text:
Q: Difference between .xinitrc, .xsession and .xsessionrc I found three configuration files.

*

*.xinitrc

*.xsession

*.xsessionrc
I know that the first one is for using startx and the second and third are used when using a display manager. But what is the difference between the last two?

A: According to another discussion, startx + ~/.xsession and no ~/.xinitrc, results in reduced functionality (xfce4, sid)

Firstly: .xsessionrc is for holding global environment variables.
  The emphasis is mine.
Secondly: 40x11-common_xsessionrc in /etc/X11/Xsession.d is sourced
  before 50x11-common_determine-startup. So .xsessionrc is read before
  .xsession and any environment variables set will become available to
  applications run by the commands in .xsession.

Further reading:

*

*Xsession - initialize X session

*Understanding *NIX Login Scripts

A: ~/.xinitrc is executed by xinit, which is usually invoked via startx. This program is executed after logging in: first you log in on a text console, then you start the GUI with startx. The role of .xinitrc is to start the GUI part of the session, typically by setting some GUI-related settings such as key bindings (with xmodmap or xkbcomp), X resources (with xrdb), etc., and to launch a session manager or a window manager (possibly as part of a desktop environment).
~/.xsession is executed when you log in in graphical mode (on a display manager) and the display manager invokes the "custom" session type. (With the historical display manager xdm, .xsession is always executed, but with modern display managers that give the user a choice of session type, you usually need to pick "custom" for .xsession to run.) Its role is both to set login-time parameters (such as environment variables) and to start the GUI session. A typical .xsession is
#!/bin/sh
. ~/.profile
. ~/.xinitrc

~/.xsessionrc is executed on Debian (and derivatives such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, etc.) by the X startup scripts on a GUI login, for all session types and (I think) from all display managers. It's also executed from startx if the user doesn't have a .xinitrc, because in that case startx falls back on the same session startup scripts that are used for GUI login. It's executed relatively early, after loading resources but before starting any program such as a key agent, a D-Bus daemon, etc. It typically sets variables that can be used by later startup scripts. It doesn't have any official documentation that I know of, you have to dig into the source to see what works.
.xinitrc and .xsession are historical features of the X11 Window system so they should be available and have a similar behavior on all Unix systems. On the other hand, .xsessionrc is a Debian feature and distributions that are not based on Debian don't have it unless they've implemented something similar.
.xprofile is very similar to .xsessionrc, but it's part of the session startup script some display managers including GDM (the GNOME display manager) and lightdm, but not others such as xdm and kdm.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Research prices Stromsburg End Table with Storage By Ophelia & Co.
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THE 2015 HOLIDAY FANTASY BUNDLE
Curated by Kevin J. Anderson
A StoryBundle of Holiday Joy!
As I write this blog, Colorado has been hit with the first big snowstorm of the season, 8-12 inches overnight. School is closed for a snow day, and my snowplow guy just called to say that he can't even get up our road to plow the driveway.
So, we'll sit inside all nice and cozy with a fire. A perfect time to read.
Holidays are full of magic, good cheer, mystery, and wonderful fantasies. This time of year—from Thanksgiving through Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, New Years—is packed with possibilities, and great fodder for writers to tell some of their best stories.
It was a tradition of mine early in my career to write a new story and get together with other writer friends, where we would share the stories on Christmas Eve. Continuing that tradition, in spirit, for the second year I've put together a bundle of entertaining and heartwarming books of holiday stories—from the magical to the fantastical. Stories to be shared…or just savored alone while wrapped in a warm blanket and sipping eggnog.
The Holiday Fantasy StoryBundle has 11 books full of wonders and excitement from the tiniest snowflake to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Two full "Cosmic Christmas" SF anthologies from Baen Books, the brand new anthology Naughty or Nice (edited by Hugo-nominee Jennifer Brozek for this StoryBundle to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis research—which includes a new Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. Christmas story, Cold Dead Turkey, published here for the first time ever), and a brand new collection by New York Times bestselling author Jody Lynn Nye, A Circle of Celebrations, created especially for this StoryBundle.
And you'll also want to read the delightful and heartwarming St. Nicholas and the Dragon by New York Times bestseller Tracy Hickman, The Bear Who Found Christmas by Alan Rodgers, Up on the Rooftop by Kristine Grayson, The Rakehell's Christmas Angel by Carole Nelson Douglas, The Nun's Dragon by Christine Emmert, Santa and Other Christmas Criminals by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, as well as Naughty & Nice—the Dan Shamble Christmas story I wrote last year for my fans.
At StoryBundle, you name your own price, all 11 books for a minimum bid of $15. A portion of the money received goes directly to help Penny Lane, the holiday charity run by Babylon 5's Patricia Tallman, to provide a great holiday for a shelter helping out abused children.
These books are wonderful gifts to yourself, and even if you don't read them all, you'll find something to enjoy and share throughout the holiday season. Ho ho ho! – Kevin J. Anderson
The initial titles in the Holiday Fantasy Bundle (minimum $5 to purchase) are:
The Bear Who Found Christmas by Alan Rodgers
A Cosmic Christmas by Hank Davis
The Rakehell's Christmas Angel by Carole Nelson Douglas
Naughty or Nice by Jennifer Brozek
Santa and Other Christmas Criminals by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The Nun's Dragon by Christine Emmert
If you pay more than the bonus price of just $15, you get all six of the regular titles, plus these outstanding books:
A Cosmic Christmas 2 You by Hank Davis
Up on the Rooftop by Kristine Grayson
Naughty & Nice by Kevin J. Anderson
Circle of Celebrations - The Complete Edition by Jody Lynn Nye
St. Nicholas and the Dragon by Tracy and Laura Hickman
Our curator on the authors and books in this bundle:
Jody Lynn Nye has been a friend and close writing colleague for a long time, and has become someone I can rely on for just about any literary need. At WordFire Press we're releasing many of her backlist books. For last year's Holiday Fantasy bundle, I had an extra slot and Jody put together a few of her holiday-related stories that might be of interest. But that lit a fire under her—and in the intervening year she wrote a lot more stories to fill the gaps, enough to make a complete book that we are publishing in print and eBook. Here, before it's released elsewhere, you can get the complete volume of stories.
I have a long-standing holiday connection to Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and her pen name Kristine Grayson. Back when I was a young aspiring author, a bunch of us would gather in Eugene, Oregon, where Kris lived with her husband Dean Wesley Smith. We would share Christmas stories, reading them aloud on Christmas Eve. It became a tradition to write something new for each year—and Kris is still doing it, producing two books for this year's Holiday Fantasy bundle.
Toni Weisskopf, the publisher of Baen Books, isn't just a traditional publisher—she's innovated many new ways of distribution with the numerous changes in the business. Sometimes Baen Books fits the mold of a big publisher, but they also embrace cool ideas and explore techniques that indie publishers use, too. I'm delighted that Toni is letting us experiment with two Baen publications for this StoryBundle—and her two Cosmic Christmas SF holiday anthologies couldn't be more perfect.
Alan Rodgers, a former bestselling SF/fantasy/thriller writer wrote a charming tale, The Bear Who Found Christmas, before he passed away a few years ago. The good people at Book View Café have been re-releasing most of Alan's books, and they offered this wonderful story to go into this year's bundle. I hope you enjoy it.
Carole Nelson Douglas is best known for her Midnight Louie cat mysteries and her Delilah Street urban fantasy series; we usually see each other at DragonCon each year, and she's been a delightful addition to several of my StoryBundles. She offered me an urban fantasy holiday romance to add just the right amount of charm for warm Christmas cheer.
When I was shaking the Christmas trees for titles to include in the holiday fantasy bundle, one of my writer friends, Stant Litore, brought The Nun's Dragon to my attention. Christine Emmert was a new name to me, but Stant was right—this book is absolutely appropriate, and he promised to use his usual verve to help promote it.
The Naughty or Nice anthology, to benefit Cystic Fibrosis research, is the main reason for this bundle. Jennifer Brozek, the editor, approached me to see if I would write a story for the book, provided the Kickstarter funded. Not only did I agree to do a story for her (a brand new Dan Shamble, Zombie PI Christmas story!) but I offered to put together this bundle, which would help to cover the expenses and raise even more money for the cause. Ho ho ho!
Naughty & Nice (not to be confused with the Naughty OR Nice anthology!) is the Dan Shamble, Zombie PI Christmas tale I wrote last year and published for fans of the series. In a world where all mythical creatures have come back to life (hence, the clients for my zombie detective), of course Santa Claus would exist as well! And he hires Dan Shamble to help him retrieve a very important piece of stolen property: his valuable "naughty and nice" list! You never know what might be coming down your chimney!
Tracy Hickman is full of dragons—best known for his seminal work in the Dragonlance universe, and also developing games, serving as a writing instructor, and building his own huge fan base. Tracy told me about his special project, "St Nicholas and the Dragon," two years ago, and I never forgot about it. He was one of the first people I asked when I was building this bundle. I'm so glad to have this piece as part of it.
Receive extra books: If you beat our bonus price, you're not just getting five books, you're getting nine!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Ezra Magazine
Read our online editions of Ezra Magazine.
Making her voice heard | An interview with photographer Roshni Khatri
Kelly Ulrich | Interview
Vamsi Krishna | Interview
The Witcher Review
'Best of'
Breaking her silence in Silent Waves
Ilona Flores | Interview
Tanysha Bolger· November 13, 2017 ·4 min read
Photography is a creative practise that resonates with people all over the world. As Ezra Magazine is now exploring 'Into the Creative Mind', we decided this week to explore the world of photography and were fortunate enough to speak to one photographer in particular; Ukrainian Ilona Flores. Diving into the art of photography at 19, Ilona simply one day realised she "wanted to be involved in visual art".
"…but I had no idea how exactly to do that, but I had a strong desire to create, I had ideas and this was enough to start," she said.
"My parents say that I was a creative child and they always sought to cultivate my skills. I took different classes, like piano or chess, I never sat around and I always tried to invent and create something when I was a child.
"I tried my hand in various areas – music, literature, and even sewing. Eventually, artists inspired me they were for me like gods in some way, who create beautiful and mysterious pieces, and I realised I want to be a part of it."
'Lost Childhood' – Copyright 2017 Illona Flores
Fortunately, Flores lives in western Ukraine which is untouched from the Russian military intervention that has occurred since 2014. Where she lives is "quite cozy and calm," and although she lives in Ukraine, she says that mostly she has shaped herself and as an artist creates her 'inner world'.
"Ukraine is a country like the others, with its pros and cons…All those terrible things, which occur in eastern Ukraine, look like somebody's nightmare," she said.
"Of course, the place where you live can affect your personality, but mostly we shape ourselves. My inner world is more important to me and I'm trying to concentrate on it, on some good moments and things that surround me. So, I wouldn't say that Ukraine has an influence on my creativity, because I take inspiration from other things."
A town in western Ukraine
As digital technology has progressed the photographic medium further and further, Flores said that it has a strong impact on contemporary art and that "we can observe the introduction of new tools, materials, and techniques that artists can work with".
"…the line between photography and painting is blurring, there are such things like photo manipulation or fine art photography. It's not a picture in the conventional sense, it also isn't a usual photography anymore, but it is certainly art," she said.
"You don't need only traditional brushes, canvas and paints to create a picture, you can do it in a different way. I decided to work with the mix photography and digital painting, so I definitely can describe myself as a digital artist."
The style of fine art photography has grown bigger over the past several years. As we have stated several times in interviews, fine art photography really is the perfect blend of photography and digital mastery. It combines painter's techniques with a modern day photographer's. Fine art photography can create a sense of mystery and evoke emotion.
"I like to create and be creative, to improve myself and my professional skills, to see the progress in my work, to see people who are interested in my art," she said.
"The important thing for me as an artist is to be able to express my thoughts, messages through the artwork, to see feedbacks about my art, to see that people really appreciate it. I could only dream of this before.
"I'm trying to create my work in a peaceful, relaxing state. Maybe sometimes with a slight melancholy, but calm, when nothing gnaws me.
InterviewsPhotographers
Robby Cavanaugh | Interview
"It is important to me to focus on the certain mood and feelings that I want to convey in my artwork, so I put on music that fits the upcoming picture the most, and get my teeth into the work for a long time."
'Flora' – Copyright 2017 Illona Flores
Several of Flores' photographs depict a woman either sleeping or who is dead. A common theme of fine art photography, death is explored through various symbols, colours and settings. A prominent fine art photographer, Brooke Shaden, also explores the theme of death through her various fine art photographs of women tangled in forestry, suspended in mid air or underwater.
"…the theme of sleeping or dead women was always popular in art, and it is not surprising, because this portrayal is one of the most romantic, tender, fragile and poetic. Remember Ophelia, Sleeping Beauty, or even Poe's dead women, and many others," she said.
"Artists see the parallel between the state of sleep and death. You never know is the woman on the picture dead or she just sleeps. Anyway, her face looks serene because her consciousness left her. But also there is a touch of anxiety: her body is weak and vulnerable while her mind is in her dreams. I find it very dramatic.
"I am inspired by human feelings and things that can evoke them. Roughly speaking, it is life in all its manifestations, interesting and talented people. They can create such great and beautiful things, whether it be photography, architecture, music, jewellery or furniture, and it fascinates me.
"I am also inspired by nature, which is truly an incredible treasure in our life. Finally, by positive feedbacks about my art and simply kind words. All these things inspire me to live and to work."
Tanysha Bolger
Tanysha Bolger is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Ezra Magazine. She has interviewed over 100 photographers, artists, creators, musicians and more. She's passionate about storytelling and finding out what makes creators tick. She hopes to develop Ezra Magazine to be the leading source of inspiration for harnessing our creativity.
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Sometimes it's just the simple combination of a happy bride and groom, beautiful mountains, and perfect light. I mean really...let's just do this every time.
There's always something exciting and fun about an elopement and when B + N jumped in my car and headed out into the mountains outside of Asheville I knew we were going to have a blast. I've had shoots completely rained out, fogged out, and even forest-fire-smoked out in these mountains so I was thankful that everything came together for these two lovely people.


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Richard Blanco
Johanna Lawshea September 16, 2015
Richard Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history—the youngest, first Latino, immigrant, and gay person to serve in such a role. Born in Madrid to Cuban exiled parents and raised in Miami, the negotiation of cultural identity and place characterize his body of work. He is the author of two acclaimed memoirs: The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood a poignant, hilarious, and inspiring memoir that explores his coming-of-age as the child of Cuban immigrants and his attempts to understand his place in America while grappling with his burgeoning artistic and sexual identities; For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey; three awarded poetry collections: Looking for the Gulf Motel, Directions to the Beach of the Dead, and City of a Hundred Fires; and a children's book of his presidential inaugural poem, One Today, illustrated by Dav Pilkey.


From the turn off of Stuart Lake trail to Prusik pass is entirely off trail. Only recommended for experienced parties. We ended up doing a bit of 4th class scrambling up to the summit plateau...probably easier variations if you look harder.
Must ford several rivers/streams early on in approach. Very poorly maintained trail. Lots of bugs. Camp high to avoid bugs.


text:
Service Terms of Agreement
Greece: Impressive beaches and glorious cities
Is the capital of Greece and the origin of civilization. This cosmopolitan city is a mix of different cultures and people, who have left a mark through time, this is why Athens is a touristic center of excellence.
Some places we recommend you to visit are: Athens Acropolis, which is old great importance to the Greek; the high city, in which many Ancient Greek cults took place; you can also find the Acropolis Museum, created in 2009; there is Delfos as well, which is known as the center of the world and is one of the most important stops from Ancient Greece. Inside the Acropolis, you can find the Parthenon, the place where democracy was born.
Plaka is the most ancient neighborhood, full of charming streets dotted with typical taverns, churches and buildings from the Ottoman era. This neighborhood is known as the "gods' neighborhood" since it was really close to the Acropolis. There is also the Archeological Museum where you can see objects from the prehistoric era to the ancient one. The most vivid parts of the town are Agora, Ancient and Monastiraki.
We can't forget Meteora, which is one of the most special places in the entire world for some people. It is made out of sandstone boulders that formed under the sea over 30 million years ago and that have been uncovered by the sea lowering its level. These astounding formations sculpted by nature are something you must see during your trip to Athens.
It's of the most well known Greek islands and is considered by many as a jewel due to its savage beauty and uniqueness. This island forms part of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea. The island has two main cities: Fira and Oía; towns that seem to emerge from the cliffs over a subterranean crater that has small, white, cubic houses built on them. The Greek believe that the lost city of Atlantis is found on that island.
The way that this island was destroyed by a volcanic eruption originated a rugged landscape and an amazing view of the sea and colorful stone beaches formed by the lava.
This is the biggest island in Greece and the fifth one in the Mediterranean Sea. The intense blue of the sea and sky, mixed wit the whiteness of the sand beaches and of the monasteries, make white and blue the most characteristic colors of the island.
Crete has varied landscapes and is known for its immense natural beauty thanks to its imposing mountains, profound canyons and numerous caves that lead to the sea. We have as an example Samaria Gorge which is the most known in Crete and has been declared a national park.
On the other hand, Crete's coast has small fishing towns, and you can only get to them by traveling through the sea. In these towns time seems to have stopped; these places are the perfect destination for those who want to disconnect from the world since these towns don't even have cars or advanced technology.
Adding up these natural treasures, Crete is a very important historical center because it possesses important remains of the ancient Minoan civilization. You can visit the Knossos, Festus and Gortyna palaces, archeological testimonies of the glorious past this island lived.
In this island, there are about 70 beaches, and one of the most beautiful is Sarakiniko beach, located on the northern coast the of this island, located in the Cyclades archipelago. One of its most outstanding characteristics are the volcanic formations of the rocks. These formations are a great spectacle because of the great diversity in its white shapes that contrast with the Aegean Sea's intense blue. These formations give this beach the nickname of the "moon beach." The Milo island is part of a gigantic group of islands made up by more than 200 located in the Aegean Sea
http://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/viajes/grandes-reportajes/las-25-mejores-playas-del-mundo_7481
https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/viajes/grandes-reportajes/atenas-historia-mitos-y-naturaleza_11230/1
https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/viajes/grandes-reportajes/isla-de-creta-2_6895/4
https://www.viajeroscallejeros.com/mejores-islas-griegas/
Romance in Italy
Is there a country that is more romantic than Italy?
If you are a couple that loves art and culture, you can't miss the experience of visiting Italy or even celebrating your honeymoon there. Italy is the 5th most populous European country, having 61 million inhabitants; it's also one of the most visited countries due to its beauty.
Its history and culture are impressive; according to UNESCO, 60% of the world art heritage is found in Italy. Remember that "the piano" was invented in this country in 1709.
Italy is also known because of its fountains; between them, the Trevi fountain stands out the most, where tourists throw near 3000 euros in coins per day because of the myth born with the movie Three Coins in the Fountain (1954). The myth says: "If you throw a coin: you'll return to Rome. If you throw 2 coins: You'll find love with an attractive Italian girl or guy. If you throw 3 coins: You'll marry the person you met."
Also, one of the best parts of visiting Italy is its people. Italians are creative and innovators, sincere and with a positive mentality of always moving "Avanti" (always moving forward), "failure" doesn't exist for them. They are proud of their food, culture, and art in general; they love who they are.
Must go to cities in Italy:
Rome
Rome is Italy's capital and without a doubt is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It's known as the "Eternal City" for its rich history. In spite of that, you'll also be able to enjoy their modern attractions, such as their haute cuisine restaurants. We all know that the best pasta is found in Italy, but there's also their delicious and fragrant loaves of bread and panettones, and how could we forget one of the most famous ice creams (gelato) worldwide from Gelateria Corona, made with fresh ingredients. It's highly recommended to dine at one of the restaurants in Trastevere, some of the most romantic are located there. You'll find out why Rome is one of the best cities in the world.
Rome is full of commercial streets with products that you'll be able to find only there. You'll lose track of time in the merchant stands from the Mercado de Campo de'Fiori, enjoying their smells and flavors, and something you cannot miss, are the monuments and ruins of the Coliseum and the magnificent Pantheon.
When speaking of romance, you can't forget Venice. It's a city you can visit any time of the year, and it's full of watercourses that give this peculiar city a touch of sensuality. Navigating through Venice's channels in a gondola is an unforgettable experience, especially if you are beside your beloved partner. Venice is a city flooded by love.
Other famous tourist stops are San Marco Square, the well known Ducal Palace and the Rialto Bridge, the most famous one in the city. You can stay at one of their palaces turned into prestigious hotels.
To describe Florence in one word it could only be Gorgeous! It definitely is one of the best places in Italy because of its cultural wealth. It has many places to visit, like the historic center of Florence, where you can find: the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, the Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery or the Ponte Vecchio. We recommend you visit this city and enjoy all of its wonders.
http://paradisetravel-blog.com/es/datos-curiosos-sobre-italia.html
http://www.vivoenitalia.com/defectos-y-virtudes-de-los-italianos-blog-sobre-italia/
https://www.skyscanner.es/noticias/10-cosas-estupendas-que-se-pueden-hacer-en-roma
Author Rossana Jeri
Bilingual English -Spanish Travel Agent
rossana@beyondthehorizontravelagency.com
California Seller of Travel Registration Number: 2089491-50. Registration as a seller of travel in California does not constitute the state's approval.
Agent is not a participant in the Travel Consumer Restitution Fund. Florida Seller of Travel Reference Number ST37113. Iowa Seller of Travel Reference Number 960.
Washington Seller of Travel Reference Number UBI 602 775 122


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Q: How to setup a simple site search for a simple website? I'm maintaining an existing website that wants a site search.  I implemented the search using the YAHOO API.  The problem is that the API is returning irrelevant results.  For example, there is a sidebar with a list of places and if a user searches for "New York" the top results will be for pages that do not have "New York" in the main content section.  I have tried adding Yahoo's class="robots-nocontent" to the sidebar however that was two weeks ago and there has been no update.
I also tried out Google's Search API but am having the same problem.
This site has mostly static content and about 50 pages total so it is very small.
How can I implement a simple search that only searches the main content portions of the page?

A: At the risk of sounding completely self-promoting as well as pushing yet another API on you, I wrote a blog post about implementing Bing for your site using jQuery.
The advantage in using the jQuery approach is that you can tune the results quite specifically based on filters passed to the API and playing around with the JSON (or XML / SOAP if you prefer) result Bing returns, as well as having the ability to be more selective about what data you actually have jQuery display.
The other thing you should probably be aware of is how to effectively use @rel attributes on your content (esp. links) so that search engines are aware of what the relationship is between the actual content they're crawling and the destination content it links to.

A: First, post a link to your website... we can probably help you more if we can see the problem.
It sound like you're doing it wrong. Google Search should work on your website, unless your content is hidden behind javascript or forms or something, or your site isn't properly interlinked. Google solved crawling static pages, so if that's what you have, it will work.
So, tell me... does your site say New York anywhere? If it does, have a look at the page and see how the word is used... maybe your site isn't as static as you think. Also, are people really going to search your site for New York? Why don't you input some search terms that are likely on your site.
Another thing to consider is if your site is really just 50 pages, is it really realistic that people will want to search it? Maybe you don't need search... maybe you just need like a commonly used link section.

A: The BOSS Site Search Widget is pretty slick.
I use the bookmarklet thing but set as my "home" page in my browser.  So whatever site I'm on I can hit my "home" button (which I never used anyway) and it pops up that handy site search thing.


text:
Restore Defaults at Camel Art Space
by Hilary A. Baldwin and Matthew Ward
"Yeah, it was the '90s. Everyone danced in the '90s," says Tom Marquet, explaining how he met co-curator Carl Gunhouse.
"Carl and I have known each other since we were in junior high school. And we kind of grew up together in the New York hardcore scene. We went to shows a lot. I went to more shows than I can count."
While this bit of personal history might seem irrelevant to their first curatorial effort, Restore Defaults, up now in Williamsburg's Camel Art Space, it is, in fact, the heart of the show.
Marquet explains, "Restore Defaults is an exhibition of artists who use elements already of interest in the world as a starting point for their art. Rather than seeking to disguise or destroy these beginnings, they embrace and emphasize their role in the process of creation." Whether it's blocks of cream cheese, a computer, a highway, an advertisement, or even dog toys, the show examines the artists' creative path that can result in a return to their origins. In some ways, this is what Marquet and Gunhouse are doing as curators.
The idea for Restore Defaults began as a conversation between Marquet and Gunhouse after Rob de Oude, the director for Camel Art Space, offered the gallery for an exhibition of their choosing. Marquet says that collecting for the show was pretty organic, but admits that the two had competing impulses. "He's a more cheerful version of me, I think," Marquet laughs, adding, "with better vision and more hair." The fact that the two are longtime friends provided their own personal context within which to work. "We know each other well enough where we could actually go back and forth and say, I don't like this. And the other one could say, I do. And that goes back to introducing each other to bands."
In discussing potential artists for the show, Gunhouse had recently seen the work of video artist Jenny Drumgoole, a sort of wacky multimedia Cindy Sherman, whose work became a centerpiece for Restore Defaults. Watching Drumgoole is strangely addictive. Her "Q&A With The Real Women of Philadelphia" is a series of videos the artist made while competing in the "Real Women of Philadelphia," a Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Paula Deen sponsored recipe contest. She began the project partly to please her mother, a fan of Deen's, but the project, thanks to the Internet, took on a life of its own.
"It's really hilarious stuff," Marquet says. "I love it. And part of what we both really responded to was that it has this whole life on the Real Philadelphia Cream Cheese website. Which is to say that the context that it's sort of derived from was actually its natural home."
Drumgoole's video recipes run the gamut of creamy pasta made in the bathroom sink or sculpting with it. In these various episodes, she bops around, makeup or hair often askew, always in service to cream cheese and Paula Deen. Though she didn't win the grand prize, Drumgoole did win the favor of her fellow contestants. The comments on the site are fascinating, proving the cream cheese-loving women of Philadelphia are not haters. Rather, they embraced and championed Drumgoole's work. An abbreviated version of her entire project is screening for Restore Defaults.
Jenny Drumgoole
A second artist that Marquet and Gunhouse were interested in was composer and percussionist Nathan Davis. Fresh off his Lincoln Center piece, Bells, an aural experience that utilized audience members' cell phones as instruments of sound and noise, Marquet says that Davis "teaches you how to listen in a very slow way. There's a David Foster Wallace idea where he talks about how good writing makes you realize how smart you are or shows you how to pay attention and I think that's what Nathan's music does. It focuses you on, in this case, the computer; that the computer itself is a source of sound as well."
Davis employs the literal sounds of a computer processing. "He puts in a CD to start it spinning up," Marquet describes, "and it's a weird dramatic moment that sounds like there's a plane landing from outer space."
In addition to Drumgoole and Davis, Restore Defaults also includes the work of Hilary A. Baldwin and Matthew Ward, Calvin Lee, and wacdesignstudio. The show runs through May 1. On Friday, April 8, there will be a special performance by Nathan Davis, accompanied by International Contemporary Ensemble member Joshua Rubin, at 7:30pm.
For more information, Camel Art Space, 722 Metropolitan Avenue, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, www.camelartspace.com.
#arthistory #CamelArtSpace #events
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In my last post, I looked at how PC World/Currys and Tescobank/Tescocompare were harming each other's search rankings.
This time I have an example from RBS and Natwest, both owned by RBS Group, showing how duplicate content.
We also have a similar example from Smile and Co-operative bank.
In both cases, duplicate content on the sister sites is creating problems for Google.
In my previous post, I looked at how PC World/Currys and Tescobank/Gocompare were harming each other's search rankings.
Google cannot decide between the two very similar sites owned by the same group. In one instance they are flipping positions, then they come together and perform a dance in the SERPs.
Here, for the term 'offset mortgage' both sites are ranking most of the time, aside from a period in April and May when Natwest's rankings dipped below 100 on several occasions.
Does the more consistent pattern since then suggest that Google has decided what to do, or can we expect further turbulence?
Here's another example, for 'secured loan', a highly competitive keyword and one which would cost upwards of £14 per click via PPC.
It seems clear that the two sites are damaging each other's rankings here.
The maximum rank of roughly midway down page three on Google was achieved by Natwest in early January and hasn't been bettered since.
In fact, both sites have lingered on pages five and six for most of this period, and virtually disappeared in the second half of January. For such a valuable term, this performance could mean a loss of business for the two banks.
At the moment, Natwest is on page four of Google UK and RBS is nowhere, while rivals such as Barclays, Tescobank, Sainsburys and comparison sites are taking the page one positions.
If we look at the pages for 'secured loans' on the two sites, we can see the problem. The content is identical.
And the equivalent page on Natwest. I can't spot the difference, and neither can Google.
RBS Group has basically set up two sites with identical URL structure, theming and content. No wonder Google sees a semantic layer.
If RBS Group wants the two brands to rank highly, and independently of each other, then it needs to consider whether saving money by duplicating content is worthwhile.
These two sites should be capable of challenging rival banks in the SERPs, yet it is lingering in nowhere-land on Google. The cost of saving on content is the loss of valuable search traffic.
Like RBS and Natwest, these two banks are part of the same group, and they are also affecting each other's search rankings.
And we see this in the chart for the term 'changing current accounts', In this example, Co-operative bank starts out at around position 20 on Google, but eight months later it's down to 30, having spent almost a month at position 100 or below.
Smile starts lower, is higher at times, but ends up ranking below 100 in the period this chart covers.
We can see a fairly tragic looking dip around mid July, which it doesn't seem to recover from.
Indeed, at I write this post, I can't see Smile in the top 12 pages on Google for this term, while Co-op is sitting at the top of page four.
Co-op's rankings are slightly healthier and it seems to have recovered from its slump in July.
Again, as with RBS and Natwest, we have a case of duplicate content on the two pages. I'm concentrating on the 'switching' pages which both would like to rank for this term (A in the Smile chart and B for Co-op) though all the pages shown here have similar issues.
Here's the Smile switching page. It even mentions Co-operative bank.
And Co-op banks's equivalent page. Same design, same content.
It seems, for now at least, that Google has decided to favour the Co-operative bank's page and view the Smille version as duplicate content.
How does Google spot the links between sites?
In these cases, the links between the sites are obvious to us, but how does Google decide that there is a relationship?
Sam suggests a few signals it may look for.
Umbrella or similar network linking to whole site or certain pages.
These examples suggest that Google won't tolerate sites under the same umbrella using duplicate content and pages.
It will make a decision to rank one or the other or, if both rank, they may well pull each other down.
The simplest solution would seem to be to produce unique content for sites, even if they are part of the same parent company, and are offering the same products.


text:
TENNESSEE ROUTS TEXAS A&M; BY 24
Tennessee got 23 points from Scooter McFadgon and Brandon Crump added 18 to lead the Volunteers to a 108-84 victory Tuesday over Texas A&M.; The Volunteers (3-0) never trailed in the second half in a rematch of last year's meeting that the Aggies (3-1) won 83-66.
MICHIGAN TOPS NC STATE
Daniel Horton scored 16 points to lead Michigan to a 68-61 win against North Carolina State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The Wolverines (4-0) took control of the game when they held the Wolfpack (3-1) without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes in the second half.
FRIARS UPEND BULLS
Sheiku Kabba had 18 points and Rob Sanders added 17 to lead Providence to an 84-60 win over South Florida. South Florida (3-1) took an early 8-7 lead, but the Friars (3-0) outscored the Bulls 32-13 the rest of the first half to take a 39-21 halftime lead. The closest the Bulls came in the second half was on a 12-2 run capped by Marlyn Bryant's basket, closing the gap to 49-39 with about 13 minutes to play. But the Friars steadily pulled away the rest of the way.
HOFSTRA BEATS ST. JOHN'S
Freshman Carlos Rivera made 5-of-6 shots from 3-point range and scored 20 points to lead Hofstra to an 81-64 victory over St. John's (1-3). The Pride (2-3) were coming off road losses to Georgia Tech, Providence and Maryland, but being in the Red Storm's Alumni Hall didn't seem to bother them.
SEMINOLES DROP KNIGHTS
Tasheika Allen scored 24 points to lead Florida State to a 72-59 win over UCF. Leading by two points at halftime, the Seminoles (4-1) used some hot shooting to pull away from UCF (1-3). Florida State hit 11-of-20 shots from the field in the second half, and went 14-of-16 at the free-throw line.
GATORS BEAT USF
Vanessa Hayden scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lift the Florida Gators to a 70-55 victory over South Florida.
Tied 27-27 at halftime, the Gators (3-1) shot 68 percent in the second half to coast to the victory. South Florida (3-3) shot 24 percent for the game and was unable to take advantage of a 25-16 turnover edge.
STETSON TUMBLES
Olga Gritsaeva scored 29 points to help South Carolina (3-1) beat Stetson (1-2) 94-66.


Jill Bergkamp lives with her husband in South Florida and teaches English at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Her poems have most recently appeared in Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Image, and Sugar House Review.
John Fry is originally from South Texas. He is the author of With the Dogstar as My Witness (Orison Books, 2018), which was a finalist for the Orison Poetry Prize, the Dorset Prize, and the Nightboat Poetry Prize. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in West Branch, Colorado Review, Blackbird, Waxwing, Tupelo Quarterly, Devil's Lake, and Third Coast.
Jen Stewart Fueston lives in Longmont, Colorado. Her work has appeared most recently in Inklette, Whale Road Review, and Pilgrimage. Her poem, "Trying to Get My Body Back," was named a finalist for Ruminate magazine's 2018 McCabe poetry prize. Her chapbook, Visitations, was published in 2015. She has taught writing at the University of Colorado, Boulder, as well as in Hungary, Turkey, and Lithuania.
Christopher Lee Miles's poems have appeared in The Cincinnati Review; Salamander; Sugarhouse Review; War, Literature, & the Arts; and West Branch. He holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Currently he is an English tutor for rural Alaskan and Alaska Native students at Interior Alaska Campus.
B. P. Miller is the associate poetry editor of Ninth Letter as well as a current MFA candidate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His writing appears in The Carolina Quarterly and Cellar Door Magazine.
Matthew Porto is from Long Island, New York. He holds an MFA in poetry from Boston University. His work has most recently appeared in Crosswinds, SWAMP, Strange Horizons, and in the anthology A Packet of Poems for Ezra Pound, published by Clemson University Press. He is currently working on a Ph.D. in creative writing, poetry, at Texas Tech University.
Michael Schmidtke was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. They received an MFA from Eastern Washington University. Other poems have appeared in Stirring, The Swamp, Tin House (Online), and Ruminate.
Bill Stadick has published poetry and creative nonfiction in various publications, including Barren Magazine, The Windhover, First Things, Wisconsin Academy Review, Conclave, The Cresset, and The Christian Century.
David Wright teaches creative writing and American literature at Monmouth College (Illinois). His poems have appeared in 32 Poems, Image, Ecotone, Poetry East, and Hobart, among many others. His most recent poetry collection is The Small Books of Bach (Wipf & Stock, 2014). He can be found on Twitter @sweatervestboy.


Staff at the region's biggest rail operator were accused today of acting like "circus clowns" after another morning of cancellations and the revelation that passengers on many routes affected by the summer's timetable chaos will not get compensation.
The latest embarrassment to hit Northern Rail came as all rush-hour services on the busy Wharfedale line from Ilkley to Leeds and Bradford were cancelled because of a broken-down train on the track. It was the second time in four days, for the same reason, that no peak services had run.
Commuters described farcical scenes as, with passengers still inside the carriages, staff argued about whether to push or pull the faulty train out of the way.
One woman, whose daughter was on the 7am service to Leeds, said: "It was beyond stupid. They were like circus clowns going through the carriages with torches, even though it wasn't dark.
He described one passenger being "visibly upset" at being late for a new job for the second time in a week.
But as tempers boiled over, customers were dealt a further blow as it emerged that the line – which has been badly hit by the summer-long timetable chaos on Northern – has been excluded from the compensation package agreed last month with the Government and Transport for the North. Season-ticket holders on the Harrogate and Skipton lines will also be ineligible.
All three routes are said to have not met the "agreed cancellation threshold" at the beginning of the crisis.
Ilkley's MP, John Grogan, warned Northern that "patience amongst commuters on the Wharfedale line was "wearing thin in the summer heat".
Asked by The Yorkshire Post to explain the latest delays and the lack of information to passengers, Northern issued only a short statement, with its spokesman declining to be interviewed.
It said the train halted today was of a different type to the one that had failed on Monday and that "from an initial view, it looks to be a different issue".
Last month it was announced that season ticket holders in Yorkshire would get less compensation than in the North West, where timetable disruption was at its worst. But Northern now says that only users of routes from Leeds to Settle, York, Selby, Barnsley and Manchester Victoria will be entitled to claim.


text:
import os

from dartcms.views import JSONView
from django.conf import settings
from django.http import Http404
from django.utils import formats
from django.views.generic import TemplateView

from .forms import FolderForm
from .models import File, Folder

class FileManagerIndexView(TemplateView):
    template_name = 'dartcms/apps/filemanager/index.html'

class GetTreeView(JSONView):
    def get_data(self, context):
        response = []

        for folder in Folder.objects.all().order_by('name'):
            response.append({
                'id': folder.id,
                'text': folder.name,
                'iconCls': 'icon-folder'
            })
        return response

class CreateFolderView(JSONView):
    def get_data(self, context):
        folder_form = FolderForm(self.request.POST)
        if folder_form.is_valid():
            folder_form.save()
            response = {'result': True}

        else:
            response = {
                'result': False,
                'errors': folder_form.errors
            }
        return response

class GetFilesView(JSONView):
    def get_data(self, context):
        try:
            folder = Folder.objects.get(pk=self.request.GET.get('folder_id'))
            response = []
            for f in folder.files.all().order_by('-date_created'):
                response.append({
                    'id': f.id,
                    'name': os.path.basename(f.path.name),
                    'path': settings.MEDIA_URL + f.path.name,
                    'date_created': formats.date_format(f.date_created, "SHORT_DATETIME_FORMAT")
                })
            return response
        except Folder.DoesNotExist:
            raise Http404

class UploadFileView(JSONView):
    def get_data(self, context):
        try:
            folder_id = int(self.request.POST.get('folder_id'))
            folder = Folder.objects.get(id=folder_id)
            for f in self.request.FILES.getlist('files'):
                File(folder=folder, path=f).save()

            return {'result': True}
        except Folder.DoesNotExist:
            raise Http404

class RenameFolderView(JSONView):
    def get_data(self, context):
        try:
            folder = Folder.objects.get(pk=self.request.GET.get('folder_id'))
            folder_form = FolderForm(self.request.POST, instance=folder)
            if folder_form.is_valid():
                folder_form.save()
                response = {'result': 'success'}
            else:
                response = {
                    'result': 'error',
                    'errors': folder_form.errors
                }
            return response
        except Folder.DoesNotExist:
            raise Http404

class DeleteFolderView(JSONView):
    def get_data(self, context):
        try:
            Folder.objects.get(pk=self.request.GET.get('folder_id')).delete()
            return {'result': 'success'}
        except Folder.DoesNotExist:
            raise Http404

class DeleteFileView(JSONView):
    def get_data(self, context):
        try:
            File.objects.get(pk=self.request.GET.get('file_id'), folder_id=self.request.GET.get('folder_id')).delete()
            return {'result': 'success'}
        except Folder.DoesNotExist:
            raise Http404

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: cordova-plugin-crosswalk-webview and I'm getting navigator.getUserMedia is not a function I am developing an ionic WebRTC app using cordova-plugin-crosswalk-webview and I'm getting navigator.getUserMedia is not a function when running on the android device any idea why?

    navigator.getUserMedia({audio: true, video: true},
        function(stream){
            let vid = document.getElementById('my-video');

            if(vid)
            {
                vid.setAttribute("src", URL.createObjectURL(stream));
            } else {
                alert("err geting div");
            }
            //this.localStream = stream;

        }, function(){ alert("err");}
    );
    <video id="my-video" muted="true" autoplay="" src=""></video>

A: i solved my problem by reinstalling cordova-plugin-crosswalk-webview plugin


A Siemens star is a device used to test the resolution of optical instruments, printers and displays. It consists of a pattern of bright "spokes" on a dark background that radiate from a common center and become wider as they get further from it. Theoretically the spokes only meet at the exact center of the star – the spokes, and the gaps between them, become narrower the closer to the center one looks, but they never touch except at the center. When printed or displayed on a device with limited resolution, however, the spokes touch at some distance from the center. The smallest gap visible is limited by the smallest dot of ink the printer can produce, making the Siemens star a useful tool for comparing two printers' resolutions (DPI). Similarly, it can be applied to a camera's optical resolution by taking photographs of a Siemens star printed at high resolution and comparing photographs from different cameras, to see which retained the center detail the closest.
In the field of video production, where it is often called a "back focus chart", the Siemens star is widely used to adjust the back focus of removable lenses. It is also used during film or video shoots to help setting the focus in special situations.
Siemens stars are similar to the sunburst pattern used as a background in graphic design, as in the Japanese Naval Ensign. They are useful in drawing the eye to a point on the page.
Under optical blur from defocus, a Siemens star gives rise to the phenomenon of spurious resolution above the resolution limit, i.e. towards the center of the Siemens star. This results in inverted polarity of the stripe pattern: black stripes appear in the place of white stripes and vice versa (and further polarity inversions occur further inward). When looking at the Siemens star with slightly blurred vision, e.g. without spectacles or with defocus from staring, this is seen as a shimmering ring around the Siemens star's center that changes size with viewing distance.
^ Strasburger, Hans; Bach, Michael; Heinrich, Sven P. (2018). "Blur Unblurred – A Mini Tutorial". I-Perception. 9 (2): 204166951876585. doi:10.1177/2041669518765850. PMC 5946648. PMID 29770182.
^ Smith, George (1982). "Ocular defocus, spurious resolution and contrast reversal". Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics. 2: 5–23.
This page was last edited on 23 January 2019, at 04:41 (UTC).


Simple (R-)Markdown template for 'Onepager-reports' etc.
Download this pdf file here. Here is the source file. Credit goes to the Pandoc team; I based my template on their's.
First and foremorst, write your report using Markdown, and convert it to HTML oder Latex-PDF using Pandoc. Rstudio provides nice introduction, eg., here or here.
Next, tell your Markdown document to use your individual stylesheet, i.e, template. Note that I focus here on PDF output.
subtitle: "A general theory ..."
title: "Feedback report to the assignment"
You have to put that bit above in the YAML header of your markdown document (right at the top of your document), see the source file for details. And then, you just write your Markdown report in plain English (or whatever language…).
En plus, the style sheet - being based on Pandoc's stylesheet - allows for quite a number of more format-based adjustments such as language, geometry of the paper, section-numbering etc. See the excellent Pandoc help for details.


text:
module FFI
  # @return (see FFI::LastError.error)
  # @see FFI::LastError.error
  def self.errno
    FFI::LastError.error
  end
  # @param error (see FFI::LastError.error=)
  # @return (see FFI::LastError.error=)
  # @see FFI::LastError.error=
  def self.errno=(error)
    FFI::LastError.error = error
  end
end


WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Gary Smith and his 11-year-old son, Caleb, tooled down the Trans-Canada Highway in their rented Toyota on a winter's day. They were in the middle of a 12-hour, 600-mile road trip from Quebec to Prince Edward Island when reality hit the 41-year-old missionary and he suddenly started to cry.
It's a fact, Smith said, that some 1,000 communities in Quebec — spread across hundreds of — have no evangelical church at all, not one.
The Smiths are national missionaries for the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and the Canadian National Baptist Convention, responsible for planting churches all across Canada.
They are two of the some 5,500 missionaries in the United States, Canada and their territories supported by the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® for North American Missions, and are among the NAMB missionaries featured as part of the annual Week of Prayer, March 1-8, 2009.
This year's theme is "Live with Urgency: Sowing Together for Harvest." The 2009 Annie Armstrong Easter Offering's goal is $65 million, 100 percent of which benefits missionaries like the Smiths.
Smith, a native Kansan, realizes he's not in Kansas anymore when it comes to the difficult challenge of planting new churches and sharing the gospel amidst a vastly "lost" Canada.
"In eastern Canada, there's a spiritual void," he says. "If you're under 40 years old and in Quebec, you don't probably know who Jesus Christ is. I've had some people literally tell me, 'Oh, that's a curse word.' That's all they know about Jesus. And this is where we are trying to evangelize, witness and plant churches.
Smith says only eight percent of all Canadians are connected to an evangelical church, compared to 28 percent in the United States.
As an example of the fading spiritual condition in Montreal — Quebec's largest city — 95 percent of Montreal citizens attended a Catholic church weekly in 1955. Today, it's only five percent. The Catholic Church has not only lost most of its spiritual ground in Montreal, it's almost been kicked out of the culture, according to Smith.
But the same holds true for Protestant churches in other Canadian provinces such as New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Smith said despite local church planting by Southern Baptists — many of the churches in these provinces have either died out or been turned into art museums.
Smith says sharing the gospel in Canada often calls for new, unique and creative tactics in lieu of traditional "hard-sell" methods. In a country where so many know of Jesus Christ only as a "curse word," tangibly reflecting the love and compassion of Christ proves more successful.
"On an airplane recently, I met a young French woman who was a social worker in Trois Rivierre, Quebec, one of the most unreached cities per capita in all of North America," he said. "Not only was she a social worker, she had a caseload of 50 unwed pregnant teenagers, average age 13.
Smith got her e-mail address and phone number and weeks later, told the young social worker's story at a Baptist missions conference in Florida.
"And I told them, 'No, Jesus Christ provided these things for you today. This is who He is.' That was these Canadian social workers' introduction to the gospel," Smith said, adding that reflecting Jesus' compassion in any lost place can make the mission field there much softer to plow and harvest.
Smith's church planting role for NAMB and the Canadian National Baptist Convention is much bigger than himself — to the extent that he partners with fellow missionary Jeff Christopherson in Toronto, and oversees volunteer church planting "advocates" stationed in other Canadian provinces.
"Toronto is the most culturally diverse city on the planet," according to Christopherson. "In 2001, over 50 percent of the Toronto population was born outside Canada. By 2016, there will be more than 1 million Mandarin-speaking Chinese from mainland China living in the Greater Toronto area. But 95 percent of them will be unchurched.
Christopherson said Toronto is also Canada's headquarters for the country's major corporations, media outlets, the Canada Stock Exchange and the major banks — making the city a combined New York City and Los Angeles. As such, Toronto impacts the rest of Canada.
Although Smith — who recently shifted his home base from Montreal to Winnipeg, Manitoba — is primarily responsible for Eastern Canada, including Montreal, and Christopherson oversees Toronto, the two men say there are no turf battles.
"We see ourselves working together, and there is no 'this is my city' or 'this is your city,'" says Smith. "We don't care whose name is on what — we want to see these two strategic cities reached for Christ.
Another Canadian church planter, Jarret Hamilton, who pastors Affinity Church in a Toronto suburb, Oshawa, and also sings Smith's praises.
And what does the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering do for church planters in Canada?
"I'm thinking of a guy in New Brunswick," said Smith. "It's a dynamic church plant, supported by the Annie offering. They've led over 200 people to Christ in this one church plant. And that's because of the Annie offering that supports that church plant.
North Carolina Baptist Men has a partnership with Eastern Canada. Find out more from Mark Abernathy at (800) 395-5102, ext. 5607.


text:
Rex R. Perschbacher
A Changing Role for Lawyers in a Post-Enron World?
Posted Wednesday, January 1, 2003
What does the post-Enron world look like for lawyers? Some believe that lawyers need to become gatekeepers, there to watch over and control corporate officers and directors. Currently lawyers do not have a real gatekeeping role. Unlike auditors, lawyers don't have public duties of care, disclosure, or independence. Instead, lawyers are supposed to be zealously loyal to their clients. Thus they make very poor gatekeepers. But things may change a bit. Let's take a look at lawyers for publicly traded corporations before, during, and after the Enron collapse.
What was the corporate lawyer's world before Enron? Prior to Enron's fall, there were some specific ethical rules for lawyers representing corporations. The rules said these lawyers had to be careful to remember that they represented the corporation and not the individuals who make up the corporation. That is very hard to do since it is the individual corporate officers who hire and fire, pay, and talk to the attorneys. The corporation may be a person in the eyes of the law, but to the corporation's lawyer, the corporation is an unlikely friend and confidant. Nevertheless the rules required the corporation's lawyer who learned of illegal or criminal conduct possibly attributable to the corporation, to report it up the chain of corporate command as far as he or she could: to audit committees and the like. So went the rule.
In addition, there is an opposing rule that attorneys all know about-that they are supposed to keep their client's confidences, more or less absolutely. California requires that this be done absolutely. Nationally, the American Bar Association ("ABA") suggests rules that are fuzzier. And in a case of exquisite bad timing, the ABA had before it a chance to amend its Model Rule in August of 2001. In particular, the ABA had the chance to change the rule to allow lawyers to divulge their clients' secrets to prevent the clients from using their lawyer's services to commit a crime or fraud and to allow a lawyer to breach client confidentiality to prevent, mitigate, or rectify a financial loss arising from the client's use of the lawyer's services to commit a fraud. The proposed changes were badly defeated within the ABA's House of Delegates, and one was withdrawn. And so the rules remain very absolute. An attorney may, if she wants, reveal client confidences to prevent an imminent death or the like by her client, but nothing else in the national view.
2. During
What about the lawyers' role in the Enron mess? Lawyers caught a break in the whirlwind of publicity following Enron's bankruptcy filing, probably because what Arthur Anderson did looked so bad. But lawyers were in the Enron mess up to their eyeballs. Specifically, two large firms were involved. Vinson & Elkins, Enron's general counsel, investigated Sharon Watkins's whistle blowing complaints and did not find anything to be worried about. Kirkland & Ellis, a Chicago-based firm representing Enron in setting up many of the entities that moved revenues off to the side, similarly reported they found nothing to be concerned about. In fact, Enron was Vinson & Elkins' biggest client. More lawyers were involved as both Enron and Anderson had lawyers on their staffs. All failed in some way, but lawyers didn't catch all the flak, at least not publicly. Lawyers got a break at least in part because of the Central Bank v. First Interstate Bank case, from 1994, that said lawyers are not liable for aiding and abetting in securities fraud just because they advise a corporate client who commits it, if they are not actively involved in creating and manipulating misinformation and are not principal actors in the fraud. This case supports the idea that lawyers involved with Enron are not liable just because they were involved when the fraud went on.
So lawyers got a break. Nevertheless, when everything did go bad in Enron, Milberg Weiss, the firm representing the Regents of the University of California, and you, and me, and our pension funds, sued those two law firms as well. They hope to get around the Central Bank holding. It's yet to be determined whether they'll succeed in doing so. In their 500-page complaint, they devote about 50 pages to attacking the work of the lawyers for Enron.
3. After
Nevertheless, what's happening in the wake of Enron-the last phase of this story? One good thing resulted from it and may yet prove to be very beneficial. The ABA created a Taskforce on Corporate Responsibility that reported a number of changes that it wants to make to the relevant Rules. In particular, the Taskforce wants to tighten up the rule about whom lawyers report things to in order to make it easier for lawyers to report wrongdoing and to expand their reporting to include a wider range of wrongdoing. In particular, the Taskforce has recommended that the ABA go back and change the rules on confidentiality and make changes that would allow lawyers to reveal fraud or other misdeeds of a client in order to prevent great harm to the public. Nevertheless, the hope for all that to be accomplished isn't very great. I wouldn't bet on the ABA revisiting these proposed changes in the attorney-client privilege, and, even if it did, I wouldn't bet on the states quickly adopting the changes to their rules. It's a long arduous process.
But something else is on the horizon that lawyers and corporate officials should be aware of. Congress finally woke up and passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that made a myriad of reforms, setting up an accounting board and the like. It has some particular relevance for lawyers and may change the way lawyers relate to their clients, to the SEC, and, in the long run, to the public. In particular, for about 50 years the Securities Exchange Commission ("SEC") has had a rule that allows it to suspend or bar professionals from practice for improper professional conduct. The SEC has used this rule against accountants, but has almost never used it against lawyers. It just hasn't enforced it against lawyers-or, very, very rarely. The SEC tends to turn things over to the states. In the wake of Enron, that is unlikely to be the case anymore. In fact, the new law specifically directs that the SEC, not later than 180 days after enactment (which was the end of January), issue rules, in the public interest and for the protection of investors, setting forth minimum standards of professional conduct for attorneys appearing and practicing before the commission in any way, including a requirement that attorneys report evidence of a material violation of securities law, or a breach of fiduciary duty, or similar violation, to the legal counsel, chief executive officer, or the equivalent of the corporation.
So, what could this mean? I think what this could mean is a real invigoration of lawyers' rules at the federal level, something that's never been done there. It may also mean that we might really develop some national controls over attorneys-but different rules, tougher rules that would undo the state monopoly of the regulation of the legal practice that is largely in the hands of the lawyers themselves in determining whether they act rightly or wrongly. That, I think, is an interesting, threatening, and liberating possible future for lawyers and Enron
Rex R. Perschbacher is dean of the University of California, Davis, School of Law.


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Sunrun solar installation. Photo from Sunrun.
The installations will take place within a 60-mile radius of the Chequamegon Bay area, including Ashland, Washburn and Bayfield. Cheq Bay Renewables estimates it takes 6 kilowatts of solar to power the average Wisconsin home each year. Next Energy Solution owner Danielle Kelly said the partnership allows her business to focus on installations rather than sales.
"First of all, the public is becoming more comfortable with the idea of rooftop solar, and, secondly, the price has come down a lot over the last five years," said Vickerman.
"The price has continually declined even with the tariffs that were established earlier this year," he said.
Executive director Nick Hylla with Midwest Renewable Energy Association said solar installations were priced around $80 per watt at the organization's first energy fair roughly 20 years ago. Last year, the association had the largest group buy in the state with its Solar Central Wisconsin program. More than 300 kilowatts of solar panels were installed on 46 homes and businesses in central Wisconsin. He said interest in solar group buy programs is growing.
Solar Group Buys Gaining Ground In Recent Years was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
No one mentions payback periods any more. What is the amount of time it takes to pay back the upfront costs of the install? In We Energy territory it appears to be over 20 years now that overage is only paid back at wholesale.
Thanks for the update. Both Xcel Energy and Bayfield Cooperative have launched solar farms in the area offering their customers alternative energy buys. Both have been surprised by the response from locals investing in above expected numbers. Sunshine makes us happy!


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text:
In Mexico, Justice Will Remain a Family Matter
Posted on February 8, 2021 by Jaylia Yan
Judicial corruption in Mexico is a pervasive problem. And while high-level scandals tend to grab the headlines (see, for example, here, here, and here), much of the corruption is more pedestrian. While the causes of Mexico's judicial corruption problem are various and complex, one persistent contributing factor is the endemic nepotism throughout the judiciary.
Of the more than 50 types of position in the judicial branch (including both judgeships and various administrative positions), only two—federal circuit and district court judgeships—use a competitive merit-based hiring process. For the rest, judges can choose whom they please, with little oversight. Moreover, once hired, these individuals have an insurmountable advantage in promotion in the judiciary, given that most job postings (and, informally, judgeships) require that the candidate have previous experience in the judicial branch. And even with respect to circuit and district judgeships, which are supposed to be filled through an open and merit-based competitive selection process run by a body called the Federal Judicial Council (CJF), in practice the CJF often creates "special" vacancies with different criteria (in effect, lower standards).
As a result of all this, nepotism in judicial hiring and promotion is pervasive, as judges are able to secure positions for friends and family. At least 51% of Mexico's judges and magistrates are related to someone else working in the judiciary, with that number as high as 80% in some states. (To take one particularly egregious but not totally anomalous example, in one judge's chambers, 17 employees were related to the judge.) This nepotism is not only corrupt in itself, but it also contributes to other forms of corruption. For one thing, corrupt judges can appoint those who will participate in, or at least be complicit in, corrupt practices—in some cases appointing individuals recommended by organized crime groups. But even when such deliberate wrongdoing is not the issue, untrained or unprofessional judicial bureaucrats and judges are more susceptible to corruption, and more likely to create the kinds of delays and inefficiencies in the system that both invite and obscure corrupt actions.
There hadn't been much appetite in the Mexican Government to address the judicial nepotism problem until reform-minded President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Chief Justice Arturo Zaldívar took office. Since February 2020, both men have been enthusiastically lobbying for a judicial reform package deemed the most ambitious since 1994. This bill, overwhelmingly passed by the Mexican Senate and Chamber of Deputies in recent months, is a behemoth, with a variety of significant structural changes to the judicial branch. Among these many reforms are several measures designed, at least in part, to address the problem of judicial nepotism:
First, the bill would alter the CJF, transforming it from a mainly administrative body to one that also exercises jurisdictional and investigative functions. As most relevant here, the bill would limit judges' bureaucratic control over their chambers by making things like staff size, income, and tenure matters of federal regulation. Furthermore, judges who do not comply with the new requirements, or who are found to engage in nepotistic hiring practices, may be removed from their positions by the CJF.
Second, the new law converts the Federal Judiciary Institute—which currently operates as a kind of dedicated think tank for the CJF—into a Federal Judicial Training School (EFJ), which would become the premier training center for those who want judicial careers. Furthermore, in addition to providing training for judicial branch hopefuls, the EFJ will conduct competitive examinations for judicial branch positions. The bill suggests that the meritocratic competition process requirement would apply to all judicial branch positions, an expansion from the current application only to judgeships.
Unfortunately, while presumably well-intentioned, these reforms are unlikely to do much to curb the rampant nepotism in the Mexican judiciary.
First, the bill as written does not establish any standards for admission to, or education at, the new EFJ; the bill contains only general statements that a school will be founded for the purposes of reducing nepotism and increasing applicant quality. And the fact that the EFJ would be effectively controlled by the CJF is cause for concern, given the CJF's previous practice of creating "special vacancy" exceptions to established meritocratic processes. While demanding granular admission requirements or a specific curriculum is probably more than can or should be done in a general reform bill like this, it would have been better if the bill had at least established measurable goals and explicit values to help ensure meritocratic admissions and examination processes.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, the bill is similarly vague regarding the promised "competitions" for employment. The bill's proponents have suggested that future judges and administrative personnel in the judicial branch would be drawn from the school and selected via competition, but there is no clause in the present bill that actually requires this. Without a mandate, though the EFJ may create new pool of more qualified judicial candidates, alternative hiring systems more prone to nepotism can continue. The bill also fails to specify the limits that the CJF will place on a judge's hiring discretion; it seems that the CJF could entirely supplant a judge's discretion, but it's also possible that a judge (and the CJF, in the context of appointments to circuit judge positions) could ignore the bill without consequence.
Third, the bill lacks sufficient attention to implementation issues, a failure that has doomed previous judicial reform initiatives. The bill does not, for example, outline how oversight or education of the judicial pipeline could be funded or designed, nor does it establish how the CJF can credibly investigate and remedy nepotism. There is no reporting infrastructure in place, and the only remedy that the CJF can impose in response to a judge's abuse of his or her hiring authority—at least the only one mentioned explicitly—seems to be outright removal, which might be too extreme a sanction to actually use much in practice.
Fourth, the bill seems to further empower the CJF—endowing it with a great deal of oversight and control over the judiciary—without addressing fundamental concerns regarding the CJF itself. Members of the CJF have previously voted against implementing internal procedures that would limit biased hiring practices, and, as noted earlier, the CJF is not innocent when it comes to fostering nepotistic practices. (It may also be a matter of concern that the CJF is functionally dependent on the Supreme Court, which has its own history of nepotistic scandals that have implicated justices.) The CJF requires an overhaul before it is trusted with substantially greater powers over the judiciary, and if it is to credibly assume an oversight role, it must first be made fully independent of the Supreme Court.
There's some good in the bill, which includes among its many provisions things like promises for gender equity in the judiciary and public funding for future public defenders. But despite the intentions of the drafters, the bill's anti-nepotism measures seem largely cosmetic, and unlikely to deliver on their promise.
This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Arturo Zaldívar, judicial reform, judiciary, Mexico, nepotism by Jaylia Yan. Bookmark the permalink.
9 thoughts on "In Mexico, Justice Will Remain a Family Matter"
astridmedianero on February 16, 2021 at 10:33 pm said:
Super interesting topic! I am particularly interested as something similar occurred in Peru. However, one question I have is whether this bill is just the first step into actually implementing the corresponding regulation in order to implement this reform? If that is the case, then maybe Mexico might still have a chance at fixing these issues.
Jaylia Yan on March 4, 2021 at 11:34 am said:
The bill reached the approval of 18 state congresses around a week ago, which means that it'll be incorporated into the Mexican Constitution. Further implementing legislation could certainly provide more comfort and address some of the concerns I've listed here, but even so, the structural changes to the judiciary remain concerning.
Michael Glanzel on February 28, 2021 at 11:54 pm said:
I hate to be a cynic, but I wonder whether legislation can actually achieve meaningful progress. It seems to me that perhaps a large degree of the problem is the legal culture in Mexico. Perhaps only meaningful change can occur if the legal community changes its attitude and commits itself to actually reforming nepotistic practices. This may make a more durable and impactful change on the nation's corruption scene, but would surely require a major overhaul in thinking.
I'll be a cynic right along side you! From reading the bill and the legislative history, you'll see a lot of soaring rhetoric with not much granular detail– which makes me personally doubt the commitment to the bill's stated motivation. Addressing corruption in Mexico is a wholesale endeavor, and adjusting attitudes through policy is always a challenge.
Brooke Davies on March 5, 2021 at 3:49 pm said:
Jaylia, thank you for this post! You touch on this a bit, but I also couldn't help but wonder how might the judiciary's own role in interpreting this law limit its implementation. Is there any concern that judges may use their own role to stymy the process, e.g. narrowly interpret the law if someone brings a challenge against it?
Jaylia Yan on March 8, 2021 at 8:57 pm said:
Hi Brooke, the judiciary might push back on a policy level, but Mexican judges actually don't often make precedential legal interpretations. In order for something to be considered jurisprudence, the Supreme Court and appellate courts must rule on the same issue in the same way, five times in a row. Or, if there's ambiguity in the law, judges will consult with legal scholars. Additionally, the issue here is a matter of restructuring and procedure, and it would be difficult for a judge to combat this law using their role as an arbiter (though as a bureaucrat that may be a different story!)
Jennifer Kline on March 21, 2021 at 8:31 pm said:
Mexico seems to have chosen the most ambitious means possible of uprooting judicial nepotism. Why not just have the EJF administer a standardized exam to those with a qualifying degree (like the bar exam in the US) without the logistical nightmare of starting a school? Passing the exam would be a prerequisite for all relevant positions within the judiciary, and existing schools will then likely modify their curricula accordingly. That change would sidestep a lot of the implementation problems discussed and limit the CJF's role to that of exam administrator and blind grader.
Jaylia Yan on March 22, 2021 at 12:14 pm said:
A standardized exam does seem to be part of the EFJ reforms, but without strict oversight in place as to the design, administration, grading, and then hiring, I think an exam would largely be toothless. Greater, systemic change regarding judicial hiring is probably necessary. I don't begrudge the scope of this bill/change, but I don't think that the change will create effective and more just results the way that it is currently presented.
Paul Warren on June 30, 2021 at 12:03 pm said:
These cosmetic attempts at resolving the cultural problem in Mexico do nothing more than give AMLO sound bites in his morning news conferences.
Ambiguity is always part of the law here in Mexico. But it's ambiguous for a reason, by allowing individuals within the system to openly interpreter their version of the law (everything is grey here) it permits corruption – usually in the form of bribing public officials at all levels.
Justice isn't blind in Mexico, it's bought.
I speak from current experience, a judge violated the procedural law, the constitution and four human rights in a blatantly corrupt decision, it was rapidly overturned on appeal and now the judge is being investigated by the Consejo Jurídica. He might face sanctions, but will likely be let off without punishment as part of the administrative law permits forgiveness if the judge has a good employment record… So judges can break laws etc and get off with just a slapped wrist. What a double standard.
And the four human rights violations investigated by Human Rights in Mexico. They agreed the judge violated four human rights. Investigated everything and in their conclusion did nothing. Human rights, as with many things in Mexico are just given lip service. Nothing will change here, ever. People with power and money do not want to let it go.


text:
Svetvinčenat is een gemeente in de Kroatische provincie Istrië.

Svetvinčenat telt 2218 inwoners. De oppervlakte bedraagt 15 km², de bevolkingsdichtheid is 147,9 inwoners per km².

Gemeente in Kroatië
Istrië (provincie)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


En 1960 the German architect and painter Erwin Broner designed the famous Casa Broner, in the neighborhood Sa Penya. Gisela Broner, the artist's widow, donated it to the Ibiza Town Hall and in the year 2000 was declared a Cultural Interest.
The Broner House has become a representative sign of modern architecture in the Balearics. Therefore, it is considered a house museum and is totally open to the public. La visit is free and the tour takes place throughout the stay.
It is divided into two plants: the residence of the author and his study. In addition to the construction itself and the furniture, which were designed by Broner himself, you can also contemplate part of his work as drawings or various paintings.
Being built on one of the cliffs of Sa Penya, in the area of the Santa Lucia bastion, it has spectacular views of the sea and Formentera. Housing was widely Reformed before its opening as a museum.
Erwin Broner moved to Ibiza in the middle of the 30 years to escape the Nazi regime. Once on the island, he was amazed by the architecture of Ibiza, which he knew how to combine perfectly with his own style. The influence of Ibiza is clearly seen in this house museum in which the white walls with stone walls and the beautiful beams of sabina stand out.
- From 1 from May to 30 from September: From Tuesday to Sunday from 10 to 13.30 hours and from Tuesday to Friday from 17 to 20 hours.
- From 1 from October to 30 from April: From Tuesday to Sunday from 10 to 13.30 hours and from Tuesday to Friday from 16 to 18 hours.
Head towards the end of the port of Ibiza, where all the bars and restaurants end. Next to the Casal de Joves you will see some stairs that will lead you to the street of Mare de Déu, popularly known as Calle de la Virgen. The Broner House is right on the parallel.


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Eco-labels on fish may have little meaning
Monday, December 19, 2011 by: Tara Green
Tags: eco-labels, fish, seafood
https://www.naturalnews.com/034439_eco-labels_fish_seafood.html
(NaturalNews) The extra money you pay for seafood carrying an eco-label may not support better environmental fish farming. That's the conclusion of a study released December 7, 2011 by the University of Victoria's Seafood Ecology Research Group(SERG).
Fishy Eco Standards
"How Green is your Eco-Label" evaluates the different eco-labels for farmed marine fish and also compares them with unlabeled options. As lead researcher John Volpe observes "there's a tendency to assume that if something has an eco-label, it must be a better choice but with the exception of a few outstanding examples, one-third of the eco-labels evaluated for these fish utilize standards at the same level or below what we consider to be conventional or average practice in the industry."
Currently there is no single standard of what constitutes eco-friendly fish farming. By comparing the many competing sustainability labels applied to farmed fish, the study aims to provide consumers with a guide to identify those which reliably reflect high eco-standards. Volpe and his team selected 20 different sets of standards, or labels, for 11 types of farmed marine fish including salmon, cod and grouper. Researchers graded these standards using a tool they developed to objectively evaluate marine aquaculture, the Global Aquaculture Performance Index (GAPI). Among the standards the Canadian researchers measured with GAPI were Whole Foods; U.K. retailer Marks and Spencer; the Global Aquaculture Alliance and Friend of the Sea.
Most of the labels were shown to have little value (save as marketing tools); earning GAPI scores less than 10 percent higher than achieved by conventional fish farming. Two labels, Global G.A.P and Marks & Spencer, received negative scores, meaning their standards were so low that fish farms causing more than the average amount of environmental damage were still eligible for certification. Researchers gave the highest marks to a set of labeling standards not yet in use: the proposed U.S. National Organic Standard for farmed salmon. "It stood out across the board," Volpe says, citing its strong requirements regarding antibiotic use, disease prevention, and fish feed.
An industry that destroys itself
The study, which was funded by the Pew Environment Group, concluded that the scale of fish farming is a problem in itself. Aquaculture farms earn eco-labels based on having a small environmental footprint. However, the growth of the fish farming industry threatens to overwhelm and counteract the sustainability practices of a single farm or small group of certified farms. "As an industry grows, its cumulative effects grow as well. Strong farm-level standards alone are not sufficient to constrain the ecological footprint of the entire industry" the researchers observe in their report.
Half of the seafood consumed around the world now comes from aquaculture. These farms pose a wide range of environmental problems. Open cage farms often discharge waste directly into the sea. Uneaten feed can fall to the sea floor can fall to the sea floor where it consumes oxygen vital to shellfish. In many fish farms, as many as 50,000-90,000 fish may be kept in a 100 foot by 100 foot pen, which can result in the spread of disease and parasites. Farmed salmon which escape from fish farms have been shown to have a harmful effect on wild salmon by spreading parasites such as sea lice. As with other types of modern livestock farming, the farmers may overuse antibiotics and other chemicals in an attempt to stem disease. These chemicals become marine pollutants and may also endanger the health of humans who consume the fish. A study comparing wild and farmed salmon found the farmed fish contained 5-10 times as many PCB's as their wild counterparts.
Ironically, the burgeoning of the aquaculture industry began because of studies showing the health benefits of consuming fish and fish oil. Fish farming was supposed to increase fish supply in order to provide more of this healthy food to more people. However, since farmed fish are fed primarily fish meal and fish oil, aquaculture actually destroys the wild fish population.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/12/08/...
http://www.earthtimes.org/going-green/how-gr...
http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/pres...
http://www1.american.edu/TED/alaskasalmon.ht...
http://web.uvic.ca/~serg/papers/GAPI_Benchma...
http://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2011/08/...
Eco-labels at FETCH.news