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Tis the Season For Death Valley Superstars
Duke Haney released Death Valley Superstars last December with Delancy Street Press.
You can purchase a copy, and purchase a copy you should, here.
Btw, the Kindle version is just 1.99. I mean, seriously, go get the dang thing!
Though its tone is sometimes comic, "Death Valley Superstars" is nevertheless a livre noir, and no liquor says noir to me like whisky, whether bourbon, scotch, Irish, or Canadian. Steve Cochran, a noir figure both on- and offscreen and one of the short-lived subjects of "Death Valley Superstars," had a taste for whisky, as did another of the book's subjects, Jim Morrison, who sang famously, "Oh, show me the way to the next whisky bar," while I once passed out on the floor of Morrison's bygone residence in West Hollywood after a night of drinking—what else?—whisky. This incident, which includes a visit from Morrison's ghost, is recounted in "Death Valley Superstars," but I'm afraid whisky is not typically sold alongside the book.
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"If it goes by, I've always known it was fickle," Marilyn Monroe once said of fame, an overriding theme in this collection of essays, profiles, and memoir by showbiz survivor Duke Haney. Fame proved faithful, of course, to Monroe, the book's most iconic subject, while others, like Steve Cochran, a villain in movies and a "hard-drinking, bed-hopping cop magnet" in reality, were widely forgotten before their untimely, often mysterious deaths. Taking an experimental tack in some instances, Haney employs a psychic medium to conduct a séance at Jim Morrison's former residence and an astrologer to interpret the birth chart of an astrology-crazed film star-turned-bank robber. He attends the funeral of the "next James Dean" who became a raggedy street person, performs a cringeworthy nude scene in a movie produced by "King of the Bs" Roger Corman, and searches for the camper van where funk trailblazer Sly Stone has been reduced to living.
Painstakingly researched and compulsively readable, Death Valley Superstars offers a kind of midnight tour of Los Angeles past and present, highlighting hidden corridors and seldom-heard anecdotes about a few of the many who, fooled by Hollywood's mirages, found themselves caught in its quicksand.
"The book is brilliantly sequenced. If you've ever wanted to hear scalpel slices of backlot dreams … perhaps nightmares … or Gnosis remarks that refer to Las Vegas and Hollywood … then Duke Haney … with sly wit burning … with unknown and known old-school celebrities … certainly delivers." - Heavy Feather Review
"Haney has produced a fantastic, thoroughly readable book. His unique literary flair and his obvious passion and knowledge makes for a rich and interesting collection, no matter how much or how little you may know about the subject." - Storgy
"I was humbled and dazzled by Duke's writing. It's just so good....one I recommend regardless of whether one thinks they have an interest in mid to late 20th century Hollywood. It is well worth the read just to experience the immense talent of an extremely under-appreciated writer." - Jonathan Dunkle
"...we owe him our thanks for Death Valley Superstars, a dream of a collection." - LARB
" "Death Valley Superstars" forms a kind of homage to a grittier, pre-gentrified Hollywood." - AV Press
Duke Haney, aka Daryl Haney, has spent most of his adult life working in the movie business, with twenty feature-film credits as an actor and twenty-two as a screenwriter. He used pseudonyms for some of the screenplays and went by "D. R. Haney" as the author of a novel, Banned for Life, and an essay collection, Subversia. After he was struck by a car in a crosswalk on Sunset Boulevard, a friend claimed he walked like John "Duke" Wayne and gave him the nickname by which most people know him and he has taken belatedly as his pen name. He plans to follow Death Valley Superstars with a novel tentatively titled XXX.
Tis the Season for Relief By Execution
Gint Aras released Relief By Execution back in October with Little Bound Books.
Relief by Execution: A Visit to Mauthausen goes best with whatever happens to be around, and at the time of this composition, it happened to be around a bottle of Lagavulin 16. It does well beside a bottle of Austrian beer---Gösser, Stiegl or Wieselburger---and it breathes sighs of presence when accompanied by a tall glass of any Lithuanian lager, perhaps Švyturys or Vilkmergė.
Its soul is similar to Lagavulin's: equal parts intensity and warmth, equal notes of wood and salted air, qualities of earth and fire, and a finish that provides both invitation and closure. Never water it down. Drink it neat.
Between the years of 1996-1999, Gint Aras lived a hapless bohemian's life in Linz, Austria. Decades later, a random conversation with a Polish immigrant in a Chicago coffeehouse provokes a question: why didn't Aras ever visit Mauthausen, or any of the other holocaust sites close to his former home? The answer compels him to visit the concentration camp in the winter of 2017, bringing with him the baggage of a childhood shaped by his family of Lithuanian WWII refugees. The result is this meditative inquiry, at once lyrical and piercing, on the nature of ethnic identity, the constructs of race and nation, and the lasting consequences of collective trauma.
"A thoughtful meditation on the painful process of self-knowledge." - Kirkus Review
"This is blistering nonfiction." - After the Pause
"Aras is sparse with words but big on impact...This is a thoughtful, beautifully written essay that packs in many sharp questions about how people function." - New City Lit
"Gint Aras's story is urgently important. We need books like these, full of honest writing, earnest exploration, and profound insight." - Bookends Review
"...it's the best meditation on that strange brew of privilege and cultural heritage I've as yet had the pleasure to read. " - Untoward Magazine
"Relief by Execution is probably one of the most poignant nonfiction books I have read in a long time. It unpacks questions of identity, explores curiosities of what it means be a victim, and reflects on the importance of telling your own story. " - Independent Book Review
Gint Aras (Karolis Gintaras Žukauskas) has been trapped on planet Earth since 1973. His prose considers the constructs that determine our identity, and what impact trauma has on perception. Translations, essays and short fiction have appeared in Quarterly West, Hypertext, The St. Petersburg Review, STIR Journal, Dialogo, Antique Children and other publications. He's the author of the novels Finding the Moon in Sugar (Infinity, 2009), The Fugue (Tortoise Books, 2016), and the memoir Relief by Execution: A Visit to Mauthausen (Homebound Publications, 2019). A father of two, he splits his time between Chicago, Illinois and Klaipėda, Lithuania.
Tis the Season for Ghosts Of You
Cathy Ulrich released Ghosts of You back in back in October with Okay Donkey Press.
Go on and grab yourself a copy here.
The book goes great with a Black Dahlia....
To drink with "Ghosts of You," I'd recommend a Black Dahlia. I got this recipe from a cheesy TV drama with switched identities and faked deaths and all sorts of goodness!
To make a Black Dahlia, you take three ounces vodka, one ounce creme de cassis and a splash of raspberry liqueur. I usually just pour them straight into the glass, but using a cocktail shaker works great too.
The drink, of course, is named after Elizabeth Short, more famously known by the moniker she was dubbed by the Hearst newspapers after her murder: The Black Dahlia. She's referenced in a story in "Ghosts of You," and she is the epitome of a girl whose death set the plot in motion.
Ghosts of You is a collection of short stories about seeking the lost and finding the person behind the sensationalism. It examines the tropes of mystery/crime storytelling in which the narrative always begins with the body of yet another murdered woman. They are mothers and daughters, teachers and students, lovers and wives, actresses and extras. They have been taken, but their stories still remain. This is how they set the plot in motion.
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"She tackles moments of intense grief without flinching, and balances them within a kaleidoscope of poignant moments. ghosts of you is intense, but not exhausting. Each piece is as unique as the murdered woman who starts it. Collectively, they challenge our treatment of the murdered woman." - Bookends Review
"Ulrich digs deep to expose and underscore the disposability of women; the way our lives are measured by those we leave behind; they way we only matter as a plot device." - Dianah @ Powell's
"Like a seasoned gumshoe, Ulrich dirties her hands, digs through sensationalism, and ignores the obvious to search for clues. She opens up the spaces between what the readers think they understand and the truth. " - Heavy Feather Review
"Ulrich's writing is revelatory, bone-shaking. ...This is flash fiction that will sink into your bloodstream and keep circulating long after the final line." - After the Pause
"Cathy Ulrich is a puppeteer with the short story craft...For fans of literary fiction and murder mysteries, you've met your match with this book." Independent Book Review
"There's a timelessness to Ghosts of You, and even after many readings, there's still fresh meaning and details. Ulrich is giving these women their due, breaking open the wounds, bringing them to the foreground and transforming their stories." - Emily @ Smokelong
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Cathy Ulrich is the founding editor of Milk Candy Review, a journal of flash fiction. Her work has been published in various journals, including Black Warrior Review, Passages North, and Wigleaf and can be found in Best Microfiction 2019, Best Small Fictions 2019 and Wigleaf's Top 50 Very Short Fictions 2017 and 2019. She lives in Montana with her daughter and various small animals.
Bronwyn Reviews: Guesthouse for Ganesha
Guesthouse for Ganesha by Judith Teitelman
Publisher: She Writes Press
reviewed by Bronwyn Mauldin
For people of faith, the idea of some kind of supernatural being keeping watch over you every day, I imagine to be both a comfort and a terror. Your needs, fears, and desires are under constant scrutiny. One day you will fail your god. But what if you are watched over without your knowledge? What if the god is of a faith and culture not your own? This is the intriguing starting point for Judith Teitelman's Guesthouse for Ganesha.
When Esther Grünspan is abandoned by her fiancé on her wedding day in 1923, she flees her tight-knit Polish shtetl and travels to Köln, Germany, to make her heartbroken way in the world. Trained as a seamstress from childhood, she earns her living by her unrivaled skill with needle and thread. As she struggles to survive, to learn language and culture, she hardens her heart to love and friendship. She seems to want to be entirely unseen. Look at my work, her actions cry out, not at me.
A loveless marriage follows, then the Nazis. A network of good people move Esther from home to apartment to boarding house, from country to country. They provide false papers and sewing assignments, everything from simple hems to elaborate gowns. Sewing is both her refuge and livelihood.
Esther's life expands and contracts across a backdrop of some of the greatest horrors of the 20th century; we see crimes against humanity play out in the life of one woman. Watching with us is the elephant-headed god Ganesha of the Hindu pantheon. She encounters him in park in Köln, but does not know him as a god. His role in her life as a remover of obstacles is invisible to her. She does not see him give a cookie to distract her fretful daughter so she can finish a gown for a wealthy socialite in time for a party. She does not see him turn a head at just the right moment or move a hand to sign a document that allows her to escape to safety.
Still, like so many gods and superheroes, Teitelman's Ganesha is not omnipotent. He can soothe a querulous child and save a single life, but he cannot prevent the Holocaust.
In the aftermath of the war, the story of Guesthouse for Ganesha takes a startling turn to fantasy. So, too, did arts and literature abandon the limitations of realism in the post-war period. Esther walks away from a life that has both sustained and constrained her, opening herself to a Hindu god of letters and learning who has, she discovers, watched over her with love and compassion all along.
Bronwyn Mauldin writes fiction and facts, and is creator of The Democracy Series zine collection. Her newest short story appears in the 2019 Gold Man Review. More at bronwynmauldin.com.


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Destination Cheat Sheets
Steamy Travel
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11 Rookie Mistakes to Avoid in the Riviera Maya
Katherine Alex Beaven	 August 12, 2019
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Starting just south of Cancun, in Puerto Morelos, and ending at the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, the Riviera Maya is famous for its beaches, though it also attracts tourists with its ruins, historic attractions (it's home to the ancient and advanced Mayan civilization, after all), and eco-adventures. To make the most of your trip to the Riviera Maya, avoid these 11 rookie mistakes.
1. Expecting to See Only Pristine White-Sand Beaches
Beach at the Coco Tulum/Oyster
Many visitors to the Riviera Maya complain that the beaches are covered in seaweed – sargassum to be exact. Some feel duped by resort photos that advertise white sand and beautiful clear water. The reality is that many beaches are strewn with heaps of reddish seaweed and a bad smell. This is a naturally occurring phenomenon in the area, and it has always been an issue. However, climate change and other factors have caused a spike in sargassum over the last few years. Do some research before booking, but be prepared to encounter this natural nuisance, as it's pretty unavoidable these days.
2. Only Visiting the Cancun Hotel Zone or Playa del Carmen
View from the Riu Palace Las Americas/Oyster
If we're getting technical, Cancun isn't actually a part of the Riviera Maya. Cancun may be the gateway to the Riviera Maya, but it shouldn't be the extent of your travels (though the beaches here do see less sargassum). Meanwhile, Playa del Carmen is a popular stop in the Riviera Maya, but its busy, touristy streets and beach clubs aren't representative of what the area has to offer. We're not saying to skip these places, but it's also worth exploring other spots like Coba, Akumal, and Tulum, where you'll find everything from ruins, cenotes, and gorgeous jungles.
3. Thinking Tulum Will Be Quaint
Beach at the Nomade Tulum/Oyster
There was a time, not so long ago, when Tulum was a small town with one dirt road and a few small businesses. About 10 years ago, it started attracting backpackers and travelers looking to get off the grid and reconnect with nature. The development has turned this quiet spot into one of the most-visited destinations in the Riviera Maya. Gone are the days of no Wi-Fi and just a few hours of electricity at Tulum's beach resorts. Instead, the town has turned into an expensive bohemian haven. It's still one of our favorite places to visit, but make no mistake: This hidden gem has been discovered.
4. Forgetting to Pack Sunscreen and Bug Spray
Garden at the Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya/Oyster
Sunscreen and bug spray are both expensive here, and that's probably because merchants know these are two things you won't want to live without when visiting the Riviera Maya. Mosquitos are no joke here and can carry diseases, so be sure to get a bug spray that will keep you bite-free. Be careful not to burn in the sun, too. Reapply sunscreen often (about every two hours) because sweat and swims will take the protection right off.
5. Not Bringing Eco-Friendly Toiletries for Excursions
Aerial View of the Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya/Oyster
While you're at it, go ahead and pack some eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen, bug spray, and toiletries, including shampoo and conditioner, if you can. Chances are, you came to the Riviera Maya to enjoy the beautiful beach and nature, so help to protect it. Regular sunscreen, bug spray, shampoos, and body lotions can be devastating to coral reefs and other marine life as the chemicals wash off in the water. Many hotels here offer biodegradable toiletries, but to be sure, bring your own. Yes, it can be expensive, but you only need to wear it when interacting with the environment.
6. Just Sticking to the Beaches in Riviera Maya
Beach at the Alaya Tulum/Oyster
The beaches here are big draws, but if you can peel yourself off your lounger and venture into the jungle or to some of the area's historic sites and local towns, you'll have a much richer experience. Plus, you'll get more bang for your buck in these non-touristy spots. If trekking or kayaking through the jungle isn't your style, head to one of the Xcaret parks, which offer a taste of the Riviera Maya for tourists.
7. Driving on the Main Road After Dark
Street at the NYX Hotel Cancun/Oyster
Traveling through the area in your own car? Stay off Highway 307 and other main roads after dark. Not only are they usually poorly lit, but you're also likely to encounter speedy locals and hard-to-see people crossing the road. There are also frequent speed bumps, called topas, sprinkled along the way that can definitely pop a tire — or worse.
8. Staying Inside Your All-Inclusive Resort
Hotel Xcaret Mexico/Oyster
We hope this is obvious by now, but we'll say it one more time for the folks at the pool bar: Leave your resort. We know it's gorgeous. We know it includes food and drink. We know you're enjoying your terrace whirlpool. However, your comfy all-inclusive with the outstanding French restaurant is not representative of the entire Riviera Maya region. You'd be shorting yourself if you only stayed behind those gates. Get out and explore the area, even if it's on an organized tour or a quick trip to the local taqueria. Plus, you'll be supporting the local economy directly, which is always a good thing.
9. Only Eating at the Touristy Restaurants in Riviera Maya
Ahau Restaurant at the Ahau Tulum/Oyster
Speaking of that local taqueria — the Riviera Maya has some fantastic food, including tangy ceviche, whole fried fish, seafood cocktails, octopus tacos, and much more. Get off the main streets and out of the touristy chain restaurants to really get a taste of the area. Many people think that deviating from the big-name restaurants or resorts might lead to a risk of food-borne illnesses, but we'd argue that the busy local joints often have fresher food, thanks to their high turnaround and demand. (Also, it's absolutely safe to consume ice at nearly every restaurant you'll come across in the Riviera Maya, so go ahead and order that cocktail).
10. Looking for Drugs
Beach in Cancun/Oyster
It seems that paradise is not without its flaws. Drugs have become a growing issue in the Riviera Maya, leading to shootings and other violent acts in touristy areas like Playa del Carmen and Tulum. Tourist demand is part of the problem. Be smart and don't try to score drugs while you're in town. It's illegal, dangerous, and promotes violence.
11. Skipping a Dip in a Cenote in Riviera Maya
Cenote at the Akumal Natura Glamping/Oyster
The Riviera Maya is home to a remarkably high number of underground rivers, called cenotes. To the ancient Mayans, cenotes were sacred. Some believed they were a portal into the spirit world, while others said they were used as sacrificial sites to appease the rain god, Chaak, who was thought to live in their depths. Geologically, they are limestone sinkholes that have been naturally filled with water. There are hundreds of cenotes in the Riviera Maya, and taking a dip in one is a refreshing treat. They are all different, either offering a cave-, pool-, or river-like experience, though Rio Secreto, Gran Cenote, and Dos Ojos are some of the largest and most popular.
You'll Also Like:
The Best Itinerary for the Riviera Maya
Where to Go in the Riviera Maya: A Cheat Sheet to the Top Destinations
A Guide to Snorkeling, Diving, and More Underwater Activities in the Riviera Maya
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


To switch to Payment Pages in most cases only the form POST-URL needs to be changed.
Authorize.net SIM is aimed primarily at credit card payments. However, Payment Pages allow Interac Online payments to be processed transparently.


I am going to do a brewery tour next sunday, and sample the reaming taps, I think there are 24 in total with five of the 24 as visiting taps.
Wow. I was looking at some of their selection and it looks amazing!


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Home Sports 'Stratospheric' Messi scores 400th La Liga goal in Barca win
'Stratospheric' Messi scores 400th La Liga goal in Barca win
BARCELONA (Reuters) – Lionel Messi became the first man to score 400 La Liga goals as Barcelona eased to a 3-0 win at home to Eibar on Sunday which kept the Catalans five points clear at the top of the standings at the halfway point of the season.
Luis Suarez, who scored twice, helped tee up Messi's landmark goal, which came in the 53rd minute of the Argentine's 435th league appearance for Barca and saw the league's top scorer increase his tally to 17 goals in 17 games this campaign.
"His numbers are stratospheric, they are incredible, but it's not just the goals, it's everything else he does too," said Barca coach Ernesto Valverde, in praise of his talismanic forward.
Suarez had given Barca the lead in the 19th minute by completing a superb team move involving Messi and his former Liverpool team mate Philippe Coutinho, who returned to the starting line up for the first time in four league games.
The Uruguayan again combined with Coutinho to set up the historic goal for Messi, who produced a typical low shot into bottom corner after the lay off from Suarez.
It was another remarkable milestone for Messi, who has been the league's leading scorer since 2014, with Cristiano Ronaldo next on the list with 311 goals.
Eibar had been stubborn opponents in the first half but began to cave in after the interval, with Suarez striking again six minutes later, converting from a tight angle with the aid of a deflection off a visiting defender.
Barca, under pressure to win after Atletico Madrid had briefly reduced the gap to two points by beating Levante 1-0 earlier on Sunday, moved on to 43 points after 19 games.
Atletico are second on 38, while Sevilla are third on 33 after losing 2-0 to Athletic Bilbao.
Suarez's goals took him on to 14 league strikes for the season and means he and close friend Messi have scored a remarkable 31 times between them this season — more than the total goal tallies of 17 teams in the league.
"Eibar are a very competitive team, they made it hard for us to create chances but we also knew that we could overwhelm them in attack and that's what we did eventually. Once we scored, the game opened up for us" said Suarez.
The Uruguayan also heaped praise on Messi on yet another momentous night for the Argentine.
"Obviously, we have to be very proud of Messi because every week he demonstrates how good he is and continues to make history with the club," he said.
Indonesians face daunting task to recover bodies from ferry sunk in...
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California tells Trump that lawsuit over border wall is 'imminent'
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Q: How to use Python to display icons based on test result in a GUI? I am developing a test application. There are 4 tests I am implementing. Based on the test results, I want to show a PASS or FAIL icon next to the test name as each of the test is being ran. It would be something like this:

*

*Test 1: TEST_NAME_ONE  ............ PASS

*Test 2: TEST_NAME_TWO  ............ FAIL

*Test 3: TEST_NAME_THREE ........... PASS

*Test 4: TEST_NAME_FOUR  ...........

I try using gui2py to implement this. But it doesn't seem like it is capable. Any ideas? Thanks for your help!

A: You can use Unicode characters instead of icons.
For PASS use ✔:
print(u"\u2714")

For FAIL use ✖:
print(u"\u2716")

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Sourdough is an elusive item in my kitchen. I love using it and having it fresh and active in my refrigerator but mostly these past years, it is absent, having been neglected and then pitched out. When it's gone, I miss it, when I have it on hand, I'm not the most attentive baker and often I lose it.


"We lowered income tax rates across the board", Trump said. Eastern Time. The president gave a thumbs up through a auto window as he arrived. For middle America, the tax cut return/boost has been barely noticeable in their paychecks. Forget about four years ago, under the Trump tax system, are you better off than you were a year ago? The Second District is represented by U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, a Democrat who defeated Republican incumbent Jason Lewis in November.
Press secretary Sarah Sanders wants you to keep in mind that the multi-millionaires, accountants and business men and women in Congress are too dumb to understand Trump's tax returns. In fact, no Republican presidential candidate has won Minnesota since Nixon. Yet recent polls show the public isn't so sure.
Filing jointly, Klobuchar and her husband, attorney and professor John Bessler, found themselves in a lower tax bracket in 2018, but ultimately paid more in total taxes, as their combined income increased. "It's very simple", Trump told reporters last week, and also argued the matter has already been litigated through the 2016 election. He claimed that 80 percent of Americans received a tax break this year, whether they noticed or not. "My guess is majority don't do their own taxes, and I certainly don't trust them to look through the decades of success that the President has and determine anything", Sanders told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday".
The U.S. budget shortfall grew by 17% to $779 billion in fiscal year 2018, which the Congressional Budget Office has said was partly a outcome of the tax law.


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Юрій Вікторович Яцько — сержант Збройних сил України, командир вогневого взводу 80-тої десантно-штурмової бригади, учасник російсько-української війни, відзначився у ході російського вторгнення в Україну.

Нагороди
 орден «За мужність» III ступеня (2022) — за особисту мужність і самовіддані дії, виявлені у захисті державного суверенітету та територіальної цілісності України, вірність військовій присязі.

Джерела

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Everybody knows that babies get dirty, however, only parents know the true extent of just how dirty that can get. New parents are in for a wild ride of drool, tears and the occasional diaper explosion. It can get messy and stressful, but those tender moments when your baby looks up at you and smiles make it all worth it. Baby's bath time is important, yet for the first few months, you aren't going to need to bathe them every day (until they start getting dirty, it's recommended that you bathe them only two or three times a week).
However, hygiene is still an important part of their daily routine that you are going to want to instill in them. So, how do you keep your newborn clean between baths?
Remember, the above numbers are just an estimate – some babies will require more, some will require less. Diapers also need to be changed as soon as it is noticed that they are soiled. Urine and bacteria can lead to painful rashes that take time to treat.
One of the most dreaded parts of taking care of your newborn is when it comes time to trim their little nails. Just like the rest of them, their nails have been growing since before they were born – so they may need a trim during the first week (and every two or three days of the first three weeks, until the nails harden and stop growing so quickly).
While one of your older relatives might suggest nibbling on them, you may peel them too far back which is, obviously, immensely painful. When clipping, hold your baby's finger tight and press the the fingertip pad down and away from the nail – and of course, always using special baby clippers or scissors. Snip while following the gentle curve of their fingernail.
No matter whether you're at home or at the grocery store, you should always be sure to keep some baby wipes handy. You never know when they're going to spit-up or have some other kind of fluid disaster – so be prepared for everything! It's also a good idea to keep clean swaddling cloths on you at all times, too. Just like the top sheet on your bed keeps your blankets from becoming dirty, these handy baby sheets can be quickly swapped out for a clean one upon soiling.
When it comes down to it, you want to keep your baby as clean as possible to give them the best possible hygiene for a healthy and happy life!


A recognized and reputable PHARMA CONTRACT MANUFACTURER in the pharma space has been introduced by the name of CREDENCE HEALTHCARE in Panchkula, Haryana which is running on the principle of third-party contract manufacturing in the pharmaceutical dosage forms like tablet, capsule, injections, syrup, sachets, softgels, nutraceuticals etc. We have a certification from WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO), INTERNATIONAL STANDARD OF ORGANIZATION (ISO), AND GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES (GMP) which itself reflects the quality of our manufactured products.
Our Quality and Service of your brands manufactured at our plant is now in the limelight in the medical section.
The Pharmaceutical Tablet the most compressed dosage form which is a necessary feature for the formulation of tablet and our manufacturing machine's punches appropriately punch the tablet.
Credence Healthcare started manufacturing of medicinal dosage form only when we got all the certification and approval from the government under Product authority and from that day we are continuously manufacturing big batches according to the requirement of the customer.
Pharmaceutical injection the most sterile dosage form which manufacturing is not easy at all but we at Credence Healthcare shows our full dedication towards every kind of medicinal form because each has its own importance.
We at Credence Healthcare has a broad and comprehensive range of Product molecules which are administered as a pharmaceutical syrup a liquid dosage form.
We at Credence Healthcare has no borderlines as we are also manufacturing herbal and ayurvedic products on our industry on the contract basis and assist you in naming brands.
For a healthier and fit body, we are also formulating the products fall under nutraceuticals like protein powders, mass gainer, and weight gainer etc. The quality of our product is fine without any side effects.
Credence Healthcare assist you in trademark & copyright registration and we are the one which is known for the quality and our timely delivery of the product.
The most demanding in a pediatric range is the suspension of ACECLOFENAC & PARACETAMOL which is specially manufactured for the children who are not able to swallow a tablet.
The demand for the biphasic dosage form that is a Pharmaceutical suspension is equal to that of monophasic form. We only deal with the quality products and nothing.
This is the combination of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (ACECLOFENAC ) and a Product possesses analgesics and anti-inflammatory action (PARACETAMOL) is very effective in pain and inflammation.


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The Lost Brothers
Thomas Street, The Liberties, Dublin 8
Vicar Street • The Lost Brothers
Event Venue: Vicar Street
Address: Thomas Street, The Liberties, Dubli…
End date: Thu 2nd Dec 2021 at 9:00 PM
Website: https://www.ticketmaster.ie/the-…
Acclaimed Irish duo The Lost Brothers, Oisin Leech and Mark McCausland from Meath and Tyrone respectively, have announced a brand new album entitled "After The Fire After The Rain". The band are also set to play their biggest Irish headline show to date at Dublin's Vicar Street on Thursday December 2nd 2021.
It's been a remarkable passage for The Lost Brothers. Shortlisted as one of MOJO magazines albums of 2018, and nominated for Best Band and Best Album at the inaugural RTE Radio 1 Folk Awards, The Lost Brothers have become known as one of the very finest bands around. Collaborations down the line have included work with Brendan Benson of The Raconteurs, Richard Hawley and Glen Hansard.


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https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/2021/08/09/kendrick-perkins-ben-simmons-willing-to-sit-training-camp-for-a-trade/
Kendrick Perkins: Ben Simmons willing to sit training camp for a trade
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia 76ers continue to retool their roster ahead of the 2021-22 season. The one player who has constantly been involved in trade rumors is star guard Ben Simmons, who had a tough postseason.
The Sixers have been taking trade calls on the 25-year old, but they have remained patient. They do not want to just give away the three-time All-Star. Philadelphia wants an All-Star player in return, and they will definitely keep their eye on the Damian Lillard situation with the Portland Trail Blazers.
As the offseason continues and the trade rumors grow louder, Simmons may be showing frustration with the organization. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported Simmons may not want to return to the team for the 2021-22 season, and Kendrick Perkins is adding to that fire.
Perkins hopped on "The Jump" at summer league in Las Vegas and stated:
Ben Simmons is not answering the phone calls. He don't wanna be with the 76ers, and from what I heard, he's willing to not report to training camp. And will go as far as it takes to get out of Philly, so I say where there's smoke, there's fire.
Some pretty interesting comments from Kendrick Perkins on Ben Simmons here. pic.twitter.com/V7myLYADqj
— Bob Wankel (@BobWankelCB) August 9, 2021
The Simmons situation needs to be fixed and has to be a top priority for team president Daryl Morey. While it seems a reach that Simmons is not answering phone calls, there is some truth to Perkins' final statement in terms of there being fire if there is smoke.
For the record, training camp for the Sixers is set to begin on Sept. 28.
Reminiscing on Joel Embiid-Andre Drummond Sixers feud after signing
Report: Kings have interest in acquiring Sixers star Ben Simmons
Sixers vs. Mavericks summer league preview: How to watch, TV channel
Lakers big man Dwight Howard has some nice parting words for Sixers


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Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay
With the New Year, for the first time in five years, marginal rates for income tax will fall. This is a welcome move after 2020 which was a challenge to us all, to put it mildly. Yet, for all of the progress over the past decade in the taxation domain, Croatia remains a high tax jurisdiction. This is especially the case when taxing labour. In the context of the recently released Draft National Development Programme to 2030, that is an important factor to consider.
AmCham has good ideas on tax reform
AmCham Croatia's recently released Recommendations for Tax Reform in 2020 are thus even more topical. Apart from a comparison of regional regimes, their recommendation to extend the deadlines for profit tax submission makes particular sense. Namely, now, companies have to file their tax returns before deadlines for closing their books, preparing annual reports and having them audited. This necessarily means companies resubmit data to the authorities who have to process them. Evidently, this involves plenty of time and hassle. Moving the tax submission deadline to a time following when companies finalise their books and hence know exactly what their tax obligations are, would clearly reduce time lost to administrative procedures for both the authorities and companies.
Any concerns about the shift in when tax payments are made into the budget should be minimal. In 2015/16 when companies with revenues below HRK3mn were made liable to pay VAT only when they collected invoices rather than upon issuing them, the revenue shift was much larger. With profit tax revenues orders of magnitude lower than VAT revenues, and treasury bill borrowing costs close to zero currently, the government has ample room to accommodate this one-off shift in revenues.
Even as income tax rates are set to fall in 2021…
What really caught my eye in AmCham's recommendations was a table comparing tax regimes with Croatia's peers and neighbours. Because of how the media approached the issue of lowering income tax rates, part of the recently passed 2021 budget. Understandably, they focussed on the increase in net pay. More corrosively however they made the ritual observation that the highest paid workers gain by far the most benefit. Since the highest paid also pay the lion's share of income tax, this should not come as a surprise. Rather than ideology, this is mathematical reality.
More importantly, this ritual reflects a blind spot in the local psyche. An almost involuntary tendency to ignore the fact there are 26 other EU member states and others in our neighbourhood outside the EU all with income tax regimes whose characteristics materially impact the cost of labour for business and thus those countries' attractiveness as investment destinations.
…taxes will still eat up almost half of gross earnings
Over the past two decades income tax rates have come down. Whereas the top marginal rate was 45% between 2003 and 2010, before coming down to 40% and remaining there until 2016 when it was reduced to the current level of 36%. Next month's reduction of marginal rates to 30% and 20% respectively are welcome and necessary. Yet, on a regional comparison, this remains a high tax jurisdiction in the domain of income tax. This is important considering multinationals decide where to locate regional headquarters and other activities with tax issues firmly in mind.
By our estimate, at the lower income tax rates from 2021, for a net salary of EUR 2,000 which is well above average monthly earnings, but nothing special if we are talking about attracting top quality talent, employers will save approximately EUR 2,200 in gross salary cost a year for a new hire when all social contributions, taxes and surcharges are included for a single person working in Zagreb. Under the current regime, a EUR 10,000 gross salary results in less than half that paid out net. This, of course includes all social contributions and surcharges. We estimate, next year that same cost will result in a net salary of approximately 53% of the total cost. That is much better, but workers see a significant part of their gross salary end up in the Treasury.
Change of mentality would support tax revenue growth
In the context of emigration post-EU accession and general adverse demographic trends, it makes sense to have a competitive tax regime to attract global talent. More productive, higher paid workers pass on more knowledge, are better linked to the latest global technological and other trends, and spend more money, boosting the local economy. This would increase the likelihood of regional investment by the private sector locating in Croatia.
This will require repeated efforts to mitigate, if not change, the blind sport mentality evident in the part of the debate. Namely, high earners may pay less income tax, but they still pay more than in most of the Croatia's peers and neighbours. Greater awareness of that and how it impacts investment decisions is necessary to remove this blind spot.
Other political challenges remain. Since 2018 sub-national governments receive all income tax revenues. Clearly, as the national government changes tax rates, this directly impacts their revenue streams, which is a political complication. Having said that, a small number multiplied by a large number remains a large number. What I mean is, if employment can rise, supported by lower income tax rates, overall revenues can also rise. This is especially the case if local government areas can improve the quality of their services to businesses.
Low borrowing costs mitigate concerns about finding room for lower tax rates
Fiscal deficits and public debt levels are up markedly after a wretched 2020. Some people may wonder whether it makes sense to lower tax rates and consider doing more in coming years. With borrowing costs very low and set to fall further on account of euro adoption by as soon as 2023 in the best case, I believe the balance of risks falls on the side of further lowering income tax rates.
Existing employees will see net salaries increase. Employers in Croatia will be able to compete more effectively for the labour they need. And the attractiveness of Croatia as a business destination will improve. Over time, any increase in employment will dominate the lower tax rates to generate greater total income for the budget. Most importantly however, awareness in the general public of the need to keep one eye on the conditions under which our peers and neighbours operate will broaden horizons and inform more nuanced policy debates in the future. All of which forms a basis for more sustainable growth in the future.
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Tags: Business Environment, Croatia, Tax policy


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When Article 370 was inserted in Constitution, were people of J&K consulted: Ram Madhav
Madhav said the revocation of Article 370 was done in most democratic fashion, disclosing that political prisoners like former chief minister Farooq Abdullah would be released soon.
By: Express News Service | Chandigarh | Published: December 16, 2019 2:52:27 am
BJP's Ram Madhav and Congress's Manish Tewari at the Military Literature Festival in Chandigarh Sunday. (Express photo by Jasbir Malhi)
Terming the present situation in Kashmir as a tinderbox waiting to explode, eminent Kashmir experts Sunday condemned the BJP-led government in the Centre for "undemocratically" revoking Article 370 as it spelled and solidified India's relation with the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
During a panel discussion with BJP general secretary Ram Madhav and Congress MP Manish Tewari as panellists on 'Article 370 and the Death Knell of Terrorism', former R&AW chief A S Dulat and senior journalist Manoj Joshi said former PM Atal Bihari Vajpeyee's approach of "Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat and Kashmiriyat" was the only way to ensure lasting solution to the issue.
Dulat said Kashmir is numb and its residents are feeling a sense of disappointment with Delhi. He added that the situation was grim and what was being witnessed was 'quiet disobedience' wherein Kashmiris were biding for the right time to voice their feelings.
Taking part in the discussion, Madhav said the revocation of Article 370 was done in most democratic fashion, disclosing that political prisoners like former chief minister Farooq Abdullah would be released soon. However, he shied away from any timeframe and said the process to keep the political activity going in Kashmir was on.
Madhav wondered why there was such an extended mourning period over the abrogation of Article 370 and said the detention of certain leaders was not indefinite. "It is weird logic to say that if someone is put under preventive detention then he is anti-national," he said.
Reacting to Tewari's comments that the abrogation of Article 370 was bad in law because the Constituent Assembly of J&K put a estoppel in the Constitution of the state that the status of the state's relation with India could not be altered, Madhav said the Constituent Assembly of J&K was an illegal entity.
Debunking the assertions of fellow panelists that the feelings of the residents of J&K were not taken into account over the abrogation, Madhav questioned, "When Article 370 was inserted in Constitution of India were the people of J&K consulted"?
The statehood of J&K would be reinstated, Madhav said, clarifying that it was felt that there was a need to put the bifurcated state under Central rule for some time, hence the creation of Union Territories. He added, "Kashmiris have lived with Article 370 for seventy years and now they are experiencing life without it. It is a bold step taken by the government and I am sure the new situation will ensure development and complete integration of region with India."


A 28 year old an profession Actress, Singer, Model Emma Roberts was born in Feb 10, 1991. Her real name is Emma Rose Roberts and she is also known as Em etc.
Her home town is Rhinebeck, New York, USA and has American nationality. Emma Roberts is playing as Actress, From 2001–presentRhinebeck, New York, USA.
Emma Roberts is Daughter of Eric Roberts and Kelly Cunningham. Family Members Of Emma Roberts are Morgan Simons (Sister), Grace Nickels (Sister), Keaton Simons (Brother),.
Emma Roberts, the Man of Steel is 5 ft 2 in tall and her weight is 97 lbs. She has Green color eye and Light Brown hair color. She has ahletic body with Measurements 32-23-30 in.
Roberts attended Archer School for Girls, Brentwood district of Los Angeles, California, from 2004–2005 for 7th and 8th grade. She, then, started attending Sarah Lawrence College in September 2011 for her arts degree. But, she had to left it in January 2012 due to her busy work schedule.


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The 1978–79 Washington Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Washington for the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by eighth-year head coach Marv Harshman, the Huskies were members of the Pacific-10 Conference and played their home games on campus at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Washington.

The Huskies were  overall in the regular season and  in conference play, tied for eighth in the standings, which now had ten teams. Washington lost five of its final six games, but the victory was over top-ranked

There was no conference tournament yet; it debuted eight years later.

References

External links
Sports Reference – Washington Huskies: 1978–79 basketball season

Washington Huskies men's basketball seasons
Washington Huskies
Washington
Washington


After a careful selection, we bring to you the list of The Top 120 Biggest Nigerian Songs Of 2017- Official Chart. Click through over the link to browse the directory and don't forget to share with your list on facebook and twitter.
Don't forget to share with your friends. 2017 wrapped up in one post.


Bengal gram or chana dal enhances the utilization of glucose. Bengal gram extracts are good for diabetic patients. It helps to improve the blood sugar levels, glucose, tolerance, urinary excretion of sugar and general condition.


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THE SEATTLE SEPHARDIC NETWORK
The Seattle Sephardic Network website
is your online portal to news, events and information related to the Sephardic Community in the Seattle area.
Email: seattlesephardicnetwork@gmail.com
Seattle Sephardic Network
300 Queen Anne Ave. N. #267
Makena Mezistrano, 2019
© 2023 by Woman PWR. Proudly created with Wix.com | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
SPANISH CITIZENSHIP
On June 11, 2015, Spain approved a law that enables descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled as a result of the 1492 expulsion to receive Spanish citizenship. The law stipulates an "open application period" starting on Oct. 1, 2015, for a period of two years, with a possible one-year extension.
As the Seattle Sephardic Network obtains more information, we will share what we learn with the community.
For the most detailed information at the moment, we refer our community to a comprehensive FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions page) prepared by the Spanish Federation of Jewish Communities. We also invite you to review a PowerPoint presentation prepared by Luis Portero, the federation's attorney who visited Seattle on Sept. 1-3 to speak and meet with our community.
The application for Spanish citizenship will have several provisions, including a requirement to provide evidence demonstrating Sephardic and Spanish lineage. In Seattle, that evidence of lineage likely would be documented via Congregation Ezra Bessaroth, Sephardic Bikur Holim and/or Seattle Sephardic Brotherhood. These organizations have begun communicating with the Spanish Federation of Jewish Communities about the acceptance process for validating a person's lineage.
PORTUGUESE CITIZENSHIP
By Dana Behar
The starting point to pursue this process is the Jewish Community of Oporto, whose website
and contact information appear below. This organization has been granted the authority to
predetermine who meets the qualifications to apply for citizenship under this program.
Those who succeed in this process will be granted a certificate issued by the Jewish Community
of Oporto, which they can then use in their application for Portuguese citizenship.
Jewish Community of Oporto
Nationality Law Committee
Kadoorie Mekor Haim synagogue (Oporto synagogue)
Address: Rua de Guerra Junqueiro, 340, Porto, Portugal
Website: www.jewishcommunityofoporto.blogspot.com
Email: portuguesenationality@comunidade-israelita-porto.org
The applicable Portuguese Law states the following: "The Portuguese Government may grant nationality to descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews who demonstrate a traditional connection to a Community with Portuguese Sephardic origins, based on proven objective requirements of a connection with Portugal, such as family names, family language, direct or collateral ancestry."
These are the conditions under which Portuguese nationality may be granted:
1. Portuguese nationality may be granted to descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews, who after leaving Portugal, due to religious persecution (1496-1821), maintained ties with "organized communities" that were typically Portuguese, such as those that existed in Salonika and Smyrna before being decimated by the Shoah (KK Portugal, KK Portugal Velho, KK Lisbon, KK Évora, etc.); or had ties with the Spanish & Portuguese Synagogues in London, Amsterdam, Curaçau, Suriname, etc.
2. Portuguese nationality may be granted to applicants whose families once abandoned the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) and for centuries have been integrated into Portuguese and Spanish communities, commonly known as "Sephardim" (Turkey, Greece, former Yugoslavia, Morocco, etc.), rife with marriages between Jews of Portuguese origin and Jews of Spanish origin and who used the language known as Ladino (a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish languages with local languages). Those applicants may obtain the certificate, even if they cannot find "Portuguese" surnames in their known genealogy.
3. Portuguese nationality may be granted to all those descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews who after leaving Portugal, due to religious persecution, travelled far and wide, whether in an organized manner or not, as part of a community or not and whether belonging to a synagogue or not, and who maintain an emotional connection to Portugal, even if they have since, by virtue of circumstances, become part or not of other Jewish Communities, whether Sephardic or Ashkenazi.
To apply for citizenship, applicants must send (via email is fine):
Contact details.
Copy of passport.
Birth certificate or similar document that contains applicant's date of birth, place of birth and names of parents.
Proof of residence (examples include electricity, water or telephone bills or other official documents that contain the applicant's address).
All of the supporting documentary evidence of the applicant's family history of connection to a Sephardic Community of Portuguese origin.
Proof of Judaism (examples include a Certificate of a Chief Rabbi, letter of an orthodox Rabbi recognized by organizations with halachic credibility, teudat nisuin of the parents, ketubah, membership of and orthodox community, etc.) The applicant for Portuguese nationality must be Jewish in accordance with halacha or have at least one Jewish grandparent, without which it is not possible to claim an emotional and traditional connection with the former Portuguese Sephardic Community. Many orthodox rabbis and Jewish organizations collaborate indirectly with the Jewish Community of Oporto. The government requires proof of Judaism of the applicants. So far the community has received hundreds of letters from Orthodox rabbis from 23 countries attesting that the applicants are Jews and Sephardic descendants.
In addition, the committee requires information regarding the applicant's family, namely the country of origin of the parents and grandparents and all their surnames.
Does your family speaks/spoke Ladino? Can the applicant prove this?
Does the applicant have a family tree? Which surnames are found in the family tree? There are hundreds of surnames of Portuguese origin and others that, although not of Portuguese origin, were used by descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews.
A letter signed by the applicant saying s/he is Sephardic (or a descendant of Sephardic Jews originating from Sefarad).
Once the committee has all of the documents, it will let applicants know via email whether they appear meet the committee's qualifications. Applicants who meet the requirements will need to provide the committee with a fee of 500 Euros for the first member of the family, with 250 Euros for each additional family member, and will need to complete a basic information form provided by the committee. Here are more details about the fee:
Please send us proof of payment of the Committee's fee. Payment of the Committee's fee to review the request (in the amount of €500.00 for the first member of the family and more €250.00 for other members of the same family) must be made by bank transfer to the account of the Jewish Community of Oporto.
Bank: Santander Totta, Branch: Porto, 0018 - Porto Julio Dinis, Rua Júlio Dinis, 818, 4050-322 Porto, Swift code: TOTAPTPL, IBAN: PT 50 0018 000013154515001 80, Account: 000013154515001 80
The bank transfer MUST identify the applicant's name or the names of the applicants.
All transfer and banking charges shall be borne by the applicant.
Please confirm the personal data (writing on the computer, not handwriting) in the attached form and send us the form in Excel format. Attached is a form you will have to fill in with your personal data. It is crucial that the information on this form is correct since it will be used in the issuance of your certificate. We advise you that a certificate with incorrect or incomplete data will not be valid. The reissue of certificates owing to errors and lapses attributable to applicants may take about two months. Unfortunately the work of community administrative department has been greatly disrupted and hampered by the constant reissuing of imperfect certificates owing to errors and lapses attributable to the applicants. You must therefore take the greatest care in completing the form.
With this, they will issue a certificate. However, to obtain the certificate, applicants must also send all of the documents included via email to them via post.
Once the certificate is obtained, applicants will need to work with a local Portuguese law firm to complete their application. The firm of Yolanda Busse (see contact information below) is highly recommended, but there are several others that will also do this work.
Sara Luís Dias
Yolanda Busse, Oehen Mendes & Associados
Sociedade de Advogados, r.l.
Avenida Dr. Antunes Guimarães, 700
P-4100-075 Porto, Portugal
Tel: +351.226.100.001
Fax: + 351.226.184.567
ybom@netcabo.pt
The lawyer will inform the applicant that the request for Portuguese Nationality addressed to the Portuguese Government by Lawyers must be accompanied by these documents:
The referred certificate issued by a recognized Jewish Community in Portugal (Jewish Community of Oporto or Jewish Community of Lisbon) that attests to the applicant's ties to a Jewish Sephardic Community of Portuguese Origin.
Full copy of Applicant's Passport certified by a Portuguese Consulate (including all the pages, with or without information; front and back cover).
Power of attorney granting specific powers to lawyers (Please indicate us your status, residence and send a copy of the passport to prepare the draft).
Applicant's birth certificate issued within the previous six months and certified by the Portuguese Consulate of the country of origin of the document in question.
Translation into Portuguese of the above mentioned birth certificate issued within the previous six months and certified by the Portuguese Consulate of the country of origin of the document in question.
Criminal record from the applicant's country of birth and country of which s/he is a citizen, as well as from those countries where the applicant has resided, issued within the previous 90 days, certified by the Portuguese Consulate of the country of origin of the documents in question.
Translation into Portuguese of the above mentioned criminal records certified by the Portuguese Consulate of the country of origin of the document in question.
Applicant's marriage certificate issued within the previous six months and certified by the Portuguese Consulate of the country of origin of the document in question.
Portuguese Criminal Record (which the applicant's Lawyers may obtain for applicant in Portugal).
Indication of the circumstances which establish the connection to a Portuguese community of Sephardic origin and some evidence of such circumstances, not only by means of the Certificate issued by the Jewish Community of Portugal, which will require some restatement of those criteria that provided such evidence.
Once the documents have been assembled, the applicant must send them to the lawyer, along with payment for the applications process. With regard to this process, the above mentioned law firm indicates the following:
Please be advised that we have no responsibility if you cannot obtain Portuguese nationality. We will do all we can to assist you for this purpose, and we think that, with the referred certificate from the Community, there is a real probability of success, but we cannot ensure any result.
In relation to our fees: Assuming we encounter no difficulties and no additional proceedings are required, we estimate 750.00 Euros + VAT (tax), in a total of 922.50 Euros, per case.
This value does not include disbursements and costs such as any copies, records, travel, translations, communications, etc., for which we ask for an advance payment of 500.00 Euros + VAT (tax), in a total of 615.00 Euros, relating to the registry costs and to initial estimate for disbursements.
The payment (total of 1,537.50 Euros) of that amount can be made to the following account:
Millennium BCP
Account no 23103752
NIB: 0033 0000 0002 3103 75205
IBAN: PT50 0033 0000 0002 3103 75205
wiftcode: BCOMPTPL
ALL BANK CHARGES HAVE TO BE PAID BY THE CLIENT
(with NO charges for YOLANDA BUSSE, OEHEN MENDES & ASSOCIADOS)
The above is largely quoted from other sources, primarily the Jewish Community of Oporto the law firm of Yolanda Busse. The information is shared for informational purposes only. Any of the above items is subject to change.
The starting point for all work related to obtaining Portuguese citizenship under this program is the Nationality Law Committee of the Jewish Community of Oporto. Once you make contact with the committee in this endeavor, you will be directed to the steps needed to follow to complete the process.
Wishing you the best of luck in your effort to reclaim your Portuguese citizenship!
Citizenship Info
Erensya
Get Our Emails!


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Q: Proper organization of server side code? I'm relatively new to rails, but I've made a few basic CRUD apps. However, this time, I'm making something different, and I'm not sure how to organize it.
It's essentially a one page app. The user fills out a form, and the code does some calculations based on those values. I have all the code written, but it's all just sitting in the controller. I'm assuming that this isn't correct.
There are two parts:

*

*Using an external API, 2 constant arrays are generated. I need these variables to be global, or at least accessible for the calculator function.

*I have a function that takes some inputs from the form that also calls other functions. A simplified version is below. I could put all the code into one function if that's necessary. I have them separate just so that the code is more readable.
def calc(input)
  func1(input)
  func2(input)
  # do more stuff
  return answer #I need to show this in the view
end
def func1(a)
end
def func2(b)
end
So, where should I put each part of this code?

A: To make your controllers thin, you can keep business logic at Service Objects.
Just create "services" directory at "app", add there some class like "user_searcher.rb".
And call it in the controller, passing all necessary data.
Such technique will help you to isolate business logic and incapsulate it in separate class.
BTW read this article http://blog.codeclimate.com/blog/2012/10/17/7-ways-to-decompose-fat-activerecord-models/

A: I think, from what I understand of you question, is this code should be placed in the helper classes. If you have dedicated class for this calculation, you can use class attributes to access array to access anywhere in the class or declare them constant, in case they are constant.
I don't think making global is a good practice, just because this is needed in some other function, instead return that variable and pass them as parameter where they are needed.


The 2012 edition of Connotations, Fayetteville High School's award-winning student literary magazine, has won the Pacemaker Award from the National Scholastic Press Association. The Pacemaker is the highest award given by the association.
The 2012 edition also won the Gold Crown Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, which is also the highest award given.


4.1 Can aspartame cause cancer or induce genetic damage?
4.2 Can aspartame affect reproduction and development?
4.3 Can aspartame produce neurological disorders?
4.4 Can aspartame affect behaviour, cognition or mood?
4.5 Does aspartame cause headaches?
4.6 Does aspartame trigger epileptic seizures?
4.7 Can aspartame cause other health effects?
"Aspartame is not genotoxic in a reverse mutation test on S. typhimurium, in two chromosome aberration tests in vivo on somatic cells and in Rodent dominant lethal test on germ cells (JECFA, 1980). Recently, two studies have confirmed the absence of clastogenic potential (Durnev et al., 1995; Mukhopadhyay et al., 2000) of the compound."
"Trocho et al., (1998) demonstrated that aspartame, radio-labelled on the methanol, induced in the liver stable DNA and protein adducts. According to these authors, the accumulation of these adducts after repeated administration of aspartame could pose problems of toxicity and carcinogenicity in the long term. Besides the fact that aspartame at high doses has never induced liver cancer in rats, Trocho's studies did not identify the radioactivity found in the proteins and DNA. Consequently, the formation of adducts of formaldehyde on the proteins and nucleic acids from aspartame, in vivo, remains to be proved (Tephly, 1999)."
"In a carcinogenicity study on CD-1 mice (US-FDA, FR 1981), aspartame administered in feed at doses of 1, 2 and 4 g/kg bw/day for 110 weeks, showed no carcinogenic potential."
"Three carcinogenicity studies were conducted in Sprague Dawley and Wistar rats. In the first study (1973), post-weaning Sprague Dawley rats were fed doses of aspartame corresponding to 1, 2, 4, 6/8 g/kg bw/day for 104 weeks (6/8 i.e. dose of 6 was increased during the study to 8 g/kg bw/day). In the second study (1974), male and female Sprague Dawley rats, from a two-generation study, were exposed during gestation, lactation and after weaning for 104 weeks, to doses of 0, 2 and 4 g/kg bw/day in their food. The results of these two studies have been widely discussed by the scientific community and the regulatory authorities (US-FDA). In the first study, the incidence of brain tumours in the treated animals was higher than in the control animals but without any dose-response relationship. In contrast, in the second study the incidence of tumours in the treated rats was lower than in the control group. For these reasons, a third study was conducted under conditions of Good Laboratory Practice in order to ensure the reliability of the experimental data. In this third study (Ishii, 1981), groups of male and female Wistar rats were given doses of aspartame of 0, 1, 2, 4 g/kg bw/day for 104 weeks. Under these conditions, aspartame did not cause any increase in the incidence of brain tumours."
"Taking into account all the studies that have been conducted, the frequency of spontaneous tumours in laboratory rats, the types of tumours observed and the absence of a dose-response relationship, it was concluded that aspartame had no carcinogenic potential on the brain in experimental animals (US-FDA FR, 1981-1984; Koestner, 1984; Cornell et al., 1984; Flamm, 1997)."
The toxicity of diketopiperazine, a degradation product of aspartame, has been studied in laboratory animals. This substance is neither genotoxic nor carcinogenic in rats and mice. The Acceptable Daily Intake of diketopiperazine for humans has been established at 7.5 mg/kg body weight (JECFA, 1980) based on the no observed effect level of 750 mg/kg bw./day obtained in a long term toxicity study on rats, divided by a safety factor of 100.
"In 1996, Olney et al. published an article on a possible link between the increase in the frequency of brain tumours in humans and the consumption of aspartame in the United States. Based on the data from the NCI (10% of the population) from 1975-1992, the authors concluded that there was a significant increase in the frequency of brain tumours in the mid- 1980s, that is to say the period following aspartame came onto the market. The conclusions of this epidemiological study have been criticised by a number of scientists who questioned the methodology, the use of the data and their interpretation (Levy et al., 1996; Linet et al., 1999; Ross, 1998; Seife, 1999; Smith et al., 1998). One of the major criticism is that the authors only took into account the frequency of brain tumours during a selected period (1975-1992). When all the epidemiological data are used (1973-1992) a different conclusion is reached, as the frequency of brain cancers began to increase in 1973 and stabilised from the mid-1980s (Levy et al., 1996). Furthermore, Olney et al. did not provide any quantitative or qualitative relationship between the exposure of the population to aspartame and the observed frequency of brain tumours. Finally, an increase in the incidence of the tumours can have many causes including, among others, improvements in diagnostic methods (Modan et al., 1992)."
"More recently, Gurney et al., (1997) published the results of a case-control study on the relationship between the consumption of aspartame and the frequency of brain tumours. The study covered 56 patients affected by tumours in childhood and 94 controls. According to these authors, no relationship could be established between the consumption of aspartame and the frequency of brain tumours."
"In France, data on the incidence of and mortality from brain cancers were supplied by the FRANCIM network (F. Ménégoz et al., 2001). These cancers include meninges tumours and tumours of the brain itself. Between 1980 and 1997, the incidence (number of new cases appearing each year) of cerebral tumours was relatively stable in men and showed a slight increase in women. The trend towards an increase in mortality from cancer of the brain and other parts of the nervous system is a longstanding one, as it first appeared in 1950 and continues to the present day, for both sexes. However, during the last decade, mortality in men stabilised and the increase in mortality from brain cancer in women was less pronounced than during the preceding period."
"In France, the epidemiological data from the cancer registers do not enable a definitive indication to be given on a possible aspartame-brain tumour relationship, but they do show that, at the present time, the sale of this food additive in France is not being accompanied by an increase in the frequency of brain tumours or increased mortality from this disease in the general population.
The derivation of an ADI for aspartame by JECFA (1980) and the EEA (1985) included assessment of single- and multi-generation studies in animals that were specifically designed to examine the possible effects of aspartame and its metabolic conversion products on reproduction, and development, including neuro-development.
The data used by JECFA (1980) were discussed in more recent reviews (Kotsonis and Hjelle, 1996; London and Rorick, 1996; Shaywitz, 1997; AFSSA, 2002), but no additional studies were identified which would impact on the no-observed-adverse- effect level (NOAEL)."
"(…) The multigeneration reproduction and teratogenicity studies showed consistent adverse effects on the weight of progeny, both at weaning and at terminal examination, at the highest dose levels tested.
Source & ©: 1985 Reports of the Scientific Committee for Food, 16th Series, annex 2 page 8.
Much of the recent interest in the safety of aspartame has explored whether its consumption is linked with neurological effects. Therefore this end point has been given special consideration in this review.
Shortly after the widespread marketing of aspartame, there were a number of anecdotal reports of health effects, which some consumers related to their consumption of aspartame-containing products (Hull, 1999). Most of the earlier complaints and reports of aspartame-related adverse reactions were analysed by experts at the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta on behalf of the US-FDA, who concluded that there was no symptom complex that could be assigned to the ingestion of aspartame (Janssen and Van der Heijden, 1988; Tollefson, 1988).
A number of complaints were of a neurological or behavioural type (Tollefson, 1988) and these received special consideration, in part because experiments in animals have shown that high doses (1000mg/kg bw and above in rats) can alter the concentrations of neurotransmitters and their precursors within the central nervous system (Lajtha et al., 1994).
As regards the potential effect of aspartame on neurotransmitter levels, the underlying hypothesis was that aspartame, as a source of Phe without the other large neutral amino acids (LNAA) (i.e. tryptophan, valine, leucine, methionine, histidine) which compete for transport across the blood-brain barrier, would increase the serum ratio of Phe to the other LNAA, thereby selectively increasing Phe concentrations in brain. It was further suggested that such increased entry of Phe into the brain may result in disturbances in monoaminergic neurotransmission (Wurtman, 1985).
A number of animal studies were conducted to determine whether increases in plasma Phe concentrations secondary to large doses of aspartame may result in changes in brain concentrations of norepinephrine, dopamine, or serotonin and their metabolites (reviewed by Schomer et al., 1996; Lajtha et al., 1994). Although effects on neurotransmitter levels were noted in some acute and repeat-dose studies at high doses in rodents, it was apparent that these effects were not consistent or reproducible. For instance, acute doses of up to 2000 mg/kg bw/d and repeated doses of up to 863 mg/kg bw/d (for 28 days) failed to induce significant changes in brain serotonin or dopamine levels and had no effect on seizure severity in rats genetically prone to epilepsy (Dailey et al., 1991).
Some changes in neurotransmitter levels in rodents were also identified in some of the older studies on aspartame (Lajtha et al., 1994). In mice given aspartame orally at 13,130 and 650 mg/kg bw, increases of 12, 49 and 47% respectively in norepinephrine were found after 3 hours in the hypothalamus; significant increases in norepinephrine in the medulla oblongata (in the low- and high-dose group animals) and corpus striatum (in the low-dose group animals) were also observed (Coulombe and Sharma, 1986). However, these increases were not dose-related and were accompanied by non-significant changes in serotonin levels. Lack of any significant effects on biogenic amine levels, following higher bolus doses (1000 mg/kg bw) of aspartame, have also been reported in both Sprague-Dawley and Fischer 344 rats (Freeman et al., 1990).
Glutamic and aspartic acids act as excitatory neurotransmitters at glutamate receptor sites to which aspartic acid also shows affinity. A more recent study evaluated brain glutamatergic receptor kinetics following perinatal exposure to large doses of aspartame (500 mg/kg bw/day) (Reilly and Lajtha, 1995). In this study aspartame in drinking water was administered to Sprague-Dawley rats throughout gestation and lactation. The kinetics of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor and total glutamatergic binding in cerebral cortex and hippocampus of the offspring (20-22 days old) were found to be unaffected by perinatal exposure to aspartame. However, statistically significant but reversible reductions in glutamic acid levels in both brain regions and of aspartate in the hippocampus were noted. The same group of workers reported an absence of effects on dopaminergic, adrenergic and serotonergic receptor binding kinetics in adult rat brain with chronic exposure to aspartame (Reilly et al., 1989)."
Methanol accounts for approximately 10% of aspartame in terms of weight. It is metabolised into formaldehyde, formic acid and CO2. One litre of "diet" drink containing aspartame produces approximately 48 mg of methanol whereas a litre of fruit or vegetable juice contains approximately 200 to 280 mg of methanol. This indicates that the quantities of methanol provided by aspartame as a food additive are lower than those provided by certain natural foods (Maher, 1986). In humans, ingestion of methanol at a dose of 200-500 mg/kg body weight is required to induce an accumulation of formate in the blood and toxic effects on the vision and the central nervous system. These doses are more than 100 times greater than the maximum dose of methanol provided by aspartame (US-FDA, FR 1984). These data put into perspective the potential toxic effects of the metabolites of methanol (formaldehyde and formic acid) following exposure to aspartame.
Source & ©: AFSSA Aspartame Assessment Report, section 4.3.
Some years ago, it was hypothesised that aspartame, primarily due to its content of Phe, could have an effect on human behaviour, cognition, and possibly on measures of physiological function (Wurtman, 1985). However, no consistent and reproducible effects were observed in a number of older animal studies investigating the effects of aspartame on neurotransmitter levels.
Only a limited number of studies on behavioural aspects in animals have been published in the last ten years. A proportion of these focused on seizure activity but a causal link with aspartame could not be established; no adverse effects on other aspects of behaviour and cognition were reported in experimental animals when aspartame was given at oral dose levels of up to 2000 mg/kg bw/day (Yirmiya et al., 1989; Tilson et al., 1991; Mullenix et al., 1991; Vitulli et al., 1996; LaBuda and Hale, 2000; Goerss et al., 2000).
A number of anecdotal reports in humans were received by the manufacturers of aspartame in early to mid 1980's relating to a variety of symptoms following the marketing of aspartame in the USA. About two-thirds of these symptoms fell into the neurobehavioural category (Butchko and Stargel, 2001). These consisted mostly of headaches (see below), mood alterations, insomnia, and dizziness. More than 500 reports were received by CDC, and almost half underwent follow-up and evaluation. A post-marketing surveillance system was developed by the NutraSweet company (Butchko and Kotsonis, 1994; Butchko et al., 1996), which was followed by scientific research on these neurological symptoms (see below).
A number of scientific studies were carried out in healthy and potentially sensitive individuals, including children, to test whether the consumption of aspartame was associated with behavioural and cognitive changes. The potentially sensitive individuals studied were, heterozygotes for PKU, individuals suffering from depression, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Parkinson's Disease, epilepsy or other suspected seizures. They included double-blind studies in children (Saravis et al., 1990; Shaywitz et al., 1994) in which no effects were observed on behaviour, mood or learning when aspartame was given as a drink at single and multiple doses of 34 mg/kg bw/day for up to two weeks. The longer term study of Shaywitz et al. (1994) examined the effect of aspartame in children with ADD and included an assessment of liver function as well as measurement of plasma levels of amino acids, serotonin and monoamine metabolites. Treatment-related effects were also absent in a study of pre- school children who were given aspartame at 32 mg/kg bw/day and described as sugar sensitive by their parents (Wolraich et al., 1994).
A number of double-blind behavioural studies of variable quality in healthy adults, involving single and repeated administrations of aspartame have also been conducted. No treatment-related effects were noted in tests on a range of cognitive parameters in studies employing single administrations of aspartame at doses of up to 60 mg/kg bw/day (Lieberman et al., 1988; Lapierre et al., 1990; Pivonka and Grunewald, 1990; Stokes et al., 1991, 1994). However, it can be argued that single dosing studies employing high amounts of aspartame do not reflect typical consumption patterns.
A number of longer term studies with a double-blind design involving multiple dosing in healthy individuals also failed to highlight any treatment-related adverse effects on behaviour (Spiers et al., 1998; Leon et al., 1989). As noted with shorter-term studies, no treatment-related effects on behaviour were noted even when aspartame was tested at 74 mg/kg bw/day for periods extending up to 24 weeks. Although Phe concentrations increased significantly as a result of treatment with aspartame, there were no significant effects noted on behaviour, mood or electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns, nor on a comprehensive battery of clinical laboratory tests. Headache was the most frequently reported adverse effect in placebo- and aspartame-treated groups but there were no significant differences noted between groups.
Several subpopulations of individuals who may potentially be sensitive to aspartame have also been studied. From a double-blind study with a cross-over design in 13 depressed patients, Walton et al. (1993) concluded that aspartame (30 mg/kg bw/day for 7 days) increased the frequency and severity of adverse experiences in these individuals. These authors concluded that the use of aspartame in individuals with mood disorder should be discouraged. However, it is difficult to interpret this study since the authors numerically combined unrelated adverse effects to show a statistically significant result in depressed patients and only a limited number of subjects were available for evaluation due to premature termination of the study.
The effect of aspartame on behaviour, cognition and EEG patterns has also been investigated in PKU heterozygotes. Older studies in PKU homozygotes and those heterozygous for the condition have been reviewed elsewhere (de Sonneville and Benninger, 1996, and references therein). Overall, the authors concluded that aspartame did not affect cognitive function and EEG profiles in either the general population or those heterozygous for PKU. In a more recent double-blind study, which included assessment of plasma amino acid levels and EEG patterns (Trefz et al., 1994), the subjects ingested aspartame (15 or 45 mg/kg bw/day) and placebo for 12 weeks. The battery of behavioural tests included tests for short-term memory, reaction time and various attention tasks. Although headaches were among the mild adverse symptoms reported, there was no statistically significant difference between treatments. There was a significant rise in Phe in the high-dose group in contrast to the low-dose group and this was also the case for the ratio of Phe to LNAA. However, aspartame had no significant effect on cognitive function or EEG profiles.
Headache was one of the more common symptoms that was reported to the US-FDA and evaluated by the CDC (Janssen and Van der Heijden, 1988; Tollefson, 1988). Several studies were carried out to test the potential association between aspartame intake and the onset of headaches. Although the results of a questionnaire-based study (Lipton et al., 1989) and two double-blind out-patient investigations (Koehler and Glaros, 1988; Van Den Eeden et al., 1994) employing daily doses of up to 30 mg/kg bw/day indicated a potential association between aspartame intakes and headache, it was not possible to deduce causality as the effect of diet had not been adequately controlled for and the interpretation of the data was complicated by a high drop out rate and a limited experimental design.
Another study employing a controlled environment, which was also a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over trial, concluded that aspartame was no more likely than placebo to trigger headaches (Schiffman et al., 1987). This study consisted of 40 subjects who complained of aspartame-related headaches. Subjects received aspartame challenges on days three or five at a total dose of 30 mg/kg bw (for a 70 kg person); subjects received placebo on the other days. While 35% of subjects developed headaches while on aspartame, 45% developed headaches while on placebo. In addition, no treatment related effects were detected in blood pressure, or plasma concentrations of cortisol, insulin, glucagon, histamine, epinephrine or norepinephrine. The subjects who had headaches had lower plasma concentrations of norepinephrine and epinephrine just before the development of headache. This study has been criticised for using tightly controlled experimental conditions which did not mimic normal life (Edmeads, 1988), but Schiffman et al. (1987) argued that the nature of the study and the primary focus of the questions raised by CDC dictated that they use carefully controlled conditions at a hospital setting.
"Among the possible adverse effects of aspartame, researchers have paid particular attention to seizures. Several studies have suggested a relationship between the consumption of large amounts of aspartame and the triggering of epileptic seizures. In an old study (1972), on new-born monkeys (2-3 animals per group) treated with doses of aspartame of 1, 3 and 4g/kg bw/day for 52 weeks, epileptic seizures were recorded at the highest doses, after 218 days of treatment. Thereafter, sporadic convulsions were observed during handling of the animals. These symptoms were identical with those observed in young monkeys treated with phenylalanine."
"In contrast, in a similar study also conducted on young monkeys, no effect was observed at doses of aspartame of 2 and 2.7 g/kg bw/day. The different results observed in the two studies could be explained by differences in the exposure conditions, the food and the state of health of the animals (JECFA, 1980)."
"Walton et al. (1993) reported, in a study conducted on 13 patients suffering from depression, that the administration of 30 mg/kg bw/day of aspartame for 7 days caused severe side effects in these patients which led the authors to conclude that the use of this sweetener in depressive patients should be avoided. The same author (Walton, 1986) reported a case of 7 epileptic seizures and serious behavioural problems in a woman being treated with anti- depressants who ingested large quantities of tea containing aspartame."
"Wurtman (1985) indicated that the administration of aspartame, due to an increase in phenylalanine absorption in the brain, could affect the synthesis of catecholamines or serotonin and cause seizures. He based his findings on three examples of heavy consumers of "diet" drinks and on experimental studies on animals demonstrating that the consumption of aspartame reduced the threshold of sensitivity to chemically induced seizures (Maher et al., 1987; Guiso et al.,1988; Pinto et al., 1988). Finally Camfield et al. (1992) demonstrated that aspartame could increase the duration of certain types of epileptic seizure in children."
The ATIC on the Internet reported a large amount of evidence from people who have identified aspartame as the cause of their health problems and in particular of seizures. These statements should be taken into account but with the reservation that they have not been examined according to any academic standard. They may, however, in certain cases, reflect the hypersensitivity of certain individuals to aspartame or its metabolites. Effects on seizures have been reported with phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol but these were under specific conditions (high doses, individual sensitivity, types of seizures, etc.) which are not representative of the general population and of current use of this sweetener in food (Anderson et al., 1996). This causal relationship between aspartame and epileptic seizures has been refuted by a large number of scientists who base their opinions on numerous experimental studies conducted on laboratory animals or on clinical or tolerance studies in humans (Anderson et al., 1996; Gaull, 1985; Rowan et al., 1995; Shaywitz et al., 1994; Tollefson et al., 1992; 1993; Dailey et al., 1991; Zhi et al., 1989; Sze, 1989; Tilson et al., 1989)."
"The Epilepsy Institute in the USA has also concluded that aspartame is not the cause of epileptic seizures (Congressional Record, June 20, 1986). In the United States various consumer complaints about aspartame have been collected by the Special Nutritionals Adverse Event Monitoring System (SN/AEMS). The sources of these reports were the US-FDA, federal and local health agencies, consumers and health professionals. Of 2621 side effects reported, concerning 3451 products, some ten cases concerned preparations concerning aspartame (mixtures also containing vitamins, amino acids and various nutritional supplements). The effects reported included seizures, death, nervous and cardiac symptoms, oedema and fever. Still in the United States, the Center for Disease Control assessed 517 complaints about aspartame (1983). The symptoms reported were headaches, mood changes, insomnia, abdominal pain, nausea, convulsions, etc. These symptoms are observed frequently in the general population. Although it might be possible that certain individuals are particularly sensitive to aspartame, these data, which relate to a large number of people, have not enabled any relationship to be demonstrated between the consumption of aspartame and the occurrence of convulsive seizures.
Idiosyncratic reactions described as allergic-like (hives, rashes) were reported by some consumers to CDC in response to aspartame (Tollefson, 1988). However, the results of a multi-centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study in individuals who were convinced they were allergic to aspartame indicated that aspartame and its conversion products are no more likely than placebo to cause urticaria and angio-oedema (Geha et al., 1993). This finding was supported by the outcome of another study, which also demonstrated that alleged allergic reactions to aspartame were not reproducible under blinded conditions (Garriga et al., 1991). However as with the Geha et al. (1993) study, the authors reported major difficulties in enrolling subjects with a history of allergy/hypersensitivity reactions to aspartame.
A number of other studies focused on the effects of aspartame on hunger and food intake (Rolls and Shide, 1996) and in the control of body weight (Kanders et al., 1996). Sensory and post-ingestion experience with aspartame was reported by these reviewers not to be associated with increased energy intake or increases in body weight.


2017 is another year of growth for passenger transport. It is a prove that better offer (i.e including comfortable trains, suitable timetable) is able to attract more clients.
In 2017 the trains of passengers railways undertakings transported 304 m passengers at the total distance of 162.3 m km. The transport performance was at the level of 20.3 bn pass-km. It is by 3.8%, 1.4% and 5.9% more than in 2016 respectively. Although there was some renewals and modernization on railway infrastructure, the results could have been improved.


text:
Q: Can a variable be changed within a block? Let's go to the code directly:
#!/usr/bin/ruby
 require 'tk'

class Epg

def initialize
    @var = "bad"
    @cvs = nil
    @items_demo = TkRoot.new() {title "EPG"}
    TkFrame.new(@items_demo) {|cf|
          @var = "good"
          @cvs = TkCanvas.new(cf) {|c|}
        puts  "@cvs 1  is #{@cvs}"
        puts  "@var 1 is #{@var}"
    }.pack('side'=>'top', 'fill'=>'both', 'expand'=>'yes')

    puts  "@cvs 2 is #{@cvs}"
    puts  "@var 2 is #{@var}"

end #initialize

def test
    @var = "bad"
    puts " @var 3 :#{@var}"
    (1..3).each {|x| @var="good"}
    puts " @var 4 :#{@var}"
end
 end

 e= Epg.new
 e.test

Here is the output:
@cvs 1  is #<Tk::Canvas:0xb7cecb08>
@var 1 is good
@cvs 2 is
@var 2 is bad           #@var has NOT been changed by the code in the block
@var 3 :bad
@var 4 :good            #@var has been changed by the code in the block

Why we see different behavior here?

A: You can think of blocks as closing over both the set of local variables and the current self.
In Ruby, you will always have access to local variables, no matter what. The self encapsulates instance methods on the current object as well as instance variables.
Consider the following code:
class Table
  def initialize(legs)
    @legs = legs
  end

  def with_legs
    yield @legs
  end
end

And then:
def some_calling_method
  name = "Yehuda"
  Table.new(4) {|legs| puts "#{name} gnaws off one of the #{legs} legs" }
end

By Ruby's block semantics, you can be assured that name will be available inside the block, even without looking at the method you're calling.
However, consider the following:
class Person
  def initialize(name)
    @name = name
  end

  def gnaw
    Table.new(4).with_legs do |legs|
      puts "#{@name} gnaws off one of the #{legs} legs"
    end
  end
end

Person.new("Yehuda").gnaw

In this case, we are accessing the @name instance variable from inside the block. It works great in this case, but is not guaranteed. What if we implemented table a bit differently:
class Table
  def initialize(legs)
    @legs = legs
  end

  def with_legs(&block)
    self.instance_eval(&block)
  end
end

Effectively, what we're saying is "evaluate the block in the context of a different self." In this case, we are evaluating the block in the context of the table. Why would you do that?
class Leg
  attr_accessor :number
  def initialize(number)
    @number = number
  end
end

class Table
  def initialize(legs)
    @legs = legs
  end

  def with_leg(&block)
    Leg.new(rand(@legs).instance_eval(&block)
  end
end

Now, you could do:
class Person
  def initialize(name)
    @name = name
  end

  def gnaw
    Table.new(4).with_leg do
      puts "I'm gnawing off one of leg #{number}"
    end
  end
end

If you wanted access to the person object inside of the block, you'd have to do:
class Person
  def initialize(name)
    @name = name
  end

  def gnaw
    my_name = name
    Table.new(4).with_leg do
      puts "#{my_name} is gnawing off one of leg #{number}"
    end
  end
end

As you can see, the use of instance_eval can make it simpler and less bulky to access methods of a far-off object inside a block, but comes at the cost of making the self unaccessible. The technique is usually used in DSLs, where a number of methods are injected into the block, but the self doesn't matter that much.
This is what's happening with Tk; they're using instance_eval to inject their own self into the block, which is wiping your self clean.

A: The explanation is that TkFrame.new uses instance_eval and thus the assignment @var = "good" changes the instance variable of TkFrame.  Try this out:

class A
  def initialize(&b)
    instance_eval(&b)
  end
end

class B
  def initialize
    @x = 10
    @a = A.new do
      @x = 20
    end
  end
end

p B.new

This is what you'll see:

#<B:0x10141314 @x=10, @a=#<A:0x10141300 @x=20>>