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HomeInterviewsINTERVIEW: The Winachi Tribe are a phenomenon: There's no question, they have "it"
INTERVIEW: The Winachi Tribe are a phenomenon: There's no question, they have "it"
December 16, 2018 Heidi Siegmund Cuda Interviews 0
Picture this: A cool crowd chilling at Skinny's, a NoHo bar owned by a Brit. It's a warm fall night, and the opening band just finished. The small stage is starting to fill up with a handful of blokes setting up the gear and from the moment the first note is played, the crowd flees the bar and rushes the stage. Booties don't stop shaking until the last note, and even then, the infectious smooth and funky sounds echo into the next day. The Winachi Tribe are a phenomenon: an electrofunk soul-sonic collective. A band as unique as its name, danceable, booty shakeable, soulful and deep: dance music with positive messaging, both sexy and sweet. There's no question, they have "it," that indefinable quality that draws you to an artist and encourages you to spend your last buck on merch.
Since forming in 2015, the British band has been attracting buzz, opening for Zak Starkey in London's West End and dressing up singles with videos starring the likes of Sons of Anarchy/Braveheart actor Tommy Flanagan and Keith Allen (the father of Lilly Allen). Such legendary producers as Howie B, Danny Saber and John X have worked with the band, with John X currently producing the band's debut album. The Winachi Tribe embody the spirit of D.I.Y., doing everything themselves each step of the way so it's no surprise that they've become media darlings. From the BBC to the LA Times, to KCRW to Billboard China, the Winachi Tribe's story and funky music fill the airwaves.
Although from Warrington, U.K., a town between Manchester and Liverpool, Los Angeles has become the band's second home, with memorable performances at such venues as the Teragram Ballroom and a swelling fanbase. When they opened for the Charlatans U.K. in L.A. 2018, the show was sold-out and they gained hundreds of new fans. Among the group's performance highlights, some of the UK's biggest music festivals, including Victorious Festival, Tramlines, Shiiine On Weekender, Moovin Festival, Bearded Theory & Sunflowerfest. Belfast. They've been booked as official tour support for the Happy Mondays, Soul 2 Soul, Sugar Hill Gang. The Furious Five & The Charlatans, while also headlining three of their own national U.K tours.
Their rise has been nothing short of remarkable. The group that began as North West electro-funk underdogs, commands sold-out venues from East to West and there's no doubt the combination of its succulent sound and electric performances is an elixir for our times.
The band took the time to sit down poolside on a balmy SoCal night with veteran music writer Heidi Siegmund Cuda to help define its origins and its purpose.
"What's the essence of your band, the spirit?"
LIAM: "The band has come together over a number of years. It was originally called Chinawhite, after a Melle Mel lyric. Me and Antony Edgerton met each other in our local town and started making music together. Then Sam joined us, and we reached out to Inder and Inder joined, then Richie, Mike. We changed the name because of the association with Chinawhite.
"Right, I think Harry (Bridgen, the band's manager) might have been part of that right?"
LIAM: "Yeah, Harry said, 'I can't do shit for you guys if you're named Chinawhite so Antony came up with the idea of spelling it backwards."
HARRY: "What I actually said to them was, 'I don't know what the name China White means where you're from but here in the US it's a street name for pure Heroin, and Liam says to me, 'Well I got it from a Grandmaster Flash song, and I told him that should have been your first clue.'"
That's great, that's hilarious
INDER: "I seem to recall back in the day when we had these conversations in the early days when we were still shaping the band, I had a conversation with Ian (Brown), and he said, 'That's not a good look.'"
LIAM: "It was chosen from innocence because we were influenced by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. You know the song, White Lines, the full 12-inch version. But we experienced a rebirth. We went on stage at the basement club in the West End of London called the Phoenix to open for Zak Starkey, Ringo Starr's son, as Chinawhite, but came off the stage as the Winachi Tribe. Somehow, the name Winachi Tribe fits us perfectly because as we travel the world, we are a tribe, and our fans have become a tribe. Music brings people together and dance music really brings people together."
Check out 'Transition' which has picked up an official 'Grammy' entry for 'Best Dance Track'
"Talk to me about what you want people to feel when you're performing."
LIAM: "The vibe of the band is we're just trying to portray a positive message, you know, you hear it in the lyrics of the songs social commentary they can be quite dark at times but in each song, there's a moment of light."
"To be so funky, such great dance music, but to throw in that positive messaging is pretty brilliant. It's not just, 'love to love you, baby.'"
LIAM: "I mean Transition, the single that's out at the moment, I've had folks back home say to me that help them through their depression."
MIKE: "That's power, man."
INDER: "I totally agree, it's thought-provoking, you know, People watch the video and realize it ain't about having the right answer it's actually about being able to ask the question and look deeper into the answer because obviously no one's got the right answer."
LIAM: "Yeah, we're not preaching. We're just telling our version. It's a message without a message if that makes sense."
MIKE: "It's about good vibrations."
LIAM: "We're not hippies."
MIKE: "Yeah, but we are on a spiritual mission."
"To be a musician in 2018, you gotta be a crazy muthaf**ka, to begin with. So why are you guys so passionate about it? Why do you go through the pain and suffering of being in a band (lol)?"
SAM: "Because we've gone too far to come back."
MIKE: "It's just in our blood."
LIAM: "It's not a choice, this is just who we are."
MIKE: "You've just got to give yourself up to music and put faith in it."
SAM: "It's the only thing that keeps me sane."
MIKE: "I was in semi-retirement before they drew me back in."
"So what is about you as a band collectively that loves soul and funk and dance music and why did you gravitate two words that?"
SAM: "For me, it was like I was brought up with Northern Soul so that was a big influence."
LIAM: "You're only as good as your record collection. It has never been a conscious decision to make dance music. It just happened."
"Nothing about you guys is prefab."
LIAM: "We know what we're doing, but there's also an innocence and a purity about it as well. The minute that goes then it's fucked. We go into the studio as very accomplished musicians, but we're not trying to make a certain type of thing. The Winachi Tribe doesn't sound like anybody, and no one else sounds like us. I'm sure a lot of bands feel that about themselves, but I know with us it's a fact."
"In the words of Shorty the Pimp, you get in where you fit in. Okay, now we need to hear from the bass player because the bass is very f**kin important."
RICHIE: "Inder brought me in. They needed a good bassline, a bit of slap and some funk. My background is in gospel and blues, but my record collection includes things like Earth, Wind & Fire, old-school soul stuff, Chic, Sister Sledge. I kinda took that history and rolled it into one. I like poppin all those flavours into Winachi, you know what I mean?"
INDER: "I think a lot of people can say the word funk but this man has actually lived it."
LIAM: "Richie is as solid as a rock."
SAM: "We all elevate each other's game."
LIAM: "I only ended up singing because no one else could do it."
"You've got a lovely voice."
LIAM: "Oh, I've got a fantastic voice."
MIKE: "The voice of an angel, a whiskey angel."
ANTONY (who's been in the kitchen making fried chicken for everyone the entire time): "I just wanted to see how far we could get. I was on guitars originally, but we couldn't get a keyboard player so I went on to keyboards. We started all this in my shed."
LIAM: "Our original goal was to get out of the shed and on a plane."
ANTONY: "And we got out of the shed, and have seen the world."
INDER: "It's amazing where music can take you. We are a Groove Machine up there, and people have no alternative but to submit themselves to our groove."
LIAM: "We love the f**kin' bones of each other, but it is a very complex bunch of characters but that's what makes it the Winachi tribe. We could explode or implode at any time and that's the beauty of this group. That's what keeps it electrifying. You can't be a wimp in this band, you've got to be able to hold your own and hold it down."
The Winachi Tribe Live Dates:
Italy – TBA:
23rd 'Alphabet Brewery' Manchester (For Musicians Against Homelessness // Headline)
Tickets – https://bit.ly/2Ced92T
23rd 'WAM Festival' Warrington (Headline)
Tickets – https://bit.ly/2PGK2Zv
U.S (California) tour – TBA
4th 'Huey Morgan's NYC Block Party' – Open Norwich
Tickets – https://bit.ly/2UO3kzX
25th May – 'Bearded Theory Festival' (Mainstage) – Walton On Trent
Tickets – https://beardedtheory.co.uk
Winachi Tribe is:
Liam Croker, Vox Antony Egerton, Keys/Programming, Inder Goldfinger, Percussion, Mike Bee, Guitar, Richie Rich, Bass, Sammy T, Drums
About Heidi Siegmund Cuda:
Heidi Siegmund Cuda is an Emmy award-winning investigative producer, broadcast journalist, author, columnist, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. After 15 years as an investigative producer for Fox 11 News, she resigned in 2013 to pursue TV, film and book development. She and her producing partner Susan von Seggern (the creator of "My Cat from Hell") had their first development deal with Discovery Studios three weeks after Cuda resigned from Fox.
In addition to her television work, she spent 15 years as the Los Angeles Times nightlife columnist and urban music critic. She authored seminal rap and punk books, including "Sublime's Brad Nowell: Crazy Fool (Portrait of a Punk)"; "The Ice Opinion," with Ice T; "Got Your Back," with the bodyguard of Tupac Shakur; and "Warped Book: Tales of Freedom and Psychotic Ambition," about the Vans Warped Tour. In 2014, she formed a partnership with Over the Edge Books publisher Paul Stewart to create the punk imprint, "Straight Ahead." Currently, Cuda and Von Seggern are developing reality shows and Cuda's film script, "Dead Air," co-authored by playwright Alex Zola, is being developed into a feature film. She is also part of the Al Jazeera America team producing "TechKnow," a science show that's trying to save the world one story at a time.
Antony Egerton
Danny Saber
Heidi Siegmund Cuda
Howie B
Inder Goldfinger
Keith Allen
Liam Croker
Mike Bee
Sammy T
The Winachi Tribe
IAN BROWN has today released a new track, 'Black Roses' – Listen Now
TOM SPEIGHT Announces headline Belfast show at VOODOO, Saturday April 20th 2019
INTERVIEW: "UFO's, Happy Monday's and Black Grape, An interesting evening with Shaun Ryder"
January 10, 2020 Mark Millar Featured Interview, Interviews 0
An Evening with Shaun Ryder begins on Saturday night at the Sugar Club in Dublin. The evening features an in-depth interview with the man himself, about his years in Happy Mondays & Black Grape, the […]
LEGENDARY MUSIC PRODUCER DANNY SABER TO WRITE COLUMN FOR XS NOIZE
August 21, 2015 Mark Millar News 0
"Ever wondered what it's like to work in the music business? What happens in the studio? How do those magic tracks come to life? XSNoize are pleased to announce that we can now offer you […]
THE WINACHI TRIBE – Unveil new single 'Plant The Seed', featuring Danny Saber Remix
August 27, 2015 Mark Millar New music, News, Videos 0
The Winachi Tribe have lifted a second single from their 'Time for Love' EP. 'Plant the Seed' will be released on September 25th on A1M records. The track sees the band collaborating with Julie E Gordon of Happy […]


Millions of pounds are being paid to debt-ridden nursing students to prevent them from dropping out of university courses.
Data exclusively obtained by RCNi.com shows £5.2 million in discretionary funding has been handed out since 2013.
In total, 36 universities in England said that 6,573 nursing students resorted to hardship grants between September 2013 and March 2016.
Unite national officer for health Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe says student funding problems – and the end of the student bursary in 2017 – are a 'workforce time bomb' for the NHS.
King's College London (KCL) second-year nursing student Marina Down says she has not managed to procure extra funding support, despite being a single parent with a young daughter. Her monthly outgoings far exceed her bursary income.
'At its most dire point, I have had to use food banks, because I have had literally no money,' she says.
Common reasons for applying for hardship funds include inability to cover basic living expenses such as rent, mortgage, child care and IT equipment.
National Union of Students president Megan Dunn says: 'The bursaries and scholarships provided by many institutions are not usually made available to nursing students.
'Nursing students have long been more likely to need additional support, given they are more likely to be mature students with children and from poorer backgrounds.
NUS research from 2012, found that NHS-funded healthcare students receive a finance package that is, overall, less generous than those for other undergraduates in England.
The research also found one fifth of NHS-funded students applied for discretionary funds compared with 11% of other undergraduates.
Ms Dunn also says funding for child care in the bursary scheme is only available for OFSTED-registered and approved providers.
Such funding is not always available when nursing students require it – especially for overnight shifts on placement – so many students have to rely on other sources.
The issue of gaps in support for nursing and healthcare students is not a new one. In its 2015 statement, the Council of Deans of Health said KCL paid out 63% of its hardship funds to healthcare students in 2012/13.
Head of student support, health and wellbeing, at Canterbury Christ Church University, Karen James, says her institution wants students to have the 'best possible university experience'.
RCN welfare adviser Claire Cannings anticipates the bursary changes will put off mature applicants to nursing degree courses.
A recent London Economics report, commissioned by Unison and the NUS, suggests there will be 2,000 fewer students applying for nursing and midwifery degrees in the first year of implementation, due to increased costs.


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Yes, that was an escaped elephant heading toward NJ
An elephant that wandered away from an animal sanctuary in New York State (NY State Police)
WESTTOWN, New York — A wayward elephant escaped from an animal sanctuary and made its way toward New Jersey.
New York State Police said they found the elephant, named Fritha, walking along William Lain Road in Westtown, New York after the family that owns the Sanctuary for Animals in Westtown reported her missing, according to the Times-Record Herald.
Amanda Brook, whose family owns the sanctuary, told the newspaper an employee forgot to turn Fritha's electric fence on for the night.
Officers and sanctuary workers were able to guide Fritha home. The 44-year-old elephant was burned by napalm in Vietnam and has lived at the sanctuary most of her life.
The sanctuary is about 5 miles from the New Jersey border.
Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ
Source: Yes, that was an escaped elephant heading toward NJ

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The stars of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs gathered at New Theatre Royal in Lincoln this week (September 17) to officially launch this season's pantomime.
The cast includes TV personalities, musicians and comedians - and turned out in their costumes for the big party.
Star of stage and screen Amelia Lily will play The Unicorn Fairy. She is best known for finishing third on the eighth series of The X Factor in 2011 and was runner-up on Celebrity Big Brother 2017.
Following X Factor, she landed a record deal with Sony, and released three singles. She then went on to star in the West End production of Green Day musical, American Idiot, playing Whatsername.
Speaking at the launch event, she said: "I always remember going to see pantos as a kid and it really gets you in that Christmas spirit doesn't it? I'm doing musicals at the minute and so it's nice because with pantos you can have a laugh. I'm really excited for this year's and I'm loving my character as well which is pretty cool."
Amelia who is currently in Shrek the musical added: "I'm getting greened up every night to play Princess Fiona. As soon as I finish that then I go straight into panto. I've been on tour for a year now, and I miss my family but I think they will be coming to the panto a good few times!"
Sophie Gaudie as Snow White is in her first starring role in a panto: "I'm playing a princess, my favourite princess actually. Panto is just magical isn't it?
"Even if you're not an avid theatre goer everyone does panto - mums, dads, grandmas, kids ... everyone and everybody comes out smiling and to be able to make someone else smile at Christmas is just magic.
"I haven't been to Lincoln before, but I am so excited to spend Christmas here. I've heard Christmas is great in Lincoln and there's the market - it sounds amazing."
Prank Patrol presenter Barney Harwood will portray the panto heartthrob, Huntsman. He is a TV presenter famed for his appearances on CBBC, Blue Peter and most recently Celebrity MasterChef.
Barney loves panto so much that Snow White in Lincoln will be his 16th! He says that not only will audiences enjoy themselves but going to the theatre is important to keep the tradition alive. "It's not just the kids that come it's the parents, and you've got the grandparents and the mums and dads. You have the absolute express permission from us to behave like children.
"That's what pantomime is all about for me, it's about bringing the family together rather than having anyone in the corner on his phone or playing Minecraft. I LOVE panto. It's a great chance for me to see the audience. I've spent 20 years in television studios - I look up at the camera and see the lens, you very very rarely see an audience so it's really nice to be in a room where they laugh when you say something. When you are in a theatre and you hear that reaction it's a feeling like nothing else.
"My dad was a comedian so I grew up in the theatre following my dad on tour. I developed a real love for theatre really early on.
"I also love what Natalie is doing here at the New Theatre Royal. I think what she has done in a short period of time is nothing short of incredible.
"This theatre could have gone a very different way. She's been very very hands on with it, she loves the theatre, she loves the actual building itself. So I'm here for multiple reasons - to be in a pantomime that I love to be in, but also I want to support what Natalie is doing ... an incredible job and I just wish more people would do this with theatres, rather than turning them into pubs."
One of the stars of last year, audience favourite Christopher Johnson, returns playing Muddles. CBBC's YONKO, aka Christopher will be back after performances in Aladdin and Alice in Wonderland promising lots of laughs for everyone.
Award winning comedian Joey Howard will make his debut at New Theatre Royal as Nurse Flossy, while singer Janine Johnson will take to the stage as the cruel, but totally fabulous Wicked Queen.
All your Christmas county news in one place - HERE.


Comet Swimming Club, Gisborne's No1 provider of swimming lessons, is looking for two passionate learn to swim instructors.
While experience is an advantage, full training will be given to the right applicants.
Applicants must be able to work morning and afternoon shifts, and may be required to work weekends.
Applicants must be prepared for in water learn to swim instruction.
As the positions involve working with children, police vetting will be necessary, as will eligibility to work in New Zealand.


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Q: Replacement selection sorting So I've been trying to implement this algorithm but I'm not so sure on where to start. Basically from what I understood you can implement it in two ways, by sorting it that the top level is the minimum (minHeap) or that the top level is the max of everything (maxHeap). I googled a lot about any of the two ways and I could not get a grip on how to actually implement it. I do not get the idea in general I would say, can anyone please explain how this works? Like how the minHeap one should work, or the maxHeap one.
Thank you in advance!

A: I'm assuming that you have a basic understanding of binary heap implementation in an array.
Let's say you have an array of integers that you want to sort into ascending order. One way is to rearrange items in the array so that they form a max-heap.
Then, you swap the top item (the largest item in the array) with the last item in the heap, decrease the heap count by 1, and sift the item from the top down into its new place in the heap. At the end, the first item in the array will be the next largest item. You repeat that for every item and your array is sorted.
Let's take a small example. Given the array [4,7,6,1,3,5,2], you rearrange them into a heap using Floyd's algorithm.
for (int i = array.length/2; i >= 0; i--)
{
    siftDown(i);
}

This is an O(n) operation.
When you're done, the array is arranged in a binary heap. In this case, the heap would be [7,4,6,1,3,5,2], or:
       7
     4   6
    1 3 5 2

So, we swap the root item with the last item, giving us: [2,4,6,1,3,5,7]. We decrease the count and sift 2 down to its proper place, giving: [6,4,5,1,3,2,7], or the heap representation:
       6
     4   5
    1 3 2

(I omitted the 7 because we decreased the count. But it's still at the end of the array.)
Again, swap the top item with the last item in the heap: [2,4,5,1,3,6,7], decrease the count, and sift down: [5,4,2,1,3,6,7]:
      5
    4   2
   1 3

If you continue that for the remaining five items in the heap, you'll end up with a sorted array.
The code for this is pretty simple:
int count = array.length-1;
while (count > 0)
{
    swap(array[0], array[count]);
    --count;
    siftDown(0);
}

If you want to do a descending sort, you can either do the above with a max-heap and then reverse the array (an O(1) operation), or you can build a min-heap to start.
The siftDown method just moves the item down to its proper place, following the rules for binary heap construction:
void siftDown(int index)
{
    // Left child is at index*2+1. Right child is at index*2+2;
    while (true)
    {
        // first find the largest child
        int largestChild = index*2+1;
        // if left child is larger than count, then done
        if (largestChild >= count)
        {
            break;
        }
        // compare with right child
        if (largestChild+1 < count && array[largestChild] < array[largestChild+1])
        {
            ++largestChild;
        }

        // If item is smaller than the largest child, then swap and continue.
        if (array[index] < array[largestChild])
        {
            swap(array[index], array[largestChild]);
            index = largestChild;
        }
        else
        {
            break;
        }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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American Buddhist Perspectives
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Crossing the Great Divides in U.S. Buddhism
February 4, 2016 by Justin Whitaker
Crossing the Great Divides in U.S. Buddhism February 4, 2016 Justin Whitaker
Today I am again very honored to share a guest post in our ongoing series of expanding perspectives on race and diversity in American Buddhism. Recent posts include yesterday's (forthcoming) book excerpt from Lama Choyin Rangdrol, "African American Buddhism…" an interview discussing an emerging and wonderful voice -several voices, in fact- in the Western Buddhist world, the Tibetan Feminist Collective, and two excellent academic pieces that started things off: "Race Matters…" and "The Dukkha of Racism…".
Today's article comes with a home-work assignment of sorts for me and for interested readers: to get a hold of Diana Eck's book A New Religious America... mentioned below and read the chapter on Buddhism and come back here in about 10 or so days to discuss that chapter (I'll provide a summarizing blog post to start things off). Along with that, check out Eck's Harvard-based Pluralism Project: http://pluralism.org/. As Mushim mentions Rick Fields, I'll also note another pioneer in the study of American Buddhism who has been a great influence on me:Charles Prebish, whose 30+ year career (1979, American Buddhism – 2011, Looking West…) studying American Buddhism includes texts co-edited by greats like Martin Baumann and Kenneth Tanaka. More on him and Fields and other figures perhaps in the upcoming post on Eck's work; for now, please enjoy today's excellent work by Mushim (Patricia) Ikeda.
The recent cover image of the first issue of Lion's Roar magazine, showing 14 U.S. Buddhist teachers who are beautifully diverse in some ways, provocatively and boldly titled "The New Face of Buddhism," has excited both praise as well as substantial deconstructive critique. Lion's Roar is a rebranding of the former Shambhala Sun, and not a new publication.
The praise comes from people, myself included, who appreciate the inclusion of people of different races and ethnicities, ages, gender identities, and body shapes and sizes among the teachers chosen to be photographed, many of whom I know well and love, or know slightly and respect.
I also sympathize with the thoughtful critiques, such as those published recently by five Buddhist Peace Fellowship authors, which once again shine light on the stunningly great divides among U.S. Buddhist communities and individuals. These persist despite information being readily available for Buddhists in the U.S. to educate ourselves on "The Old Face of Buddhism" in this country, to the extent that a newish sort of religion can have an old face. But you get my drift – Buddhism has been in the U.S. and in North America for awhile, certainly over a hundred years, and books like Rick Fields's classic How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America have been out since 1981, joined by newer and excellent accounts such as the long and research-based chapter on U.S. Buddhism in Dr. Diana Eck's A New Religious America: How a "Christian" Country Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation.
It has been said that there is no American Buddhism, only American Buddhisms, and this is a useful truth to keep in mind, I think.
It was only a few years ago that I was seated at dinner with a diversity and inclusion professional, who appeared to be a white person, a person who was new to me. They asked about the work I had done in the D&I (Diversity and Inclusion) field. I replied that I am Buddhist and most of my diversity work has been done in Buddhist communities in the U.S., particularly focusing on racism.
They seemed very interested, smiled, and said, "I practice meditation with a Buddhist group!" Then they furrowed their brow slightly and said, in a thoughtful voice, "But there aren't many people of color who are Buddhists."
This was one of those moments of truth where one can choose to be mindful or not. I took a deep breath, then said as warmly and kindly as I could, "I disagree. Buddhism comes from Asia, and most Buddhists, globally speaking, are people of color."
The person thought about this, then said, "I guess I mean Black people."
I replied, "Actually, there are large Buddhist groups such as SGI-USA who have significant membership of people of color who are not Asian-descended, including large numbers of African Americans."
I could tell that all of this was new and confusing information to this person, who seemed like a well-educated white professional. And they are not alone. If you go into a sampling of U.S. Buddhist groups that are predominantly white converts and ask, "If I ask you to think of three to five images of 'a typical American Buddhist,' who do you see in your mind?" the answer is likely to be almost completely different than if you go into a sampling of U.S. Buddhist groups that were founded by Asian Buddhist immigrants, anywhere from over 100 years ago up to fairly recently, and ask the same question.
Both broad categories are likely to contain a large number of people who self-identify as "Americans," meaning U.S. citizens, but between these groups is what seems to me like an almost impenetrable wall, often, or an abyss in which phone and Internet signals mysteriously disappear.
The reasons for this divide, it has been noted, include, although they are not solely reduced to, racism. And, because issues of socioeconomic class usually co-arise with issues of race and ethnicity, there is classism as well. Asian American Buddhists, like Asian Americans in general, commonly encounter racism in the forms of being regarded as perpetual foreigners, sometimes exoticized, sometimes feared, and most often completely ignored or what is called "invisibilized" in addition to what is sometimes called "Otherized" these days. Last year, for instance, I was talking to a white American woman in a Buddhist center in Berkeley and we had been chatting for quite awhile. English is my first and primary language, except for a little French, and I speak with a flat Midwestern accent, having grown up near Akron, Ohio; I am a sansei, or third generation Japanese American who has never been to Japan. After we'd been talking pleasantly for at least fifteen minutes, the woman said, "Are you from Hong Kong?" I replied that I am originally from Ohio and asked why she thought I was from Hong Kong. She said, "There were some other people from Hong Kong here earlier today." I hope it is obvious that it is exactly this sort of conflation of identity and nationality, based on physical appearance, that was at the root of the reason that American citizens of Japanese descent were placed in concentration camps in World War II. That these implicit associations and biases exist so strongly today among people of undoubted good will is something to be strongly taken into account when white convert Buddhist groups consider or are challenged to consider diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Meanwhile, the so-called Asian American and the Asian immigrant U.S. Buddhist organizations and groups are doing what they've done, in some cases for over a century in this country: serving their communities. I always knew better than to try to reach my late friend, Ven. Thich An Duc, an African American senior Buddhist monk who resided in Chua Dieu Phap, a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in San Gabriel, California anytime around Buddha's birthday or other major Buddhist holidays. The venerable, who also went by the name Bhante Suhita Dharma, told me that Chua Dieu Phap would easily draw 2,000 people for Buddha's birthday, and that the temple had a system in place so that services were held, everyone got fed, bathroom facilities were provided, and people of all ages, from babies in arms up to elderly folks in wheelchairs, were well cared for. Similar thriving, multigenerational scenes that fluidly include laypersons, monastics, married clergy, and visiting Buddhist dignitaries, albeit perhaps with smaller numbers, can be found – should one have the consciousness to look – at hundreds and probably thousands of Asian-descended American Buddhist centers and communities that have impressive infrastructure, including Dharma schools for young children and teenagers, in the U.S.
Although it's a bit of a collector's item, Taking Refuge in L.A.: Life in a Vietnamese Buddhist Temple, a book of lyrical photos by Don Farber and text by Rick Fields, can still be found, and, were I calling the shots, would be viewed avidly by every person in a predominantly white, U.S. convert Buddhist community as a foundation of their Dharma study. In my experience, U.S. people of color who are converts to Buddhism usually have a fairly strong awareness that Dharma in the U.S. includes both Buddhists of Asian as well as non-Asian descent, and includes African Americans, Latin@s and Hispanics, U.S. indigenous peoples, and people of mixed heritage as well as people from other countries, including often invisibilized Canadians. "Minority awareness" seems to fairly easily translate to an openness to consider that "American Buddhists" might be diverse also, regarding sexual orientation, gender-identity, ability and disability, and other dimensions of diversity.
How to cross this great divide? It's probably evident that some additional factors that keep it so firmly in place are cultural differences and needs, as well as negative perceptions and judgments on both sides. There are people who freely cross the divides in U.S. Buddhism, feeling welcomed and at home everywhere they go; these folks, however, aren't usually the voices that are heard in convert U.S. Buddhist media. We can become these folks if we make the effort. Start small and identify a Buddhist group that's quite unlike your own; ask if you can visit and go with a friend. Take a donation of food or flowers or money. Ask lots of questions and make it clear you're interested in their culture and what they've achieved in building their temple, undoubtedly persevering through many difficulties. Then, although of course nothing is ever 100% guaranteed, be prepared to be the recipient of warm hospitality, and gain transformative insights into new worlds, and to make new spiritual friends. It probably won't feel 100% comfortable to you to be there, but learning new things doesn't mean you have to agree with them.
Mushim (Patricia Y. Ikeda) is a socially engaged Buddhist teacher at East Bay Meditation Center (www.eastbaymeditation.org) in downtown Oakland, California. She has published in numerous Buddhist publications and also works as a diversity and inclusion consultant. She has taught meditation retreats for people of color, women, and social justice activists nationally. She is the recipient of the 2014 Gil A. Lopez peacemaker award from the Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California (ADRNC) for her yearlong program, Practice in Transformative Action, training social justice activists in mindfulness. In September 2015 she was awarded an honorary sacrae theologiae (sacred theology) doctorate from Starr King School for the Ministry. Mushim has been featured in two documentary films: Between the Lines (on Asian American women poets), and Acting on Faith: Women and the New Religious Activism in America, distributed by the Pluralism Project at Harvard University. In June 2015 she participated in "Suffering, Liberation, and Fraternity," a weeklong Catholic-Buddhist dialogue addressing issues of social suffering, hosted by the Vatican in Italy.
American Buddhism
African American Buddhism - a manual for an Age of Enlightenment
February 5, 2016 The Dalai Lama's message on Living a Meaningful Life - Tibetan New Year
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When asked to sum up the Buddha's teachings up in one phrase a zen teacher Suzuki Roshi simply said, "Everything changes.". We must remember this in our daily lives and understand that clinging on to things only creates suffering. Whether it's a job, relationship or possessions it's illogical to make things work just because you cannot bear to face the alternative. The alternative is always unknown and thus can produce a great deal of anxiety. Relinquishing all control of one self and going with the flow will always yield unexpected results.
Alan Watts used to compare life to music. The point of music is music, he would say. People enjoy listening to music for the rhythm, the stream of melody. No one is listening to music to hear it end. If they were then, as Watts pointed out, their favourite songs would be the ones that ended abruptly with one single uproar of noise. Life is the same way.
With that mindset I have recently decided to leave my position with the wonderful guys over at Unsigned and travel the world in search of adventure. My latest stop was Malta which is a country shrouded in beauty and a rich, violent history. In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, where the sea narrows between African and European continents, the islands of Malta and Gozo offer the best of both worlds. The laid back Italian culture permeates every nook and cranny of its cities such as Valletta and Birgu while the hot African climate means clear skies and very little chance of rain.
Malta possesses natural deep and well-protected harbours. These were one of the island's most important assets, and that is the main reason why the different Mediterranean powers, whether for trade or for control, always desired to occupy the archipelago. When the knights of St John arrived in Malta in 1530, the peninsula on which Valletta and Floriana were to be built was practically uninhabited. There was a small church and probably a tower at its tip, to watch over the entrance to the harbours and perhaps a few farmhouses. The area was immediately recognised by the knights as an excellent strategic site for a fortified city.
The very first structure to be built was For St Elmo. The piratical attack of 1551 made it clear to the knights that they were in grave danger. There were no adequate defences and they decided to build fortifications in case that raid was just a spying mission. A year later a small star-shaped fort was erected to the designs of Pietro Pardo. It was built in such a hurry that it was said that attacked would take it in a few days. Because of this detail, various grand masters continued to add walls and better fortifications , without actually making it better. Other suggestions and even plans were prepared to build a fortified city but, since it was felt that an attack was imminent and there was not enough money to start such a large project, they were postponed. In 1565, when a large Ottoman armada landed in Malta, only Fort St Elmo was in place.
The Great Siege was fought around the Grand Harbour area. Before the loss of Fort St Elmo, the Ottomans used the high ground of the promontory to attack both the fort and the other side of the harbour fortifications. The successful end of the siege in September of the same year, led to the knights to insist with the European powers that both material and financial help was needed quickly, or else they would abandon the islands. Help thus was sent, which included Francesco Laparelli, the pope's military architect.
Laparelli immediately went about working out a feasible plan and on 28 March 1566, the first stone of the new city was laid. The line of fortifications was quickly erected and soon the first buildings rose behind them. The definite transfer of the headquarters of the Order from Vittoriosa to Valletta in 1571 led to a series of building programmes, which was to become an ongoing exercise. The first buildings were erected in the style of the time, namely late Renaissance and Mannerism. In the seventeenth century Baroque was introduced and this led to more buildings, and sometimes the pulling down of others in order to rebuild them in the new style. Various architects were brought over to continue with this trend and painters were also invited to decorate the interior of the churches and palaces.
The Maltese islands are an architectural paradise. The various powers that occupied the islands throughout the last 7,000 years have all left their mark, one way or another. The most impressive architectural remains must surely be the prehistoric temples, which have been called 'the oldest free-standing buildings in the world'. One can appreciate the techniques used by these prehistoric builders, even though they lacked the proper tools to erect such impressive structures. Chronologically, the next architectural gems are from the Roman period, with the most important being the Domus at Rabat and the Roma Baths, limits of Mgarr.
Medieval architecture can be mostly seen at Mdina or in the various older village cores that still abound. The small houses have been lost, but the impressive palaces built by the well-to-do and the noble families have survived. The two-mullioned windows and the pointed arches are typical of this period. Something similar can be seen at Birgu, especially inside the Inquisitor's Palace. Some churches dating from this period ave survived as well, although they are not amongst the most impressive.
The Baroque period must surely be referred to as the Golden Age of Malta. The building of Valletta in the sixteenth century led to the military and religious Order of St John to set up its headquarters there. After settling down, the knights started to add to their buildings, or even pull them down and rebuild them. Foreign architects who were invited to Malta, together with local talent, erected buildings like the auberge of Castile in Valletta (Andrea Belli), the cathedral in Mdina (Lorenzo Gafa), and various other palaces all over the islands.
While all of this public building was being carried out, whole systems of fortifications were being planned and built all over the islands. The urban conglomerations around Valletta as well as the coast ended up being provided with all kinds of defence systems that are mostly still standing.
The British introduced styles of architecture more to their liking, such as the Neo-Classical style and the Neo-Gothic. One can notice some of these buildings in Malta. The latter style was usually much more associated with church buildings, and the magnificient cemetery at Marsa.
Although I travelled to Malta to get away from the hectic nature of London I found myself walking over 20 kilometres every day just to experience this wonderful island. Its diverse history and culture is reflected in the architecture and after spending a week here it felt like I only begun to scratch the surface.
Thanks for reading my latest article. If you enjoyed it please give it a share using the links below. For more check out my latest lookbook from Paris, street style from London Collections or my trip to the magical city of Coimbra.


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The instance Rushmore, Touchstone Pictures presents ; an American Empirical picture ; produced by Barry Mendel and Paul Schiff ; written by Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson ; directed by Wes Anderson represents a material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Austin Public Library. This resource is a combination of several types including: Instance, Video Recording.
Blu-ray version, Widescreen format, director-approved Blu-ray special ed.


Turriff Golf Club's Health and Safety Policy aims to help protect our members, staff, visitors and other users of the golf course.
FIRST AID ASSISTANCE: In the event of an accident, first aid boxes are located behind the bar and in the Greenkeeper's Bothy within the Greenkeeper's Shed. There is also a defibrillator located at the entrance to the Lounge.
MOBILE PHONES: In order to summon help when on the course via a mobile phone, please call the emergency services on 999, our post code is AB534DH or the Clubhouse telephone number is 01888562982.
Accident Register located behind the Bar.
• You are advised to exercise caution at all times on the golf course with respect to identifying areas where you may be at a potential risk of being hit by another golfer's golf ball, especially on those holes where the landing area is not clearly visible from the tee and areas where there are parallel fairways.
golfers must wait until it is safe to play.
• If a golf ball is stuck and is heading in the direction of other people, you must shout FORE to alert them of the impending danger. When you hear the shout of FORE, please take evasive action and crouch down and cover your head.
• Golfers should not strike a golf ball when there is a risk of endangering other people whether that is other golfers, greenkeeping personnel or any other member of the public.
• Animal Holes: Turriff Golf Club endeavours to fill in holes created by animals. However it is inevitable that there will be animal holes which could lead to injuries. These holes are particularly prevalent on the 16th hole. Please take extra care.
• Buggies: Turriff Golf Club has Buggies for hire and allows members to operate their own private biggies on the course. All buggies must be operated in accordance with our Buggies Policy. There is a designated route around the course for buggies which must be adhered to.
• Fertiliser and Insecticides etc: Do not lick golf balls or fingers. A notice on route to the 1st Tee will advise of days that chemicals have been used. Players are advised to take heed of the warnings and protect themselves.
• Footwear: Turriff Golf Club requires golf shoes to be worn on the golf course as they help with avoiding slips and they also help your golf!
• Greenkeepers: The greens personnel are regularly working on the Course when golf is in progress. Please be careful and courteous to them and ensure that they are aware of and have acknowledged your presence prior to playing in their proximity.
• Insurance: All golfers must ensure that they are adequately insured in respect of the risks involved with playing golf at Turriff Golf Club.
• Out of Bounds: No attempts should be made to retrieve golf balls which have come to rest outside of the boundary of the golf course.
• Practising: This is limited to the designated Practice Areas of the Club which are situated beside the car park and beyond the 5th Tee. There is a notice located at the entrance to these practice areas detailing the correct usage of the practice facilities. To ensure the safety of all users of the practice area, as well as other golfers and members of the public, these instructions must be adhered to.
• Steep Banks, Slopes & Paths: Turriff Golf Course has too many steep banks, slopes and paths to list individually. At all times players should take care when walking up or down these, particularly when using golf buggies or trolleys. Adherence to the instructions detailed on the windscreens of the buggies is also essential in respect of minimising risks in this respect.
• Steps & Mats: There are various types of steps and paths with rubber mats, artificial grass or rock dust throughout the course. You are advised to use all steps and paths on the course with caution, particularly in wet or icy conditions.
• Wildlife: Players should be aware that there is a potential threat from wildlife such as wasps, bees and other biting insects on the course, especially during the summer months. Each summer we have nesting Oyster Catchers around the clubhouse and on the course, golfers should try not to disturb these nests.
members and visitors should themselves determine whether they consider it safe to play.
Players have a duty of care to behave in such a way that others may not be injured by their actions. They also have a duty of care to ensure that they do not injure themselves. All players play at their own risk and should do nothing to jeopardise the safety of themselves or others.
To help with the review process of our safety procedures all Members, Guests and Visitors are kindly requested to bring to the attention of the Administrator any incidents that happen on the golf course, or hazards they feel have not been addressed.
This document aims to explain all aspects of the hiring, operation and storage of golf buggies at Turriff Golf Club. Failure to adhere to this policy may result in immediate termination of a buggy hire.
For members who own their own buggies, failure to adhere to this policy could ultimately result in sanctions up to and including a ban on the use of a buggy.
The Club – Turriff Golf Club.
Buggy – all motorised means of transport of golfers around the golf course.
Committee – the General Committee of Turriff Golf Club.
Hirer – the person or persons hiring the buggy.
Turriff Golf Club has a limited number of buggies available for hire to members and visitors. These buggies can be hired via the Professional's Shop in exchange for the appropriate fees which are set annually in January and they are displayed on the Turriff Golf Club website at turriffgolfclub.com.
Anyone who chooses to hire a buggy will be required to complete an Insurance Form prior to the commencement of the buggy hire.
The person on duty in the Professional's Shop shall provide the Hirer with instructions in the use of the buggy including a safety briefing. By signing the Insurance Form the hirer is also confirming that they have received appropriate guidance in the use of the buggy as well as the safety briefing.
Turriff Golf Club has a limited number of spaces available for the storage or storage and recharging facilities of member's buggies in exchange for the appropriate fees. These fees are set annually in December and they are displayed on the Turriff Golf Club website at turriffgolfclub.com.
These storage spaces shall be allocated on a first come first served basis. Should we have more member's requiring storage space for their buggies than we have spaces available, then a waiting list will be created and spaces will be allocated as and when they become available. The responsibility for insuring these buggies resides with the owners', Turriff Golf Club accepts no responsibility for any damage caused to member's buggies when they are stored in the shed provided or when they are operational on the course.
The owners of all buggies operating on the course are responsible for the maintenance and repairs to their buggies and also for the provision of fuel for their buggies. The Club requires owners to ensure that their buggies are properly maintained and in a safe working order at all times such that they do not present any risk to anyone on the course. The Club reserves the right to carry out any safety checks it feels are necessary in order to provide confirmation that a member's buggy is in a safe operational state fit for operation at Turriff Golf Club.
The Committee has a duty of care responsibility for all golfers, employees and contractors using or working at our facility and as such the use of buggies on the course requires careful consideration on a daily basis.
a) The course is declared open and the course is in a suitable condition for the un-restricted use of buggies in line with this policy.
b) The course is declared open, but conditions are not suitable for the use of buggies. A message shall be posted on the course hotline advising that although the course is open, it is closed to buggies due to adverse ground conditions.
It should be noted that the Greenkeeper's decision is final, and that the safety of all golfers is paramount at all times. The Greenkeeper shall advise the Professional's Shop of his decision and the reasoning behind it. The Professional is expected to support the decision and assist in explaining the ruling to the members.
A buggy route plan highlighting the approved route around the course shall be installed in the Club's buggies and a copy of the route plan shall also be supplied to all owners of buggies who use the course. A copy of the Approved Buggy Route can be found in Appendix A.
Drivers of buggies must be 18 years or over.
Drivers of buggies must not operate a buggy under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Where possible, members who choose to use buggies during Saturday Club Competitions should try to avoid the busy tee times from 8:30am until 10:30 am such that there is limited interference with the play of other walking members. Should members wish to use their buggies during these times, they will be expected to respect the pace of play of the walking members.
Golfers using buggies shall adhere to all signs which are posted throughout the course.
In general, buggies must navigate around the course via the rough at either side of each fairway and observe a 90 degree rule when approaching your ball.
Buggies must be kept off aprons, tees and greens at all times.
Buggies must be driven in a safe manner at all times, giving due consideration to other members and visitors and to the driving conditions on the day.
Extra care must be taken if you are required to drive your buggy through the car park area.


text:
We'll defend Buhari in court – APC legal team
The Legal Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council has affirmed its readiness to defend the resounding victory of President Muhammadu Buhari with all the legal expertise at its disposal.
A statement issued and signed by Prof Mamman Lawan Yusufari, Deputy Director Legal after its emergency meeting held on 27 Feb 2019 called on interested parties who were not satisfied with the results of the elections to challenge same by following due process of the law.
The directorate congratulated Buhari on his victory at the Saturday's presidential election and thanked Nigerians for their overwhelming support.
They lauded the presidential candidates, political parties and their support groups for their general respect for the law in the campaign activities.
The statement also hailed the INEC for conducting the presidential and National Assembly elections in substantial compliance with the law.
The directorate condemned the few cases of violence in some parts of the country and called on the appropriate authorities to deal with the perpetrators in accordance with the law.


text:
Astaphan says no one can scare him from expressing his conscience
Social Activists Dwyer Astaphan L and Richard Caines
By LR Liburd
St. Kitts-Nevis Observer
Operation Rescue's co-founder Dwyer Astaphan is adamant that his watchdog body would not be silenced and apart from killing or maiming him, no man or woman could shut down, distract or scare him from expressing his conscience.
He was at the time (Tuesday, Apr. 13) speaking on his watchdog body's talk show programme – 'The Operating Room' – in response to statements directed at him by Minister of Public Infrastructure the Hon. Ian 'Patches' Liburd.
While addressing attendees at the People's Action Movement's 51st Annual National Convention on Sunday (Apr. 10), Liburd had slammed Astaphan for questioning some of the unfulfilled promises Team Unity made during its election campaign.
He told members and supporters of PAM not to be fooled by some talk show hosts who claim to be supportive of Team Unity but are now criticising the Government because they did not get what they wanted.
"The point I am making my family, do not be fooled by some of them who all of a sudden they ain't got what they want so they criticising Team Unity that they claim they support. They criticising Team Unity because they ain't get what they want and they still say that they supporting Team Unity. They want change the government, they want change the Prime Minister but they still support Team Uity. And when some people talking about they get rid of Simmonds and they get rid of Douglas and they could get rid of Timmy, what nonsense they talking?"
In response, Astaphan said: "The most ridiculous part of this is that some people seem to believe that if you support a political party, then you are not supposed to question them…
"In the name of God and country I stand and I will speak, and if your skin is thick, your skin thick. If your skin thin, you will bleed easily. I cannot be defeated in this cause because what I have and what I need is my integrity. I don't have nothing else and I don't need nothing else…and I can't lose that and I will not lose that. I don't have anything to lose."
The former Government Minister noted that all he is looking forward to as a supporter of Team Unity is good governance and explanations for the unfulfilled promises.
"What I am looking for in return from whoever is elected or even who I don't elect is good governance, fairness for everybody, adhering to the promises and where you can explain to the people why you can't, where you explain to the people why you haven't, and keep updating the people on the timetable of the promises that you made."
He reiterated some of the things he spoke about in the previous week and provided an explanation for one of the unfulfilled promises.
"Last week I looked at a number of things promised in the Team Unity Manifesto and I expressed my opinion as I usually do in a robust manner. Of course, I am well aware that a lot of things you can't do as soon as you would like. Some things you can't do in five or 10 years.
"Let me give an example. The Team Unity said they want to give five hundred dollars to needy families. There anticipation was that would come from the SIDF fund. When they went in they found out that there was more wind in the SIDF bank account than cash. So that is a promise you cannot fulfil…not now and in the near future. That's my perception of it. So, give an explanation to people so that they will understand. Have that conversation so that you bring people's expectations to reality and do not give people the impression that you are ignoring them or misleading them. Now having said that, do I sound hostile to anybody in government? I don't think so, but if I am I have a right to be once I am respectful, once it's not personal or anything like that. But I am not hostile!"
Astaphan said that last week he was talking about certain essentials such as Integrity Legislation, Freedom of Information Legislation and the Public Accounts Committee.
"We had a Constitution for 33 years and no government, thus far, has seen it fit to mechanise and mobilise through legislation and regulations a Public Accounts Committee, and it is a fundamental component of the National Assembly Elections Act and of Parliamentary governance.
"I asked last week why is it that 13 months is not enough time to pass these laws. Why after 13 months, now nearly 14, have we still not seen at least some reports on the SIDF and on PEP and the Electoral Office and other State agencies, or have seen the consequences of such reports? I am not saying by now we should have seen all, I'm saying by now we should have seen some of those."
The politician turned social activist said he has the right to ask questions and express his opinions, but because of the stand he has taken, some people have accused him of "wanting to run things and to make decisions for people or that I am upset. That I am upset because I am not getting what I want, which is kind of ridiculous, which is the kind of argument Douglas and them were using".
Astaphan however admitted to being upset but not for the reasons stated by Minister Liburd.
He spoke to a challenge which all citizens of the Federation should embrace and pointed to himself and a number of others who at the formation of Operation Rescue had fought to achieve.
"The challenge to all right-thinking, responsible and self-respecting citizens is to build and safeguard democracy, and that challenge continues. This effort is being made not only by me, not only by Washie Archibald, not only by Richard or people like Terry Adams, Forrest the calypsonian, Oliver Spencer, Carlton Dupont, Calvin Beech, Omowale Mohammed and other men and women who have stood and being a part of, who have led and marched with Operation Rescue when there was no other game in town. Not just by us! But that challenge, the effort has to be continued, and will be, and is being continued by a broad sweep of citizens and friends of this country who want a better society, a better economy, better governance in this beloved Federation of ours.
Astaphan categorically stated that Operation Rescue is not about him but a movement for change, a better economy and better governance in the Federation.
"So it's not about me! This is a movement for change that will always be relevant whether you like it or not, whether you think so or not. Operation Rescue or the concept and the work of whatever you call it, social activism must continue because we have started something that political party or politician can stop."
He is of the view that some citizens might feel comfortable because having gotten rid of the Labour Party Administration they could relax because all is fine and dandy and all would be fine. "But you could not be more wrong. Democracy requires vigilance and democracy, as I said in an article couple of years ago, is a noisy thing. Silence feeds totalitarianism, lack of questioning and challenge feeds dictatorship and we had 20 years of it and no more".
Meanwhile, Richard Caines, the co-founder of Operation Rescue and co-host of 'The Operating Room, fully supports Astaphan.
He made this pronouncement on last Tuesday's airing of the programme.
"Anything that Honourable Dwyer said here on this programme, I stand by that myself. And so I don't want you to think that it is just him as some persons are saying. We discuss what we are going to be talking about…we speak regularly."
He also told listeners to the programme that he is still a proud member of PAM and that he has great expectations of the Team Unity Government and he too intends to keep it accountable for their actions.
"The Government is changed now for some 13 months. You could never ever hear that either Honourable Dwyer or myself trying to get on any board, want to be appointed as any consultant, want to be appointed as anything. That's not our function; we are here of our own free will. What we say we stand by and no apologies for that," the past PAM Minister said."
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text:
Q: How can you find $P(\frac{X}{Y-X}<0)$ if $X\sim Geometric(p)$ and $Y\sim Bernoulli(p)$ Let the independent random variables $X\sim Geometric(p)$ and $Y\sim Bernoulli(p)$, I want to prove that $P(\dfrac{X}{Y-X}<0)=(p-1)^{2}(p+1)$.
Do I need the joint probability mass function for this or should it be proven in some other way?
Any help or hints will be appreciated

A: Given that $Y$ is Bernoulli distributed, it will have probability mass function $P(Y=0)=(1-p)$ and $P(Y=1)=p$. As Frank has helpfully commented, we can condition on $Y$.
When $Y=0$, we have $P(\frac{X}{Y-X}<0|Y=0)=P(-X<0|Y=0)=P(X>0|Y=0)$
When $Y=1$, we $P(\frac{X}{Y-X}<0|Y=1)=P(\frac{X}{1-X}<0|Y=1)=P(X>1|Y=1)$
Thus, we have the following (the third line being a consequence of the independence between $X$ and $Y$)
$$\begin{align}P\left(\frac{X}{Y-X}<0\right)&=P\left(\frac{X}{Y-X}<0|Y=0\right)P(Y=0)+P\left(\frac{X}{Y-X}<0|Y=1\right)P(Y=1)\\&=P(X>0|Y=0)P(Y=0)+P(X>1|Y=1)P(Y=1)\\&=P(X>0)P(Y=0)+P(X>1)P(Y=1)\\&=\left(\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}p(1-p)^k\right)(1-p)+\left(\sum_{k=2}^{\infty}p(1-p)^k\right)(p)\\&=(1-p)^2+p(1-p)^2\\&=(p-1)^2(1+p)\end{align}$$


Many employers provide some form of paid sick leave to their employees. In fact, employers are required to do so for employees working in San Francisco. Don't be jealous. The Legislature is considering a bill that would mandate paid sick leave statewide. See Assembly Bill 2716.
Employers that provide paid sick leave, voluntarily or otherwise, must comply with California Labor Code Section 233, known as the "kin care" law. The 1st District Court of Appeal in McCarther v. Pacific Telesis Group, 2008 DJDAR 7620 (May 23, 2008), interpreted the kin care law for the first time. The court's opinion may change the way employment lawyers advise their clients about attendance policies.
The amount of kin care available to employees is equivalent to the amount of sick leave an employee would earn in six months. For example, if the employer provides six days of paid sick leave per year, employees may use up to three of the six days for the illness of the family members listed above.
The law defines the "paid sick leave" subject to kin care as "accrued increments of compensated leave" for use during an employee's absence for any of the following reasons: "the employee is physically or mentally unable to perform his or her duties due to illness, injury, or a medical condition;" to obtain medical diagnosis or treatment; because of pregnancy; or to obtain medical examinations. So, paid leave granted for any of these reasons makes the time off kin care-eligible.
The law excludes from the definition of "paid sick leave" any benefits covered by ERISA, insurance benefits, workers' compensation benefits, unemployment compensation disability benefit or any other benefit not payable from the employer's general assets. Section 233 also says that nothing in the statute extends the right to the maximum time off available under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act or the California Family Rights Act.
So, if an employer grants sick leave but counts employees' absences for their own illnesses against their attendance records, can the employer do so for kin care absences? That is precisely the question the Court of Appeal addressed in McCarther.
Kimberly McCarther was a Pacific Telesis employee. Her employment was governed by a collective bargaining agreement between the employer and the Communications Workers of America. The union contract contains a very generous sick pay plan. That is, employees receive up to five paid sick days for any seven-day period during which they are off work due to an illness or injury. There is no limit to how many paid sick days an employee may receive under the plan. So, an employee could take five paid sick days, come back to work and take five additional paid sick days the following week. The company initially applied this program only to the employee's own illness. The union had never sought to apply it to kin care-related absences either.
Pacific Telesis had an attendance policy under which employees would receive an "occurrence" for absences covered by the sick pay plan, unless the absence was considered "excluded." Excluded absences included time off covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act or due to work-related injuries. Employees who accumulated too many occurrences would be subject to disciplinary action.
McCarther and another employee filed a class action lawsuit, seeking to extend the sick pay policy to kin care-related absences. The company's primary argument in defense was that the essentially unlimited sick pay benefit did not count as "paid sick leave" under the kin care law because it was not "accrued increments of compensated leave." The trial court agreed and granted the employer's motion for summary judgment.
The 1st District Court of Appeal, Division Two, however, disagreed. The court focused on the definition of "accrued." The court ultimately decided that although employees did not have to "accrue" sick days over time, because the policy automatically provided employees with virtually unlimited sick pay for covered absences, the definition of "accrued" did not require any accumulation. As a result, employees could use up to one-half of the "unlimited" leave for kin care purposes.
May Employers Discipline Employees for Taking Kin Care?
The court having decided that Pacific Telesis's sick pay plan was kin care-eligible and covered by Section 233, the question then arose whether the attendance control policy was unlawful in light of the restrictions on employers imposed by Sections 233(c) and 234.
The court's approach differed from the parties' and probably from the conclusions of many employment law practitioners who have been working with the kin care law for over eight years. Noting that its role was to harmonize statutory provisions and avoid absurd results, the court decided "Section 234 does not prohibit an employer's regulation of äóÖkin care' leave taken by employees pursuant to Section 233, provided that employers regulate sick leave and äóÖkin care' leave in the same way." That is, the court held, Section 234 prohibits absence control policies that impose greater consequences on employees taking kin care leave than employees who use sick leave for their own absences.
While Pacific Telesis probably does not view the McCarther decision as a positive development, employers with traditional sick leave plans will benefit from the decision. It is true that employers with "unlimited" paid sick benefits must extend those benefits to kin care absences. The good news, though is that the opinion breathes new life into employers' absence control policies, such as "no-fault" attendance rules. Employers and their lawyers should review their policies to ensure that kin care leave is administered appropriately in light of McCarther. At the same time, employers should be cautious, as "no-fault" attendance policies remain subject to other laws, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, Pregnancy Disability Leave Law and the federal and state "reasonable accommodation" obligations under the anti-disability discrimination laws.


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text:
Arab Woman Awards UAE announces 2015 winners
Twenty inspirational women's achievements celebrated at grand gala dinner.
by ANANKE December 7, 2015
Lifetime Achievement award presented to HH Sheikha Fatima bint Zayed bin Saqr Al Nahyan and Professor Rafia Ghabesh named "Inspirational Arab Woman of the Year 2015."
Held under the Patronage of the UAE's Minister of Culture, Youth, and Social Development HE Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, 20 inspirational women were celebrated at a glittering gala dinner at the Arab Woman Awards UAE 2015 held at the Ritz-Carlton DIFC Dubai. Over 350 female VIP guests and members of the UAE royal family attended the red carpet event presented by NET-A-PORTER, the world's premier online luxury fashion destination.
The Arab Woman Awards were established by ITP in 2009 to recognise successful women in business, education, entrepreneurship, media, government, literature, and other fields. Since launch the awards have become a powerful platform for recognising role models for a new generation of young women.
The winners included HH Sheikha Fatima bint Zayed bin Saqr Al Nahyan under the Lifetime Achievement Award who was acknowledged for her humanitarian work that has spanned over 15 years. deNovo CEO & Founder May Nasrallah won Businesswoman of the Year and Masdar's Director of Sustainability Dr Nawal Al-Hosany was awarded under the Energy category. In one of the final awards of the evening Professor Rafia Ghabesh was named as the UAE's Inspirational Woman of the Year 2015.
Commenting on her award, Dr Nawal Al-Hosany reflected, "The UAE has always been an energy leader. I am immensely honoured to be recognised by the Arab Woman Awards for contributing to the nation's vision of expanding our energy leadership to the fields of renewable energy and sustainable development. Women have a critical role to play in ensuring a future with sustainable energy for all."
A full list of winners are as follows:
Businesswoman: May Nasrallah
Entrepreneur: Jumana Darwish
Finance: Farah Foustok
Education: Yusra Al Hashemi
Legal: Dr Iman Al Jaberi
Energy: Dr Nawal Al-Hosany
Medical: Dr Moza Al Kaabi
Art: Sheikha Alyaziah bint Nahayan
Literature: Salha Ghabish
Sport: Asma Hilal Lootah
Fashion Designer: Raghda Taryam
Young Designer: Sheikha Mariam bint Khalifah Al Nahayan
Media: Zeina Yazigi
New Media: Fida Chaaban
Young Talent: Maryam Al Baloushi
Humanitarian: Sawsan Jafar
Woman in Government: E Moodhi Al Shamsi
Special Recognition Award: Khuloud Al Dhaheri
Inspirational woman of the year: Professor Rafia Ghubash
Lifetime Achievement: HH Sheikha Fatima bint Zayed bin Saqr Al Nahyan
This year, the Awards were adjudicated by a powerful all-female panel led by H.E Ameera BinKaram, Chairperson of Sharjah Business Women Council, Chairperson and founding member of Friends of Cancer Patients, SME advisory group owner Nadine Maalouf, prominent Emirati artist Najat Meky, Hello! Arabia Editor Gina Tadros, Leap Ventures Partner Noor Sweid, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court Director Dr Mona Hammami, Noor Dubai Foundation CEO Dr Manal Taryam, Abraaj Group Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Huda Al Lawati and Virgin Megastore Middle East President Nisreen Shokair.
"We are very proud of how the Arab Woman Awards have grown each year and is now recognised as an institution that honours talented, hardworking women for their achievements, and lauds their contribution to society and the economy across a number of fields. It's even more inspiring how our award winners are seen as role models for a younger generation of women who want to emulate their successes," commented HE Ameera Bin Karam who led this year's board of judges.
The UAE's Inspirational Woman of the Year, Professor Rafia Ghabesh concluded " I am pleased that the Arab Woman Awards is looking for inspiring women to honour, not only the outstanding women, but this award encourages women in various sectors such as education, culture, art and many other aspects of professional life. So, I would really like to thank all the people working on this initiative for this recognition and I honestly appreciate the effort of this approach that seeks to activate the community. The Arab Woman Awards coincides with the celebration of Innovation Week in the United Arab Emirates and this concept of inspiration is entirely consistent with the context of creativity and innovation, which is keen supported by the Government of the United Arab Emirates at all the time."
NET-A-PORTER, the online destination for luxury fashion, was the exclusive sponsor of the Arab Woman Awards UAE 2015 and has a history of supporting incredible women all over the world. As part of the evening's entertainment guests were treated to a styling presentation by NET-A-PORTER by their team of fashion experts.
NET-A-PORTER VP of Global Marketing, Heather Kaminetsky said "We are proud to be this year's exclusive sponsor of the Arab Woman Awards UAE 2015, acknowledging some of the most incredible women across the Middle East."
The Arab Woman Awards now run annually in the UAE, Kuwait, KSA and Qatar. For more information go to www.ArabWomanAwards.com
Women in Space
by ANANKE - Dec 6, 2015
PIF Showcases Progressive Pakistan
by ANANKE - Dec 10, 2015


Tap The Thumbnail Bellow to See Related Gallery of "Design Ideas For Round Nightstands Ebizby Inside Night Stands Decorations 9"
Image Title: Design Ideas For Round Nightstands Ebizby Inside Night Stands Decorations 9. Filename: design-ideas-for-round-nightstands-ebizby-inside-night-stands-decorations-9.jpg. Image Dimension: 598 x 598 pixels. Images Format: jpg/jpeg. Publisher/Author: Demetrius Heaney. Uploaded Date: Monday - February 19th. 2018 06:07:12 AM. Category: Architecture. Image Source: housetohome.co.uk.


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For integration within larger-scale automation environments, dScope includes an ActiveX / COM interface that enables the system to be controlled by external applications (and vice-versa), allowing automation executives such as LabVIEW, TestStand, Delphi, Python, C#, etc to run test sequences and check results.
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We've been in Singapore the last few days visiting the Fishers, our friends from Austin Ridge. So great!
It's been great to catch up with friends, and so random to be in Singapore doing it! They are such a sweet family and we've loved our time with them.
Kristy dropped us off in China Town today for some exploring. Man, Chinese New Year is alive and well in these parts. Such a colorful, lively time.
Tomorrow we're back in Bangkok for a 1 night layover and then back home we go!
We'll have a month to pack up our apartment! Yikes!
We just finished up our week in Thailand.
We had fun catching up with friends.
Here's Nate making Clay laugh while he's trying to work.
We had some good down time with dear friends.
Clay and I gave a talk on communications to the big group, and Clay also taught a couple of breakout sessions on producing videos.
The last day we headed out with some friends for a walk. Gotta make the most of the time we have together, right?
We found an enormous field of beautiful GRASS! Grass like none of us have seen in years due to the places everyone lives. Actually I don't know if I've ever seen such an incredible expanse of well-kept grass.
Here's Clay and some of his guys.
The frisbee came out, and the moment was complete.
It was INCREDIBLE to all be on the same side of the world together. We talked and talked. And laughed a lot.
I think 'belonging' is one of the best feelings out there.
The sun set, and it was pretty much the perfect afternoon.
We are so thankful for the privilege of being able to return to Thailand this year. We're thankful for the friends God has given us over these last few years, and how they challenge and inspire us as we seek to know the Lord more.
Clay is teaching two more sessions this week on video, and it's been fun talking about all this stuff. As has spending time with all of our dear friends on this side of the globe.
What incredible, precious people God has introduced us to over the last 2 years. We are thankful to him!
We made it to the big BKK!! Bangkok is crazy!!! Cars and people everywhere. Street vendors and spirit houses. It's intense and hot and loud. And wonderful! :) We were so excited to get to return this year, and in the dead of Belgian winter too. Our feet are very happy to be in Chacos again.
We've been recovering from jet lag the last few days, spending time with friends who are so nice and patient with our brains that still think it's 6 hours earlier than it is... I think we kept them up until after 1am our first night. Sorry guys.
The elephant building is alive and well. As are the hot pink taxis.
And, Land of Cute that it is, Thailand is rocking my socks off once more with its incredibly cute ways. They add big cute eyes to a toilet, and you find yourself wanting to love it forever.
Not only could I resist the Nativity set for myself a few weeks ago, but a set for my Thailand girls seemed necessary as well. We had fun playing with it after breakfast this morning.
We ran around town a little bit today. There is nothing like time spent with good friends. Precious precious friends.
SO happy to be in Bangkok and thankful to God for being able to share life with friends!
We're cruising right along here and just entered our 23rd month! Yikes! Time is flying! And we are trying hard to enjoy every second!
We've also been spending a lot of time at our new favorite pub. It's bittersweet finding such a welcoming and special place in our last few months but we are enjoying it. Rita and Jean Claude are neat people.
This is the night she made us chicons au gratin, a Belgian specialty.
The weather has been extremely beautiful, which I take as a personal farewell gesture from Belgium. Thank you, Belgium. You really are stunning when the clouds peel back just a bit.
Yesterday we had lunch at Ali and Nada's and I couldn't wait for Nagham to get home from school, because I finally was able to bring over her gingerbread house!
The boys had fun on their computers as usual. Sweet friends.
For the last week, most of our days have found us at our dining table working on a talk we are giving next week in Thailand.
We are leaving tomorrow to join a group of folks we work with to give a little presentation on communication and video. We are super excited!! My jeans got soaked with chilly rain as I walked home from the grocery store today, and all I kept thinking was "Bangkok, Bangkok, Bangkok..." 80 degrees, here we come!
We had a nice, relaxing, belge kind of day with our friends yesterday.
First things first, we grabbed some frites. Mmmmmm.
Then walked all over town through the mist. It was good to catch up with my dear old friend.
We bought some bread and looked for the swan family that hangs around town.
Some of our earliest memories involve large birds. Thankfully these swans were a lot less aggressive than Laura's childhood pet geese.
It's Belgium, right? Last night we led them in a sampling of some fine brews.
As the four of us walked to the train station this morning we noticed halted traffic and frantic street cleaners. Oh yes. This really happened. A trash can filled to the brim with cow parts from a recent butchering flung it's contents all over the main round-about in town.
I don't believe those actually dealing with the cow parts this morning found it quite so humorous.
Laura and Andy left today, on their way to Paris. It was so good to see them, our last visitors here in Huy.
We coped by eating breakfast at our new favorite pub. And wouldn't you know that this place that we discover mere months before moving is the one that serves a full American breakfast.
If you look behind Clay's shoulder you'll see an interesting cultural sight. In Belgium it is not at all strange to see beer being consumed at all times of day or night.
Off to clean and process some veggies! It's market day after all!
Laura and Andy are here!
An old friend came to town Sunday! And she brought her new husband! If you had told us as little girls sitting next to each other on the school bus at the age of 6 that we would someday we running around Brussels together we wouldn't have believed you (or known where the heck Brussles was).
We walked around Huy with them and thought it would be fun to take them up to Old Huy to watch the sunset.
Old Huy is a place we really love. There's a great view of the city, and in the summer we've had a lot fun BBQ picnics.
A bricked up wall. What??? No more Old Huy, people. Sad but true. Apparently the city is cracking down on the youth drinking and drug situation and this secluded meeting spot was targeted.
So we walked around a little bit in disbelief.
And then found a way in! Andy is a genius. A deputy Macgyver for sure.
Our eyes beheld this view for what will more than likely be the last time. Sigh.
And the sneaks themselves. I was so nervous we were going to be caught. Even the flash on my camera made me jumpy.
We went to Liege yesterday, and Laura tried her first Melocake. Epic moment for any Belgian tourist.
Last night we got some wine, bread, and cheese (we are going to miss living over a cheese shop) and settled in for one of our traditional B-movie nights. The selected film was the original 1970s "Piranha". Nice.
I am pretty sure I got my last Belgian haircut today.
I headed out in the rain today, not knowing which salon I was going to, but clutching a printout of Alyssa Milano with cute short hair. When you lack vocabulary, a picture is always a good idea.
I ended up at a place called Veronique's. And it was the best salon experience I have had yet.
1. I didn't have to make an appointment.
2. She kept saying my hair was beaux, just so beaux. A stylist that loves your hair for some reason is a stylist to keep. It made me laugh.
and 3. It cost 15 euros less than everywhere else I have gotten a cut. Score!
She ended up ignoring Alyssa's picture, but I decided to see where inspiration would take her.
Ay chihuahua! Believe it our not, I love it. Veronique did a great job.
My last Belgian haircut experience was a success. Whew. Here it is after a wash.
The removal of the Christmas tree. The tree pick-up is not until Wednesday, but we have company coming tomorrow (the former Miss Laura Mszar and her new husband Andy, yay!) and this thing takes up half of their bedroom!
We wanted to avoid as much needle-shedding as possible, so there was only one option.
Out the window with it.
These are the moments that Clay Sandoz lives for.
I was so torn. I didn't want to be the one on the street (ie I didn't want to be the one that was arrested), but I wasn't quite strong enough to lift the tree.
My main job was watching to make sure no one passed by when he dropped the tree. Can you even imagine how horrible that would be?
And this is what a tree looks like falling from 3 stories up.
And here it is dejectedly lying on the cobblestones in the rain.
And thus concluded the Christmas chronicles of 2010.


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Cranbrook is just off the A229 which runs North/South from Maidstone to Hastings. The A262 runs East/West between Tunbridge Wells and Tenterden and passes just north of Cranbrook. See map. The postcode is TN17 3AH.
Arriva service 5 between Maidstone and Sandhurst, and Renown service 297 between Tenterden and Tunbridge Wells, stop in the town.
South-Eastern trains from London (Charing Cross) to Ashford and Dover stop at Staplehurst (five miles north of Cranbrook) then bus service 5.
Click on the map for a scaleable map and access to Google Street View and more photos online.


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