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Tag Archives: Jair Bolsonaro
GOD APPOINTS NATIONS LEADERS
El Salvador is another example of God appointing a most unlikely candidate, but certainly His man, to lead the country. I have previously posted on similar situations in the USA (Trump), Australia (Morrison) and Brazil (Bolsonaro). God is ultimately in control of nations and He judges those that are unrighteous. Politicians take heed.
Yesterday in El Salvador, President Bukele addressed a conference of pastors, businessmen and businesswomen, and local leaders. Bukele delivered a personal testimony. He told the story about being of Palestinian heritage and finding purpose in Christianity. He was a successful businessman by the age of 29, making more money than he ever dreamed. He had no desire to be a politician. He served as mayor to give back to his community as many self-sacrificing people do.
Last year, Bukele was approached by a group of pastors who told him they had received a spiritual message that he should run for president. His response was as you might expect: "No way; you've got to be kidding." Later, another group approached him with the same prophecy. He thought it odd, but this time took note. As the deadline for making a decision about running for president neared, he was approached a third time. These pastors were certain they were correct in their message to him. They asked him to prayerfully consider a run. When they pressed him for an answer, they told him they would respectfully accept his decision. He again told them no.
Bukele struggled with his final decision. Soon thereafter, another pastor whom he did not know advised him not to "fall into the fourth place." When asked to expand on what he meant, the pastor said it was missing God's call on your life. Bukele then decided to reconsider and filed for the office of presidency.
In the opening days of the campaign, Bukele fell into disagreement with his political party. They threatened to kick him out of the party, which would eliminate his position on the ballot. He stood his ground, and the party expelled him. In his testimony to the audience, he said he asked God: "Why would You lead me to this point if You wanted me to run? Why did You allow this to happen?" He paused and then referenced the fact that God did not answer him.
However, a stranger turned up at the campaign headquarters and explained that Bukele could still get on the ballot with 50,000 citizens' signatures on a petition. He had no idea how to obtain them. The stranger said, "We'll take care of it." Forty-eight hours later, 200,000 people had signed a petition for his candidacy. When advised of this, the campaign manager thought they had said 20,000 because even that seemed like an unrealistic number.
Bukele won the general election with 53% of the vote, trouncing all party candidates at one time. No individual had won the presidency in that country since 1972 without a major party endorsement. On the night of the election, he was still surprised at the results. In discussions with his spiritual leaders, he was asked, what makes you think God needs a political party?
Since his election, Bukele has instituted more reforms than all presidents of the previous 49 years combined. For instance, he swept all prisons of cell phones so inmates could not direct illegal activity outside of the prison walls. Funny, no one ever thought of that before!
What an amazing God story. Only God could have orchestrated Bukele's election as President. The events described above defy any other explanation.
This article was extracted from a report by Marc Nuttle is Charisma News 24/07/2019.
GOD APPOINTS LEADERS – BRAZIL NOW HAS A DEVOUT CHRISTIAN PRESIDENT
Victory of Brazil right-winger Jair Bolsonaro latest shock in global politics
The Wall St Journal: The rise of the right-wing firebrand is the latest shock in global politics as voters turn against the status quo, starting in 2016 with the Brexit vote in the UK and Donald Trump's election in the US It also likely shifts politics in the world's fourth largest democracy sharply to the right.
Mr Bolsonaro's victory was the culmination of deep shifts in Brazilian society over recent decades, including the rise of evangelical Christianity. Mr Bolsonaro himself is a devout Christian baptised in the Jordan River. His middle name in Portuguese is "Messiah."
Now comprising a third of Brazilians, evangelicals are on track to outnumber Catholics by 2035, according to pollster Datafolha. Bishop Edir Macedo, the billionaire founder of one of Brazil's biggest evangelical churches who also owns the powerful TV Record network, endorsed Mr Bolsonaro shortly before the vote.
Before the results were known, but with much of the country now behind him, Mr. Bolsonaro said in a radio interview recently that he saw no reason to change or moderate his message. "I'm not going to become the little 'peace and love' Jair." His name Jair means "He enlightens or one giving light"
I sincerely hope he lives up to his name.


Photos Of Amazon Tribe Unreached So Far Showing How Vulnerable They've Become - Find Riddles?
This pretty place on Earth is home to the Moxihatetema tribe. It is situated in the Yanomani territory which is in Brazil.


The WSuggestionPopup class is a widget which pops up to assist in editing a text area or line edit through auto completion. This widget may be associated with one or more WFormWidgets (typically a WLineEdit or a WTextArea).
The popup provides the user with suggestions to enter input. The popup can be used by one or more text editors, using forEdit(). The popup will show when the user starts editing the edit field, or when the user opens the suggestions explicitly using a drop down icon or with the down key. In the example below, the popup positions itself on top of the edit field.
You can also limit the maximum height of the popup by using setMaximumSize(). In this case, scrolling is supported (similar to a combo-box).
WSuggestionPopup is a MVC class (model-view-controller). By default a WStringListModel is used. The member methods clearSuggestions() and addSuggestion() manipulate this model. You can set another model with setModel(). See the Combo box section for an example.
By default, the popup implements all filtering client-side. To support large datasets, you may enable server-side filtering of suggestions based on the input. The server-side filtering may provide a coarse filtering using a fixed size prefix of the entered text, and complement the client-side filtering. To enable server-side filtering, use setFilterLength() and listen to filter notification using the modelFilter() signal. Whenever a filter event is generated you can adjust the model's content according to the filter (e.g. using a WSortFilterProxyModel).
// value of the editElement.
You can find several more advanced examples in the Wt distribution directory examples/feature/suggestionpopup/. In the SuggestionPopup.C class you can explore different functions.


Tall spikes of large creamy white double flowers in late spring. A real eye-catcher in the garden here and always asked for when in flower in early summer. Height: to about 80cm.
One of my favourite plants in the spring garden. A lovely creamy colour that's very easy on the eye. And I do like a vertical accent in a border.
Camassia leichtlinii 'Semiplena' (Camass 'Semiplena'): Tall spikes of large creamy white double flowers in late spring. Height: to about 80cm.


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require_relative 'core/connection'
require_relative 'core/logging'
require_relative 'core/threaded'

module GoodData

  class << self
    # Returns the active GoodData connection earlier initialized via GoodData.connect call
    #
    # @see GoodData.connect
    def connection
      threaded[:connection] || raise('Please authenticate with GoodData.connect first')
    end

    # Connect to the GoodData API
    #
    # @param options
    # @param second_options
    # @param third_options
    #
    def connect(options=nil, second_options=nil, third_options={})
      GoodData.logger.debug 'GoodData#connect'

      if options.is_a? Hash
        fail 'You have to provide login and password' if ((options[:login].nil? || options[:login].empty?) && (options[:password].nil? || options[:password].empty?))
        threaded[:connection] = Connection.new(options[:login], options[:password], options)
        GoodData.project = options[:project] if options[:project]
      elsif options.is_a?(String) && second_options.is_a?(String)
        fail 'You have to provide login and password' if ((options.nil? || options.empty?) && (second_options.nil? || second_options.empty?))
        threaded[:connection] = Connection.new(options, second_options, third_options)
      end

      return threaded[:connection]
    end

    # Disconnect (logout) if logged in
    def disconnect
      GoodData.logger.debug 'GoodData#disconnect'

      if threaded[:connection]
        threaded[:connection].disconnect
        threaded[:connection] = nil
      end
    end

    # Hepler for starting with SST easier
    #
    # @param token SST token
    # @param options Options get routed to connect eventually so everything that you can use there should be possible to use here.
    #
    def connect_with_sst(token, options={})
      create_authenticated_connection(options.merge({:cookies => {'GDCAuthSST' => token}}))
    end

    # This method is aimed at creating an authenticated connection in case you do not hae pass/login but you have SST
    #
    # @param options :server => optional GD server uri, If nil it secure will be used. :cookies => you can specify a hash of cookies
    #
    def create_authenticated_connection(options={})
      connect(options)
      server_cookies = options[:cookies]
      connection.merge_cookies!(server_cookies)
      connection.status = :logged_in
      connection
    end

  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Fingertips Flashback: Dealership (from December 2004)
A certain sort of confidence is required to open a song with the line "Let's go, and I'll play all my songs," but singer Chris Groves has such a sweet-sailing voice that he has me right there–I'm thinking, sure, go ahead, play away. A do-it-yourself style trio from San Francisco, Dealership transcends its indie trappings through gorgeous melodicism and songwriting aplomb.
Here's an innocent burst of indie-electro-something-or-another that sounds as delightful to me now as it did five-plus years ago.
"Forest" – Dealership
[ from "This Week's Finds," Dec. 5-11, 2004]
A certain sort of confidence is required to open a song with the line "Let's go, and I'll play all my songs," but singer Chris Groves has such a sweet-sailing voice that he has me right there–I'm thinking, sure, go ahead, play away. A do-it-yourself style trio from San Francisco, Dealership transcends its indie trappings through gorgeous melodicism and songwriting aplomb. The song is propelled by the juxtaposition of a jittery/infectious guitar line against a bell-like (and inexpensive-sounding) keyboard underneath a melody that cascades on itself, like noiseless fireworks arcing pattern upon pattern. When Groves arrives at the chorus, singing, "An electronic forest, a pixelated version" and then whatever he sings next (I can't decipher the words at that point), we are in a certain sort of pop heaven. That guitarist Miyuki Jane Pinckard adds some solid yet airy (go figure) harmonies to the proceedings only adds to the feeling of being transported somewhere quite lovely, if a little bittersweet. I like how the band doesn't waste the last minute of the song (which is when a lot of songs go into automatic pilot): listen to the edge Groves' voice acquires at around the 2:15 point, and then feel the band pull the energy back at around 2:30 only to kick into a punched-up sprint to the finish at 2:50 or so. It's all pretty subtle but I tend to like subtle. "Forest" is from the CD Action/Adventure, the band's third, released in August on Turn Records; the MP3 can be found on the band's web site.
ADDENDUM: Founded in 1995 (wow), Dealership may, alas, no longer exist. The band's web site shows no sign of life since 2007, and the band's anticipated fourth album, due first in 2007 and then in 2008, seems never (yet) to have arrived. While Wikipedia has them existing to the present day, the entry itself hasn't been updated since late '07.
Author jeremyfingertipsPosted on April 9, 2010 Categories flashback
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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with the help of one of the most active surfers and of the best critical voices in this scene.
This publication is a spin-off of the book project Cloning Aura. Art in the Age of Copycats, by Chiara Moioli: an essay that explores the close relation between practices of appropriation an, going through Postmodernism, 70s-80s subcultural movements, net.art and the Surfing Club generation. This is the second of five interviews (Florian Cramer, Tom Moody, Vittore Baroni, Vuk Ćosić and Cory Arcangel) in English and Italian, that will follow in the upcoming weeks. The book, in Italian, will be available on our shelves from mid March 2016.


text:
Opinion • Politics & Protest
Hong Kong's first political prisoners? A stormy fortnight for the SAR's core values
Suzanne Pepper
Officials and legal authorities both in Hong Kong and Beijing have taken great exception to the international condemnation of a high court ruling on August 17 that sent three young activists to prison. The three are Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung, and Alex Chow Yong-kang. They were given six-to-eight-month jail terms for leading an unlawful attempt to break into a closed off public space known as Civic Square adjacent to Hong Kong's Legislative Council building. The space had been temporarily closed off as a security precaution amid rising political tensions at the time.
The students' action on the night of September 26, 2014, at the end of a week-long student strike, provoked the public reaction and police tear-gas response that led to Hong Kong's months-long street blockades between September 28 and mid-December 2014.
Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, Alex Chow. Photo: Joshua Wong.
The three were among several student leaders who stood in the forefront during those 79 days that became known as Hong Kong's Umbrella-Occupy Revolution, or Occupy for short. Naturally, they had to bear responsibility for their part in the "unlawful assembly." They were tried last year and all received light community service or suspended jail sentences from a sympathetic judge who cited their youthful idealism minus any criminal intent. But then the tide within Hong Kong's justice system took a hard turn in the opposite direction.
The Hong Kong government's Department of Justice decided the punishments were too lenient for individuals who had wilfully precipitated so disruptive an episode, even if it was for the high-minded cause of universal suffrage and electoral reform. Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen reportedly overrode the advice of his department's prosecutors and appealed the case asking that the initial judgements be overturned in favor of custodial sentences of some duration for all three.
Police surrounded student protests at the Civic Square on September 27, 2014. File Photo: Occupy Central with Love and Peace.
The prosecution was successful, the appeal judges acquiesced, and the judgements were duly handed down on August 17. The six-to-eight-month sentences have put a long hold on the electoral aspirations of Nathan Law and Joshua Wong since both looked set for promising political careers. According to Hong Kong law, anyone who receives a custodial sentence of three months or more must wait five years to qualify as a Legislative Council candidate.
The chorus of condemnation began to rise as word circulated about what the verdict was surely going to be. The New York Times could have done with better help from its fact-checkers but was nevertheless too close to the local public mood for comfort. Even the South China Morning Post could not resist a tongue-in-cheek cartoon dig at the official protestations of politically innocent intentions.
It was an awkward moment for Hong Kong's government and its new Chief Executive Carrie Lam, caught as they were between Beijing's relentless condemnation of all people, places, and things associated with Occupy, and the need to uphold the appearance of judicial independence.
Carrie Lam. File photo: GovHK.
That principle is commonly regarded and officially proclaimed as Hong Kong's most basic and prized core value. Without it, by general agreement, the viability of the cross-border "two systems" experiment, designed by Beijing for Hong Kong, cannot be sustained.
The Times in its August 15 editorial had referred to the defendants as Hong Kong's "first political prisoners"; their crime: "defending Hong Kong's autonomy from Beijing's increasing encroachment." In England, Hong Kong's last British governor, Christopher Patten, said the three young men would go down in history as Hong Kong heroes.
A hastily-organised local rally brought out over 20,000 people, by conservative police estimate, on a sweltering hot Sunday afternoon to let the prisoners know they were not alone. The Occupy movement's partisans were standing behind their own and the movement seemed to be shedding some of its differences. Radical "separatist" champions of independence marched together with many others, a mix of old, young, and everything in-between, but it was not a happy crowd.
Photo: In-Media.
Beijing naturally railed against "foreign forces" interference and warned all outsiders to mind their own business. In Hong Kong, the entire political and legal establishments rallied to the government's side, as did loyalist pro-Beijing partisans who hailed the verdict as long overdue.
A barrister's Conundrum
Of all the responses, those coming from Hong Kong's legal community were probably the most important. But not for strengthening the government's case. On the contrary, they weakened it. This they did by revealing just how tenuous the "two-systems" promises for Hong Kong's autonomy have become under the impact of Beijing's increasingly obvious interventions.
In a rare show of unity, difficult to achieve on most issues, the Law Society and the Bar Association issued a joint statement in support of the verdict. The Law Society's solicitors seem to prefer safely conservative politically-correct positions whereas barristers (courtroom lawyers under the British system) can be less cautious. But not this time.
Their joint statement railed against the media, both local and international, for commenting critically on the Justice Department's application for reviews of the light sentences that had been handed down for unlawful assembly offenders. In another similar case, just reviewed by the same three-judge appeals panel responsible for re-sentencing the three student activists, 13 environmental protesters had also had their original sentences overturned. All 13 were immediately sent to jail.
According to the joint bar/law statement: "One must be careful and cautious when commenting on a court judgement and has to take into account the impact of such comment on the integrity and independence of the Judiciary. The bedrock to the rule of law in Hong Kong is the trust and confidence of the public and the international community towards our judges and the judicial system. Any inappropriate comment could fuel baseless and unnecessary suspicion on judicial independence, and may undermine the confidence of the public and the international community in the rule of law in Hong Kong…"
So the public should not comment on a court judgement for fear of undermining trust and confidence in the judiciary's independence? That reads like an advisory written for use in some other place that is not threatened by constant pressures from a sovereign known to respect neither freedom of political expression nor judicial autonomy. Hong Kong's sovereign is also constantly promoting the logic of progression toward one country, one system integration, to include interactive cooperation between the executive and judiciary, as statements from Beijing have noted on several occasions.
The lawyers' joint advisory also seems to have forgotten another of their liberal principles, namely, that credibility and legitimacy is as much about public perceptions as the institutions and procedures themselves. So that when large numbers of people do not see a decision as being fair and just, especially a decision that contradicts common sense understanding based on matters of public knowledge, then maybe something is not right with the judgement and public skepticism should be encouraged rather than shut down.
Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen applied the same contradictory logic in a South China Morning Post commentary. He reminded readers that the authority of the law rests on public confidence and is important for social stability. Such confidence should not be shaken by baseless attacks on the integrity of the courts. Fair enough. But public confidence must be earned. It cannot be decreed.
File photo: In-Media.
In this particular case, the circumstances are so well known that onlookers can hardly conclude otherwise than that the resentencing verdicts are politically motivated under pressure from Beijing. Indeed, it would require a gigantic leap of faith to conclude otherwise.
The issues involved are endemic to Hong Kong's democracy movement but have developed more specifically during the past year after Hong Kong's new post-Occupy candidates were elected to the Legislative Council. They improvised their oaths at the swearing ceremony last October, Beijing intervened on November 7 with an interpretation of Hong Kong's Basic Law Article 104, on oath-taking, and six newly-elected legislators have been disqualified as a direct result.
The disqualifications have also been accompanied by a steady drumbeat from the pro-Beijing media demanding punishment for those who would disrespect the central government and celebrating each ruling that goes against them.
At a Beijing-sponsored seminar held to publicise the November 7, 2016 interpretation of Basic Law Article 104, retired official Chen Zuo'er blasted Hong Kong's judges for the wrist-tapping sentences they were handing down to democracy activists.
Not long before Chen's tirade, the three student leaders just re-sentenced had been convicted of unlawful assembly. But the judge had let them off with light sentences citing their youthful idealism in mitigation. The noticeably tougher sentences began earlier this year, all delivered with stern homilies from the bench.
Yet the authorities, all reading from the same script, are now challenging the public to trust them while they insist that the judgements have been handed down strictly by the book, in accordance with local laws and procedures.
Barrister Ronny Tong Ka-wah presented the dilemma perfectly during a TVB Straight Talk interview on August 22. He has travelled a still unexplained journey from the democratic camp to his present position as a member of Chief Executive Carrie Lam's Executive Council or cabinet. As such, he is required to abide by its norms of confidentiality and consensus but in this case the official view and his own are as one.
File photo: HKFP/Catherine Lai.
He called it a sad day for Hong Kong when anyone should presume to question the independence of Hong Kong's judiciary. As a former chairman of the Bar Association, he recalled how difficult it had always been to bring solicitors and barristers together on any issue. Yet they had now agreed on the joint statement, only to see it coolly received by a sceptical public. What had gone wrong? The ruling against the three activists had been reached strictly in accord with legal procedures as are all Hong Kong court verdicts.
Judicial independence, he said, is Hong Kong's only remaining core value, a precious inheritance that must be respected if it is to survive. He repeated the saying that justice is blind and reminded viewers that the British statue of Lady Justice, blindfolded while weighing the scales of justice, still stands atop the old court building in downtown Hong Kong. Yet people everywhere have been saying the independence of Hong Kong's judges is being corrupted by Beijing.
Ronny Tong is articulate and erudite and also well-travelled. So he must know that in the United States, for example, little children are also taught that justice is blind. But then when they reach the age of political reason and, hopefully, begin exercising their right to vote, they learn about the differences between liberals and conservatives and between the Democratic and Republican Parties. They learn that the rule of law comes with diverse interpretations as between members of the two main parties. For some voters those distinctions are among the most important reasons for choosing one candidate or another, that is, whether a president is likely to appoint judges known for their liberal or conservative readings of the law.
So Ronny Tong should be able to appreciate that Hong Kong's laws come with sentencing guidelines to be strictly or liberally interpreted at a judge's discretion. Thus Ronny Tong should also be able to appreciate why the public perceives that, given the regular communication between Hong Kong and mainland officials; and all that has happened since the oath-taking saga began; and in light of the official diatribe against molly-coddling Hong Kong judges, political pressures might well have come to bear on the appellate decision that sent Wong, Law, and Chow to jail for six-to-eight months.
The rule of law is sacrosanct. For Ronny Tong there is no higher end. But the real danger for judicial independence he seems not to recognise. The danger is to continue insisting that Hong Kong's judiciary is free of mainland influence when circumstantial evidence suggests that it is not. The problem for Hong Kong is how to maintain the integrity of its common law principles as mainland intrusions grow, autonomy erodes, and pressures for two-systems integration continue to mount.
Alex Chow Carrie Lam Joshua Wong Nathan Law OccupyHK
HKFP Lens: A Photoshop master's surreal take on Hong Kong, Part 3
In Pictures: On Chinese Valentine's Day, businesses woo 'single dogs'
How do we maintain the middle ground in a divided Hong Kong?
Defence & Foreign Policy • Politics & Protest • SinoBeat
Sweden summons Chinese ambassador over criticism of country and media
Polarised societies like Hong Kong are hotbeds for conspiracy theories
Hong Kong • Politics & Protest
No Hong Kong legislative by-election to replace two ousted democrats
Hong Kong • Law & Crime • Politics & Protest
Yuen Long mob attack victims file civil suit against Hong Kong police chief over 'failure to protect residents'
Hongkongers gather to commemorate 6 months since Yuen Long mob attack
Arts, Lifestyle & Events • Hong Kong • Politics & Protest
Hong Kong's Lunar New Year fairs exhibit protest-themed goods
Business • Hong Kong • Law & Crime • Politics & Protest
Moody's downgrades Hong Kong, blames government response to protests
Gov't hygiene officer kicks pro-democracy party out of Hong Kong's New Year fair for breaching ban on politics
Police under fire for displaying journalist's Hong Kong ID card during live stream again
Law & Crime • Opinion • Politics & Protest
Beijing's new man in Hong Kong Luo Huining stumps the pundits: will he be nasty or nice?
Environment & Health • Opinion
Australian bushfires are a warning of climate catastrophe; is Hong Kong listening?
Hong Kong police chief tried to 'publicly discredit' woman accusing officers of gang rape – lawyers
Hong Kong police arrest rally organiser accusing him of failing to maintain order
China's Lunar New Year travellers unfazed as SARS-like virus spreads
Tear gas, arrests, vandalism and officers beaten as Hong Kong anti-communist rally brought to an early halt
Hong Kong judges owe their powers to a revolution, not to 'peaceful and rational discussion'
Defence & Foreign Policy • Hong Kong • Politics & Protest
Organisers of Hong Kong protest exhibition in Ukraine say Chinese embassy tried to pressure them to cancel
Injustice erodes the rule of law: Hongkongers will respect the legal system if it respects them
Community & Education • Law & Crime • Opinion • Politics & Protest
Take a bow, rioters, the Hong Kong gov't is responding… by throwing money around
HKFP Contributor
Suzanne Pepper is a Hong Kong-based American writer and Hong Kong resident with a long-standing interest in Chinese politics. In her book, 'Keeping Democracy at Bay: Hong Kong and the Challenge of Chinese Political Reform', Pepper addresses debates surrounding democracy and dictatorship. Her blog follows the developing story of Hong Kong's democracy movement as it struggles to maintain its coherence amid the growing pressures of integration within the Chinese political system.
Views expressed in our opinion & Voices sections are not necessarily shared by HKFP.
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Hong Kong's first political prisoners? A stormy fortnight for the SAR's core values


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We caught up with the star Nepalese-American designer Prabal Gurung, an industry heavyweight who isn't afraid to design strong pieces with a political message. Prabal's New York Fashion Week shows are frequented by icons like Sarah Jessica Parker and Anna Wintour, and his cast of muses includes Gigi and Bella Hadid.
In dressing some of the most influential women, including Oprah and Michelle Obama, Prabal has used his platform as a prominent designer to engage in the political space and empower his customers. His runway collections are peppered with political statements, with blouses emblazoned with slogans like "Nevertheless, She Persisted" and "The Future Is Female." At the Teen Vogue Summit, Prabal explained why he feels so strongly about using his platform to effect change.


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Lauren Jauregui Tattoos
Lauren Jauregui has at least 6 known tattoos:
dragonfly on her neck
roman numeral on her elbow
"Angelica" on her forearm
bee on her wrist
"6-6-18" on her forearm
"I am that I am" on her spine
Instagram / @jonboytattoo & @laurenjauregui
Lauren Jauregui celebrated her 22nd birthday on June 27, 2018 by visiting artist Jon Boy at Bang Bang's tattoo parlor in New York City. She got a tattoo that says "I am that I am" written in lowercase cursive letters along her spine. The tattoo expresses her gratitude. She tweeted:
That I am alive because I am alive. Breathing in the oxygen from the trees around me and perfectly made for this perfect planet in the middle of eternity. One with all that is because I am.
This phrase comes from the book of Exodus in the Bible. When Moses first encounters God in the burning bush, God tells Moses "I am that I am."
Lauren is religious but she believes that the overarching messages of love and compassion in the Bible are more important than specific lines of scripture. She was raised Catholic but disagrees with the church's views on homosexuality because she believes in the dignity of all humans. She has been known to call out the hypocrisy of politicians who use religion texts to justify their hatred. In a open letter to Trump voters, she wrote:
The God that I have come to know and love is intolerant of judgment and hatred. And I know this, because I was raised Roman Catholic in a Latin household and went to private Catholic school my whole life so I have studied WAY more than most of you have studied the religion or the Bible for that matter.
Her twitter is full of such statements:
You don't get to deem who God loves.
When your "beliefs" allow for the dehumanization and invalidation of a whole COMMUNITY of people's existence, it is WRONG. Ask Jesus.
It seems fitting that this tattoo speaks to the ill-defined nature of God, which is interpreted many ways by many people.
The phrase "I am that I am" can also been seen as a statement on self-acceptance. Lauren has dealt with homophobia, sexism and xenophobia but has only become stronger because of it. "I am a bisexual Cuban-American woman and I am so proud of it," she wrote. She is no longer afraid to be herself and to speak her mind even though record label executives have warned her that she might alienate fans by doing so.
Lauren was accompanied in her tattoo session by a group of her closest friends and family who all got inked along with her. Her brother Chris Jauregui got Spanish writing on his bicep. Their mom Clara got the initials "LCT" on her wrist for her children: Lauren, Chris and Taylor. Longtime friend Erica Timmons got a spine tattoo which says "present in peace" with the same font and placement as Lauren's.
Lauren's boyfriend Ty Dolla $ign got tattooed but not with anything matching. The rapper, with whom Lauren collaborated on the song "In Your Phone," got a skull on his thumb.
Being True To Yourself Bible Cursive God Handwriting Inspirational Jon Boy Religion Spine Thanks Writing
TattooWhatever
Instagram & Snapchat / Lauren Jauregui
Lauren Jauregui played her first-ever show as a solo artist in Sao Paulo Brazil on June 6, 2018. She commemorated the monumental occasion by getting this "6 • 6 • 18" tattoo on her forearm. The concert was the first of five dates where she performed as the opening act for the Latin American leg of Halsey's Hopeless Fountain Kingdom World Tour. She debuted three new songs at the first show and was amazed that fans were already beginning to sing along. That night she tweeted:
GUYS IM SCREAMING OH MY GOD SEEING ALL OF YOUR REACTIONS TO THESE SONGS AND LITERALLY PEOPLE WERE ALREADY SINGING THEM BY THE END OF THEM I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! Obrigada São Paulo you have my heart forever!! First show ever DONE!!
Before the tour was over, she'd already gotten this tattoo to remember it forever. She visited artist Gabriel Puas in Santiago Chile on June 11, 2018 during an off-date between the third and fourth shows. She performed in Santiago the following night.
The transition from being part of Fifth Harmony to becoming a solo artist has been a major shift for her since she had spent her entire adult life as a member of the girl group. She was only 15 years old when she auditioned for The X Factor. All of the members auditioned as solo artists and the group was created by the producers and judges of the show, who thought they were better as a group than as individuals. That may have been true when they were young teens who hadn't fully formed their own identities, but now they all have unique perspectives and unique stories to tell in their songs. Following Camila Cabello's departure from the group Fifth Harmony released a final self-titled album and then went on indefinite hiatus on March 19, 2018 so that the remaining four members could pursue their own solo careers.
Going solo has forced Lauren to confront and conquer her self-doubts. She didn't begin writing until recently because she was afraid that she wasn't good enough. Now she is so glad that she took the plunge. She tweeted:
Fun fact: I actually only started writing actual songs this year. I had only written two songs in my life completely that I thought were ok and I was too scared of failure to try until my world shifted earlier this year….Literally in the studio every day just opening the floodgates of all the shit I never let myself say….Never give up on yourself and do it anyway because you can only get better.
Lauren is still discovering what she wants her solo music to sound like, but she's loving the process and the songs that she's written. "The album is not finished yet. I feel inspired and could write any song at any given moment," she told Billboard. "It's really interesting, and it's a road to self-discovery."
Accomplishment Black Ink Career Date Forearm Gabriel Puas Number Puas Tatuajes
BACKGRID; Snapchat / Lauren Jauregui
Lauren Jauregui got this tattoo of a bee on the inside of her left wrist in February 2018 but hasn't yet opened up about it's meaning.
It may have something to do with Halsey and their collaboration song "Strangers." Halsey created a fictional world based on Romeo and Juliet as the theme for her album Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. One of the two dueling families is the House of Aureum, whose family crest is a bee.
Bee Black-and-Gray Wrist
Wickedly Lovely
PacificCoastNews
Lauren Jauregui has memorial tattoos for both of her grandmothers. First she got a dragonfly on the back of her neck for her mom's mother. Then she got this tattoo of her paternal grandmother's name "Angelica" on her left forearm in October 2016.
After Angelica died in February 2015, Lauren posted a heartfelt tribute on her instagram page:
Yesterday I lost a large piece of my world. My most beautiful, intelligent, strong, angel. The woman who taught me that a strong mind and heart are essential in this life. Thank you for giving me your unconditional love and wisdom throughout my life, listening to me and making me feel like I was heard and that my feelings were always valid. You will always be in my heart. Thank you for 80 years of your essence, you will be missed greatly but I know that God is happy that you're home and safe now and I also know you will always be with me. I love you Abuelita, mi linda..siempre.❤
Cursive Forearm Grandmother Name
Lauren Jauregui got this Roman numeral tattoo on her right elbow in August 2015. It says "XXVII" which represents the number 27.
She considers 27 to be her lucky number. It is the date of two major life events: she was born on June 27, 1996 and her musical group Fifth Harmony was formed on July 27, 2012 during the second season of The X Factor USA. Fifth Harmony named their sophomore album 7/27 after the date they were formed and released the album on May 27, 2016 to fit with the 27 theme. Lauren sees the number 27 in other places as well: "Everytime I've looked at the clock today it's been __:27 weird," she once tweeted.
Along with a photo of the tattoo, Lauren posted a link to a numerology website which explains that people born on the 27th day of the month are believed to be "compassionate, highly intelligent and kind…true humanitarians, natural teachers, healers and counselors."
Birthday Elbow Luck Numerology Roman Numeral Serif / Typewriter
Tilly's
Models Own
Fifth Harmony singer Lauren Jauregui got her first tattoo on September 30, 2014. It's a dragonfly on the back of her neck which was done by artist Rocky Darkroads at Golden Daggers tattoo parlor in Los Angeles, CA.
She explained on her tumblr that the tattoo is a memorial for her deceased grandmother. In a post before getting it done, she wrote:
I actually really do want tattoos..my first one's gonna be a dragon fly for my grandma because when she passed I saw a dragon fly everywhere I went and it's kinda like a reminder that her spirit is still with me.
Dragonfly Golden Daggers Grandmother Memorial Neck Rocky Darkroads Silhouette
Soma Art Tattoo
Amina Buddafly
Olivia Buckland
Kaya Jones
Jess Bowen
Renee Phoenix


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Q: What is the source of wealth of the Potter family? Harry Potter was born into a wealthy family. He inherited lots of gold from his father. What did his father do to get so rich?
I have always been puzzled about how the wizards get rich. The Muggle economy is much larger and has more opportunities to become rich. What can wizards do to become rich? They cannot sell magical products/services to the Muggles. The wizard population is much smaller, so making money from this smaller market is much harder.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Q: Android remote device management without internet I'm trying to implement Android device administration on a range of company-owned devices. The network these devices will be on does not have an internet connection - It will only have Wi-Fi connection to the enterprise network.
I have the device working with a policy controller, all hard-coded into the app loaded via Android Studio.
My next step is creating an Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) console, but the documentation seems to explain that it's cloud-based and require Google accounts. Is there a way to implement this functionality on an offline secure network without Google accounts?

A: Yes, there is a way to implement device management functionality on an offline network.
Headwind MDM, the project I am working on, is a self hosted mobile device management solution which can manage Android devices without Internet connection (using Wi-Fi or private APN in mobile networks). Also, it is open source so you can adjust the code for your needs.
The only exception is that you may need Internet connection during the initial setup of your Android devices, because some models require access to Google Play Protect when installing the device owner application.


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New Year: ITUC-Africa Calls For Rebuilding Process In Post Covid-19
The African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has emphasized the need for a rebuilding process that leaves no one behind in the post COVID-19 pandemic era.
In a New Year message signed by its General Secretary, Kwasi Adu-Amankwah and made available to journalists, the ITUC-AFRICA listed debt forgiveness by creditors' economies, vaccine equality and widening of social protection nets to help fragile states from falling further into economic and social crises.
Adu-Amankwah said undoubtedly, 2021 has been a very tough one with the COVID-19 virus that continues to mutate and cause the endless spread of infection, worsening hospitalization and death.
He said, "Social protection for all is another core element of the new social contract. The access and coverage of the current social protection in Africa must be improved and expanded exponentially.
"We shall continue to demand the cessation of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) from Africa and progressive taxation administration to be applied. No one must be left behind. To achieve these will require conscious, collaborative, genuine and transparent efforts."
According to him, specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic has brutally exposed and exacerbated the fault lines between those who have access to social protection and those who do not, explaining that hundreds of millions of workers who have lost their jobs and livelihoods have been disproportionately excluded from social support.
He also added that women, migrants and those operating in the informal economy are the worst hit by the socio-economic assaults of the pandemic.
In his words, "Inequalities in access to the COVID-19 vaccine has been at the centre of debates in recent months. 70% of the vaccine doses produced in 2021 have been preempted by high-income countries. This has caused severe supply problems for low- and moderate-income countries, leading to large differences in immunization coverage.
"Across the African continent, only 10 in 100 people have received at least one dose, and only 4 in 100 are fully immunized.
"More than ever, human rights observance including economic and social rights, civil and political rights, are needed in responding to this health crisis.
"ITUC-Africa, therefore, calls on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as a matter of global emergency to relax the application of Intellectual Property Rights. This will allow developing countries with production capacities to produce and disseminate COVID-19 vaccines. We ask that organised businesses put people before profits."
According to him, it is also critical that vaccine doses promised to poor and developing economies are delivered.
Also, ITUC-Africa called on workers and Africans to go take the vaccines.
He pledged that the ITUC-AFRICA as as a workers union shall continue to rise above race, nationality, creed and language to reach out to anyone anywhere at any time that needs support
Archbishop Zuga Sends New Year Message To Nigerians
CCDI Applaud Gov Makinde, Development Partners For Ensuring Peace
Entertainment Events That Shaped 2021


See Aleksandra Petronijevic's bio and a news story at the University of Memphis web site.
• Scored 33 digs in a five-set victory over Marshall, then picked up 26 more in a four-set win against East Carolina. She added 10 assists and three aces.
• For the season Petronijevic is averaging 4.9 digs per set in Conference USA.
• An instant starter last year as a freshman, she's played in all 234 sets since then.
• Tauai led HCC to the Florida Gulf District title and a bid to next week's NJCAA National Championship. The Hawks beat eight-time national champion Miami Dade in the final.
• In four matches Tauai scored 62 kills, hit at .370 efficiency, and picked up 52 digs. Already named to this year's All-Florida team, she added state all-tournament honors.
• A freshman, Tauai leads Hillsborough in kills this season. HCC is returning to the NJCAA National Championship tourney for the first time since 2009.


Download "Lecture 1 Overview - Data Communications, Data Networks, and the Internet"
Text Book. 1. Computer Networks & Internets by Douglas E Comer. 2. Data and Computer Communication by William Stalling, 5th or above edition.
WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS: 3G VS.Wifi?
Testing Network Infrastructure February 2016 Dan Payerle IDEAL Networks Network Infrastructure The infrastructure of a network can be summarized into two categories, passive cabling and active equipment.


On the evening of Thursday the 19th of February, Brother Seth Alston received his Master Masons Degree in Masonry at Hillcrest Masonic Lodge. Seth has been very diligent in learning the work, and has even begun teaching members while he himself was still a student. The Master Masons Lodge was very well attended and had visiting members from Love Field Masonic Lodge. We were also assisted by Brother Rosco Canada from Love Field Lodge in a small part, and were happy to have his assistance and the fellowship from the men of Love Field in attendance. Brother David Ritter, who was only raised as a Master Mason less than two weeks ago, took a significant role upon himself for this degree, and did a very good job at it. Afterwards we took the photo shown below, and then all retired for food and refreshments.


Related Websites Plugin is free to download and install but before you get your API key that will make your blog full participant within the service – your blog have to be manually approved. I can tell you right away that Kevin Gillett, developer who also maintains the service is pretty strict and if you blog doesn't publish unique content – you can just ignore this post all together.
Niche blogs filled with PLR content will not pass the manual validation – so please don't try to submit it!
This very fact was what made me to continue using plugin even after I'm seeing some strange results. Getting incoming links from quality blogs is very important and manual approval process seem to ensure it, or so I continue to hope.
What Does Related Websites Plugin Do?
Related Websites dynamic link exchange. You can either insert a code where you want the related websites to be shown on your blog post or it will do it on its own. It really is up to you. You can't control which sites will appear but you do have control over number of sites and if you want to show excerpt or not as well as few styling options. Although name states "Related Websites" in my experience through observation on my own blog – relevance is not very high. And only the fact that blogs are decent quality makes me feel more comfortable about it.
Related Posts option. As a bonus you can display your own related posts on your posts and in your feed. Quite nice option if you don't already use some form of Related Posts plugin, as it allows you to create highly relevant internal links structure. I haven't tested this option as I use Simple Tags plugin to accomplish same but based on what I see on Jack's blog – it works very well.
Boost your authority through the above. Yep – number of incoming links from quality blogs "theoretically" should help you become more authoritative. I don't know how well this plugin will do for this option as I have been using for a short time and have no results to show.
Get you traffic. This one does work although I think it will greatly depend on quality of your headline writing. My own results are sub-par to say the least.
I have started using plugin about 2 weeks ago and while I have seen a quick and large boost of number of incoming links – it just dropped all of a sudden. I plan to give it a bit more of time to see if it improves but as you see in image below – I currently link out to more blogs then I get back.
I do have to say that there is a Paid version of the service that supposedly creates a more favorable spread of links and traffic but I haven't tested it so I can't speak on the fact. While I will continue to test the plugin – you might want to check it out for yourself, while free option is still available.
UPDATE 08/19/09: While you are still welcome to test the plugin for yourself – I have disabled it on my blog since number of links to me dropped to Zero. While I understand the underlying idea as stated by Kevin in comment below – personally I'm not satisfied with re-distribution of links plugin currently provides.
My personal recommendation – until author figures out how to create a consistent, even distribution of links don't install it or shoot for paid version as Kevin promises it will provide you with positive traffic flow. Big idea behind this plugin is to help you rank better and if Google were to use current numbers provided by this plugin – I link out to whole bunch of blogs getting nothing in return, sorry – not going to work for me.
Interesting concept, but I'm not too sure on it. If you're displaying a link on your site then you're pretty much saying that you recommend it. I'm not prepared to link to anything that I haven't personally checked out, be that a product or a site. I personally wouldnt feel comfortable linking to an unknown site, although I understand that others don't feel the same way.
I also monitor who is linking to me, and don't display pingbacks because of the number of splogs out there.
It's a very interesting concept though. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
.-= Melinda | WAHM Biz Builder´s last blog ..Hitting the Wall =-.
Understood – I used to be that way too.
Used to be? What changed?
.-= Melinda | WAHM Biz Builder´s last blog ..Oars and Bed, Above the Line or Below It? =-.
Well for one – understanding that blogs are not same as static site – you have to give a LOT of link love to get some in return. That doesn't mean it has to be low quality and that is why I made this post with understanding that people will check it for themselves. I liked enough the idea of manual approval of participating blogs so quality of links should remain decent.
As I have mentioned – it is still in evaluation but it does shows promise and I wanted to share. Will it work for you or not is a personal decision.
You know you brought a good point and I just changed "Related Websites" to "Possibly Related Blogs" to properly represent that it is only a possibility and not necessary recommendation.
.-= Premium Themes Directory´s last blog ..4 Top Premium WordPress Theme Clubs =-.
I have approved your comment as am exception since it was coming from actual human – but please review policy and next comment will be spammed if not complied.
Just looking at your stats page your links are on the way down because your destination traffic is higher than your source traffic. Also being a member gets your content a potential source for some of my other link building tools (like related tweets).
.-= Blog Traffic Exchange´s last blog ..Related Tweets =-.
I wish that "on its way down" would accurately describe the situation. As it stand right now number of sites and blog posts linking to me 50% down from even that low number shown in picture above.
exactly my point. until your traffic comes back into balance your links are not being shown and hence they are on the way down. The moment the traffic balances your links will be shown again. The links are all temporary and any limitation is also temporary. A pro account would not only stop the limiting but attempt to keep it running at a positive ratio.
Free accounts are limited to even or worse traffic exchange it is simply the way the free accounts work and a main reason why blogs with lots of quality content should become pro.
Please take me up on my one month free pro trial before making your decision.
.-= Blog Traffic Exchange´s last blog ..WordPress Plugins =-.
A SEO consultant told me that if Google had better ways to index pages and rank them then no one would look for ways like commenting to get backlinks. Of course nothing can stop the spammers. They are always there. Still that sliver of dedicated bloggers looking to elevate online discourse exists. Let's hope their efforts count for something. Thanks for the information on the software.
How are you getting on with this? I am very keen to see how well it works over longer periods. I suppose it's because I am very sceptical about any software that claims to improve your SEO.
.-= Robert´s last blog ..Ten Steps of SEO: Step 2 Keyword Research =-.
Why not try the free pro account trial that I am offering?
.-= Blog Traffic Exchange´s last blog ..Increase Traffic To Your Blog, pt3 =-.
Kevin, it is actually simple – one month might not be enough to see the SEO benefits of using this plugin and my budget currently doesn't include paying $20 for something that hasn't proven itself yet.
Thanks for the offer but I will have to decline it. I did state in my Note that your paid membership, according to you ,offers more even distribution of traffic to be fair to all sides.
Sounds great…but the site is not working actually.
.-= jafeth´s last blog ..HOW TO GET MORE TRAFFIC WITH YOUR BLOG – DO FOLLOW LISTS =-.
I must I agree with you when it comes to paying for untested software, still I wonder if there genuine ground-breaking SEO software out there.
Thanks for keeping us posted about your evaluation of these apps.


TUESDAY, Jan. 25, 2005 (HealthDayNews) -- Using specialized genetic techniques, German scientists redirected immune cells to aggressively attack and kill cancer cells, says a study in the January issue of Immunity.
This research provides new understanding about how to prompt the immune system to specifically and efficiently target cancer cells, and may provide the basis for development of new immunotherapy to treat cancer, the researchers said.
Cancer cells produce and display large amounts of proteins called tumor- and leukemia-associated antigens (TAA and LAA), which are recognized by immune cells. But many normal cells and tissues also display small amounts of TAA. The body has a certain level of tolerance that prevents immune cells from launching a vigorous attack on cancer cells.
This, in part, has made it difficult to use immune system/TAA interactions to develop immunotherapies to treat cancer, the researchers said.
The German scientists used genetic methods to circumvent this self-tolerance and redirect key human immune cells to attack cancer cells.
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about the immune system.


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My take on Stardock « previous next »
Author Topic: My take on Stardock (Read 58034 times)
Frogboy
Re: My take on Stardock
Quote from: Zelnik on December 12, 2017, 05:03:32 pm
Their posterboys and spokespeople have lied to us and performed some really dodgy business practices all in an effort to make a buck. They even tried to deflect by saying they would send royalties to P and F.
Sorry. They are right up there with Blizzard and EA. Corrupt and backstabbing.
Are you planning to contribute anything to the community other than negativity?
Stardock owns Star Control. That includes the classic series. It has the publishing rights for the classic series as well. There is disagreement on what those publishing rights entail (obviously) as those products have content that was licensed from P&F under various terms and conditions. The legal folks will straighten things out, ideally in a way that satisfies everyone.
Scalare
Quote from: Frogboy on December 12, 2017, 08:52:05 pm
Thanks for staying adultlike, also in the legal conflict.
Zelnik
I LOVE KITTENS, AND PONIES. STYGIAN IS BEST PONY.
ALSO I REALLY DISAGREE WITH FROGBOY AND THINK HE HAS NOT BEEN ENTIRELY HONEST
« Last Edit: January 12, 2018, 05:32:49 pm by Death 999 » Logged
Krulle
*Hurghi*! Krulle is *spitting* again!
We do mot know what happens behimd the curtains.
There are lawyers involved, so they'll keep a lid on it at least until there is agreement.
Quote from: Zelnik on January 11, 2018, 02:36:17 am
I'm trying to find nice words for the sentence buck off and never return
Orz?
Do you want to *squirt*?
All I'm gonna say is this:
Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars flopped. The devs didn't seem to "get it" in terms of what made the originals (particularly Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares) so appealing (mechanically and otherwise) as to stand the test of time after so many years. They didn't even come close. They thought "if we make it a Hollywoodesque/Disney-like 'cinematic' experience with the likes of Luke Skywanker and other sci-fi Star Wreck 'legends' contributing their voice-overs to it... everyone would surely loooove it, nostalgics and newcomers alike, and we're gonna make lotsa, lotsa money!"
Civilization: Beyond Earth, the alleged "spiritual successor" to Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, also flopped. Didn't hit the mark. Faaaaaar from it. Heart was in the wrong place. It was basically just a "skin mod" for Civ 5 in an attempt to milk money from all those nostalgics. Yeah, sure, you could argue the X-COM reboot, on the other hand, didn't flop. But as far as I could tell: it had nothing whatsoever of X-Com: UFO Defense in it save the brand name. It could be a "massive success" for all I care, but not because they slapped the X-COM brand on it. (For what it's worth, OpenXcom is the real "successor" here. By a long, looooong stretch.)
Likewise, the upcoming System Shock reboot and prequel (?), will likely flop too. Because of the same marketing gimmick: "let's turn the game into a Hollywood/Disney interactive movie"! That, and twisting SHODAN into yet another softporn, eye-candy female villain cuz "that will surely sell!" After all, you gotta have at lest one hyper-sexualized female character nowadays, right? (For those who don't know what I'm talking about: SHODAN was an artificial intelligence referred to as both an "it" and even a "he" in the original game—no genders attached.)
And so, unfortunately and regrettably (but not surprisingly or unexpectedly) Star Control: Origins will... probably also flop. Once again, the devs seem to have their hearts in the wrong place: profit over creativity, and flashy 'Michael-Bay' visuals over gameplay, character & story first and foremost. They focus so much on the "skin" that it ends up being a completely "soulless" product by the time it's released—an imitation and mimicry at best. Yet a cash-cow to be milked dry all the same, even if for only "5 minutes of fame".
Bottom line is this: the gaming industry is not the same as it used to be. It has lost its former "innocence", sad as it may be. It's basically the new Hollywood/Disney now, purely driven by greed and profit. And in this age of "nostalgic revival", they will psychologically prey on the weakness because they understand "nostalgia equals easy, safe, risk-free money" in their cold, calculating schemes.
It doesn't matter if these game are shit in the end, because they know people will still click that big, bold "BUY ME" button as they frantically drool "TAKE MY MONEY!" at the screen, like mindless zombies. Yes, these game will probably still appeal to the 15-year old audiences of today who will have a "touch n' go" with them and jump to the next flashy game right afterwards. Save for a few exceptions, video games are just not made for the same reasons anymore.
No, nowadays gaming studios are all about (a) maximizing profit by (b) appealing to the widest audience/demographic (wanky teens to old dicks) whilst (c) making the game as addictive as possible (hence the pervasiveness of "microtransactions", "loot-boxes", "season passes", "DLCs", and so on, in every major triple-A title). They are essentially creating virtual slot-machine casinos disguised as video games. And I can't support that kind of psychological exploit.
So although I may not "like" Zelnik's tone either, I understand where they are coming from. (Blizzard died after Warcraft III when it sold its proverbial soul to the devil and joined the "We're In It For The Big Fat Bucks" club alongside Disney, Microsoft, EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Capcom, Rockastar, et al).
But they aren't worst than those who continue to click that big, bold, "BUY ME" button. No, the biggest culprit here is the consumer who continues to consume the product they are being sold—and the addicts that defend their vice.
After all, they do say "don't bite the hand that feeds", right?
Apologies if any this comes off as too harsh or abrasive; just some raw, undiluted, brutal honesty!
It's just an internet forum, don't take too much offense for it!
Food for though!
(Didn't bother reading the entire thread/topic, but got the gist of it, so probably shouldn bother replying to this post as it is not meant to initiate or perpetuate any kind of flame war.)
EDIT: Perhaps it wasn't the most clever idea to drop this post amidst such animosity. So I'll just add this: should we be having this conversation face-to-face, everything would reveal itself to be said in a much more amicable (and why not, humorous) tone than it otherwise may appear at first glance over the impersonal "wall" that is the interwebs
« Last Edit: January 13, 2018, 08:30:10 pm by Orz? » Logged
It is better not to *frumple* or else there is so much problems. Better parties in *the middle* for sure.
Quote from: Orz? on January 12, 2018, 08:28:38 pm
Lots of your claims might be partially true, at least according to your own perspective. But you shouldn't necessarily underestimate how the (rosy retrospection bias), might be influencing your own perspective. Things weren't necessarily just flowers and roses in the past either.
« Last Edit: January 12, 2018, 08:55:25 pm by Zanthius » Logged
I ALSO LOVE KITTENS AND PONIES. HOWEVER, MOONDANCER IS BEST PONY.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2018, 05:23:11 am by Death 999 » Logged
having opinions is OK. Even opinions lots of us disagree with. Even opinions that I disagree with, or you disagree with.
But personal attacks are not so OK. And it gets much less OK when they are unfounded, hyperbolic, overgeneralized, and/or intensely personal.
Also, issuing cryptic statements that can come across as threatening is not so great, even if the threat is mild.
The comparison with the new MOO and other recent games that have tried to revive old franchises is an interesting one.
Did the lead designer of those games hang out on the fan community sites for years before release listening to feedback and interacting with the fan community?
Because with Star Control, I'm here. I've been here for years. If the game comes out and isn't good, I'll be here.
If Stardock wanted a quick cash grab with Star Control, the smart thing would have been to:
Just use the classic aliens and make it with Unity and have released it years ago.
Instead, we've created a brand new game engine around Star Control in order to do it right. We also, out of respect for Paul and Fred, spent the past four years with a team of writers crafting an extensive lore and background in the Scryve universe in order to leave the Ur-Quan universe alone.
Some of you have the Fleet Battles beta so hopefully its quality, even at this early stage, speaks for itself. And when people are traveling to thousands of worlds in which they can travel across the surface of the planet finding quests, precursor relics, minerals, etc. and then travel through hyperspace where they can customize not just what their ship does but what it visually looks like and then download new missions and new universes made by the fans and by us, I am hopeful that people will see that the team making the new Star Control are dedicated.
We know Star Control, its history, the Ur-Quan lore, the notes, etc. inside and out. We've read every IRC chat log, every book that Paul suggested we read, every interview, all the lore, etc. so that we know not just what Star Control I, II (and yes, III) was about but also to understand the mindset that surrounded it when it was being made.
> Just use the classic aliens and make it with Unity and have released it years ago.
That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If you had the rights to that, you could do what you're doing now, but with SC1&2 aliens, and I don't think anyone would be complaining.
Quote from: Death 999 on January 18, 2018, 08:45:30 pm
Paul and Fred had asked us not to and as a a pretty die hard fan, I wanted to make them happy. By contrast, MoneyGrab corp. wouldn't have cared what Paul and Fred wanted.
Now, if I'd known that our gesture wasn't going to be treated with the good will I thought it had earned, we would likely have been more inclined to use the aliens and it is still something we may consider post-release at least in terms of cameos and in terms of helping tie it all together. But that's a different issue.
Let me interject, that I am personally rather glad you did not.
Honestly, I also fear that any continuation of the story will feel like a let-down.
The original SC2 left so many things open, with just some vague hints at a possible solution, that there was plenty of room for any imagination to fill any gaps.
That was part of the allure to me and my friends.
Filling that gap with more story bears the risk of us overanalyzing friends of finding inconsistencies which will destroy the memory of a pleasant game.
And not leaving many points open will also not feel like a SC2 experience.
So, for every open question to be filled, I expect three new blanks to be opened.
(And none of my friends and me had any issues with the inconsistencies between SC1 and SC2. It was part of the shift from a simple missions game to a full story game.
We never treated SC1 as a "fixed story", also because you could write your own missions.)
But changing parts of the "fixed story" of SC2 to fit in the enw setting of GotP? That'll be harder to accept.
I will take the coming game any way: as a real try to continue the lure of SC2 (and thus risking more open ends I want to be filled by more sequels), or as a try to close off the story and end most open questions (risking that the game will be less enjoyable, as it'll leave less to imagination).
I simply want it.
And the more I've read about StarDock's try, the more I want to play it.
But I fear that StarDock's game might get rather complex, and will take a while to learn the ins and outs to play, and as a father of three, I am hard pressed for time.
Anyway, just like SC3, I'll put it in my shelf, likely. Just to have it. (Yes, I became such a StarControl fan.)
I am looking forward to both new games, and I thank StarDock for not going the straight way. (Although I might have bought that game anyway, and then felt like being cheated as too many answers would've been delivered on a silver plate, like SC3/Kessari Quadrant did.)
Quote from: Death 999 on January 16, 2018, 05:23:00 am
I didn't mean it, I just hoped he would retaliate in a worse way and you would ban him as a result (or he would leave on his own accord).
Besides that, if I am so successful at threatening across the ocean and through telephone and glass fibre wires, I really should change my profession.
Soul Reaver
Frungy champion
I can understand the overall gist of what Orz? is saying above, though there isn't much that can be done about it.
The fact is that video game development in the modern world is a costly exercise at the best of times. It used to be something done by tinkering nerds in their basement (read about how Richard Garriott made Akalabeth, for example) and could be done by a small number of people working together.
But the demand for better sound, better graphics, and more polish comes with increasing demands on staff. You can't have some amateur doing a bunch of wonky pixel art, as most people want it to look smooth and good. You can't have the neighbourhood radio station providing voice acting, it needs to be Patrick Stewart now. All these things cost money, and lots of it. Making a videogame becomes a huge gamble, because it's no longer about doing it just for fun - if it doesn't sell, you're now bankrupt.
The offshoot of this is that high quality games need to appeal to the largest audience possible, and as such, they are far more likely to attempt to play it safe - that includes creating sequels to existing, nostalgia-inducing licenses to try and secure a 'guaranteed' audience, while also making it 'approachable for a new generation'!
In many cases the two don't mix well. Having anyone but the original authors making a sequel to an old game almost never ends up recapturing the same feel of the original. "They changed it, so it sucks!" will be the warcry of all the grognards who loved the original, for they loved it for its warts and all. Keeping it too close to the original however will not capture much of a new audience, and the grognards tend to be the (vocal) minority, so don't expect a lot of things to be pitched only to them.
There are exceptions: some indie developers, typically with much lower budgets, do experiment and try new things (things like Undertale, Super Meat Boy/Binding of Isaac spring to mind) but for every success there are a ton of failures - not always because the games were bad, but because they just never reached the critical mass word of mouth needed to make them popular.
Stardock is probably in a similar situation. I doubt they want to put out a game that doesn't live up to our nostalgia googles version of Star Control 1 and 2, but (and maybe I'm a cynic) I doubt they'll be able to recapture the same feel of the originals. This is almost inevitable - everyone has their own writing stylem, and that style evolves over time. If you replace the writers for a certain established series with someone else, or even the same writers, if enough time has lapsed - no matter how passionate they might be - you'll end up with something that feels more like fan-ficiton. Either it will feel like they're trying too hard to ape past glories or the new things they add will feel out of place. It's a no-win scenario either way.
For my part, I haven't been following Star Control: Origins very much, but a lot of what Zelnick says does resonate with me in the sense that it may have been "missing the point". One of endearing things about Star Control was that humans were both technologically and socially rather primitive compared to most of the other races and really just got caught up in a greater conflict by accident, so having a plot based on other species fearing mankind's rapid development sounds like a case of someone not really getting that aspect of it.
One thing I would add though: Zelnik's venom seems to come heavily from how he (she?) percieves as 'scummy' business practices by Stardock. Zelnik is poor at making his point because of how angry he is, and is so abrasive that I wouldn't be surprised if he got banned from their forums for that reason alone. However, the posts on on F&P's blog (https://dogarandkazon.squarespace.com/) make it pretty clear that either F&P or Stardock are not being honest here. Either Stardock respects F&P as the creators and rightsholders of Star Control and F&P are just posting stuff to make Stardock look bad (for some reason), or Stardock is legally overreaching and are activley acting against F&P's wishes for the game/unverse they themselves own the rights to.
Of the two parties, I feel like I trust F&P more, since I don't understand what would be in it for them to lie. I find it hard to reconcile the supposed love and care that Frogboy states Stardock has for the Star Control universe with the apparent lack of respect shown to F&P's wishes (legal rights notwithstanding). This in turn makes me wary of anything else Frogboy has said, even if he's said it much more politely than Zelnick. Actions speak louder than words.
« Last Edit: January 22, 2018, 12:46:52 am by Soul Reaver » Logged
Go to www.warpstormstudios.com/uqmmod for my dialogue and visual fixes for UQM and UQMHD!


Two years after passage of the revised Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), tribal courts have finally been granted authority over the investigation and prosecution of non-Natives charged with domestic violence on reservations. VAWA, originally passed in 1994, aims to address violent crimes against women by dedicating federal dollars to the investigation and prosecution of criminals who perpetuate violent acts against women.
When the act was reauthorized in 2013 despite staunch opposition from some members of the Republican Party, a component of the law launched a pilot program that finally vested members of the 556 federally recognized tribes to criminally prosecute outside members.
Before now, non-Natives who committed crimes of domestic violence or violated protection orders against tribal victims on reservations were held under the jurisdiction of federal or state law enforcement. This posed many issues, as these entities tend to function far from tribal land and lack resources necessary to address such issues head on and have been known to have an insufficient understanding of Native life. Also, because of the complicated conviction process, perpetrators often escaped prosecution, leaving the victims feeling doubly betrayed and powerless.
The VAWA reauthorization didn't come easy. House Republicans came close to knocking down the bill in 2013. Vice President Joe Biden, original Senate sponsor of the bill's 1994 version, negotiated with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) in order to push through and finally pass the revision with backing from most Democrats.
Now, tribal law enforcement carries the power to handle these pertinent cases.
"This is a major step forward to protect the safety of Native people, and we thank all members of Congress for passing the Violence Against Women Act of 2013 and recognizing tribal authority," said president of the National Congress of Indians, Brian Cladoosby.
Native American women face some of the nation's highest rates of sexual assault. Three out of five have been assaulted in their lifetime and 59 percent of the assaults take place at or near private residences, says the National Congress of American Indians.
As part of VAWA's 2014 pilot project, three tribes adopted the new measures. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and the Tulalip Tribes, were approved by the U.S. Attorney General after submitting detailed procedural plans. As of now, they've charged 26 offenders under the revamped bill.
Any proposed means of lessening the shocking rate of violence against Native women is worth consideration. The fact that this major resolution has reached a point of action is incredibly exciting. The law is one more step toward righting historical wrongs and is a common sense approach that allows Natives, and particularly female Natives, recourse to the justice system.
As of Saturday, March 7, tribes may opt-in to the program.
Such good work you are doing. Thank you.


Water hyacinth is a free-floating aquatic plant in the Pickerel-Weed family (Pontederiaceae) imported into North America in 1884 for an exposition in New Orleans. New introductions are probably the result of improper disposal of pond plants or when ponds adjacent to local water bodies overflow with rains. Water hyacinth is readily available for purchase as an ornamental plant of ponds and outdoor water gardens in Ontario, where it is not a regulated species. Naturalized populations have caused widespread ecological, economic and recreational impacts.
Water hyacinth is native to the upper Amazon River basin in South America but its distribution is now widespread around tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Populations are generally found in warmer southern United States, located around the Gulf of Mexico and California, but have also been reported in many northern states and in isolated locations in Ontario (Essex County). It is assumed to not overwinter or naturalize in these locations because of the cold climate.
Out competes and/or displaces native species for space, light, and nutrients.
Reduced oxygen levels under water hyacinth mats can alter the composition of invertebrate and fish communities. This occurs because thick mats of water hyacinth block the air-water interface.
Slow down water flow, blocks irrigation canals, delays hydroelectric and water treatment plants.
Interferes with recreational activities such as boating, swimming and fishing.
Threatens biodiversity and human health by creating prime habitat for disease vectors, such as mosquitoes.
Leaves are floating or emergent and form a rosette.
Leaf blades are bright green, thick and glossy, egg-shaped to round, on an inflated leafstalk that is filled with spongy tissue.
Roots are fibrous, dark purple/black and hang beneath the rosette.
Flowers are loosely clustered with 4-15 flowers on a spike above the rosette, six blue-violet petals with one petal being deeper violet with a yellow spot.
Fruit is a capsule with many seeds.
Stolons extend outward from the parent plant to produce new plants.
Learn how to identify water hyacinth and how to prevent accidentally spreading this plant with your watercraft.
Do not plant water hyacinth in your pond or water garden. Water gardeners should only use native or non-invasive plants and are encouraged to ask garden centers for plants that are not invasive.
Never release unwanted plants into any natural waterbody. Return or donate unwanted plants to a garden center, a school or a friend, or dispose of them in the garbage.
Avoid infested areas or reduce your speed when travelling by water hyacinth infestations; boat wake can separate offsets and allow them to spread.
Always inspect your boat and boating equipment, and remove any plants, animals and mud that are visible before leaving the water body.
Rinse all recreational equipment with high pressure (>250 psi), hot water (50°C / 122°F) OR let it dry in the sun for at least 5 days.
If you find water hyacinth or other invasive species in the wild, please contact the toll-free Invading Species Hotline at 1-800-563-7711, or visit EDDMapS Ontario to report a sighting.
OFAH/OMNRF Invading Species Awareness Program. (2012). Water Hyacinth. Retrieved from: www.invadingspecies.com.