text:
[[missing key: search-facet.tree.open-section]] 18.4 Use of Numerals With Units. (1)
18.4.1 Expressing Quantities. (1)
18.4.1 Expressing Quantities. x
Expressing Quantities
Use of Numerals With Units
Arabic numerals are used for quantities with units of measure (see , Numbers and Percentages, Use of Numerals). By SI convention, it is preferable to use only numbers between 0.1 and 1000 and to use ... More
Arabic numerals are used for quantities with units of measure (see , Numbers and Percentages, Use of Numerals). By SI convention, it is preferable to use only numbers between 0.1 and 1000 and to use the appropriate prefix for expressing quantities. For example, 0.003 mL is expressed as 3 μL; 15 000 g is expressed as 15 kg. Some clinical measurements are expressed in quantities and units that may have numbers outside this preferred range. For such values, the use of scientific notation is acceptable.20 000 000 A may be expressed as 20 million amperes or as 2 × 107 Less


Are you interested in praying outside? Click here to view the YouTube of Rabbi Katy Allen's webinar with Edenkeeper from two weeks ago.
EdenKeeper is excited to announce "Why Pray Outside?", a new event on July 18, 2014 at 12:00 pm PST (3:00 pm EST) with Rabbi Katy Z. Allen of Ma'yan Tikvah, a congregation without walls, in Wayland, Mass.
Perhaps that's why praying outside is so important to Allen. She has told me that surrounding herself with creation adds a new dimension to her Jewish faith — a feeling that she is not alone, she is part of a larger world. There's a beauty in worshiping the Divine under the heavens.
During the webinar, Allen will provide practical tips for worshiping outside and show some instructional videos. Viewers will get a chance to ask her some questions and learn how they can best incorporate nature into their daily spiritual practices. And hopefully everyone will develop a stronger interest in connecting their faith with the environment.
Please join us on July 18th at 12:00pm PST for "Why Pray Outside?". The event will be held on Google Hangouts and the link to the Hangout will be available 30 minutes before the event. Please RSVP on Facebook or Google Plus.


text:
Ketamine can cause hallucinations and can affect the body's senses.
Ketamine is a medicine used by doctors and vets. Some people use it illegally to get high.
It's also known as special K, ket, kitkat, super K and horse trank.
People who use ketamine can damage their health badly, and can die from an overdose. Ketamine is very dangerous if it's taken with other drugs.
What is ketamine
Doctors and vets use ketamine for anaesthesia and pain relief.
If bought illegally, it comes as a white powder that can be made into tablets or dissolved in a liquid. It can be swallowed, snorted, injected or smoked.
Ketamine effects
People who take ketamine can have hallucinations. It alters their perception of reality. They can see, hear, smell or taste things that don't exist, or can perceive them differently to how they really are. They can also feel detached from their body, known as 'falling into a K-hole'.
The drug takes effect within 30 seconds to 20 minutes, depending on how it's taken. Users experience a high about 30 seconds after the drug is injected, 5 to 10 minutes after it's snorted, and 20 minutes after it's swallowed. The high can last up to 90 minutes.
While the high might feel good, there are downsides too. While using ketamine, people can have blurred vision, slurred speech, become physically uncoordinated, sweat, have a raised temperature and heart rate, feel nauseous and vomit.
It takes about a day to come down. During this time, people using ketamine can lose their memories, feel clumsy and feel down.
People who use ketamine regularly can become dependent. They can develop headaches, stomach pain and what is known as ketamine bladder syndrome. This is a painful condition with incontinence and ulcers in the bladder. It needs long term treatment.
Ketamine can be fatal if it's used with alcohol, heroin or tranquillisers.
If people overdose, they can have convulsions, go into a coma and die.
Find out about ketamine's effect on mental health.
Find out more on ketamine's effects on the Australian Drugs Campaign and Alcohol and Drug Foundation websites.
Australian Drug Foundation (Ketamine), Reachout (Ketamine)
Last reviewed: January 2019
Prescription Drug Misuse
ADF - Drug Facts - Ketamine
Ketamine is used by medical practitioners and veterinarians as an anaesthetic. It is sometimes used illegally by people to produce a hallucinogenic high
Read more on Alcohol and Drug Foundation website
Ketamine | ReachOut Australia
Ketamine is a dissociative painkiller used by medical professionals. It is used illegally to get high as it can make you feel detached (a K-hole). Read more here.
Hallucinogens - Better Health Channel
Hallucinogens target specific centres of the brain to alter its understanding of sensory input.
Read more on Better Health Channel website
Drug diversion | Issue 5 | Volume 38 | Australian Prescriber
Prescription drug diversion has significant health, legal and social implications. Deaths from misuse of prescription drugs account for a significant...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Loops.Lisbon
LOOPS.LISBOA 2019
December 12th to March 1st
> SEE MAP
Loops.Lisboa is transforming.
Five years ago Loops.Lisboa was born as an initiative of Festival Temps d'Images Lisboa with the complicity of The National Museum of Contemporary Art - Museu do Chiado with the aim to reflect on, and celebrate the Loop as a language. For our four first editions we organized a juried national Portuguese Open Call competition and exhibited the finalist loops at the museum.
For our fifth edition we are delighted to reveal the birth of an international network dedicated to the probing of the form of the Loop. Starting in 2020, the network partners will organize a series of projections, installations, encounters and interventions around the Loop.
The network is composed of Film and Video Art curators from several countries: Mario Gutiérrez Cru (Festival Proyector, Madrid - Spain); Sandra Lischi (Onda Video, Pisa - Italy); Torn Van Vliet (WWVF, Amsterdam - The Netherlands); Cine Esquema Novo collective (Porto Alegre - Brazil) and Loops.Lisboa/Festival Temps d'Images (Lisbon - Portugal).
To celebrate this new international direction, Loops.Lisboa 2019 edition will be showing an exhibition of Marcel Duchamp's Anémic Cinéma (1926) and Bruce Nauman's Good Boy Bad Boy (1985) at The National Museum of Contemporary Art.
Come join us for the Opening of Loops.Lisboa on December 12th, 2019.
Irit Batsry and Alisson Avila
Good Boy Bad Boy
Conceived as a didactic moral statement, the installation employs two actors, Joan Lancaster and Tucker Smallwood, who are presented in close-up, like newscasters, on two separate monitors. Each recites a one-hundred-line commentary on the human condition that includes passages such as "I was a good boy/You were a good boy/We were good boys" and "I hate/You hate/We hate/This is hating." Directly confronting the viewer, they deliver each repetition with increased emotional intensity, shifting in and out of sync with one another.
Tom van Vliet's collection.
Bruce Nauman (1941)
Bruce Nauman is a wildly influential artist whose work has explored the poetics of confusion, anxiety, boredom, entrapment, and failure since the 1960s. Nauman was a key figure in the experimental film and video movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s with such works as Dance or Exercise Around the Perimeter of a Square (Square Dance). After 1973, film and video become conspicuously absent from his work, replaced largely by language-based neon sculptures. He returned to video more than a decade later, with Good Boy Bad Boy.
Anémic Cinéma
1925-1926, 7'05''
This characteristically dada film by Marcel Duchamp consists of a series of visual and verbal puns with nonsense phrases inscribed around rotating spiral patterns, creating an almost hypnotic effect. "Thought provoking and offensive are possible ways to interpret the ten optical discs and corresponding puns displayed in the film. The word play of French syllogisms gleefully collides with the protruding-receding optical illusions of the rotating spheres. Julien Levy called the film 'Spirals' and screened it repeatedly at his gallery during the 1930s." — Bruce Posner
"Arguably the 20th century's greatest art iconoclast, Marcel Duchamp devoted his entire career to debunking pre-existing ideas about art, which he believed should appeal to the intellect rather than the senses. Encouraged by the storm of controversy sparked by his painting Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 at the 1913 Armory Show, Duchamp moved to New York in 1915. He was extremely active in the fledgling American avant-garde, editing several Dada magazines, inventing word games and puns, and designating ordinary objects as "readymade" works of art. During this period, he cemented a life-long working friendship with Man Ray." — Michael R. Taylor
DuplaCena


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using ConventionalRegistration.Diagnostics;
using ConventionalRegistration.TypeFiltering;

namespace ConventionalRegistration.Configuration
{
    //todo: refactor
    public class BehaviorConfiguration : IBehaviorConfiguration
    {
        private IEnumerable<Type> excludedServices;
        //private IEnumerable<Type> excludedBaseTypes;
        private Func<Type, bool> filter;

        public BehaviorConfiguration()
            : this(testc => false)
        {
        }

        public BehaviorConfiguration(Func<Type, bool> filter)
        {
            Check.NotNull(filter, nameof(filter));
            this.filter = filter;
            excludedServices = new Type[0];
            log = (level, message) => { };
        }

        public static BehaviorConfiguration Default
        {
            get
            {
                return new BehaviorConfiguration(t => t.Namespace.StartsWith("System", StringComparison.Ordinal)
                    //new[] { typeof(IDisposable), typeof(System.Collections.IEnumerable), typeof(IEnumerable<>) },
                    //new[] { typeof(Exception) }
                    )
                {
                    //ExcludeRegisteredServices = true
                };
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets a value, indicating whether future registrations of same service should be excluded.
        /// </summary>
        //public bool ExcludeRegisteredServices { get; set; }

        private Action<DiagnosticLevel, string> log;

        public Action<DiagnosticLevel, string> Log
        {
            get { return log; }
            set
            {
                if (value == null)
                {
                    return;
                }
                log = value;
            }
        }

        public IEnumerable<Type> ExcludedServices
        {
            get
            {
                return excludedServices;
            }

            set
            {
                if (value == null)
                {
                    return;
                }
                excludedServices = value;
            }
        }

        public BehaviorConfiguration ExcludeServices(Func<Type, bool> filter)
        {
            Check.NotNull(filter, nameof(filter));
            this.filter = filter;
            return this;
        }

        public BehaviorConfiguration ExcludeServices(params Type[] serviceTypesToExclude)
        {
            Check.NotNull(serviceTypesToExclude, nameof(serviceTypesToExclude));
            ExcludedServices = serviceTypesToExclude;
            return this;
        }

        //public BehaviorConfiguration ExcludeTypeInheriting(params Type[] baseTypesToExclude)
        //{
        //    excludedBaseTypes = baseTypesToExclude;
        //    return this;
        //}

        #region IBehaviorConfiguration Members

        IServiceFilter IBehaviorConfiguration.GetServiceFilter()
        {
            var typeFilter = new TypeFilter(excludedServices);
            typeFilter.AddFilter(filter);
            return typeFilter;
        }

        #endregion
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The spellbinding sequel to A Thousand Salt Kisses. Four years ago, Crystal White fell in love with Llyr, a prince of the magical mer colony living off the coast of Starfish Island. For one summer, he enchanted her with stories of jeweled palaces and underwater gardens, but then he left, returning beneath the waves with her heart in tow. Now, graduated and with no job in sight, Crystal is forced to go back to the island she thought she had left in the past. By the sea again, she realizes she is far from over her first love, and when an opportunity arises to contact the merfolk, Crystal can't resist. Once more with the mer, Crystal is forced to come to terms with the fact that Llyr has moved on, and also with her own magical secret that has endangered her life, his throne, and every mer kingdom. Working against all odds, she has to try to save the people she has come to love and—if she can—rekindle the romance of her first summer on Starfish Island.


Happy Birthday KaRu! Come celebrate "5 Years of Success" with cocktails and conversation on Sunday, Sept 13th 6-9pm! KaRu Salon is turning 5 and we want to thank our clients for your support throughout the years for making our small business a big success! Join us for a night of jubilation as we toast to this milestone and launch our Fall Hair Collection!
Enjoy lights hors d oeurves & libations, complimentary beauty & hair consultations, swag bag giveaways and live jams prodvided by Musical Guest DJ Jeff Strange.


Bayer ME, Zhang L, Bayer MH. Borrelia burgdorferi DNA in the urine of treated patients with chronic Lyme disease symptoms. A PCR study of 97 cases. Infection 1996; 24 No.5.
Cameron, DJ. Lyme Disease Clinical Trial – Effectiveness of Retreatment on Health-Related Quality of Life. Abstract, Lyme & Other TBDs: Emerging Tick Borne Diseases, Fri Oct 28th, 2005, Philadelphia, PA.
Cimmino MA, Accardo S. Long term treatment of chronic Lyme arthritis with Benzathine penicillin. Ann Rheum Dis 1992 Aug; 51(8):1007-8.
Cimmino MA, Moggiana GI, Parisi M, Accardo S. Treatment of Lyme arthritis. Infection 1996 Jan-Feb; 24(1):91-3.
Cimperman J, Maraspin V, Lotric-Furlan S, Ruzic-Sabljic E, Strle F. Lyme meningitis: a one-year follow up controlled study. Wien Klin Wochenschr 1999; 111(22-23):961-3.
Dattwyler RJ, Volkman DJ, Luft BJ, Halperin JJ, Thomas J, Golightly MG. Seronegative Lyme disease. Dissociation of specific T- and B-lymphocyte responses to Borrelia burgdorferi. N Engl J Med 1988 Dec 1; 319(22):1441-6.
Donta ST. Tetracycline therapy for chronic Lyme disease. Clin Infect Dis 1997; 25 Suppl 1:pS52-6.
Fallon BA et al. Repeated antibiotic treatment in chronic Lyme disease. J Spirochet Tick Borne Dis, 1999 Fall/Winter:p94-101.
Fallon BA et al. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of repeated IV antibiotic therapy for Lyme encephalopathy. Neurology, 2007.
Gasser R, Reisinger E, Eber B, Pokan R, Seinost G, Bergloff J, Horwarth R, Sedaj B, Klein W. Cases of Lyme borreliosis resistant to conventional treatment: improved symptoms with cephalosporin plus specific beta-lactamase inhibition. Microb Drug Resist 1995 Winter; 1(4):341-4.
Georgilis K, Peacocke M, Klempner MS. Fibroblasts protect the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, from ceftriaxone in vitro. J Infect Dis 1992 Aug; 166(2):440-4.
Goldings AS, Taylor JP, Rawlings J. Lyme borreliosis in Texas. Tex Med 1991 Sep; 87(9):62-6.
Hold DA, Pattani NJ, Sinnott JT 4th, Bradley E. Lyme borreliosis. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1991 Aug; 12(8):493-6.
Hoffmann H. Lyme borreliosis – problems of serological diagnosis. Infection 1996. Nov-Dec; 24(6):470-2.
Hudson BJ, Steward M, Lennox VA, Fukunaga M, Yabuki M, et al. Culture-positive Lyme borreliosis. Med J Aust 1998 May 18; 168(10):500-2.
Klempner MS, Hu LT, Evans J, Schmid CH, Johnson GM, Trevino RP, Norton D, Levy L, Wall D, McCall J, Kosinski M, Weinstein A. Two controlled trials of antibiotic treatment in patients with persistent symptoms and a history of Lyme disease. N Engl J Med 2001. Jul 12; 345(2):85-92.
Krupp, LB et al. Study and treatment of post Lyme disease (STOP-LD): a randomized double masked clinical trial. Neurology, 2003. 60(12):p.1923-30.
Kufko IT, Mel'nikov VG, Andreeva EA, Sokolova ZI, Lesniak OM, Beikin laB. Comparative study of results of serological diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis by indirect immunofluorescence and immunoenzyme analysis. Klin Lab Diagn 1999; 3:34-7.
Lawrence C, Lipton RB, Lowy FD, Coyle PK. Seronegative chronic relapsing neuroborreliosis. Eur Neurol 1995; 35(2):113-7.
Luft BJ, Dattwyler RJ, Johnson RC, Luger SW, Bosler EM, Rahn DW, Masters EJ, Grunwaldt E, Gadgil SD. Azithromycin compared with amoxicillin in the treatment of erythema migrans. A double-blind, randomised, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med 1996 May 1; 124(9):785-91.
Luft BJ, Volkman DJ, Halperin JJ, Dattwyler RJ. New chemotherapeutic approaches in the treatment of Lyme borreliosis. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1988; 539:352-61.
MacDonald AB, Berger BW, Schwan TG. Clinical implications of delayed growth of the Lyme borreliosis spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. Acta Trop 1990. Dec; 48(2):89-94.
Mursic VP, Wanner G, reinhardt S, Wilske B, Busch U, Marget W. Formation and cultivation of Borrelia burgdorferi spheroplast L-form variants. Infection 1996; 24(3):218-26.
Oksi, J et al. Borrelia burgdorferi detected by culture and PCR in clinical relapse of disseminated Lyme borreliosis. Ann med, 1999. 31)3):p225-32.
Oksi J, Kalimo H, Marttila RJ, Marjamaki M, Sonninen P, Nikoskelainen J, Vilijanen MK. Inflammatory brain changes in Lyme borreliosis. A report on three patients and review of literature. Brain 1996. Dec; 119 (Pt6):2143-54.
Oksi, J et al. Comparison of oral cefixime and intravenous ceftriaxone followed by oral amoxicillin in disseminated Lyme borreliosis. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 1998. 17(10):p715-9.
Petrovic M, Vogelaers D, Van Renterghem, Carton D, De Reuck J, Afschrift M. Lyme borreliosis – a review of the late stages and treatment of four cases. Acta Clin Belg 1998. Jun 53(3):178-83.
Preac-Mursic V, Weber K, Pfister HW, Wilske B, Gross B, Baumann A, Prokop J. Survival of Borrelia burgdorferi in antibiotically treated patients with Lyme borreliosis. Infection 1989 Nov-Dec; 17(6):355-9.
Schoen RT. Treatment of Lyme disease. Conn Med 1989. Jun; 53(6):335-7.
Steere AC. Lyme disease. N Engl J Med 1989. Aug 31; 321(9):586-96.
Straubinger RK. PCR-based quantification of Borrelia burgdorferi organisms in canine tissues over a 500-day postinfection period. J Clinical Microbiology 2000; 38(6):2191-2199.
Straubinger RK, Straubinger AF, Summers BA, Jacobson RH. Status of Borrelia burgdorferi infection after antibiotic treatment and the effects of corticosteroids: an experimental study. J Infectious Diseases 2000; 181(3):1069-1081.
Straubinger RK, Straubinger AF, Summers BA, Jacobson RH, Erb HN. Clinical and serologic follow-up in patients with neuroborreliosis. Neurology 1998 Nov; 51(5):1489-91.
Treib J, Fernandez A, Haass A, Grauer MT, Holzer G, Woessner R. Clinical and serologic follow-up in patients with neuroborreliosis. Neurology 1998 Nov; 51(5):1489-91.
Valesova H, Mailer J, Havlik J, Hulinska D, Hercogova J. Long-term results in patients with Lyme arthritis following treatment with ceftriaxone. Infection 1996; 24(1)98-102.
Weber K. Treatment failure in erythema migrans: a review. Infection 1996; 24:73-5.
Wolfe D, Fries C, Reynolds K, Hathcock L. The epidemiology of Lyme disease in Delaware 1989-1992. Del Med J 1994 Nov; 66(11):603-6, 609-13.
Wahlberg, P et al. Treatment of late Lyme borreliosis. J Infect, 1994. 29(3):p255-61.
Warner G, O'Connell S, Lawton N. Atypical features in three patients with florid neurological Lyme disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1999; 67(2):275.
Waniek C, Prohovnik I, Kaufman MA, Dwork AJ. Rapidly progressive frontal-type dementia associated with Lyme disease. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 1995. Summer, 7(3):345-7.
Zamponi N, Cardinali C, Tavoni, MA, Porfiri L, Rossi R, Manca A. Chronic neuroborreliosis in infancy. Ital J Neurol Sci 1999 Oct; 20(5):303-7.
Ziska MH, Donta ST, Demarest FC. Physician preferences in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease in the United States. Infection 1996. Mar-Apr; 24(2):182-6.
Logigian (1990): After 6 mo's of therapy, 10/27 patients treated with IV AB's relapsed or had treatment failure.
Donta, ST., Tetracycline therapy for chronic Lyme disease. Clin Infect Dis, 1997. 25 Suppl 1: p.S52-6.


text:
⬅ In the Church, but not of the Church
Who is Choosing for You? ➡
Personality or Character?
What are you more known for: your personality or your character?
Do you focus more on how others perceive you; or on being true to yourself in a way that respects yourself and others, and honors God?
"The word personality itself stems from the Latin word persona, which referred to a theatrical mask worn by performers in order to either project different roles or disguise their identities" (Kendra Cherry).
In Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (Broadway, 2012), Susan Cain draws on the research of cultural historian Warren Susman to explain the rise of the "Extrovert Ideal" (chapter 1 of Quiet). Without intending to oversimplify a complex social and cultural phenomenon, this occurred with the rise of industrialization and urbanization.
People began to spend more time working for strangers than with neighbors and family. Mass production led to the growth of a capitalistic, consumer culture which required "salesmen." The Dale Carnegie Institute was founded to help businessmen develop traits and behaviors to help them move ahead in business. For the most part, these traits focused on how people presented themselves to others; that is, the focus shifted to persona, or personality.
By the early 20th century, "America had shifted from what . . . Susman called a Culture of Character to a Culture of Personality – and opened up a Pandora's Box of personal anxieties from which we would never quite recover" (Cain, 21; emphasis added).
When they embraced the Culture of Personality, Americans started to focus on how others perceived them. They became captivated by people who were bold and entertaining. "The social role demanded of all in the new Culture of Personality was that of a performer," Susman famously wrote. "Every American was to become a performing self." (Cain, 21; emphasis added)
From this perspective, personality is more about outer charm or performance.
But character is about inner virtue and an internal integrity, or wholeness.
Words associated with character are citizenship, duty, work, honor, reputation, morals, manners, integrity. Words which focus on personality includes magnetic, fascinating, stunning, attractive, glowing, dominant, forceful, energetic. (Cain, 23)
Most anyone could reasonably work to improve traits in the character list. However, the personality list includes traits which either you have or you don't! But these traits of personality became the ideal, and generations of Americans have thought these are the necessary characteristics of success.
At least in American culture, we have a fascination (if not obsession) with performers and entertainers. Our churches and models of ministry have been influenced by this fascination/obsession as well!
In our current cultural context, leaders have a tendency to be personality-driven rather than character-driven. We think and, unfortunately, have been taught that a particular persona is necessary for successful leadership. However, too often personality-driven leadership undermines character because it requires being untrue to oneself. But if we are not true to ourselves, how can we be true and genuine to those we lead?
So on which are you more focused – either consciously or unconsciously: projecting a particular persona, or being the best you possible? Performing every time you are in public; or living out of the deep well of integrity and wholeness within?
Written by guest blogger, the Rev. Dr. Rhonda L. Carrim, associate professor of Practical Theology at Northwest Nazarene University. Previously, she taught and pastored in Trinidad and England. She and husband Errol are passionate about helping Christian leaders thrive in life and ministry.
Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018
Categories: Leadership Coaching, Sample Posts


text:
RETIREMENTGUY
Latter Years
Best Places to Retire Abroad
Behavior Finance
Best Places to Retire in the US
Education Savings
6 Strategies to Generate Income in Retirement (Part 2)
When Steve Cornelius retired in 2011 from his job as an executive for an industrial supply company in Atlanta, he moved to Minneapolis--no doubt passing other retirees who were headed in the opposite direction. "I can't stand hot weather," he says. Cornelius loves spending time outdoors and playing golf, but after a couple of years he realized he needed something else to do during Minnesota's long, cold winters. His solution: a part-time job.
Cornelius, 67, started working and his hours are flexible, but he usually works 32 hours a week from January through April. During the rest of the year, he works about 10 hours a week.
Cornelius says the income from his job will allow him to postpone claiming Social Security benefits until he's 70. He'll get a bump up of 8% for every year he delays taking benefits after his full retirement age of 66. "That's going to give me security against inflation, which will rear its ugly head at some point," Cornelius says.
The income has also enabled Cornelius to take trips he might not otherwise be able to afford. This fall, he and his partner, Robin, are taking a cruise through Southeast Asia, with stops in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok and Singapore. "I've got a great retirement plan, but unless you're Warren Buffett, you're on a budget," he says.
In addition to allowing you to delay taking Social Security, income from a part-time job can help cover your expenses during a market downturn, which means you won't have to sell investments at a loss to pay the bills. Part-time and seasonal job opportunities run the gamut, from working as a park ranger to teaching English as a foreign language in another country. Freelancing is another way to earn extra cash. Freelance gigs range from online tutoring to consulting in your former profession. If you have a garage apartment or second home, you can earn income through home-sharing services, such as Airbnb.
Buy an Annuity
Unless you're a retired public service employee or you worked for one of the handful of companies that still offer a traditional pension, you're not going to receive a monthly paycheck from your employer for the rest of your life. But that doesn't mean that a guaranteed source of lifetime income is an impossible dream. You can create your own pension by buying an immediate fixed annuity.
When you buy an immediate annuity, you give an insurance company a lump sum in exchange for a monthly check, usually for life. You can buy an annuity that has survivor benefits so that it will continue to pay your spouse after you die. But you pay for that protection by accepting smaller monthly payouts. Another option is a deferred-income annuity; you purchase the annuity when you're in your fifties or sixties, but the payments don't start for at least 10 years. The longer you wait, the bigger the payouts. Of course, if you die before payments start, you get nothing--unless you opt for return of premium or survivor benefits. (These products are often referred to as longevity insurance, because they protect you from the risk of outliving your savings.)
A relatively new type of deferred-income annuity, a qualified longevity annuity contract (QLAC), offers a tax benefit for retirees who have a lot of money in tax-deferred retirement accounts. You can invest up to 25% of your traditional IRA or 401(k) plan (or $125,000, whichever is less) in a QLAC without taking required minimum distributions on that money when you turn 70½. To qualify for this special tax treatment, your payments must begin no later than age 85.
TIP: Don't stash all of your nest egg in an annuity. Most experts recommend investing no more than 25% to 40% of your savings in an annuity. Alternatively, calculate your basic expenses, such as your mortgage, property taxes and utilities, and buy an annuity that, when added to Social Security benefits, will cover those costs.
Minimize Taxes
To get the most out of your retirement savings, you need to shield as much as possible from Uncle Sam. Fortunately, there are plenty of legal ways to lower your tax bill, but they require careful planning and a thorough understanding of how your different retirement accounts are taxed.
Let's start with your taxable brokerage accounts--money you haven't invested in an IRA or other tax-deferred account. Because you've already paid taxes on that money, you'll be taxed only on interest and dividends as they're earned and capital gains when you sell an asset.
Next up: your tax-deferred accounts, such as your IRAs and 401(k) plans. Withdrawals from these accounts are taxed at ordinary income rates, which range from 10% to 39.6%. The accounts grow tax-deferred until you take withdrawals, but you can't wait forever. Once you turn 70½, you'll have to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) every year, based on the year-end balance of all of your tax-deferred accounts, divided by a life-expectancy factor provided by the IRS that's based on your age. The only exception to this rule applies if you are still working at 70½ and have a 401(k) plan with your current employer; in that case, you don't have to take RMDs from that account. You'll still have to take withdrawals from your other 401(k) plans and traditional IRAs, unless your employer allows you to roll them into your 401(k).
Finally, there are Roth IRAs, and the rules for them are refreshingly straightforward: All withdrawals are tax-free, as long as you've owned the account for at least five years (you can withdraw contributions tax-free at any time). There are no required distributions, so if you don't need the money, you can leave it in the account to grow for your heirs. This flexibility makes the Roth an invaluable apparatus in your retirement toolkit. If you need money for a major expense, you can take a large withdrawal without triggering a tax bill. And if you don't need the money, the account will continue to grow, unencumbered by taxes.
Conventional wisdom holds that you should tap your taxable accounts first, particularly if your income is low enough to qualify for tax-free capital gains. Next, take withdrawals from your tax-deferred accounts, followed by your tax-free Roth accounts so you can take advantage of tax-deferred and tax-free growth.
There are some exceptions to this hierarchy. If you have a large amount of money in traditional IRAs and 401(k) plans, your RMDs could push you into a higher tax bracket. To avoid that scenario, consider taking withdrawals from your tax-deferred accounts before you turn 70½. Work with a financial planner or tax professional to ensure that the amount you withdraw won't propel you into a higher tax bracket or trigger other taxes tied to your adjusted gross income, such as taxes on your Social Security benefits. The withdrawals will shrink the size of your tax-deferred accounts, thus reducing the amount you'll be required to take out when you turn 70½.
Another strategy to reduce taxes on your IRAs and 401(k) plans is to convert some of that money to a Roth. One downside: The conversion will be taxed as ordinary income and could bump you into a higher tax bracket. To avoid bracket creep, roll a portion of your IRA into a Roth every year, with an eye toward how the transaction will affect your taxable income.
TIP: If the stock market takes a dive, you may be able to reduce the cost of converting to a Roth. Your tax bill is based on the fair market value of the assets at the time of the conversion, so a depressed portfolio will leave you with a lower tax bill. If your investments rebound after the conversion, those gains, now protected inside a Roth, will be tax-free. Should the value of your assets continue to plummet after you convert, there's a safety valve: You have until the following year's tax-filing extension (typically October 15) to undo the conversion and eliminate the tax bill. If prospects for major tax reform and rate cuts come to fruition, it could open a golden era for Roth conversions. Keep an eye on Congress.
Manage Your Pension
At a time when defined-benefit plans are becoming as rare as typewriters, consider yourself fortunate if you have a traditional pension to manage. Even so, the decisions you make about how you take your pension payout could have a significant impact on the amount of income you receive.
One of the first decisions you'll probably have to make is whether to take your pension as a lump sum or as a lifetime payout. A lump sum could make sense if you have other assets, such as life insurance or a sizable investment portfolio, and if you're comfortable managing your money (or paying someone else to do it for you). You'll also have more flexibility to take withdrawals, and your investments could grow faster than the rate of inflation. What you don't spend will go to your heirs.
A lifetime payout, however, offers protection against market downturns, and you won't have to worry about outliving your money. You'll probably also get a higher payout from your former employer than you could get by taking a lump sum and buying an annuity from an insurer.
Consider longevity when deciding how to structure your lifetime payout. Married couples have a couple of basic options for their payments: single life or joint and survivor. Taking the single-life payment will deliver bigger monthly payments, but your pension will end when you die. By law, if you're married, you must obtain your spouse's consent before taking this option. With the joint-and-survivor alternative, payments will be smaller, but they'll continue as long as you or your spouse is alive.
The survivor benefit is based on the pension participant's benefit. Plans must offer a 50% option, which pays the survivor 50% of the joint benefit. Other survivor-benefit options range from 66% to 100% of the joint benefit. In most cases, the benefit drops no matter who dies first, unless you choose the 100% option.
TIP: In general, women who want lifetime income should take the pension's monthly payout. Pension plans use gender-neutral calculations, which can further complicate the choice of monthly payments versus a lump sum. Because women tend to live longer than men, it's highly likely that the pension plan will offer a higher payout than they could get on the open market. For example, a 65-year-old man who wants to buy an annuity that will provide $60,000 a year for life would need about $914,000, according to Immediateannuities.com. A 65-year-old woman would need about $955,000--roughly $40,000 more--to get the same amount of annual income. If you take the pension, however, your payment is based on your years of service and salary; your gender doesn't play a role.
When it comes to converting the pension payment to a lump sum, however, gender neutrality can work against women. If their longer life expectancy could be taken into account, the lump sum would have to be larger to equate to the higher lifetime costs of the monthly payments.
Plan for Health Care Costs
Fidelity Investments estimates that the average 65-year-old couple retiring now will need about $260,000 to pay out-of-pocket health care costs, including deductibles and Medicare premiums, over the rest of their lives. That doesn't include long-term care, which can be a major budget buster.
There are a variety of options to help pay these future medical bills. One tax-friendly way is a health savings account. As long as you have an eligible high-deductible health insurance policy, you can contribute to an HSA either through your employer or on your own (but you can no longer contribute after you've signed up for Medicare).
An HSA offers a triple tax advantage. You contribute money on a pretax basis to the account. Money in the account grows tax-deferred. And withdrawals are tax-free if used to pay medical expenses, either today or when you're retired. (You'll owe income taxes and a 20% penalty on withdrawals used for other purposes, although the penalty disappears once you turn 65.)
To make the most of the HSA, contribute as much as you can to the account and pay current medical bills out of pocket. That way, the money in the account has time to grow. Years from now, you can use HSA funds to reimburse yourself for medical bills you're paying today.
Employers are increasingly offering workers this option to contain costs because premiums for high-deductible plans tend to be lower than for traditional insurance. The average employer contribution is $541 for singles and $991 for families
You can use HSA funds to pay for long-term-care premiums--but that's a small compensation given the steep price tag for a long-term-care policy. If you can't afford a long-term-care policy that would cover at least three years of long-term care with inflation protection, another option is to buy enough coverage to pay the difference between the cost of care for three years and what you can afford to pay from savings and income.
Another solution: a hybrid policy that combines life insurance and long-term-care benefits. It's basically a permanent life insurance policy that allows you to spend down the death benefit to pay for long-term care should you need it. You can also get a rider that will cover long-term care above and beyond the death benefit. If you don't need long-term care or don't entirely use up the death benefit, your heirs will collect what remains of it.
One company, for example, offers a hybrid policy that you purchase with an up-front lump sum or in installments over 10 years. A 60-year-old man paying $10,000 a year over a decade could get monthly long-term-care benefits at age 80 of $7,983 for up to six years, growing at 3% annually. The death benefit at that point would total $106,400, or he could cash in the policy and get 80% of his premiums returned. Under a similar scenario, a woman would get $7,076 per month for long-term care or a $113,600 death benefit.
TIP: If paying for long-term care is your chief goal and you don't need more life insurance, buy a stand-alone policy rather than a hybrid policy. Today's long-term-care policies are more accurately priced than those issued years ago, so it's less likely that you'll see steep premium jumps in the future. Plus, you may be able to deduct part of your premiums on your tax return, something you generally can't do with a hybrid policy.
Move to a Cheaper Locale
Downsizing to a smaller place, particularly after the kids are launched, is a common way to lower housing costs and stay close to family. If you live in a highly appreciated home, selling can free up large sums that can be used to wipe out debt, add to a nest egg or pay future long-term-care costs. (Married couples can protect up to $500,000 in profit from the sale of a house from capital gains tax; singles can shelter half that amount.)
But for a move to become a financial game changer and significantly lower living costs, consider putting down roots in a state where housing and living expenses are cheaper.
For example, housing costs in San Diego are 173% higher than in Galveston, Texas, according to Bestplaces.net. Galveston made Kiplinger's most recent list of great places to retire. Kiplinger also compiles a list of the most tax-friendly states for retirees. Moving to a state that gives retirees a big tax break can free up money for a higher standard of living in retirement.
Kevin McGrain, 62, was able to retire last year as an executive of a catalog company after he moved from the Northeast to the Sun Belt. Two years ago, McGrain and his wife, Linda, traded in a $700,000 four-bedroom house on a small lot in Newburyport, Mass., for a $400,000 four-bedroom home in Inman, S.C., that sits on an acre of lakefront property with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He says he doesn't think he could have retired when he did if he hadn't moved to South Carolina.
In Massachusetts, the McGrains' property taxes were $15,000 a year, and monthly utility bills some winters reached $600. In South Carolina, the couple's property taxes run $1,700 a year, and at age 65 they'll be eligible for a special exemption that will reduce that bill even further. Their utility bills now average $150 a month. Better yet, McGrain, who is an avid golfer, says his country-club fees are half of what they used to be, and he can play 11 months out of the year instead of seven
TIP: Before moving to a new zip code, do some field research. Take an extended vacation to experience day-to-day living in the new neighborhood you're considering (you may be able to rent a place via Airbnb or VRBO). Visit in the off-season to see if the weather agrees with you. And meet up with a local real estate agent for a lowdown on the area.
By Kiplinger.com
In Retirement Planning, What's Your Retirement Personality?
10 simple investments that can turn your portfolio into an income dynamo
The seven deadly sins of retirement planning
RetirementGuy.org


text:
Horse bites off six-year-old's penis
Oliver McAteerMonday 7 Sep 2015 10:25 am
The boy was attacked in Ukraine (Picture: CEN)
Surgeons have successfully re-attached a six-year-old's penis after it was bitten off by a horse.
The boy was riding past the mare on his bicycle when it suddenly attacked him, knocking him to the ground.
The screaming child ran back to his dad, who called an ambulance and then searched for and found the severed member.
It happened in the Zhytomyr Oblast region of northern Ukraine.
MORE: Mysterious fireball caught on camera falling over Bangkok
The boy recovers in hospital after his penis is bitten off (Picture: CEN)
MORE: Millennium Falcon is seen parked in cave on Moon
The father, who did not wish to be identified, said: 'I was dealing with the horses when I heard my boy screaming, she bit it off, she bit it off!
'I put my hands onto his crotch to stop the bleeding and called emergency services.'
The boy was rushed to the nearest hospital for emergency surgery.
Doctor Igor Vishpinsky said: 'We have had difficult cases in the last few years but we never experienced something like this. Maybe a severed finger or something like that from a horse bite, but definitely nothing like this. It was an extraordinary situation.'


Pablo Picasso once said, "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away." Brigit Page is a shining example of this idea. She has been a stylist for six years and specializes in precision haircutting and creative color. She actively stays current on the latest techniques and styles and relays that expertise to both her clients and other stylists.


text:
Q: в исходное состояние при старте сцены запускается таймер. По истечении времени таймер выгружает сцену.
По ходу игры приходится перезапускать сцену(чтобы все вернулось в исходное состояние). При этом таймер обнуляется.
Как это сделать, чтобы таймер и набранные очки не обнулялись?

A: Внутри скрипта можно объявить эти поля какstatic.
Как-то так:
public class MyScript : MonoBehaviour{
     private static int m_Points = 0; // набранные очки

     public int Points{
          get{return m_Pointsl;}
          set{m_Points = value;}
     }
     [...]
}

Теперь не зависимо от того, что вы там со сценой делаете, переменная m_Points не сбросится. Точно так же можно для таймера поступить.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Agenda's Minutes & Packets
Home Government Mayor and Trustees Mission Statement
Town of Carbondale Mission Statement
To maintain and enhance an environmentally sensitive, culturally diverse, family oriented small town, with town government providing quality service to the Carbondale community.
Our Goals and Objectives are:
A. To support the existence of an ethnically and culturally diverse community. Objectives:
1) Support activities that involve the interaction of ethnic groups by:
a) Encouraging cross cultural interaction among various ethnic groups.
b) Encouraging ethnic group participation in Town government.
c) Encouraging other community groups to enroll ethnic groups in their activities.
B. To preserve and enhance access to the local decision making process. Objectives:
1) Maintain and develop outreach programs with the Town Board.
2) Convey information to increase public awareness, understanding and participation in Town government.
C. To protect the physical and natural environment.
1) Reduce emissions from solid fuel burning devices.
2) Create a land use code that has environmental protection as a major priority.
3) Preserve river corridors in a predominantly natural state and provide or acquire access to these corridors.
4) Preserve and acquire open space.
5) Maintain water quality and quantity.
6) Encourage solar and renewable energy sources and minimize waste of natural resources.
7) Protect and improve viewscapes – underground powerlines and reduce man made impacts on viewsheds.
8) Continue efforts to work toward reduction of solid waste and increase recycling efforts.
9) Support development of mass transit alternatives in the Roaring Fork Valley.
10) Encourage alternatives to automobile use, more particularly, non-motorized transport systems and associated trails.
D. To keep the diversity of population in Carbondale that make the Town the quality progressive place that it is.
1) Maintain socioeconomic diversity by enhancing broad range of economic opportunities, housing types and range of affordability.
2) Work to reduce potential for community members to be forced out because of lack of opportunities in employment, housing and social mixing.
3) Enhance opportunities for people to work together and to solve problems on their own.
E. Maintain and/or create a diversity of housing types through land use codes and planning goals.
1) Require diverse mix of housing types in new development.
2) Encourage the development of rental housing.
F. To broaden and enhance recreational opportunities and facilities in the community.
1) Support community group efforts to provide recreation opportunities and facilities.
2) Utilize citizen committees to evaluate the recreational needs and priorities and obtain input from the community
G. To maintain the importance of the individual in the community and the ability of the individual to make a difference.
H. To facilitate and enhance opportunity for people to work together and preserve community networking systems.
I. To maintain and promote a high level of community volunteerism.
Your Link Name


Job Description: Since 1987, IDComm has been providing the wireless sector with cellular phone and accessory equipment sales .We are committed to providing our clients with a complete assortment of wireless products. As an Account Executive you will pursue business to business sales opportunities with pre-existing accounts and new accounts.
* Meet sales objectives and sales revenue goals on a monthly basis.
* Establish and maintain effective relationships with customers.
* Manage and develop new business opportunities.
* Gain new product training knowledge where applicable.
* Offer product features, benefits, special offers to prospective new customers as appropriate.
* 1 year wholesale experience selling cellular phones and or accessories.
* Having an existing customer base is a plus.
* Previous carrier relationships are a plus. IDComm offers a competitive base salary + commission and benefits.
Please email your resume to: Jon Isaacs, HR Manager.


text:
Patto con il diavolo (Shortcut to Happiness) è un film del 2003 diretto da Alec Baldwin, tratto dal breve racconto The Devil and Daniel Webster di Stephen Vincent Benét e basato sul Dottor Faust.

Trama
Jabez Stone è uno scrittore alquanto disperato, in quanto tutta la sua vita è un dramma e il lavoro non lo gratifica affatto. Solo una bellissima sconosciuta potrà dare una svolta positiva alla sua vita, offrendogli ricchezza e fama in cambio della sua anima.

Collegamenti esterni

Film commedia
Film basati su Faust

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Leading road safety barrier group makes a stand against climate change
Hardstaff News Team
VRS Solutions Group commits to Carbon Footprint Standard
A leading road safety barrier group has made an ambitious commitment to fighting climate change and reducing its impact on the environment.
VRS Solutions Group, which consists of Asset VRS, Varley and Gulliver, Hardstaff Barriers and Hill and Smith Barrier, has signed up to the Carbon Footprint Standard, and is now on an important journey to reduce its carbon emissions.
The Midlands-based companies, which manufacture and supply vehicle restraint systems (VRS), will follow a six-step programme to reduce and offset their direct and indirect carbon emissions and enhance their sustainability.
As part of the process, an assessment was made of the group's 2020 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, resulting from the energy consumption at its yards and offices and its business transport activities.
The group's first major step towards offsetting its carbon emissions was funding the planting of 500 new trees, through the Verified Carbon Standard avoided deforestation programme. As a result, 500 tonnes of CO² will be saved in the Amazon Rainforest.
Thanks to VRS Solutions Group, 130 new trees have been planted at Penygarn Community Primary School, in Pontypool and 250 trees have been planted at a school in Corby, in Northamptonshire.
A further 120 trees will be planted in 2022 at the start of the planting season.
By absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, trees help to combat climate change. The planting of new ones makes a significant contribution towards offsetting carbon emissions.
Safety and protection are at the heart of VRS Solutions Group's work. This applies to the environment and communities, as well as the products and services it provides.
Dave Todd, Managing Director of Services, said: "Reducing the carbon footprint is high on our list of priorities and, as a group, we are determined to do everything in our power to reduce emissions and improve the environment.
"We took this proactive step to sign up to the Carbon Footprint Standard because we see it as our duty to try and protect the environment, our team and the communities that we work in."
Dave Todd, Managing Director of Services


In the Nazi Reich's last days, in early April 1945, a group of German officers met in Bad Elster in Saxony. Among them were Generalmajor Reinhard Gehlen, still acting but discharged chief of the Wehrmacht branch "Foreign Armies East", Lieutenant Colonel Gerhard Wessel, his successor, Lieutenant Colonel Hermann Baun, chief of the Army intelligence on the Eastern Front, and some adjutants. They agreed on the fact that the war had already been lost and that their knowledge and files should be saved for the Western Allies – those files included reliable information about the Soviet Union and the Red Army. To achieve this, they made a pact: Gehlen, Wessel, Baun and some trustworthy officers and civilians would bury as many files as possible in Bavaria, in April 1945 one of the last areas under German rule.
Possibly in December 1944 German forces had discovered a map with the later occupation zones and so Gehlen and his conspirators knew that Bavaria would not become part of the Soviet zone. So they hid themselves and their files in the Alps. Some weeks after Germany's surrender they would find some high-ranking American officers – so their plan – and offer their knowledge and files. Even though they faced execution if the Gestapo or SS had discovered their plot during the last weeks of war, this act cannot be perceived as some form of resistance against Hitler. The anti-communist German officers thought, that even though World War II was lost for the Germans, the next war would come soon enough. They wanted to make sure to be on the right side – that of the Western Allies, who would one day fight against the Soviet Union. Choosing the side of the Western Allies was – even according to Nazi ideology – the lesser of two evils.
The Soviet dictator Josef V. Stalin never trusted his Anglo-American allies. In fact: he trusted nobody, but when it came to foreigners he was paranoid, this was something he shared with nearly every Soviet intelligence officer. The West had recognized the Soviet Union in the 1930s, but Stalin felt, that this had only happened because they had wanted a strong anti-Hitler-alliance. He feared the Americans and England would attack should the Soviet Union cease their vigilance. The common war effort was Stalin's chance to gather information not only about new weapon technologies but also any further plans the Western Allies might have had concerning the future of the Soviet Union. "Between June 1941 and November 1944 alone, more than 560 agents were illegally sent abroad from Moscow to gather intelligence (…) and altogether transferred more than 41.700 secret documents to Moscow." (Wagner-Uhl: BND contra Sowjetarmee. S.29/30).
Prime Minister Churchill, President Truman and Marshal Stalin shake hands after the Potsdam conference.
The military intelligence service GRU (Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate) alone had almost 1000 employees during World War II, half of them worked abroad and outside official laws. The Western Allies on the other hand never sent as many spies into the Soviet Union. Some efforts of the British SIS (Secret Intelligence Service, or commonly known as MI6) were blown up by the Soviet counter intelligence. The US services, for example the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), never made an attempt to spy on the eastern ally. Or better: Until today we know nothing about US attempts to infiltrate the Soviet Union during that time.
The problem was: European states and the US knew nothing about the communists' plans – or those of Stalin himself. Would he attack Western Europe? And if so: When? Or were the destructions war had left on Soviet soil been so heavy, that no Soviet leader would start another World War?
And so Gehlen came back into focus. Despite his thorough planning he and his men were taken prisoners of war two weeks after the unconditional surrender on May 8th 1945. The soldiers who took them prisoners had of course never heard of Gehlen and so he was like an ordinary prisoner of war sent to a camp near Augsburg. Here the chief of the US 7th Army intelligence, General Quill, detected him. Later another American officer, Captain John Boker, made acquaintance with Gehlen. His task was to collect information about the Soviet Union and the Red Army. Gehlen offered his knowledge. He and others wrote in the first time mainly reports of their war time experience in the so called Operational History (German) Section. Yet Gehlen cared for his officers, and so he initiated that his American contacts started to search for his men and bring them together – especially to prevent that Soviet officers found some of them in the POW-camps and requested their extradition.
In August 1945 the US-officials decided to transfer the files of the Foreign Armies East, which had been dug out after Gehlen was identified, to the United States. The intelligence-officers of the American occupation forces were against the transfer, they argued that they need all information about the Soviet Army at the possible front, if war broke out. But when they realised they could not prevent it, they formed a new plan: Boker, Gehlen and five other former German officers were sent together with the files to Washington. There they wrote some additional reports. But at the same time Gehlen had to bury his hope to make new acquaintances of high-ranking officers or politicians in Washington. In June 1946 the Germans were sent back to where they came from. The reason is not clear, maybe the officials in Washington wanted them back "at the front" to spy on the Soviets, maybe nobody knew what they should do with the Germans in the US. During his time in the United States Gehlen learned English, which granted him a big advantage in the near future.
This organization will work with, not for or under the Americans.
The organization will work under German leadership, duties will be given by the Americans, until a German government will be established.
America should finance the organization, but not from the occupying costs (costs for stationing of occupation troops and reparations were taken from the German economy. Gehlen's aversion against this, is an example for his nationalist feelings. At the same time this was an unrealistic requierement, because the United States needed all the money they could get after World War II, and even in 1946 the Gehlen Organization cost more than 2 million dollars per year). All findings will be send to the Americans.
As soon as a German government will be established, this government will decide about the organization's future, until this point the Americans will decide alone.
That sounds quite different and is much more likely a trustworthy account. In fact, the later so called "Organization Gehlen" (OG or Org, other denominations was "Operation Rusty", 1946 to 1949, and "Operation Zipper", 1949 to 1956) was much more a bunch of mercenaries than a true German office. But it was the best Gehlen was able to achieve. The US-Army paid him and his men, many of whom were professional soldiers who had never known a world apart from military. Even working for an armed force by spying on another armed force was nearer to their profession than most other jobs. And for many Germans the situation was quite bad after the end of war: Many did not have real jobs before the German "Wirtschaftswunder" – the economic miracle – in the 1950s.
The main target of the so called Org was spying on the Soviet Army in Eastern Germany until the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz), the Western German counterintelligence, was established in 1950. Former Wehrmacht officers made evaluation and analysis: For example one of Gehlen's former commanding officers, Adolf Heusinger, was for a short time leader of the evaluation and analysis branch before he started working for the newly established German government. Agents in spying and counterspying needed other expertise for gathering of information as well: Radio location and monitoring for example – often with outdated former Wehrmacht equipment or new American gear. Many soldiers from the former Abwehr (the Wehrmacht counter intelligence) knew members of Gestapo or Sicherheitsdienst of the SS (SD). And since anti-communist views were the common link and tie between Gehlen and the Americans, why not employ these experienced Gestapo or SD men, too? The American policy was to charge criminals of war and criminals against humanity, but the Soviet threat became too obvious. So many former Nazis, some with no personal involvement in crimes of the Third Reich, some highly indicted, were engaged by the Org. As long as the US-Army paid the Org, the officers made sure to engage them only for menial jobs. But many criminals were directly paid by US-offices, for example the "Butcher of Lyon", Klaus Barbie.
When the Org gained the CIA's attention, the CIA not only saw the achievements, but also the bunch of former Nazis working for the organization. A tricky situation: The US armed forces were under pressure to save money, Cold War or no Cold War. And the Org needed money to expand and gain new information and evaluate them. At the beginning, before the currency reform dried the black market in Western Germany, it had been a good way paying agents with American products, especially cigarettes that were far more precious than Reichsmark. The currency reform suddenly made things much worse: Gehlen was in need of a new money source. In 1948 CIA agent James Critchfield was sent to Pullach near Munich, were the Org had its headquarters since December 1947, to evaluate the situation. He was never certain about the employees, but in the end, he saw Gehlen and other leading Org members as soldiers who had simply done their duty during World War II (The war crimes of the Wehrmacht were negated, minimized or blamed to the SS, thanks to the Operational History (German) Section. Gehlen's and other members' personal guilt even today is seen as controversial.).
U.S. Navy Douglas R4D and U.S. Air Force C-47 aircraft unload at Tempelhof Airport during the Berlin Airlift.
Berliners watching a C-54 land landing at Berlin Tempelhof Airport, 1948.
Another reason for his consent to integrate the Org into the CIA was their good work during the Berlin-crisis. The Soviet had blocked road excess to the city to force the Western Allies to withdraw the new Deutsche Mark currency from Berlin. To keep up the city's supplies the Allies started the until today famous airlift. The Org counted the Soviet fighters on the air fields, in the air and on their way to or from Eastern Germany and were able to tell that the Soviet Union would not crucially harm the airlift. If the airlift had been stopped, other ways to Berlin – by road and train – would have had to be used to supply the city. And this could have meant war.
On July 1st, 1949 the Org was turned over from the US armed forces to the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). Even after this date, many former Gestapo and SD members were still employed. Cold War became colder (or hotter) after 1949, the rejection to employ war criminals and die-hard Nazis dwindled away.
At the same time the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany (BRD) was initiated with the publication of the Grundgesetz, the German constitution.
The Org, which had worked on internal counterintelligence – for the British and Americans – got a rival: the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV, Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution). The organization's responsibility was counteracting internal threats like right- and left-wing extremists and foreign spies operating in Germany. Gehlen wanted the position of president of the BfV for himself, but the British government mistrusted him. So Otto John became first president of the BfV. He had been in the periphery of the July 20th 1944 plot to overthrow Hitler and had later fled to the Great Britain, were he was employed in the psychological warfare. His brother was charged for treason and executed by the Nazis. Many former German soldiers still felt an aversion towards John, because of his personal history. And what was worse: John had no clue of how secret intelligence actually worked. The first employees of the BfV were mostly anti-Nazi, many of them had a social-democratic background, some had fled from the Soviet Occupation Zone to the West. John intended to strengthen the organization's anti-communist attitude. But the problem was: The small opportunities the BfV had compared with police and the Landesämter für Verfassungsschutz (LfV, German Federal State Authorities for the Protection of the Constitution) remained unused. After 1954 an anti-communist attitude was much more necessary for joining the BfV (or LfV) than a democratic disposition.
Another secret service was established by Friedrich Wilhelm Heinz. His biography is interesting: An officer in World War I and member of Organization Consul, a group of right wing terrorists that had murdered German pacifists and democratic politicians, he was later member of the Nationalsocialist Party, but left the party before 1933. He later became officer in the expanding Wehrmacht department Abwehr, where he was part of the group who wanted to overthrow or kill Hitler. After their failed plot from July 20th 1944 he hid until the end of the war. In the years following the German defeat Heinz first worked as journalist – as camouflage. In Berlin he made contact with nearly every western secret service and informed them about everything he knew about the Soviet Army. The information he provided was so valuable, the Allies flew him out of Berlin when the Soviets began blockading the city in 1948. In 1950 a former General of the Wehrmacht, Gerhard Graf von Schwerin, was made chief of the Zentrale für Heimatdienst (Centre for Home Service) at the chancellery. Schwerin became chancellor Konrad Adenauer's chief advisor in military and security questions (Berater für Militär- und Sicherheitsfragen). This was indeed a secret attempt to establish new German armed forces – still forbidden by the Allies. Schwerin made Jochen Oster, son of Hans Oster, who had been executed by the Nazis for his attempts to save Jews, chief of his secret intelligence service. Oster had no idea what to do and he hired Heinz, presumably due to British interventions, to undertake his work.
Gehlen, Heusinger and others did their best to overturn Schwerin, who was finally dismissed in October 1950. But Heinz stayed on as head of the so called Friedrich Wilhelm Heinz-Dienst (FWHD, the code names used were Archiv für Zeitgeschichte or Institut für Gegenwartsforschung). The new camouflaged staff for creating a new army was called "Dienststelle des Bevollmächtigten des Bundeskanzlers für die mit der Vermehrung der alliierten Truppen zusammenhängenden Fragen" (I do not translate that!) or short: Amt Blank, called after the leader of the office Theodor Blank. He let Heinz keep his position in order to gain information about the Soviet Union and the Soviet armed forces.
It was a bold move: A German foreign secret intelligence service was prohibited by allied laws. The internal security service was approved, the Organization Gehlen worked as an American subcontractor and informed the German government additionally as a gift from the big brother. But at the same time the FWHD and the Amt Blank broke nearly every law established between 1945 and 1949. Only in 1955 the General Treaty gave Western Germany full sovereignty.
Ostbüros (Eastern offices) of the democratic parties (CDU, FDP, SPD) and the Union (DGB).
All these organizations gathered information. The KgU planned and committed sabotage against the communists in Eastern Germany, but when former Nazis took over more and more power inside the group the CIA finally withdrew its support.
Gathering information is not like we imagine it, it is not the work of James Bond or other movie spies. Many employees of secret services around the world go to their offices every morning and go home in the evenings. Most of them work more like journalists: they read, see or hear something, speak with informants and write reports. Only agents in the field or on the other side of the Iron Curtain needed the special abilities we know from the cinema. In Germany, between 1945 and 1961 these were not essential. In Berlin for example it was sufficient to buy a ticket for the underground train network, get out in the right sector of the city and not looking ominous.
The secret service's work in itself was divided into different sections: HUMINT (Human intelligence) OSINT (Open source intelligence) and SIGINT (Signals intelligence). The latter contained the two branches COMINT (Communication intelligence) and ELINT (Electronic intelligence).
The simplest form to collect data and information was what OSINT did. It consisted mainly of reading the newspapers and listening to the latest news on radio. Even a biased and censored newspaper published in a dictatorial state like the Soviet Occupation Zone (SOZ) or since 1949 the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and other country in the Eastern bloc offered valuable information. The German secret services (east and west) had a big advantage in comparison to other countries, because as native speakers they understood even phrases, a second-language speaker would never understand due to lacking cultural context.
SIGINT needed equipment to collect communications send via cable or radio waves. As pictured above, the Gehlen Organization was praised for their observation skills during the Berlin Blockade. Some of these were made by HUMINT, many were acquired by listening to the pilots' conversations (COMINT). Most of the radio-operators had made their job since World War II and many of them understood Russian – at least on a small scale. But that was not the main point. They recognised the voices of radio operators ashore, at sea or in mid-air. An experienced eavesdropper could decide if operators were new or had been stationed on their post for some time. If many new operators would suddenly appear while the "old" ones stayed on their post, this could mean a significant increase of enemy forces. If the old ones left, it was only part of the normal staff rotation.
The other part of the signal information gathering was ELINT. In the early years of the Cold War their responsibility was mainly the detecting of radar- and radio waves, their sources and frequencies. Not a speciality of the Org but essential for military purposes.
The best opportunities the German secret services between 1945 and 1961 had was due to HUMINT. The border between the occupation zones and later the two German states at that point was still not closed so agents and informants from east could easily travel to the west and vice versa. The western services had a big advantage because the reign of the communists was harsh and many people felt hard done-by. Anti-Soviet or anti-Russian feelings had been cultivated by the Nazis and the crimes done by Soviet soldiers in 1945 (mass rapes, confiscations, imprisonment and sentencing without a reason or by a wrong accusation) were not yet forgotten. Money was a good reason for spying, too.
Soviet soldiers after the victory in Berlin 1945, Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R77767 / CC-BY-SA 3.
The Gehlen Group had another big advantage when spying on the Soviet armed forces in Germany: They had their files from World War II. Most Soviet troops and many of their officers in Germany were still in the same units, so Gehlen and his men could start picking up their work in June 1945 (or September 1946 after the Gentlemen's Agreement) where they had ended in Mai 1945. The Cold War, often described as non-shooting war, made it much easier to count tanks, artillery pieces, trucks, trains, industrial facilities and so on. Another way of spying was to bribe or blackmail officials.
The most important for the United States was answering the question: Will the Soviet Union start a war? The United States and their allies for example increased the number of their forces in Europe for safety's sake after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. But until the Western German armed forces were founded in 1955 the proportion of forces was 1 to 3 for the Soviet Union in central Europe, without the Soviet satellites. But even though starting a war for the Soviet Union was only possible after they themselves had increased their armed forces and – more importantly – their supplies. Except for the unlikely case the Soviet forces would make an attack without sufficient supplying.
Most German men had served in the Wehrmacht before 1945 and therefore could tell what weapons the soldiers carry, the type of tanks and artillery pieces and some could even say if a unit was an elite troop or a bunch of unwilling reservists led by incompetent officers. In more general terms: Factory workers see what they produce, employees of train companies manage the daily traffic and know the routines, cleaners see and hear things, and so on. High-ranking insiders were rarely hired, one of the best contacts Gehlen's organization made was the secretary of the GDR president Otto Grotewohl, Elli Barczatis. She was executed for "Boykotthetze" (to avoid the word spying) in 1955.
They secret services simply used the potential of ordinary people working in sensitive positions. Even refugees were sent back with an order to spy, if their escape had not yet been discovered. If they unveiled secrets, they were mostly paid quite well.
On the other hand it was necessary to shield offices and even refugee-camps against Eastern agents who attempted the same as the West did on their territory. Was an office or camp infiltrated the agents in the field were at risk as well. The more so, if the Soviets were able to plant agents among the higher ranks in Germany, UK or the US. The Org had some problems with this. The eastern offices, the KgU and the UfJ, also made some grave mistakes that did cost the lives of the men and women spying for them in the GDR. Only the Friedrich Wilhelm Heinz-Dienst supposedly had no leak.
One big group of "agents" was essential for the western secret services: The prisoners of war and civil internees in the Soviet Union. Between 1947 and 1950 most of them came back to Germany. (A last group of nearly 30.000 prisoners and civil internees were convicted for war crimes. When the Bundesrepublik and the Soviet Union exchanged ambassadors in 1955 they were amnestied and sent back.) The Soviet Union was nearly cut off from the world: The harsh Stalinist regime introduced a paranoid xenophobia against nearly all foreigners. The Germans, working in agriculture, factories, construction business and – mainly scientists, had been deported in October 1946 – in scientific research, brought very interesting news: Location of Factories and their products, the crop-quantity on the fields, the actual Soviet weapon research in the Soviet Union and even the quality of luxury products were indicators for the economic potential. When in 1956 the last Germans came back, the US Air Force started the flights of the U-2 spy plane above the Soviet Union.
Gehlen and his men were nearly everywhere during these early years of the German Bundesrepublik. He conferred nearly every week with Adenauer or the opposition leader of the social democratic party.
The Amt Blank, the forerunner of the Federal Ministry of Defence, was full of former officers with connections to the Org or were even former Org employees. Even the rivals BfV and FWHD were infiltrated. Even the so-called "stay behind" forces during that time were placed under Org control, well until 1956. Stay behind forces, later known under the Italian Code-word "Gladio", where established in every country in Western Europe to inform the Allies or fight as partisans in case of a Soviets attack. Right wing extremists were often an integral part of these groups that were funded by the British and American armed forces or secret services. The first scandal about this groups occurred in 1952, when the offices of the League of German Youth (Bund deutscher Jugend, BdJ) were raided by the German police which found weapons and black lists of German politicians, mainly from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which had to be executed in case of war. The US-army CIC-detachment confiscated the evidence and nobody, except for some social democrats, ever spoke about this story again. The Org and later the BND established their own stay behind force until the end of the Cold War with anti-communist members and a much better cover. But still there are some hints of connections between BND and right wing and extremist "Wehrsportgruppen".
It is possible that many employees of the Org were not even accounted for in these statistics, because they worked on special projects like interception of CIA-telephones.
The Heinz-Dienst had only a fifth of the personnel (about 200 employees and an unknown number of agents) compared to the Gehlen Organization. The BfV (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz) at its very beginning in 1950 had only 75 positions in total, and many of them were vacant.
When the idea arose to found the Bundesnachrichtendienst in the early 1950s Heinz and Gehlen – the heads of the two rivalling secret services – also became rivals for the job of the prospective president of this new Western German secret service. Heinz, with his enigmatic past, could only make the race if he succeeded with his work. As today is known, his information gathering was good. But Gehlen, with the backing of the Americans, in the long run had the better cards. And the BfV (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz) under Otto John had to be considered as well – as Gehlen's partner or rival. John decided to help Gehlen – why is not known. Heinz made some attempts to become president of the BfV too, and for some time had been John's direct rival. If this had influenced John's decision to back Gehlen instead, it was a very short-sighted one indeed. But as it may be, they found some skeletons in Heinz' closet: Connections to a former Dutch secret service officer who had wanted to blackmail Heinz (there were also rumours about a homosexual relationship between them), falsification of documents, his membership of Organisation Consul and the NSDAP even before 1933 and the wrong military rank, which was the only accusation Heinz was not able to refute (Heinz was until 1945 Lieutenant-Colonel but always introduced himself as Colonel). Adenauer told Blank to sack Heinz, who himself asked to be dismissed in September 1953. His secret service continued its work until the founding of the Ministry of Defence, but Gehlen had won this battle.
John on the other hand gave up, before he was fired. John was discontent with the course of Western German politics. High ranking Nazis came back as politicians, judges, business leaders, public officials and if the rearmament went through also as soldiers. In 1954, after the ceremonial act for the 10th anniversary of the July 20th plot against Hitler, John, who had been guest of honour in West-Berlin, disappeared and emerged three days later in East-Berlin. He delivered a speech in which he accused the course of the Western German government. It was unclear if John was kidnapped or fled. In August he held a press conference and the last doubts about his flight to the GDR evaporated, because he spoke frankly and without manuscript, blaming the Bundesrepublik for "revival of Nazism and Militarism". But only a short while later, in December 1955, he fled back to the BRD! There, he was sentenced to four years imprisonment but was amnestied two years later. It is until now difficult to decide whether John went unsolicited to the east or was indeed kidnapped and only played along, giving a press conference to save his life.
The transformation of the Org to the Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst, BND) was at a first glance not very dramatic. But at the same time the Bundeswehr was founded and like the BND needed officers. And so many former Wehrmacht officers left the Org/BND to instead dress in military uniforms again. Gehlen had to replace them. One of his most prominent "new" co-workers, who had started working for the Org in 1951 and since 1953 could be found in the close circle around Gehlen, was Heinz Felfe, head of counter intelligence at the Org and later BND. He was a former member of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD, security service) of the SS. What at that point no one knew: Felfe also worked for the KGB and since 1951 had sent tons of material to the East. Since 1953 the suspicion against him had grown especially in the American military Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC), but the CIC never shared their suspicions with the CIA or the Germans. And until 1961 Gehlen took no actions against Felfe, he even prevented a thorough screening of Felfes background because of his Nazi-past in the SD. Above that, Gehlen never even wanted to hear the suspicions others had about Gehlen's best co-worker. When Felfe was uncovered in 1961 Gehlen was of course blamed, too, but now he was president of Germany's Foreign Intelligence Service (BND) and nearly untouchable. Gehlen stayed president until 1968, when the new government, with social democratic members, demanded his retirement. His successor was Gerhard Wessel, a repitition of 1945 events, when Wessel had succeeded Gehlen as leader of the staff-branch Fremde Heere Ost.
Most secret BND employees later never spoke about their deeds and most files are still shut away or shredded. (Sometimes this was done to cover scandals like the actual wiretapping affair.) But after the fall of the Berlin wall the Stasi files became accessible for research and many former Stasi and intelligence officers from the Eastern German GDR later gave account of their own work and that of their counterparts in the West – even though they often provide a biased view.
Today the history of the secret services is written by historians. In 2016 the Unabhängige Historikerkommission zur Erforschung der Geschichte des Bundesnachrichtendienstes 1945-1956 (http://www.uhk-bnd.de/) will shed light on the early history of this organization. Not in writing a book, but in giving access to the files. The Museum of Military History of the Bundeswehr shows an exhibition about the early history of the Gehlen Organization and the other secret intelligence services in 2016. Similar projects are started for the BfV and the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA). A book about the early BfV, written by Michael Goschler and Michael Wala "Keine neue Gestapo" ("No new Gestapo") was published in 2015.
A secret service will always cover itself in a mist of lies and half-truths – in the past, but also in the present. Therefore what every secret service in a democracy needs is a supervisor, who controls its secret work. In Germany this is the parliamentary control panel, but as we saw in the last three years with the NSA and BND scandals, this is often not enough. The future of the secret services and the democracy are interlocked.
Tags: BND, CIA, Cold War, Espionage, Gehlen, German history, History, Post 1945, Secret Service, Spy. Bookmark the permalink.


I'm A Passionate team leader with cutting edge product design skills with experience supporting organizations ranging from start-up to mature. Excellent presentation, people, organizational and planning skills. Excels in fast-paced, lean and agile environments.
Specialties: user experience design, service design, product management, mobile ecosystem, cloud services, product marketing, strategic partnerships, digital music, web analytics, consumer behavior, market research, and international expansion.
Adjunct faculty, training graduate program students in the fundamentals of user experience design.
Responsibilities: Product design role with several pre-MVP stage companies, responsible for defining the UX, UI, and product management process.
Responsibilities: Product design role with a pre-MVP stage company, responsible for defining the key product use cases and engagement patterns as well as management of the product development process.
Responsibilities: Hybrid UX/PM role in a pre-MVP stage company, responsible for overall product design including UX and product management, interfacing with the development and management teams.
Responsibilities: Traditional product management role in a late stage startup, responsible for optimizing key metrics for the entire product line (mobile, platform, desktop, and web app).
Responsibilities: Hybrid UX/PM role in an early stage company, responsible for overall product design including UX and product management, interfacing with the development and management teams.
Responsibilities: Hired and directly managed 26 reports including graphic designers, UX designers, project managers, content editors and regional marketers. Lead the management and execution of the product roadmap for the International, Community, Mobile verticals.
Responsibilities: Sole in-house technical resource specializing in building out custom marketing micro-sites aimed at selling limited edition CDs and vinyl products. Managed 3rd party development of the CRM and Fulfillment system for a $1 Million dollar eBay store.


If Facebook were a country, it would be the world's third most populous one, after China and India. As for the world's most avid social networkers, Americans are 4th, behind Australians, Britons, and Italians, respectively – The Economist reports in a special report on social networking – followed by users in South Korea, Spain, Brazil, Germany, France, and Japan. The world's most popular social sites are Facebook, Windows Live, MySpace, Chinese portal Baidu, Twitter, Google's social site Orkut (popular in Brazil and India), Hi5, Chinese social site QQ, LinkedIn, and art community site DeviantArt – in that order, based on 10/09 comScore figures and all based in the US unless otherwise indicated. Other big indigenous communities include "Skyrock in France, VKontakte in Russia, and Cyworld in South Korea, as well as numerous smaller social networks that appeal to specific interests such as Muxlim, aimed at the world's Muslims, and ResearchGATE, which connects scientists and researchers." Meanwhile, Nielsen reports that social network sites are the most popular Web destination worldwide, with FB representing 67% of all social site traffic, Mashable.com reports. As for general Internet numbers for 2009, Pingdom.com has some: e.g., 90 trillion emails went out last year (247 billion a day, on average); there were 234 million Web sites as of this past December; and 1.73 Net users as of last September (see that page for more).


Recently, the MOMS Club of Kenmore-Tonawanda gathered a collection of children's clothes and toiletries for a local outreach organization called Ken-Ton Closet. This organization helps a great deal of families in our community! We gathered on their monthly volunteer night to sort the donations. What an awesome time helping others and working together!
"MOMS Club", "International MOMS Club", "MOMS Offering Moms Support" and the Mother/Children logo are registered service marks/trademarks of International MOMS Club.


Roasted Chantenay Carrots With Ricotta Pecans And Coriander.
Hello friends, today I have a tasty recipe to share with you; Roasted Chantenay Carrots With Ricotta Pecans And Coriander.
This roasted carrot salad is a fantastic veggie dish packed full of exciting flavours. The sweet spiced carrots go perfectly with the creamy ricotta and the crunchy pecans.
In a large bowl mix the Chantenay with the olive oil, cumin seeds, chilli flakes and crushed garlic. Season with salt and pepper and mix to thoroughly coat the Chantenay.
Spread the Chantenay in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the oven and place into a serving dish.
Crumble over the ricotta and top with the chopped pecans and coriander.
What do you think about this Roasted Chantenay Carrots With Ricotta Pecans And Coriander recipe?
Roasted Chantenay Carrots With Ricotta Pecans And Coriander. This roasted carrot salad is a fantastic veggie dish packed full of exciting flavours. The sweet spiced carrots go perfectly with the creamy ricotta and the crunchy pecans.


Syrian refugees carry belongings as they return to Syria after crossing the Jordanian border near the town of Nasib, in the southern province of Daraa, on August 29, 2017.
(Amman) – Jordanian authorities in 2017 approved landmark reforms for the justice system, people with disabilities, and women, but restricted basic rights such as free expression and assembly, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2018.
In June, parliament passed a new disabilities law that includes the concept of "informed consent" and prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. In August, Jordanian lawmakers abolished article 308 of the country's 1960 penal code, an infamous provision that allowed people who carried out sexual assaults to avoid punishment if they married their victim.
Jordanian lawmakers overhauled the country's criminal procedure law during 2017, making positive changes that create a legal aid fund to provide lawyers for suspects who cannot afford them. Under the revised law, pretrial detention is characterized as an "exceptional measure" rather than the norm and is allowed only under limited circumstances.
However, authorities carried out over a dozen speech-related arrests in 2017. On January 12, Jordanian authorities arrested eight men, including a former member of parliament and a retired senior intelligence officer, apparently in response to critical comments online and peaceful anti-corruption advocacy.
In a troubling development, authorities proposed amendments to the country's 2015 Electronic Crimes Law that criminalize hate speech, defining it vaguely in a manner that could result in arrest for merely "inciting discord" online. The amendments require parliamentary approval and the king's endorsement to become law.
In September, authorities threatened the Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ), a regional media freedom organization, over its receipt of foreign funding, even though the organization operated without incident or official complaint for 19 years.
Though Jordanians no longer require government permission to hold public meetings or demonstrations, in some cases the Interior Ministry canceled public events organized by nongovernmental organization without explanation.
Jordan also deported hundreds of Syrian refugees – including the collective expulsion of large families – without giving them a meaningful chance to challenge their removal and failing to consider their need for international protection. During the first five months of 2017, Jordanian authorities deported about 400 registered Syrian refugees each month. Another approximately 300 registered refugees returned to Syria each month during that time under circumstances that appeared to be voluntary, while another estimated 500 returned under unclear circumstances.


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text:
'''
PROBLEM 3: COUNTING AND GROUPING  (15/15 points)
A catering company has hired you to help with organizing and preparing customer's orders. You are given a list of each customer's desired items, and must write a program that will count the number of each items needed for the chefs to prepare. The items that a customer can order are: salad, hamburger, and water.

Write a function called item_order that takes as input a string named order. The string contains only words for the items the customer can order separated by one space. The function returns a string that counts the number of each item and consolidates them in the following order: salad:[# salad] hamburger:[# hambruger] water:[# water]

If an order does not contain an item, then the count for that item is 0. Notice that each item is formatted as [name of the item][a colon symbol][count of the item] and all item groups are separated by a space.

For example:

If order = "salad water hamburger salad hamburger" then the function returns "salad:2 hamburger:2 water:1"
If order = "hamburger water hamburger" then the function returns "salad:0 hamburger:2 water:1"
'''

# Remove order definition before testing submission
order = "salad water hamburger salad hamburger"

def item_order(order):
    num_salads = 0
    num_hamburgers = 0
    num_waters = 0

    words = order.split()
    for word in words:
        if word == 'salad':
            num_salads += 1
        elif word == 'hamburger':
            num_hamburgers += 1
        elif word == 'water':
            num_waters += 1

    return "salad:"+str(num_salads)+" "+"hamburger:"+str(num_hamburgers)+ \
            " "+"water:"+str(num_waters)

output = item_order(order)
print output


text:
Cranford Theater
Parties/Rentals
Lady Sings the Blues - 50th Anniversary
Celebrating 50 years, Lady Sings the Blues celebrates the essence of Billie Holiday, one of America's most loved and memorable blues singers, and was captured brilliantly in a tour-de-force debut performance by singer Diana Ross. Filled with the greatest songs of the incomparable "Lady Day," this stunning film biography received five Academy Award® nominations, including Diana Ross for "Best Actress." Starring opposite Ross are Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor.
This 50th anniversary event includes exclusive insights from Turner Classic Movies.
"Academy Award®" and/or "Oscar®" is the registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
CAST: Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan, Paul Hampton, Sid Melton
DIRECTOR: Sidney J. Furie
RUN TIME: 144 min
About Film Ratings
Showtimes for Lady Sings the Blues - 50th Anniversary
CLICK ON A SHOWTIME TO PURCHASE TICKETS
SunFeb 20
25 North Avenue West
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - 40th Anniversary
Animal House (1978)
Smokey and the Bandit - 45th Anniversary
Cabaret - 50th Anniversary
Onscreen Advertising


1. Coarsely chop half the strawberries. Puree the other half in a food processor or blender.
2. Stir chopped berries and berry puree into chilled custard for ice cream (see Old-Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream, Step 2, www.familycircle.com).
3. Freeze in ice-cream maker according to manufacturers directions. Transfer to bowl; cover and place in refrigerator-freezer.
Amount Per Serving: cal. (kcal): 203, Fat, total (g): 13, chol. (mg): 98, carb. (g): 19, pro. (g): 2, sodium (mg): 28, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.


text:
Thursday Morning Insights: Micron Technology, Inc. (MU), Walt Disney Co (DIS), Amira Nature Foods (ANFI), Celsus Therapeutics PLC (ADR) (CLTX)
Kate George, Editor- August 20, 2015, 9:03 AM EDT
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) slipped 1.82% in pre-market trading down to $15.61 after Baird analyst Tristan Gerra downgraded the company from Outperform to Neutral and slashed his price target from $36 to $15. The semiconductor company has been struggling amid concerns surrounding the decline of the PC. Although the company tried to keep analysts enthused about its future investments at last week's analyst conference, analysts remain concerned about the decelerating market for both DRAM and NAND chips. Furthermore, average selling prices are falling and share prices have been steadily declining in the last 12 months. One year ago, shares of MU were trading at approximately $33. Shares last closed at $16.38, marking a 50% decrease and a recent new 52-week low of $15.88. According to the 27 analysts polled by TipRanks in the last 3 months, 17 are bullish on Micron, 9 are neutral, and 1 is bearish. The average 12-month price target is $26.44, marking a 66% potential upside from where shares last closed.
Click here to view analyst Tristan Gerra's past performance statistics.
Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) fell 1.72% in pre-market trading down to $104.62 after Bernstein analyst Todd Juenger downgraded his rating on the company from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered his price target from $125 to $114. Juenger downgraded the company because of his belief that the TV industry is beginning a "prolonged structural decline." He notes that viewers are beginning to shy away from advertisement-supported platforms towards innovative companies, supposedly like Netflix. Juenger comments that his doubts do not only apply to Disney but the media sector as a whole. Out of the 18 analysts polled by TipRanks in the last 3 months, they are split down the middle with 9 bullish analysts and 9 neutral analysts. The average 12-month price target on Disney is $120.03, marking a 13% potential upside from where shares last closed.
Click here to view analyst Todd Juenger's past performance statistics.
Amira Nature Foods Ltd (NYSE:ANFI) shares plummeted -16.56% in pre-market trading down to $3.88 after the packaged food company announced it fired its auditor, Deloitte. This move comes after Deloitte requested that its Audit Committee would keep independent investigators into red flags raised by a short-seller report from late July. New independent auditors will immediately begin to comb through the company's financial results. Shares of the company are trading near its 52-week low of $4.56, down from the 52-week high of $19.86. According to TipRanks, 1 analyst has rated the stock in the last 3 months, providing a bullish rating though without a price target.
Celsus Therapeutics PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:CLTX) shares soared nearly 25% in pre-market trading up to $4.94 today, adding to the 287% jump shares experienced yesterday after the biopharmaceutical company announced a $75 million private placement. Private placement, or a non-public offering, is a method of raising capital. Celsus and Volution Immuno Pharmaceuticals SA announced a security purchase agreement with a group of investors. Once the private placement is approved and closed, the combined company will be called Akari Therapeutics Plc and will trade on the NASDAQ under the ticker AKTX. Akari will then receive about $70 million in net proceeds based on the recent closing bid price of $0.61.
Amira Nature (ANFI) Breaks the Market Ceiling as Stock Rises 90%; Jefferies Shares Key Insights
Another Overhang for Amira Nature Foods Ltd (ANFI) Shares? Oppenheimer Says Yes
Corey Williams, August 4, 2015
Consumer StocksInsights
Oppenheimer Reiterates Outperform On Amira Nature Foods Ltd Amid Earnings Results
Kate George, Editor, July 20, 2015
Analyst InsightsConsumer StocksExclusively PublishedInsights