friends" gathered back in 1994. Homesick's new Central Perk candle, which is inspired by Friends, will transport you directly to the iconic orange couch with one whiff, thanks to the coffee shop aromas of espresso, brick wall, and velvet.
Homesick is known for encapsulating specific concepts, places, and moments into candle form, like their astrology signs and Star Wars candle collections. This time, they've concocted a home fragrance that's inspired by the iconic fictional coffee shop from Friends, Central Perk. For fans, the setting holds so many fond memories of the Friends gang coming together to argue, flirt, flip through the newspaper, or ignore Gunther while they sip on big mugs of coffee. Homesick described the Central Perk candle as a "double-shot of Friends nostalgia," and you can order it now for $42.
NBC/NBCUniversal/Getty Images
The 13.75-ounce Friends-inspired candle, which boasts about 60 to 80 hours of burn time, pays homage to the iconic show by reimagining all the scents of Central Perk into candle form. Naturally, you can expect strong notes of espresso beans and brewed coffee, as well as typical coffee fixings like caramel, steamed milk, vanilla, mocha, sugar cane, and heavy cream. To really bring Greenwich Village and that whole New York City vibe to life, you can also expect wifts of brick.
FRIENDS Central Perk Candle
See on Homesick
Basically, it sounds like you'll be transported to a '90s New York City coffee shop with Smelly Cat in the background when you light this candle, making it the perfect addition to your new year's morning journaling or self-love nights at home. All that's missing is the orange couch, a cup of steaming coffee (with some splashes of Friends-inspired creamer, of course), and your own lobster to make you feel like you're really at Central Perk with your own BFFs.
TikTok's New Vanilla Girl Aesthetic Is A Bougie But Cozy Vibe
Bath & Body Works' Valentine's Day 2023 Candles Include Rosé Scents
By Olivia Cigliano
Kendall Jenner's Master Bedroom Is A Trendy, Serene Sanctuary


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La 3MB, abbreviazione di 3 Men Band, è stata una stable di wrestling attiva nella World Wrestling Entertainment tra il 2012 e il 2014, formata da Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater e Jinder Mahal.

Storia
Nella puntata di SmackDown del 21 settembre, Heath Slater ha un match con Brodus Clay che si conclude per vittoria per squalifica di Clay, quando Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal e lo stesso Slater attaccano Clay e, dopo il pestaggio, si alzano tutti e tre la mano in segno di alleanza. Qualche giorno dopo, su Twitter, i tre annunciano di aver formato ufficialmente una stable chiamata 3 Men Band.

A Smackdown! del 19 ottobre, Heath Slater sconfigge Brodus Clay, grazie all'aiuto dei suoi 2 compagni di stable che distraggono il Funkasaurus. Nel loro primo PPV (Survivor Series), i 3MB (Heath Slater e Jinder Mahal) sconfiggono il Team Co-Bro (Santino Marella e Zack Ryder), nel pre-show dell'evento. A TLC, i 3MB vengono sconfitti da The Miz, Alberto Del Rio e Brooklyn Brawler in un 6-Man Tag Team Match. La sera dopo, nella puntata dedicata agli Slammy Awards, perdono un altro match a 6 contro Miz, Del Rio e Tommy Dreamer.

Nell'ultima edizione di Raw del 2012, Slater viene scelto insieme a McIntyre dal Team Hell No come sfidanti ai titoli di coppia, ma perdono l'incontro.

A inizio 2013, i 3MB annunciano la loro partecipazione alla Royal Rumble e se ne vantano con Randy Orton, che sfida Slater ad un match che viene vinto dal wrestler di St. Louis. Iniziano poi una breve rivalità con Sheamus, perdendo un 3 on 1 Handicap match, ma sconfiggendo l'irlandese in una 3 on 1 Over the Top Rope Battle Royal. Ad NXT, non riescono ad avanzare nel torneo per decretare i primi NXT Tag Team Champions, poiché vengono eliminati al primo turno da Adrian Neville e Oliver Grey.

I tre partecipano alla Royal Rumble, ma nessuno di loro riesce a portare a casa il match. Il 12 aprile, a SmackDown, i 3MB irrompono nel ring con l'intento di attaccare Triple H, ma vengono assaliti dai membri dello Shield. A Raw, chiamano poi i tre dello Shield per un confronto, ma dallo stage esce Brock Lesnar che attacca violentemente Mahal, Slater e McIntyre. Il 29 aprile, i 3MB attaccano lo Shield, ma arrivano Daniel Bryan e Kane, membri del Team Hell No, che inizialmente sembrano volerli aiutare, ma con la fuga dello Shield, Bryan e Kane attaccano invece i 3MB.

Nella puntata di WWE Main Event del 17 luglio, Slater ha un match contro Justin Gabriel, ma il match termina in no contest quando interviene la Wyatt Family. Il 15 settembre, a Night of Champions, non riescono a vincere il Turmoil Tag Team match nel kick-off del PPV. Nella puntata di Raw del 7 ottobre Drew McIntyre e Jinder Mahal perdono contro i Los Matadores. Nella puntata di WWE Main Event del 9 ottobre la 3MB sconfigge i Tons of Funk in un handicap match. Nella puntata di Smackdown del 4 novembre i 3MB vengono sconfitti dagli Usos e da R-Truth.

A causa di un grave infortunio di Heath Slater, la WWE decide di sostituirlo per il periodo degli house of show di dicembre - gennaio con Ricardo Rodríguez, inserendolo in segmenti e match comici assieme a Jinder Mahal e Drew McIntyre.

A Raw e Smackdown, i 3MB continuano a cambiare gimmick e nome; nel tour nel Regno Unito si chiamano The Union Jacks, a Nashville si sono presentati con una gimmick country sotto il nome di The Rhinestone Cowboys, mentre ai taping di Smackdown ad Atlanta, città degli ex World Tag Team Champions The Fabulous Freebirds, i 3MB si sono presentati come The Fabulous 3Birds, ma in nessuna di queste occasioni riescono ad ottenere una vittoria. Nell'edizione di WWE Superstars del 14 dicembre perdono ancora contro i Los Matadores, aumentando ancora la loro losing streak.

Dopo aver aiutato Kane ad attaccare lo Shield il Director of Operations, per ricompensarli, permette ai tre membri di partecipare nella Andrè the Giant Memori al Battle Royal di WrestleMania XXX. I tre, dopo aver eliminato vari concorrenti (Darren Young, The Great Khali e Zack Ryder), perderanno a loro volta il match a causa di Mark Henry. Infatti, l'atleta di colore, li eliminerà facilmente dalla battle royal. Nella puntata del 14 aprile di Raw, i 3MB continueranno la loro alleanza con l'Authority di Triple H, e assieme ad altri otto wrestler heel, affronteranno i membri dello Shield in un handicap match, per poi attaccarli brutalmente. I tre continueranno comunque il loro ruolo comedy all'interno dello show oltre a supportare i membri dell'Authority e dell'Evolution contro i tre membri dello Shield.

Nel frattempo i tre rockettari continuano la loro faida con i Los Matadores e, nella puntata di Main Event del 15 aprile, Jinder Mahal e Drew McIntyre, assumono come mascotte Hornswoggle, che non turnava heel dal 2007. L'assunzione di quest'ultimo serve infatti per contrastare la mascotte dei due rivali mascherati, El Torito, spesso causa delle sconfitte dei 3MB nei loro confronti coi Matadores. Tra le due mascotte regna ostilità, tanto che spesso i loro rispettivi compagni sono costretti a separarli, e successivamente la loro faida culmina in un match di Smackdown del 18 aprile, dove El torito batte Hornswoggle.
Nella puntata del 22 aprile di Main Event Hornswoggle riuscirà a prevalere sul rivale dopo un Tadpole Splash. Inoltre i 3MB (Slater & McIntyre), riusciranno a battere i Matadores nella puntata successiva di Main Event, grazie a una distrazione di Hrnswoggle & Mahal, che verranno lo stesso attaccati da El Torito. A Extreme Rules Hornswoggle viene sconfitto da El Torito in un WeeLC match. La faida tra le due fazioni continua anche dopo Extreme Rules, poiché i quattro rockettari attaccano i wrestler latinoamericani che stavano festeggiando la festa del 5 de Mayo. Successivamente Hornswoggle staccherà a El Torito la sua coda, giurando poi di prendersi la sua maschera. Ciò porta ad un Hairs vs. Mask match per Payback, ove Hornswoggle perderà e verrà umiliato venendo rasato. Dopo questo avvenimento Hornswoggle sarà costretto a portare una parrucca afro.

Il 12 giugno la stable si scioglie in seguito a una nota sul sito della WWE che annuncia il rilascio di Jinder Mahal e Drew McIntyre.

Nel wrestling

Mosse finali
Drew McIntyre
 Future Shock (Double Underhook DDT)

Heath Slater
 Smash It (Spinning Lifting DDT)

Jinder Mahal
Camel clutch

Musiche d'ingresso
 One Man Band di Jim Johnston (21 settembre 2012–18 ottobre 2012)
 More Than One Man di Jim Johnston (25 ottobre 2012–12 giugno 2014)

Note

Collegamenti esterni

Tag team e stable della WWE

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Józef Jan Klemens Pomiankowski (, Jaroslaw, 23 de noviembre de 1866-Leópolis, 23 de enero de 1929) fue Teniente Mariscal de Campo del Ejército Austro-Húngaro y más tarde General de las Fuerzas Armadas Polacas. Fue el representante militar de la misión militar austro-húngara en el Imperio Otomano durante la Primera Guerra Mundial, durante la cual estuvo a cargo de dar forma a la política austriaca en Oriente, a menudo en competencia con el Imperio alemán aliado.

Primeros años
Józef Pomiankowski nació en Jaroslaw de una familia polaca originaria de Galitzia. Ingresó en la escuela secundaria inferior militar en Köszeg, y cuatro años más tarde se matriculó en la escuela secundaria superior militar en Mährisch Weißkirchen, y de 1883 a 1886 se graduó en la Academia Militar Técnica Imperial y Real de Viena .

Carrera militar

Comienzos y el Imperio Otomano
En noviembre de 1901, recibió el importante puesto de agregado militar en Belgrado para el Reino de Serbia. Allí actuó en el campo militar y también realizó las oportunas valoraciones económicas y político-estratégicas, que informó a Viena en representación de las relaciones austro-serbias. También pudo demostrar éxito en el campo de la inteligencia y recopilar información sobre grupos nacionalistas/terroristas serbios en Macedonia y Bosnia, que habían tratado de separar a Bosnia de Austria.  Aquí, utilizó las experiencias para instar a acciones inmediatas contra la "agitación serbia" en medidas directas y enérgicas.

A fines de 1909, comenzó como coronel como agregado militar en Constantinopla, donde también fue responsable de los problemas de los Balcanes, incluido el Reino de Grecia, y luego fue responsable de la desastrosa Primera Guerra de los Balcanes, donde calculó mal la determinación de los naciones balcánicas contra el Imperio Otomano.

Además, durante el tiempo que trabajó en el Imperio Otomano, había hecho contacto abiertamente con varias figuras de los Jóvenes Turcos, incluidos Talaat Pasha, Enver Pasha y Djemal Pasha.  Era el momento en que trabajaba aquí, había tenido una idea clara sobre la forma en que los Jóvenes Turcos funcionaban y tomaban decisiones, y en 1909, encontró evidencia de que el gobierno otomano estaba planeando un exterminio total de personas no musulmanas. Eventualmente su profecía se hizo realidad cuando ocurrieron los genocidios armenio,asirio y griego. Más tarde proporcionó testimonios sobre el genocidio armenio.

Primera Guerra Mundial
Con el estallido de la Primera Guerra Mundial, Pomiankowski, ahora un general de división, se desempeñó como plenipotenciario militar y también se convirtió en el jefe de la misión militar austro-húngara en el Imperio Otomano y socio menor de la misión militar alemana bajo Otto Liman von Sanders. Como tal, trató de utilizar las diferencias entre los alemanes y los otomanos para afirmar los intereses políticos y económicos de Austria-Hungría en Oriente a pesar de los limitados medios de poder. Junto con el ministro de Relaciones Exteriores Leopold Berchtold y el embajador de la monarquía en Constantinopla, Johann von Pallavicini, con quien Pomiankowski construyó una fuerte amistad, Pomiankowski se esforzó por seguir una política independiente hacia Oriente para competir con la más poderosa Alemania. Debido a esta política competitiva persuadida por Pomiankowski, hubo una breve pelea entre los gobiernos alemán y austriaco en 1917 en cuestión por las influencias y el poder que Austria jugó socavando a Alemania.

Pomiankowski no solo fue activo en el ejército, sino que también formó activamente la política austriaca sobre Oriente. Trabajó como diplomático, jefe de su propio servicio de inteligencia, propagandista, embajador cultural, economista y diplomático. Ayudó a establecer el "Departamento de Oriente" en 1917 para no quedarse atrás del socio abrumador Alemania en la explotación económica de los Balcanes y el Imperio Otomano.  Los funcionarios alemanes en Constantinopla intentaron en vano intervenir con el káiser Guillermo II o el Jefe de Estado Mayor alemán para reemplazar a su oponente austríaco, creyendo que Pomiankowski estaba socavando la cooperación alemana con los turcos.

Pomiankowski, como muchas figuras importantes nacidas en Polonia antes, valoraba fuertemente a los turcos por su valentía militar, pero culpaba al islam por el atraso del imperio que prohibía la modernización de Turquía. Le molestaba que la política alemana intentara movilizar a los musulmanes para luchar contra la Entente porque la fragmentación religiosa del Islam significaba que la movilización conjunta no era posible. Al igual que Pallavicini, también se mostró escéptico de la misión austríaca a Oriente de Alois Musil y el archiduque Hubert Salvator, de septiembre a noviembre de 1917.

Desde 1917 fue ascendido a teniente mariscal de campo, donde coordinó las tropas de la monarquía en los fracasados combates en el frente de Palestina tras un breve despliegue en el frente italiano a partir de junio de 1917.

Genocidio armenio
A pesar de que Pomiankowski tenía una opinión favorable sobre los turcos en general, había desaprobado en gran medida el genocidio armenio y fue una de las primeras figuras en darse cuenta de la verdadera magnitud del genocidio, lo que le horrorizó enormemente.  En mayo de 1916, visitó las áreas del este de Anatolia donde ocurrió el genocidio y lo informó a Viena. Pomiankowski acusó a Enver Pasha de ser cómplice, sin embargo, sus tentativos intentos diplomáticos de obtener seguridad para los armenios perseguidos no tuvieron éxito. Por otro lado, defendió a los colegas alemanes después de que el embajador estadounidense en Turquía, Henry Morgenthau, acusara a los alemanes de detrás de la idea de deportaciones y genocidio contra los armenios. Más tarde lo llamó "bárbaro" en sus memorias y simpatizó con los armenios.

Después de la Primera Guerra Mundial y reubicación en Polonia
Después del final de la guerra, Pomiankowski organizó el transporte de regreso de 200 oficiales y 1.050 soldados con un barco italiano a través de Trieste a Austria. Con el apoyo otomano, rompió un intento de insurreción de 200 soldados que intentaron instalar consejos de soldados y los envió a la Odessa ocupada por Austria en barco. Pero con el colapso de la monarquía de los Habsburgo, inmediatamente siguió el llamado de Józef Piłsudski para la resurrección de Polonia de la ocupación austríaca, alemana y rusa. Se convirtió en representante militar polaco para Suecia, Dinamarca y Noruega en Estocolmo y más tarde jefe de la comisión militar de compras de materiales de guerra en París, antes de obtener la ciudadanía polaca el 25 de marzo de 1919. Poco después, ayudó a organizar el ejército polaco para luchar contra los alemanes y austriacos, así como contra los ucranianos, checoslovacos y lo más importante, contra los bolcheviques, donde su esfuerzo se pagó con la fundación de la Segunda República Polaca. Se retiró del ejército en enero de 1922.

Vida personal
Estaba casado y tenía dos hijas, María y Janina, nacidas en 1904 y 1905; la familia vivía en Lemberg (actual Leópolis) y Viena.

De 1924 a 1927, escribió el libro Der Zusammenbruch des Ottomanischen Reiches (La caída del Imperio Otomano), detallado sobre las relaciones entre Austria-Hungría y el Imperio Otomano en los últimos días.  Fue recomendado por el historiador Herbert W. Duda .

Falleció el 21 de enero de 1929 en Lwów, donde renunció y se reasentó, y fue enterrado en el cementerio de Łyczakowski .

Referencias

Bibliografía adicional

Enlaces externos

Testigos del genocidio armenio
Orientalistas de Polonia
Orientalistas de Austria
Generales de Polonia
Militares del Imperio austrohúngaro
Wikipedia:Páginas con traducciones sin revisar
Polacos del siglo XX
Fallecidos en Leópolis


I mentioned in this post that I got a graph paper notebook. This is what I've been working on: a David Bowie-inspired flying geese quilt pillow.
My love of Bowie is well documented on this blog. In 2013, hubs MVH and I traveled to London, in large part to see the "David Bowie Is" exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum. It was worth the trans-Atlantic flight.
Bowie's death in January was a melancholy way to kick off 2016. He constantly challenged himself artistically and sought interesting people to work with. He was innovative and always true to himself, despite so many transformations.
I wasn't planning a Bowie-specific project. I was having fun with flying geese, and an idea swept over me: flying geese plus "Station to Station." And then I had to roll with it, because when you get an idea like that, whose edges are so clear, there's not much else for you to do.
Before we can continue, I need you to do something: Click here to play "Station to Station" via YouTube. It's like a 10-minute jam, so you can turn it on and click back to Sie macht. OK? Thanks.
The song "Station to Station" kicks off the album of the same name. It's three songs in one, but it's an extremely sneaky three songs in one. It starts off with a mechanical-sounding instrumental thing, builds on that theme with vocals, and transitions into a dancey section that shouldn't work at all with the rest of the song — except it totally does, because it happens utterly organically. Yes, it's a 10-minute track. But it feels like a five-minute track at the longest.
It's masterfully moody and coolly passionate. The album is solid, too, and also features "Golden Years" and "TVC15," which are better known. Definitely worth checking out.
I've been thinking about why this song, though, jumped out as sewing inspiration, and I think it's because it represents Bowie's MO. "Station to Station" offers three distinct sections in one piece of art, yet they all work together. The lesson I walk away with is that I shouldn't fear pivoting within a creative venture. Who knows what excitement it could create?
Anyway, let's talk about these Bowie-inspired sketches.
I liked the pinwheel effect here. It reflects the whirling feeling of the song.
I tried to capture some of the tension with the red and white combo. I plan to put the pillow on the brown futon in my office, so I thought I'd try some brown.
This was closer. The more I sketched, the more I got into the blue-white-black combo. When I make the pillow, I see the blue being a navy.
This is where I landed. I arranged the flying geese to create sound waves (see the zigzag?), and I see the waves moving laterally and from the inside out — from darkest part of the song (black) to the lightest part (white).
I doubt I'll use solid colors, but instead opt for subtle patterns. Maybe stars, for the Starman himself? The fabrics will be like obscenity: I'll know them when I see them.
Over to you: How would you use David Bowie as a sewing or quilting muse? I see this famous outfit inspiring a modern wedding rings quilt (is that crazy)? And, of course, there's always the iconic "Aladdin Sane" lightning bolt — maybe for a bear paw quilt project?
« Cat plush or plush cat? Yeah, it's a cat pillow.


text:
Man raped former wife, threatened to post abuse pictures
The man told his former wife he would use degrading pictures as 'insurance' after abusing her. lofilolo
by johnweekes
John Weekes John is a court reporter for News Regional. He previously worked as a police reporter, breaking news reporter, and Sunday newspaper journalist covering politics, entertainment and consumer affairs.
25th Jun 2017 3:27 PM
A MAN who took photos while raping his former wife and telling her "God doesn't help scum like you" will be eligible for parole in three years.
Jealousy motivated the 57-year-old from the Emerald region, Judge Michael Burnett told Brisbane District Court.
The man was sentenced on Friday for sexual assault, cattle theft and traffic offences.
The rape was carried out when the man was on bail for the other offences.
Judge Burnett said the "most egregious" of the offending related to sadistic abuse the man carried out against his former wife.
The court heard the jealous man was angry to see his former partner happy.
He confronted her one day. She allowed him into her house, and he went into her bedroom, held her captive and sexually abused her.
He took photos during the abuse, threatening to post the images on social media and on shop windows in Emerald.
The woman asked him to stop and at one point during the degrading acts, she prayed to God.
The court was told the man replied: "God doesn't help scum like you".
The woman now experienced symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder.
She had trouble forming relationships with men, and sometimes 'argued with herself" over whether she was in some way to blame for the incidents.
The man had shown little remorse "if any remorse at all," Judge Burnett said.
His age, and the fact he had mental health problems including depression and bipolar disorder were taken into account as mitigating factors.
Some of these mental health problems stemmed from financial losses suffered after floods in 2011, the court was told.
The man was sentenced to nine years for rape.
He must serve a further 18 months for driving offences and two months for cattle offences.
These would be served on top of the rape sentence.
Because the man had already spent about two years in custody, he will be eligible for parole in July 2020.
- NewsRegional
court crime domestic violence emerald


text:
New Canaan est un toponyme pouvant désigner:

Toponyme

New Canaan, communauté du comté de Cumberland en Nouvelle-Écosse
New Canaan, communauté du comté d'Essex en Ontario

New Canaan, ville du comté de Fairfield dans le Connecticut

New Canaan, secteur près d'Harare

Voir aussi

Homonymie de toponyme


text:
Q: How to use populated data in condition in node.js, mongoose? I am using this query to get data.
   let query = User.find({$and:
                    [{isDeleted:{$ne:true}},
                    {company_domain:req.headers.domain}]
                    });
    var populateQuery = [{path: 'created_by'}];
    var options = {
        limit: parseInt(req.query.limit),
        page: parseInt(req.query.page),
        populate: populateQuery,
    };

        query.exec(()=>{
        User.paginate(query, options).then(function(result) {
                res.json(result);
            });

I want to filter data from the populated property created_by; for example I like to filter data by created_by.name How can I do that?

A: Counts will not appear in results because of the way javascript executes code.It won't wait for your User counts to be fetched and then return the response, instead the following lines are being executed before the counts are actually fetched and that's why response has no count in it.
result.activeCount=a;
result.deactiveCount=b;
res.json(result);

Change your code with following:
 var results = {};
 User.paginate(query, options)
      .then(function(records) {
            results.records = records;
            return User.count({status: 'Active'}).exec();
        })
      .then(function(activeCount){
           results.activeCount =  activeCount;
           return User.count({status: 'Deactive'}).exec();
       })
      .then(function(deactiveCount){
           results.deactiveCount = deactiveCount;
           // finally here send the response.
           res.json(results);
       });

Here I'm using Promises to first fetch the records and add it in the results object inside first then and from there I'm returning another Promise object of User.count which will be handled in next chained then method. In this second then method I'm adding activeCount to the results and returning another Promise of User.count which is going to be handled in next chained then method. In this final third then method, I'm adding deactiveCount in results objects and finally sending back the response.

Note: Read more about JavaScript Sync and Async and code execution.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


On March 17, 2018 Angeles Emeralds along with many others, came out to support Drug Policy Alliance change the lives of hundreds of people by offering free legal support to expunge previous cannabis convictions as well as obtain many other community services.
With an estimated over 200,000 LA County residents with cannabis convictions the best way to provide timely support for all is through an Automated Expungement process by the county.
It will be months before the County has an automated process and the residents of LA County need help now.
We are proud to help our community break down barriers which ultimately will lead to new opportunities for improvement.
We will continue to support and provide these expungement clinics until the County has setup an automated process.
Why Has Los Angeles' DA Balked at Expunging Old Pot Convictions?
Click on the above link to read more about the challenges and opportunities around automating cannabis expungements in LA County.