text:
Partners in Crime is a 1928 American comedy silent film directed by Frank R. Strayer and written by George Marion Jr., Grover Jones and Gilbert Pratt. The film stars Wallace Beery, Raymond Hatton, Mary Brian, William Powell, Jack Luden, Arthur Housman and Albert Roccardi. The film was released on March 17, 1928, by Paramount Pictures. A print of the film exists in the Library of Congress film archive.

Plot

Cast
Wallace Beery as Detective Mike Doolan
Raymond Hatton as 'Scoop' McGee, The Reporter
Mary Brian	as Marie Burke, The Cigarette Girl
William Powell as Smith
Jack Luden as Richard Demming, Assistant District Attorney
Arthur Housman as Barton
Albert Roccardi as Kanelli, The Restaurant Owner
Joseph W. Girard as Chief of Police
George Irving as B.R. Carnwall
Bruce Gordon as Dodo
Jack Richardson as Jake

References

External links

1928 films
1920s English-language films
Silent American comedy films
1928 comedy films
Paramount Pictures films
Films directed by Frank R. Strayer
American black-and-white films
American silent feature films
1920s American films


Still a pocket scale, only this time it has the capacity of 1000 grams. This is worthy heir to its predecessor, the Scale DZ 1.
The Scale DZ 2 is also made out of stainless steel and is very easy to operate. It has a backlit display and comes with a tray.
It comes with a carrying pouch so it can slip into your pocket and remain seemingly unnoticed. The scale itself is quite thin and contains three control buttons.


Well, I finished my book and it is beautiful, in the nearly universally acceptable .pdf format. Then I found Lulu, and signed up. Sell my ebook! Great.
Well, what on earth is epub. I've been reading books on my phone for years, never heard of it. Luckily professional publishing software Adobe InDesign exports to ePub format.
Ok so I found Open Office. Went into InDesign, exported all pages as .png images, and placed them as full pages in OpenOffice, (absurdly difficult/tedious process), saved as .doc. That was a pain, but the book is still beautiful that way.
But Lulu wizard still doesn't like my book. Improperly formatted table of contents.
TABLE OF CONTENTS? MY BOOK HAS NO WORDS IN IT. IT IS A BOOK OF PICTURES.
So I added a Title/Copyright page with ugly Times New Roman Heading 1 Style formatting, and huge, weird looking Heading 1 copyright notice.
Mind you, I do not want a title page, and I do not care about copyright.
Now my book is ugly. THE FIRST PAGE IS UGLY NOW.
But Lulu wizard likes it!
So Lulu wizard took my beautiful, 0.5 MB .pdf and converted it to an ugly, 5.5 MB .epub.
Better take a look, so I open the .epub. SORRY you must download a program to use this wonderful epub format (that is supposed to be more accessible than pdf?).
So I take a look.
There is no scrolling in .epub. So my pictures are split in half on every page. Go to the next page, see the other half of the picture.
You need to adjust the image size and resolution so that the images fit perfectly on one screen. No pages in ebooks.
You must have a title page and copyright page if you would like your book to be mass distributed.
Thanks, my understanding is that it is impossible to create an image that will fit perfectly on every screen in existence, as screens are different sizes. The epub format doesn't want to resize images, it wants to flow text, and therefore cater to books with words, while neglecting the needs of books that use pictures.
Yes, that's an arbitrary requirement that the distribution channels have set, I would guess because they can scan text with computer algorithm to reject en masse, and so DRM can log and database titles, authors.
For a guy like me, making a book of pictures, with no desire to restrict copyright, with no desire to have my name on the book, with no table of contents needed, .epub is no good.
In summary, .pdf works for every kind of book anyone would ever want to make, and more, and preserves all of the artist's desired formatting perfectly, in an amazingly small filesize, and is accessible to nearly every device ever.
While epub works for some kinds of books, if formatted to exacting standards, with an absurd filesize, and requires obscure programs to open.
Lulu etc will not allow books that do not have a TOC, but as Maggie says. just having a Title and Copyright Page listed in it will get through.
I have no idea about OO, but to create a TOC in Word you have to tag headings, chapters, etc with Heading Style 1. Note that ePubs do not have page numbers, Headers or Footers. You also have to remember that they can be read on anything from cellphone to a PC.
Well, make each image maximum 6 inches in width and 96 dpi and see the result.
I see your point though, but there is a way to make a book of images look good despite the restrictions.
That's a good idea, but the pictures are designed to be printed on a full 8.5 x 11 page. The problem isn't that they are too wide, it's that they are too long when viewed on widescreen. And I don't know what epub readers will allow what kind of printing. I do know .pdf you just click print and select what page you want to print.
Imagine trying to publish a book full of teacher's worksheets that include high resolution graphics in .epub. I don't believe it's possible.
Thanks, yes I added a title and copyright page with the proper style headings, and it passed through, and is now published.
The problem is that if I make the images small enough to fit to any device, they won't print well. This book is not designed to be read - it's designed to be printed. Amazon, ibook etc evidently aren't interested in that kind of book - i.e. a book full of activities for kids, coloring books, crossword puzzles, etc.
You are right. However, I have done it for teachers, university professors, etc.
Get rid of the images (of sheets) and all tabs, sacrifice the layout and publish as straight text. Simplify everything.
Hmm...crossword puzzles and activities... just reduce the size of the images to 4x 5 inches and publish as epub. It's up to the parents if they want to buy it. It's possible.
Thanks maggie, I will try it.
If this works, will customers be able to print just one 'page' (picture) at a time from an epub reader? I downloaded every one I could find and none of them print, yet lulu's product page says 'printable: yes'.
I don't want people to have to print 100 pictures to get the one they want!
I'm not sure if they can print individual epub "pages." Take one epub and test it on your device.
Calibre allows you to print.
However, there is absolutely no print capabilities on my Nook. Also, EPUBs do not allow people to interact - i.e. complete crossword puzzles in situ.
For this type of content, I would suggest you stick to PDF format.
I believe I'll stay with pdf.
You do not need an ISBN for the PDF.
The problem is that if I make the images small enough to fit to any device, they won't print well. This book is not designed to be read - it's designed to be printed.
Printed? I don't think people buy ePubs for that, they buy them to read. I doubt most e-reading devices even have a print option.
Amazon, ibook etc evidently aren't interested in that kind of book - i.e. a book full of activities for kids, coloring books, crossword puzzles, etc.
Well they sort of are. You can publish almost whatever you want and even via KDP or CreateSpace which are Amazon's self-publishing POD arms. (Interestingly enough, Amazon staff even seem to read content before they pass them).
If you mean that Amazon does not support e-books that can be printed out? they don't because Kindles do not have a print option that I know off.
PDFs do have that option (unless being read on a device with no printer output or drivers), but Lulu do not distribute PDFs and Amazon do not stock them.
I think there's a newer version of ePub types, but I am not sure what it is capable of, however Lulu do not support it yet.
Of course the easy answer is to recreate your PDF as a Printed book that can have an ISBN and distribution then buyers do not have to print it off.
ISBNs are tagged to individual books and are unique to them, and cannot be used for any other book, but you are not losing it, you simply have no need of that one once Deleted/Withdrawn, and as Maggie says, PDFs here cannot have an ISBN or Distribution.
There's a new program, Playwrite. A native EPUB desktop publishing program. It's for OS X so if you have a Mac this could work.
That may work for direct upload to Apple but I doubt it will work at Lulu.


text:
La nazionale di rugby a 7 femminile dell'Australia è la selezione femminile che rappresenta l'Australia a livello internazionale nel rugby a 7.

L'Australia ha vinto l'edizione inaugurale della Coppa del Mondo femminile disputata a Dubai nel 2009, sconfiggendo in finale la  col punteggio 15-10. La nazionale australiana partecipa inoltre stabilmente alle World Rugby Sevens Series femminili fin dalla loro istituzione nel 2012, vincendo l'edizione 2015-16 dopo tre vittorie consecutive della Nuova Zelanda.

Le australiane hanno anche vinto il torneo olimpico inaugurale di rugby a 7, in occasione dei Giochi di Rio de Janeiro 2016, sconfiggendo in finale la Nuova Zelanda 24-17.

Palmarès
 Giochi olimpici
 Rio de Janeiro 2016: medaglia d'oro
 Coppa del Mondo di rugby a 7: 1
2009
 World Rugby Sevens Series femminili: 2
2015-16, 2017-18
 Giochi del Commonwealth
Gold Coast 2018: medaglia d'argento
Giochi del Pacifico
Port Moresby 2015: medaglia d'argento
Apia 2019: medaglia d'argento
Oceania Women's Sevens: 4
2008, 2013, 2016, 2018

Partecipazioni ai principali tornei internazionali

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Australia

Rugby a 7

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


As a gun needs cartridges to shoot, printer needs printer cartridges to print. Printer is no longer a pc accessory. It's no further an optional stuff. Today everyone prefers to get a printer when they purchase a computer. Printer has mostly reduced the hand written reports. Print outs are far more preferred, whether in office or in school, since it is more convenient to learn and even take less time to write than it is written by hand. But how these printer prints? Printer prints on paper with ink. The ink in these printers is in the shape of the printer cartridges. Let us deal with this particular mystery and reveal it.
You will find various types of printers. They're the dot matrix printer, inkjet printer, laser printer etc. Although all the printers do the exact same job that's printing, their preferences are varied. Some wish to choose a dot matrix printer as they could print multiple pages through carbon copies while some 3D Printer may want to go for laser printers because the dot matrix printer are too noisy. Dot matrix printer makes a lot of noise while printing on the paper. Dot matrix printers working are similar to the working of a type writer. Whatever could be the kind of printer, printer cartridge is needed. Several types of printer uses different printer cartridges.
Printer cartridge is really the ink that prints characters on the paper. It's the fundamental tool for the printer to work. Whether a printer is in the home or in office, printer cartridge is essential to create mark on the papers. Printer cartridges include toner, ink refill, ink, and inkjet printer ink and high quality cartridges. Allow me to offer you a technical overview on printer and how does it work? Printers are basically endowed with an appartment ribbon that strikes and make an impact on the paper in the proper execution of letters. The ink flows from the storage of ink in the printer to the ribbon. Malfunctioning of the ribbon make the printer disables to print characters on paper. Sometime some letters are missed when such happens.
Printer cartridges should continually be selected cautiously. Go for the discounted printer cartridge but never compromise on its quality. Quality printer cartridge can give you the best performance in printing. Additionally there are color printers that print in colors. Colored printers have different printer cartridges. Printer is playing a vital role in today's economy. The success of your business in ways can rely on the printed paper that is depended on the printer cartridge. Your organization document will reflect your efficiency and competence in the business. If your printer cartridge is negative at producing quality printing then it would create a bad impression you client. It will even risk your deal to be finalized. So check always for the printer cartridge in order to avoid such redundant situation.
Keep excess printer cartridges in store. While printing some important documents, if your printer runs out of ink, what might you do? May very well not have sufficient time to buy new printer cartridge. So keep with you printer cartridge in surplus to avoid such situations.


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"Internet Site" shall mean the website <www.auxmundus.com> and all other websites connected to it and accessible through links or other access paths and the services available through such sites.
The parties hereby agree that this policy, together with any other documents forming an integral part of this policy shall be construed in accordance with the Laws of Valencia –España, and shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Courts of Valencia.


text:
Q: wget works for commandline but not in PHP I'm trying to access some remote web sites within my PHP script, but the script keeps timing out.
It only fails when run on the test web server, but not on the production web server.
The script works just fine when accessing most other URLs, e.g. stackoverflow.com, or www.google.com.
I've tried it with the PHP commands file_get_contents($url), as well as exec("wget $url") and exec("curl $url"), all of which fail. Again, most sites work fine, just not the ones I actually want.
I can access the remote sites on the command-line via wget and curl. Even the PHP script works from the command-line! So I know the script works.
The script works when run on our production web server. But it doesn't work when it runs on the test web server.
It appears that there is something peculiar about a GET request from the test server to the remote sites only when comes from Apache, but not the command-line.
How do I diagnose this problem?

A: Here are a few things to consider:

*

*Different system users for command line and web server.

*Proxy server configuration (sometimes done via environment variables).

*Different network (DNS, routing, firewall, etc) configurations for test and production servers.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The integrated ganging frame of this stacking table makes it easy to create perfect rows for seminars and special events.
Looking for desks that are easy to move around and store? DUET Stacking Student Desks are the perfect solution. Their simple, straightforward design is available in an attractive array of hues, which will brighten up any learning space. With the ability to stack up to five high on the floor, it's incredibly easy to clean up the classroom or set up for a special event.
Stacking classroom tables can really work for your study space. With all of the hype around teamwork and small-group collaboration, having tables that can easily be moved around is a huge advantage. Transitioning from a seminar setup, to a group discussion, to individual work is a breeze, especially if you invest in the optional dolly, which can store and transport up to 20 tables at a time.
Convenient Design: Integrated ganging in the frame of the chair allows you to create straight, connected rows.
Efficient Storage: Stacks up to 5 high on the floor, and up to 20 high on optional dolly.
Attractive Choices: Comes in a beautiful range of bright and classic colors.
Non Scratch: Bumpers on the underside of the desks prevent scratching when tables are stacked.
Clean Floors: Clear polycarbonate glides prevent damage to floors, while keeping desks firmly in place.
Perfect Fit: Matches perfectly with DUET Stacking Chairs.


Link Building vs. Content Marketing? Choose the Right One for Your Business When it comes to developing a strategy for your online business or website, sooner or later you will be facing these two ways. Let me define briefly what each strategy is about: Basically, link building means advertising your site's address in other places.


Alrighty, thanks for tuning in last night, I hope you enjoyed the show! Big ups to Ford Audio for letting me broadcast his set from Bass[sic] too, I'm sure you all agree it was bangin'!
Nice one gang! Make sure you tune in to the next Hubie Sounds on Tuesday 24th April @ 9pm UK time – live and direct on NSB Radio!
This entry was posted on 11 April, 2012 at 2:05 pm and is filed under Downloads.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.


text:
There was a buzz about making money
Bob White — November 7, 2014
There was a buz z in the barbershop; they were talking about a person, any person that doesn't like their name in a newspaper.
Professor said "If you don't like when your name is mentioned in a newspaper all you have to do is call the newspaper, or send them a letter stating, "Dear Editor, my name is Barack Obama. You mentioned my name in Community Contact, I don't like this; do not mention my name any more. Thank you, Barack Obama."
That's all anyone has to do; it's very simple. There was an "Amen" in the barbershop.
Or, if you don't like your name in Community Contact, and you're Joe and Yvonne at St. Mary's Hospital, who on their break will visit a patient if they hear a patient doesn't get any visits. All they have to do is call or send a letter to Community Contact and tell of the good work they've been doing for years at St. Mary's Hospital. And don't print our name again.
This goes for the lovely Lena Lane, who also is the greatest at the Montreal general Hospital. She works for the housekeeping department. On her break, she will visit a patient to spread some joy. And millionaire Richard Thomas who now takes time out from making money to visit their friend Byron Chichester at Julius Richardson Rehab.
Most people usually visit when they hear that you're laying in a box at the funeral home. People don't want to take a few minutes out of their day to visit someone who is alive; they are too busy being busy.
Professor said, "If you want to learn about love and compassion, talk with Lena Layne at
Montreal General Hospital or call St. Mary's Hospital and ask for Joe and Yvonne.
A lot of people don't want their names in the newspaper and they are right. Like the longest-serving president of the Black Studies Center; or the former president of the Negro Community Centre who received $500,000 from the city of Montréal; or the people on the 'board' of the Union United Church who are always doing a fundraiser for a church that they do not own; they do not own the property and never will. God bless the child that has his own. I'll say it again, "God bless the child that has his own."
There is no statue of Oscar Peterson, like there is a big one in Ottawa."
Money raised his hand and said, "Richard 'the millionaire' Thomas can tell you there is a statistic that all entrepreneurs know: over 90 percent of all new business fail in the first three years. To be successful you must implement good systems and a process, proper systems that a high school dropout can understand.
When people ask how did you become successful, your answer would be "positioning and strategy consulting."
Welfare Wesley said, "A lot of people do not know who Steve Ballmer is, but Novel Thomas knows. Steve is the guy who replaced Bill Gates as CEO of Microsoft."
Dropout asked "Why is this important to us in Montreal?"
Welfare Wesley said, "Now I know why they call you Dropout. If a guy like Steve Ballmer can replace Bill Gates as CEO, the NCC, the Union United Church and the Black Studies Centre could have learned from this and they would be still there, serving the population of 180,000 Black Montrealers."
Motion said, "Maybe that song Sam Cooke sang "A change is gonna come" might be true.
In the Gazette October 18, 2014, Life term in Florida for car music shooting Jacksonville, Florida.
A man convicted of first-degree murder for fatally shooting a teenager during an intense argument over the volume of music coming from a sport utility vehicle outside a Florida convenience store was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole. Michael Dunn, 47, was convicted of first-degree murder at a second trial in September after jurors deadlocked on the charge at his initial trial in February. Prosecutors say Dunn, who is white fired 10 times into an SUV carrying Black teenagers in November 2012 and killed Jordan Davis, 17, of Marietta, GA. Dunn claimed he was acting in self-defense.
Nathan said, "Ellis MacDaniel would have loved this verdict. Who is Ellis MacDaniel? He used the stage name Bo Diddley."
Welfare Wesley put up his hand, he said, "The two greatest female tennis players in the world, or maybe ever, are Serena and Venus Williams. Well, the Williams sisters subject of slur (Oct. 18, 2014 Gazette) in St. Petersburg, Fla. Russian tennis federation President Shamil Tarpischev has been fined $25,000 by the WTA Tour and suspended from tour involvement for a year for questioning Venus and Serena Williams gender in "insulting comments on Russian television." The WTA Tour said Friday, Tarpischev owes Venus and Serena Williams a personal apology.
Rufus said, "You have to start with why? Would he have said it if the Williams', the greatest female tennis players in the world, were White?
There was a discussion in the barbershop.
WannaBee said he was thinking about opening a barbershop downtown.
Money asked him, "Downtown, where?"
WannaBee said, "On St. Catherine Street."
Money asked him "Where on St. Catherine Street?"
WannaBee said, "Between Guy Street and Fort Street; there are some For Rent signs I saw."
Money said, "You don't have any money for those locations."
WannaBee looked at him and said, "You're a hater, how do you know how much money I have."
"Money" said, "You must be on some kind of medication."
WannaBee said, "You're jealous of me."
"Money" said, "Let me give you some real talk. There used to be a supermarket on St. Catherine Street, just west of Guy Street, there rentals $421,000 a month. A hamburger restaurant just opened three months ago, across the street from 3 Amigos Restaurant, they pay $30,000 a month. And you say that you want to open a barbershop in one of those empty locations? Now the overhead is not included in the rent."
Crystal said, "Let's make it clear. This is prime property, like the NCC and Black Studies centre. It all goes back to Community Contact June 12, 2014 "How do we navigate and raise our game?" Certainly not with the way WannaBee is thinking."
"Dropout" said, "You have to think big."
"Money" said, "Yes, but you have to think and dream big with your feet on the ground and start with a plan and a process. Start with why. This will get you to what."
Welfare Wesley put up his hand, he said, "I don't buy Montreal's only English daily, because I don't see articles like Charmine Nelson, all positive, September 4-18 Community Contact.
"Yardie" said, "My favorite singer John Holt is gone, he was only 64 years young. He will always be remembered. Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Burning Spear, they were great."
Welfare Wesley, said to Dropout "I know this rich guy, he has a lot of Real Estate, I went to school with him, like I said, he's very rich, when I run in to him downtown early, he takes me for breakfast at IKEA, the breakfast costs one dollar, and the place is always busy. And it's obvious, it's only one dollar for breakfast.
Genius was talking about the Union United Church Men's Concert, and the performance by Wendy Davidson. He aid if she would stop by the barbershop, he would tell her that the Ways and Means Committee will manage her career, because she was the highlight of the Union United church concert that was held at Trinity Church. If she wants to sing for a hobby-good-do not stops by the barbershop, because we are serious people here, said Genius, we get to the Y, and solve all of the local and international problems.
Now this is Real talk. Dr. Leo W. Bentley was right when he said, "Union Church is one of the cornerstones on which the modern Black population of Montreal is founded. Community Contact October 23, 2014.
Everybody was talking how great Wendy Davidson looked in Community Contact October 23, 2014.
Genius said "I read that article by Yvonne Sam October 23, 2014 – We Can Do Better, it was excellent, but she did not say how. We can do better? Oh my God said "I read that article by Novel Thomas, about race, Big Money, Hypocrisy, Jealousy and sour grapes. It was great – that article should be in all the Newspapers in North America/there was an Amen in the barbershop from all the regulars in the barbershop.
There was a minute of silence for the late Connie Gordon; he was a good guy.
"We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day…"
The late Connie Gordon is gone to a better world.
There was an Amen from the Ways and Means Committee.
Next post No Shoes Petra: What do we really need…
Previous post What's love got to do with it?
About the Author Bob White
Bob White has been in this town too long to be taken for granted. A born Montrealer, he is uncompromising in his desire to see our community take its place as a strong and viable group in Quebec. Through his foundation, Westend Sports Association, he has helped dozens of Montreal youth attend universities in the U.S. and Canada, and built an impressive philanthropic network. His take-no-prisoner columns have won him a massive following.
Quebec's values test is insulting and dangerous
A NEW YEAR, SAME BATTLES…?
Novel Thomas, January 13, 2020
Do you have 20/20 vision in this year 2020?
Pastor Julianna, January 13, 2020

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Emulate Infotech Pvt. Ltd. (EIPL) is an well established IT company with 9+ years of delivering IT Solution & Services of any complexity to clients world wide. Our customers are companies starting from startup ventures to some of the very large organizations, we cater to all sizes who realize that they need a professional IT solution & services to which help them generate revenue streams, establish a strong communication channel and streamline business operations. We offer our dependable solutions & ideas to our client on the basis of their business requirement, where in we combine business domain knowledge with technology, our proven way of working gives us the command to deliver high quality results in a cost - effective manner to maximize your competitive advantage and productivity. Emulate Infotech versatility gives you the full range of IT services from a single, proven source, the company today soars high in terms of new and innovative service offering profitability and it is looking forward to run and leverage solutions that help businesses to succeed in a rapidly changing and challenging world.
Emulate Infotech have expertise in custom, be spoke software development, specialized products, IT services and custom end to end solutions to our enterprise customers.
Emulate Infotech objective is to be in front of the clients needs, deeply understanding clients business goal and objectives ,delivering and optimizing IT solutions from the initial phase requirements to the final delivery, maintenance and steady upgrade.
Emulate is an information technology and software consulting services firm dedicated to serve cost-effective solutions to large clients base.
Our expert team of professionals don't work on the cutting edge they define it. Our great reputation for quality of being outstanding and delivery is a direct reflection of our people. Emulate Infotech objective is to carve a position in the forefront, and continuing aim to secure the trust of our clients. Our Motto is to perform duties and services of our clients with perfection.


text:
Tag: saleem
Police arrest four including PPM council member for attacking ferry captain
Police have arrested four men including a Council Member of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), Maaz Saleem, over the alleged assault of an airport ferry captain.
According to a police account of the incident in local media, Saleem allegedly instructed the group to attack the ferry captain after accusing him of stealing a bag containing an iPad.
"We have received information that Saleem accused the captain of stealing the bag. He then got off the ferry and returned with a group and assaulted the captain," a police spokesperson told newspaper Haveeru.
Police eventually took Saleem and his three companions into custody, as well as the injured ferry captain.
PPM MP Ahmed Nihan said the reported arrest of Saleem was a personal matter and was not anything to do with the party.
He said that he had been informed of the arrest at about 12:25am by a party supporter that "something went wrong" outside at the jetty near the Nasandhura Palace Hotel involving a computer or tablet device, but had no further details at time of press.
Nihan added that Saleem had not been directly involved with PPM campaigning since the party's primary election earlier this year, that saw MP Abdulla Yameen elected as its presidential candidate.
Posted on July 14, 2013 July 14, 2013 Author JJ RobinsonCategories PoliticsTags maldives, maldives news, minivan, minivan news, ppm, saleem3 Comments on Police arrest four including PPM council member for attacking ferry captain
Island Aviation Service MD sacked
Island Aviation Services (IAS) today sacked its Managing Director Bandhu Ibrahim Saleem, allegedly by text message.
According to Haveeru, however, Saleem will remain at the company's board.
IAS Commercial Director Ahmed Zuhair has been assigned as the acting head of the company, Haveeru reports.
IAS this year was scheduled to receive Kaadehdhoo airport in Gaaf Dhaal Atoll for development. However the hand-over was not carried out.
IAS offices and the ministries of Finance and Economic Development had not responded to phone calls at time of press.
Posted on December 27, 2011 Author Minivan NewsCategories News in BriefTags IAS, maldives, Managing Director IAS, minivan news, saleem1 Comment on Island Aviation Service MD sacked
PPM to protest for 'protection' of judiciary
Weeks after the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said it would protest over the political compromising of judicial independence by members of the former government, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has said it protest "to protect" the judiciary.
PPM Council member Ahmed Saleem today told Minivan News that the PPM's decision came following attempts made by the current government "to influence the judiciary."
"The government recently has clearly said that they will not allow any trial to be conducted if it is not going the way they want," Saleem alleged. "There are many persons who have been sued in the current government and they do not want their cases to be trialed, that is the reason why they are trying to influence the judiciary."
Saleem said PPM had decided "to be on standby" to come out and protest, although the party had not decided any on specific time or date.
"A case concerning a Criminal Court Judge is currently in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the government is attempting to influence it as well," he claimed. "We will not let it happen."
Recently the JSC completed its investigation into the alleged misconduct of Chief Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed.
The case against Abdulla Mohamed was presented to the JSC in January 2010 by former President's member of the JSC, Aishath Velezinee, after Abdulla Mohamed appeared on private TV station DhiTV and expressed "biased political views".
In 2005, then Attorney General Dr Hassan Saeed forwarded to the President's Office concerns about the conduct of Abdulla Mohamed after he requested that an underage victim of sexual abuse reenact her abuse for the court.
In 2009 following the election of the current government, those documents were sent to the JSC.
Last week MDP Chairperson and MP 'Reeko' Moosa Manik and other senior officials including former President of the party Ibrahim Ismail 'Ibra' held a press conference where Moosa said that no rulings made by Abdulla Mohamed should be implemented.
Speaking during the press conference, Ibra said that there were many cases pending in the JSC against Abdulla Mohamed, and that this was the first such case to be concluded.
Posted on November 20, 2011 Author Ahmed NazeerCategories PoliticsTags Ibra, judiciary, maldives, maldives news, Maldivian Democratic Party, MDP, Moosa Manik, Mraz saleem, ppm, Progressive Party of Maldives, protest, saleem5 Comments on PPM to protest for 'protection' of judiciary
President of HRCM departs for Geneva
President of the Human Rights Commission Maldives (HRCM) Ahmed Saleem left for Geneva to take part in the 23rd session of the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to be held in Geneva from 22-25 March, reports Miadhu.
There will be 169 participants in the conference, representing National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) from all around the world.
Issues concerning NHRIs will be discussed, including challenges and developments in the engagement with regional human rights mechanisms, challenges for NHRIs in monitoring international obligations, the role of NHRIs in the protection of gender/women and child related issues, developments on the UN Draft Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, human rights and business, and HIV related issues.
There will also be regional meetings, recommendations from international human rights bodies and discussions on emerging developments in human rights.
Posted on March 25, 2010 Author Minivan NewsCategories News in BriefTags geneva, HRCM, human rights, ICC NHRI, maldives news, saleem
US State Department critical of women's rights in the Maldives
Human rights in the Maldives have "continued to improve from the previous year, although some issues remain" according to the 2009 Country Report on Human Rights Practices published by the United States' Department of State.
The report, published on 11 March, describes a case reported last September by detainees at Maafushi jail to the Human Rights Commission Maldives (HRCM) where "members of the Emergency Support Group (ESG)… indiscriminately attacked detainees."
President of HRCM Ahmed Saleem said they have "received less complaints than in the past" regarding abuse of detainees.
Under the heading of "Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment" the report reads "the law prohibits such practices, although there were reports of mistreatment of persons by security forces."
Saleem said the Maldives had endured "a culture of torture" for many years, "but things have changed and are still changing."
On the unequal treatment of women, the report cites that "In 2008 the Ministry of Gender and Family released data showing an increase in the reported cases of violence against women, although NGOs believed that most cases remained unreported."
Saleem said "in this country women enjoy more rights than in other countries," noting that "women have been voting here for as long as I can remember."
Saleem added that the United States still hasn't ratified the international Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
"Ninety-nine countries have signed it," Saleem said, "but not the United States."
The report also states that "Under [Maldivian] law, spousal rape is not a crime" and "There are no laws in force regarding domestic violence against women or workplace harassment, nor were there firm data on the extent of violence against women."
Saleem responded to this by saying that "domestic violence is a crime anywhere" and reiterated that the "population of Maldives is unique" and women enjoy many rights that women in other countries do not have.
Another point of concern shown in the report was that of the judicial system releasing known pedophiles back into the communities of their victims.
The report reads "The [Judicial Service Commission] JSC did not publicise deliberations or make recommendations on the hiring, dismissal, or discipline of judges during the year."
The report says that according to the Maldives Police Service (MPS) "from January to March, 34 cases of child sexual abuse were reported, and 23 pedophiles were arrested."
It also stated that there was an increase in the reporting of child abuse cases, which the MPS attributed to growing public awareness.
Saleem said the HRCM "is not in favour of the government releasing any criminal unless they are fit to live in society" and have been through a rehabilitation programme.
He added that the HRCM is "sending reports" to change these practices and "things are happening. But it's not as quick as we want it to be."
The Department of State's report further reads "The law does not provide for freedom of religion and significantly restricts it" but only cited one case suggesting that a lack of freedom of religion could be seen as a human rights issue in the Maldives.
The report said that as the Ministry of Islamic Affairs has sole authority to grant preaching licenses, they requested the police investigate an independent prayer group led by unlicensed preachers. This could be seen as an infringement on the group's rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association (section 2b of the report).
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs said the reason for the investigation was the threat of religious extremism.
The last major concern in the report was the rights of workers, mainly foreign labour workers.
According to the report, the HRCM had reported "some domestic workers, especially migrant female domestic workers, were in some cases trapped in circumstances bordering on forced labor in which employers used threats and intimidation to prevent them from leaving."
The report adds that "In December 2008 the government established a Labour Relations Authority and a Labour Tribunal to implement the new Employment Law."
The Tribunal did not begin functioning until April 2009 due to budgetary constraints and lack of office space.
When asked what he thought of the changes in human rights practices in the country, Saleem said "as far as civil rights go, we are a changed country."
Posted on March 14, 2010 March 14, 2010 Author Laura Restrepo OrtegaCategories Society & CultureTags annual report, country report on human rights, HRCM, human rights, maldives news, saleem, US department of state, women's rights12 Comments on US State Department critical of women's rights in the Maldives
Government claims Reeko Moosa alcohol bust was "a set up"
Police are investigating an incident in which 168 bottles of alcohol were discovered last night in a car registered to Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP 'Reeko' Moosa Manik, on the same day controversial liquor licensing regulations were unveiled by the Ministry of Economic Development.
Sergeant Abdul Muhsin from the Maldives Police Service said four foreigners had been arrested over the incident, including three Sri Lankans and one Indian man. The investigation is ongoing, he noted.
Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said he had spoken with police about the incident "and it looks like a set up."
"Whoever brought that booze out from their warehouse knew it would be confiscated. The brands are not what you would call hot sellers – it was menthol gin and watered-down whiskey."
Sergeant Muhsin identified the seized bottles as 'King Roberts' gin and 'Muirhead' whiskey.
Zuhair said he suspect the foreigners had been bribed "and were connected to certain political opponents of Moosa Manik, owing to the fact he is currently in Singapore."
Adhil Saleem, State Minister for Economics Development, said he believed the incident to be "a very childish attack to damage [Moosa's] reputation."
"The same thing happened to me over the allegations I was found in a guest house with bottles of vodka and underage girls," Adhil said. "This is another attempt to damage a political opponent."
DRP Vice President Ibrahim Shareef said he was "not surprised" at the case, "but I doubt it will go very far."
"There have been many similar incidents in the past," he noted, "and in the worst case scenario Reeko's driver will be implicated and that will be the end of the story."
He said he "was sure" the incident was not a set up.
Vice President of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Umar Naseer said the bottles were connected to Moosa and that last night people had witnessed the actions of "one of the six top drug dealers in the Maldives."
"Of course the bottles were connected to Moosa," Umar said. "How could somebody drive or carry something in his car without his knowledge?"
MP of DRP coalition partner the People's Alliance (PA) Abdul Azeez Jamal Abu Bakru claimed that Zuhair's words were not trustworthy and that the bottles must have belonged to Reeko Moosa or someone close to him.
"Why would somebody put the bottles inside Moosa's car and try and blame him for it while he is not even in the Maldives?" he said.
Azeez added that furthermore he had information that the bottles "were supplied to celebrate the new regulations allowing alcohol on inhabited islands."
PA Secretary General Ahmed Shareef said he would not comment on the issue.
News of the find is believed to have fuelled additional protests last night over the liquor licensing regulations published by the Ministry of Economic Development. One protest outside Iskandhar Koshi police base was eventually subdued with tear gas.
Posted on February 24, 2010 February 24, 2010 Author JJ RobinsonCategories PoliticsTags alcohol, liquor licensing, MDP, reeko moosa, saleem, set up15 Comments on Government claims Reeko Moosa alcohol bust was "a set up"
Besieged HRCM renews calls for Truth and Reconciliation Commission
The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has renewed calls for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in the Maldives, after coming under attack for failing to address the custodial abuse of political dissidents prior to 2002.
During the launch of the 'Torture Victims Association' NGO on Saturday night, MDP MP and founder 'Reeko' Moosa Manik threatened to call for the dismissal of HCRM's president Ahmed Saleem in the parliament.
"We've come out for justice for the torture we went through before 2002. If you can't do it, why don't you resign and go home," he demanded.
At a press conference today, Saleem said that "since we are an institution working for human rights, we will give support to anyone working for human rights – our law compels us to protect and promote human rights, so [the TVA] will get our support and cooperation. But it should not be political."
Yesterday the DRP accused the MDP of forming the TVA in an attempt to motivate its activists by uniting them against former president Abdul Maumoon Gayoom. Today Saleem emphasised that such an NGO cold only be justified "as long as there is no politics involved, as long as there's some sincerity in what they're doing. Already there's a network of NGOs that we support, so it's like any other… we will support it if it is genuinely working for human rights."
However he added that "it's is not our mandate to look into the type of allegations they're making – we don't talk about things that happened before a certain date. The main reason this is happening is, in truth, if there is no democratic system in a country for too long, [human rights abuses] will happen."
Furthermore, he claimed, "we have to consider national unity, the state of the nation and if it's the right thing to do. I would say this is a very dangerous time for the country's future – as a small, homogeneous Islamic nation the Maldives cannot afford such bitter divisions."
Although HRCM's mandate did not extend past 2000, he said, the commission could technically investigate human rights abuses before that. But, he said, HRCM had to "consider the consequences of such an investigation."
Instead, he reiterated his earlier call for a South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), "with powers to conduct investigations, take witness statements and issue pardons in exchange for testimony.
"The Human Rights Commission does not have these kind of powers – the two things that are needed most for it are the powers to issue judgements and pardons. We don't have either of these powers and neither does any human rights commission anywhere in the world."
A TRC would demand the cooperation and participation "of all political parties, to move beyond the past."
He added that the commission was concerned about the current unstable political atmosphere and the polarisation of Maldivian society, and stressed that a truth and reconcilation process should not be politicised.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Ahmed Shaheed today said he supported the concept of a TRC, but noted that a "blanket amnesty is illegal under international law."
"The UN said it would not associate with the Sierra Leone amnesty in 1999. But yes, the notion that we need to address past grievances, find the truth, and through process of finding the truth find redress, is important. I think as the year progresses the idea will develop," he said.
Three assessments on the human rights situation in the Maldives, produced by the government, HRCM and a coalition of NGOs, will be presented to a UN council in November this year. Shaheed said he hoped the government's draft would be ready for public review by early February.
Posted on January 13, 2010 January 13, 2010 Author JJ RobinsonCategories Society & CultureTags DRP, guns and roses, HRCM, maldives news, MDP, saleem, torture, TVA, victims18 Comments on Besieged HRCM renews calls for Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Forced labour and discrimination rife in the Maldives, claims report
Forced labour is a "serious problem" in the Maldives and a sign that the government is not fulfilling its obligations as a member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), claims a report into the country's labour and trade union policies by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
The report, produced for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in October, found a "relatively large number of forced labour-type situations among migrant workers and female domestic workers in the Maldives."
"Domestic workers, especially migrant female domestic workers, are sometimes trapped in situations of forced labour and are in many cases forbidden from leaving the employers' home through threats and other means," the report said, citing figures from the 2009 report of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives.
"It is estimated that the number of migrant workers has almost tripled during the past five years and there are more than 80,000 migrant workers in the country, equivalent to
around 26 per cent of the population. While many are not in a situation to be defined as bonded labour or forced labour, many other labourers from neighbouring countries pay
large sums as commissions to receive employment in the Maldives and often are not in a position to quit their job before they have paid back the sums of money borrowed."
"I think there's some truth in it, particularly with female workers from Sri Lanka and India finding themselves in situations where they are not being paid, or not able to limit their working hours," said President of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) Ahmed Saleem.
Children were particularly at risk, the report noted, with some of those migrating to Male from the outer islands for educational purposes finding themselves forced to work as informal domestic workers in exchange for accommodation and food.
"The house work done by such children is not voluntary in the cases where their continued stay in such houses depends on such children obediently doing house work as required by the owners of houses," the report found, adding that child labour was also reported in the fishing industry.
Saleem said he had not heard of such practices in the fishing industry, but noted that when people living on the islands sent children to study in Male "many places will provide food and pay expenses, and in return the [child] may feel obliged to do work."
There were many advertisements for such arrangements in local newspapers, he observed.
The report also lambasted the government for failing to implement the prohibitions in the Constitution and Employment Act against workplace discrimination, especially regarding women.
"Women face discrimination at the workplace and in society, a problem which the government has failed to address in any satisfactory way," the report said.
"At certain workplaces it is not permitted to get married or pregnant as this would lead to a termination of employment or change of job, and the complete absence of child care facilities forces many women to leave their job once their first child is born."
Aishath Velezinee, member of the Judicial Services Commission, questioned whether this occurred and noted that the Maldives' lack of childcare facilities stemmed from the culture historically relying on extended families for this purpose.
"Until lifestyles and ways of living began to change, there hasn't been a need for it," she said.
As for sexual harassment, another area highlighted in the report, "it exists but there is also a bill being drafted. I would say the state is addressing the issue."
Discrimination based on sex was similar to that based on perceived cultural and profession hierarchies, she said.
"People don't seem to understand the concept; they see [discrimination] as a cultural thing. It is a big issue: we don't seem to understand the discrimination as it is meant in the Constitution or as it is expected in a democratic country."
Even in the Supreme Court, she said, junior staff were made to take off their shoes and either wear slippers or go barefoot to protect the soft marble floors while senior staff could wear shoes.
The report also noted that women were prevented from working at many resorts because of their remote locations, as it was not considered socially acceptable for young unmarried females to stay on resorts for long durations.
"Traditionally women are disadvantaged in the Maldives, particularly in the application of Shari'a law in matters such as divorce, education, inheritance, and testimony in legal proceedings," the report said, a state of affairs Velezinee admitted was "true".
Saleem however observed that the Maldives treated women far better than other Islamic cultures, "where many [women] would describe themselves as slaves and sex objects."
"Maldivian women have had voting rights since time immemorial. I'm not saying anything is perfect, but I think we have done more than other Islamic countries," he said.
Furthermore, the report claimed that the Constitution and Employment Act contained no provisions allowing workers to collectively bargain, and despite the presence of active workers' organisations such as the Tourism Employees' Association of Maldives (TEAM) and the Teachers' Association of the Maldives (TAM) the country had yet to formally recognise any trade unions.
"Strikes have been suppressed and encountered violent reactions from the the police [in the past]," the report said, observing that "freedom of association is still far from common practice."
The right to collective bargaining "should be integrated [into the Constitution and Employment Act] now the Maldives is a member of the ILO," the report urged.
"It must be the primary priority of the Maldives to ratify and fully implement the eight core ILO conventions and bring its labour law and practice in line with international labour standards."
Saleem agreed: "Everyone knows the Employment Act needs changes. The Labour Ministry has said it will look at the recommendations we made [on the subject], but it has been two months. It's time the government made it a priority – the Labour Minister has a lot of work to do."
Posted on December 30, 2009 December 30, 2009 Author JJ RobinsonCategories Society & CultureTags constitution, discrimination, HRCM, labour ministry, saleem, sexual harassment, velezinee


text:
Nationwide epidemiological survey of early chronic pancreatitis in Japan
Research Committee of Intractable Pancreatic Diseases in Japan
Background: The world's first diagnostic criteria for early CP were proposed in 2009 in Japan. This study aimed to clarify the clinico-epidemiological features of early CP in Japan. Methods: Patients with early CP who were diagnosed according to the diagnostic criteria for early CP and had visited the selected hospitals in 2011 were surveyed. The study consisted of two-stage surveys: the number of patients with early CP was estimated by the first questionnaire and their clinical features were assessed by the second questionnaire. Results: The estimated number of early CP patients was 5410 (95% confidence interval 3675–6945), with an overall prevalence of 4.2 per 100,000 persons. The number of patients who were newly diagnosed with early CP was estimated to be 1330 (95% confidence interval 1058–1602), with an annual incidence of 1.0 per 100,000 persons. Detailed clinical information was obtained in 151 patients in the second survey. The male-to-female sex ratio was 1.32:1. The mean age was 60.4 and the mean age at disease onset was 55.4. Idiopathic (47.7%) and alcoholic (45.0%) were the two most common etiologies. Proportions of female and idiopathic cases were higher in early CP than in definite CP. Hyperechoic foci without shadowing and stranding were the most common findings on endoscopic ultrasonography. The clinical profiles of early CP patients who showed lobularity with honeycombing on endoscopic ultrasonography or previous episodes of acute pancreatitis were similar to those of definite CP patients. Conclusions: We clarified the current status of early CP in Japan.
Journal of gastroenterology
Chronic Pancreatitis
Endosonography
Research Committee of Intractable Pancreatic Diseases in Japan (2017). Nationwide epidemiological survey of early chronic pancreatitis in Japan. Journal of gastroenterology, 52(8), 992-1000. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-017-1311-8
Nationwide epidemiological survey of early chronic pancreatitis in Japan. / Research Committee of Intractable Pancreatic Diseases in Japan.
In: Journal of gastroenterology, Vol. 52, No. 8, 01.08.2017, p. 992-1000.
Research Committee of Intractable Pancreatic Diseases in Japan 2017, 'Nationwide epidemiological survey of early chronic pancreatitis in Japan', Journal of gastroenterology, vol. 52, no. 8, pp. 992-1000. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-017-1311-8
Research Committee of Intractable Pancreatic Diseases in Japan. Nationwide epidemiological survey of early chronic pancreatitis in Japan. Journal of gastroenterology. 2017 Aug 1;52(8):992-1000. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-017-1311-8
Research Committee of Intractable Pancreatic Diseases in Japan. / Nationwide epidemiological survey of early chronic pancreatitis in Japan. In: Journal of gastroenterology. 2017 ; Vol. 52, No. 8. pp. 992-1000.
@article{ca00f3fad7264ac18a70055b22527151,
title = "Nationwide epidemiological survey of early chronic pancreatitis in Japan",
abstract = "Background: The world's first diagnostic criteria for early CP were proposed in 2009 in Japan. This study aimed to clarify the clinico-epidemiological features of early CP in Japan. Methods: Patients with early CP who were diagnosed according to the diagnostic criteria for early CP and had visited the selected hospitals in 2011 were surveyed. The study consisted of two-stage surveys: the number of patients with early CP was estimated by the first questionnaire and their clinical features were assessed by the second questionnaire. Results: The estimated number of early CP patients was 5410 (95{\%} confidence interval 3675–6945), with an overall prevalence of 4.2 per 100,000 persons. The number of patients who were newly diagnosed with early CP was estimated to be 1330 (95{\%} confidence interval 1058–1602), with an annual incidence of 1.0 per 100,000 persons. Detailed clinical information was obtained in 151 patients in the second survey. The male-to-female sex ratio was 1.32:1. The mean age was 60.4 and the mean age at disease onset was 55.4. Idiopathic (47.7{\%}) and alcoholic (45.0{\%}) were the two most common etiologies. Proportions of female and idiopathic cases were higher in early CP than in definite CP. Hyperechoic foci without shadowing and stranding were the most common findings on endoscopic ultrasonography. The clinical profiles of early CP patients who showed lobularity with honeycombing on endoscopic ultrasonography or previous episodes of acute pancreatitis were similar to those of definite CP patients. Conclusions: We clarified the current status of early CP in Japan.",
author = "{Research Committee of Intractable Pancreatic Diseases in Japan} and Atsushi Masamune and Kazuhiro Kikuta and Tatsuhide Nabeshima and Eriko Nakano and Morihisa Hirota and Atsushi Kanno and Kiyoshi Kume and Shin Hamada and Tetsuhide Ito and Motokazu Fujita and Atsushi Irisawa and Masanori Nakashima and Keiji Hanada and Takaaki Eguchi and Ryusuke Kato and Osamu Inatomi and Akio Shirane and Yoshifumi Takeyama and Ichiro Tsuji and Tooru Shimosegawa",
journal = "Journal of Gastroenterology",
publisher = "Springer Japan",
T1 - Nationwide epidemiological survey of early chronic pancreatitis in Japan
AU - Research Committee of Intractable Pancreatic Diseases in Japan
AU - Masamune, Atsushi
AU - Kikuta, Kazuhiro
AU - Nabeshima, Tatsuhide
AU - Nakano, Eriko
AU - Hirota, Morihisa
AU - Kanno, Atsushi
AU - Kume, Kiyoshi
AU - Hamada, Shin
AU - Ito, Tetsuhide
AU - Fujita, Motokazu
AU - Irisawa, Atsushi
AU - Nakashima, Masanori
AU - Hanada, Keiji
AU - Eguchi, Takaaki
AU - Kato, Ryusuke
AU - Inatomi, Osamu
AU - Shirane, Akio
AU - Takeyama, Yoshifumi
AU - Tsuji, Ichiro
AU - Shimosegawa, Tooru
N2 - Background: The world's first diagnostic criteria for early CP were proposed in 2009 in Japan. This study aimed to clarify the clinico-epidemiological features of early CP in Japan. Methods: Patients with early CP who were diagnosed according to the diagnostic criteria for early CP and had visited the selected hospitals in 2011 were surveyed. The study consisted of two-stage surveys: the number of patients with early CP was estimated by the first questionnaire and their clinical features were assessed by the second questionnaire. Results: The estimated number of early CP patients was 5410 (95% confidence interval 3675–6945), with an overall prevalence of 4.2 per 100,000 persons. The number of patients who were newly diagnosed with early CP was estimated to be 1330 (95% confidence interval 1058–1602), with an annual incidence of 1.0 per 100,000 persons. Detailed clinical information was obtained in 151 patients in the second survey. The male-to-female sex ratio was 1.32:1. The mean age was 60.4 and the mean age at disease onset was 55.4. Idiopathic (47.7%) and alcoholic (45.0%) were the two most common etiologies. Proportions of female and idiopathic cases were higher in early CP than in definite CP. Hyperechoic foci without shadowing and stranding were the most common findings on endoscopic ultrasonography. The clinical profiles of early CP patients who showed lobularity with honeycombing on endoscopic ultrasonography or previous episodes of acute pancreatitis were similar to those of definite CP patients. Conclusions: We clarified the current status of early CP in Japan.
AB - Background: The world's first diagnostic criteria for early CP were proposed in 2009 in Japan. This study aimed to clarify the clinico-epidemiological features of early CP in Japan. Methods: Patients with early CP who were diagnosed according to the diagnostic criteria for early CP and had visited the selected hospitals in 2011 were surveyed. The study consisted of two-stage surveys: the number of patients with early CP was estimated by the first questionnaire and their clinical features were assessed by the second questionnaire. Results: The estimated number of early CP patients was 5410 (95% confidence interval 3675–6945), with an overall prevalence of 4.2 per 100,000 persons. The number of patients who were newly diagnosed with early CP was estimated to be 1330 (95% confidence interval 1058–1602), with an annual incidence of 1.0 per 100,000 persons. Detailed clinical information was obtained in 151 patients in the second survey. The male-to-female sex ratio was 1.32:1. The mean age was 60.4 and the mean age at disease onset was 55.4. Idiopathic (47.7%) and alcoholic (45.0%) were the two most common etiologies. Proportions of female and idiopathic cases were higher in early CP than in definite CP. Hyperechoic foci without shadowing and stranding were the most common findings on endoscopic ultrasonography. The clinical profiles of early CP patients who showed lobularity with honeycombing on endoscopic ultrasonography or previous episodes of acute pancreatitis were similar to those of definite CP patients. Conclusions: We clarified the current status of early CP in Japan.
JO - Journal of Gastroenterology
JF - Journal of Gastroenterology


Could the Adamantos bracelet be the ultimate solution for off-the-cuff property purchases?
The Armillion Admantos payment bracelet, that processes transactions up to £1 million.
It's the wearable tech that High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) didn't know they needed. The Swiss FinTech company Armillion has elevated its already ultra-luxe payment and multi-key bracelets, releasing a diamond-edged version that can make MasterCard-supported payments of up to £1 million ($1.3million).
Just ten of the high-tech bracelets have been made, a highly limited production run that according to the makers is "a tribute to the success" of the future owners. Functionalities like payment limits, personal ID information, and transaction history are managed by an app, admitting the wearer into what is surely one of the most exclusive clubs in the world.
Payments via wearable devices are expected to reach $500 billion by 2020, but until recently, consumers had to choose between smartwatches or much cheaper payment wristbands. Armillion represents a move to unite technology, engineering and style, and tap into the growth area of men's jewelry, with one of the most exclusive wearables to hit the market.
The stylish water-resistant bracelets feature Zirconia advanced ceramic, precision-set into a white gold structure, before being polished for five days until the surface is ready to receive the intricate guilloche engraving. This latest edition is set with 252 brilliant-cut diamonds that weigh in at a total of 4.6 carats, a process that takes more than 30 hours. And if that isn't luxe enough for you, the company also offers a bespoke design service.
Unlike other payment devices in the increasingly competitive wearables space facilitating a move away from keys and passwords, the Adamantos is battery-free and never needs charging, allowing the user to set it up once to unlock their home, security systems or car via RFID and NFC technology, and then not have to think about it again.
The Swiss company behind the bracelets, Armillion, is rooted in the international banking and watch-making city of Geneva and expertise from both of those industries is brought to bear in the final product. A team of security and FinTech experts devised the concept and technology, while Swiss watch-making techniques were used to produce the bracelets, notably in precision-setting the diamonds.
Inspired by the Roman warriors of the 2nd century BC, seven other models of the bracelet also exist, ranging from the 18k red gold Eastern Dream to the polished titanium HEXtasy, each with elegant forms and polished masculine appeal. The new release means that existing models will also see their payment limit raised to the magic £1 million figure.


This Preservation Leadership Training®, developed in partnership with Museum Hue, will provide attendees with the tools and strategies to center underrepresented stories at historic sites.
Over three days, attendees will learn best practices for interpreting, collecting, and building partnerships to replace exclusionary narratives with ones that honor the full American experience.
Participants will learn from guest speakers, and from each other, as they talk through the challenges of updating interpretation at their historic sites. This work will culminate in a single real-world case study that will give them an opportunity to put their new knowledge into practice.
Forum is a network of preservation professionals brought together by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Forum provides and curates cutting-edge content, offers online and in-person networking opportunities, and brings diverse new perspectives to the business of saving places. Become a member today!
ReImagining Intersections at Historic Sites is part of the National Trust's Preservation Leadership Training (PLT) series. Sign up to receive updates about future trainings.


text:
/***
 * @module node-opcua-benchmarker
 */
// tslint:disable:object-literal-shorthand
/// <reference types="node" />
import { EventEmitter } from "events";
import { hrtime } from "node-opcua-utils";

export interface IPerformanceData {
    message: string;
    ops: number;
    count: number;
    total_time: number;
}

export interface IRunOptions {
    /**
     * max execution time in sec : default to 0.5 seconds.
     */
    max_time?: number;
    /**
     * specify the minimum number of time the benchmark-ed test cycle should be repeated
     */
    min_count?: number;
}

export type TestFunctionSync = () => void;
export type TestFunctionAsync = () => Promise<void>;
export type TestFunction = TestFunctionSync | TestFunctionAsync;
export interface ITestRun {
    name: string;
    functor: TestFunction;
    result?: IPerformanceData;
}

async function measure_cycle(func: TestFunction): Promise<number> {
    const start = hrtime(); // tuple [second, nanosecond]
    await func();
    const elapsed = hrtime(start);
    return elapsed[0] + elapsed[1] / 1000000000;
}

function minimum<T>(arr: T[], predicate: (t:T) => number) : T {
    return arr.reduce(
        (prev: T , current: T) => predicate(prev) < predicate(current) ? prev : current,
        arr[0]);
}

function maximum<T>(arr: T[], predicate: (t:T) => number) : T {
   return arr.reduce(
       (prev: T , current: T) => predicate(prev) > predicate(current) ? prev : current,
       arr[0]);
}

export interface IBenchmarkerEvent {
    on(event: "completed", listener: (this: Benchmarker, fastest: ITestRun, speedUp: number) => void): this;

    on(event: "cycle", listener: (message: string) => void): this;
}
export class Benchmarker extends EventEmitter implements IBenchmarkerEvent {

    /**
     * access the fastest test run
     */
    public fastest?: ITestRun;
    /**
     * access the slowest test run
     */
    public slowest?: ITestRun;

    /**
     * the speed up factor indicates how much faster is the faster ITestRun compare to the slowest.
     */
    public speedUp = 0;

    /***
     * @internal
     */
    private readonly suites: { [id: string]: ITestRun };

    constructor() {
        super();
        this.suites = {};
    }

    /**
     * Add a new test to the suite
     * @param name name of the tests
     * @param func the code that need to be stress
     */
    public add(name: string, func: TestFunction): Benchmarker {
        this.suites[name] = {
            functor: func,
            name: name,
        } as ITestRun;
        return this;
    }

    /**
     * run the benchmark
     * @param options
     */
    public async run(options?: IRunOptions): Promise<Benchmarker> {

        options = options || {};
        options.max_time = !options.max_time ? 0.5 : options.max_time;
        options.min_count = options.min_count || 5;

        for (const test of Object.values(this.suites)) {
            test.result = await this.measure_perf(test.name, test.functor, options!);
        }
        const pred = (bench: ITestRun)=> bench.result!.ops;
        // find fastest
        this.fastest = maximum(Object.values(this.suites), pred);
        this.slowest = minimum(Object.values(this.suites), pred);

        this.speedUp = Math.floor(this.fastest!.result!.ops / this.slowest!.result!.ops);

        this.emit("complete", this.fastest, this.speedUp);

        return this;
    }

    /**
     *
     * @param name
     * @param func
     * @param options
     * @internal
     */
    private async  measure_perf(name: string, func: TestFunction, options: IRunOptions): Promise<IPerformanceData> {

        let totalTime = 0;
        let count = 0;
        const maxTime = !options.max_time ? 0.5 : options.max_time;
        const minCount = options.min_count || 5;
        while (totalTime < maxTime || count < minCount) {
            totalTime += await measure_cycle(func);
            count += 1;
        }
        const ops = count / totalTime;
        const message = " CYCLE " + name + " op/s " + ((count / totalTime).toPrecision(7) + " count = " + count);
        this.emit("cycle", message);

        return {
            count: count,
            message: message,
            ops: ops,
            total_time: totalTime,
        } as IPerformanceData;
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Isabelle F. Hegarty
Hegarty, Isabelle F. Isabelle Frances Hegarty of Minnetonka, MN and former Anoka resident for 60 years, died November 16, 2020 at the age of 95. Her beautiful strong spirit and firece independence will be greatly missed but never forgotten. She was born on April 22, 1925 in the farm community of Browerville, MN. Having grown up during the Great Depression, Isabelle wasn't afforded the opportunity to earn a high school diploma, while working on her family's farm. Her passion for education and the dream of becoming a nurse led her to earn a GED, an associate's degree and a bachelor of science degree, all the while raising four children alongside her husband. Her career as a registered nurse, college instructor and public health nurse spanned over two decades. Family and friends alike turned to Isabelle for counsel and comfort about their health. She volunteered as a bereavement counselor, an elections poll worker, a grade school nurse, and for numerous church activities. Isabelle loved to cook, read, travel, play the piano, go to bible study, participate in choir, watch the Twins & Vikings, and spend time with family and friends. Preceded in death by husband Merwin "Bud" of 55 years and infant daughter Ruth Ann, parents Thomas and Eleanor Sobota Kulick, sisters Venette Tesch, Irene Janikula and brother Jerome Kulick. Survived by son Thomas Hegarty, daughter Colleen (Timothy) Nelson, Steven (Jean) Hegarty and Robert (Michelle) Hegarty; grandchildren Mitchell, Jason, Lindsey, Chase, Ryan, Taylor, Connor, Whitney & Courtney; great grandchildren Graham, Paige and Jaxon (on the way). Family & close friends wish to extend their gratitude to the doctors, nurses & palliative team at Methodist Hospital, as well as to Tom Hegarty and Colleen Nelson who provided invaluable care and love to Isabelle during this difficult time. Mass of Christian Burial 11 AM Wednesday, November 25 at the Church of St. Bartholomew, 630 E. Wayzata Blvd, Wayzata. (to view mass, visit Isabelle's obituary page at gearty-delmore.com) Visitation 4-7 PM Tuesday November 24 at Gearty-Delmore Plymouth Chapel, 15800 37th Ave N. @ Vicksburg Ln. Interment Forest Hill Cemetery, Anoka. In lieu of flowers, Masses offered in Isabelle's memory are preferred. Gearty-Delmore 763-553-1411
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text:
Launch Control: Input Configuration
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Input Configuration
00:00 - Now that we've got an idea of the menus that we are going to be adjusting, we're going to go through and look at the actual setup.
00:06 The first part of that is configuring the inputs to the ECU, and as I said in the last module, we're a little bit ahead of the game here because all our wheel speed sensors are coming in via CAN.
00:19 However, I will show you how you could configure a digital input as a wheel speed sensor, if that's the way you are getting your data.
00:27 If we go into the ECU Settings menu, we can choose our digital inputs, and we've got a list of all the digital inputs available.
00:39 I'm just going to set up digital input two here and we'll have a look at that.
00:43 Let's say we wanted to set this up as a left-front wheel speed sensor.
00:49 We can choose left front wheel speed.
00:52 If you wanted to, you could enter a label for this particular sensor, however, it will read LF wheel speed anyway, which is pretty straight forward.
01:02 The options we've got here, we can turn on a pull-up resistor.
01:06 If we're using a Hall-style sensor, you're going to need that pull-up turned on so that the ECU can differentiate between the high and low states as the speed sensor goes past the pick-up.
01:18 So we would turn that on.
01:21 We can choose the Active Edge, which is going to depend on the sensor setup you're using.
01:27 And finally, we have the Calibration Value, which is dependent on the number of pick-ups you're using on the wheel, as well as the rolling diameter of the wheel and tire combination.
01:40 As I said in the body of the course, the best place to set up the wheel speed calibration is on the Dyno, where it's nice and easy.
01:48 However, for this particular car, as I said, we're getting our wheel speed data via CAN so we don't need to look at that any further.
01:57 The other thing we will need to do, however, is we will need to set up a clutch switch, which is how we're activating our launch control.
02:05 If I open up the Digital Inputs again, you can see I've got DI 6, Digital Input 6 set up as a clutch switch.
02:12 So this is wired up to a switch at the base of the clutch pedal's travel, and you can see, again, I've got it set up and called it Clutch Switch, so there's no real need to add a secondary label to that.
02:25 We don't need the Pullup Resistor turned on for this particular input, and that's really going to depend on what the clutch switch is inputting to the ECU.
02:35 If we're switching to ground, then we're going to need the Pullup Resistor turned on so, again, the ECU can differentiate between when the clutch switch is on and when it's floating.
02:47 In this particular case, our On Level is High so when there is a positive voltage to the ECU, which is, again, why we don't need that Pull-up Resistor turned on, and we're activating on the rising edge of that signal.
03:02 Once I've got that configured, we can test and make sure it's working.
03:06 If we press R or F12 to bring up the Runtime Value screen and we click on the little Digital tab here, we have a list of all of our Digital Inputs.
03:15 And you can see DI 6, Digital Input 6 is shown here as a Clutch Switch.
03:20 As I put my foot on and off the clutch, you can see that the Clutch Switch goes from Off to Active, so we can tell that that's working.
03:29 We can also use this to test and see where, exactly, on the clutch pedal's travel it is engaging.
03:35 That's really convenient for doing a quick test of that.
03:40 The other thing we're going to do now, is I'll just start the car, and we'll test and make sure that we're getting a valid input from our wheel speed sensors.
03:50 You can do this regardless of whether you're getting them directly from a digital sensor or, in our case, via CAN.
03:57 If I click on the CAN tab, we can see nothing.
04:03 Great.
04:08 Hold on, I'll just fix that.
04:13 So if I move through and we click on the Miscellaneous tab up the top, you can see that we have our wheel speed sensors coming in here on the right-hand side via CAN.
04:24 What I'll do is I'll just drive along and make sure that we are registering wheel speeds from all four wheels.
04:31 You can see as I drive along, the wheel speed increases, so we know that that input is valid.
04:37 Again, because this is a pre-configured setup that's coming in via CAN, I also know that the calibration of those inputs is accurate.
04:46 That takes care of the input setup.
04:48 We know that that's all configured correctly, and we want to do that before we get into actually tuning the Launch Control System because, otherwise, we're going to be potentially chasing problems with clutch switches that aren't functioning or wheel speed sensors that aren't calibrated correctly.
05:05 The next place we want to go is we want to have a look at our actual Launch Control menu, and remember, that's found under the MotorSports subheading.
05:15 If we click on Launch Control, we've got all of our available options.
05:20 In the next module, we'll actually look at the tuning, but for this section, we're just going to have a quick look through the options available to us.
05:29 We start with our Launch Control Mode, and we've got the ability to set this up in a few different ways.
05:36 The simplest is our Single Launch RPM, which we'll look at first, which would be our two-step style of Launch Control.
05:44 We can also have a 2D Launch RPM Table, which is what we'd use for our ground speed-based Launch Control.
05:52 We could set that up, also, as a 3D Launch Control RPM Table, which is ground speed-based, but we have another access we could use if we want multi-positions for our Launch Control, so if we want, perhaps, a switch to give us a dry and a wet setting, we would use that.
06:10 Then we finally got a Latched Launch RPM mode, which is a function that Link have included for roll racing where you can latch your Launch Control while you're actually driving using a switch, so you can actually launch while you are moving.
06:26 We won't be looking at that in this car, so we'll just look at the more simple setup.
06:33 We'll leave that at the moment at Single Launch RPM.
06:37 Next, we've got our Activation Control, so what is actually going to be switching the Launch Control functionality on and off.
06:44 We can choose from any of our digital inputs in here, and we've chosen DI 6, which is what's connected to our Clutch Switch.
06:54 We've got an Arming Time.
06:56 What this means is that the Clutch Switch needs to be active, or our Activation Control needs to be active for the Arming Time before the ECU will go into Launch Mode.
07:09 We can, if we wish, use a Fuel Trim Table.
07:12 You can turn that on or off depending on whether or not you want to use it.
07:16 And, again, because we're using our Single Launch RPM mode here, this is a very simple system, we've got our Launch RPM configured here.
07:25 At the moment, you can see I've got that set to 2,000 RPM.
07:29 The other thing we can do with all of the Launch Control systems in the G4 plus and ViPEC, is control the ignition timing, retard the ignition timing, if we wish to help build boost.
07:41 Obviously, at the moment, we're using a naturally aspirated car, so there's not a lot we can do to build any boost, but I will, in the next module, talk about how we can use that if you are running a turbo-charged car.
07:56 We can choose to have a Single Zone or a Table for our Ignition Retard.
08:01 We can retard the timing, the numbers we can enter there, we can enter as a number of degrees, which is removed from the base Ignition Table.
08:15 We can remove a percentage or we can retard in Degrees Absolute.
08:20 So if we're choosing Degrees Absolute, that will be the number of degrees after TDC, so if we enter 10 degrees, for example, that will retard the timing to 10 degrees after TDC.
08:32 To stop the Ignition Retard killing the engine and making it very slow to respond, we can bring that Retard in above a certain throttle position which is sensible.
08:42 In this case, we've got that at 60%.
08:44 So that allows the car to respond normally when we first engage Launch Control, and the Ignition Retard won't become active until we actually go to full throttle.
08:54 At the same time, you could also make that retard active above a certain RPM.
08:59 Again, we'll look at that in the next module in a little more detail.
09:02 Then we finally have our actual Launch Trim.
09:07 The next thing we're going to look at is Launch Limiting.
09:11 This is the type of Limiter that the ECU is using to control the engine RPM.
09:19 We have three options here, well, four, you can turn it off if you wish.
09:23 We have Ignition Cut, which as you know from the body of the course, is my preference.
09:29 We can choose Fuel Cut, or the Link in ViPEC ECUs also include a Rotary Only mode.
09:35 This is a combination of a fuel and ignition cut, which is designed to minimize the popping and banging which is potentially quite destructive to a rotary engine.
09:47 We've also got the option of an Advanced Mode which we can turn on or off.
09:53 The Advanced Mode gives us access to a lot more control around the way the limiter works.
10:00 For most applications, it won't be necessary.
10:03 You won't need to look at that, and the standard limiting will do a perfectly adequate job of controlling the Launch RPM.
10:13 You can see, if we turn that off, we've got no more access to any more menu options there.
10:20 I'll just quickly talk through the options that are here though.
10:24 If we do turn that on, we've got the ability to control the Rev Limit Range.
10:31 We can control the type of Cut Effect, so we've got the option here of an Adaptive or a Constant RPM cut.
10:39 The Constant RPM cut applies a consistent cutting pattern, so it'll cut the same cylinders time after time, which can result in the cylinders that are being cut potentially fouling.
10:53 The Adaptive cut, which would be my suggestion here, applies a randomizer to the ignition or fuel cutting, and that means that we never have the same cylinders cutting repeatedly.
11:07 If you wish to use a Hard Limit, you can turn that on, and we also have an Activation RPM of how far above the control range the RPM needs to reach before the Hard Limit will become active.
11:19 We've got a Start Cut when our throttle position is low.
11:22 So when the throttle position is below the low threshold here, which we can adjust, this is the percentage of cut that will immediately be applied.
11:36 Likewise, when the throttle position reaches 100%, this is the amount of cut that will be applied.
11:44 What we can do, essentially, the idea behind this, is we're trying to control the amount or percentage of cut being applied relative to the amount of engine power.
11:55 Obviously, when we're at a very light throttle setting and we just come up on the rev limit, the engine isn't making much power so we don't need a huge amount of cut to control the rev limit.
12:05 On the other hand, if we hit the rev limit at wide-open throttle and the engine's making a lot more power, we need to apply a larger percentage of cut to help control that engine speed.
12:16 So we can adjust these parameters to achieve that.
12:20 Finally, we've got an Exit Decay Rate.
12:22 This is how the ECU will respond once the limit is deactivated, so once we leave the launch control function, once the clutch switch is disabled.
12:35 This defines how quickly the cut is being removed and its percentage being removed for every 20 milliseconds.
12:44 A larger number here will reinstate engine power more aggressively, whereas a lower number will take longer to reinstate the engine power.
12:54 And this can be tuned to adjust the feel of how the ECU responds coming off the Launch Control function.
13:00 Ok, now we've got an overview of the inputs and the configuration, and we've got all of that set up.


text:
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Times-Citizen Communications
Welcome to Times-Citizen Communications
Times Citizen Communications is a privately-held media company headquartered in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Locally, it operates the Iowa Falls Times Citizen and Ackley World Journal newspapers and KIFG Radio.
The history of the news media in Hardin County stretches back to the 19th century, when there were at least 16 newspapers in publication. One of the longest-tenured and most respected former publishers of the Iowa Falls Citizen, as it was known for many years, was Ira Nichols. He stayed for nearly 40 years before selling the newspaper in 1933.
In 1948, Carl Hamilton bought controlling interest of the Iowa Falls Citizen. Later that year he purchased the Alden Times, creating the Times-Citizen. Hamilton remained at the paper until 1962.
In 1983, Carl Hamilton's son, Mark Hamilton purchased the Times-Citizen. Hamilton remains the owner today. Under his direction Times Citizen Communications, Inc. was formed. It encompasses the two newspapers, with both print and Internet delivery; a radio station; The Link, an electronic news delivery service; Media Marketing, which sells advertising for myriad farm publications; and a commercial printing operation.
The Times Citizen and Ackley World Journal have won numerous state and national awards. The company prides itself on being a respected source for news and information while creating a sense of community among readers.
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text:
ΠCase Files, Vol. 01
Imprint: ΠCase Files
Over the past ten years, Organs Everywhere (Œ) has promoted conversations that approach architectural design from the edges of the discipline — testing its boundaries, technologies, methods and (e)valuation systems, and keeping them unstable. It has valued transdisciplinary, speculative and irreverent explorations over strict publishing formats and academic purity, promoting a profanatory and open-ended ethos.[…]
Down to Earth: A Memoir
Can one have something in common with a lava field? Can one identify with a mountain, or connect with a contemporary event in the history of the earth, in the way that some people feel connected together by birthday, genetic fingerprint, or zodiac sign? In the terms of the Christian burial ceremony, what is this[…]
If at its most elemental, the theater is an art form of human bodies in space, what becomes of the theater as suicide capitalism pushes our world into a posthuman age? Waste: Capitalism and the Dissolution of the Human in Twentieth-Century Theater traces the twentieth-century theater's movement from dramaturgies of efficiency to dramaturgies of waste,[…]
A Nuclear Refrain: Emotion, Empire, and the Democratic Potential of Protest
Imprint: Dead Letter Office
A Nuclear Refrain is a spatial fiction, and miniature chapbook (measuring 4 X 6 inches), that critiques the policy of nuclear deterrence, the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction, and the UK's decision to replace its Vanguard submarines, the so-called Trident replacement. We challenge that decision via extending our geographical imaginations into the past, present, and[…]
The Great Awakening: New Modes of Life amidst Capitalist Ruins
As we enter a time of climate catastrophe, worsening inequality, and collapsing market/state systems, can human societies transcend the old, dysfunctional paradigms and build the world anew? There are many signs of hope. In The Great Awakening, twelve cutting-edge activists, scholars, and change-makers probe the deep roots of our current predicament while reflecting on the[…]
The Humid Condition: (More) Overheated Observations
A Zibaldone for the Twitter age. An Anatomy of Mischievous Melancholy. A Commonplace book of uncommon opinions An avalanche of apposite apercus. An inventory of inappropriate malaproprisms. Buying raw milk from the back of a truck in Manhattan is a bit like a drug deal in Breaking Bad, except instead of guns and gangsters you[…]
Diseases of the Head: Essays on the Horrors of Speculative Philosophy
Diseases of the Head is an anthology of essays from contemporary philosophers, artists, and writers working at the crossroads of speculative philosophy and speculative horror. At once a compendium of multivocal endeavors, a breviary of supposedly illicit ponderings, and a travelogue of philosophical exploration, this collection centers itself on the place at which philosophy and[…]
Post Memes: Seizing the Memes of Production
Art-form, send-up, farce, ironic disarticulation, pastiche, propaganda, trololololol, mode of critique, mode of production, means of politicisation, even of subjectivation — memes are the inner currency of the internet's circulatory system. Independent of any one set value, memes are famously the mode of conveyance for the alt-right, the irony left, and the apoliticos alike, and[…]


text:
The digital solution to an old but serious enemy: illiteracy
Nigeria: Illiteracy and poverty go hand in hand; Technology, such as the Digital Language Tutor, however, has 'paved a new road' in mass education and the acquisition of new skills, says Elvis Austins, Founder of PDLT, in his interview with OLBIOS.
OLBIOS INTERVIEW / ELVIS AUSTINS
OLBIOS: How would you describe the collective experience of the coronavirus crisis in your region and what has struck you the most about it?
Elvis Austins: Illiteracy has been one of the major crisis facing Africa. Although illiteracy is a global problem its negative effect can be found mostly in developing countries and sadly, sub-Sahara Africa is a key destination.
What is sadder is that there is a thin line between illiteracy and poverty. But the good news is that in recent years, there is a growing opportunity for millions of people to be mass-educated due to technology. Technology is mostly mobile-based has paved a new road for the people at the base of the pyramid to drastically developed and learn new skills.
O: On a social level, has this crisis been an eye-opener and an opportunity for important insights and significant changes and lessons to be learned in many domains? Could you give one or more examples?
E.A. What is interesting is to see the rise of social entrepreneurs coming out from almost every corner of Africa. This is a big eye-opener as for the very first time, many people are not working on providing solutions and services that can solve this crisis.
From social to the environmental crises there are a lot of lessons and insights to be learned. Although most of these solutions are not perfect yet, the good news is that locals are willing to try something and put in their best bet to make it work.
O: Tell us about your work on AΙ for Good and if you think it is likely to become more complex or more relevant after the crisis.
E.A. : Having spent the last 5 years developing cutting edge solutions in the educational space, I am optimistic that AI is the way forward for developing nations. The idea for a PDLT (Personal Digital Language Tutor) was born out of a desire to make sure everyone is Africa can read and write.
But how can they when there are 50,000 students to 1 teacher in Benin city, my place of birth. The only solution is to make the solution digital. Think of the PDLT like a mobile that can is designed specially to teach literacy to millions of youths across Africa. All they need is a mobile phone. Any cheap smartphone will do.
We built a prototype and it worked successfully but due to COVID the project is on hold until work returns to normal.
O: On a personal level, has this crisis changed your focus on what really matters and on future plans and courses of action?
E.A. I happened to be a victim of the poor standard of education in my country but dedication and hard words changed my narrative. I know a lot of people are still being affected and that is why I am the right person to provide a solution.
This crisis has made me understand that there are a lot of smart and intelligent people out there that are being held back by the problem of literacy. I plan to devise any solutions or join other organizations that are working to fight the great enemy of development which is literacy.
Elvis Austins, Founder of PDLT, is a social entrepreneur who works on AI for Good
How Covid-19 rendered the impossible possible
Berlin: Prof Andreas Kaplan, Rector of ESCP Business School, writes on the exciting consequences of the move to online teaching, a subject that for a number of years had attracted intense debate and speculation.
City Year
how to overcome the challenges
When a competition grows into a nationwide movement
The XQ Super School Movement


text:
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using Gdk;

namespace Mistelix.Backends.GStreamer
{
	//
	// GStreamer video thumbnailing functions
	//
	public static class Thumbnail
	{
		[DllImport ("libmistelix")]
		static extern void mistelix_video_screenshot (string filein, int second, out IntPtr pixbuf);

		static Thumbnail ()
		{

		}

		static public Gdk.Pixbuf VideoScreenshot (string file, int second)
		{
			Gdk.Pixbuf thumbnail;
			IntPtr pix;

			mistelix_video_screenshot (file, second, out pix);

			if (pix == IntPtr.Zero)
				throw new InvalidOperationException ("No screenshot taken");

			thumbnail = new Gdk.Pixbuf (pix);
			return thumbnail;
		}
	}
}


text:
America's Best Beer Cities, as Chosen by Beer Experts
"The Midwest -- American beer's ancestral seats -- finally stealing the spotlight back from the craft brew-sodden coasts."
ByConde Nast Traveler, Contributor
01/16/2015 05:13pm EST | Updated December 7, 2017
by Amy Plitt, Condé Nast Traveler
1. Cleveland, Ohio
"The Midwest--American beer's ancestral seat--is finally stealing the spotlight back from the craft brew-sodden coasts. The freshest flavors and most creative styles pour in places like Cleveland, home to super-small-batch start-ups such as Platform (try their Anathema series, aged in local cider barrels), Nano, and Market Garden.--William Bostwick, author, The Brewer's Tale: A History of the World According to Beer
Photo courtesy Platform Beer Co.
2. Asheville, NC
"Over the holidays, I spent several pleasantly buzzed days in Asheville, North Carolina, which has a dense, walkable collection of world-class breweries. I ditched the car and strolled from Wicked Weed, which specializes in hoppy IPAs, to Burial Beer for an a.m.-friendly Skillet Donut Stout and Twin Leaf for its deceptively potent Luminosity Belgian-style tripel. Finally, I plopped down at Wicked Weed's brand-new Funkatorium offshoot to overdose on sour brews. Now my liver needs a vacation."--Joshua M. Bernstein, author, The Complete Beer Course
3. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
"With the majority of Americans living within ten miles of a brewery and 1.5 breweries opening every day, the need to travel very far to find a brewery isn't as difficult as it was ten years ago. Aside from the Bay Area, my favorite beer cites are Portland [OR], Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Southern California. Portland, Oregon has been a mature market for craft beer for some time and the Minneapolis-St. Paul area is exploding with great new breweries like Fulton Brewery and Dangerous Man Brewing and great beer eateries like The Happy Gnome in St. Paul. It's a top-notch beer culture."--Shaun O'Sullivan, brewmaster and co-founder, 21st Amendment Brewery
4. Grand Rapids, MI
"I moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, nine months ago from Los Angeles, and before that New York City. Although I had been in very large cities before and explored their bizarre beer scenes, I came back to Grand Rapids very specifically to get involved in the craft beer scene. Grand Rapids is a novice beer city in many respects, but the community is fiercely loyal to its local breweries and extraordinarily excited to play a major role in the constantly evolving world of craft beer. Grand Rapids seems to have an attitude of, 'We have a vibrant scene here and plenty of beer to go around. Why should we look elsewhere? Support Michigan and support local!'"--Angela Steil, certified cicerone
5. San Diego, CA
"Laid-back beach towns are my favorite getaways, so San Diego is a no-brainer when it comes to combining flip-flop casual with seriously excellent craft beer. It's a mecca for hoppy, West Coast IPAs (found on tap just about everywhere), and there are so many spots around SD that should be on every beer lover's itinerary (old favorites like Stone and new spots like White Labs tasting room). Sunshine, seashore, and amazing beer is just about the perfect recipe for destination drinking."--Erika Reitz, editor-in-chief, Draft magazine
6. New York, NY
For a long time in New York City, craft beer was primarily found in bars and restaurants with breweries few and far between. NYC is now home to 20 breweries, 15 of which opened in the last two years, and many more slated to come. This explosive growth has fostered a local community of breweries releasing an impressive number of beers only available in NYC."--Will Stephens, co-founder, BeerMenus.com
More from Condé Nast Traveler:
The Best Cities in the World
Top 25 Cities in the World: Readers' Choice Awards 2014
15 Places You Won't Believe Actually Exist
The Friendliest and Unfriendliest Cities in the U.S.
The 10 Best Small Cities in the U.S.
How Not to Look Like a Tourist in Paris
travelBeercraft beerFood
Conde Nast Traveler, Contributor
These 7 'Touristy' Activities Are Actually A Ton Of Fun
How To Take Better Travel Pics, According To Instagrammers
The Most Beautiful Beaches You Don't Know, According To Travel Influencers
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Everything you should have learned in school but didn't.


A once-in-a-lifetime experience with a perfectly arranged score to a breathtaking film.
The Italian vocal ensemble Cappella Artemisia, directed by mezzo-soprano Candace Smith, is a chamber group devoted to recovering the rich musical repertoire of the 16th- and 17th-century Italian convents.
Inspired by Dickens' novel of the same title, Northern Ballet's piece really captures the essence of Dickensian London at Christmas time. Dickens' famous renderings of the festive season made much of his work almost synonymous with Christmas. Dickens' most popular novel, A Christmas Carol redefined the spirit of Christmas as an enduring sense of community and sharing.
The evening was a step back into childhood nostalgia, of getting on the hired coach with my brother and neighbours from our cul-de-sac, to drive up to London for the traditional Christmas pantomime. And, of course, Aladdin with all that mystical eastern magic was always a favourite with us kids.