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The Chainsmokers: Building a global fanbase, one video at a time
Aug 09, 2017 - Artist Stories
"We learned how to produce watching YouTube videos," explain Drew Taggart and Alex Paul — better known as The Chainsmokers. "So we felt it was important to give back, and do some of our own." And give back, they have: For the past 5 years The Chainsmokers have invited their fans to join them for each step of their journey to the top, uploading tour diaries, explosive live performances, comedic sketches and the aforementioned how-to clips to complement their record setting music videos. "Those videos are jam packed with memories, and moments that mean so much to us" the pair tell YouTube. "But we are the same goofballs now as we were at the start, doing our best to translate our passions for what we do to our fans."
With over 8.3 billion views across YouTube, The Chainsmokers currently rank amongst the largest acts on in the world. A steady stream of over 200 uploads has helped Alex and Drew build a dedicated and passionate subscriber base, with YouTube's recommendation system connecting them with new fans around the globe every day. As a result, the duo have seen massive numbers in places like the Philippines (675 million), Brazil (510 million), Indonesia (450 million), Mexico (430 million) and Poland (190 million) alongside the United States (1.3 billion views). Their lyric video for "Closer" has amassed more than 1.8 billion views alone, making it YouTube's most popular lyric video of all time and one of the top 20 most viewed videos across the platform. More recently, The Chainsmokers set a then-record for the biggest lyric video debut with their Coldplay collaboration "Something Just Like This," racking up over nine million views in just 24 hours. And with over 12 million combined subscribers and counting, the milestones are likely to only keep pouring in.
"When we first started uploading, we honestly had no idea what we were doing," the duo admits of their earliest YouTube uploads. "Making videos was a great way to blow off steam, be weird, and get our mind off of work. We thought it was funny." Drew and Alex's initial tongue-in-cheek clips quickly developed into more polished productions, culminating in the pair's 2014 zeitgeist-embracing clip for "#SELFIE." The breakout hit exemplified The Chainsmokers' DIY spirit and off-the-cuff humor. "We basically guerrilla-style filmed in the bathroom of this club," they recall. "We kept blowing the power outlets with our lights. But it was worth it." Fueled by the video, the song went on to peak at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, earning over 500 million views across YouTube and a 2014 Streamy nomination.
After the early success of "#Selfie" the duo's direct relationship with their fan base only grew, as subscribers tuned in for series like their behind the scenes tour diaries That Time and sporadic The Chainsmoker Comedies uploads along with confessional-style vlogs. "One thing that we consciously decided long ago, when The Chainsmokers first formed, was that we wanted to deliver to the fans consistently and regularly, in every way possible," The Chainsmokers' manager Adam Alpert explains. "The fly-on-the-wall aspect came naturally. Letting the fans get to know Alex and Drew as individuals—their personalities, their humor, their trials and tribulations—has been a great way to connect, and not just be about the music."
But using YouTube to engage and communicate with their fans is hardly a one-way street — the platform has also served as a way for the duo to discover new talent. As longtime hosts of The YouTube EDM 15 on Sirius XM, Alex and Drew share a weekly mix of emerging electronic talent bubbling up across YouTube. And more recently, The Chainsmokers have even relied on the platform to help fill out their lineup. "Tony Ann is a savant pianist who did covers of a few of our songs on YouTube," the duo explains of one of its new members. "A friend sent them over and we were blown away, so much so that we reached out and made him part of our band, and his first show with was Saturday Night Live in April." And our drummer Matt Mcguire is a similar story — he did drum covers of lots of songs, and they were honestly next level. We hit him up and started a dialogue, and eventually we persuaded him to move to Cali and be our drummer. He now lives at Drew's, and is full-on part of The Chainsmokers."
With over 1 million views in more than 150 countries, Alex and Drew's career has come a long way since their first upload to YouTube over a half-decade ago. And with an average of 18.2 million daily views across the platform so far this year, their rise to the top appears to have no end in sight. Their channels set the stage for their pop takeover, allowing the duo to take their fans along for the ride as they continue to spread their fist-pumping blend of EDM and pop across the world.


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StudyCorgi History
Sugar Cane Plantation and Slave Trade in South America
Topic: Trade Words: 572 Pages: 2 Dec 16th, 2021
Sugar was introduced in South America in 1494. By 1500, the region was biggest the world's sugar cane growing belt in the world. The introduction of cocoa and tea in Europe increased the demand for sugar. Further processing led to the production of chocolate. This made the popularity of sugarcane plantations grow. 60% of sugar produced in South American and the Caribbean was consumed in Britain. Being a labor-intensive crop, there was a need for more labor to supply the rising demand in Europe and North America. This demand signaled the start of the slave trade in Latin America.
Between 1505 and 1572, over 25,000 African "slaves were transported to Brazil in chains" (Wagner). By 1652, the price of slaves had doubled, marked by increased demand for slave labor and the increased price of sugar in the new world. The price of slaves was determined by the health, age, and strength of the Slave. Most slaves who were shipped to South America came from African regions of Cape Verde, the Oriental coast of Mozambique, and the occidental coast. Rio de Janeiro, Recife, and Salvador were the important port of entry.
Increased shipment of African slaves to South America led to the increased population of the black population. In some parts of Brazil, for example, Africans outnumbered the white population. The slaves were able to keep their customs. There were constant incidences of revolt by slaves. This influenced slave revolt in other countries with the biggest taking place in Haiti in 1791. In that revolt, "over 50,000 slaves rebelled against their French owners and took over the country" (Andy). By the time the slave trade was coming to an end, over 10 million slaves were transported to Brazil and other South American countries to provide labor in sugarcane plantations.
European colonies controlled most of Latin America during the period of Slave trade. They showed significant concern for the welfares of slaves and even allowed them to marry, and buy their freedom from cruel owners (Andy). Although the colonies gave provision for such laws, they were rarely enforced. This made slave to lead a cruel in Latin America than slaves in North America. In the United States, slaves had access to medical care, ate better food and lived longer than slaves.
Although the abolitionist movement is credited with the decline of slave trade, it was not responsible for the end of slave trade in South America. Both political and financial interest had kept the slave trade going for more than three centuries. What actually caused the end of slave trade was technological advancement that led to alternative source of sugar. French and British discovered that sugar could be produced from beet. Again, French and British sugar ship were experiencing continued blockade leading to loss of thousand tons of sugar in the sea. By 1804, commercial production of sugar from beet started. This sealed the fate of sugar cane plantation in South America and the subsequent end of slavery.
South America was a major source of sugar for European market. Increased popularity of sugar created the need for more labor to work sugar in plantation farm. African slave were shipped to South America in chains to work in the plantation. In some parts of Brazil, the population of slaves was higher than the White. Reduced demand for sugarcane as a source of sugar in 1800 led to the end of slave trade in South America.
Andy, Michelle. The Slave Trade. 2010. Web.
Wagner, Phillip. Sugar and Blood. 2002. Web.
The Book "A Year in the South" by Stephen Ash
The U.S. Versus Mexican War
StudyCorgi. (2021, December 16). Sugar Cane Plantation and Slave Trade in South America. Retrieved from https://studycorgi.com/sugar-cane-plantation-and-slave-trade-in-south-america/
StudyCorgi. (2021, December 16). Sugar Cane Plantation and Slave Trade in South America. https://studycorgi.com/sugar-cane-plantation-and-slave-trade-in-south-america/
"Sugar Cane Plantation and Slave Trade in South America." StudyCorgi, 16 Dec. 2021, studycorgi.com/sugar-cane-plantation-and-slave-trade-in-south-america/.
1. StudyCorgi. "Sugar Cane Plantation and Slave Trade in South America." December 16, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/sugar-cane-plantation-and-slave-trade-in-south-america/.
StudyCorgi. "Sugar Cane Plantation and Slave Trade in South America." December 16, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/sugar-cane-plantation-and-slave-trade-in-south-america/.
StudyCorgi. 2021. "Sugar Cane Plantation and Slave Trade in South America." December 16, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/sugar-cane-plantation-and-slave-trade-in-south-america/.
StudyCorgi. (2021) 'Sugar Cane Plantation and Slave Trade in South America'. 16 December.
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The Rise and Rule of Octavian
Updated: Jan 4th, 2022
The American Industrial Revolution
The Black Death Description and Analysis
The History of Roman Empire Expansion
The Frontier: Creation of the New American State
Updated: Jan 2nd, 2022
Revolutionary America: People Who Did It
Updated: Jan 1st, 2022
The Second Industrial Revolution (1840-1900)
The Black Plague and Its Social Impact

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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The world of fashion is inundated with a seemingly endless list of rules, that some consider as valuable words of wisdom and others perceive as mere restrictions that are imposed by the fashion police and therefore need to be broken.
The do's, don'ts and etiquette of communicating via the web and also about rules that apply to communicating through the Internet.
The world of advertising is inundated with a seemingly endless list of rules, that some consider as valuable words of wisdom and others perceive as mere restrictions that are imposed by the fashion police and therefore need to be broken.
The international fashion police is a force to be reckoned with. Armed with a seemingly endless list of rules, it dictates all the do's and don'ts and acts as judge and jury in dealing with those guilty of committing a fashion faux-pas. But while some of the rules that are enforced by the fashion-conscious are nothing short of ridiculous, others serve more as words of wisdom that can prevent people from committing a crime against fashion. This book contains fifty-one rules like "Dress Your Age", "When in Doubt Wear Red", "Shoes and Bags Must Always Match" and "Never Wear Tights with Open-toed Shoes", which can be twisted, broken or ignored altogether.
Our aim is not to list all the rules that you need to adhere to. Nor do we take sides in the whole rules debate. After all, creativity knows no bounds and therefore it seems rather ridiculous to restrict that creativity by sticking to a couple of age-old rules. However, in some cases the rules seem more like the basic principles of dress that should be loved, honored and obeyed. Rest assured that whichever side of the fence you sit on in this whole fashion rules debate, you're bound to find this book a source of inspiration, comfort or joy.
Anneloes van Gaalen is a writer, enterpreneur and all-round creative.
After receiving her MA and MPhil in English, American Studies and Cultural Analysis, Anneloes van Gaalen started writing for a wide variety of international publications including Wired Magazine, Dazed & Confused, ID Magazine and Surface. She also worked as editor-in-chief of LE COOL magazine Amsterdam. These days she writes for Amsterdam-based newspaper Het Parool.
Anneloes van Gaalen has written several books on (street) art, design, fashion, advertising, branding, new media and travel. She wrote and edited the popular Ridiculous Rules books and Indie Brands.


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package org.datanucleus.samples.annotations.versioned;

import jakarta.persistence.Entity;
import jakarta.persistence.Inheritance;
import jakarta.persistence.InheritanceType;

/**
 * Simple class with a version field.
 */
@Entity
@Inheritance(strategy=InheritanceType.JOINED)
public class VersionedPerson extends VersionedSub
{
    String name;

    public VersionedPerson(long id, String name)
    {
        super(id);
        this.name = name;
    }

    public void setName(String name)
    {
        this.name = name;
    }
    public String getName()
    {
        return name;
    }
}


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Lane has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil and has been paid for it since 1977, when she sold her first piece to the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.
"That paper subsequently folded, hopefully not related to my article on having big feet."
Since then, she has been writing free-lance humor pieces for the Op-Ed pages of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle, and is a regular contributor to First for Women Magazine. She has won numerous writing competitions most notably placing in the Writer's Digest Competition two years in a row, first and third place in The Foster City Writing Competition and was a finalist in three categories (two screenplays and one essay) in the Writer's Foundation 'America's Best' competition. In 1996, Universal Press Syndicated signed her to fill the void following the death of Erma Bombeck.
In her first attempt at stand-up comedy, she was a finalist in a competition to appear on the Jay Leno show. She mainly blames her family for not winning since they were front row center biting their nails during her set and laughing hysterically at the eventual winner.
The Lane family appeared on the Fox reality show, Trading Spouses, which garnered their highest ratings ever. As a result, Judy has been asked to speak at various Human Rights, Family Pride, Family Matters, and PFlag conferences. She was also a panelist on a segment on KPBS' 'These Days.'
Lane has a bachelor's degree in English from California State University, Los Angeles and is most comfortable in front of a mirror, a camera and live audience--in that order.
Lane lives in San Diego with her wife of 32 years, Pepper Lane, and they have two children, Cory 22 and Shea 19.
The column features current stories of her seemingly proper middle-class life with her wife and two kids juxtaposed with life growing up in a housing project in New York City in a family of eight children born to immigrant parents. Her mother was an Irish Catholic and her father Hungarian, who 'came out' as Jew when on Judy's 30th birthday, her mother died. Oy vey.
Aside from writing mercifully short pieces, many thoughtful and profound, others completely irreverent, she has universal appeal. Perhaps because she's pretty much in every demographic. She's senior citizen, but a mother to young adults. She's divorced but remarried to a woman. She lives middle-class life but grew up poor.


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iOS 8 Release Day: What You Need to Know
by Nick Kolakowski September 17, 2014 3 min read
AppleAppsiOSMobile
It's September, which means it's time for Apple to release the latest version of its mobile operating system.
If everything goes according to plan, everybody who owns an iPhone, iPod or iPad (or at least certain generations of those devices) will have the ability to download iOS 8 for free once it becomes available Sept. 17. In reality, the crush of people attempting to download the software will almost certainly lead to delays, device crashes, angry Tweets and Facebook postings, and furious promises to switch allegiances to a Google Android device.
Click here to find an Apple-related job.
What does iOS 8 offer for all that hype and effort?
A revamped Photos app that reportedly makes it easier to search for specific images, and includes new editing tools; a Messaging app that allows users to include videos; a revamped keyboard; greater integration with iCloud; and Health, an app that stores fitness information.
A new Family Sharing option allows up to six members of a family to share e-books and other items purchased from the App Store. This new hub gives parents an additional layer of control over what kids can download, which could prevent tykes from purchasing hundreds of dollars' worth of digital goods without an adult noticing ("A request to buy this app will be sent to your parents").
On the developer front, the iOS 8 SDK will offer a variety of toys, including third-party support for Touch ID (which allows iPhone users to access their device via a fingerprint), a camera API, HomeKit and HealthKit for building home- and fitness-related apps that sync tightly with iOS devices, and new tools for creating games.
Apple is also encouraging developers to build iOS apps in Swift, the company's new programming language.
In other words, iOS 8 offers lots of new things. But it might behoove iPhone and iPad owners to wait a day or two before downloading, to avoid the crush.
Upload Your ResumeEmployers want candidates like you. Upload your resume. Show them you're awesome.
Apple's iOS Maps and the High Cost of Management Failure
Apple Watch Promises New App Ecosystem
Does Apple's App Store Need a Radical Revamp?
Image: Apple
Less Is More in iOS 11 App Store: Study
Apple iOS Devs Rejoice: App Size Limit Doubles
Google Play Edging Ahead of Apple's App Store in Downloads: App Annie
IT Services Providers Pay Well for Advanced IT Skills
The Best Kind of Office? No Office at All
Nick Kolakowski
Nick Kolakowski has written for The Washington Post, Slashdot, eWeek, McSweeney's, Thrillist, WebMD, Trader Monthly, and other venues. He's also the author of "A Brutal Bunch of Heartbroken Saps" and "Slaughterhouse Blues," a pair of noir thrillers.


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more burritos
One Sickened Chipotle Customer Will Get Her Damages In The Form Of Free Burritos
By Ashlee Kieler 9.13.16
Apparently it can be hard to quit Chipotle. Despite reports that 25% of former customers have yet to return — or visit less frequently — to the fast casual restaurant after its very public food-borne illness issues, one woman who was actually sickened after eating at the chain hasn't completely shunned the burritos. In fact, she asked for — and received — free food as part of her recent settlement with the company. [More]


DevOps has grown to become a common item on the agendas of CTOs and CIOs since starting in 2008 as a grassroots movement. There are several reasons for this. To many organizations, DevOps is the continuation of agile in development to agile in IT operations. For others, DevOps is an opportunity to refresh an agile transformation that has gone stale, or to attempt an agile transformation that never even started. To yet others, DevOps is an opportunity to improve application delivery throughout the organization, irrespective of the development processes in place, traditional, agile, hybrid, or custom (a multi-speed project environment). DevOps originated in IT operations and was very quickly embraced by all IT stakeholders and has reached the mainstream far quicker than the agile movement did, of course helped by agile paving the way.
IT organizations must become nimble and work together to stay relevant. The consumerization of IT has changed customer expectations and IT must adapt its culture and processes to deliver apps and features faster.
With a complete DevOps strategy, organizations can begin the culture, process, and platform changes needed to meet the new demands. The result is an IT organization that can deliver business innovation faster.
Businesses are changing. Banks are more than banks; they're transaction-processing companies. Oil and gas companies are also geographic information system (GIS) companies. Pharmacies are ever-more reliant on electronic health records. Continuing to do business the way it's been done in the past means falling behind.
Consider camera manufacturers. They've seen their business transform from standalone devices to a feature on every mobile phone. New businesses with new services start up every day, creating new ways of engaging with markets. If you can't continually develop new advantages and adapt as the business changes, you won't be relevant for long.
From startups with a new way of delivering products and services to established businesses using their infrastructure and knowledge to grow into entirely new markets, competition can come from anywhere. To stay ahead, you can't be reactive to changes in competition. You must be proactive.
DevOps is an approach to culture, automation, and platform design to provide better business value and responsiveness. The goal is to increase the speed and flexibility with which new features and services are delivered.
In other words, DevOps is an approach to developing software in which development and IT operations (and other IT professionals) work closely together, whereas traditionally they've worked separately. The ultimate goal is to become more agile so they can deploy application services faster and get them to market faster. The idea is that collaboration, communication, integration, sharing, and automation result in an efficient, continuous cycle of software development.
This is all made possible through rapid, iterative, and high-quality IT service delivery. DevOps helps you embrace a "go fast" mode of IT while modernizing classic infrastructure. Linking classic with cloud-native IT is fundamental to sharing data and applications, making them accessible throughout your entire IT environment.
With DevOps, those that need power the most, get it. Developers work closely with the rest of IT to speed software builds, tests, and releases—without sacrificing reliability.
DevOps isn't infrastructure. It's not something you deploy and forget. The key to success is trust. Beyond that, implementing DevOps requires changing processes and integrating the right tools. Depending on your organization, this journey can be challenging, but the payoffs are massive.
DevOps is as much a cultural shift as it is implementing processes and tools. The culture of open source software projects can be a blueprint for how to build a DevOps culture. Take steps to encourage experimentation, (fast) failure, transparency in decision-making, and recognition and rewards to boost trust and cooperation. All of these factors help to facilitate an open culture and overall acceptance.
The fastest ROI for your DevOps initiative is automation. Automating your existing processes and applications lets you deliver software faster and reclaim time for new innovation. Automation helps your smartest people do the most important things by automating repetitive and mundane tasks.
With the right platform, you can best take advantage of DevOps cultural and process changes. Infrastructure platforms are rapidly evolving to dynamic, programmable platforms that can help you migrate to modern cloud and container-based applications.
Agile and DevOps practices are also influencing software architecture with microservices architecture and the use of containers, and this is creating a new IT wave that is starting to grow and I believe will dominate software architecture thinking in the decade ahead. In a nutshell, the primary reason is that for DevOps-style continuous delivery to work as intended, matching software architecture is required that allows changes to be made to a live system without having to bring it down. Containers (Docker, Rocket, etc.) are getting more popular for microservices because they allow for good separation of dependencies (a key aspect of microservices), and they are lightweight, so many (thousands, millions, even billions) can be generated in an environment and tend to be used as runtime objects. Unlike virtual machines that persist as part of the infrastructure, containers pop up and down mostly during runtime and, therefore, conserve resources.
As MSA and container adoption grows, it will disrupt the release management solution market, but vendors are generally ready for this, with support for Docker already quite common.
I am an AppDev Solution Architect at Red Hat and I've working over 13 years at Samusung, Accenture, Red Hat with an expert in Container, DevOps, JBoss middleware, PaaS, and OpenShift, etc. I've been delivering customer technical seminar, workshop to elaborate new technologies like container(docker, rocket), k8s, mesos, docker swarm, openstack, sdn, sds, etc. for strategic customers, partners, contributors, even developers with Red Hat, Google, MSFT, Intel, IBM, Oracle, and so on.


The hair transplant procedure is a single permanent surgical option to regain the natural hair from the area where it is lost via the hair root's changing the location process. The root transfer in the surgical restoration applies the extraction method, either done by the FUT technique or through the FUE hair transplant. The regrowth of hair takes place within the four months of the surgery, but one can experience the natural looks and appeal after completing 12-14 years of the hair transplant surgery. The hair transplant cost extensively based on the factors related to the procedure directly and of course, it is the number of hair follicles or graft. Per graft cost in India, generally ranges between 25-130 INR considered as the most affordable cost as compared to the developed nations like USA, UK, and the UAE.
The planning before receiving the procedure is mandatory as it influences the outcome in the sense of choosing the best hair transplant surgeon, certified clinics, and cost of the procedure as well as the best outcomes followed by the right technique at the right time.
Who one is the Best Surgeon?
Choosing the surgeon to receive the hair transplant procedure is itself an informative task needs the research and analysis in terms of opting for the best decision. The Surgeon must be a plastic & cosmetic surgeon and holds the M.S and M Ch degree to perform the procedure. The specialization earned to do the surgery does matter and sets the surgeon apart from the rest of the others. It is mandatory that the Surgeon is an active member of the ISHRS, ISAPS, IAHRS, etc. So, when you receive the procedure from a qualified and experienced, of course, it does matter and influences the outcome of the procedure.
Which One is the Assured Hair Transplant Clinic?
The hair transplant clinic must be a certified one! You must be concerned about choosing the clinic as the standard and facilities do matter in choosing the hair transplant clinic. The clinic must be adhering to the standard facilities, care as well as the modern equipment and technology. If a clinic seriously following the modern management for providing the cosmetic surgery deserves the top place in offering the hair transplant surgeries.
What is the Number of Good Results Provided by the Clinic?
It is an inevitable and pertinent factor in order to know about the clinic's recognition as well as the surgeon's reputation that how many numbers of good results is provided by them. It is always good and trustworthy that you have picked that selection has a well-standing reputation in the hair transplant market. However, it is pertinent to go through the outcomes provided by the particular clinic and cross-check the feedback posted by the respective patients from that clinic.
It is a prerequisite in the surgery to know about the cost of the procedure. The cost of the hair transplant procedure must be known in advance in order to plan the surgical procedure with the best budget-plan options. It has been out that the procedure's cost in India is lesser despite giving the best outcomes as it depends on the expenditure power and the income capacity of the masses in a particular country and the sub-continent.
On the whole, we can say that the procedure of hair transplant is such a cosmetic surgery needs an extreme planning and precision in the view of selecting the best one that fulfils the desired aesthetic goal of the hair transplant surgery.
7 Quick But Unusual Gifts She Will Love!
E-cigarettes are safer and less harmful than tobacco cigarettes – Is this true?


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Can Jon Albon Win the $1 Million Spartan Prize?
Jon Albon is just coming off his wins at the OCR World Championships. However, the champion barely has time to recover as tomorrow begins the Spartan Trifecta Weekend in Greece. Albon the 2019 Spartan World Championship is now in a league of his own racing for the $1 Million prize purse.
Joe De Sena launched the $1 Million Trifecta Prize over the summer, ahead of the World Championship in Tahoe, to be given to an athlete, male or female, who wins three key races – the World Championship "Spartan Beast," Trifecta World Championship, and the Ultra World Championship. De Sena announced the prize under the assumption that his insurance would cover the cost should someone win, however after the World Championship Joe discovered that it did not.
He proceeded to take the steps to get it in place with his insurance company, thinking it wouldn't be an issue because there was still time. However, when multiple time world champion Jon Albon from the UK took home the Men's title at the Spartan World Championship in Tahoe with a time of 2:07:04 – the insurance company set the premium so high, that Joe decided he would take the risk with his own money. That is right Joe is hedging his bets that Albon will not succeed in the end otherwise he is personally out $1 Million Dollars.
With the second event in the three-part challenge, tomorrow at the Trifecta World Championship in Sparta, Greece, De Sena is now nervous that he is on the hook for the $1 million prize. Albon has a shot if he emerges victorious in Sparta, and goes on to win the 24-hour Ultra World Championship race, while also running a total distance of more than 100 miles in the race time.
Albon and Webster were the two Spartan World Champions, Webster has opted out of the Trifecta Championship weekend leaving one man in the hunt for the grand prize. While Albon is the favorite going into the Trifecta Weekend two other athletes will be looking to claim the Trifecta Weekend from him. Look for Spartan European Champion and 3rd place at the OCR World Championship 3K Sergei Perelygin and Albert Sorely to be chasing after Albon on race days.
To follow the action this weekend tune into Spartan's Facebook Live to follow all the action. The Sprint and Super will be held on Saturday and Beast on Sunday.
By Margaret Schlachter|2018-11-02T09:20:04+00:00November 2nd, 2018|News|0 Comments
About the Author: Margaret Schlachter
Margaret is Editor-in-Chief of Mud Run Guide. She has been part of the OCR Community since 2010. When not working on the next article she can be found running from race-to-race as a competitor.She founded DirtinYourSkirt.com, an OCR community for women as well as former contributing editor for Mud and Obstacle Magazine and industry expert for About.com. She authored the book Obstacle Race Training.


A collection of nursery rhymes provides children with rhyming skills and patterns. Over 100 nursery rhymes are remembered through illustrations, songs, and verse.
Denton, Kady MacDonald, "A child's treasury of nursery rhymes," Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University, accessed April 24, 2019, https://dlp.lib.miamioh.edu/picturebook/items/show/8938.


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News | John Grant announces Queen of Denmark follow-up
by Ali Mason • 14 December 2012 • Comments Off on News | John Grant announces Queen of Denmark follow-up
John Grant will release the follow-up to his critically-acclaimed debut album Queen of Denmark in March.
Pale Green Ghosts, recorded mostly in Iceland and with electronica influences to the fore, will go on sale on March 11, with a headline show at London's Heaven to follow two days later. There's plenty to get music lovers excited. Not only is Sinead O'Connor on board providing backing vocals, the album is also produced by Biggi Veira of legendary Icelandic electronic outfit Gus Gus.
Grant says: "Moving to Reykjavik, at the age of 43, was incredibly risky and scary. I didn't know anyone here, but I've built up a life here, and recorded an album I'm really proud of, that distils what I'm about down to its most essential components, better than ever before. And this was during the middle of health issues. It means I'm trying to take the bull by the horns, and to live."
Described as Grant's "80s album", Pale Green Ghosts comes out of some dark places, from substance abuse to depression to Grant's declaration that he is HIV positive, something he announced on stage earlier this year. But if Queen of Denmark, and this video for the title track to his new record, are anything to go by, Pale Green Ghosts will turn the darkness into beautiful, distinctive and witty music.
Tags: John Grant
← Album | Straw Bear – Black Bank
Live | Stealing Sheep @ Bush Hall, London →


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Protecting Investors or Protecting the Public
protecting-investors-or-protecting-the-public
Text by : Jim Baker
A post by David Robinson on this blog "Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP): Education is not for sale", states, "Trade deals are becoming increasingly important for all of us, including teachers and education workers. Education is increasingly seen by the global education industry and some governments as a commodity that can be "traded" like widgets or wheat, and that should be governed by the commercial rules of trade treaties".
TTIP is only one of many agreements that exist to protect investors. An earlier generation of "trade agreements" also dealt with issues that made them, in fact, trade and investment agreements. Even the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), while reducing or eliminating tariffs, the traditional purpose of trade agreements, also focused on removing "obstacles" or "barriers" to investment (in both the agreement and its implementation). And, in this generation as well as subsequent agreements, protection of investor rights carries with it no real, enforceable requirements on investors to respect human rights; an unfair and ultimately unsustainable imbalance.
From 1995 to 1998, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) sought to negotiate a "Multilateral Agreement on Investment", however, it failed, in part, because of concerns that it might interfere with the right of States to regulate. However, bilateral investment agreements continued to be negotiated. They were not and are not identical, but they include many common elements which, de facto, establish international policy. Among the common elements of many are investor to State dispute mechanisms, special procedures available exclusively to foreign investors.
The European Union has been given authority in the area of international investment and, as is the case with TTIP, is now a "bilateral" negotiating partner with the United States. TTIP is only the latest of several European agreements, but has received the most attention. If that agreement is concluded, a bilateral agreement is expected to be negotiated between the EU and China.
In addition, some major multilateral agreements are being negotiated which raise similar questions about restraints on government decision making and democracy. These include the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a regional agreement (trade unions in the region have agreed that it should be withdrawn), and the global Trade in Services Agreement (TISA).
Common trade union concerns shared by many civil society organisations are that penetration of private interests into public services will be protected or will become irreversible. If, for example, a government decides to privatize education or health care or elements of them or other vital public services, but a future government decides that such a policy was unwise, does that government have the ability to reverse those policies? Although assurances are provided by governments that public decision-making will be protected, that has not always been true in the past. If governments have to privilege investor interests over the public interest or the public will, serious questions arise about democracy itself.
Education International, its European Region (ETUCE), and many EI affiliates are working to limit the (potential) damage of trade and investment agreements, including TTIP, to education and to preserve the right of governments to regulate public services.
At the multilateral/global level, there was a largely successful effort by trade unions and civil society to protect education and other public services in the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which took effect in January of 1995.
GATS includes some protections of the right to regulate including Article I(3), which excludes "services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority", which includes public services like education. The Word Trade Organisation (WTO) describes these services as those that "are supplied neither on a commercial basis nor in competition with other suppliers. Cases in point are social security schemes and any other public service, such as health or education, that is provided at non-market conditions".
The fight to protect public services in GATS was long and difficult and required a major mobilisation of the international trade union movement. However, times and the political climate have changed and the fight has become more difficult. With all of its faults, the WTO framework provided access for trade unions and other civil society groups and the process was relatively transparent. That is not often the case with negotiations outside of the WTO or other public institutional frameworks.
The Trade in International Services Agreement (TISA) is being negotiated by a large number of governments, but outside of the WTO, largely in secret, and with few opportunities for public involvement. A report by Public Services International (PSI), "TISA versus Public Services", illustrates some of the dangers of that agreement based on available information. These include eroding some of the rights to regulate that were protected by GATS as well as locking in liberalization measures taken by governments.
There has been opposition to TTIP and, to a lesser extent, to the agreement between the EU and Canada, the EU-Canada trade agreement (CETA). An especially controversial provision in both agreements are investor to State dispute mechanisms giving special treatment to foreign investors over domestic investors through access to a special mechanism for resolving disputes outside of national courts and other official channels. Such mechanisms could be considered an exemption for foreign investors from democracy and rule of law. Public service issues and limitations on government action also have implications for human rights. But, there is also a broader question of human rights versus other rights.
Protections of property rights that bind national governments are emerging at the international level, but protection of human rights, including the human rights of workers, remain at the discretion of national governments. This creates a hierarchy of rights that gives priority to property over human beings and to that which is private over the public good. The rights of investors carry with them no corresponding obligation to respect international labour standards or other human rights. This contributes to the global rights imbalance.
The traditional approach of the international trade union movement has been to try to link the respect of property rights and liberalization with the respect of workers' rights. A short-hand reference to this connection is the "social clause" supported by trade unions at the time of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and with the emergence of the WTO. Trade and investment agreements would include something that would not allow governments to violate workers' human rights in order to gain an advantage in international trade or as an incentive to attract investment. This concept was never full developed as governments failed to agree to establish a working party to examine the links between workers' rights and trade and investment.
Those arguments, in addition to the defense of public services, also critical for human rights and democracy, remain valid and trade unions have been able to influence governments and the EU to add provisions on education and other public services and fundamental human rights of workers in some agreements. Although positive experience with such clauses has been limited, they are intended to protect government decision-making and improve laws and enforcement.
The UN Human Rights Council unanimously adopted the UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights and Business in 2011. It includes the following language:
"The responsibility to respect human rights is a global standard of expected conduct for all business enterprises wherever they operate. It exists independently of States' abilities and/or willingness to fulfil their own human rights obligations, and does not diminish those obligations. And it exists over and above compliance with national laws and regulations protecting human rights."
Effectively protecting human rights and ensuring their respect by investors requires making these "obligations" real. Serious attention to human rights in investment agreements would be a good place to begin redressing the rights imbalance. It would be relatively little to expect from those investors that already get so much consideration and protection from States. And, realizing human rights and preserving democracy also requires that such agreements serve to keep public services out of the clutches of modern "privateers".
Jim Baker
Jim Baker is Senior Consultant to Education International.
The Shameful Origin of School Vouchers in the US, by Jim Baker
Status of Teachers – Back to the Future
Financial Failure – Déjà vu all over again?


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Operating System:
Vagrant Version:
Virtual Box Version:


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Rod Parsley Plays The Victim
By Kyle Mantyla | June 6, 2008 12:34 pm
Shortly after Sen. John McCain publicly rejected the endorsements of John Hagee and Rod Parsley, Parsley released his own statement rescinding his endorsement and then sort of disappeared from sight. Sometime since then, Parsley apparently decided that he had a bit more to get off his chest and so he released a video on his Center for Moral Clarity website in which he reiterated many of the points he made in his initial statement but added some attacks on what he claimed were the "politically vicious and misguided" hit-squads who exposed his radical views, claiming that his views on Islam are "very much in the mainstream" and insisting that he made a "clear distinction between Muslim terrorists and the vast majority of peaceful Muslims."
Of course, Parsley is on record having told his congregation and massive TV audience that "America was founded in part with the intention of seeing this false religion [Islam] destroyed" and "Islam is an anti-Christ religion that intends through violence to conquer the world," as well as writing that so-called "Muslim extremists" are really "mainstream believers who are drawing from the well at the very heart of Islam."
Video and transcript:
I'd like to take a few moments and respond to the recent media reports regarding my statements in the book "Silent No More" about Islam. It doesn't surprise me that, as I continue to engage the culture with a thoroughly Biblical worldview that political hit-squads have begun to describe some of my views in the most ominous and extreme terms. I expected that opponents of that worldview would try to make a connection between myself and the extreme views of other ministers such as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. This is what we've seen play out over the past few days. Certainly, I'm disappointed with those in the media who have misrepresented my views for political gain and who have lied in pursuit of political power. It's a sad moment in American politics; one of the many in the recent election cycle.
My views on Islam, which have come under such scrutiny and misrepresentation, are very much in the mainstream. Anyone who has read the entire chapter on Islam in my book "Silent No More" understands that what I have said is echoed from the White House to the State Department, from leading universities to the pulpits of our nation. I believe that radical Islam is one of the greatest threats to Western civilization and that conflict has roots in our American history. I have always, and I will continue, to make a clear distinction between Muslim terrorists and the vast majority of peaceful Muslims who are appalled at the bloody results of suicide bombers and mass murders. Once again, I unapologetically denounce those who spread death in the name of Allah while I continue to believe peace-loving Muslims need the full of all Christians, and Christians must provide understanding, cooperation, and friendship to peace-loving Muslims throughout the world who share our desire for democracy and peace.
I understand that the raw truth of the pulpit cannot survive untempered in the political sphere. Still, I believe that clergy of all faiths should be able to speak into the lives of our political leaders without every doctrine and statement of those religious leaders being transformed into political weapons by the politically vicious and misguided.
Tags: John Hagee John McCain endorsements Islam Media muslim Muslims Politics Religion Threats Video violence Center for Moral Clarity
Gordon Klingenschmitt Plays The Victim While The Actual Victim Rejects His Donation
Rod Parsley: Give Me Money And God Will Heal Your Baby's Brain Tumors
Sandy Rios: Dennis Hastert The Victim Of 'Political Payback'
Mike Huckabee: Duggar Family The Victim Of An 'Insensitive Bloodthirst'


Colorful 3D Wallpapers is free HD wallpaper. This wallpaper was upload at June 21, 2016 upload by steven in 3D.
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Q) What stands out most to you about the course?
The instructor (5 stars!) and how thorough the course was. I was worried at first that my partner would not learn the prenatal basics, or we'd only learn hypnosis. Now I am completely confident that my partner and I are on the same page and that we have everything we needs (checklists, reference booklet, worksheets, CD's etc) to be a 'team' at the birth. The level of time & commitment required actually helped build our relationship.
I was really skeptical of this course at first because I could not believe that hypnosis was a birthing tool. I'm so glad I signed up, because this turned out to be the perfect course for me to boost my confidence overall. The CD's s taught me how to relax, put myself in a positive mind space and believe in a positive childbirth experience, instead of spiralling into negative thoughts and anxiety. The combo of videos and this class has boosted my overall confidence in birthing, myself and my ability to relax completely when I need to. I can't imagine being prepared for my birth without having taken this class! I won't forget it and has already added a really great experience to my pregnancy.
How well put together everything is, so it is easy to follow and we had the feeling that we covered everything there is to know. We felt it was well worth the investment.
The positive atmosphere and the wealth of knowledge i received. Learning about hypnosis and giving me tools to use during my birthing time made me feel empowered and informed.
The wealth of information presented in a non-biased manner which made us make informed decisions. There were lots of facts and research which is great for my husband who only relies on facts for decision making!!
Very positive approach to the birthing experience. More than just a pre-natal course, it changed my perspective and attitude about birth.


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Q: Finding the equation of a circle. A circle of radius $2$ lies in the first quadrant touching both axis. Find the equation of the circle centered at $(6,5)$ and touching the above circle externally.
Let me share how I answered this question with your suggestions.
Since the radius of the first circle is $2$ and touches both axes. It follows that $h,k$ is $(2,2)$. The formula for this circle is
$$(x-2)^2 + (y-2)^2 = 4 .$$
Given that the center of the second circle is $(6,5)$, then we can get the distance to another circle. The distance between $(6,5)$ and $(2,2)$ is $5$.
We can subtract and get the radius of the second circle. $r=5-2$.
Then, the radius is $3$.
The equation of the second circle is
$$(x-6)^2 + (y-5)^5 = 9 .$$
Thank you everyone! :)

A: Equation of circle of radius 2 and touching the axes is $(x-2)^2+(y-2)^2=4$ and its center is $(2,2)$.
Center of required circle is (6,5).Radius of required circle is half of distance between (6,5) and (2,2) because these two circles touch externally.Therefore radius of required circle$=r=5-2$
Now use $(x-h)^2+(y-k)^2=r^2$ and get the equation.

A: The first circle is centered at $(2,2)$, so the distance between two centers of both the circles would be $\sqrt{(6-2)^2 +(5-2)^2} =5$. Hence the radius of circle centred at(6,5) is 3 units. So the final equation of circle is $(x-6)^2+(y-5)^2 = 9$

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Allow some e-commerce owner who wants to try [Algolia](https://algolia.com) without anything to code to actually do that.

# How does it work?
1. Simply go to [pamart.in/Algolia4you/](http://pamart.in/Algolia4you/)
2. Put your e-commerce CMS in the input
3. Let the magic happen

# Limitations
For now it only works with Woocomerce (YEAST SEO installed) and Shopify. Prestashop should arrive
Limit for each site is 500 objects as the app on my site is plugged to a Community plan

# Installation
If you want plug your own accound to use this tools, you'll simple have to change the API key :
 * One back/secret_key.php defining : $GLOBALS['MASTER_KEY'] = [your-write-key];
 * AppID in src/js/main.js const appId = '[your-app-id]';
 * apiKey in src/js/main.js const apiKey = '[your-api-READ-ONLY]';

** !!!Never put your Admin API Key in a frontend Javascript file!!! **

# Still to do:

* Listen and adapt to your feedback
* Fine tunes the indices
* Add a debug mode
* Add a more visual progress bar
* Update Algolia libraries
* Add a function to compare with native search
* Add Color, Size etc. in Object
* Add more CMS
* Remove first level of categories when generic (shops, collections etc...)
* Lite version of the repo

* The sky is the limit...

I'll create GitHub issues to details those.

# Disclaimer

I code for fun and this was made to show Algolia some :heart: !


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Douglas Nordquist (born December 20, 1958, in San Gabriel, California) is a retired male high jumper from the United States, who competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics where he ended up in fifth place with a jump of 2.29 metres, one place behind distant cousin Dwight Stones.  He was TAC high jump champion in 1986 and 1988, and placed second at the 1984 Olympic Trials behind Stones. He competed for Sonora High School, finishing a three-way tie for third place at the 1977 CIF California State Meet, Fullerton Community College,  Washington State University where he was coached by 1968 Olympian Rick Sloan and Tiger International.  He was a practitioner of Washington State's specialized weight training for high jumpers  He set his personal record of 2.36m while finishing second at the TAC National Championships at Cerritos College in Norwalk, California on June 15, 1990.  That jump currently ranks Nordquist tied as the 25th best performer in history. For his athletic achievements, Nordquist was inducted into the Washington State University Hall of Fame in 2015 and was an inaugural inductee to the Fullerton College Track and Field Wall of Fame in 2019.

Doug Nordquist was a highly decorated director for the California High School Entertainment Unit, winning first place awards with the band. Nordquist retired from teaching at the end of the 2019–2020 school year and was honored as the Whittier Teacher of the Year, an award previously given to his father in 1986.

His personal bests in the event are 2.36 metres outdoors (Norwalk 1990) and 2.31 metres indoors (Genk 1987).

1993 at age 34, Nordquist competed at the Masters level winning high jump.  Norquist competed at the 1993 Masters National Outdoor Championship, winning the M30 high jump.

International competitions

References

External links

Article from Sports Illustrated
Biography from The Goal.com

1958 births
Living people
American male high jumpers
Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Olympic track and field athletes of the United States
People from San Gabriel, California
Washington State Cougars men's track and field athletes
Track and field athletes from California
Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California
Goodwill Games medalists in athletics
Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games
Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games
American masters athletes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Lantier in Paris, France, 1997, as well as numerous other competitions, awards and scholarships.
Concertmaster with Orchestra Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Paulo, Brazil.
at age 5 began his violin studies at the Central Music School of Moscow State Conservatory.
Orchestra for the 2015-2016 season.


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Saudi corvette Al Jubail is launched during a ceremony at Spanish state-owned shipbuilder Navantia's shipyard in San Fernando, Cádiz, Spain on July 22, 2020. (Juan Carlos Toro/Getty Images)
Royal Saudi Naval Forces
Spanish Gov't Company To Build Ships in Saudi Arabia for Saudi Navy
Debbie Mohnblatt
The deal aims to fully localize shipbuilding in the kingdom in accordance with Vision 2030's goal of establishing localized Saudi defense industries
The Saudi Defense Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Spanish state-owned company to build multi-mission combat ships for its navy, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday. Navantia, the company with which Riyadh signed the deal, agreed to locate 100% of its operations to build the fleet in Saudi territory.
Navantia has built ships for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) in the past, including five Avante 2000 corvettes. These were built at Navantia's shipyard on the Bay of Cádiz in San Fernando, Spain.
The move is part of Vision 2030, a project developed by the kingdom's Council of Economic and Development Affairs, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It aims to boost the country's economic and social success through several long-term reforms.
"Vision 2030 is a holistic plan of social and economic transformation of the kingdom," Magdalena Karolak, an associate professor of humanities and social sciences based in the UAE, told The Media Line. She said that among the priorities and goals of Vision 2030 is the establishment of localized Saudi defense industries.
According to the 85-page Saudi Vision 2030 Document, "Our aim is to localize over 50% of military equipment spending by 2030." Karolak says this is why Navantia, which is wholly owned by Spain's sovereign wealth fund, Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales, will build the ships in Saudi Arabia rather than in Spain or elsewhere.
Transferring the manufacturing facilities to Saudi territory will spur the creation of jobs in the country, contribute to knowledge-sharing, support additional local industries, develop the local economy, and limit spending abroad.
Rajat Ahlawat, an analyst with extensive experience in political and economic research in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, told The Media Line that a major focus of Vision 2030 has been on the development of local technological capabilities, be they in manufacturing, IT, or upcoming technologies.
At the same time, he says that an ongoing trend in Saudi Arabia over the last few years has been to associate almost all projects undertaken by both the government and the private sector as part of Vision 2030. He describes this association as "sort of an official seal of go-ahead for the projects."
Though the United States has long been Saudi Arabia's major arms supplier, the kingdom chose a Spanish company for this naval project. Karolak says Madrid's willingness to transfer operations to Saudi territory, something that Washington probably would not have allowed an American company to do, was a big part of that decision.
"The deal is not a mere buy and sale; Saudi Arabia sought a partner who would be willing to localize the operations within the kingdom. This may not have been possible with the US partners," she says.
In addition, Karolak notes that trade between Spain and Saudi Arabia has experienced steady growth in recent years, and Spain has been named a key partner in Saudi Arabia's transformation under Saudi Vision 2030.
Ahlawat says that, aside from Riyadh's desire to transfer the defense industry to Saudi territory, it must also modernize its naval fleet. He notes that a large part of the RSNF's fleet is American- and French-built vessels from the 1980s and 1990s. Many of these ships "lack modern naval technologies and are also heading toward the end of their service life," he says.
Saudi Arabia is a regional power with over 1,400 miles of coastline positioned along two major maritime routes, the Red Sea and the Gulf, which are overseen by the RSNF, he explains. Both major waterways present security challenges for the kingdom.
These challenges are alluded to in the MoU, which says that it "aims to raise the level of readiness of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces to enhance maritime security in the region and protect the vital and strategic interests of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and support the strategic, operational and tactical goals of the Ministry of Defense."
"On the country's eastern maritime border is Iran and on its southern land border is Yemen, both of which are Saudi's regional rivals and have the potential, directly or through proxies, to launch attacks and create instability inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Ahlawat says.
In addition, says Karolak, piracy is a persistent problem in the Red Sea, around the Horn of Africa.
Taking all these security challenges into account, Ahlawat says, "the country needs to be well-equipped as a regional power to secure the maritime routes against any potential threat for commercial shipping."
Lastly, he mentions prestige as another factor at play. "Any military power would be incomplete without proven modern naval combat capabilities," he says.
Karolak says that despite choosing a Spanish shipbuilder for this purchase, Saudi Arabia remains the largest importer of American weapons in the world, purchasing an estimated $1.389 billion worth of American arms in 2021, as measured by trend-indicator value, a pricing system that expresses the volume of deliveries of major conventional weapons.
However, she adds that under the Biden Administration, the relationship between Riyadh and Washington has experienced challenges. "While the Trump Administration was very keen on boosting military trade with Saudi Arabia, the Biden Administration had to consider the fallout of the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi as well as the rising criticism of the Saudi intervention in Yemen, which prompted a reassessment of mutual relations, hence a reevaluation of the arms trade agreements signed under Trump."
Nonetheless, Karolak points out, by November 2021 the Biden Administration had approved its first major arms deal with Saudi Arabia, followed by further agreements inked in 2022.
Give the Gift of Truth This Jewish New Year
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CHATTENDEN PRIMARY SCHOOL, CHATTENDEN LANE, ROCHESTER, KENT.
The project consisted of the provision for a new Staff room, and Library room, including internal alterations and the provision of a new staff kitchen.
SWADELANDS SCHOOL, HAM LANE, LENHAM, KENT HAIR & BEAUTY VOCATIONAL CENTRE.
BEC SITE MANAGER : MR ANDY LOUCH.
The works are-forming a circular steel frame to form a mezzanine with two staircase access each side for access to the new beauty section. Installing a platform lift; Altering the existing entrance to create a new reception and waiting rooms. New toilets have been provided, and the ground floor will provide state of the art hairdressing facilities.
MAIDSTONE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BARTON ROAD, MAIDSTONE, KENT APPLIED LEARNING CENTRE.
Client: Maidstone Grammar School - Heather Cook.
A Design and Build project, which consisted of the Demolition of the existing Teaching Block, new foundations, including reinforced ground beams over existing Air Raid Shelters.
PCC first floors, load bearing brick, and block-work with external Trespa Rain Cladding, with trussed roof, and Clay Roof tiling. New external, Aluminium windows and doors.
Internally, new suspended ceilings, passenger lift, and data to all rooms, were provided.


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My Friend's Hot Mom (dt.: Die heiße Mutter meines Freundes) ist eine US-amerikanische Pornofilmreihe des Labels Naughty America. Die Reihe ist dem Genre der Erotik mit älteren Darstellerinnen ("MILF" bzw. "Cougar") zuzuordnen und wurde 2014 bei den AVN Awards als "Best MILF Series" ausgezeichnet. Regisseur ist Brett Brando, die Produktion erfolgt beim Label Naughty America.

Seit 2004 wurden aufgrund des großen Erfolges der Serie mehr als 90 Folgen der Reihe gedreht. In einigen Teilen der Reihe spielen etablierte Pornostars mit, die dann als Titelheldinnen fungieren. Einige von ihnen sind in mehreren Folgen zu sehen.

Handlung
Die einzelnen Episoden handeln von der Verführung jüngerer Männer (die Freunde des Sohnes der Mutter).

Darstellerinnen
(Quelle: )
 My Friend's Hot Mom 1: Ava Devine, Bridgette Monroe, Diane Diamonds, Rubee Tuesday, Vicky Vette
 My Friend's Hot Mom 2: Cheryl DeSilva, Emma Starr, Kari Kums, Chante, Victoria Givens
 My Friend's Hot Mom 3: Cara Lott, Jerrika Michaels, Penny Porsche, Saskia, Vanessa Videl
 My Friend's Hot Mom 4: Carolyn Monroe, Ava Devine, Vanessa Bella, Bailey O'Dare, Cheyenne Hunter, Kimmie Morr
 My Friend's Hot Mom 5: Ava Devine, Vicky Vette, Kayla Kupcakes, Elle Cee, Kat Kleavage
 My Friend's Hot Mom 6: Alexi Carrington, Sharon Kane, De'Bella, Ashley Knight, Whitney Wonders
 My Friend's Hot Mom 7: Kat Kleavage, Harley Davis, Bethany Sweet, TJ Powers, Angel Caliente, Kristine Madison
 My Friend's Hot Mom 8: Nina Hartley, Ava Devine, Tiana Rose, Shayna Storm, Mindy Main, Demi Delia
 My Friend's Hot Mom 9: Claudia Marie, Vanessa Videl, Deauxma, Sexy Vanessa, Teri Weigel
 My Friend's Hot Mom 10: Kristal Summers, Calliste, Isadora, Kendra Secrets, Linda Roberts, Jillian Foxxx
 My Friend's Hot Mom 11: Lake Russell, Susana Garcia, Nina Hartley, Rheina Shine, Sandy Beach, Misty Vonage
 My Friend's Hot Mom 12: Penny Porsche, Elle Cee, RayVeness, June Summers, Misty Vonage, Juliana Jolene
 My Friend's Hot Mom 13: Brenda James, Kelly Leigh, Nicole Moore, Georgina Smith, Misty Vonage, Bridget Lee
 My Friend's Hot Mom 14: Emma Starr, Sami Scott, Friday, Demi Delia, Kristina Cross
 My Friend's Hot Mom 15: Lisa Ann, Shayla LaVeaux, Raquel Devine, Amber Lynn, C.J. Wright, Holly Halston
 My Friend's Hot Mom 16: Bridgette Monroe, Crystal Ashley, Harmony Bliss, Dana Hayes, Deauxma, Erica Lauren
 My Friend's Hot Mom 17: Becca Blossoms, Holly Halston, Julia Ann, RayVeness
 My Friend's Hot Mom 18: Vanilla Deville, Chanel Carrera, Claudia-Marie, Sunshine Seiber, Deauxma
 My Friend's Hot Mom 19: Taylor Wane, Indianna Jaymes, Mrs. Starr, Sarah Bricks, Diamond Foxxx
 My Friend's Hot Mom 20: Julia Ann, Monique Fuentes, Rachel Love, Francesca Lé, Shay Sights
 My Friend's Hot Mom 21: Tanya Tate, Allison Kilgore, Darla Crane, Diamond Jackson, Taylor Wane
 My Friend's Hot Mom 22: Holly Halston, Alia Janine, Devon Lee, Erica Lauren, Deauxma
 My Friend's Hot Mom 23: Julia Ann, Darla Crane, Deauxma, Holly Halston, Shay Fox, Emma Starr, Amanda Blow, Farrah
 My Friend's Hot Mom 24: Darla Crane, Emma Starr, Julia Ann, Rachel Love, Jewels Jade
 My Friend's Hot Mom 25: Tyler Faith, Diamond Foxxx, Diamond Jackson, Tanya Tate, Tara Holiday
 My Friend's Hot Mom 26: Lezley Zen, Monique Fuentes, Becca Blossoms, DeeDiana Doll, Leena Sky, Michelle Lay, Nicki Hunter, Rachel Love Siren, Kylie Knight
 My Friend's Hot Mom 27: Teri Weigel, Nikki Charm, Darla Crane, Emma Starr, Devon Lee, Angela Attison
 My Friend's Hot Mom 28: Ava Devine, Brooke Tyler, Charlee Chase, Janet Mason, Tanya Tate
 My Friend's Hot Mom 29: Nina Hartley, Nicki Hunter, Diamond Foxxx, Emma Starr, Ariella Ferrara
 My Friend's Hot Mom 30: Julia Ann, Sara Jay, Deauxma, Ava Addams, Vanilla Deville
 My Friend's Hot Mom 31: Darla Crane, India Summer, Francesca Lé, Eva Karera, Jenla Moore
 My Friend's Hot Mom 32: Erica Lauren, Emma Starr, Sienna West, Alia Janine, Jessica Dawn
 My Friend's Hot Mom 33: Ava Devine, McKenzie Lee, Devon Lee, Ava Addams, Charlee Chase
 My Friend's Hot Mom 34: Lezley Zen, Diana Doll, Brandi Love, Tanya Tate, Zoey Holloway, Brooke Tyler
 My Friend's Hot Mom 35: Nina Hartley, Darla Crane, Nikita Von James, Tanya Tate, Esperanza Gomez
 My Friend's Hot Mom 36: India Summer, Katja Kassin, Kristal Summers, Nyomi Banxxx, Tara Holiday
 My Friend's Hot Mom 37: Eva Karera, Julia Ann, Brandi Love, Veronica Avluv, Raylene, Bobbye Bentley, Devon Lee
 My Friend's Hot Mom 38: Ava Addams, Lisa Ann, Priya Anjali Rai, Rayveness, Tiffany Mynx
 My Friend's Hot Mom 39: Brittany O'Neil, Deauxma, Emma Starr, Kendra Lust, Kristal Summers
 My Friend's Hot Mom 40: Amber Lynn Bach, Ariella Ferrera, Becca Blossoms, Julia Ann, Karen Fisher
 My Friend´s Hot Mom 41: Diana Doll, Leena Sky, Michelle Lay, Nicki Hunter, Rachel Love
 My Friend´s Hot Mom 42: Darla Crane, India Summer, Tanya Tate, Rebecca Bardoux, Samantha 38G
 My Friend´s Hot Mom 43: Julia Ann, Aiden Starr, Tara Holiday, Eva Notty, Charlee Chase
 My Friend´s Hot Mom 44: Ava Addams, Brandi Love, Briana Banks, Tiffany Mynx, Syren Demar
 My Friend´s Hot Mom 45: Lisa Ann, Sindy Lange, Samantha Ryan, Nikki Daniels, Kendra Lust
 My Friend´s Hot Mom 46: Alyssa Dutch, Darryl Hanah, Lisa DeMarco, Rayveness, Vanessa Videl
 My Friend´s Hot Mom 47: Darla Crane, Jennifer Best, Kasey Storm, Nikita Von James, Sexy Vanessa
 My Friend´s Hot Mom 48: Diana Prince, Elexis Monroe, Janessa Jordan, Jessica Jaymes, Nora Noir
 My Friend´s Hot Mom 49: Houston, Holly Claus, Joslyn James, Magdalene St Michaels
 My Friend´s Hot Mom 50: Ava Devine, Claudia Valentine, Puma Swede, Demi Dantric
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Brian McCann Probably Couldn't Be Given Away For Free
by Mike Petriello
The August waiver period can be an interesting time, because it gives you a little bit of insight into how teams around the bigs value certain players. For example, it came as absolutely no surprise that the overpriced and under-performing Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier made it through waivers, or that Cole Hamels, Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg did not. It came as a bit of a surprise that Jon Niese did get through, which maybe tells you something about how other teams view his shoulder and that he's perhaps not as valuable as Mets fans seemed to think; if the worst-case scenario is that the Mets stick you with the $16 million he has left after this year and still nobody was interested, that's not a great sign.
For guys like Crawford, Ethier and others, their contracts were signed years ago, and obviously much has changed since then, so it's most interesting to see how the industry reacts to players who were popular free agents just last winter, a mere eight months or so ago. While obviously not every roster move or claim is public, we know of at least one: Curtis Granderson, who signed for four years and $60 million with the Mets. Even with the desperate need for offense around the majors, Granderson, on pace for only a two-win season despite a rebound from a slow start, went unclaimed. At 33, two years off his last good season and three years away from his last great one, the risk wasn't worth it.
This isn't about Granderson, though; it's about one of the other major New York signings from last winter who is off to an atrocious start in his new home and has a considerable amount of money still coming: Brian McCann, who returned from a stay on the concussion list yesterday. We don't know if McCann has been put on waivers or if anyone would put in a claim — you imagine a rich team with catching issues like the Dodgers would at least think about it, though not necessarily do it — but isn't it fascinating to think that if someone did claim him, the Yankees might be best off just letting him go?
I don't even mean a trade, because McCann has a full no-trade clause, along with $68 million coming his way between 2015-18, $17 million each year. (Plus a potential 2019 $15 million option that becomes a player option if certain playing time incentives are hit.) I mean just a straight "you take him, we don't want him any longer." It's not likely to happen for a variety of reasons, but the main reason is that it would require a team to actually put in a claim on him, and who can really see that happening? Almost no one. The all but certain outcome of the Yankees putting him on waivers would be 29 other teams saying, "thanks, but no thanks."
To illustrate the depths of McCann's struggles a bit, here he is, compared to another American League catcher:
PA BA OBP SLG BB% K% wRC+ WAR
McCann 406 .235 .291 .380 6.4 14.5 85 1.2
Catcher 2 361 .242 .303 .367 6.4 34.3 86 1.3
With the exception of the huge difference in strikeouts, these two are essentially the same player in 2014. The other catcher? Chicago's Tyler Flowers, hardly anyone's idea of a star. You'll note, also, that of the 28 catchers with at least 250 plate appearances, these two rank 25th and 26th in wRC+. One of the two behind them, A.J. Pierzynski, was already DFA'd this year.
It's not good company to be in, but let's look a little deeper at that comparison, specifically how McCann has managed to make so much more contact than Flowers and still end up with the same production. Here's one reason why: McCann has a .247 BABIP. Last year, it was .261. Two years ago, it was .234. Looking at his career average of .286, it seems like that's below his normals, but looking at his last three years, it seems like the new normal. That he had a .332 mark back in 2006 doesn't seem to hold a lot of relevance now, is the point.
Much has been made of McCann and his issues facing the shift, and that's true to an extent. Just look at the list of the hitters with the worst batting averages on grounders:
5) David Ortiz, .153
4) McCann, .145
3) Ryan Howard, .143
2) Mark Teixeira, .138
1) Mike Moustakas, .111
Slow lefty pull hitters get shifted on, and that turns balls that may have been hits years ago into outs. News at 11, right? Except, there's only so much blame to be put on the shift in McCann's troubles, because this isn't a new thing. McCann was among the most-heavily shifted players last year, too. He was among the most shifted players in 2010-11. There's evidence that he's seeing it more, now, but the shift alone hardly explains his up-and-down last five years of three very similar good seasons (2010, '11, '13, all with wRC+ 121-123) and two poor years (2012, ruined by a shoulder injury, and '14, with wRC+ of 85 and 87). He's always been shifted on. It's overly simplistic to put it all on that.
Besides, McCann has been doing what he can to avoid it. His grounder rate of 33.0% is easily the lowest of his career, and he's hit the ball in play to the opposite field 77 times after having done so only 58 times last year and 74 times in 2011, skipping the shortened 2012. He's actually in the top 15 as far as lefty hitters going the other way; last year, he didn't appear in the top 65. McCann is making a concerted effort to beat the shift, and it's still not really working.
Well, there's a few things. First, here's an incredibly depressing list of numbers:
13.1 — 10.8 — 9.0 — 9.7 — 6.4
You don't know what those are. I'll tell you what they are. They're McCann's walk rate, declining pretty steadily from 2010 until now, where it's less than half what it was, and this is sort of the thing: McCann's lousy year isn't any one thing. It's a few small things, adding up. Giving back 30 or so free trips to first base isn't fatal by itself, but it certainly isn't helping. It's not why his batting average is lousy, obviously; it is a part of why his OBP is below .300.
There's also this: McCann's power, which everyone figured would translate well to the short right field porch at Yankee Stadium, hasn't come with him. It's actually less that he's failed to take advantage of right field in the Bronx, and more that it's been the only thing making his homer totals look even respectable. Below, McCann's spray chart, with only the home runs shown:
Every single one is out to right field; all but two are at Yankee Stadium. Per Hit Tracker, just one, off Craig Breslow in June, was a "no-doubter." Only two had a "true distance" of more than 400 feet, and three of them wouldn't have made it out of at least 27 other parks. If Yankee Stadium wasn't his home, he might have about as many home runs as Billy Hamilton.
So there's the conundrum, really. If McCann pulls the ball, he'll hit into the shift far too much and generate outs. If he tries to play it smart and go to the opposite field, as he's been trying to do this year, he won't hit for nearly as much power, because hitting opposite field homers is generally pretty difficult for most hitters — especially a guy like McCann, who has pulled 151 of his 189 career homers. In years past, he could hit it over the shift. Now, perhaps still feeling the effects of that shoulder injury, it simply hasn't happened.
To his credit, McCann appears to be trying to adapt, not only by going the other way, but by changing his mechanics to eliminate a toe tap from his swing in June, which has had some effect, but not enough of one. And it's not all bad, of course, because McCann is still viewed as a positive pitch framer, and that's not without value.
Unfortunately, McCann will need to improve considerably just to get back to being a league-average hitter, and even with how difficult it is to find offense from behind the plate, that's not exactly what the Yankees were hoping for when they invested so much in him over the winter. A roughly two-win player, which is what he's been for the last few years, is nice to have. It's hard to justify that for the contract he has, though, and to get back to the original point: no, of course he'll make it through waivers unclaimed. Leaving the Yankees wouldn't change the shift tendencies he's seeing; it would just take away that right field safety net. McCann and the Yankees are going to be together for a while, it seems, for better or — perhaps more likely — worse.
Organizational Prospect Lists Primer
Mike Trout's Other Slump
Mike Petriello used to write here, and now he does not. Find him at @mike_petriello or MLB.com.
D. Goat
Nice stuff, Mike and I guess i learned something (or a few things)…a no-trade clause doesn't prevent a player from simply being waived and claimed by another team? It makes sense but i never realized it.
It doesn't stop it, but the claim can't be finalized without the NTC being waived. This was actually a big point of discussion when the Punto trade happened in 2012. Both Crawford and Beckett had to waive their NTC to go to LA in the deal, despite being claimed.
But that *was* a trade, not a straight waiver claim.
Still applies. A player must waive his rights to be sent to another team, be it through outright waivers or trade waivers. There's no way to move McCann without his permission (The closest would be release waivers, but considering you're still paying him in full anyway, it's not really applicable).
Do you have any links to back that up? I'm open to being wrong, but I don't believe I am.
http://www.purplerow.com/2009/2/19/762532/mlb-transactions-part-thre
"Like outright waivers, a player with a no-trade clause who is claimed must be pulled back if the player's no-trade clause allows him to block a deal to the claiming club."
http://knuckleballsblog.com/2010/08/05/when-is-a-trade-deadline-not-a-trade-deadline/
"But if a player is claimed by a team to which he has the right to reject a trade, his team is required to revoke the waiver unless the player agrees (usually for a hefty price) to waive the no-trade rights and join the new team."
Which are not like grade-A sources, I'll admit. But what's your source, Mike? And if you have no source, why do you think you're right? It seems obvious that these are similar kinds of moves, so why would a player negotiate for a right to block one kind of move but not the other?
I think that you're both right. Players with no-trade clauses can reject trades that happen through revocable waiver claims, or that the team arranges if the player clears revocable waivers.
However, if the team subsequently chooses to put the player on irrevocable waivers and another team claims them, they can give the player away to the claiming team without the player's consent (but they receive nothing in return).
We call them "no trade" clauses, but they're really "no assignment" clauses. It basically blocks any means of assigning the player to another roster. The only way to get the player off the 25 man roster without his consent is to give him an unconditional release.
I think that's correct. No links, but have heard it elsewhere and would make sense. Otherwise waiver claims would undermine the no trade clause. Whole point is for player to be able to control where he plays, must be in CBA.
This, essentially. I don't have links, but it's kind of a common sense thing.
I thought the player would just have the option of refusing the assignment to a team he did not like who claimed him, then his old team is on the hook for the balance owed, and he can be a free agent.
Hard to get any good links on this topic though, It does seem the player should have some say on where he ends up if he has a NTC or 10/5 rights
This just seems like an error in the other direction. In an ordinary non-waiver trade situation, can the player opt to become a free agent while still being guaranteed his contractual salary if his team approaches him with a trade that he has the right to block, and he decides to block it? If not, why would that be the case for waivers?
A no-trade clause (a misnomer, if Mike is wrong about this waiver matter, which I think he is) is simply the player's right to approve or veto any assignment of his contractual duties to one or more clubs. I can't imagine why exercising that right would result in a release of the player's contractual duties to the original club.


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text:
Cheryl Begandy
Director of External Relations and Outreach
Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
300 S. Craig St
begandy@psc.edu
Oversees outreach programs for the PSC, including
PSC Corporate Affiliates Program through which private sector companies can utilize PSC resources and expertise.
PSC educational outreach programs, with a particular emphasis on K-12 STEM education and building 21st century skills for 21st century jobs. These programs include BEST, a high school bioinformatics curriculum, GCode, a program to introduce coding to girls, and Data Jam where PSC participates in holding a high school competition in Big Data analytics.
Government Relations at the state and local level
PSC external communications through print, website and social media.
Held a variety of information technology management positions including
Division Manager at the Alcoa Technical Center responsible for directing scientists and engineers working in computational modeling, visualization, applied statistics, artificial intelligence, and computing and network services
Senior Manager in the Corporate IT group where she led a re-engineering effort to improve customer focus, project execution and adaptability to changing technology.
Non-Profit Leadership
Currently serves as Board President for Pittsburgh Musical Theater, a professional theater company and conservatory for young performing artists. During her tenure, the Company purchased and completed phase 1 renovations of a building to house their offices and studios; raised $1.7 M in its first capital campaign.
Served on the Board, and was Board President for five years, for Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, a sexual assault crisis center.
University of Pittsburgh M.S. Computer Science
University of Pittsburgh B.S. Computer Science, Mathematics
PSC is a joint effort of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. Established in 1986, PSC is supported by several federal agencies, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and private industry and is a leading partner in XSEDE (Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment), the National Science Foundation cyber-infrastructure program.
© 2018 Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
300 S. Craig Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 - Phone: 412.268.4960 | Fax: 412.268.5832


Before you pour your life's savings or a huge chunk of your time into your business, it is best to test first whether your business idea will work or not. Alas, market research is typically a tool for the deep-pocketed big businesses, and not for small businesses trying to stretch their dollars or struggling to find start-up capital.
Get your yellow pages phone directory, and count how many businesses are offering the type of business you envision. Is this segment already too crowded? What do you think you can offer that will give your business a push above the competition. If you decide that your business needs to have a separate location from your home, consider the walk-in traffic. Map out your would-be competitors' locations to see if your planned location can still attract some portion of the market.
Or when you look at the yellow pages, is no one is offering this type of product or service? Ask why — is it because there is no demand for this product or because you are simply so brilliant that no one ever thought of this business idea before? If there is no demand for the product, do you think you have the resources to create the demand? That will be one tough call.
2. Conduct an informal focus group.
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3. Give potential customers a call.
If you are unable to bring the potential customer in your informal focus group, then call them. Speak directly to them, not just sending them a questionnaire through direct mail. You can better gauge the needs and wants — and how your products or services can address them — by asking them directly.
4. Ask on the Web.
Without giving too much information away (lest someone with more resources steal your idea), go to question and answer sites and ask away your questions. Verify if indeed the problems your product or service addresses actually exist. Check the reaction to your proposed solutions. Yahoo Answers is one excellent venue that you can tap — search first whether anyone has asked questions pertaining to the business and review the answers received. Even if a dozen or so questions have been asked, ask away your questions as well as you never know if you'll get better responses.
5. Read trade publications, publications of associations and books specifically on the business.
Learn more about the business you are planning to start. Check if the business has associations, and whether they have researches and publications about the industry. Find out if there are newsletters or magazines published specifically for industry players and stakeholders. From these materials, you can learn the problems that arise and new niches that are proving to be popular.
Are You Measuring the Performance of Your Small Business?
Great article. I think its important for people on a limited budget to test before making a costly mistake. I just wrote a blog post talking about some of my product idea experiments. I feel like there is a lack of information and examples of product creation steps and testing steps.
Great article. I think testing a business idea before creation is a great way for folks on a limited budget, who can't afford to make a costly mistake. I just wrote a blog post about testing product ideas before you create them…so people can learn from my mistakes.
Another, quite new option to test your business idea is http://www.feedbackers.biz, who offer professional feedback on your business idea for just $99.
One way you can negate the risk is to go into business with a few others with varying expertise, and agree that everyone contributes there time and money on the basis that the profits of the business will be shared proportionally.
In this way you can't "run out of money" so to speak as result of wages.


..... Click the link for more information. . Arrested and tried in secret, he was imprisoned from 1796 to 1802, when he was released and exiled. Malaspina returned to Italy, where he was active in political and governmental affairs for several years. The extensive and valuable records of his expedition were largely ignored for many years as a result his disgrace; a comprehensive edition of his expedition journal was not published in Spain until 1990.
See the journal of his expedition ed. by A. David et al. (tr. in 3 vol., 2001–); biographies by J. Kendrick (1999) and D. Manfredi (tr. 2001); studies by D. C. Cutter (1960) and T. Vaughan et al. (1977).