text:
Tag: campaign violations
More Investigations Requested In George Santos Campaign Discrepancies
Rep. George Santos (R-NY)
More bad news for out Rep. George Santos (R-NY) as two House colleagues have filed an official complaint to the House Ethics Committee and a nonpartisan watchdog group filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission. Continue reading "More Investigations Requested In George Santos Campaign Discrepancies"
Anti-LGBT Congressman (And Wife) Indicted On Campaign Finance Violations, Wire Fraud & More
Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter
Virulently anti-LGBTQ Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter was indicted Tuesday, along with his wife Margaret, on charges of misusing campaign funds to the tune of $250,000.
Charges also included filing false campaign finance records to the Federal Election Commission.
CNN has the details:
The charges of wire fraud, falsifying records, campaign finance violations and conspiracy were the culmination of a Department of Justice investigation that has stretched for more than a year, during which the Republican congressman from California has maintained his innocence.
Republican Party leaders had long worried that with a potential indictment looming, Hunter's traditionally safe district which makes up much of eastern San Diego County could be at risk of Democratic takeover in November's midterm election.
The CNN report goes on to share that the congressman and his wife overdrew their bank accounts over 1,100 times in a 7 year period.
Investigators found the Hunters took several lavish family vacations including "a 2015 family vacation in Italy over Thanksgiving totaling more than $14,000; an April vacation in Hawaii costing $6,500; and a $3,700 trip to Las Vegas and Boise in July 2015."
There were also big-ticket "campaign expenditures" like a $2,000 trip for a family member to attend a Pittsburgh Steelers football game in 2010.
Hunter allegedly insisted his wife be paid $116,000 from 2010 to 2017 as a "campaign consultant."
According to The Washington Examiner, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has now stripped Hunter of his committee assignments.
"The charges against Rep. Hunter are deeply serious," Ryan said. "The Ethics Committee deferred its investigation at the request of the Justice Department."
"Now that he has been indicted, Rep. Hunter will be removed from his committee assignments pending the resolution of this matter," Ryan added.
While Hunter represents a solidly Republican district, his Democratic opponent, Campa-Najjar, has been out-fundraising the Republican, reporting more than $1 million in campaign donations. Campa-Najjar has just over $200,000 in cash-on-hand while Hunter has over $350,000.
The California congressman has been viciously anti-LGBTQ for years and was one of the most strident voices against the repeal of DADT in 2011 and strongly supported the hideous Defense of Marriage Act.
Hunter was the second member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump for president. The first was Rep. Chris Collins (R) of New York.
Both now face prison time.
GOP Congressman Michael Grimm to be indicted for campaign finance violations
Congressman Michael Grimm
Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn and his lawyer is in plea talks with prosecutors, according to people familiar with the case. The indictment is expected to be unsealed in the coming days.
Grimm's attorney, William McGinley declined to comment other than a written statement: "We are disappointed by the government's decision, but hardly surprised. From the beginning, the government has pursued a politically driven vendetta against Congressman Grimm and not an independent search for the truth. Congressman Grimm asserts his innocence of any wrongdoing."
McGinley says Grimm plans to continue serving in Congress.
Questions about Grimm's campaign finance activities began almost as soon as he arrived in Washington. The House Ethics Committee launched a formal inquiry into Grimm's campaign finance activities in 2012, but announced at the time that it would defer to the Justice Department's ongoing investigation.
Grimm famously made national headlines when he threatened a television reporter who asked about the allegations of wrongdoing against him.
With cameras rolling, the reporter attempted to ask his question and
Grimm walked off camera, but then returned and threatened to throw the
reporter over a balcony.
(from the Washington Post)
GOP Congressman Michael Grimm apologizes to reporter after threatening to "break him in half"
Staten Island Congressman Michael Grimm
Last night, after President Obama's State of the Union address, NY1 reporter Michael Scotto interviewed Staten Island Republican Congressman Michael Grimm to get his response to the address.
Scotto followed up with questions regarding an ongoing federal investigation into Grimm's campaign contributions. The congressman quickly said he wasn't going to speak "off-topic" and departed.
Scotto reported back to the studio, in a live shot, that Grimm "does not want to talk about some of the allegations concerning his campaign finances." After Scotto's live shot was completed, Grimm approached him and threatened to "throw [him] off this f—— balcony" and "break you in half. Like a boy." Transcript of the exchange:
GRIMM: "Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I'll throw you off this fucking balcony."
SCOTTO: Why? I just wanted to ask you…
GRIMM: If you ever do that to me again…
SCOTTO: Why? Why? It's a valid question.
GRIMM: No, no, you're not man enough, you're not man enough. I'll break you in half. Like a boy.
As the heated moment began to dominate the twitterverse into the evening, Grimm released a non-apology saying the reporter had taken a disrespectful "cheap shot" that prompted him to become "annoyed:"
"I was extremely annoyed because I was doing NY1 a favor by rushing to do their interview first in lieu of several other requests," Grimm said in the statement.
"The reporter knew that I was in a hurry and was only there to comment on the State of the Union, but insisted on taking a disrespectful and cheap shot at the end of the interview, because I did not have time to speak off-topic. I verbally took the reporter to task and told him off, because I expect a certain level of professionalism and respect, especially when I go out of my way to do that reporter a favor. I doubt that I am the first Member of Congress to tell off a reporter, and I am sure I won't be the last."
Today, Grimm has issued an apology to Scotto. Grimm also said that he and Scotto would be going out to lunch soon.
"I was wrong," Grimm said in the statement. "I shouldn't have allowed my emotions to get the better of me and lose my cool. I have apologized to Michael Scotto, which he graciously accepted, and will be scheduling a lunch soon."
Scotto later tweeted that he accepted Grimm's apology.
This is probably a good example of "how NOT to draw more attention to a ongoing federal investigation."
Conservative activist Dinesh D'Souza indicted on violation of campaign finance laws
Dinesh D'Souza
From The Hollywood Reporter:
Federal authorities accuse D'Souza of donating more than is legal to the campaign of Wendy Long, who ran in 2012 for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton but lost to now-Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Long, though, is not mentioned in an indictment obtained by THR on Thursday.
Insiders say D'Souza has been friends with Long since they attended Dartmouth College together in the early 1980s. According to the indictment, D'Souza donated $20,000 to Long's campaign by aggregating the money from various people and falsely reporting the source of the funds. But Gerald Molen, a co-producer of 2016, says the charge is politically motivated.
"In America, we have a long tradition of not doing what is commonly done in too many other countries — criminalizing dissent through the selective enforcement of the law," Molen tells THR.
Molen alleges the funneling of $20,000 through several different individuals is "an alleged minor violation."
Molen and D'Souza issued this statement: "We believe this is an unfortunate misunderstanding arising out of Dinesh D'Souza's desire to help the uphill campaign of a friend. There was no intent to do anything illegal or corrupt in any way."
An attorney for D'Souza – Benjamin Brafman – says that his client "did not act with any corrupt or criminal intent whatsoever … at worst this was an act of misguided friendship by D'Souza."
"Misguided friendship?"
Because, you know, a man as wealthy and smart as Dinesh D'Souza would have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER that it's illegal to give money to several different individuals to donate to his preferred political candidate.
NO IDEA WHATSOEVER.
I'm also sure he has no idea about the reality status of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny…
In addition to the above, this Christian activist was fired from his position of President by King's College last year after he appeared at an event with his "fiance" while still married to another woman.
Illegal campaign contributions, "fiances" while still married…
Values, folks. Values.


The Nether Providence Township Council of Republican Women, a local branch of the Pennsylvania Federation of Republican Women, was founded in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in 1963 and disbanded in 2005. The purposes of the organization were to promote the Republican Party and its candidates as well as to advance women in political knowledge and political activity. The bulk of the Nether Providence Council of Republican Women records, 1963-2005, is scrapbooks; also included are administrative and financial records, membership materials, event planning materials, newsletters, and framed certificates and awards.
Nether Providence Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, was incorporated in 1687. Over time, it progressed from a farming economy, to a manufacturing center with over a dozen mills, to a resort destination for wealthy Philadelphians, to a residential community. The Nether Providence Historical Society local history collection, 1825-2014 (bulk 1995-2014), consists of primary- and secondary-source materials relating to the residents, events, organizations, and structures, of Nether Providence Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Most of the collection is organized into subject files, but there are additional materials stored separately, including a sizeable accumulation of 19th and early 20th century papers from the Byer family.


text:
Home / literature / appearance and staging in the relapse or virtue in
Appearance and staging in the relapse or virtue in
actor actress
actress playing
addition simply
Loveless Amanda
Pages: five
In Ruben Vanbrugh's The Relapse, or Virtue in Danger, Act We, scene i. plays an essential role in establishing the theme of presence versus reality. Because this perform is a continuation of Colley Cibber's Love's Last Move, it is crucial that the initial scene with the opening act has the ability to stand on its own. Consequently , in order to express the topics of treacherousness and treatment, deceit and denial, it is necessary that the casted actor and actress understand not only how you can act, but how to action within an action. In addition , simply by focusing specifically on the develop and the term choices Vanbrugh utilizes to get the dialogue between Loveless and Amanda in the opening scene, the group can conveniently detect the greatest fate in the couple's marital life. Lastly, by choosing the perfect establishing for which the opening field occurs through directing the physical actions and cosmetic expressions desired from the actors, the new rendition of Vanbrugh's The Urge will not only become a success, but will enable the group to develop a deeper knowledge of the heroes and the motivations behind all their actions within just 150 lines.
As the curtains wide open, the lights should be affixed upon a handsome searching man in the late twenties. Wearing clothing not as regal as the king or as disheveled as a beggar, this person must have a less than comfortable look in his appearance, not really fitting in the role he could be playing. Similarly, surrounded by shelves and shelving of heavily bound novels, the man must be sitting in a great armchair which has a novel in his hand, yet his eye shifting in one object towards the other. Immediately, the appearance as well as the setting with the opening picture should expand a sense of pain and unsuitableness. Assuming that a majority of the audience hasn't seen Cibber's Love's Last Shift, Loveless, husband to Amanda, should never appear to be the fully unkempt rake from the inception or maybe the fully sophisticated and converted gentleman by the end. By allowing for the setting and the first perception in the actor for being the foundation with the Relapse, there may be room intended for growing quality in the actors' verbal exchanges. As Loveless opens which has a soliloquy, he declares, "How true is that philosophy which usually says as well as Our heaven is seated in our minds" (I. i. 1-2)! With the help of the uncomfortable manifestation through which Loveless displays through his actions and speech, the audience can infer that Loveless is not only being placed in a room he could be not completely accustomed to, but he is likewise partaking in something he has almost never done just before, reading. Furthermore, Loveless betrays him wants to the audience by simply revealing for the audience of "all the roving joys of [his] youth/ (Where nights and days appeared all consumed in happiness, / The place that the false face of extravagance / Exhibited such charms" (I. i. 3-6). Subconscious of his vulnerability towards the audience, Loveless is emotionally and emotionally reflecting in "the flaming flame of wild harmful lust" when verbally searching for innocence simply by deeming his thoughts since "a nice pleasing flames of lawful love" (I. i. 15-16). By demonstrating the contradictions between what he says and exactly how he seems as well as putting an emphasis on the inability to blend with his surroundings, the audience can see that Loveless is intending to talk himself out of what this individual loves. While the title of the play will suggest, Loveless has already relapsed in his brain and his cardiovascular system. In fact , the reality is that Loveless does not locate the life of "moment's peace" to be electrifying and likes to engage his mind "musing on [his] happy point out / and full of grateful thoughts" (I. i. 9, 20-21). The language of the opening scene is important because it discloses both Loveless's actions wonderful habitual character. In addition , by simply manipulating the setting and the dress of the actor while using character's dialogue, the landscape takes full advantage of the character's organic role as being a rake.
The moment Amanda walks on stage, your woman should take no surprises or enjoyment. Although the presenter playing Amanda should be small, in her early twenties, and appealing, she cannot be exceedingly gorgeous. In addition , the actress playing Amanda really should have a calm gait and simple, simple dress. By doing so, simply no new thoughts are incited for Loveless, allowing their particular marriage to show up monotonous and habitual. Inside the exchange involving the married couple, the phrase "heaven" is repeated above five times, revealing to the viewers that their very own love may extend past reality. We have a play on presence versus fact in this exchange, although the perfect and work nature of heaven is utilized to delineate the relationship between Loveless and Amanda (appearance), religion on its own is detached from their marriage (reality). Additionally , when Amanda enters the stage in order to meet Loveless, generally there should not be an interruption to Loveless's thoughts. He verbally tells Amanda "You discover me musing on [his] happy express / And full of thankful thoughts to Heaven and you" although his thoughts have not left from "roving pleasures" (I. i. 20-21, 2). In the same way, when Loveless woos Amanda by expressing "The largest boons that Heaven considers fit to grant as well as To points it has decreed shall get on earth / Are inside the gift of ladies formed just like you, " the actor must act with deceit, almost imagining that the person he could be wooing is usually not Amanda, but one of many "wild damaging lust" (I. i. 28-30). In order for the partnership to appear duplicitous and sneaky, both the professional and the celebrity must exaggerate their motions and talk. Every time the word heaven is used, the actors should be exaggerating their physical interactions together by pulling themselves closer to each other, climaxing when Amanda says, "There let [their love] develop forever" (I. i. 39).
Unfortunately, the downhill deterioration of Amanda and Loveless's marriage starts all too shortly after the farfetched exchanges of Heaven approving them forever growing love. Amanda must be slowly drawing away from Loveless's caress as she comments, "'Twere all of the heaven I'd ask. as well as But we could clad in black mortality, / Plus the dark curtain of endless night as well as At last must drop among us" (I. i. 42-45). Amanda appears to acknowledge in the futility with their relationship by simply disclosing the inevitability of "that mournful separation" (I. i. 47). Because Loveless is the deceiver, the acting professional who takes on his function must be capable of being simultaneously sarcastic, yet enchanting. Amanda, however, is brilliant yet insecure. Therefore , the actress playing her role must not be domineering and self-righteous, but need to possess both equally intelligence and a sense of dread and self-denial when asking her husband's faithfulness. From your once relatively affectionate and loving exchange between a husband and a partner now surfaces the harsh fact of a relationship built after "rocks of reason" (I. i. 55). Also, through this conversation, generally there needs to be concentrate on Amanda's ability to manipulate too, though her manipulation bring about sorrow and grief. Amanda's utilization of sense of guilt is a weapon of her manipulation. After claiming the knowledge of a split between them, Amanda must look away from Loveless sorrowfully while she says, "Perhaps that discomfort may only end up being my whole lot, " although turn to him once more together with the slightest sculpt of accusation saying, "You possibly might be exempted from it: Men find out better ways to quench their fires" (I. i. 50-53). By questioning Loveless's constancy merely by generalizing guys as having the ability to find another female replacement unit, Amanda, in place, is able to get from Loveless the foundation of his love for her: "You'll find 'tis built upon a steady basis / The rock of reason today supports my own love" (I. i. 54-55). If reasoning and thinking are the just means by which usually Loveless is married to Amanda, then this truth has been revealed and there is no more hope for this matrimony.
In addition , understanding that the character Amanda plays is a submissive wife, the girl does not have any electric power or control over Loveless. Actually Amanda's fears are made so transparent pertaining to the audience that sympathy is aroused toward her whilst condescension and contempt pertaining to Loveless. Consequently , the actress must disclose her truest self disclosing to the viewers her love for Loveless and her fears of his infidelity inside their marriage. As Amanda confesses with parallel statements of, "I know its false insinuating joys, / I am aware the power of its delusions, / I know the strength of its attacks, / I realize the fragile defence of nature, / I know you are a person " and i also " a wife, inch her voice must be desperate in desolation, her physique becoming sluggish and weaker after every single "I know" (I. we. 65-70), her knees touching the ground because she accepts her location as the subservient wife. Loveless, on the other hand, is roused to his feet in anger after hearing his wife's worries and admission that she "is anxious at your going to stay so very long in Town" (I. my spouse and i. 65). The role of the authoritative as well as the submissive can be portrayed by the actor and actress's body physique. Amanda must have a fragile and innocent charm to her, Loveless should show up arrogant and self-righteous. The words Loveless uses in response to Amanda consist of banish, traitors, arms, pillage, roving, bankrupt, these terms show the harshness and coldness Loveless seems toward his wife. On stage, Loveless need to rise in anger, his conversation becoming more irritated, as he defends himself by saying "I have never placed one roving thought that way" (I. i actually. 89). The actor should also be standing over the occasional actress, exuding a sense of authority and power in the hands of the man.
Knowing through the very beginning which the character, Loveless, does not belong in the countryside, there also needs to be a perception of emergency in his speech that discloses his aspire to leave 'Town' and go to London too. Ultimately, Loveless once again betrays his inner desires intended for sex to women with his air of pride. Though he uses "honest mind [as his] witness to prevent have thought of other girls, his rhetoric are all indicative of sexual as he sources to "old cast mistress" and his "former boon companions" (I. we. 108). What appears to be genuine conscience is at reality merely a reflection of Loveless's internal desires.
Towards the end of this action, Vanbrugh uses short, staccato lines in the back to back exchange between the few, Loveless and Amanda are engaged in a great unbridled trend and callous contempt has been made extremely clear inside the language structure. Throughout the debate, the two stars should be facing each other in a short distance away. Although the argument is tense, the actor playing Loveless need to stand firm in his belief that Amanda's distrusts of his faithfulness are wrong. To be able to portray the anger onstage, not only need to this exchange happen in rapid succession between Amanda and Loveless, they need to physically exaggerate their particular bodily moves to show frustration and anger. Although Loveless will remain cold-hearted even when the act ends, Amanda's voice must be brought to a whimper after Loveless screams, "Fie, fie, Amanda! It is not kind thus to distrust me" (I. my spouse and i. 127). Whereas Loveless's anxieties are founded on distrust, Amanda's are "founded on [her] love" (I. i. 128). There is a collision of faithfulness and cheating, love and deceit. As the take action concludes, Amanda's last lines, "'Twould be considered a weakness in my tongue / my wisdom could not solution / Basically should press you even farther with my own fears, as well as I'll as a result trouble need to deal with with them, " show her supreme surrender to her husband's cheating (I. my spouse and i. 136-140). Unable to persuade Loveless to stay with her in the countryside, Vanbrugh limits the female voice in communication to man, recommending that the only hope for Amanda now is within a higher power of God.
The first action of David Vanbrugh's The Relapse, or perhaps Virtue in Danger is immensely powerful in its ability to disclose characters' motives and internal desires to the audience. In addition , not only is this starting scene fascinating, it does not count on luxurious workplace set ups or lamps. Because this perform has a give attention to appearance compared to reality, throughout the means of costume and setting, the audience will be able to acknowledge many ways in which the celebrities manipulate and deceive. Via setting the stage to show up unfitting intended for Loveless to clothing Amanda in a basic night wedding dress, the audience will be able to detect the incompatibility of the married couple. Depending upon the actors' tone and body moves to betray their own selves, the audience can easily see through the actors' deceits and self-denial. Finally, it is throughout the careful and well thought-out intertwining of the script plus the acting which will determine the achievements of The Relapse.
Essay Topic: Actor actress,
Category: Literature,
20th century essays
Which turn
United States America
Declaration Independence
Bore holes
This movie
Significantly less
Friar Lawrence
Pride Prejudice
Huckleberry Finn
'Lord Flies
Christian believers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
package org.apache.camel.component.rest;

import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.OutputStream;

import org.apache.camel.AsyncCallback;
import org.apache.camel.AsyncProcessor;
import org.apache.camel.CamelContext;
import org.apache.camel.Exchange;
import org.apache.camel.Message;
import org.apache.camel.impl.DefaultCamelContext;
import org.apache.camel.impl.DefaultExchange;
import org.apache.camel.impl.DefaultMessage;
import org.apache.camel.spi.DataFormat;
import org.junit.Assert;
import org.junit.Test;
import org.mockito.ArgumentCaptor;

import static org.junit.Assert.assertNotNull;
import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.same;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.any;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;

public class RestProducerBindingProcessorTest {

    public static class RequestPojo {
    }

    public static class ResponsePojo {
    }

    final AsyncCallback callback = mock(AsyncCallback.class);

    final CamelContext context = new DefaultCamelContext();
    final DataFormat jsonDataFormat = mock(DataFormat.class);
    final DataFormat outJsonDataFormat = mock(DataFormat.class);
    final DataFormat outXmlDataFormat = mock(DataFormat.class);
    final AsyncProcessor processor = mock(AsyncProcessor.class);
    final DataFormat xmlDataFormat = mock(DataFormat.class);

    @Test
    public void shouldMarshalAndUnmarshalJson() throws Exception {
        final String outType = ResponsePojo.class.getName();

        final RestProducerBindingProcessor bindingProcessor = new RestProducerBindingProcessor(processor, context,
            jsonDataFormat, xmlDataFormat, outJsonDataFormat, outXmlDataFormat, "json", true, outType);

        final Exchange exchange = new DefaultExchange(context);
        final Message input = new DefaultMessage(context);

        final RequestPojo request = new RequestPojo();
        input.setBody(request);
        exchange.setIn(input);

        final ResponsePojo response = new ResponsePojo();
        when(outJsonDataFormat.unmarshal(same(exchange), any(InputStream.class))).thenReturn(response);

        final ArgumentCaptor<AsyncCallback> bindingCallback = ArgumentCaptor.forClass(AsyncCallback.class);

        when(processor.process(same(exchange), bindingCallback.capture())).thenReturn(false);

        bindingProcessor.process(exchange, callback);

        verify(jsonDataFormat).marshal(same(exchange), same(request), any(OutputStream.class));

        assertNotNull(bindingCallback.getValue());

        final AsyncCallback that = bindingCallback.getValue();

        that.done(false);

        Assert.assertSame(response, exchange.getOut().getBody());
    }

    @Test
    public void shouldMarshalAndUnmarshalXml() throws Exception {
        final String outType = ResponsePojo.class.getName();

        final RestProducerBindingProcessor bindingProcessor = new RestProducerBindingProcessor(processor, context,
            jsonDataFormat, xmlDataFormat, outJsonDataFormat, outXmlDataFormat, "xml", true, outType);

        final Exchange exchange = new DefaultExchange(context);
        final Message input = new DefaultMessage(context);

        final RequestPojo request = new RequestPojo();
        input.setBody(request);
        exchange.setIn(input);

        final ResponsePojo response = new ResponsePojo();
        when(outXmlDataFormat.unmarshal(same(exchange), any(InputStream.class))).thenReturn(response);

        final ArgumentCaptor<AsyncCallback> bindingCallback = ArgumentCaptor.forClass(AsyncCallback.class);

        when(processor.process(same(exchange), bindingCallback.capture())).thenReturn(false);

        bindingProcessor.process(exchange, callback);

        verify(xmlDataFormat).marshal(same(exchange), same(request), any(OutputStream.class));

        assertNotNull(bindingCallback.getValue());

        final AsyncCallback that = bindingCallback.getValue();

        that.done(false);

        Assert.assertSame(response, exchange.getOut().getBody());
    }

    @Test
    public void shouldNotMarshalAndUnmarshalByDefault() throws Exception {
        final String outType = ResponsePojo.class.getName();

        final RestProducerBindingProcessor bindingProcessor = new RestProducerBindingProcessor(processor, context,
            jsonDataFormat, xmlDataFormat, outJsonDataFormat, outXmlDataFormat, "off", true, outType);

        final Exchange exchange = new DefaultExchange(context);
        final Message input = new DefaultMessage(context);

        final RequestPojo request = new RequestPojo();
        input.setBody(request);
        exchange.setIn(input);

        final ArgumentCaptor<AsyncCallback> bindingCallback = ArgumentCaptor.forClass(AsyncCallback.class);

        when(processor.process(same(exchange), bindingCallback.capture())).thenReturn(false);

        bindingProcessor.process(exchange, callback);

        assertNotNull(bindingCallback.getValue());

        final AsyncCallback that = bindingCallback.getValue();

        that.done(false);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
// ======================================================================== //
// Copyright 2009-2016 Intel Corporation                                    //
//                                                                          //
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");          //
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.         //
// You may obtain a copy of the License at                                  //
//                                                                          //
//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0                           //
//                                                                          //
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software      //
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,        //
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. //
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and      //
// limitations under the License.                                           //
// ======================================================================== //

#pragma once

#include "../bvh/bvh.h"

namespace embree
{
  namespace isa
  {
    class BVH4Refitter
    {
    public:

      /*! Type shortcuts */
      typedef BVH4::Node    Node;
      typedef BVH4::NodeRef NodeRef;

      struct LeafBoundsInterface {
        virtual const BBox3fa leafBounds(NodeRef& ref) const = 0;
      };

    public:

      /*! Constructor. */
      BVH4Refitter (BVH4* bvh, const LeafBoundsInterface& leafBounds);

      /*! refits the BVH */
      void refit();

    private:
      size_t annotate_tree_sizes(NodeRef& ref);
      void calculate_refit_roots ();

      /* static subtrees based on BVH4 depth */
      void gather_subtree_refs(NodeRef& ref,
                               size_t &subtrees,
                               const size_t depth = 0);

      BBox3fa refit_toplevel(NodeRef& ref,
                             size_t &subtrees,
                             const size_t depth = 0);

      /* dynamic subtrees */
      BBox3fa node_bounds(NodeRef& ref);
      BBox3fa recurse_bottom(NodeRef& ref);
      BBox3fa recurse_top(NodeRef& ref);

    public:
      BVH4* bvh;                             //!< BVH to refit
      const LeafBoundsInterface& leafBounds; //!< calculates bounds of leaves
      std::vector<NodeRef*> roots;           //!< List of equal sized subtrees for bvh refit

      static const size_t MAX_NUM_SUB_TREES = 1024;
      static const size_t MAX_SUB_TREE_EXTRACTION_DEPTH = 5;
      size_t numSubTrees;
      BVH4::NodeRef subTrees[MAX_NUM_SUB_TREES];
    };

    template<typename Primitive>
      class BVH4RefitT : public Builder, public BVH4Refitter::LeafBoundsInterface
    {
      ALIGNED_CLASS;
    public:

      /*! Type shortcuts */
      typedef BVH4::Node    Node;
      typedef BVH4::NodeRef NodeRef;

    public:
      BVH4RefitT (BVH4* bvh, Builder* builder, TriangleMesh* mesh, size_t mode);
      ~BVH4RefitT();

      virtual void build(size_t threadIndex, size_t threadCount);

      virtual void clear();

      virtual const BBox3fa leafBounds (NodeRef& ref) const
      {
        size_t N; char* prim = ref.leaf(N);
        if (unlikely(ref == BVH4::emptyNode)) return empty;
        BBox3fa bounds = empty;
        for (size_t i=0; i<N; i++)
            bounds.extend(((Primitive*)prim)[i].update(mesh));
        return bounds;
      }

    private:
      TriangleMesh* mesh;
      Builder* builder;
      BVH4Refitter* refitter;
      BVH4* bvh;
    };
  }
}


text:
London Commuters Face Travel Chaos During 24-Hour Subway Strike
United Kindgom
Commuters queue for buses outside King's Cross station as London Underground services are severely disrupted due to members of RMT and TSSA unions start a 24-hour strike action in a dispute over jobs cuts and closed ticket offices on January 9, 2017.
By Tara John
Millions of commuters walked, cycled or endured gridlocked roads on Monday after two unions representing London Underground workers went ahead with a 24-hour strike beginning on Sunday evening.
Transport unions RMT and TSSA are protesting against ticket-office closures and job cuts over recent years, saying they pose a safety issue for passengers, Associated Press reports.
Numerous tube stations and lines were closed on Monday morning, as well as links to Terminal 4 and 5 at London's Heathrow airports. London Mayor Sadiq Khan acknowledged certain issues needed addressing, but also called the action "completely unnecessary" and an inconvenience to the British capital. "Why strike…Why not resolve these things amicably?" he told the BBC.
The walkout is part of a wave of industrial actions at the start of 2017, which include a two-day strike by British Airways cabin crew starting on Tuesday as well as a three-day strike by drivers on Southern rail.
YouTube Has Been 'Actively Promoting' Videos Spreading Climate Denialism, According to New Report


This village is located approximately 6 km north of Bangli town or 1 km from the Kubu village which is populated by 700 people in 1999 with the number of family of 192 families. The village is consisted of a custom village, one Banjar and administratively is very easy to manage.
The name of Pengelipuran village according to the elder villager is taken from the word 'Pengeling Pura' which that means remember to the ancestors. This story is attributed to the pilgrimage of ancestral communities in the region of Bayung Gede village located in Kintamani area to the Penglipuran village. To remember the prayers of their ancestors, they build a place for praying equal with the altar existing at Bayung Gede village. Their praying place is called by Bale Agung Temple, Puseh Temple, Dalem Temple and Dukuh Temple. The fourth temples are nowadays still supported by Penglipuran villagers. Sense being aware of or remember their ancestral homeland of Bayung Gede village is the real meaning of the construction of those temples.
The kinship system adopted by Penglipuran villager is the patrilineal kinship system that is according to lineage from their father. The smallest boy from a family who got married will be direct replacing the position of his parents in the main 76 group members. Meanwhile the other boys when have got married to be a normal family member. The familiarity of house hold members and the entire communities are reflected from their submission to the norms and tradition are still maintain by the whole communities and very difficult for the outsider to stay in this village because they do not have the same historical fabric of community life and a strong tradition of binding the community life.


(sorry for my English) After my 2013's post I believe map feature is (almost) back; how? Add your search query to the shortcuts list: when selecting the "3 dots menu" (I don't know its real name) the (map | location) item mysteriously appears. Not very handy, but at least a step forward. p.s. - I have EN for Android ver. 7.9.4: anybody with older versions could have a check about it?
Hi, I use teXPand, native for Android. Cheers. G.
"Created Date" hidden in latest Windows version?
(sorry for my English) Wordless. +1 In some future version of Evernote, the UI will be a blank page and they won't have to worry how make different platforms work in same manner. Changelog? What's a changelog? (please, don't call so those "release notes"). I keep using EN, but I know what I'm seeing today could disappear tomorrow ... without notification ( in Windows I can revert back to previous version; not so on mobile versions ) Cheers. G.
Red much improved; blue very good results. Thanks EN (and all the people behind it) G.


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« NYCB Sat 9/29 Mat & Eve Huxley in La Sylphide – As if to the manner born | Main | PA Ballet – Romeo and Juliet company premiere 10/11 »
NYCB 10/10 – Getting back to big house ballet
New York City Ballet returned to "big house ballet" on Wednesday evening. The large (paying) crowd was enthusiastic about the program's three masterpieces: Balanchine's Prodigal Son sandwiched between Robbins' Fancy Free and West Side Story Suite.
Fancy Free, which was originally made for American Ballet Theatre in 1944 and first danced by NYCB in 1980, is one of the few ballets that ABT and NYCB share regularly, and it is always interesting to watch the companies' collective casts to see which company currently fields the strongest performances. Opinions goes back and forth with, perhaps, a consensus being that a contemporary high bar was set by Carreno, Corella, and Stiefel at ABT a long, long time ago. These days, the scales tend to tip in favor of NYCB. Last spring its newly minted cast of Roman Mejia, Harrison Coll, and Sebastian Villarini-Velez knocked our white Dixie cup hats off. Villarini-Velez, who is riding atop a huge wave of successes this season, stepped into last night's performance as a substitute for Sean Suozzi. He along with Daniel Ulbricht, Joseph Gordon, Mary Elizabeth Sell, Sterling Hyltin, Miriam Miller, and Giovanni Villalobos delivered the heat of a summer night in New York and the charm of unsophisticated sailors meeting up with the experienced city girls for a night on the town and a little bit of fun as a distraction from the uncertainty of the future. Terrific performances from one and all.
Saturday evening Joaquin de Luz will dance in Fancy Free for the last time on the eve before his retirement. Joaquin is among a small handful of artists who danced in Fancy Free as a member of both ABT and NYCB. Robert LaFosse and Mikhail Baryshnikov are the only other ones that come to mind although dancers have guested on occasion – Marcelo Gomes made an appearance in NYCB's Fancy Free ten years ago and there have been collaborations among artists of both companies at festivals and on small tours. Saturday night is not to be missed.
In last evening's performance, Joaquin and Maria Kowroski, with 84 years between them, burned through the 89-year-old Prodigal Son with the glow of blue flames. This was a towering performance from both artists. Maria, in top slinking predator form, chased after Joaquin's Son like a python chasing after prey, eventually wrapping herself around him with a python's smothering satisfaction. Joaquin's Son – wayward, privileged, petulant, impertinent – was asking for trouble from the outset. He found plenty of it in Maria's Siren whose control over her trailing red cape symbolized her complete control over her realm of grotesque little beings and the debauchery that the Son aspired to experience. Joaquin's Son's repentance and the slow, painful walk on his knees toward his father, portrayed perfectly by Ask la Cour, revealed a vulnerability and desperation not present in any other roles danced by him during his long, storied career. What a pity we could not have seen him as Albrecht.
West Side Story Suite closed out the evening with such powerful dancing that it looked like a do-or-die audition for many of the performers. How many of them will show up in Spielberg's remake of the movie which was originally choreographed/directed by Jerome Robbins? Georgina Pazcoguin, certainly. She's been dancing the role of Anita for ten years. It's hers. She owns it. There's no one better. Everyone in the cast seems to have been working on their singing since last time. They should keep working - every day. It was much improved, but not good enough for the movies. Peter Walker, another corpsman who has bolted to the forefront and is now someone who we look for in the castings, performed the role of Tony. There's lots of depth and color to whatever he puts on stage. Justin Peck as Bernardo, a mostly walking around role: No, just no. His stage days were over before they ever got past meh. Andrew Veyette is past his Leader of the Jets years. He has been minimally convincing in the past, but no longer. Brittany Pollack made a sparkling debut in the singing/dancing role of Rosalia, and Mimi Staker met the typecasting requirements for Maria and danced charmingly. We need to see more of her in some taxing pointe roles. It was encouraging to see Ashley Hod back in the lineup. She has been missed during her very long injury rehab.
Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, a diamond encrusted gold stiletto which was introduced in Dubai last month as costing $17 million for the pair, is bestowed upon Joaquin de Luz and Maria Kowroski for their pure gold performances in Prodigal Son:
Posted on October 11, 2018 at 03:03 PM in New York City Ballet | Permalink


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Community of Practice for the Teaching and Learning of African Languages remains determined to achieve more in 2022
Professor Langa Khumalo, Chairperson of COPAL and Executive Director for SADiLaR
Universities South Africa's Community of Practice for the Teaching and Learning of African Languages (CoPAL) has put together an elaborate plan of action aiming to realise tangible outcomes for 2022.
CoPAL members agreed at their first meeting for the year to steer the conversation in 2022 towards the implementation of the Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education institutions, which was finalised in 2021 and came into effect in January 2022.
Read the full story on the USAf website.
Colloquium on Language Framework for Higher Education: Plenary session 5
From 28 - 29 September 2021 vice-chancellors and language experts from all 26 public universities met virtually to facilitate a common understanding on the New Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions.
Watch the recording of plenary session 4
Colloquium on Language Framework for Higher Education: Plenary Sessions 1 - 3
Watch the recordings of full plenary sessions 1 - 3.
The transformation of NWU's language policy and its far-reaching impact
Professor Robert Balfour, Deputy Vice Chancellor: Teaching and Learning) at North-West University (NWU), was joined by his colleague Dr Keaobaka Seshoka, Language Director for the university's Language Directorate, to discuss details of transformation of NWU's language policy, its delivery and the impact it has had on the institution, staff and students.
They shared their detailed presentation to attendees of the recent Colloquium on the New Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions. The online language colloquium was hosted by Stellenbosch University (SU) under the auspices of Universities South Africa (USAf) and is a joint project with USAf's Community of Practice for the Teaching and Learning of African Languages (COPAL).
Dr Balfour said their presentation was, in essence, an overview of what had been done at the NWU to date, within the multilingualism and linguistic transformation project.
Read the full story on the Universities South Africa (USAf) website.
The new language policy provides a host of opportunities for reimagining universities in Africa
The state of language policies at public institutions
Colloquium on the New Language Policy Framework for Higher Education


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INGECON SUN Training
Sectors > Solar Photovoltaic Energy > COMMERCIAL
Zero Export self-consumption systems
The self-consumption kits (up to 65A -code AAX5015- or beyond 65A -code AAX5016) are required in order to control the PV inverter operation to guarantee that it does not export energy to the grid. This system has been certified by an external laboratory in accordance with the UNE 217001:2015 IN standard.
Self-consumption systems with energy injection to the grid
The INGECON SUN 3Play PV inverter enables to monitor the energy generated at the installation. Optionally, the self-consumption kits (code AAX5015 or AAX5016) allow for an advanced system monitoring in order to access all the information related to the energy self-consumed and the energy injected to the grid via the INGECON SUN Monitor PC and Smartphone application.
*The current transformer is not supplied by Ingeteam.
EMS manual.
Installation and configuration manual for self-consumption systems.
Firmware and software.
Electric diagram.
Self-consumption with several power meters
Ingeteam consolidates its position in O&M and achieves 100 percent in the United Kingdom
- Ingeteam, in just one year, has doubled the power it maintains in the United Kingdom, moving up to 650 MW, which is equivalent to the annual en...
Ingeteam exceeds 2 GW of solar power supplied to Australia and achieves its first O&M contract
- Recently, the company has landed in Australia with its Service division, providing and added value to Ingeteam's power conversion product...
Commissioning of the second Grayson Thermal Systems BTMS (Battery Thermal Management System)
The Engineering Department of the Automation Devices Unit has undertaken the commissioning of a second BTMS (Battery Thermal Management System) togeth...
Ingeteam leads on technology and innovation at the Hamburg WindEnergy Event
The Ingeteam Group, one of the world's leading suppliers in the wind industry, is to showcase its technology at the WindEnergy Hamburg, one of the mos...
Ingeteam Group has been granted a contract with the CSBC Corporation, Taiwan as the electrical system integrator of the very first Taiwanese built offshore wind installation vessel
Ingeteam was selected as the electrical system integrator for the new project of CSBC-DEME Wind Engineering (CDWE) of the very first floating heavy li...
Iberdrola and Ingeteam have created Iberlyzer, a company dedicated to the electrolyser plants
Iberlyzer will begin operations next year and will integrate over 200 MW of electrolysers by 2023, investing €100 million to create 150 direct jobs ...
SMM is the place where the maritime industry meets to find answers to the challenges of today and tomorrow. Its claim to provide insights is reflected...
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Tel: +34 948... See phone


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A hunger for more football relevance drives Notre Dame receiver/return man Michael Young
Perhaps the only thing that's been more elusive for Notre Dame's Michael Young than finding authentic Cajun food in South Bend is a path to a consistent role on the football field.
"I've been recommended a few spots," said the ND sophomore receiver, who grew up in St. Rose, La., roughly 20 miles west of New Orleans. "It's not the same."
His next move from a cuisine standpoint, Young suggested, may be to drop in at the house of ND defensive backs coach and New Orleans native Terry Joseph.
"Make him cook for me," Young said with a laugh.
The next move toward football relevance, for one of ND's most potentially explosive players on offense, started with a clean bill of health (groin) about a week before the season started and continued last Saturday in 22-17 win over Vanderbilt with a couple of kickoff returns.
Those were his first two touches of the season and just the seventh and eighth of a quiet-but-promising career so far. The others from last season: one rush for six yards, four catches for 18 with a TD, and a modest kickoff return of 18 yards.
"I've always been confident about what I can do, but I haven't always put it on display," said the 5-foot-10, 185-pound graduate of Destrehan High School.
Whether that begins to change today at BB&T Stadium against Wake Forest (2-1) and the nation's 111th-ranked pass-efficiency defense is intriguing but far less so than who might be on the other end of the passes thrown to him and what that might mean for the quarterback position long term.
Kickoff for the first road game of the season for No. 8 Notre Dame (3-0) is noon EDT. ABC has the telecast.
The most conspicuous words that spilled out of ND head coach Brian Kelly's mouth Thursday, during a press
conference otherwise flush with ambiguity on the subject, was his admission that the practice reps between senior incumbent starter Brandon Wimbush and junior Ian Book had shifted from a 60-40 Wimbush edge to a 50-50 split.
"You know, they're both going to play," Kelly said when asked directly whether Wimbush would remain the starter amid substantial buzz that Book might overtake him as the No. 1 option. "They're both prepared. They're both ready to go, and we're going to need both of them to win."
To this point in 2018, Book has been in a changeup role, mostly short yardage and/or near the goal line, and totaling fewer than a dozen snaps cumulatively through three games.
Both QBs thrived against the Demon Deacons last year, a 48-37 Irish home victory on Nov. 4. Wimbush amassed a career-high 390 yards in total offense among ND's near school-record 710 total yards. Book, in relief, completed all eight pass attempts for 50 yards and a TD, and added a career-high 54 rushing yards on three carries.
That would suggest Kelly's thought process regarding a significantly expanded role for Book may be more big-picture than game plan-oriented. But Kelly has always been a flow-of-the-game coach, so what actually happens on the field against Wake matters, moving forward. Don't write off the possibility of Book getting a second career start, and the first unrelated to a Wimbush injury.
It's important to note that Kent Smith in 2005 at Central Michigan is the last Kelly-coached No. 1 QB to make it through an entire season without missing an important stretch of a game — or games — because of injury, demotion or both.
It's also noteworthy that in the only two-QB system at Notre Dame under Kelly that truly worked — Everett Golson/Tommy Rees in 2012 — Rees' 59 pass attempts that season fluctuated wildly: Zero in the opener, then six, zero, 11, four, four, 16, one, 11, one, five, zero and zero. The season-high 16 came against BYU, a game in which Rees started and finished while Golson was recovering from a concussion.
Ask the current players about how an in-game adjustment between quarterbacks affects them, and they — Young included — tend to recite the company line, that it's not a problem and they have no preference who is in the game.
Three of Young's career four catches, including his TD against childhood favorite LSU Jan. 1 in the Citrus Bowl, were thrown by Book.
The TD reception from Young's standpoint went well beyond tying the game at 14-14 (with a Josh Adams two-point conversion run).
"That gave me all the confidence in the world this winter and this spring to show coaches like, 'This is what you saw, but there's more,' " Young said.
A concussion in the spring and a chronic groin injury in the summer that lingered into preseason training camp slowed his roll.
Ideally, Young and freshman Kevin Austin would add depth to a starting wide receiver corps of seniors Miles Boykin and Chris Finke, and junior Chase Claypool.
"I think it's staying on top of the little things," Young said of gaining traction as a receiver in that starter-heavy rotation. "The alignments, the assignments. Not making stupid plays, like covering up the tight end.
"Just little things like that, making sure I do the simple things all the time and then doing the extra things. That's really where you can close the gap."
Young showed that kind of flash early last season as a freshman and at the very end of it, during bowl prep and the actual bowl game. In between, he got lost.
"I wanted to make an impression on the coaches fast," he said. "Luckily, I was able to do that. The problem with me, it was the little things I was messing up on. Not being consistent with alignment. Instead of being on top of the numbers, I was a yard inside the numbers.
"Just things like that on certain routes that are very critical, because they're timing routes. I couldn't get them right. and the wear and tear on my body.
"I was in shape, but my body, my legs, there were days when I just felt I couldn't explode the way I wanted to. and so being a freshman, you kind of complain. 'I can't really do this. I can't really do that. I'm too sore.' and that's where I started to hit the freshman wall."
And his opportunities did as well.
"It was kind of tough to just take a back seat and watch everything," he said. "But toward the end of the season, I was like, 'I just have to go. I just have to show what I did earlier. and this time no complaints. It's all out.' "
Young draws inspiration and advice from his uncle, former LSU and Indianapolis Colts running back Joseph Addai.
"He's been a huge factor in my life," Young said. "He talks to me every day when things are going bad. 'Keep your head up. I went through the s ame things. It's going to be fine, just keep working.'
"Even when I'm doing things good. 'Just keep going, keep the gas on the pedal.' "
And that entails, apparently, pestering special teams coordinator Brian Polian relentlessly to give Young a chance on kickoff returns. Young finally got that opportunity this season in game three, and it included a 48-yarder against Vanderbilt.
"The only thing (Polian) told me was, 'Get healthy, get healthy.' So the one thing I did, I just told myself, 'OK, I have to get healthy. I have to get healthy.'
During the week of practice leading up to the Vanderbilt game, Polian asked if Young noticed that he had popped into the mix at kickoff return, which to that point had consisted of a rotation of running backs Jafar Armstrong, Tony Jones Jr., and C'Bo Flemister.
"I told him, 'I'd give you a big kiss right now if we weren't at practice,' " Young said of Polian, "and he laughed."
Young was all smiles after the Vanderbilt game, except for the hiccup of thinking he had been whistled down on the long kickoff return when in fact he hadn't. Everything else about the return, though, he felt like he could build upon.
"I think a lot of times guys get caught up in that they're given too much freedom back there," Young said. "They want to do too much, just because they want to impress. But it's simple. Just find the first vertical seam, make the one cut and go. I tell myself that, and it helps me."
Eventually, he'd like a shot at punt returns as well.
"I would say it's not on my plate right now," Young said with a smile. "I think it's like dessert. It's not the full-course meal, but if they (the coaches) are in the mood for it, then, hey, so am I."


In addition to this, the company identifies and complies with legal requirements, legislation and accepted industry standards. The company manages its business through a series of interacting processes.
These processes are subject to monitoring, measurement and analysis to confirm compliance with both customer and company requirements and to identify opportunities for continual improvement by establishing objectives, KPI targets and measures related to the satisfaction of needs and expectations of customers and other stakeholders.
Improvement of the service we provide.
The Company ensures that the Policy and Objectives are reviewed, communicated, understood and implemented within the organisation.
•Top down methods, with open communication channels that ensure that that everyone is informed.
•We regularly undertake an internal equality audit on our business and show commitment to continual improvement of the services we provide.
•We maintain training records for all our staff to show that they are competent to perform the tasks whilst adhering to company policy for which they are employed. This addresses our customer's cost, equality and safety issues.
•Policy statements are openly accessible by staff and are discussed during team meetings and when new people enter onto the site.
•Regular updates with current issues and changes to policy are communicated throughout the year electronically whilst addressing any DDA or WC3 standards.
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Nottinghamshire County Council's fleet of 30 gritters has officially been stood down after a winter that saw the vehicles cover enough miles to take them to the South Pole and back ten times.
The gritter teams spent more than 400 hours out on the roads, spreading 25,000 tonnes of salt and clocking up almost 300,000 kilometres on the roads in total.
But while the gritting fleet might be parked up for the season, the 46-strong gritting crew remains busy and has been deployed to other seasonal duties such as grass cutting and weed spraying to help maintain the county's highways network.
Kevin Heathcote, gritting team manager Kevin Heathcote of Via East Midlands, which delivers highways services on behalf of the county council, said"Weather conditions will continue to be monitored in case we get any freak conditions where road temperatures suddenly dip below freezing.
Coun John Cottee, chairman of the communities and place committee at the council, added: "It wasn't that long ago that crews were out in very tough conditions and have certainly been in high demand.


Hans Voerknecht has been to a Velo-City conference in Vancover to explain why mandatory helmet laws are not such a great idea. One of his statistics is that In the Netherlands, where cycling is ubiquitous, 13.3 per cent of the cyclists admitted to hospitals with injuries wore helmets — even though just 0.5 per cent cent of Dutch cyclists wear helmets.
This statistic is both utterly useless and extremely important. It tells us nothing about whether helmets are effective, ineffective or dangerous, but it does brilliantly illustrate the fact that the helmets issue is far from being a simple "no brainer", and hints at one of the major flaws in the scientific studies of helmet efficacy.
Maybe tourists from Anglo Saxon nations wearing helmets are disproportionately represented in the hospital statistics. Maybe also those with helmets are perceived by motorists or perceive themselves to be less vulnerable.
In fact, it's obvious who the helmet wearers are in the Netherlands.
Can you spot the difference? All of the helmeted cyclists are racing around, head down, feet firmly clamped to the pedals on fragile lightweight skinny tired bicycles — except for the one on a muddy knobbly tired mountainbike. Most of the helmet photos were taken at the weekend. Some of the others were too: a couple of gents leisurely touring the sand dunes in a nature reserve, and a family crossing Nesciobrug, perhaps off for a picnic in the country. But mostly they're just people making everyday journeys: commuters in Amsterdam, shoppers in Utrecht, school kids in Houten. They're on sturdy steady bicycles, rarely doing more than 15mph. Their environment is not completely without hazards, but even if things do go wrong, they're extremely unlikely to find themselves hospitalised. The racers and mountainbikers, meanwhile, are far more likely to fall off or hit something, and at the sort of speeds where that breaks things.
The Dutch wear helmets — and get injured — when they're doing sports. The Dutch don't wear helmets when they're using transport.
This is one of the major flaws in much of our research on helmets, and in much of the British approach to cycling. It fails to account for the differences between using a bicycle and participating in (extreme) sports.
Edited to add, in case it wasn't clear — for I fear that too frequently in these posts I leave all of the background as taken, having been over it many times before — in the Netherlands these racers wearing helmets are the same people riding utility bikes without them. The folk who get dressed up in lycra and helmets to ride sports bikes at the weekend will, during the week, be riding a utility bike in normal clothes and no helmet, because that's what the Dutch do. All of them. I mean, they don't all do the racing, but they all have a utility bike. We don't expect folk who enjoy a bit of rock climbing at the weekend to continue wearing their helmet all week, or people whose hobby is diving to keep the scuba tank on for the Monday morning commute.
AmCamBike seems to be frustrated with all these folk claiming that a necessary prerequisite for mass cycling is good infrastructure that doesn't require bicycle users to mix with lots of busy fast traffic. He looks at a survey of people in the Netherlands who both drive and cycle for some of their journeys, and which asks those people why they choose to make journeys by bicycle and why they choose to make journeys by car. It turns out that they do not cite infrastructure as a reason to make a journey by bicycle, and they do not cite a lack of infrastructure on the occasions that they choose not to make a journey by bicycle. Dutch folk just never say: I would have made that journey by bicycle today if only they had built another cycle path. So I take it all back. Fixing our infrastructure is not necessary for cycling. Apparently we just need to shout loud and clear that cycling is healthy, fun and good for the environment. Why had nobody thought to do that before in this country?
AmCamBike may just have made an important breakthrough in transport planning. I just went to my local station, you see, and asked the folk waiting on the platform why they had chosen to make their journey by train. Not one of them mentioned the tracks. This opens up exciting money-saving opportunities for High Speed 2. Folk in the Chilterns will be relieved.
AmCamBike also notes how strange it is that, in the UK, a survey found that dangerous roads and lack of cycling infrastructure is cited as a reason not to make journeys by bicycle. What a strange result that is, that in a country that lacks cycling infrastructure, a lack of cycling infrastructure is cited as a reason for not cycling. And in a country which doesn't lack cycling infrastructure, it isn't. What could possibly explain why it is cited as a reason for not cycling in one, but not the other? It's a right conundrum, isn't it?
AmCamBike thinks it would be interesting to see whether that result — from the recent Sustrans research — which found lack of cycling infrastructure to be a reason for not cycling in the UK, could be replicated in other surveys. Well, I suppose there's the DfT's 2011 "Climate change and transport choices" report. And the 2001 Scottish "Sharing Road Space" report (PDF). And Southampton's 1997 "Barriers to cycling" survey (PDF). And Manchester's 2011 cycle survey. There were Tim Ryley's 2004 surveys in Edinburgh, I guess. And TRL's 1997 "Attitudes to cycling" focus groups, 1998 "Cycling for a healthier nation" surveys, and 1998 "Transport implications of leisure cycling" surveys are often cited, though I've never obtained the full reports. And obviously there's the very in-depth Understanding Walking and Cycling project, about which Dave Horton writes lay summaries. But perhaps they all just prompted the participants to give those responses?
I think it would be far more interesting to survey ex-pat Dutch folk to find out what affects their everyday transport mode decisions in their adopted countries. It shouldn't be difficult: I find that Dutch people are very willing to tell you why they don't cycle in the UK, before you've even asked. Like the Dutch chap on a hillwalking holiday who I met in Torridon last year — jealous of my cycle touring, he volunteered, but unwilling to join me because of the lack of safe places to cycle in Scotland. Or the retired gentleman who had struck up a conversation (wondering why I was photographing roundabouts) on the cycle path at Ernst when I was riding to Arnhem — a fan of my native West Country as a holiday destination, but he has only ever taken a car to Devon and Cornwall because "you'd have to cycle on the road, with 100kmph cars, it's crazy". Or the Dutch student I met at the lights on the Bloomsbury cycle tracks, who rides on a carefully planned quiet route to UCL, but to no other destinations, because she couldn't be sure there would be a cycle route. Isn't it really odd how, when they're in the Netherlands, which has cycle paths, they don't cite lack of cycle paths as a reason for not cycling, but when they're in the UK, which doesn't have cycle paths, they cite lack of cycle paths as a reason for not cycling? Why is that? Why won't they listen to AmCamBike when he tells them that they don't cycle because of the infrastructure?
On the scruffy one-way motor race track in the centre of Eindhoven. Bits of Eindhoven were really dominated by motor traffic, with massive arterial roads into the centre, and the fast noisy one-way system around the pedestrianised core. Noticeably less pleasant than the similar sized Utrecht and Groningen. And yet, by British standards, it was still a paradise of tranquil but thriving living streets.
The Friday photo column is just an excuse to plug my photography stuff. Don't you think they'd make good Christmas presents?


Is there a renaissance in U.S. manufacturing afoot? The media says 'yes' with many examples including a $4 billion investment by Dow Chemical to boost its ethylene and propylene capacity on the U.S. Gulf Coast; an announcement by Flextronics of its plans to create a $32 million product innovation center in Silicon Valley; and a decision by Airbus to build a $600-million assembly line in Alabama for its jetliners. If you're wondering if this revival is for real, L.E.K. Consulting decided to find out by surveying decision-makers in 10 U.S. manufacturing industries at companies with $500 million in revenues or more. This survey involved in-depth interviews with high-level executives about the factors driving their decisions on where to locate their manufacturing.
The picture that emerged revealed a modest improvement in U.S. manufacturing, but not a dramatic wave of reshoring. More companies are investing in the U.S. through expansion and productivity enhancement tools, or considering it as a location for their new manufacturing facilities — but this is more of a rebalancing after several years in which manufacturing shifted to lower-cost nations such as China.
1. Strong end-market demand is driving companies to produce closer to their customer base. Executives noted that proximity to the customer base allows for greater responsiveness, better positioning in the markets being served and more accurate demand forecasts, which can be done for a shorter horizon. Additionally, closer alignment between R&D and production can foster rapid innovation. Finally, end-market customization can more easily be achieved through domestic assembly or supply chain postponement.
2. Managing supply chain risk by re-locating closer to customers offers shorter lead time, increased flexibility, enhanced efficiency and customer responsiveness. Manufacturing disruptions that occur overseas can be easier to manage by shortening the supply chain—ensuring on-schedule production and avoiding delays in reaction time.
3. Narrowing differences in energy and labor costs have made the U.S. more attractive. For example, the U.S. possesses an abundance of inexpensive energy thanks to the fracking boom. More than 60% of survey respondents "strongly" agreed that the discovery of shale gas within our borders has positively affected the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing, especially in the chemicals industry. Additionally, companies aren't saving as much on wages in these formerly low-cost countries. China's hourly rate nearly doubled from $1.90 in 2008 to $3.50 in 2013. U.S. manufacturers have also closed the gap by enhancing their productivity and automation. Technological advances in processes have reduced the importance of labor costs as part of the overall cost structure. The shift from labor-intensive to technology-intensive manufacturing processes has made the U.S. more competitive and diminished the benefit of outsourcing to lower-cost countries. In the future, we expect a growing emphasis on more sophisticated manufacturing such as the use of 3D printing to accelerate product development.
4. The importance of innovation, differentiation and speed to market were other key findings cited by the majority of those surveyed. American companies have a competitive advantage when it comes to producing technologically advanced, differentiated goods that require precision manufacturing and rigorous quality control. As manufacturers seek growth in local markets, they find that they must tailor some of their products to those markets and become faster at getting products to market in order to thrive. One corporate strategist said, "It's tough to get the same quality level and cycle time to serve your customers if your supplier networks are far away," while another stated, "Overall, the harder the skill required, the closer to home we keep it." The other component of interest is that the U.S. maintains strong protection of intellectual property rights, making it that much more appealing to manufacturers.
5. The importance of business environment and regional attractiveness were both critical factors for many executives. The U.S. has stronger laws and institutions relative to developing economies which provides companies greater intellectual property protection and higher safety standards. However, executives cited that high corporate taxes and regulatory uncertainty are the two biggest factors hindering U.S. manufacturing from growing faster. Others expressed concerns that the U.S. might not have enough skilled labor to meet demand as manufacturing becomes more sophisticated and technology driven.
We believe that the future of U.S. manufacturing is relatively buoyant. Approximately 68% of respondents 'strongly' or 'somewhat' agreed that their industries would accelerate over the next five years, while 33% 'strongly' agreed that their industries will see higher investment in onshore manufacturing by U.S. producers than in offshore manufacturing over the next five years. Our take? We predict that companies won't close their existing facilities in China to re-shore them in the U.S. Instead, these companies will expand into the U.S. with new, expanded and productivity-enhanced facilities—in sectors such as aerospace, defense, industrials, oil and gas. The bottom line is that companies will locate close to where their growth is originating. This doesn't amount to a renaissance or a new dawn. But after decades of decline, it's a welcome advance.
An article from Carol Wingard and Michael Connerty, both Managing Directors in the Industrials practice at L.E.K. Consulting.


In our "Unlock the Mystery" series, we're opening up the conversation about exactly how people make their money and where they struggle to help you get to the root of your relationship with money and reach your own earning potential.
When you want to make more money from your business, most people start by doing MORE. Taking on more clients. Writing more posts. Finishing more projects.
It's a solid path to generating extra income, but it's also using up more of your time, energy and talent. Spreading yourself too thin and constantly having to hustle can lead to mental and physical exhaustion, causing you to make more mistakes and lose the passion that led you to launch your own business in the first place.
In short, you might be your own boss, but now you're trapped in a J-O-B of your own making.
Once I finally had that a-ha moment, I was able to REALLY scale REALLY big.
Like many fitness trainers, Amanda Tress started her career in the industry trading hours for dollars in the gym. To avoid burning out, while earning a more significant income for her family, she decided to leverage her background as a digital marketing consultant and experience leading in person bootcamps to create her own program of scalable online bootcamps. Amanda launched with only 11 clients; today, the FASTer Way to Fat Loss is a million dollar fitness business helping 10,000 active clients around the world to achieve their fitness goals.
In addition to managing her 7-figure fitness business, Amanda runs a digital marketing agency for female entrepreneurs in the wellness industry, guiding fellow fitness professionals as they scale their own businesses.
What mental shift has helped your business grow? Let's compare notes over in our private Facebook group, Businessese HQ.