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Dr Beric Croome
Advocate of the High Court of South Africa | Tax Author | Tax Accountant CA(SA) | Taxpayers' Rights | Tax Administration | Trust & Estate Specialist |
Tax Ombud: South Africa
Legal Disclaimers & Copyright
The Few Who Support Everyone Else
The South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) issued a press release on January 24 2011, pointing out that the number of registered individual taxpayers in South Africa grew from 3.4 million in 2002/03 to 5.9 million in 2009/10, an increase of 73%. The statistics relied on by SAIRR draws on the documentation released by National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (SARS), Tax Statistics 2008 and Tax Statistics 2009. The increase represents a healthy improvement in the number of taxpayers in South Africa and goes some way to broadening the tax base.
According to Tax Statistics 2008, there were 814 894 companies on the register in 2002/03, a number that increased to1 878 856 in 2009/10. That is an increase of more than one million companies and close corporations on the tax register, which represents an increase 131 %.
Insofar as trusts are concerned, there were 254 593 trusts on the register in 2002/03 and that increased to 331 954 in 2009/10, an increase of 36%.
It is interesting to note, though, that the number of trusts on the register in 2008/09 was 392 260, and this reduced to 331 954 in 2009/10, a reduction of 15.37%, which would indicate that the number of trusts being created is reducing and, furthermore, that a number of trusts were terminated.
In 2002/03, the number of employers on register for Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) purposes was 252 589 and that had increased to 395 575 in 2009/10, an increase of 57%. The number of persons registered as vendors for value-added tax (VAT) purposes increased from 506 098 in 2002/03 to 685 523 in 2009/10, a 35% increase.
Left: How many people escape the tax net? The question that often arises in South Africa is how many people are currently registered, and how many taxpayers should, in fact, be registered for tax purposes?
More recently, SARS has reported on the number of persons registered for customs purposes and for 2OO8/0 9, 422 636 persons were registered. Importers comprised 228 350 of that total, and exporters 194 286. In 2009/10, the number of persons registered for customs purposes increased to 439 065, which represents an increase of 3.89%. lmporters increasing to 229 442 persons and exporters to 209 623.
It is extremely difficult to determine how many individuals should be registered taxpayers in South Africa and the shortfall between those persons who should be registered, and those that are on the register constitutes part of the tax gap. The tax gap also comprises tax not collected as a result of taxpayers failing to declare the correct amount of income tax. This constitutes criminal offence, which could give rise to a criminal prosecution as well as the imposition of additional tax and interest under the various fiscal statutes.
It would appear that in the 2009/10 financial year, approximately 14 million persons benefitted from social grants funded by registered taxpayers. The continued viability of social grants being paid to some 14 million people, which is funded by a small pool of taxpayers is a matter of considerable debate.
In attempting to establish how many persons should be registered for tax purposes in South Africa, it is appropriate to refer to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, published by Statistics South Africa, for the third quarter of 2010, which was published on October 26 20I0.That survey indicates a population of between 50 and 64 years of age of some 32 072 000 people and that the labour force, that is, persons in employment, comprises some 17 371 000 persons. The Labour Force Survey reports that:
• 9 043 000 persons are employed in the formal sector, other than the agricultural sector
• 2 172 000 persons were employed in the informal sector, other than agriculture
• 640 000 persons were employed in the agricultural sector and
• 1 119 000 persons were employed by private households.
The survey reports that there were approximately 4 396 000 unemployed persons in the third quarter of last year and that there are 12 669 000 persons who are not economically active. In addition, there were 2 033 000 persons who are regarded as discouraged work seekers. The survey defines "discouraged work seekers" as "persons who were not employed during the period under review, wanted to work or was available to work but did not take active steps to find work during the last four weeks as a result of there being no jobs available in the area, unable to find work requiring their skills or lost hope of finding any kind of work."
As a starting point, therefore, it would appear that there are approximately 17 371 000 persons in employment in South Africa, whereas 5 920 612 persons were on the register for income tax purposes. It must be noted that those persons who derive remuneration of less than R60 000 a year are not required to register for tax and are subject to Standard lncome Tax on Employees (SITE).
SARS has reported that there are approximately five million formal SITE workers who derive annual taxable income below R60 000 and are, therefore, not required to register and submit annual returns. Thus, the number of individuals paying tax, according to SARS, would amount to approximately 10 920 612 persons. Unfortunately, it is difficult to ascertain how many persons are earning below threshold and, therefore, are not liable to tax at all.
Using the figures in Labour Force Survey of persons employed as 17 371 000 and the total number of persons on register with SARS and paying SITE as 10 920 612, there is an unexplained shortfall of 6 450 388 persons. Part of the difference probably represents those persons who derive amounts below the tax threshold (that is, R57 000 for persons under 65 years of age or R88 258 for persons over the age of 65 years for 2010/2011) and are, therefore, not required to pay tax. However, it does appear that there are a significant number of economically active persons in the country who are not registered for tax purposes.
The Labour Force Survey seeks to identify those persons in some form of employment and would not, for example, include those who are retired and may derive income in the form of pensions, interest or other passive income. It is unclear how many retired persons there are in the country, but a fair number of those would also be registered as taxpayers, by virtue of the nature of the income received by them exceeding the tax threshold.
On May 14 2010, the Financial Mail published a report on community banking and reported statistics on the number of banked adults in South Africa. According to those statistics, it would appear that, in 2009, there were 19 609 384 banked adults in South Africa. It is accepted that even though persons may operate a bank account, they may not be required to register for tax purposes. However, it is an interesting statistic when reference is made to the number of taxpayers currently on the register.
SARS has undertaken various initiatives to encourage persons outside of the tax net to regularise their affairs. In 2003, taxpayers who had not complied with their obligations could regularise their affairs by utilising the 2003 foreign exchange and related tax amnesty. More recently, in 2006, SARS administered the Small Business Tax Amnesty in an attempt to encourage qualifying small businesses to regularise their affairs from a fiscal point of view. Commencing November 1 2010, the legislature introduced the Voluntary Disclosure Relief Programme (VDP), which will allow taxpayers to regularise violations of fiscal legislation and the Exchange Control Regulations. These rules also allow for those not previously in the tax net to regularise their affairs.
Clearly, in the case of companies and close corporations, it is easier to ensure that those entities are registered for tax purposes upon incorporation. Historically, companies and close corporations would automatically be registered for fiscal purposes as a result of information passed from the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO), to SARS to ensure registration of those entities for tax purposes. It is unfortunate that CIPRO is currently facing its own administrative difficulties, which may give rise to deficiencies in this regard.
Trusts are administered by the Master of the High Court which, unfortunately, does not operate a computerised system of trusts on register and it is, therefore, difficult to ascertain whether all trusts that have been registered with the Master are, in fact, registered for tax purposes as required.
When reference is made to the number of persons employed in South Africa and the number of banked adults, it is clear that there is a significant number who appear not be registered for tax purposes.
SARS previously conducted "walk-abouts" whereby SARS officials would visit various business centres to ensure that persons who were conducting business were registered for tax purposes. The Tax Administration Bill (TAB) released on October 29 2001, contains clause 40, which will confer on SARS the power to arrive at the premises and inspect the premises to determine the identity of the person occupying those premises and to establish whether that person is conducting a trade or an enterprise from those premises and, more importantly, whether the person occupying those premises is registered for tax purposes. The clause does not require SARS to make a prior arrangement with the occupier and confers on SARS officials the power to arrive, without prior notice, to ascertain whether the persons conducting business from those premises are, in fact, registered for tax purposes.
It is important that SARS, taking account of the statistics referred to, undertakes a programme of education to ensure that people become aware of their fiscal obligations. This programme of education should commence at schools. It is important that the tax base is broadened, thereby ensuring that the tax burden is spread among a far greater number of persons than is currently the case and thus allowing the state to meet its social objectives.
It is critical that the tax revenue which is collected is efficiently spent and that wastage is reduced to a minimum.
* Croome is a Tax Executive with Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs. This articles first appeared in the March 2011 edition of "Without Prejudice"
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In Johannesburg it is


It's a film that you commission to be produced and distributed, to promote your companies mission.
It's not "entertainment" though it can be entertaining. It's not a "investigative documentary" though it can be made in a "documentary" style. It is a film that you commission me, to make about your company or organization. Industrial films are not made to be "theatrically released" or broadcast as "entertainment" though some do find their way to Broadcast & Cable; today the primary outlet is the internet through your own website.
I have made commercials, public service announcements, video news releases, documentaries (sponsored), corporate training programs, educational films, awareness films, corporate branding films, safety training films, product announcements, infomercials, etc, etc. These are all "industrial films" or films that are sponsored by companies or non-profit organizations such as yours. If you want to "get a message out" making a film is an excellent way to do it as it works for you 24/7-365.
There is quite a bit of overlap in the definition of these terms, to most people there is no difference, but I like to think of them as defined by their intended audience. If it's a corporate video it's audience is primarily internal, the employees of the corporation. An industrial film's audience is primarily external, the prospects, customers and the general public is the intended audience. In larger companies corporate video is primarily used for training and communicating within the company and is handled by staff dedicated to this task. Industrial films are generally made by outsiders, by contract, to interpret the companies message to a general audience. There is a great advantage to hiring an outsider for making a film to promote your company to a general audience, the outsider has the same perspective as the audience! Writing about oneself is difficult, making a film about oneself is harder, having the same perspective as the audience is an advantage as there is no fore knowledge about the company and what might seem obvious to an employee can be confusing to the public.
Smaller firms, or those who do not have dedicated staff will hire a producer (me) to handle all aspects of creating a concept for a film, producing it and handling it's release (distribution) to it's intended audience.


Combined with TechDirect.Asia's networking consultation programs, small-to-medium sized enterprises can now enjoy the connectivity and security of much larger companies, at a fraction of the price.
TechDirect.Asia (http://techdirect.asia) has added networking giant D-Link's products to its ecommerce store. The company now offers a complete range of D-Link hardware and consultation services to small-to-medium size companies. The service and hardware combination will help enterprises in Asia upgrade their current networking and security.
"D-Link has long-established itself as a cost-effective and versatile networking solutions provider. Their products, focusing on ease-of-use and seamless integration into existing protocols, hardware and software, help companies around the world achieve the next level of success. Combined with TechDirect.Asia's networking consultation programs, small-to-medium size enterprises can now enjoy the connectivity and security of much larger companies, at a fraction of the price," added Chin.
To learn more about TechDirect.Asia, visit http:techdirect.asia/about-techdirect and http://techdirect.asia/blog.
The launch of TechDirect.Asia further broadens Altostratos' offering to its global IT customers, by enhancing the ability of global IT brands to reach their enterprise and small-and-midsized business (SMB) customers in Asia via a one-stop e-commerce channel that complements the brands' offline sales channel strategies and online presence. Recognising that business and corporate buyers have different needs compared to consumers, TechDirect.Asia helps buyers get complete visibility across solutions, along with a holistic, unified view of the path-to-purchase.


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Top 5 Instagram Accounts for Self-Care
Self-care. Caring for yourself. What a concept.
Sometimes we get so swept up in helping others, we forget to care for ourselves. Other times, self-care feels selfish. If you're caring for yourself, you're not caring for others. Don't be so self-centered, you tell yourself.
Flight attendants really say it best: "Put your oxygen mask on first before assisting others." You're of no help to anyone if you're running on empty.
It's an important reminder. This is the mentality you should have, ourselves included. Take time to replenish yourself so you can nourish others. How you do that is entirely up to you. You know you best.
That being said, we all need some motivation and inspiration every now and then, so we came up with our top five Instagram accounts to follow specifically for self-care.
1. Doing Well
Daphne Javitch's Instagram is filled with tidbits on how to holistically do well for yourself. Daphne is a Health Coach, Health Educator and a new mom (!), and uses her expertise to guide her content. Her feed is filled with videos on how to make healthy meals, stories on how to be more self-aware and add structure to your life (amongst other topics), as well as slivers of advice you can adopt in your daily life. We feel like we're doing well just by looking at her page.
2. theburnoutbrain
Burnout. We've all experienced it (especially during this last year), and we know how tough it can be to cool off. The genius behind theburnoutbrain is mental health artist Annette De Armas, whose simplified content perfectly exemplifies the expression that "less is more." Her daily wholesome reminders and tips help you feel powerful enough to get through burnout and life's stresses, and her candor really resonates beyond the screen, like a virtual hand to hold.
3. Selfcarevisuals
It's easy to forget to care for yourself. Not with selfcarevisuals. By following their page your feed will be full of reminders on how to best practice self-care. From listicles like "6 things you should not apologize for" (preach) to affirmations like "you deserve the love you give" (preach x2), selfcarevisuals ensures not a moment goes by without you knowing how to look after yourself.
4. Selfcareisforeveryone
We'll say it louder for the people in the back: SELF-CARE IS FOR EVERYONE! With arguably the most apt name on Instagram, selfcareisforeveryone truly does its best to ensure that everyone practices self-care. Their beautiful illustrations perfectly depict the importance of checking in with yourself and remind us that, as Rosie the Riveter says, "we can do it!" If their page isn't enough, they also sell amazing merchandise so you can literally wear their affirmations on your sleeve.
5. Thrive
"You are the CEO of your own life, hire, fire, and promote accordingly." If you're looking for more mind-shattering insights like that, Thrive is the page for you. Their entire feed is aimed at helping you do exactly as their name suggests: thrive. With posts that nudge you to remember that you are in charge of your own destiny, you'll feel ready to do what's right for yourself.
Now put on your oxygen mask.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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05 • 09 • 2019
Honours award for ACG Sunderland deputy principal
"Lawrence has a tireless dedication to his students. He is an outstanding teacher who brings out the very best in all those he teaches" – ACG Schools CEO, Clarence van der Wel.
ACG Sunderland deputy principal Lawrence Stephens has earned an Independent Schools of New Zealand (ISNZ) Honours Award for his outstanding service to chemistry and senior management.
The annual awards, which were presented last Friday at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, recognise staff who go above and beyond for their school and students. Lawrence, who has been deputy principal at the school for a decade, was delighted to receive the accolade.
"Getting the award was very unexpected, but it's fantastic to be recognised," he said.
"I know there are a lot of fantastic educators, both in my own school and in Independent Schools throughout New Zealand, so to be one of a small group to be recognised with one of these awards does mean a lot. The genuine congratulations from a lot of educators I have a huge respect for makes the award mean even more to me, and highlights that people do see all the effort that goes in."
This year, Lawrence has been teaching ACG Sunderland's IGCSE and AS computer science class, as well as his senior chemistry classes, and thanks to his expertise and hands-on, dynamic teaching style, students of all abilities have flourished.
ISNZ – an organisation that represents 46 private schools across New Zealand – noted he had pioneered the integration of Cambridge into the New Zealand educational environment, describing his classes as "interesting and accessible with plenty of differentiated material so all levels are engaged".
"Lawrence delivers outstanding lessons, continually adjusting his pedagogy to improve outcomes, and teaches via practical work as much as possible, developing skills and confidence."
ISNZ praised Lawrence for his ongoing development of excellent teaching and learning resources, and his willingness to share these with colleagues not just across ACG, but across the Cambridge community.
But for the dedicated deputy principal, hard work is just part of the job.
"I do expect a high level of effort and commitment from my students, and I don't think you can ever expect that if you are not prepared to give the same or more yourself. I don't believe anything in life comes easily, you have to work hard for your goals, and I try and instil that attitude in my students and push them to strive to be their best. You can't just talk about this though; you have to show it with what you do as well – and that's what makes me go the extra mile."
For ACG Schools CEO Clarence van der Wel, the Honours Award was a fitting way to acknowledge a fantastic educator.
"Lawrence has a tireless dedication to his students. He is an outstanding teacher who brings out the very best in all those he teaches," he said.
Spectacular scholarship success
Art world accolades for Katie Lee
ACG Schools
ACG Founders' Scholarship: helping students follow their dreams


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Patricia Ann Trimbell Died Nov. 24, 2019
Patricia Ann Trimbell died peacefully at her home on Sunday, November 24, in the company of her four daughters.
Pat set an amazing example of how to be a strong, independent, intelligent, and articulate contributor to society. She loved adventure, nature, bird-watching, and a good intellectual sparring. She is remembered by her children as a stickler for appropriate diction and grammar, and for encouraging their independence; she was always saying, "You can do it!" Pat embodied this can-do attitude in life. While raising her four daughters, she completed her college degree and earned a Master's in Nutrition Science from Iowa State University. She had a professional career as a registered dietician and small business owner.
After retiring from professional life, she and her (late) husband Don Durand sailed the Atlantic and Mediterranean on their 38-foot catamaran "Laura Lee," collecting friends, memories and seashells along the way.
Pat's last port in life was in her adopted hometown of Ames, Iowa, where she and Don made many friends at the Village Cooperative. Pat was active in the co-op and the Unitarian Fellowship, and thrived in her community. Her friends provided her with love and support until the end, taking her to appointments and errands as her eyesight failed, and constantly fretting about her determination to continue riding her beloved bicycle!
Pat was born in Saint Maries Idaho, daughter of Irving W. Trimbel and Elizabeth M. Davis Trimbel. She was preceded in death by her mother and father, her first husband Daniel Miller, and her husband Donald Durand. She is survived by brother Michael L. Trimbel (Marcie), of Danville, California; daughters Mary Patricia Gisler (Mark) of West Des Moines IA, Katherine Ann Carlson (Brooks) of Clinton, MI, Aileen Frances Taylor (J. Matt) of Erlanger, KY, and Rita Susan Heimes (Gene Landry) of Portland, ME. Pat is also survived by her former husband of 20 years and the father of her daughters, Kenneth A. Heimes. As well, she leaves behind sixteen cherished grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11am on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames. A luncheon will follow the service.


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Home SCIENCE NEWS Chemistry AND Physics
Jeremy Mobley receives NACADA Outstanding New Advisor Award
in Chemistry AND Physics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Jeremy Mobley, student success advisor in the University of Tennessee Department of Animal Science, was selected as an Outstanding New Advisor – Primary Role Award Winner as part of the 2021 Global Awards Program for Academic Advising from NACADA: The Global Network for Academic Advising. Mobley was presented with this award at the NACADA Annual Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 6. The award is presented to advisors who have demonstrated qualities associated with outstanding academic advising of students and who have served as a professional advisor for a period of three or fewer years.
Credit: UTIA
Award winners support NACADA's Core Values, represent the best professional practices in advising and have a great impact on their students and colleagues.
"I think it is really exciting to have won this award recognizing the work that I am doing with our students, but, more importantly, to know that the students who I advise see the value in my support is really special," says Mobley.
Since 1983, NACADA has honored individuals and institutions making significant contributions to the improvement of academic advising. Our goal is to promote quality academic advising and professional development of members to enhance the educational development of students.
NACADA's membership has grown to over 14,000 faculty, professional advisors, administrators, counselors and others in academic and student affairs concerned with the intellectual, personal and vocational needs of students. In addition, NACADA is the representative and advocate for academic advising and for those providing that service to higher education.
More information is available online about the Global Awards Program for Academic Advising.
Mobley's work supports students in animal science seeking degrees through the Herbert College of Agriculture within the UT Institute of Agriculture. The Department of Animal Science includes 461 undergraduate students, and Mobley advises approximately 175 of those students.
Through its land-grant mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. utia.tennessee.edu.
Tags: AdvisorawardJeremyMobleyNACADAOutstandingReceives


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One D&D (5.5E) & OGL v1.1
OGL Don't Give Ground
Thread starter VenerableBede
Start date Tuesday at 2:41 AM
VenerableBede
Don't give in. Don't back down. Don't give WotC an inch.
The TTRPG community, to my knowledge, has never been more unified than when WotC made a sneak attack on the OGL 1.0(a), in the process directly attacking 3PP large and small, trying to buy off other parties, and hoping to shove everything through fast enough that no one could do anything about it. We were rightly outraged. And while I'm not saying that we need to maintain anger—aside from being exhausting, anger also isn't very good for rational thought—we do need to never let go of that vision. This battle is only worth fighting for if our terms are OGL 1.0(a) and nothing less.
The OGL 1.0(a) should be the minimum expectation for our demands—in essence, that the status quo is restored. I don't think we need to demand restitution or penance from WotC, just open support of the OGL 1.0(a) and maybe—maybe—a 1.0(b) with no changes whatsoever except the necessary language on irrevocability. This version of the OGL, 1.0(a), created our current culture and community by bringing together thousands of individuals (and businesses) in a spirit of creativity and collaboration, built on a promised foundation of stability required to make such a thing possible. That shouldn't be given up lightly—it shouldn't be given up at all. It is the best, most unifying, and most clearly defined cause to rally around.
Like a pig in a wig with lipstick on its puckered lips, WotC followed up its astonishingly bad opening moves by trying to pretty itself up. Oh, dropping the royalties sounds nice—it was also something extremely unlikely for WotC to be able to legally enforce, at least as it was originally presented. The Creative Commons actions sound nice—they also were the parts of the rulebook nearly guaranteed for WotC to be told by a judge that they couldn't copyright (based on game mechanics versus expression and such), so WotC didn't actually give anything up there (but they did retain a significant amount of content available in the OGL 1.0[a] and included SRD, yet pretended to be generous). Saying that the OGL 1.0(a) would still be in force for everything already posted might sound like a step in the right direction—but accepting that "compromise" implies that you agree the OGL can be revoked, giving WotC exactly what they want. And the friendly letter with an actual name attached sounded nice—it used a lot of strategies commonly used by abusers, seductively half-lying and gaslighting to try and get us to believe we were being offered a good deal. In short, everything WotC has offered has been entirely empty and fully in keeping with an abuser changing tactics from being angry and aggressive to being manipulatively sweet. It was still a pig—still smelled like a pig—but it pretended to look better.
I find it disturbing that the pig in lipstick worked, at least for some. After lying often enough about the revocability of the OGL 1.0(a), WotC got people to go along, either because they believe the lie or because they see it as the point of least resistance. Now some are calling for working with WotC, calling for compromise, with arguments of, essentially, "They are taking the pie away anyway, so try to retain as much of it as we can." This attitude risks creating fault lines in our unity. I don't think there's a problem currently, but I'm nervous about the cracks some people are trying to make. If we lose our unified power, we lose, plain and simple.
Don't forget that the pie doesn't belong to WotC at all, in the sense that the OGL 1.0(a) is irrevocable—as well as coupled with 20 years of promises and assurances, 20 years of industry growth, creativity, and art that doesn't belong to WotC in the slightest.
Think of it this way: when a thief breaks into your house and steals your belongings, you don't negotiate to get about a third of your stuff back and call it better than losing everything—you try to get everything that was stolen returned to you. Or, when a kidnapper takes your children away from you, you don't negotiate to get three of five back because that's better than losing all of your kids—you stop at nothing until you have all five back. The OGL 1.0(a) can't be taken away, but it was, wrongfully and maliciously. That should be what remains fixed in people's minds, always.
At least, I hope that there's still this strong idea in people's mind that OGL 1.0(a) should be the end result of this debacle, and I wish that was the one message being sent back to WotC: we want OGL 1.0(a). We want OGL 1.0(a). We want OGL 1.0(a). Nothing else is satisfactory. While I believe that the OGL 1.0(a) is irrevocable and that should end the discussion, I'm a realist—this issue is not settled in court. What's right (in my opinion) doesn't matter in a court of law, just what's interpreted to be legal and/or binding (and, to an extent, who is the most persuasive, or who is able to monetarily drag things out the most, etc). But I do know that the more WotC gets away with (even temporarily), the more risk there is of a precedent being set that could more strongly favor WotC if a lawsuit happens. That's part of the reason why allowing WotC to get away with saying "Existing published content can continue operating under the OGL, that's fine—just not new content" is dangerous. No, that's not how it works. Irrevocable is irrevocable, and we should settle for nothing less.
Some people are going to paint the idea of digging in your heels and allowing no give to be the extreme side of the conversation. I disagree—it's never extreme to avoid compromising with, or giving up rights to, the abuser. In fact, that's the default position.
I'm not trying to tell you what to do here. I'm not even going to tell you to be respectful—although I think you should—because the point of this post is not to bash people over the head about what tone of voice they have in their communications with WotC. I just hope that this is a useful reminder that the central issue of the WotC debacle should be the restoration and fortification of the OGL 1.0(a). Period. It's the only clear, well-defined goal worth pursuing, it's the best and most correct outcome, and it's directly representative of battling for our current game culture. It's not the easiest solution, it's not (currently) the most likely solution, and the compromisers are right that pushing all-in for OGL 1.0(a) could mean that we don't end up getting anything that we want. (Of course, if what we want is OGL 1.0[a] as a whole then anything short of that means we get nothing of what we want anyway.) But that doesn't change the fact that—and I really hope I'm stating something obvious here, I'm not trying to be novel—the best thing for the community to rally around, at least as far as communications with WotC are concerned, is the OGL 1.0(a).
And I really, really hope that most people who read this say, "Well, no naughty word, Sherlock." I really hope it's that obvious and I just misread the temperature. But if it isn't, it desperately needs saying.
As a final, tangential note, if you want a quick compromise with WotC to try and protect the 3PP (companies and individuals) who are scared right now, the better solution is still to go all-in for OGL 1.0(a). Anything less than solving the issue of the irrevocability of that license once and for all just guarantees that this exact same situation is going to happen again down the road. Maybe even soon. Fighting for the OGL 1.0(a) in no way harms or steals from WotC, in part because WotC is not required to publish new editions under the OGL 1.0(a) anyway—just look at 4e as an example of when they didn't. Anything WotC puts under the OGL 1.0(a) is done entirely voluntarily. There is no room or position from which to empathize with the abuser, except to understand the abuser and use that information to prevent the abuse from ever happening again.
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MichaelSomething
May the passion you pour into your keyboard translate into action you put on your gaming table.
Reactions: roger semerad, Imaro, Bagpuss and 5 others
Plokman
Keep on stoking that fire, we got a long way to go on this train! What is our cargo? Well it is every cent they won't get from the TTPG players, we can keep it rolling elsewhere and make them regret messing with us!
Reactions: JAMUMU, S'mon, The Scythian and 1 other person
doctorbadwolf
Heretic of The Seventh Circle
Yeah okay.
I definitely gave them notes on what an acceptable OGL 2 would look like, being actually irrevocable, not under wotc control, and containing otherwise very little change from 1.0a.
I encouraged them to add to the open game, by putting the entire 5e mechanical structure, with enough "examples" to actually play the game, in the CC, and then put all past editions basic rules into either CC or the OGL 2, but I was very clear in all that that the only outcome that is acceptable is to enshrine irrevocably that 3pp can make anything they want with the 3.5 and 5e SRDs, forever, without any of the strings they are trying to attach. OGL, CC, whatever, the either remains genuinely open, or they lose the 3pp community, and the most engaged segment of the fans, including secondary content creators like YouTubers, and anyone we can influence.
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Horwath
Reactions: S'mon, VenerableBede, GMforPowergamers and 1 other person
VenerableBede said:
The OGL 1.0(a) should be the minimum expectation for our demands—in essence, that the status quo is restored. I don't think we need to demand restitution or penance from WotC, just open support of the OGL 1.0(a) and maybe—maybe—a 1.0(b) with no changes whatsoever except the necessary language on irrevocability.
IMO, that OGL 1.0b is essential. The status quo ante doesn't work now, since it just means WotC may try again in another couple of years. We need the license protected, as strongly as the language allows, and that protection built into the license itself.
But I agree that that's all we (well, I) need - the PR situation probably means yet more fulsome apologies from WotC if/when they back down, but I personally don't require that.
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Aspirinsmurf
I don't really see the point of demanding just that update in the language, personally. It's kind of meaningless in this context. They're going with this nonsense idea of "deauthorization" now, so shouldn't we be asking for it to be explicitly "undeauthorizable" instead?
This gets silly fast. They could always try to repudiate, withdraw, retract, disclaim, disown, disavow or dismiss it instead – or whatever new nonsense term they want to come up with. What I think we really want is for them to transfer their ownership and powers provided by the license to a trusted custodian.
Reactions: W'rkncacnter, Dreamscape, Dausuul and 7 others
Agh. Delete me.
Aspirinsmurf said:
This gets silly fast. They could always try to repudiate, withdraw, retract, disclaim, disown, disavow or dismiss it instead – or whatever new nonsense term they want to come up with.
The OGL was modeled on various Open Source licenses that existed at the time. When those licenses were updated to make explicit that they couldn't be revoked, the OGL should have been updated to match. (This wasn't done, because by then WotC were already rowing back from open gaming, of course.) But updating to use the same language as in modern Open Source licenses should be enough - that way, there's too much of a vested interest from the really big players to allow any challenge.
But, ultimately, that's going to be one for the lawyers - presumably there's a way to draft these things so that they really, really can't be got rid of.
What I think we really want is for them to transfer their ownership and powers provided by the license to a trusted custodian.
Yeah, that would do it too. Probably better if it's not one trusted custodian, though.
Reactions: JEB, S'mon and VenerableBede
aco175
At what point is the fight over? We want everything and give them nothing. Take everything back and more, make them squirm and pay to the point of bankruptcy and spin off WotC. Got it. But, can't they just make a 6e and take their ball and go home like 4e but worse. Then 90% of the players will just follow them to 6e. Then what do we have? Careful what we ask for.
Reactions: Cap'n Kobold, Eurohobbes and GMforPowergamers
Velderan
aco175 said:
Will they? At the risk of edition warring, did 90% of the players follow to 4e or did a large enough chunk splinter off to PF1e that WotC eventually threw in the towel on 4e and we got 5e as a result?
Those who don't learn from history something something.
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Vaalingrade
Velderan said:
WotC eventually threw in the towel on 4e and we got 5e as a result?
Sure, there were some negatives, but even though we got 5e instead of 4e, 5e had an OGL SRD.
Frankly, I'm fine if 5.5 is under a GSL or whatever and not letting anyone else participate with it as long as they aren't putting the rest of the industry under threat.
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GMforPowergamers
not wanting the edition war either (and I am totally a 4e guy) but I can't believe that it was close to 90/10...in my mind it was closer to 70/30 but really more like 65/25 with the other 10 being old editions and just leaving D&D...
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Folks who are blaming licensing for 4e's struggles are really forgetting the wider reaction to 4e as a version of D&D. Again, trying to skirt the editions wars issue, but the main issue there was that PF stayed a lot closer to 3e (it basically was 3e), which made it easier for some groups to do that.
Reactions: Imaro, Scribe and GMforPowergamers
Scars Unseen
I've said from the start of this debacle, that's perfectly fine. At that point, they're just competing in the market. There's no requirement that they continue creating SRDs compatible with the OGL, so if they see it as beneficial not to do so, more power to them. The problem is that they're trying to burn down the community they helped build as they sail off to plunder new lands. That's what I want to prevent.
They don't have to continue to operate under same arrangement with new editions if they don't want to, but if they try to renege on the promise made when they bought the game, I'm prepared to give D&D a viking funeral.
Reactions: eyeheartawk, W'rkncacnter, JEB and 7 others
Malchor Flubbit
Clint_L said:
I like Ryan Dancey's take on 4e, it was the world largest fantasy heartbreaker.
Reactions: Jahydin, ValamirCleaver and Clint_L
I'm fine with the detente being "We keep the status quo of the 1.0a remaining intact, they make their walled garden around 6E," since that is what I assumed they were going to do already. The thing I'm pissed at is trying to shut down the 1.0a to funnel people into their walled garden, instead of them trying to make the walled garden so awesome that people want to go their of their own accord. They don't get to take from the Commons just because it's inconvenient for their microtransaction hellscape plans.
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Malchor Flubbit said:
A heartbreaker, by definition, is "D&D with a few changes."
4e was far too different to qualify. And I say that as a megafan of 4e.
All due respect to Mr. Dancey, but calling it a "fantasy heartbreaker" really undersells the ambition of the game and is a huge disservice to the people who poured countless hours into the design and development of 4e.
Reactions: GMforPowergamers
mellored
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Reactions: Faolyn
by that logic would not pathfinder be the heartbreaker... and 4e be the one with the name?
OGL The OGL: Why is this really happening, and what to do now...
Uta-napishti
OGL Boycott Kickstarter
The Myopic Sniper
rcade
OGL How long do we wait for WoTC to speak?
S'mon
CapnZapp
OGL New OGL - what would be acceptable? (+)
MoonSong
OGL Closely reading the OGL statement by Hasbro-WotC
Yaarel
ValamirCleaver


text:
Jerusalem Post WORLD NEWS
African leaders refrain from publicly criticizing Mugabe
During public speeches at African Union, leaders speak of "challenges" in country, but don't say anything harsh about Zimbabwean president.
mugabe AU summit 224.88
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was greeted with hugs at an African summit on Monday, a sign that African leaders won't shun him despite Western demands they take a tough stance over his re-election in a tainted vote. But behind the scenes, some leaders were pushing for Mugabe to share power with his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, who dropped out of a weekend runoff vote after allegedly state-sponsored killings and beatings of his supporters. While many African countries - including regional powerhouse South Africa - have been unwilling to condemn Mugabe, criticism by the US and Europe has only mounted. France said Monday it considers Mugabe's government "illegitimate," and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged the African Union to reject the result of Zimbabwe's presidential runoff. The summit should "make it absolutely clear that there has got to be change" in Zimbabwe, Brown said in London. "I think the message that is coming from the whole world is that the so-called elections will not be recognized." But the longtime Zimbabwe ruler basked in the opportunity at the opening of the African Union summit to show regional recognition of his victory, a day after he was sworn in as president for a sixth term following Friday's runoff, in which he was the sole candidate. He entered the conference hall alongside his host, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in a symbolic gesture of his status. In public sessions, there was little overt warmth for Mugabe, but while mingling with leaders before the opening session, he hugged several heads of states and other diplomats, said one African delegate who was present. "He was hugging everyone, pretty much everyone he could get close to," said the delegate, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the session was closed to the media. During public speeches in this Red Sea resort, most AU leaders spoke of the "challenges" in Zimbabwe. But they never said anything harsh about Mugabe and focused on other issues facing Africa. A draft resolution written by AU foreign ministers due to be approved by leaders at the two-day summit also didn't criticize the runoff or Mugabe - instead calling for dialogue. But the US secretary of state for African affairs, Jendayi Frazer, said she believed that, in private, leaders at the summit would "have very, very strong words for him." "I would suggest that one not take from the soft words in an open plenary as a reflection of the deep concern of leaders here of the situation in Zimbabwe," she told reporters. At the White House, press secretary Dana Perino also suggested behind-the-scenes pressure, saying Mugabe's actions have "cast a negative light on some really good, democratic leaders in Africa." "There are a lot of them who are working very hard to institute democratic reforms in their own way," she said. Key African leaders have long had close ties to Mugabe, renowned as a campaigner against white rule and colonialism. They are also reluctant to be seen as backing the West - and former colonial rulers - against a fellow African, and many can't claim democratic governments in their own countries. Mubarak has ruled Egypt for 27 years - one year less than Mugabe - and has come under international criticism for unfair elections. Other African rulers have been in place even longer, such as Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang since 1979 and Gabon's Omar Bongo since 1967. Not all African countries have been silent. In Nairobi, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Zimbabwe should be suspended from the African Union. "They should suspend him and send peace forces to Zimbabwe to ensure free and fair elections," Odinga said in Nairobi. Senegal's foreign minister, Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, complained of the hesitancy to openly pressure Mugabe. He noted that some Africans argue the West should "leave us alone and we be left to decide our own destiny" - but then when the crisis occurs, "we don't want to talk about it. That doesn't make any sense." The bloc of openly criticial nations at the summit suffered a blow when one of its most vocal members, Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, was rushed to Sharm el-Sheik's hospital on Sunday. His vice president, Rupiah Banda, said Monday that the 59-year-old Mwanawasa suffered a stroke and was in stable condition. The African Union's own observers said Monday that the Zimbabwe runoff fell short of the continental body's standards, citing violence and noting that the opposition was denied equal access to the media during the campaign. Residents said they were forced to vote by threats of violence or arson from Mugabe supporters. Tsvangirai has been holed up at the Dutch Embassy in Harare since announcing his withdrawal from the race on June 22. The United States is calling for additional travel and financial sanctions against Mugabe supporters and wants the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo against the country. African diplomats have pointed at Kenya's power-sharing agreement, which ended bloodshed there after flawed elections earlier this year, as a possible model for Zimbabwe. But unlike Kenya, which brought together two rivals who had been allies and are of the same generation, there's little common ground between Mugabe and Tsvangirai. One is 84-year-old and a veteran of Africa's anti-colonial struggles and the other a 56-year-old former trade union leader. If a coalition agreement is struck, it will be because moderates within Mugabe's party have somehow persuaded him and other hard-liners that it's the only way to bring the country out of international isolation. Tsvangirai has said he is open to sharing power with moderate ruling party members. But it wants the African Union to take over mediation from South African President Thabo Mbeki. Tsvangirai says Mbeki's refusal to publicly criticize Mugabe betrays bias in Mugabe's favor. While some African leaders have called for a change from Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy," it is hard to imagine the African Union showing Mbeki disrespect by stripping him or the southern African bloc of the mediation role.


text:
The EU's green fuels mandate could simply shift shipping emissions from fuel oil to fossil gas and dubious biofuels.
Still time to rectify 'disastrous' EU shipping policy, says T&E
An EU attempt to promote alternative sustainable fuels for ships would actually lock in the use of fossil fuels for decades, according to leaked documents obtained by T&E.
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The NGO described the draft 'Fuel EU Maritime' law, which does not provide incentives to invest in e-fuels but promotes liquified natural gas (LNG) and biofuels as an alternative to marine fuel oil, as an environmental disaster.
But with the law due to be published on 14 July, there is still time to rectify this by excluding LNG and crop-based biofuels and support the uptake of green e-fuels like renewable hydrogen and ammonia, says the group.
"It's not too late to save the world's first green shipping fuel mandate", said Delphine Gozillon, shipping policy officer at T&E. "It's crucial that we have a law that incentivises the uptake of e-fuels. The current draft pits e-fuels against much cheaper polluting fuels, giving them no chance at all to compete on price. The EU should revise the draft to include an e-fuels mandate and make them more cost-attractive through super credits."
The Commission should propose that half of the greenhouse gas intensity target set by the law should be met by using green e-fuels, thus creating a market for producers of the new technology. The Commission should also help expensive e-fuels become more cost-competitive by counting five times every one-gram carbon intensity improvement achieved by using these green fuels onboard. These multipliers have worked well to push electric cars under CO2 standards; in shipping, they would make it more cost-attractive for ship operators to invest in an e-fuel-powered ship than blending biodiesel in existing fuel oil ships.
T&E also advises that the operators of ships with e-fuels should get additional rewards by being able to sell credits when they overcomply to other ship operators. This would only work if benefits of excess credits are limited to e-fuels ships, which is an approach not taken in the draft text.
The draft policy seen by T&E reveals the European Commission has rejected requiring specific green fuels to be used by shipowners. It has instead gone for a simple "greenhouse gas intensity target", which it claims provides more flexibility. But, as noted by T&E, the target alone offers no incentives for green hydrogen and ammonia, which are the few truly sustainable fuels currently available at scale.
The measure would use ship fleets' average carbon intensity in 2020 as a reference value to be progressively lowered, from a 2 percent reduction by 2025 and a 6 percent cut by 2030 to a 75 percent cut by 2050.
But T&E has warned that by not excluding LNG and crop-based biofuels, which are high emitting, it would simply shift emissions from fuel oil today, to fossil gas and dubious biofuels tomorrow.
More than half (55%) of the energy used by ships calling at EU ports could be LNG and biofuels by 2035, according to T&E's analysis. This is despite LNG offering minimal emissions reductions and, when burned, releasing methane – a global warming gas up to 36 times more potent than CO2. Most biofuels are worse for the climate than the fuels they replace, and those that do offer emissions savings are not available at scale.
As reported in the Guardian, of the 136 responses to a consultation, 121 were either shipowners or ship managers, energy producers and fuel suppliers, short sea shipping companies, shipbuilding and marine equipment manufacturers or logistics suppliers, shippers and cargo owners.
Delphine Gozillon concluded: "As it stands, the draft law is far not fit for Europe's climate objectives. But quick fixes are still possible, with strong safeguards against unsustainable fuels and dedicated tools to kick start e-fuels in shipping."
The Commission is due to publish the initiative on July 14 as a part of its Fit for 55 package, aimed at achieving the bloc's target of cutting emissions by 55 percent by 2030.


text:
Emplocia orla är en fjärilsart som beskrevs av Thierry-mieg 1910. Emplocia orla ingår i släktet Emplocia och familjen mätare. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Mätare
orla

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
7 young women graduate from the CellCgirl Bursary Fund
by Mpofu Sthandile April 3, 2019 0199
Seven young disadvantaged women, with financial help and guidance from the CellCgirl Bursary Fund, have recently graduated with varying qualifications that will see them play critical roles in transforming, growing and uplifting South Africa.
"We are very proud of these exceptional young women and honoured to have been in a position to help them accomplish their tertiary qualifications. Education is paramount in achieving gender equality in South Africa as it empowers women with knowledge, skills, self-confidence, social and economic status. These qualities enable them to go out and actively contribute to our economy and create a better nation for all," says Cell C managing executive: CSI, Suzette van der Merwe.
The CellCgirl Bursary Fund has been instrumental in creating opportunities for girl learners from poor and vulnerable backgrounds by investing in their tertiary education. In this initiative, Cell C has partnered with non-profit organisation, the Tomorrow Trust, who provide psychosocial support, life skills development and academic support.
Contributing to building a better SA
"We hope to unlock South Africa's potential by providing world class holistic education programmes. These young graduates are an inspiration. Despite their backgrounds and challenges, they have led by example by working hard to complete their studies. They show how to go about contributing to building a better society," said Tomorrow Trust's CEO James Donald.
Paula Hopetown, a recent LLB graduate from the University of Witwatersrand said: "I went into law because I have a passion for fighting for the rights of ordinary South Africans. This bursary has helped me realise that dream."
Nelisiwe Mfabe, who completed a marketing communications qualification, said: "This bursary helped me complete my studies when I was about to give up due to lack of funds. This has really helped me improve my life and that of my family."
Stacey Rontiris from Tomorrow Trust and Boni Dlamini from Cell C with the Cell C 2018 graduates Paula Hopetown, Ushmikka Badal, Boni Dlamini, Cell C's Nelisiwe Mfabe and Yachna Sewnunan.
BURSARYCell Cgraduatesyoung womenShare0
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Puma and First Mile to launch a sustainable sportswear collection
Eskom "zero harm" agenda reaches rural Eastern Cape
Viwe Tyolwana October 17, 2017 October 17, 2017
Gates Foundation Report Says Demographic Trends Threaten Global Progress
RX Radio celebrates first birthday at Red Cross Children's Hospital
Sourced Content June 7, 2018 June 7, 2018


text:
Q: Show $0 \leq e^{-x} - \left( 1 - \frac{x}{n} \right)^n \leq \frac{x^2e^{-x}}{n}$ by induction Show that if $0\leq x < n, n \geq 1$, and $n\in\mathbb{N}$ then
$$ 0 \leq e^{-x} - \left( 1 - \frac{x}{n} \right)^n \leq \frac{x^2e^{-x}}{n}. $$
By using induction.
Progress: Decided to split the problem up into two parts, (i) and (ii).
(i) $ 0 \leq e^{-x} - \left ( 1- \frac{x}{n} \right ) ^ n $.
(i) $e^{-x} - \left ( 1- \frac{x}{n} \right ) ^ n \leq \frac{x^2e^{-x}}{n}.$
For part (i),
Base case: (n = 1)
We have
$$\begin{align}
1-x &\leq e^{-x} \\
e^{-x} +x -1 & \geq 0.
\end{align}$$
Differentiating gives,
$$ \begin{align} \frac{d}{dy} \left ( e^{-x} +x -1 \right )& = -e^{-x} +1 \\
& \geq  0
\end{align}$$
for $0 \leq x <1$. Thus the function is non-decreasing on $\left[ 0,1 \right )$ which implies $e^{-x} + x -1 \geq 0 $ thus,$ 1-x \leq e^{-x}$ on the required interval. (my calc isn't very strong but I assume this is the right process to prove  one function is $\geq$ another).
Induction step: Assume formula holds for some arbitrary positive integer $n=k$, that is $$0 \leq e^{-x} - \left( 1-\frac{x}{k} \right )^k$$
using this, we must now show that the formula holds for $n=k+1$, i.e.
$$ 0 \leq e^{-x} - \left ( 1- \frac{x}{k+1} \right ) ^{k+1}. $$
So how on earth do we use the induction step in get the required equation for $n=k+1?$

A:
Lemma A. If $x\geq y>0$, $$ x^n-y^n \leq n (x-y) x^{n-1}.$$

Proof: expand $\frac{x^n-y^n}{x-y}$ as a geometric sum and apply the trivial bound $y\leq x$ to each term.

Lemma B: For any $x\in\mathbb{R}$ and $n\in\mathbb{N}^+$,
  $$ e^{-x/n} \geq 1-\frac{x}{n}.$$

Proof: $e^{x}$ is a convex function.

Lemma C: For any $z\in[0,1]$,
  $$ e^{-z}-(1-z) \leq \frac{z^2}{2}.$$

Proof: $\frac{e^{-z}-(1-z)}{z}$ is a concave function on $[0,1]$.
By Lemma A, Lemma B and Lemma C it follows that:

$$ \forall n\in\mathbb{N}^+,\forall x\in[0,n],\qquad \color{red}{0\leq e^{-x}-\left(1-\frac{x}{n}\right)^n \leq \frac{x^2 e^{-x}}{2n e^{-x/n}}}.$$

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
La chirurgie de féminisation faciale ou CFF (en anglais, facial feminization surgery ou FFS) est un ensemble de procédures chirurgicales plastiques qui modifient généralement les traits masculins pour les rendre plus proches en taille et en forme de ceux du visage féminin. La CFF peut inclure diverses procédures telles que le lifting frontal, la rhinoplastie, l'implantation de joue, et l'augmentation labiale.

Les visages contiennent des caractères sexuels secondaires qui donnent un aspect masculin ou féminin facilement reconnaissable, notamment la forme du front, le nez, les lèvres, les joues, le menton et la mâchoire. Les caractéristiques du tiers supérieur de la face semblent être les plus importantes pour faire cette distinction, mais des changements subtils au niveau de la bouche peuvent aussi avoir un effet important.

Candidats
Pour beaucoup de femmes transgenres, la CFF est médicalement nécessaire pour traiter la dysphorie de genre. Il peut être tout aussi important, voire plus important que la chirurgie de réattribution sexuelle (CRS), de réduire la dysphorie de genre et d'aider les femmes trans à s'intégrer socialement en tant que femme ; les données sur ces types de résultats sont limités par la petite taille de l'étude notamment.

Alors que la plupart des patients réalisant la CFF sont des femmes transgenres, certaines femmes cisgenres qui trouvent leur visage trop masculin font également l'objet d'une CFF. Celle-ci est parfois demandée par les travestis et les drag-queens.

Les candidats à la CFF doivent attendre que leurs os crâniens aient cessé de croître avant de la subir. C'est en passant une radiographie de la mandibule et de l'os du poignet que l'on s'assure du moment adéquat et que la croissance osseuse s'est effectivement arrêtée.

Procédures chirurgicales
Les procédures chirurgicales les plus fréquemment effectuées au cours de CFF sont les suivantes :

Tiers supérieur de la face
Certaines études ont montré que la forme du front était l'une des principales différences entre les hommes et les femmes. La correction de la ligne de démarcation des cheveux, la reconstruction du front, la reconstruction de l'orbite oculaire, et le lifting frontal sont les procédures les plus souvent effectuées, et avec la rhinoplastie.

Chez les hommes, la racine des cheveux est souvent plus haute que celle des femmes, et elle recule généralement vers les coins au-dessus des tempes, ce qui lui donne une forme de « M ». La racine des cheveux peut être déplacée vers l'avant et donner une forme plus arrondie, soit avec une procédure appelée « avance du cuir chevelu » dans les cas où le cuir chevelu est soulevé et déplacé, soit par la greffe des cheveux.
 Reconstruction frontale
Les hommes ont tendance à avoir un front plus plat que les femmes.

Les chirurgiens ont deux principales approches pour cette partie de la CFF. L'approche la plus ancienne est de broyer l'os autant que possible, sans le percer, et ensuite, développer la zone autour, tout en préservant le ciment osseux d'hydroxyapatite. L'autre approche est d'effectuer une procédure appelée front de reconstruction ou cranioplastie ; bien qu'elle semble meilleure, les données sur les résultats de cette approche restent limités. Les risques de la cranioplastie sont notamment la guérison incomplète du crâne, le mouvement des fragments d'os, et à la formation de kystes ; ceux-ci peuvent généralement être corrigés par une autre opération.
 Lifting frontal
Les hommes ont tendance à avoir des sourcils plus bas que les femmes, par rapport à la position de leurs arcades sourcilières. En conséquence, la CFF vise à relever les sourcils pour obtenir une apparence faciale plus féminine.
 Orbite reconstitué
Dans certaines études, la forme de l'œil a été montrée comme étant la clé de la différence entre les hommes et les femmes. Les orbites des femmes cisgenres ont tendance à être plus petites, situées plus haut sur le visage, plus fortement inclinées sur les bords extérieurs, et plus rapprochées sur leurs bords intérieurs (distance intercanthale). Certaines CFF modifient la forme de l'orbite ; les informations sur ces résultats sont limitées.

Rhinoplastie
Les hommes ont tendance à avoir un nez plus long et plus large que les femmes, dont la pointe est souvent légèrement plus haute ; la procédure consiste donc à retirer les os, le cartilage et remodeler ce qui reste. Dans la plupart des cas, cette opération est effectuée de façon ouverte ; la réduction nasale comporte un risque d'interférence avec la fonction de la valve nasale. Les procédures standards de rhinoplastie sont généralement utilisées. Il existe peu de données sur les résultats.

Implants des joues
Les femmes ont souvent des pommettes plus saillantes, avec une forme de triangle formé par les pommettes et la pointe du menton. Le contour de la joue est réalisé lors du remodelage du menton. Les joues sont reformées en coupant l'os et en le repositionnant ; augmenter les joues avec des implants ou avec de la graisse récoltée à partir d'autres parties du corps est une pratique fréquente. Les risques sont l'infection et le mouvement de l'implant qui donnerait un aspect asymétrique ; la graisse peut éventuellement être absorbée.

Lèvres
De subtils changements dans la forme et la structure des lèvres peuvent avoir une forte influence sur la féminisation. La distance entre la base du nez et le haut de la lèvre supérieure tend à être plus longue chez les hommes que chez les femmes ; la lèvre supérieure est donc plus longue. Quand une bouche de femme est ouverte et détendue, les incisives supérieures sont souvent exposées de quelques millimètres.

Une incision est généralement faite juste en dessous de la base du nez et une section de peau est retirée. Fermer cet écart soulève le haut de la lèvre, la place dans une position plus féminine et expose un peu les incisives supérieures. Le chirurgien peut également soulever la lèvre supérieure pour lui donner une apparence plus pulpeuse.

Les femmes ont souvent des lèvres plus pulpeuses que les hommes, le remplissage des lèvres est souvent utilisée dans la féminisation.

Menton et mâchoire
Les hommes ont tendance à avoir un menton plus long et plus large que les femmes, avec une base carrée, et une projection vers l'extérieur plus importante que les femmes.

Le menton peut être réduit en longueur soit par le rasage des os, soit par une procédure appelée « plastie de glissement », où une section de l'os est retirée. La mâchoire peut être modifiée par la chirurgie de la réduction de mâchoire, qui se fait parfois par la bouche. Le muscle masséter peut également être réduit pour rendre la mâchoire plus étroite.

Le plus grand risque dans ces procédures est d'endommager le nerf mentonnier qui traverse le menton et la mâchoire ; les autres risques incluent des dommages aux racines des dents, des infections, de la pseudarthrose, des dommages au muscle mentonnier qui contrôle la lèvre inférieure et les bords du menton.

Réduction de la pomme d'Adam
Les hommes cis ont tendance à avoir une pomme d'Adam proéminente après la puberté. La pomme d'Adam peut être réduite à l'aide d'une procédure appelée chondrolaryngoplastie ; le but étant de réduire sa taille, sans laisser de cicatrice. Il y a des risques d'endommagements des cordes vocales et de déstabilisation de l'épiglotte.

Procédures associées
L'embellissement et les procédures de rajeunissement sont souvent réalisées en même temps que la féminisation des traits du visage. Par exemple, il est courant que les cernes et le relâchement des paupières soient corrigés avec une procédure appelée « blépharoplastie », et nombre de patients subissent une féminisation du visage et du cou.

Histoire
Les techniques de CFF sont dérivées de la chirurgie maxillo-faciale et reconstructrice, ainsi que la chirurgie plastique et esthétique générale.

La CFF a commencé en 1982 lorsque Darrell Pratt, un chirurgien plastique qui a effectué des chirurgies de réassignation sexuelle, a demandé à Douglas Ousterhout de l'aide concernant une patiente transgenre MtF qui souhaitait une chirurgie plastique pour rendre son visage plus féminin, car les gens réagissaient encore comme si elle était un homme quand ils se trouvaient face à elle. La pratique d'Ousterhout impliquait la reconstruction des visages et des crânes de personnes qui avaient subi des malformations à la naissance, des accidents, ou d'autres traumatismes. Ousterhout voulait l'aider, mais il ne savait pas ce que signifiait chirurgicalement un « visage de femme » ; il a donc étudié l'anthropologie physique à partir du début du  pour identifier quelles étaient les caractéristiques dites « féminines », puis par un travail sur un ensemble de plusieurs centaines de crânes pour étudier s'il pouvait distinguer de manière fiable lesquels appartenaient aux femmes et lesquels appartenaient aux hommes. Ousterhout a ensuite commencé à travailler sur les techniques chirurgicales et les matériaux qu'il avait déjà utilisés et qui pourraient s'appliquer afin de transformer un visage masculin pour le rendre plus féminin ; il est le pionnier de la plupart des procédures impliquées dans la CFF et il a été impliqué dans leurs améliorations ultérieures.

En 2006, il y avait environ douze chirurgiens à l'échelle mondiale qui se sont spécialisés dans la CFF.

Coût
Aux États-Unis, en 2006, le coût de la chirurgie de féminisation faciale s'élevait entre  et , soit environ deux fois le coût de la chirurgie de réattribution sexuelle.

Voir aussi
 Chirurgiens spécialisés dans la médecine transgenre
 Transidentité

Références

Chirurgie maxillo-faciale
Traitement chirurgical
Transidentité et médecine


When making a homemade water filter, it is important to have the right materials readily available. A homemade water filter can easily and inexpensively be made, and it can help to serve your immediate clean water needs.
Cut the bottom off of the two liter bottle. Cut a hole in the lid and insert the straw into the hole so the filtered water will flow out of the straw.
Insert the cotton batting at the bottom of the bottle. If you have charcoal granules, layer those next. The next layer is fine grain sand followed by larger grain sand. After the sand layers, add the gravel layers. Start with the fine grain gravel followed by the larger grain gravel. Alternate these layers until you reach the top of the bottle. Top the layers off with the coffee filter.
Once you have everything in place, pour the water through the coffee filter. The water will work through the different layers to remove the impurities. The cotton batting at the bottom works as the final layer to catch particles from the sediment. The water will flow out of the straw and into the cup.
Adding a couple drops of chlorine can also help filter the water.
Make sure the sand and gravel have been washed before you put them in the filter. Otherwise the sand and gravel will only make the water dirty.


Just over one year ago in early April, on home soil in Santiago, it was desperate disappointment for Gustavo Gomez and Katherine Low; at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Latin American Qualification tournament, both fell short of reserving a place in the most prestigious multi-sport gathering of all.
Now on Friday 26th May, it was a very different story for Gustavo Gomez and Katharine Low as Chile dominated the concluding day of action at the 2017 Ibero-American Championships in Madrid.
Gustavo Gomez won the Men's Singles title, Katherine Low went one step better, not only did she secure the Women's Singles crown, she partnered colleague, Paulina Vega to Women's Doubles success.
Colleagues in arms in the Women's Doubles title decider, beating Puerto Rico's Melanie Diaz and Daniely Rios (11-8, 12-10, 11-7), later in the day Katherine Low and Paulina Vega were determined adversaries in a Women's Singles final that ebbed and flowed.
Eventually, the decision went in favour of Katherine Low by the very narrowest of seven games margins (4-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10).
Earlier in the day, in the latter stages Katherine Low had ended the hopes of compatriots Judith Morales (11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4), before reserving her place in the final courtesy of success in opposition to Daniela Ortega (11-3, 11-5, 11-3, 14-12, 9-11, 14-12).
Success against familiar faces for Katherine Low; for Paulina Vega it was success against the host nation. In the round of the last eight she beat Claudia Caymel (6-11, 11-6, 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9); prior to ending the hopes of Ana Garcia (11-7, 12-14, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7). Notably two days earlier Claudia Caymel and Ana Garcia had won the Women's Team event.
Impressive from Katherine Low, it was the very same from Gustavo Gomez; safely through to the quarter-finals, he withstood a brave recovery by Paraguay's Marcelo Aguirre to emerge successful (11-8, 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 8-11, 4-11, 11-9), before receiving a walk-over against Argentina's Horacio Cifuentes to reserve his place in the final.
The chance of gold, the Chilean was not to be thwarted; he overcame Portugal's Diogo Pinho (11-6, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-4) to reserve the top step of the medal podium.
In the opposite half of the draw, at the quarter-final stage Diogo Pinho overcame Venezuela's Jonathan Pino (12-10, 7-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-4), prior to accounting for Spain's Guillermo Martinez (11-7, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5).
Three titles for Chile on the concluding day of action and there was one more; Felipe Olivares and Alejandro Rodriguez combined to win the Men's Doubles event. In the final they beat Paraguay's Marcelo Aguirre and Alejandro Toranzos.
A clean sweep of the individual events for Chile; pity there was no Mixed Doubles.
Alejandro Rodriguez and Paulina Vega are husband and wife.


The London Borough of Newham, one of the most multicultural boroughs in Britain and home to a large mixed race population, was one of six host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympic Games. The diversity of Newham – and indeed Britain itself – was reflected in the opening ceremony which prominently featured a mixed race family in one of its three main sequences. While the multicultural nature of the opening ceremony attracted much praise amongst the press and public alike, the inclusion of this family was subject to a vitriolic attack by The Daily Mail which suggested, amongst other things, that the portrayal of a 'happy' and 'educated' mixed race family was 'absurdly unrealistic'. The newspaper swiftly edited and then removed the article in response to heavy condemnation of its stereotyping of mixed race families. Bloggers and other online commentators were quick to point out that a product of a happy and educated mixed race family was right under the Daily Mail's nose in the form of Jessica Ennis, the British gold medallist heptathlete.
Directed by the British film director and producer Danny Boyle, the third segment of the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics (entitled Frankie and June Say 'Thanks Tim') focused on family life and Saturday night habits as well as a celebration of British music. The family at the centre of this sequence featured a black father, white mother and their children –alongside what appeared to be other extended family members and friends – living and interacting happily at home and outside it. The London Borough of Newham, one of six host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympics, has the second most diverse population in the UK, with estimates in 2008 putting its Black and Ethnic Minority population at 70%. According to analysis of 2001 Census data (Smith et al. 2011), Newham is one of the country's 'hotspots' for racially mixed couples.
The day after the ceremony, the Daily Mail newspaper published an article written by Rick Dewsbury attacking the inclusion of the mixed race family as a representation of modern life in England as 'politically correct' and 'absurdly unrealistic'. In particular, the article was scathing about the make-up of the family, stating that it must have been a 'challenge' for the organisers to find an 'educated white middle-aged mother and black father living together with a happy family in such a set up'.
The comments section of the online version of the newspaper immediately contained many objections to the paper's stereotyping of mixed race families as did other social media – Mensch, the former Conservative MP and David Aaronovich, a newspaper columnist for The Times, both condemned the article on Twitter, with Aaronovitch 'challenging' his followers to find 'happy and educated' mixed race families – many followers naming themselves in response. A complaint was also lodged with the Press Complaints Commission.
The Daily Mail article was subsequently edited – without acknowledgement of the editing by the paper – to remove reference to the education of the parents, though it still argued that such set ups 'are simply not the 'norm' in any part of the country'. The objections continued throughout social media, with many people pointing out that the British gold medallist heptathlete Jessica Ennis, a graduate from Sheffield University and the daughter of a white British social worker and black Jamaican painter-decorator couple, roundly challenged the Mail's stereotype. A number of virals, including one splicing the Mail's comments with pictures of Jessica Ennis and her parents at the award of her MBE in 2011, came into circulation. The Mail quickly removed the article entirely.
Contrary to the Daily Mail's proclamations, recent research indicates that educated mixed race families are quite the norm in various parts of the country. A study of mixed racial, ethnic and faith parents by Caballero, Edwards and Puthussery (2008) found that according to the 2001 Census, it is more likely that a child from a mixed racial and ethnic background in Britain lives with both parents. Moreover, not only do these mixed race families have a strong middle-class profile but they are also increasingly found outside multicultural city neighbourhoods, residing in suburbs and prospering towns. Similarly, Muttarak's (2004) analysis of Labour Force Survey data for 2002/3 demonstrated that amongst women in the White ethnic group, while 15.4% were educated to degree level in same race marriages, this figure rose to 23.2% in the case of mixed ethnicity marriages. Moreover, 27.4% in co-ethnic marital unions were in Social Class I (Professional and Managerial) compared with 38.6% in intermarried unions.
It was the absurdly unrealistic scene – and indeed one that would spring from the kind of nonsensical targets and equality quotas we see in the NHS – showing a mixed-race middle-class family in a detached new-build suburban home, which was most symptomatic of the politically correct agenda in modern Britain [....] This was supposed to be a representation of modern life in England but it is likely to be a challenge for the organisers to find an educated white middle-aged mother and black father living together with a happy family in such a set-up.


- "No. 102 G.F.C." on negative.
- Detroit Publishing Co. no. 070772.
Detroit Publishing Co., Copyright Claimant, and Publisher Detroit Publishing Co. The Beach, Gordon Park, Cleveland, Ohio . Cleveland Cleveland. Ohio United States, ca. 1908. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016814634/.
Detroit Publishing Co, C. C. & Detroit Publishing Co, P. (ca. 1908) The Beach, Gordon Park, Cleveland, Ohio . Cleveland Cleveland. Ohio United States, ca. 1908. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2016814634/.
Detroit Publishing Co., Copyright Claimant, and Publisher Detroit Publishing Co. The Beach, Gordon Park, Cleveland, Ohio . Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2016814634/>.
The Beach and pavilion, Gordon Pk. [Park], Cleveland, O[hio] 1 negative : glass ; 8 x 10 in.
[Beach and pavilion, Gordon Park, Cleveland, Ohio] 1 negative : glass ; 8 x 10 in.
[Gordon Park, bathing scene, Cleveland, Ohio] 1 negative : glass ; 8 x 10 in.
[Gordon Park, bathing pavilion, Cleveland, Ohio] 1 negative : glass ; 8 x 10 in.
On the beach, Euclid Beach, Cleveland, O[hio] 1 negative : glass ; 8 x 10 in.
Their paths are peace : the story of Cleveland's Cultural Gardens / Originally published by The Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation, 1954.
Cleveland omnibus line. This is the only line between hotels, steamboats and depots ... H. S. ... Transportation. Available also through the Library of Congress web site in two forms: as facsimile page images and as full text in SGML. Printed Ephemera Collection; Portfolio 137, Folder 6.


In the UK there are estimated to be around seven million people with a hearing impairment. Deafness can affect anyone, young or old, including our patients, clients, families and work colleagues.
'Hearing Me: Understanding Hearing Loss' is the work of a group of people from Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust. They embraced Listening into Action (LiA), getting together with a local charity to produce a powerful film for use with all staff and an entirely different approach to mandatory training.
Colleagues at the Trust were not happy with the e-learning on offer. They found it insular, staid and too focused on definitions and legislation. Instead, they wanted to create an alternative approach to training – one that was engaging, relevant and moving – and to promote understanding, empathy and compassion for people who are different to ourselves. They wanted to focus on real people, their lives and challenges, and enable colleagues to change their working practice to meet different needs.
Through their LiA Team Conversation, the group decided to concentrate on people with a hearing impairment. They used a truly collaborative process to create a training film, combining the knowledge of the Gloucestershire Deaf Association, the skills of local film-maker James Banks, and a hefty dose of creativity.
The resulting film will be used to give colleagues a touching insight into what it is like to be hard-of-hearing, and to inspire them to change their practice to enhance the experiences of deaf or hard-of-hearing patients and colleagues. The film shows colleagues what they can do to better communicate with people with hearing loss, whether that's in work meetings, clinics, visits, or on the telephone. It also offers clear advice on how to work with people who lip-read. The film is designed to be watched by a group (such as in a team meeting), though it can also be watched individually. The film incorporates 'pauses for thought' throughout to enable people to reflect on and discuss what they have heard and seen, and to think about how they need to change their own practice.


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Q: understanding iterated function system by Markov chain The Iterated Function System at node $i$ is a discrete time Markov chain on the state space ${\cal S}_i=\mathbb{R}^d$.
The chain is specified by an integer $m$ and a collection of maps
$f_j^{(i)}: S_i \rightarrow S_i, j=1,\dots,m$
and probability functions
$\{p_j^{(i)}: S_i \rightarrow [0,1] \}$ , $\sum_{j=1}^{m} p_j^{(i)}(x) =1 \forall x \in S_i$
Could anyone explain me the above statements with some example, I didn't understand at all. Thanks.

A: Given all this data you can define a Markov chain with state space $\{1,2,\dots,m\}\times\mathbb R^d$, as follows.  If the current state is $(i,x)$, you move to state $(j,f_j^{(i)}(x))$ with probability $p_j^{(i)}(x).$
But there is some fishiness in the statement's notation and terminology: the notation $S_i$ seems a little odd, so I am not 100% sure my construction is what your author had in mind. Where did this come up?


PCL&P's Price to Compare is the monthly variable Market Supply Charge with estimated taxes included. These prices may provide a more accurate comparison with prices charged by independent energy suppliers. The exact price you pay O&R may vary slightly depending on the tax district you are in.


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St. Paul Academy and Summit SchoolSt. Paul Academy and Summit School
Alumni/ae
SMB Wolfpack win Class 4A State Championship
The SMB Wolfpack defeated the Willmar Cardinals in a 44-18 victory on Friday, November 23, to win the Class 4A State Championship at U. S. Bank Stadium. The Wolfpack, a cooperative team between SPA, Minnehaha Academy, and the Blake School, completed a 13-0 season and won the combined program's first state title.
This was the first year in Wolfpack program history that the team has qualified for the state tournament; the program was founded in 2015. Prior to the cooperative team, SPA and Blake had gone to two state tournaments each, and Minnehaha none. But Wolfpack coach Collin Quinn noted after the state title game that the team is very much a single entity: "Those guys have been locked in all year, and they all love to compete, and they're a family and really care about one another," Quinn said. "And those have been the things that have kind of marked this team from the get go."
The Wolfpack was a force to be reckoned with all year, going undefeated in the regular season and earning the right to go to the state tournament with a win over Benilde-St. Margaret. Their state run included victories over Delano in the quarterfinals, Waseca in the Semifinals, and finally Willmar to earn the state title. Read the Star Tribune recap of the championship game. Read the Pioneer Press recap of the championship game.
Congratulations to all our championship Wolfpack players and coaches!
Busing and Carpooling
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Openings By Grade for Fall 2020
Admission FAQ
Lower School Academic Life
Middle School Academic Life
Upper School Academic Life
Goodrich Campus Library
Randolph Campus Library
Center for Learning and Teaching
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SPA by the Numbers
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With just a little over two months to go before the filing deadline for 2018 income taxes, it's important to be informed about business deductions. Missing a deduction can cost you thousands of dollars that you could be using for other things.
At Cook Martin Poulson, we work closely with our business clients to minimize their taxes. One deduction that we ask every client about is the Research and Development Tax Credit. While there have been a lot of tax changes due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the R&D credit is not new. Here's what you need to know about it.
What is the Research and Development Tax Credit?
The Research and Development Tax Credit was a provision in the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. In response to the economy's troubles, ERTA was intended to be a stimulus. At the time, members of Congress felt that declines in research spending by American companies were having a negative impact on the country's economic growth and competitiveness in the world marketplace.
The official title of the provision regarding R&D is the Credit for Increasing Research Activities. It allows businesses to take a tax deduction for "Qualified Research," and it applies to companies in both the public and private sectors.
Originally, the R&D credit was intended to expire on December 31, 1985. It has been extended a total of 15 times; and in 2015, Congress made it a permanent part of the tax code. It can be found under Internal Revenue Code section 41.
Who Qualifies to Take the R&D Tax Credit?
The R&D tax credit is available to businesses who conduct Qualified Research. While R&D might not be a main focus of your company's activities, any company that meets and resolves technological challenges may be eligible to take the credit. The most common way of determining whether research is qualified is a four-part test. Here are the criteria established by the IRS's four-part test.
Elimination of uncertainty. A company taking the credit must demonstrate that it has tried to eliminate uncertainty in its development or improvement of a process or product.
Process of experimentation. A company taking the credit must demonstrate that it has explored and evaluated alternatives for achieving the desired result. Demonstration may include modeling, simulation, systematic trial and error, or other methods.
Technological in nature. A company taking the credit must use a process of experimentation that relies on the so-called "hard sciences," which include biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, and physics.
The software must be innovative, and result in either a cost reduction or an improvement in speed that is both substantial and of economic significance.
Developing the software involves what the IRS defines as "significant economic risk," meaning that it requires a commitment of substantial resources and is subject to substantial uncertainty of recovery.
The software is not yet commercially available, meaning that consumers may not purchase, lease, or license and use the software for its intended purpose without making significant modifications to satisfy the first two requirements.
In our experience at Cook Martin Poulson, it's not uncommon for businesses who don't consider themselves to be innovators to apply this test to what they do and discover that they are eligible for the R&D credit. In other words, don't assume that you aren't eligible without looking at your activities through the proper lens as defined in the tax code.
Of course, if you plan to take the R&D Tax Credit, you must also be prepared to identify, document, and otherwise support the activities that qualify you for the credit.
What Qualified Research Expenses Apply to the R&D Tax Credit?
Wages paid to your employees for qualified services, including amounts that are considered to be wages for the purposes of federal income tax withholding.
Supplies, which are defined as any tangible property (excluding lands or improvements to land and property that is subject to depreciation) used or consumed in the R&D process.
Contract research expenses that your company pays to a third party for performing QRAs on behalf of your company, regardless of the success of the research being conducted. Contract research expenses are allowed at 65% of the actual cost incurred.
Basic research payments that your company makes to qualified educational institutions or scientific research organizations as part of your R&D activities. Basic research payments are allowed at 75% of the actual cost incurred.
You should plan on getting the advice of an experienced CPA or tax attorney to calculate your R&D credit, particularly if you have not taken it in the past. The experts at Cook Martin Poulson can be very helpful in this area.
What Activities Are Not Qualified R&D Activities?
In addition, your costs associated with acquiring fixed assets that are used in your regular trade or business are also excluded from being Qualified Research Expenses.
Small businesses may take the R&D Tax Credit against their alternative minimum tax (AMT) liability for tax years beginning after December 31, 2015.
Startup business with no federal tax liability and gross receipts of less than $5 million may take the R&D Tax Credit against their payroll taxes for tax years beginning after December 31, 2015.
Your accountant will be able to help you figure out whether your business qualifies under these changes.
If your business carries out research or innovates in any way, you may be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit on your next tax return. A qualified CPA can help you walk through the calculations and determine your eligibility.
At Cook Martin Poulson, we have helped several businesses realize tax benefits they didn't even know they qualified for. If you think your business may be doing R&D and missing out on the tax benefits, we encourage you to call us today.
To learn how Cook Martin Poulson can help you determine your eligibility for the R&D tax credit, please contact us.


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Casting News: Tom Hardy Confirmed to Return for 'Venom' Sequel
By Nick Levine | 3 weeks ago
It's official: Tom Hardy is definitely returning for a Venom sequel.
Hardy made his debut as Marvel antihero Venom (a.k.a. Eddie Brock) in last year's movie of the same name. It became a huge box office hit, grossing $855 million worldwide, but reviews weren't overwhelmingly positive.
However, this evidently hasn't put him off reprising the role. "I can say that Tom Hardy will be back, magnificently playing that character as no one else can," producer Amy Pascal told Fandango.
"When you think of Venom, you'll never be able to think of anyone but Tom Hardy sitting in that bathtub of lobsters," Pascal added. "And once you saw Tom Hardy do this character, that's all you needed to know."
Marvel Comics introduced the character of Venom in the late '80s as a villainous rival to Spider-Man. Because of this, fans have been speculating as to whether Tom Holland's Spider-Man might join Hardy's Venom in a future movie.
Asked about this, Pascal replied teasingly: "We have big plans for Tom Holland to be a part of everything," and added: "He needs to be in every movie that I ever work on!"
That sounds pretty encouraging, right? In the meantime, we'll catch Holland's web-slinger in Spider-Man: Far From Home, which arrives in theaters July 2. Hardy's next film in theaters is expected to be Fonzo, in which he's starring as notorious gangster Al Capone.
Are you excited to see Tom Hardy as Venom again?
Filed Under: Tom Hardy, Tom Holland
By Nick Levine
'Peaky Blinders' Creator Discusses How the Show Will 'Move On' without Tom Hardy
'Taboo' Creator Reveals Details of New Dickens Series Starring Tom Hardy


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COVID is multiplying in local hospitals News, sports, work
NewsSports
James Burrus	January 6, 2022
Hospital systems in Williamsport and the region are at or near capacity because of surging cases of coronavirus and a need to continue to provide medical care for non-COVID-19 related patients.
Whether it is UPMC, Geisinger Medical Center or Evangelical Community Hospital, much of the increases are presumed to be caused by the omicron variant, as indicated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state Department of Health.
For this region as labeled by CDC is seeing 94% omicron variant.
In support of the state Department of Health and the state Emergency Management Agency, the state National Guard activated a dual-status commander Dec. 31 to provide command and control of federal COVID-19 response teams who arrived in Pennsylvania recently.
Cases are soaring, and stress levels at these health care facilities are increasing, officials reported Wednesday even as Gov. Tom Wolf had the Pennsylvania National Guard in place.
Brig. Gen. James McCormack will oversee an active-duty Air Force medical response team in York and a medical assistance team in Scranton. These teams were sent by the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the request of Wolf.
"We have not asked for the Guard," said Tyler Wagner, a UPMC spokesman, providing the latest positivity rates.
Across the UPMC system in the U.S., the hospitals are treating 844 inpatients who are positive for COVID-19 92 of whom are being treated at UPMC hospitals in north central Pennsylvania, which includes UPMC Williamsport, UPMC Muncy, UPMC Cole in Coudersport, UPMC Wellsboro and UPMC Lock Haven. "The demand for services has grown dramatically over last few months for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related care," Wagner said. The latter is how the situation differs from last year when overall care demand outside of COVID-19 was lower.
To multiply the stress are the demands on UPMC health care workers, who've been working "tirelessly" for 22 months," Wagner said. "Simply put, more people want and need care from fewer people, demand is exceeding supply — something true across the entire U.S.," he said.
While all UPMC facilities are operating at a level near or over capacity, it is suspected others are also. But we remain open, and we will be there for you when you need us. UPMC staff are challenged. It is not easy, but our dedicated teams are working very hard every day." Testing in emergency departments
"Rather, we recommend that if you've been exposed or feel that you need a test that you call your primary care provider and they can direct you to the resources if testing is needed. "If necessary, your primary care provider can get you scheduled for an appointment for testing at one of our testing sites or provide information on other testing options in the community."
"We are encouraging community members who are asymptomatic to seek testing in ways other than coming to the Emergency Department," Wagner said. UPMC has seen an increase in COVID-19 and also is seeing an increase in demand for testing.
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