text:
New York City buying more than 900 EVs for government fleets
New York said on Wednesday it will replace more than 900 city-owned fossil-fuel powered vehicles with electric models and install 315 additional EV charging ports after receiving a $10.1 million US Transportation Department grant.
The announcement is the latest by a US government agency to speed the shift away from gas-powered vehicles to EVs. New York City currently has more than 4,000 government-owned electric vehicles and by later this year says close to 20% of city vehicles will be EVs.
The new funding will help New York acquire 382 Chevrolet Bolt EVs, 360 Ford F.N E-Transit vans, and 150 Ford F-150 E-Lightning pick-up trucks as well as 25 plug-in hybrid street sweepers.
The city already operates about 850 Bolts, built by General Motors, and more than 200 Ford Mustang Mach-Es.
New York said the city currently has more than 1,360 charging ports, 120 fast chargers and 106 free-standing solar carports, and plans to add another 600 ports in the next 18 months.
The city's goal is to install 1,000 curbside chargers by 2025 and 10,000 charging stations by 2030. "Electric vehicles, they are clearly the future," New York Mayor Eric Adams said on Wednesday.
New York City has about 26,000 government vehicles in service.
Last month, the US Postal Service (USPS) said it would more than double its planned electric delivery vehicles purchases, tapping $3 billion in funding from Congress.
USPS said it plans to buy at least 66,000 electric vehicles through 2028 after committing in July to buying 25,000 next-generation electric delivery vehicles.
President Joe Biden in December 2021 issued an executive order directing the federal government to end purchases of gas-powered vehicles by 2035. Mr. Biden's order also directed 100% of light-duty federal acquisitions by 2027 be EV or plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) purchases.
Federal agencies quintupled purchases of EVs and PHEVs in the 12-months ending Sept. 30, moving from approximately 1% of vehicle acquisitions in the 2021 budget year to 12% of light-duty purchases in 2022, or 3,567 total, the White House said. – Reuters
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I was commissioned to create a proof-of-concept for a promotional poster for a contemporary photography studio under the direction of Studio Anthony Lane.
The objective was to create a unique series of posters with the intention of being mailed out to prospective clientele in the advertising and graphic design industries, as well as to current, personal clients.
I was asked to design the poster incorporating the new identity standards while using some kind of photographic process to create the final artwork.
After establishing a grid and structure for the typography, the layouts were printed out and re-photographed on large format instant sheet film. The sheets were double-exposed over a second exposure of the photographers original work. The composition was fine-tuned in-camera.
The concept was used to represent a sense of craft that S—Y practices in their creative portraiture studio, while creating a one-off type of design.


I took a summer job during college with a landscaping company. I had never had poison ivy in my life and had no idea how to identify it or what it could do to you. One day I was using a weedeater around a fence and ran it right through a very large patch of P. I. Did I mention that I was wearing shorts? I sprayed the stuff all over my legs, and continued to work.
The next day the rash started coming up and eventually everything between the knees and ankles was a giant, blistering, weeping mass. It took me three months of every treatment in the book to finally get rid of it, and I'll have the scars for the rest of my life.


text:
Curry Pizza House plans first local site
A Bay Area restaurant chain with menu options such as a "Curry Veggie Delight" pizza is planning to open a Roseville location.
Curry Pizza House is in the works at 3984 Douglas Blvd., Suite 140, according to online records from the city of Roseville. Signs posted at the business confirm its upcoming arrival. It will be the chain's first local site.
Representatives from Curry Pizza House would not immediately comment on the Roseville restaurant.
Established in 2012, the chain has six open locations, according to its website. Those include two in Fremont and one each in Milpitas, Dublin, San Jose and Cupertino. A Palo Alto location is also in the works.
Curry Pizza House has a fusion menu that includes pizzas topped with ingredients such as curry sauce and butter chicken. Traditional pizzas and chicken wings are also offered.
Mayfair Ventures Corp. has applied for a license to sell beer and wine at the Roseville restaurant, according to a California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control notice posted at the site. Mayfair Ventures has a Dublin address, according to records from the California Secretary of State.
It won't be the only chain to offer curry pizzas in the Sacramento area. The Chicago's Pizza chain, known for menu options including a tandoori chicken pizza, has opened several sites in the area, including two locations in Roseville.
Curry Pizza House blends Indian culture with Italian fare


text:
Uno dei suoi figli fu Carlo III, Duca di Borbone, che guidò l'armata Imperiale inviata dall'Imperatore Carlo V contro il Papa Clemente VII, in quelle che fu il Sacco di Roma, e dove fu successivamente ucciso.

Chiara è una dei personaggi nell'Heptameron, scritto da Margherita d'Angouleme, sorella di re Francesco I.

Famiglia
Chiara Gonzaga nacque a Mantova il 1º luglio 1464; primogenita di Federico I Gonzaga, marchese di Mantova e di Margherita di Baviera (1º gennaio 1442 - 14 ottobre 1479).

Ebbe cinque fratelli tra cui Francesco II Gonzaga, marchese di Mantova la cui moglie fu la celebre Isabella d'Este.

I nonni paterni di Chiara erano Ludovico III Gonzaga e Barbara di Brandeburgo; e i suoi nonni materni erano Alberto III, duca di Baviera e Anna di Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Einbeck, figlia del duca Erich I di Braunschweig-Grubenhagen e di sua moglie Elisabetta di Brunswick-Göttingen.

Biografia

Maggiore delle tre figlie di Federico Gonzaga, sposò il 24 febbraio 1482 Gilberto I di Borbone, conte di Montpensier e duca di Sessa (1443-1496). Per le loro nozze, Andrea Mantegna, già pittore di corte dei Gonzaga nel 1460, realizzò nel 1480 il San Sebastiano, ora conservato al Louvre, che venne donato alla chiesa d'Aigueperse en Auvergne, fondata nel 1475 da Luigi I di Borbone. Ad organizzare il suo matrimonio fu suo zio Francesco Secco d'Aragona, che l'accompagnò tra l'altro da Mantova a Milano nel suo viaggio diretto verso la Francia.

Una certa amicizia pare avesse con Ludovico il Moro, duca di Milano: dopo che entrambi rimasero vedovi, qualcuno arrivò a proporre un matrimonio tra i due: un medico mantovano dichiarò a un gentiluomo della corte di Chiara che Ludovico lo aveva mandato a Mantova allo scopo di chiedere la donna in moglie al marchese, e sua figlia per il proprio primogenito. Venutone a conoscenza, Ludovico si affrettò a chiarire il malinteso, dichiarando di non conoscere nessun medico e di non avere alcuna intenzione di risposarsi, pur confermandole la propria amicizia. "Et tanto maiore è l'admiratione nostra che per noi non è mai cercato, né parlato, né anche pensato de Madama de Monpensero né altra, perché poi che persemo la illustrissima nostra consorte mai scintilla ce vene di pensero de non condictione de mogliere, anzi domandando la predicta Madama nel ritorno suo in Francia transito per Milano li lo negassemo" fu la dichiarazione ufficiale di Ludovico.

Discendenza
Dal matrimonio Chiara e Gilberto nacquero sei figli:
 Luisa (1482-1561), duchessa di Montpensier, delfina di Alvernia, moglie di Andrea III di Chauvigny e poi di Luigi di Borbone-Vendôme;
 Luigi II (1483-1501), conte di Montpensier;
 Carlo (1490-1527), duca di Borbone, conte di Montpensier e connestabile di Francia;
 Francesco (1492-1515), duca di Châtellerault;
 Renata (1494-1539), dama di Mercœur, sposa di Antonio di Lorena (1489 - 1544);
 Anna (aprile 1496 - 1510).

Ascendenza

Note

Altri progetti

Chiara
Morti nell'Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Welcome to "Keep In Touch Tuesday" and our first book review. We are featuring the book, Heidi Hecklebeck and the Cookie Contest by Wanda Coven. Read my review below and leave any questions or comments in the comment section.
Have you ever entered a contest before? Heidi decides to enter her family's recipe in the local cookie contest. After learning what the other kids are making, Heidi decides her cookies are too plain. She wants to change the name of her cookies and spruce them up to make them really special. However, things don't turn out like Heidi expects. I can't tell you the rest. You'll have to read the book to find out how the drama ends. I enjoyed reading this book. There were a lot of funny parts that really made me laugh. I think both boys and girls will enjoy reading this book. I give Heidi Heckelbeck and the Cookie Contest - 5 STARS. I thing you will enjoy reading this book too. Happy Reading!


March 14 is officially known as Pi Day. The irrational number, sometimes rounded off to 3.14, goes on forever, which makes it impossible to memorize — but as you can see on this PBS NewsHour clip, that doesn't stop schoolchildren and adults from trying to recite the digits past the decimal point . Pi Day is celebrated around the world for the mathematical constant "π" (3.1415…), made even more memorable to students this year on 3.14.15 — a once-in-a-century occurrence!
Boost your digital age teaching strategies with this comprehensive series of tutorials from KQED, our PBS station in San Francisco.
This entry was posted in PBS Resources, Teaching Tools. Bookmark the permalink.


New York City isn't the only municipality to claim sports supremacy, but it has one of the strongest arguments for the title. There's a major sporting event happening almost every day somewhere in the five boroughs—and history is frequently made here too. NYC is the place where Roger Federer won five consecutive US Open tennis championships, where Mark Messier led the Rangers to Stanley Cup glory, where Babe Ruth became baseball's first superstar, where Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and where the "Greatest Game Ever Played" catapulted professional football into the national spotlight. The City's teams add to that history and excitement on a near-constant basis; read on to find out how you can be a part of it.
Babe Ruth. Mickey Mantle. Twenty-seven World Series championships. The Yankees may be the most storied franchise in sports. In 2009 the Bronx Bombers continued that winning tradition by clinching a World Series in their new, state-of-the-art stadium—just as they did back in 1923, the year they christened the House That Ruth Built. The ballpark balances history with modern amenities, and features an on-site museum filled with Yankees artifacts and memorabilia—including signed baseballs from an ever-increasing number of Yankees (the team has 1,000-plus signatures from the more than 1,500 players who have donned pinstripes). For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.
Born in the swinging '60s as heirs to NYC's National League tradition, the Mets inherited orphaned fans and an underdog spirit from the long-suffering Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants (baseball), both of which had moved to the West Coast. They've experienced lows (a dismal 1962 debut), highs (the 1969 "Miracle Mets" and the dominant 1986 squad) and everything in between. A few years back Mets fans welcomed a new era in the high-tech—and yet, it must be noted, cozy—Citi Field. The park echoes the design of the legendary Ebbets Field, where the Mets once played (and the Dodgers before them), and also pays tribute to the team's Polo Grounds and Shea Stadium heritage. For tickets, visit mets.com.
Watching the City's long-established Major League Soccer franchise take the pitch is always a kick. The side plays at Red Bull Arena, which many believe is the best soccer-specific facility in the United States. A partial roof protects fans from the elements and helps their cheers reverberate loudly, making it an intimidating place for the opposition to play. Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill are among the team's star players. For tickets, visit redbulls.com.
New York's second Major League Soccer franchise will play its inaugural season in 2015 at Yankee Stadium. It's safe to say there's some muscle behind the club: it's co-owned by Premier League side Manchester City and the New York Yankees. David Villa and Frank Lampard are set to be part of the first-ever New York City FC squad to take the field. For tickets, visit nycfc.com.
Big Blue's history is packed with memorable moments. The "Greatest Game Ever Played," in 1958 (it was a title-game loss to the Baltimore Colts), helped make NFL football one of America's most popular sports. Super Bowl wins led by Jeff Hostetler, Phil Simms and Eli Manning created some of the game's most enduring images (who can forget David Tyree's against-the-helmet catch?). MetLife Stadium, the team's state-of-the-art home, is one of the league's newest venues. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.
The Jets' loyal supporters pack the stands for every game and support their beloved Gang Green through thick and thin—embracing a plucky attitude rooted in their upset Super Bowl III victory, led by the brash Joe Namath. They started life out in Shea Stadium as cotenants with the Mets, but they've shared a stadium with football's Giants since the 1980s. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.
Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. Photo: Scott Levy © 2011 Madison Square Garden, L.P.
The Blueshirts' fans are some of the most rabid in the National Hockey League, and Rangers tickets are constantly in demand, even when the team is having a down year (they managed to stay popular during an excruciating 54-year title drought from 1940 to 1994). The atmosphere in Madison Square Garden is always charged, especially when the rival New Jersey Devils or New York Islanders visit. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.
Currently playing one final season out on Long Island, this storied NHL franchise—which won four consecutive Stanley Cup titles from 1980–83 as one of the game's great dynasties—will take up residence as the Brooklyn Nets' gym mates in the Barclays Center beginning in 2015. A talented young roster led by captain John Tavares may well make the team a big draw from day one. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.
Knicks basketball is an NYC institution that's about more than just the game. The team has been involved in some epic struggles over the years, headlined by larger-than-life heroes like Patrick Ewing and Willis Reed and villains (at least from a New York perspective) like Chicago Bull Michael Jordan and Indiana Pacer Reggie Miller. You can feel the history in Madison Square Garden, and you never know which famous faces you'll see courtside—save for the omnipresent Spike Lee. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.
From the looks of the black-and-white team gear flooding the borough's sidewalks, it's safe to say Brooklyn's residents have embraced their new NBA team. The squad has found success early in its tenure, with two playoff appearances. The team's earlier history on Long Island and in New Jersey had its bright spots too—notably the final ABA league championship, led by high-flying Julius Erving. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.
One of the WNBA's proudest franchises, the Libs have wowed New York City fans since 1997 (the team is a particular favorite with families). Over the years they've made four trips to the WNBA Finals. And it doesn't hurt the team's appeal that they play their home games at Madison Square Garden, arguably basketball's most storied venue. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.
More than 700,000 people attend the US Open annually, and tens of millions watch on TV, both to see great tennis and to be part of a sport that has produced icons—like the Williams sisters, Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova—who have ascended from mere sports stardom to full-blown celebrity. Make sure to get your tickets early if you want good seats for prime matches. The event takes place in late August and September. Throughout the rest of the year, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center hosts a number of smaller tournaments and rents its courts to the public for as little as $24 an hour. The complex is just across from the Mets' ballpark, Citi Field, and about a half hour away from Midtown Manhattan via the 7 subway line. For tickets, visit usopen.org.
This race, held in early November, is the participatory sporting event to end all participatory sporting events—during which around 50,000 competitors endure a punishing 26.2-mile journey through all five boroughs. Amateurs run alongside professional stars as millions of fans cheer them every step of the way. Marathoners compete not only on two legs but also on prostheses and wheels. For more running action in NYC, check out Icahn Stadium, located in Randalls Island Park—whose Mondo surface is believed to be one of the fastest in the United States—and the New Balance Track & Field Center in Washington Heights.
The Brooklyn Cyclones, the New York Mets' Class A Short Season minor league club, play in picturesque MCU Park—about an hour's subway ride from Midtown Manhattan. The smell of salt air permeates the stadium, which is situated close to the ocean and Coney Island attractions like Deno's Wonder Wheel and Luna Park. The on-field competition of scrappy, hardworking ballplayers harks back to the good ol' days of Brooklyn baseball—as does the intimate setting, where the team can hear what fans yell out from the stands. The Cyclones are also famous for their wacky promotions, which have included game days themed around Seinfeld, The Office and Jersey Shore. For tickets, visit brooklyncyclones.com.
Nicknamed the Baby Bombers, the Yankees' Class A Short Season minor league affiliate plays on the northeastern tip of Staten Island at Richmond County Bank Ballpark. Cities throughout America feature ballparks with astounding waterfront views, but this one may be the best of all: panoramas of New York Harbor and the City's skyline. The easiest way to get to the borough from Manhattan is by the Staten Island Ferry, which not only is free but also takes you right to the ballpark and offers views of the Statue of Liberty and the Lower Manhattan skyline on the way. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.
The Bolts, members of the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL does not, as we initially suspected, stand for Fairly Xtreme Football League), play at MCU Park at Coney Island, the summertime home of the Brooklyn Cyclones. The brand-new league aspires to become a football equivalent to baseball's minor leagues, developing talent that can get called up to the NFL. The 2014 season is its first.


One of the most exceptional and puzzling glass container shapes is known in German as a Guttrolf. The name is derived from the Latin "gutta", meaning drop and "guttura", meaning the larynx, which explains what it was used for: to allow liquid to flow drop by drop into the larynx.
The Guttrolfs in the museum of glass are the centrepiece of the collection. During the 1940s they are what inspired the museum founder Dr. Hans Löber to begin collecting glass. The foundation of the museum in 1976 goes back to a five-cylinder Roman jug dating from the third or fourth century. The glass physicist just couldn't work out how it had been made and during his search for a solution he collected the most comprehensive Guttrolf collection in Germany, comprising over 30 examples from various different countries dating from the fifth to the 19th century.
In collaboration with the master glassblower for glass apparatus, Leonhard Macholdt from Wertheim, Löber revived the old forgotten glass production techniques. The ability to blow a several cylinder Guttrolf using a blowtorch was one of them and a document about the glass foundries in Spessart dating from 1405 was decisive in finding a solution to the technical problem. It describes a daily production of 300 small beakers and 200 Guttrolfs, which went against the complex smelting and mounting technique of the separate cylinders that had been supposed up until that point. So, there must have been a simpler way. A round cylinder can be squeezed together into a square shape, and the air is sucked out instead of being blown in which makes the walls of the glass fall together, so that altogether five cylinders are created. During reheating the shape of the glass can be contorted so that it looks as if five cylinders were created in neck.


oddXian: America: an Islamic Nation?
Unfortunately, a billion people believe in Islam. Civil libertarians find little to recommend a religion whose adherents riot in the streets protesting Danish cartoon drawings of Islam but say little to protest atrocities like 9/11.
Barry Lynn and others have not objected when presidents and others have talked about the greatness of Christianity or its importance in their lives, and I think you are wrong that any religion has received more favorable treatment than Christianity.
That having been said, I can also understand how it might seem otherwise. By virtue of the fact that there are more Christians than any other group in the U.S., there are going to be more Christian attempts to subvert the constitution. Further, Christians hold most of the positions of power, and therefore are numerically more likely to use that power inappropriately than are Muslims or pagans.
By virtue of the fact that there are more Christians than any other group in the U.S., there are going to be more Christian attempts to subvert the constitution.
Have you noticed the radical left and their attempts to subvert the constitution? Christians want our country to abide by our constitution, not subvert it. It is the left that wants to ignore it. What do you think they mean when they describe it as a living and breathing document?
I didn't deny that there are times when people on the left try to subvert the constitution, although I'm sure we would disagree on what a constitutional threat actually is.
All I said was that since there are more Christians than anyone else, there will be more Christian attempts to undermine the rights of non-Christians. Further, since I doubt you would notice when a left-wing group got its head snapped back, I understand why you might think it's only Christians who get picked on. That perception, however, is an illusion.
As I think I've made clear, I have no love for Islam as a philosophy or religion, but it doesn't even pass the straight face test to say that Islam gets preferential treatment over Christianity.
That is good because those times are early and often. It is Christian conservatives who are for strict obedience to the constitution and it is liberals who want to subvert it through judicial fiats, foreign law, giving preferences to groups, etc. I could go on and on. My point is there is no comparison between Christian conservative's view of the constitution and liberal's view. You may have some criticisms of Christians you can argue but this is not one of them.
If I were you I would punt.
I do not deny there are more Christians, that numerically speaking more likelihood exists for Christians to be called out, or even that Christians have had more preferential treatment in U.S. history (... though I still argue against what most accept today as the meaning of the "separation of church and state" when originally communicated.
The point of my post deals not so much with whether one is given better treatment than the other, but with the consistency of application, that if you are going to apply it to the one, then not only where is the outcry when the other is communicated so blatantly, as well as the fact that it does not serve us well when Islam is touted as a great religion, thereby encouraging more toward it and perhaps it's reception.
Therefore, my question to you is: Not whether you have a love or not for Islam as a religion; but whether you are okay with the President of the United States, a country which touts a particular view of separation of church and state, repeated using his pulpit to proclaim that Islam is a great religion?
"You may have some criticisms of Christians you can argue but this (strict interpretation of the constitution) is not one of them."
i'm not following how you got to this particular subject. We were talking about equal application of the constitutional separation of church and state.
"are (you) okay with the President of the United States, a country which touts a particular view of separation of church and state, repeated using his pulpit to proclaim that Islam is a great religion?"
Constitutionally, I don't believe it is against the law for Obama to say what he said. Any more than it was unconstitutional for the lesser Bush to speak in glowing terms about Jesus and Christianity or to say that Islam is a religion of peace.
There is a difference between speaking well of a religion and using the government to promote those religions. Nor do I think that AU or the ACLU are falling down on the job for not giving him grief. They did not complain in the many instances in which Bush expressed his love for Christianity. I honestly believe that if you set aside your dislike for civil rights groups, you would see that they have not been trying to remove all reference to religion from the public sphere. What they do, however, is challenge it when government resources are used to promote a particular religion or when a church endorses political candidates.
Philosophically, however, I couldn't disagree with Obama more on this issue, and I don't think it is helpful to pretend that Islam has been hijacked.
i'm not following how you got to this particular subject.
Christopher Hitchens condemned the use of government "space" and you speak against the use of government "funds", but let me use one of Hitchen's own phrases - "... using government for affirmation of a religion." Now, let me ask you which form of affirmation is greater, using funds, using spaces, or when the President of one's country, the leader of the free world, repeatedly speaking out (and being broadcast around the world) using words that not only recognize a religion, but AFFIRM it using the "GREATest" of adjectives to describe it?
Besides this, are you saying you had NO problem with President Bush speaking in glowing terms of Jesus and Christianity (especially if or where he did not not of his personal faith, but as a government leader).... or are you just suggesting it's "no more against the law by comparison".
Which brings me back to the original topic which is not only by comparision when it comes to speeches to the world have significantly more references been made to Islam being a "great religion" than references to Christianity ... when was the last time a reference was made on the world stage of Christianity as a GREAT religion? ... and "repeated" with the frequency the other is???
Besides, it's not only the comparison, but the legitimacy given the presently accepted (though misinformed) position on the meaning of "separation of church and state".
In addition, it's not a good thing for our President to do anything to affirm (/and encourage people toward) that which has had such a central and demonstrated role in leading people to carry out the very attacks which have taken so many lives inexcusably. On top of this, it's not the role of president (if you continue with your description of separation of church and state) to serve as prophet and make religious statements whether the jihadists have hijacked Islam or not.
Call it hypocrisy, inconsistency, or whatever you will, but it ought not be done, especially under the "rules" which are so often held up against Christianity. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
The issue of separation of church and state can a complicated one, because we should protect the rights of individuals to practice their religion, but also we should protect their right not to have other religions pushed upon them by government. When a public figure is religious (and all but one or two are), their right to privately practice their religion and speak for themselves has to be protected, but they have no right to use government resources to promote religion.
In this case, Obama is not a Muslim so his referring to Islam as a "great" religion is akin to his referring to a foreign country as a "great" country. I don't think we would say he was advocating that everyone move there just because he speaks well of it.
"Besides this, are you saying you had NO problem with President Bush speaking in glowing terms of Jesus and Christianity (especially if or where he did not not of his personal faith, but as a government leader).... "
I may not have liked what Bush had to say regarding religion, but I do defend his right to say it (speaking for himself). He could even have legally said (as many Christians do) that only Christians are fit to serve as elected representatives. His *saying* that would not have been illegal, but if he tried to encode that into law or regulation, he would be violating the constitution.
It also would have been an indication that he didn't understand the constitution (which he didn't) and that he shouldn't be trusted in government. But I don't think the statement itself would have been illegal.
It is not unusual, by the way, for elected officials to make comments like that or to make comments that any religion is better than no religion. I don't think you'll find that any lawsuits or charges have been filed over someone making assinine comments like that.
I agree that it is a mistake to speak of Islam as a great religion, and I'm not happy that Obama did it, because it speaks of naivete. There are no great religions; only some that have a different ratio of harm to benefit.
I have to disagree, however, that his saying Islam is a great religion rises to the level of a church and state issue. We're going to disagree on this, but I'm confident that the goose and gander have been roasted in the same sauce.
How you would define something as being a religion? What thing do they all have in common?
Skeptimal: "... they have no right to use government resources to promote religion."
Response: Why Not? Can you justify this standard, with or without the Constitution?
I must add that everyone wants government to promote a religion. The question isn't whether or not the government should promote a religion. That they will is inevitable (I use the word "promote" in the broad sense as you do.) The question is what religion should government promote. Secularists want government to promote the religion of humanism. When Christian's disagree, we have the myth of separation thrown at us. Where is that in the Constitution again?
Are you saying that its impossible to have a religion-neutral government, so we should just adopt Bible-believing Christianity as our state religion? Government doesn't have to promote any religion, even if you accept the logical fallacies necessary to define "secularism" as a religion. Government can and should be silent on the subject.
The only way that I can see your position making any sense is if you believe that a government that doesn't actively and specifically endorse Christianity is actually embracing another religion by failing to do so. Is that what you believe?
Skeptimal: In this case, Obama is not a Muslim so his referring to Islam as a "great" religion is akin to his referring to a foreign country as a "great" country. I don't think we would say he was advocating that everyone move there just because he speaks well of it.
Response: While Las Vegas isn't a country, their recent experience when the President just "suggested" government money should not be used to host parties/conventions there speaks otherwise.
Besides, there's a difference when it comes to "separation of church and state" when our President affirms a "state" and when he lauds a "religion" as great.
Skeptimal: "Besides this, are you saying you had NO problem with President Bush speaking in glowing terms of Jesus and Christianity (especially if or where he did not not of his personal faith, but as a government leader).... "
Response: My post while dealing with "consistency" did not address the practices of the Bush administration.
Note - I've written concerning my views in regard to the separation of church and state.
What you have failed to address is not just whether you have no more problem with what Obama has done than with what Bush did, but whether you have a problem with what Obama is doing (or what Bush did) in affirming Islam as a "GREAT" religion. If you have a problem, then you are in agreement with my post. If you do not have a problem with it, then let's not hear objections when Christians in government (or government funded institutions) espouse Christianity.
It shocks me that you would be so hesitant to agree with this post.
Skeptimal: "It is not unusual, ..., for elected officials to make comments like that or to make comments that any religion is better than no religion. I don't think you'll find that any lawsuits or charges have been filed over someone making assinine comments like that.
Response: While the issue you raise is one which has been discussed recently, it still does not compare to our president "affirming" a "specific" religion.
Skeptimal: I agree that it is a mistake to speak of Islam as a great religion, and I'm not happy that Obama did it, because it speaks of naivete.
Response: You've agreed with the primary objective of my post, only it's not just naivete, but could lead some astray with potential to result in more of the incidents of terrorism the U.S. seeks to avoid (by encouraging some to the very texts and teachings which previous jihadists acted upon).
Skeptimal: "There are no great religions; only some that have a different ratio of harm to benefit."
Response: I disagree. You fail to recognize the value of Christianity which has been entrusted with the very words of God, whose members have been committed the ministry of reconciliation, and who proclaim the good news and message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Skeptimal: "I have to disagree, however, that his saying Islam is a great religion rises to the level of a church and state issue."
Response: I'll remind you of this when you raise issues of Christianity being affirmed (/endorsed).
Skeptimal: "...but I'm confident that the goose and gander have been roasted in the same sauce"
Response: It's not a matter of whether they have been roasted in the same sause, but if it's not acceptable for one to be served, then being of the same family it's reasonable to assume it shouldn't be acceptable for the other to be served, especially in the same pot.
Skeptimal: "Are you saying that its impossible to have a religion-neutral government"
Response: Yes. Nothing is "religion-neutral". (I believe that we have had this discussion many times before.) Ones the government legislates anything, it has taken a religious position.
Skeptimal: "Government can and should be silent on the subject."
Response: That is a religious position. It is based on a particular view of God, man, life, law, ethics, etc. For example, on what basis wuld you suggest that the government can or should do anything? Who says? Without being subject to God, government becomes autonomous. It is no coincidence that the more "secular" our government becomes, the more totalitarian it becomes. Who would have ever dreamed that the US Federal government would consider putting it's citizens in jail for refusing to buy health insurance? It may very well become a reality soon.
Skeptimal: "The only way that I can see your position making any sense is if you believe that a government that doesn't actively and specifically endorse Christianity is actually embracing another religion by failing to do so. Is that what you believe?"
Response: Exactly. For example, what is the "religion-neutral" postion on abortion? Gay Marriage? When a government legislates, how do we decide if a law is just or not?
"What you have failed to address is not just whether you have no more problem with what Obama has done than with what Bush did, but whether you have a problem with what Obama is doing (or what Bush did) in affirming Islam as a "GREAT" religion."
I can appreciate your confusion, but I've tried to say as clearly as possible that I *do* have a problem with it, but I don't think it's illegal. Your original post complained that the sep of church and state crowd weren't jumping all over Obama, which they would generally only do if there was a legal issue.
"If you do not have a problem with it, then let's not hear objections when Christians in government (or government funded institutions) espouse Christianity."
My sample comments from Christian politicians were to make the point that while I might complain about some of the things the lesser Bush and others have done, I don't believe all of them are against the law.
"It shocks me that you would be so hesitant to agree with this post."
I have to assume your "shock" is because you think I'm going soft on Obama because I agree with him more often than I did with the lesser Bush. (I refer to him as the lesser Bush becuase I actually voted for and liked Bush's father as president.) If Obama were a Muslim and said that, I would have a much more serious problem with it, but I still don't think it would be illegal.
If you're shocked that I don't think this is a sep of church and state issue, I think it's because you've misunderstood many of my previous comments. You may be tempted to say "back at you," but it's seemed to me that you've jumped to alot of unwarranted conclusions about me in the past.
In my previous comment, I gave samples of religious attacks by Christian politicans that I did not like but did not consider illegal.
"a government that doesn't actively and specifically endorse Christianity is actually embracing another religion by failing to do so. Is that what you believe?"
Well, I guess I always suspected that was the case, but I thought only Muslims or Scientologists would consciously think that way. That explains why you take even my gentler comments as direct frontal attacks on all that you believe is holy.
It doesn't really leave us much to talk about, though, does it? In your mind, the only reason to talk to me would be to convert me to Christianity, and everything I say that doesn't specifically refer to Jesus as Lord and Savior is going to be taken as a direct attack on your faith. Even when we agreed on an issue, in your mind, I'd be agreeing with you for the wrong reason, which would also be a direct attack on your faith.
I didn't say you'd accused me of attacking; I said that you treat any comment that does not endorse Christianity as an attack on Christianity. You've said there is no neutrality, and any government that doesn't specifically endorse Christianity is anti-Christian. That doesn't appear to leave Christians anything to discuss with non-Christians, in your view, other than that we should all become Christians.
"Once the Supreme Authority of God is removed from the public square, then these are the only two choices left."
You keep saying things like this, but it's a false dilemma. In practice, democracy means that we negotiate our laws. We argue those laws based on experience, history, and our hopes for the future.
You keep implying that unless I have an absolute standard that tells me what to do in every situation, that I have no ground on which to argue. Why? You don't have one either.
You say you do, but if that were the case, Christians would agree on all issues. How many branches and denominations of Christianity do we have? Further, I'm fairly confident that you would not support slavery, genocide, mass-murder, polygamy, etc., all of which are Biblical.
So let's quit pretending that you have this absolute standard that you follow. You don't.
Skeptimal, you haven't answered my questions. Let's try this again.
What is the "religion-neutral" position on abortion?
What is the "religion-neutral" position on gay marriage?
The idea that "we negotiate our laws" doesn't answer the question. I addressed that problem previously (see majority rule above). Besides, if we merely negotiate our laws, then I ask again, one what basis will say that "Government can and should be silent on the subject."
"You say you do, but if that were the case, Christians would agree on all issues"
The word "Christian" has unfortunately become without meaning. We have 2 Billion people that call themselves by that name. How do we know whether they are or not? By the same standard, God's Word.


text:
Congratulations to our 2021 Black History Month Essay Contest Winners!
We would like to give a big congratulations to our Black History Month scholarship essay contest winners. In celebration of Black History Month, we are proud to announce three exceptional students that recently were awarded a 4-Year Florida College Plan Scholarship!
Each student was tasked with writing an essay that highlights the theme, "Community Champions – Celebrating the Contributions of African Americans in Florida's Communities." We are thrilled to be a part of celebrating Black History Month, alongside Volunteer Florida and the Governor and First Lady DeSantis. The Florida Prepaid College Foundation has been a sponsor of the student contest for the past 19 years.
Essay Contest Winners:
Elementary School Winner: Brynley Ashraf, High Springs Community School, Alachua County
Brynley wrote about her school resource officer, Officer Adam Joy, who serves their community not only through his profession, but by giving back through his involvement with numerous organizations.
Middle School Winner: Harper Schuknecht, Sebring Middle School, Highlands County
Harper wrote about Joseph E. Lee, one of the first Black Floridians to practice law in our state who served as a judge as well as in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate.
High School Winner: Valeria Alfonzo Molina, Belleview High School, Marion County
Valeria wrote about James Weldon Johnson, a Florida-born educator, poet, novelist, journalist, anthologist, diplomat, lyricist, lawyer and civil rights activist.
To hear more from First Lady DeSantis click here.


We call curd rice as daddojanam. Curd rice is usually offered to god as naivedyam. We make this along with pulihora, sweet rice on important festivals.
South indians have this at the end of a meal. It is made of thick creamy curd which is mixed with the rice and tempered.
When I am out of veggies, I make this and it is pretty easy and quick to make. Curd rice can also be done with leftover rice. It can be eaten as it is or with any pickle.
1. Wash the rice twice and pressure cook it with 3 1/2 cups water for 3 whistles. The rice soft cooks.
2. After the rice cools down, add curd, milk, salt and mix well. Keep aside.
3. Take a small pan, add all the temper ingredients and fry.
4. Now add the temper to the rice mixture and mix well.
5. Serve the curd rice with any pickle or can be eaten as it is.


Have you ever seen the movie The Money Pit? Maybe it doesn't qualify as "a classic" but this 1986 comedy starring Tom Hanks is hilarious! In the movie, new homeowners struggle to repair a completely dilapidated home which ends up costing them more time and money than the home is worth. Does this sound familiar?
As a buyer's agent I encourage my clients to consider the benefits of a home protection plan before buying a home. I am often successful in having the sellers pay for a one-year home protection plan for my buyers as part of a home purchase. As an investor myself I can certainly attest to the thousands of dollars I have saved by purchasing a home protection plan with my investment properties. Here are some of the benefits of a home protection plan.
Whether you are a first time home buyer or an experienced investor, it is nearly impossible to predict when an appliance will fail or a pipe will burst. A home protection plan provides you with the peace of mind knowing that you are covered if something breaks in your new home or investment property.
Consider the average cost to replace a water heater, air conditioning unit, or electric range. Is it fair to say that you will easily spend $600-$800 to replace a water heater? A one-year home protection plan costs approximately $350-$450 depending on the type of plan, and the service call for a repair normally runs about $60. Most of my clients would rather pay a $60 for the service call than several hundreds of dollars.
How much time do you normally spend asking friends for contractor referrals or searching Yelp reviews online to find a trustworthy vendor? With a home protection plan, the home warranty company has already done the groundwork and has screened the contractors to include in their repair networks, so you can relax knowing that a licensed, professional contractor will take care of you.
The bottom line is that including a home protection plan with your home purchase can save you time and money, especially within your first year of home ownership. There are several home warranty companies serving Northern Colorado and a couple that I'd like to recommend: First American Home Buyers Protection and American Home Shield. Both of these warranty companies can issue a home protection plan without needing to physically inspect a property.
Remember, a home protection plan is not a substitute for your homeowner insurance policy. For more information about the benefits of home protection plans or buying a home in Northern Colorado, give me a call or send me an email. Cheers!
Ever catch yourself walking around Old Town and stopping to admire one of these lovely, artistic pianos?
Well, it's a collaborative project among Bohemian Foundation, the Downtown Development Authority and the City of Fort Collins. The idea is intended to be a fun experience that creates an additional element of whimsy and surprise to Old Town Fort Collins.
The concept behind Pianos is two-fold: (1) for residents and visitors to experience seeing art in action as the pianos are painted in public by local artists, and (2) for residents to have the opportunity to both play the pianos and enjoy them as works of art as we rotate the finished pianos about town.
The inspiration for Pianos About Town in Fort Collins came from British artist Luke Jerram who created a 60-piano installation that has toured the world since 2008. The Jerram pianos have been on display as works of art for people to play in several major cities including New York City, London, Sydney and Sao Paulo. Bohemian Foundation approached the Downtown Development Authority to seek their thoughts about creating a similar project here, placing painted pianos in downtown Fort Collins. From these discussions, the Art in Action component of the project was added with the idea of local artists painting the pianos in public.
The project evolved into a collaboration among Bohemian Foundation, the Downtown Development Authority's Art in Action Program and the City of Fort Collins' Art in Public Places Program. The first pianos were placed in Fort Collins' Old Town Square for the 2010 holiday season and were an instant hit with the public. The program now is in operation throughout the spring, summer and fall months. We are proud that Pianos About Town brings spontaneous art and music discoveries that contribute to the cultural vibrancy of Fort Collins.
Kids should wear swimsuits and plenty of sunblock!
Bring towels, extra diapers, and a change of clothes.
No running! Encourage your kids to have fun, but be careful not to slip!
Bring drinking water. No glass bottles or containers that could shatter and cut bare feet (think of those pool rules you've seen).
Supervise your children and respect park rules.
Most importanly, have fun and enjoy this summer perk from our City of Fort Collins Parks and Recreation. If you would like to share your experience or chat some more about other fun water features in Northern Colorado, feel free to send me a message!
Red Rock Amphitheatre. Some call it the 8th wonder of the world. For those fortunate enough to witness a concert here, it would be hard to disagree.
Before Red Rocks was an amphitheatre, and even had the name "Red Rocks", the area was believed to be occupied by Ute tribes throughout 1800s, and was nicknamed "Garden of the Angels". Fast forward to 1906, and Red Rocks produced it's first concert, on a makeshift stage. John Brisben Walker had the vision for this perfect setting for acoustic sounds nested in the rocks. In 1927 and a few encores later, the city of Denver bought this for a cool $54,133. Not a bad price for the venue it is today, eh?
For Northern Colorado residents, it is roughly a 60 minute drive to this awe-inspiring venue, just West of Denver. Red Rocks is best known for the concerts they put on, however, that isn't all they do. Festivals, films, fitness/yoga classes, you name it. With a venue of this magnitude, it will be used for as many events as possible.
This weekend, for example, Global Dance Festival will be taking place at Red Rocks on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Global Dance Festival is one of the world's largest Electronic Music Festivals. Originating at Red Rocks, Global Dance Festival has now spread out to Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Hawaii, and Athens Greece.
It sure is great living so close to such an incredible venue for so many things. A couple months ago, I visited Red Rocks on a Sunday morning for a workout. There had to be close to one-hundred others working out there that morning as well. Push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and heck, some were ambitious enough to run the 69 rows of stairs!
This morning and afternoon, the Animal House put on a "Dirty Dog Wash" at the Bath Garden Center and Nursery. All proceeds benefited the Animal House and what they stand for. For more information on their rescue and grooming services, click HERE.
and dog friendly ICE CREAM!
To make a community, it's not only important to have an abundance of events going on that suit one's interest levels, but also events that do good for the community; giving back and making it a better place to live. The Animal House understands this, which is why we think it's one non-profit organization that is worth checking out!
Copyright NoCo Lifestyle 2013, please respect.


I am writing to update you on some important changes that are happening to the Highland Third Sector Interface services in the coming twelve months.
Since their establishment in 2011 the policy and legislative landscape in Scotland has changed significantly. The Community Empowerment Act and health and social care integration are only two examples of these changes.
In 2016 the Scottish Government published an initial independent review of TSI services in Scotland. This review made recommendations for the enhancement and development of the role that TSIs play in facilitating and developing capacity for the Third Sector to engage in Community Planning and Integration forum.
In July 2018 the Highland Third Sector Interface Board agreed changes to the TSI services here in Highland which will support a stronger platform for Third Sector engagement in Community Planning and Integration forum, allowing the Sector to directly represent itself and not through the HTSI. This is part of a broader restructuring of HTSI, to enable the sector's stronger and better participation in Community planning and the discharge of the support to the wider third sector which we are charged to provide, strategically and across the whole of Highland.
From later August 2018 nominations will be sought for the first phase of elected representatives from within the Sector to join the new CPP delivery groups, other thematic activity and initial integration groups. Elections will take place at the HTSI AGM and Highland Third Sector Assembly on the 2nd of November. More details around the Pathway will be published in the coming weeks but the approach is underpinned by the principle that 'representation' from the Sector needs to be democratic, visible and accountable within the wider Highland Third Sector. HTSI will support, train and provide a network of peer support to representatives, searching for opportunities to strengthen the pathway as it develops.
To support thematic policy influence, Sector co-production and support our Sector Representatives the HTSI will expand and diversify the current thematic forum structures to include, but not restricted to; Adult Health and Wellbeing; Children's Services; Transport and Connectivity; Community Learning and Development, Community Justice and Employability. This will be supported by thematic information bulletins and training to meet the individual needs as identified by members from each of the thematic groups.
We will enhance our digital platform, developing a 'one stop shop' website that will provide guidance on a wide variety of areas including running an organisation, policy templates, finance, engagement, checklists and many other areas. The website will also link to external support through other quality assured providers for community groups and Third Sector organisations, while new resources and toolkits will complement these ensuring that access to support and advice is available 24/7.
In addition to traditional in person training the HTSI will explore establishing an online training platform(s) which will provide access 24/7 to key areas of training that someone can then complete as and when required at home or in their office. Training is likely to cover a wide range of topics from very practical operational things through to organisational development and strategic planning.
These will combine with a more general commitment to explore what additional members services the HTSI may be able to develop and a broad discussion with members is planned for the period after October 2018.
To allow these changes to happen several things will change from October 2018. First of all the HTSI has agreed an initial twelve month budget which sees an additional one off £20k investment on top of the Scottish Government investment of £683k. For the period from October 2018 to October 2019 the HTSI will redistribute approximately 5.3% of the Scottish Government investment towards funding the above services and others.
Although there will be a reduction in funding for locally based TSI services, the HTSI Board are still committed to providing those services and the majority of the Budget (£520k) will continue be invested in local areas. Discussion will be held in each area over the next six weeks around the implications of these changes and on an individual organisational level this does represent challenges which we are sensitive to.
It is the sincere hope of HTSI that these changes will progress the development of the TSI services in Highland so that they continue to manage the balance of need between local services delivery, strategic capacity and influence and regional interests. If you or a colleague have any questions about these proposed changes then we would be happy to speak to you.


Membership administration is handled on our behalf by Hall-McCartney Ltd.
Anyone can join, although the Council reserves the right to refuse or rescind membership in exceptional circumstances.
Subscriptions are £25 a year for UK individuals and £35 for institutions and overseas individuals.
Payments are due on 1 October each year.
Print out and fill in the application form and send it to the address below.
If your contact details change once you are a member, please inform Hall-McCartney directly so that they can update their records.
Once you are a member, you can also purchase our previous volumes at reduced rates.


text:
NimdziNimdzi Research
Freelance translators, agencies, in-house linguists, global content creators — there are so many different ways you can structure your team in order to get your content translated most effectively.
What Language Team Model Is Right for You?
Public Language services industry Nimdzi Finger Food Program Management
With new websites being created every day and with the ever-increasing demand for multilingual content online, translation proxy has become quite popular. It helps dynamically translate website content on the fly, so that end-users gain access to a website in the desired language in real time.
Translation Proxy: More Websites, More Work
Public Language services industry Nimdzi Finger Food Technology
The gaming industry accounts for 26% of total revenue in the media industry and it is projected to increase to USD 196 billion by 2022. The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive picture of the total addressable market (TAM) for multilingual user-generated content (UGC) for player support in the gaming industry.
User-Generated Content For Player Support in the Gaming Industry
Public Localization Market Research Technology
Atlassian provides a plethora of tools and apps to help businesses simplify organization, communication, integration, strategic planning, and even coding and shipping. The company has offices all over the globe and its products are used by many thousands of teams.
Lessons in Localization: Atlassian
Exclusive for Nimdzi Partners Lessons in Localization Program Management Sales and Marketing
A translation memory (TM) is meant to provide cost and time efficiency as well as higher consistency across translated content. But the quality of a TM is a direct reflection of how well it is managed.
Translation Memory Management Best Practices
Exclusive for Nimdzi Partners Language services industry Program Management Technology
The American-based game developer Riot Games has grown exponentially from its humble beginnings in a converted shop alongside a highway and now boasts over 3,000 employees across more than 20 offices worldwide.
Lessons in Localization: Riot Games
Exclusive for Nimdzi Partners Lessons in Localization Localization Program Management Sales and Marketing
Key performance indicators (KPIs) for localization have been a topic of endless debate for a long time. Localization teams the world over have not only struggled to create such metrics but to measure and track them consistently.
How to Create a Localization KPI Ecosystem
Public Localization Nimdzi Finger Food Program Management
FARFETCH is a global technology platform that connects creators, curators, and consumers of high-end fashion. Launched in 2008, FARFETCH has been at the forefront of the luxury industry's shift towards ecommerce.
Lessons in Localization: FARFETCH
Sign language interpreting is not just another language service offered by companies in the industry. It is a field with unique requirements that evolved out of and grew within the deep roots of Deaf history and Deaf culture.
American Sign Language Interpreting: The Size and State of the Market
Public Interpreting Market Research
As reported in the 2021 edition of the Nimdzi 100, interpreting has arguably been the sector within the language industry that was the most heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic — both positively and negatively..
Innovation and Investment in Remote Interpreting
Public Interpreting Market Research Technology


According to the guidebook the unity card asks us to consider the broader implications of our actions. It asks us to spend time with others who can help us to develop our spiritual gifts.
In this deck the Christian-based hierophant has been redesigned to reflect a broader set of religious philosophies. That strikes me as significant - philosophies not institutions.
I wrote and cut out a whole academic blah blah blah section on philosophy (which contradicted my question of what can I focus on other than work).
Instead I accept the invitation to enrich my inner world and to find others who are also searching.
From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that we are here for the sake of each other - above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy.
I've never asked a question of my cards. I fan and pull, then see what crawls up out of the ooze or occasionally catch the starfall.
'occasionally catch the starfall' - beautiful wordsmithing.
I'd be perfectly happy if religions dissolved into philosophy, keeping only spiritual principles. Of course traditions would be fine too, as long as they are recognized as such (and not truth!).
I would be happy with that too.


text:
ourEconomy: Opinion
Breaking up the tech giants won't be enough to rein in their power
We must recode the way that platforms operate – and in whose interests.
Nils Peters
2 December 2020, 11.01am
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/PA Images
Hardly any tech giant is spared an antitrust investigation these days. In the United States, Google is facing the biggest antitrust case in a generation. Across the Atlantic, the European Commission has brought formal antitrust charges against Amazon. In the UK, the Parliament has launched an enquiry into music streaming by platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Google Play.
This was overdue. A decade of light to no regulation enabled a historical consolidation of platform wealth and power. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it painfully obvious how much we depend on digital platforms and how our lives are entangled with them. Crucial platform products and services like health technology (Google and Apple), food and groceries delivery (Deliveroo), transport (Uber) and the supply of essential goods (Amazon) underline to what extent they have become indispensable intermediaries of everyday life. Tech regulation is coming, and we need changes that thoroughly democratise their governance and challenge concentrated corporate ownership.
'Breaking up' platforms is a popular proposal for antitrust action. But this might not be enough to tackle the true source of platforms' monopolistic power. Breaking up Facebook (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) or Alphabet (Google, Youtube, Nest) won't profoundly change their dominant position in their respective markets. Facebook and Google are dominant because they have built network effects. The value users derive from using the platform increases with the number of other users. Owning and operating the digital structure through which these users interact allows platforms to extract valuable data and charge for access to the platform (e.g. in form of subscription or commission fees). This essentially makes platforms the big rentiers of our time, receiving revenue flows from the digital space they enclose.
As long as platforms were perceived to add value and drive innovation they evaded widespread criticism. But this narrative has broken down and concerns about platforms abusing their intermediary power are mounting. The antitrust case against Alphabet focuses on Google harming competition by paying other companies to set its search engine as the default option. Amazon is being sued over using retail data they extracted from their marketplace to boost their own products and compete with sellers. Meanwhile a market study conducted by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) showed concern about Facebook and Google's role in stifling innovation and using their market power to raise the price of digital advertising.
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The prevalent tech-solutionist discourse makes platform dominance sound inevitable, integral to our contemporary configuration technology and society. But there are alternatives. The challenge is to liberate the democratic potential of the platform from the logics of concentrated corporate ownership and profit maximisation. Crucially, while platforms have encouraged a sense of technological inevitability, the way that our digital economy is run is neither fixed nor certain. Platforms are legal as much as digital institutions; we can recode both and change how they operate and in whose interests. We can disperse and democratise economic coordination rights currently monopolised by the platforms, ensuring private power is not beyond democratic regulation. Central to this must be a new architecture of ownership and control.
The challenge is to liberate the democratic potential of the platform from the logics of concentrated corporate ownership and profit maximisation
The first, obvious alternative is reducing corporate concentration and power through antitrust regulation. In the past years, the UK provided a lenient regulatory environment in the hope to foster tech ecosystems akin to Silicon Valley. The CMA only recently started to explicitly name platform monopolies as a problem. The recognition that self-regulation among platforms has failed is an important first step. Platform regulation is a thorny issue that has to deal with new business models and rapidly changing markets. The CMA advocates for an ex ante pro-competition regime, which aims to reduce the concentration of corporate power through micro interventions in their business models. But doubts remain whether this can bring about the decisive change we need.
However, there are options beyond antitrust policy to reign in the power of Big Tech. More ambitious proposals should tackle the political economy underpinning platforms. A starting point is to rethink our conception of what essential services and products are in the digital world. Platforms are increasingly providing services that cannot be efficiently or easily replicated under monopoly or near-monopoly conditions. Some of these services are considered a vital good that people have a right to, including the provision of food, transport or shelter. As platforms are presiding over networked infrastructure that exhibits powerful economies of scale, the UK Government could regulate major platforms as utilities through a new Office of Digital Platforms.
In addition to that, decisions about what types of data should be collected, how and for what purposes data can be used should not be the prerogative of multinational corporations. We should democratise decisions about who gets to collect and hold data in an effort to reinstate meaningful privacy and counter surveillance. A new multi-stakeholder agency or organisation should determine when and how data can be collected, if it is at all. The goal should be to ensure all stakeholders – workers, residents, community organisations, businesses, and more – can collectively shape the rules and regulations concerning data collection as well as the development and application of data technologies in their communities and workplaces, technologies which intimately pattern how we live and work.
We should democratise decisions about who gets to collect and hold data
The UK should direct public funding into the development of data and platforms (and the ecosystem around them) that are decentralized and democratically owned via a variety of new public institutions. The current financing environment for platforms in the form of the venture capital industry has fuelled monopolisation and an attitude of moving fast and breaking things. Only public funding can close the financing gap for more democratic platform alternatives. A Public Platform Accelerator, for example, could be tasked with developing platforms that replicate already existing ones. The key difference would be fee structures designed to maximise the utility of the platform for its users and workers not returns to its investors, as well as a multi-stakeholder governance model.
Corporate monopoly power has often been to the detriment of workers, and the platform economy is no exception. However, there is nothing innate in the concept of the platform that means that work organised through it should be precarious, badly paid, or lacking in control. A comprehensive set of labour rights should be introduced to ensure work organised through platform intermediaries is secure and decent. This could be done through standalone legislation and regulation targeting platform companies in their current incarnation or embedded into the governance and management structures of new platform entities (like the Platform Accelerator previously described). In doing so, a comprehensive agenda for reimagining work for all can ensure we emerge from the current COVID-19 crisis with a fairer, more secure, and equitable world of work.
There is an interesting parallel between Google's antitrust case and the landmark antitrust case of the 1990s against Microsoft. Both companies were sued over antitrust issues roughly two decades after they were founded (22 and 23 years respectively). This is not entirely coincidental. As the tide is turning against Big Tech, we should opt for ambitious interventions to put platforms on a more equitable and democratic path. It might save us from having the same debate in twenty years' time.
This article is based on Common Wealth's new report 'A Common Platform'. It can be read here.
Ukrainian journalists share their stories of war
Hear Igor Burdyga and Kateryna Semchuk explain what it's like working in a homeland under threat. Plus British author Oliver Bullough and chair Daniel Trilling.
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Happy Monday, friends! Did you have a great weekend? I spent a lot of time this weekend working on the house, moving furniture (well, supervising that part!) and marking off a few items on the "things to do before the baby comes" list! We made great headway and even have a almost-empty baby's room now to start designing! Remember my before?
We made a lot of progress!
The room is currently painted gray (though the photo makes it look a little taupe-y. I am NOT a taupe/beige type of person, just FYI!) and now I'm trying to decide if I want to leave it or paint it…I saw this adorable room featuring the new Oh Joy! for Target nursery collection last week and it's giving me lots of inspiration! What do you think?
I think those wall colors will work for a boy or girl and it will be fun to add some pops of color once we know what we're having! (Still leaning towards waiting until birth to find out!) I like this one too!
Whatever I end up doing, I think clearly I love the latest Oh Joy! nursery collection for Target!


text:
module Handler.MediaUpload where

import Import
import qualified FP.Store.Blob as Blob
import qualified Data.Conduit.Binary as CB
import qualified Data.Conduit.List as CL
import System.IO (openTempFile)
import System.Directory (removeFile)
import Control.Monad.Trans.Resource (allocate)
import Prelude (Show (..))

getMediaUploadR :: Handler Html
getMediaUploadR = defaultLayout $ do
    setTitle "Upload Media file"
    [whamlet|
        <form method=post enctype=#{Multipart}>
            <input type=file name=file>
            <button>Upload file
    |]

postMediaUploadR :: Handler Value
postMediaUploadR = do
    files <- lookupFiles "file"
    eres <-
        case files of
            [] -> return $ Left "No file provided"
            [file] -> do
                case lookup (encodeUtf8 $ fileContentType file) Blob.mtypeMimeMap of
                    Nothing -> return $ Left $ "Unsupported mime type: " ++ fileContentType file
                    Just mtype -> do
                        uuid <- newMediaBlobUUID
                        let sut = Blob.MediaUUIDType uuid mtype
                        mencode <- lookupGetParam "encode"
                        let src =
                                if mencode == Just "base64"
                                    then fileSource file $= decodeBase64
                                    else fileSource file
                        (_, fp) <- allocate
                            (mask_ $ do
                                (fp, h) <- openTempFile "/tmp/" "upload.bin"
                                hClose h
                                return fp)
                            removeFile
                        len <- fmap fromIntegral $ liftResourceT $ src $$ CB.conduitFile fp =$ CL.fold (\l bs -> length bs + l) 0
                        void $ catch (putFileSourceBlob (Blob.Media sut) src len) $
                            throwIO . MediaBlobUploadException
                        return $ Right sut
            _ -> return $ Left "Too many files provided"
    render <- getUrlRender
    return $
        case eres of
            Left e -> object ["result" .= asText "failure", "message" .= e]
            Right sut -> object ["result" .= asText "success", "url" .= render (MediaR sut)]

data MediaBlobUploadException = MediaBlobUploadException SomeException
    deriving Typeable
instance Show MediaBlobUploadException where
    show (MediaBlobUploadException e) = "Could not upload media file to blob storage. Exception was: " ++ Prelude.show e
instance Exception MediaBlobUploadException

decodeBase64 :: Monad m => Conduit ByteString m ByteString
decodeBase64 = do
    CB.dropWhile (/= (toEnum $ fromEnum ','))
    CB.drop 1
    decodeBase64C

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Two Guiding Quotes for Healing — Patricia Flores, M.S.
In my work I strive to boil things down to the underlying truths, to get at the root of the issues. We can get distracted by the surface of the situation at hand, when underneath it can always be understood simply. This simplicity can bring great relief and removes the heaviness of feeling there is a big, impossible problem to solve.
These two quotes from trauma experts speak to the essence of what happens in therapy. Becoming empowered, feeling connected, and being embodied in the present moment are central goals for all of my clients. Living in a culture of disconnection, disempowerment and being out of touch with our bodies, these core issues impact all of us at some level.
We are hurt in relationship with others, and we heal in relationship with others. As a therapist I give my clients as much control as possible. I don't label them with a diagnosis that sends the message something is wrong with them. I let them know they're in the driver's seat, and I remain open to the directions they want to go. The destination is a place of empowerment, connection and embodiment in the present moment, and I only voice concern if I intuitively feel like the wheel is steered away from that place. However, I don't know where on the map that destination lies! On a deeper level, only the client knows if the goals of therapy will be met in Las Vegas or Austin or New York City. Many people think therapists give advice, but it's quite the opposite. I sit in the passenger's seat, teaching you tools to access your internal GPS and make your own decisions.
Without involving the intelligence of the body to heal, it will keep automatically sending you the same old signals that got wired in the past. When I first heard the word "embodied," I didn't know what it meant, but I liked the sound of it. I have since learned that there is no separation between our body, mind and spirit. When we are connected into our bodies and present to what is happening, we gain the ability to shift our emotional state from a negative feeling to a positive feeling. This is a superhuman ability in our culture. There is no more reason for suffering, because we have found the internal switchboard. When past trauma is healed, we become connected to our body and learn it is safe to feel whatever comes up. Over time, it becomes simple to pause and notice what subtle events have upset us and gently soothe that disturbance as it happens, continuing on with the day with calmness, confidence and ease.
With connection with others in place, we also have access to seeking the presence of others for comfort. We have healed the past trauma and know it is safe to reach out, and we've identified who those secure attachment figures are who we can reach for. With a sense of embodiment, we can more deeply and richly luxuriate in this gift, the present moment experience of love and connection. Loving eye contact, warm touch, and kind words are available from friends or family because you've done the work and taken the action steps to have this connection in your life. There is no reason to suffer alone, and you learn that even when you are physically alone in your room, energetically you are never alone. You are loved. It really does become as simple as that.


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Guardian Open Weekend - World
Guardian Open Weekend
Kai Wargalla, co-founder of the Facebook and Twitter accounts that sparked Occupy London
Thu 2 Feb 2012 09.47 EST First published on Thu 2 Feb 2012 09.47 EST
Kai Wargalla is co-founder of the Facebook and Twitter accounts that sparked Occupy London. Inspired by protests and uprisings all over the world she started organising Occupy London in late September 2011 and has been living at the occupation since day one. She has been an activist from a young age, and holds degrees in cultural engineering and international media and communication studies. She is currently taking a break in finishing her master's degree in sustainable economics to pursue her activism.


Happy Sunday everyone. How are you guys doing? I'm doing fine, thank you very much. I've been working on a lot of homework. It will be worth it though since this is the last week of summer classes. This will be a very quick post.
That is it for now. Back to homework now.


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Home / Society / Tributes / Claude Barton
In Memoriam: Claude Barton
Claude D. Barton, 96, of Columbia, died Dec. 24, 2012. He was born Aug. 12, 1916 in Derma, Miss., and grew up in a loving family on a small farm, where he learned the values of hard work, responsibility and integrity that would stand him in good stead all his life. ROTC made it possible for him to attend college, and he graduated from Mississippi State in 1939 with a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering but decided to make the military his career. Less than four years after entering the Army in 1939, he was given command of an infantry battalion. He led his soldiers in combat in the Philippines and Okinawa and various islands in the Pacific. The combat stories he told his children in his late years, though matter-of-fact and unembellished, nevertheless captured for them the image of a very young officer carrying the weighty dual responsibility for the lives of his men and the success of his mission, and gave a glimpse of the horror, the valor, the absurdities, the boredom, and the humor that can all co-exist in wartime. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in June 1945.
At the end of the war he was assigned to the newly formed Central Intelligence Group (now CIA) and served in Washington, D.C. as that agency's first Chief, Security Division. When the Office of the Secretary of Defense was created in 1947, he became its first Director of Security, in which capacity he organized the security division and wrote the initial security regulations for that office.
While he was in Washington, D.C. he met a pretty and lively young WAC on a bus; she told her friends after that encounter, "I've met the man I'm going to marry." Sure enough, Ruth and Claude were married three months later and spent 53 very happy years together until her death in 2001. He said not long before his own death that he continued to miss her every day.
In 1950 he spent a year attending the Army's Command and Staff College and then he and his young family departed for Italy, where he was assigned to help organize the headquarters for Allied Forces Southern Europe, then being formed in Naples. In 1954 they returned to Fort Benning, Georgia, where Claude was assigned to the Army's Infantry School. During this time he was promoted to colonel and selected for attendance at the Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, PA. Upon graduation in 1959 he was assigned to the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Korea and served for a year as senior advisor to the 12th ROK Infantry Division. In 1960 he was assigned to the Pentagon as Chief, Security Division, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff–Intelligence Division, Department of the Army. In 1963 the family moved to Hawaii, where Claude was assigned to Headquarters United States Army Pacific in Hawaii as Chief, Combat Developments Division, and then served as the Commanding Officer, 1stBrigade, 25th Infantry Division.
In 1967, at his request, he was assigned to the University of Missouri–Columbia as Professor of Military Science, where he found real satisfaction in teaching the young cadets. He retired from the Army after more than 31 years of service in July 1970. His awards and decorations include the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters, the Bronze Star, and the Combat Infantryman's Badge. He also wears the Presidential Unit Citation, awarded to his battalion for an action on Ie Shima in the Ryuku's Islands in April 1945. He was very proud of his service to his country.
After retirement from the Army he served for seven years as the executive director of the United Fund in Columbia, MO. He also pursued a hobby of building musical instruments, primarily hammered dulcimers, an interest he developed through his musician daughter Cathy. He attended the First Baptist Church in Columbia and was a good steward and faithful servant in his role as a church member.
Claude remained in remarkably good health until well into his 90's, but in the last few years he faced many health difficulties. He has now followed his beloved Ruth into the arms of the Lord, where it was surely said when he arrived, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Claude was preceded in death by his wife Mary Ruth Catlett Barton. He is survived by his sister Marie Lofton of Jonesboro, AR; his brother Roy Barton of Germantown, TN; his three daughters and their husbands, Claudia Barton and Tom Welsh of College Station, TX; Judy and Tom Gibbons of Richardson, TX; and Cathy Barton and Dave Para of Boonville, MO, and by five grandchildren.


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Over 20 million people facing starvation – and we should care!
by Jonelle Foltz
Think to a time when you were hungry. Remember how it felt, a bit uncomfortable, right? You may have even said, "I'm starving!" But you knew that in a short time the next meal would be there for you. Knowing that a good meal was awaiting you allowed your slight hunger to actually whet your appetite.
Now imagine that you are very hungry and have no idea where the next meal will come from for you and your family. In this case your hunger is physically painful and terrifyingly stressful.
Imagine now that there is no work to be found, the drought has dried up your crops. Your livestock is dead. And you and your family have eaten the last seeds that were meant for next season's planting.
Now how are you feeling?
This is how many Africans are feeling, especially those in South Sudan, Somalia, Northeast Nigeria, and nearby Yemen. In these nations over 20 million people are facing famine and starvation. Armed conflict and severe drought are the main engines driving this emergency – the world's largest humanitarian crisis since the end of World War II (see: http://arcg.is/2tjzoRe).
"Without collective and coordinated global efforts, people will simply starve to death" and "many more will suffer and die from disease," said Stephen O'Brien, U.N. under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs. He emphasized that to avert a catastrophe, immediate adequate funding from wealthy nations is critical.
O'Brien said the largest humanitarian emergency was in Yemen – the Arab world's poorest nation – where two-thirds of the population – 18.8 million people – desperately need aid, and over seven million people are hungry and don't know where their next meal will come from (see: http://bit.ly/2ks1Mvt).
Compounding the famine, Yemen is now facing the world's worst cholera outbreak according to the U.N. which has placed blame on all sides of the nation's ongoing conflict between the U.S.-backed Saudi Arabia-led coalition and the Houthis (see: http://cbsn.ws/2ui2bph).
An editor friend of mine in Nigeria put me in touch with Bishop Stephen Mamza, head of the northeast Nigerian Diocese of Yola. Bishop Mamza sent me a report with his assessment of the crisis in Yola. His report states that the U.N. World Food Program's response to the food crisis in Nigeria is critically underfunded, meaning that hundreds of thousands of food insecure Northeast Nigerians are not being helped.
Bishop Mamza wrote that he and other diocesan aid workers visited a makeshift settlement where "we met scores of hungry, malnourished and crying children who told us that they had not eaten for three days."
Please email and call your two U.S. senators and congressperson highlighting this emergency, and urging that instead of slashing funding to programs that feed desperately hungry fellow human beings and programs that assist the poorest of the poor to build self-sustaining lives, the 2018 fiscal year budget needs to robustly increase funding for these life-saving programs (see: http://bit.ly/2uLv0qI).
And urge them to stop supplying weapons to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, and instead to broker an immediate cease-fire with total access to humanitarian relief.
Catholic Relief Services is on the ground in Bishop Mamza's diocese and throughout Northeast Africa working to ease the suffering. Please help them expand their life-saving efforts by making a generous donation to CRS' "Africa Hunger Crisis Emergency Fund" (see: http://bit.ly/2wMIxQf).
"For I was hungry and you gave me food" (Matt. 25: 31-46).
[Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings. Tony can be reached at tmag@zoominternet.net.]
Tags: Latest Columns, Tony Magliano Columns


Medical school entry for Native Americans is not uniform. Discover where you have the best shot of getting into medical school.
Medical schools claim to have diversity programs to attract underrepresented minorities to medicine, but what is the reality?
Use medical school entry of Native Americans to determine the best medical school for you.
Please be warned that the values presented do not fully reflect a medical school's commitment to diversity. In many instances they will recruit heavily, but students choose to matriculate elsewhere so take the numbers with a grain of salt.


City officials want to launch new worker-owned businesses in some of the poorest parts of Rochester in hopes of creating good, reliable jobs and building wealth in high-poverty neighborhoods.
The idea has shown promise in other cities, and it could help here too, say members of Mayor Lovely Warren's administration.
City Council will vote this month on hiring a nonprofit that helped to set up several cooperatively owned businesses in Cleveland with the similar aim of strengthening low-income neighborhoods. If council agrees, the city will pay the Democracy Collaborative $100,000 to help develop a plan for Rochester.
The co-ops would be designed to contract with major local institutions, such as hospitals and universities, to provide basic goods and services. Cleveland, for example, is home to worker-owned laundry, vegetable greenhouse and solar-energy businesses.
A letter from Warren to the City Council describes the businesses as "market-driven." They would give hiring preference to people who live nearby.
Establishing these businesses is a central piece of a city initiative to drive down the poverty rate in one section of Rochester by a single percentage point in one year.
Officials have not yet decided which part of Rochester to target.
City leaders want to start small, identify strategies that help to curb poverty and then figure out how to expand them elsewhere. Trying to solve poverty as a whole would be "too big of a bite" at one time, Warren told City Council recently.
The city won a $1.9 million grant from the Bloomberg Philanthropies last year to expand its new Office of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives, which will spearhead the poverty project.
The city plans to hire a director of innovation who will report directly to Warren by the end of the month.
City Council also will vote this month on using a portion of the grant funding to start fleshing out staff in the innovation office.
The Democracy Collaborative was one of eight organizations that responded to a city request for proposals to help set up local cooperatives. If hired, the nonprofit would talk with deep-pocketed Rochester institutions, identify their needs and work out how employee-owned businesses could meet them.
"We're very excited that we literally have the leading cooperative consultant company who will be coming into Rochester to help us roll this out," said Delmonize "Del" Smith, the city's commissioner of business and neighborhood development, in a recent presentation to City Council.
The goal is to harness millions of dollars in spending by local hospitals and universities that may now be going to businesses outside the community.
Workers who stay with a co-op business for a certain period of time would be able to get a share of ownership. This is meant to keep profits local, build wealth in the surrounding neighborhood and discourage owners from moving the business out of Rochester.
Under the model used in Cleveland, an umbrella nonprofit would be set up to oversee the cooperatives, offer them technical assistance and guidance, and run a revolving loan fund.
Smith said the city has had initial discussions about the concept with the University of Rochester, Eastman Business Park, Rochester General Hospital and the Rochester Institute of Technology.
"They all signaled, 'This is easy for us, this is a no-brainer. Tell us how we can be involved and make it happen,' " Smith said.


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Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7 Once Upon a Time in the Upper West
Mamang TejaNovember 26, 2021
Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7 "Once Upon a Time in the Upper West" Zoya scrounges up guests for her annual Friendsgiving feast, Julien and Obie cover their tracks. Meanwhile, Kate and Jordan face an ultimatum from Rafa that threatens to bring Gossip Girl down once and for all.
Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7 Release Date and Time, Countdown, When Is It Coming Out?
Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7 'Once Upon a Time in the Upper West' Release Date and Time – Gossip Girl S1E7 will be released on November 25, 2021. Most of the fans and they have been curiously wanting to know when Gossip Girl 1X7 Release Date, Time, cast & other details. We have updated all the information about Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7 on this page.
Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7 Release Date and Time
Gossip Girl is one of the most popular Drama, Mystery Television Series, which was initially released on /1/1. This series received huge popularity within the premiere of just a few episodes that it has now got a new season. Yes! Season 1 has finally premiered, and a few episodes of Gossip Girl Season 1 have been aired.
The fans are amazed by this series that after the premiere of the previous episode, they are eager to know when the next episode, which is Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7 release date. When is the next episode, Episode 7 coming out? Well, Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7 will be released on November 25, 2021.
Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7 Countdown
Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7 will be released on November 25, 2021. So, its countdown goes with just 7 days. Yes! There are just 7 days left for the Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7 to come out!
Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7 will be released on November 25, 2021.
Gossip Girl Details
Title : Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7
Episode : Once Upon a Time in the Upper West
Genre : Drama, Mystery
Production: Warner Bros. Television, -.
Cast – Stars:
Jordan Alexander (Julien Calloway),
Whitney Peak (Zoya Lott),
Tavi Gevinson (Kate Keller),
Eli Brown (Obie Bergmann),
Thomas Doherty (Max Wolfe),
Emily Alyn Lind (Audrey Hope),
Evan Mock (Aki Menzies),
Zión Moreno (Luna La),
Savannah Lee Smith (Monet de Haan),
Johnathan Fernandez (Nick Lott),
Adam Chanler-Berat (Jordan Glassberg),
Jason Gotay (Rafa Caparrós),
Todd Almond (Gideon Wolfe),
Laura Benanti (Kiki Hope),
Kristen Bell (Gossip Girl (voice))
Guest Stars :
John Benjamin Hickey (Roy Sachs),
Megan Ferguson (Wendy),
Luke Kirby (Davis Calloway),
Elizabeth Lail (Lola Morgan),
Hettienne Park (Jodi Menzies),
Lucy Punch (),
Lyne Renee (Helena Bergmann)
Gossip Girl Vote:
ID TMDB: 95249
Vote: 7.9/10 by 168 user
The above information is for general informational purposes only. All information on the Site is provided in good faith, however we make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability or completeness of any information on the Site.
Source: (layarstar.com)
Title: Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 7 Once Upon a Time in the Upper West
Link: https://layarstar.com/video/gossip-girl-season-1-episode-7/


text:
Threads Of War: 'MERICAN FLAG (TENEBRIS)
Patch: 'MERICAN FLAG (TENEBRIS)
Official Drop Date: July 11th, 2020
Quantity: Last 30 (of 100)
"America means many things to many people. If you are fortunate enough to live within her boarders, then you know the full spectrum of her beauty cannot be summed up in mere words.
Derived from that beauty comes a sence of duty. A duty to protect this land and all those who live in the greatest country on planet Earth.
A small percentage of us are voluntarily charged in serving this nation, be it on foreign soil or in the streets and alleys of our hometowns. Often times this means proudly wearing the flag of our great nation into harm's way, without a moment's hesitation.
Though it is nearly impossible to string words together in such a way as to fully express our love and devotion for these United States of America. Finding the words to convey just how far we will go, and the sacrifices we will make, to protect this nation of ours is much less difficult...
You will find those words embroidered on this patch.
The Terrible Threads 'MERICAN FLAG Patch is a message to those wishing us harm; to be carried by those of us who know the full weight of its words. Encapsulated in, a modified version of, the symbol of freedom this world had never known before a more perfect union of these 50 states were formed.
Our 'MERICAN FLAG has omitted about half the stars and stripes, which makes it not an "accurate representation" of the American Flag. This is intentional, because the owners of this version of the flag are half of the equation that make our country work. They are the tip of the spear and the frontline in the defense of defenseless. Even though they are only a small percentage of the population, they are the half of our system who often work in the darkness, protecting the light. This flag patch is for them, and for those who want to show support for them. These patches are be worn and carried with the knowledge that if not for their efforts, and what they do, the others of our country would not be able to live, thrive, or survive."