I caught this podcast a few weeks back on NPR. If you never listen to Radiolab, it airs every Sunday night at 8:00 on Atlanta's WABE 90.1 FM. Radiolab is a brilliantly produced show that runs the gamut of subjects, and it always parts with some compelling questions for the listener. If you check it out and decide you hate it, then we subsequently meet in the ether and chance upon the topic. . . please lie to me and say you like it too. It's kinda my bag.
In this particular episode, there is a discussion on perfect pitch, another on why we find certain sounds and types of music soothing or angering. It even gets a little existential at the end, if that's your thing. What else do you really expect from NPR? It's worth a listen if you have any interest in music whatsoever.
On a side note, I think Jar Jar Binks was a horrible character that singlehandedly ruined The Phantom Menace. Non-sequiteur, but I really needed to get that off my chest. Life's too short to let that kind of stuff eat you up.
‹ Why I wish music were not so ubiquitous.


1. I will be giving a paper, "Leibnizian Mereology of Duration and Change", at the Society for Exact Philosophy meeting at York University, May 15-17, 2019.
1. November 9, 2018, presented "Monadic States: Leibniz's Law of Continuity and the Discreteness of Change" at the conference staged by the Leibnizian Society of the Central Europe jointly with SELLF, Leibniz et Leibniziennes, at the Centre for Theoretical Studies, Charles University, Prague.
2. November 8, 2018, presented "On the Hegelian Roots of Russell's Critique of Leibniz" at the Centre for Formal Epistemology, Institute of Philosophy, Prague.
3. November 7, 2018, presented a paper to SPHERE at Paris 7, "Monadic States: Leibniz's Law of Continuity and the Discreteness of Change".
4. October 11-14, 2018: attended the LSNA and SELLF joint conference in Montréal, where I presented a plenary lecture, "Les monads comme constituants des corps" on Oct 13.
5. May 17-18, 2018: co-organized and co-hosted a workshop on the history and philosophy of time, at the Università degli Studi di Milano; presented a paper, "Neither A nor B", on the 18th..
6. May 11, 2018: presented "Local Time Flow and Relativity" to the Centre for the Philosophy of Time in the Dipartimento di Filosofia, Università degli Studi di Milano.
7. May 8-10, 2018: gave a course of 4 lectures in the Dipartimento di Filosofia, Università degli Studi di Milano, as Visiting Research Fellow in the Dipartimento di Filosofia.
8. April 16-20: attended the 45th International Conference in the Philosophy of Science at the IUC in Dubrovnik, where I gave a talk on "Local Time Flow and Relativity".


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Saint-Nicolas (pron. fr. AFI: ) è un comune italiano di 327 abitanti della Valle d'Aosta.

Citazioni

Geografia fisica

Territorio

A fianco al paese scorre il torrente Gaboé, che dà vita al particolare fenomeno geologico dei calanchi, qui detti "piramidi di terra".
Sono numerosi i percorsi attrezzati per mountain bike e le passeggiate che partono dal paese, come quelle nel "Bois de la Tour", il bosco corredato dal percorso didattico-naturalistico del promontorio sopra il paese.

 Classificazione sismica: zona 4 (sismicità molto bassa)

Clima

Origini del nome
In passato la zona dell'attuale comune di Saint-Nicolas era denominata Cyvoix (in francese, ca. da questa parte della voce - pron. AFI: ), opposto a Voix (= voce - ), che indicava l'attuale comune di Rhêmes-Saint-Georges, per l'eco prodotta dalle pareti della val di Rhêmes. La parola greca Rhêma, che denomina la valle, ha lo stesso significato.

Storia
Nel 1869, nei pressi della chiesa è stata scoperta una necropoli neolitica. Il Museo dell'Accademia di Sant'Anselmo conserva due due braccialetti rinvenuti nelle tombe a cista.

Amedeo IV di Savoia nel 1244 concesse a Guillaume de Sarriod di costruire una casaforte nella frazione di Sarriod, da cui deriva il nome della nobile famiglia.

In epoca fascista, il comune fu accorpato a quello di Villanova Baltea.

Simboli
Lo stemma comunale e il gonfalone sono stati concessi con decreto del presidente della Repubblica del 25 marzo 1993.

Lo stemma municipale si ispira a quello dei nobili Sarriod, originari del paese, di cui si hanno notizie già dal XII secolo (d'argento, alla banda d'azzurro caricata di tre leoncelli illeoparditi d'oro, linguati di rosso).

Il gonfalone è un drappo di azzurro.

Monumenti e luoghi d'interesse

 il bosco - parco didattico "Bois de la Tour"
 il monumento a Jean-Baptiste Cerlogne, nel bois de la Tour
 Nel villaggio di Sarriod sorgeva in epoca medievale la Casaforte dei Sarriod
 La Chiesa parrocchiale di San Nicola, in località La Cure
 i calanchi detti piramidi di terra

Cultura

Biblioteche
In frazione Fossaz Dessous ha sede la biblioteca comunale.

Musei
A Saint-Nicolas si trovano tre musei:
Museo Jean-Baptiste Cerlogne (Musée Cerlogne), in località La Cure
Centre d'études francoprovençales René Willien", in località Fossaz-Dessus
Museo Gerbore e mostra "L'epoca dei Pionieri", in località Lyveroulaz

Il Centre d'études francoprovençales (CEFP)

Nel villaggio di Fossaz-dessus si trova la sede di uno dei più importanti centri di studio della lingua francoprovenzale.

Il Musée Joseph Gerbore
Il museo Gerbore (Musée Joseph Gerbore), situato al villaggio di Lyverloulaz, ha come scopo di presentare l'impatto della meccanizzazione dell'agricoltura sulla vita dei Valdostani, attraverso l'esperienza di Giuseppe Gerbore (1900-1982) (Joseph Gerbore). Questo progetto museale, finanziato dal comune di Saint-Nicolas, dalla regione Valle d'Aosta e dall'Unione europea, ha permesso l'allestimento della mostra Le temps des pionniers, nella Maison de la Tôr, al centro del villaggio di Lyveroulaz.

Società

Evoluzione demografica

Economia

Artigianato
Importante e tipica è la lavorazione del legno finalizzata alla realizzazione di vari oggetti, quali statuine e sabot.

Amministrazione
Di seguito è presentata una tabella relativa alle amministrazioni che si sono succedute in questo comune.

Altre informazioni amministrative
Il comune fa parte dell'Unité des Communes valdôtaines Grand-Paradis.

Note

Bibliografia

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Comuni della Valle d'Aosta

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


McDonald's Japan activates NFC Pay on March 13. Customers can use smartphones or plastic for contactless payment.
A year after McDonald's Japan announced full global NFC support the final piece of the contactless payment puzzle falls into place on March 13 when they activate NFC Pay contactless payments for Visa, Mastercard, American Express and JCB. The full press release is here.
It's nice that the big NFC Pay contactless logo on the reader finally means something for Inbound customers who want to use it. Japanese Apple Pay users can also have fun playing with the iOS 11 Apple Pay NFC switching feature without going abroad.
But what about all those Inbound Chinese mainlanders who use nothing but WePay and AliPay QR codes for contactless payments? They spend far more in Japan than those stingy inbound westerners. I predict McDonald's Japan will add a QR payment option at some point and it will see far more use than NFC Pay.


text:
Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward is a casual video game developed by Portuguese studio GameInvest with Camel Entertainment and published by O-Games on June 16, 2009 in North America. The game is a simulation/strategy that bears a striking resemblance to the popular Diner Dash franchise.

Gameplay
Hysteria Hospital tasks users with coordinating the management of a hospital. The goal of the game is to accumulate money over time by serving patients. Users can purchase new equipment such as X-Ray machines to meet the demands of their patients. Main gameplay elements involve diagnosing patients, and moving them to the applicable local facilities if available (or the ambulance to get sent elsewhere). Patients are moved by dragging them to different areas. A nurse is controllable by clicking on objects, and performs chores such as fetching prescriptions, making beds and cleaning waste.

Reception

The game was met with very mixed to negative reception upon release.  GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 51% and 45 out of 100 for the DS version, and 50.30% and 53 out of 100 for the Wii version.

See also
Diner Dash

References

External links
Official game site

2009 video games
Nintendo DS games
Wii games
Windows games
Casual games
Business simulation games
Medical video games
Video games developed in Portugal
Oxygen Games games
Single-player video games


:60 with Jerrod Niemann Music never stops. Get the Vevo App! http://smarturl.it/vevoapps The clock is ticking and the answers are flying. Vevo's new ':60 With' show puts artists in the hot seat, demanding quick responses to cool questions – a wild ride for the interviewees and fans who want to know more about them. How ..
Check out this very witty Kickstarter short film campaign for iCoil! Support this campaign and check out this cool product now by clicking here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1043847974/icoil-the-most-convenient-way-to-charge-your-devic?ref=nav_search Directed by Matt Hoffman, Produced by BluFire Studios Music – Duel Of The Fates from Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace – John Williams;London Voices "Hedwig's Theme from Harry ..


Vila Velha restaurant opened its doors in 1995. Vila Velha stands for all things traditional, both in style of building & decoration and the wide ranging traditional menu. You are guaranteed a warm and friendly welcome when you enter this relaxing and charming atmosphere. In the winter a cosy fire awaits you and in summer the restaurant is fully air conditioned.
The restaurant has 50 seats inside, while the covered terrace seats 20. Everyone is welcome and our staff is able to speak 5 languages so there is no barrier to all enjoying this wonderful experience.
Copyright (c) 2009 Vila Velha. All rights reserved.


text:
Merck Manual
About Merck
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ENGLISH FRANÇAIS (FRENCH) Other Languages
Bacterial Infections: Spirochetes /
Leptospirosis /
Bejel, Yaws, and Pinta
Larry M. Bush
, MD, FACP, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University
Full review/revision Nov 2022
Bacteria Culture Test
Leptospirosis is a potentially serious infection caused by Leptospira, which are spiral-shaped bacteria called spirochetes (see figure ).
Most people are infected through contact with contaminated soil or water during outdoor activities.
Fever, headache, and other symptoms occur in two phases, separated by a few days.
A severe, potentially fatal form damages many organs, including the liver and kidneys.
Detecting antibodies against the bacteria in blood or identifying the bacteria in a sample taken from infected tissue confirms the diagnosis.
Infections are treated with antibiotics and, if severe, sometimes with fluids given intravenously and dialysis.
(See also Overview of Bacteria Overview of Bacteria Bacteria are microscopic, single-celled organisms. They are among the earliest known life forms on earth. There are thousands of different kinds of bacteria, and they live in every conceivable... read more .)
Leptospirosis occurs in many wild and domestic animals, including rats, mice, and dogs, and farm animals such as cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and pigs. Some animals act as carriers and pass the bacteria in their urine. Others become ill and die. People acquire these infections directly through contact with infected animals or indirectly through soil or water contaminated by urine from an infected animal.
Leptospirosis is an occupational disease of farmers and sewer and slaughterhouse workers. However, in the United States, most people become infected during outdoor activities when they come in contact with contaminated soil or fresh water, particularly while swimming or wading. Outside the United States, outbreaks have occurred after heavy rainfall or freshwater flooding. Leptospira can survive for several weeks to months in sources of fresh water (such as lakes and ponds). However, they can survive for only a few hours in salt water.
The 100 to 200 infections reported every year in the United States occur mainly in the late summer and early fall. Because mild leptospirosis typically causes vague, flu-like symptoms that go away on their own, many infections are probably unreported.
Symptoms of Leptospirosis
In about 90% of infected people, leptospirosis symptoms are not serious. In the rest, the disorder involves many organs. This potentially fatal form of leptospirosis is called Weil syndrome Weil syndrome Leptospirosis is a potentially serious infection caused by Leptospira, which are spiral-shaped bacteria called spirochetes (see figure ). Most people are infected through contact with... read more .
Leptospirosis usually occurs in two phases:
First phase (septicemic phase): About 5 to 14 days after infection occurs, fever, headache, sore throat, severe muscle aches in the calves and back, and chills occur suddenly. The eyes usually become very red on the third or fourth day. Some people cough, occasionally bringing up blood, and have chest pain. Most people recover within about 1 week.
Second phase (immune phase): In some people, symptoms return a few days later. They result from inflammation caused by the immune system as it eliminates the bacteria from the body. The fever returns, and the tissues covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges) may become inflamed. This inflammation (meningitis Acute Bacterial Meningitis Acute bacterial meningitis is rapidly developing inflammation of the layers of tissue that cover the brain and spinal cord (meninges) and of the fluid-filled space between the meninges (subarachnoid... read more ) causes a stiff neck and headache. The lungs can be severely damaged.
If leptospirosis develops during pregnancy, the risk of miscarriage Miscarriage A miscarriage is the loss of a fetus before 20 weeks of pregnancy. Miscarriages may occur because of a problem in the fetus (such as a genetic disorder or birth defect) or in the woman (such... read more is increased.
Weil syndrome
Weil syndrome can occur during the second phase. It causes fever, jaundice Jaundice in Adults In jaundice, the skin and whites of the eyes look yellow. Jaundice occurs when there is too much bilirubin (a yellow pigment) in the blood—a condition called hyperbilirubinemia. (See also Overview... read more (yellowish discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes that is caused by liver damage), kidney failure, and a tendency to bleed. People may have nosebleeds or cough up blood, or bleeding may occur within tissues in the skin, lungs, and, less commonly, digestive tract. Anemia can develop. Although the liver and kidneys are the organs most commonly affected, the lungs and heart may also be severely affected.
People who do not develop jaundice recover. About 5 to 10% of people with jaundice die, and this percentage is higher in those over age 60. Risk of death is higher if changes in mental function, kidney failure, respiratory failure, and internal bleeding occur.
Diagnosis of Leptospirosis
Culture of blood and urine samples or sometimes a sample of cerebrospinal fluid (obtained by spinal tap)
Blood tests for leptospirosis antibodies or genetic material
Doctors suspect leptospirosis when characteristic symptoms occur in people who have traveled to an area where an outbreak is occurring.
To confirm the diagnosis of leptospirosis, doctors take a sample of blood and urine. These samples are analyzed.
If people have symptoms of meningitis, doctors do a spinal tap Spinal Tap Diagnostic procedures may be needed to confirm a diagnosis suggested by the medical history and neurologic examination. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a simple, painless procedure in which... read more (lumbar puncture) to obtain a sample of the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord (cerebrospinal fluid).
Usually, several samples are taken over several weeks. These samples are sent to a laboratory to grow (culture) the bacteria.
Identifying the bacteria in cultures or, more commonly, detecting antibodies against the bacteria in blood confirms the diagnosis. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Genetic diagnostic technologies are scientific methods that are used to understand and evaluate an organism's genes. (See also Genes and Chromosomes.) Genes are segments of deoxyribonucleic... read more , which produces many copies of a gene, may be used. It helps doctors diagnose leptospirosis quickly.
Prevention of Leptospirosis
The antibiotic doxycycline can prevent leptospirosis. It is given by mouth once a week to people who are likely to be exposed to the bacteria—for example, people who live in or travel to an area where an outbreak of leptospirosis is occurring.
Treatment of Leptospirosis
For Weil syndrome, possibly blood transfusions and hemodialysis
Mild infections are treated with antibiotics, such as amoxicillin, ampicillin, and doxycycline, given by mouth.
For severe infections, antibiotics such as penicillin, ampicillin, or ceftriaxone are given by vein (intravenously). Fluids containing salts may also be given.
People with severe infection (Weil syndrome) may need blood transfusions and, if they have kidney failure, they may need hemodialysis Hemodialysis Dialysis is an artificial process for removing waste products and excess fluids from the body, a process that is needed when the kidneys are not functioning properly. There are a number of reasons... read more .
People with the infection do not have to be isolated, but care must be taken when handling and disposing of their urine.
The following English-language resource may be useful. Please note that THE MANUAL is not responsible for the content of this resource.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Leptospirosis: Comprehensive information about leptospirosis, including links for risk, prevention in people, and prevention in pets
Drugs Mentioned In This Article
Select Brand Names
Acticlate, Adoxa, Adoxa Pak, Avidoxy, Doryx, Doxal, Doxy 100, LYMEPAK, Mondoxyne NL, Monodox, Morgidox 1x, Morgidox 2x , Okebo, Oracea, Oraxyl, Periostat, TARGADOX, Vibramycin, Vibra-Tabs
Amoxil, Dispermox, Moxatag, Moxilin , Sumox, Trimox
Principen
ceftriaxone
Ceftrisol Plus, Rocephin

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Rep. Anthony Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, assists Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, right, during congressional testimony.
Tuesday's intriguing people
The wife of Rep. Anthony Weiner is a central, and silent, figure since her husband's sexting admission Monday. Many have asked: Will their 11-month-old marriage survive?
The Washington Post column The Reliable Source praised Abedin for not appearing alongside Weiner on Monday as the suffering wife.
Abedin, 34, was born in Michigan, grew up in Saudi Arabia and returned to the United States to attend college, according to the New York Daily News. Her late father, a college professor, was from India and her mother, also a professor, was born in Pakistan.
A headline Tuesday on the ethnic news site New America Media asked, "Will Huma Abedin Remain Weiner's Good South Asian Wife?"
Abedin is a longtime senior aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, starting out as an intern to the first lady in 1996, according to a 2007 Vogue magazine profile. Abedin and Weiner met during Clinton's 2008 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, the Daily News said.
Not only did Clinton throw Abedin and Weiner an engagement party, but former President Bill Clinton officiated at their wedding. Abedin is Muslim and Weiner is Jewish.
"Abedin has the energy of a woman in her 20s," Clinton said in the Vogue article, "the confidence of a woman in her 30s, the experience of a woman in her 40s and the grace of a woman in her 50s."
Post by: CNN's Kay Jones, CNN's Matthew Mochow, CNN's Pam Sellers, CNN's Rick Martin
Filed under: Anthony Weiner • Most Intriguing People • Politics
Albertina Sisulu and husband, Walter Sisulu, smile for the camera after Walter's 1989 release from prison.
Monday's intriguing people
Albertina Sisulu
The mother of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement has died. "Ma Sisulu," as she was known throughout the movement, was 92 years old. As the wife of Walter Sisulu, an anti-apartheid activist and mentor to Nelson Mandela, she supported him during 26 years of imprisonment on Robben Island, often being imprisoned and harassed herself, The New York Times reported. In 1956, she organized the historic protest by 20,000 women that is now marked each August 9 as a national holiday called Women's Day, The Times said. In 1994, she was elected to South Africa's parliament, where her son, Max, is now speaker of the National Assembly. Daughter Lindiwe Sisulu serves as the nation's defense minister, and another daughter, Beryl, is the country's ambassador to Norway. Walter Sisulu died in 2003.
Post by: CNN's Pam Sellers
Filed under: Civil Rights • Human rights • Protest • Race • South Africa • World
Mary Hart retired last week after 29 years as the host of the syndicated "Entertainment Tonight."
Departing TV anchors and hosts
The end of Oprah Winfrey's run as the queen of talk isn't television's only iconic departure. Last week, Mary Hart left "Entertainment Tonight" after 29 years, and Katie Couric hosted her final broadcast as anchor of the "CBS Evening News."
The week was punctuated by the news that Jim Lehrer, the longtime host of "PBS NewsHour," would leave as well. Next up will be Meredith Vieira's final day on the "Today" show in June. And later this year, Regis Philbin is set to leave "Live," which he has hosted in syndication for nearly 30 years.
The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rosenthal noted the best farewells are usually the shortest ones. However, Winfrey's two-day extravaganza, which begins Monday, is an exception because it is a graduation of sorts, he said. Winfrey moves on to her network OWN. Whether her viewers will follow remains to be seen.
Filed under: Afghanistan • Islam • Media • Most Intriguing People • Osama bin Laden • Tornadoes
NBC Sports executive Dick Ebersol was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame with the 2006 class.
Friday's intriguing people
Along with ABC's Roone Arledge, Ebersol has defined the art of network sports coverage. Ebersol transformed the Olympic Games from a distant event into must-see TV that had an impact on all of broadcast journalism.
Thus, Ebersol's abrupt resignation as chairman of NBC Sports is a blow to the modern Olympic movement, said Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times. Ebersol is to the Olympic Games - and athletes - "as butter is to bread," Dwyre said.
"What he has done has been a service to athletes globally," Peter Ueberroth, the former U.S. Olympic Committee chairman and head of the 1984 Los Angeles Games, told the Los Angeles paper.
For NBC, the timing is horrible. Ebersol's resignation comes a few weeks before the International Olympic Committee holds a meeting with U.S. networks to decide on broadcast rights for the 2014 and 2016 Games.
Neither Ebersol nor NBC revealed what prompted his resignation, although The New York Times, which first reported the story, said Ebersol, 63, could not agree on a new contract with Comcast, which merged with NBC in January.
Filed under: Most Intriguing People • Sports • TV
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is charged with finding money to keep the government afloat until August.
Timothy Geithner
The U.S. government hits its credit limit of $14.3 trillion Monday, and the U.S. Treasury secretary will begin scrambling to find cash to float the government until August 2. While budget negotiations are being led by Vice President Joseph Biden, Geithner estimates that at least $2 trillion is needed to keep the government running. NPR's Jacob Goldstein estimates that to balance the budget, taxes will have to be raised or spending will need to be cut. By itself, spending would need to be cut by 40 percent, which is equivalent to "every penny" of discretionary spending, including the defense budget, Goldstein said.
Filed under: Arizona • Basketball • Gay and lesbian • Most Intriguing People • NBA • Sports • U.S.
Sean Avery, right, with Josh Gorges, is known as an intimidating force in the NHL. He's tapping that reputation in a gay rights ad.
The Human Rights Campaign issued a video ad featuring the hockey player supporting same-sex marriage for New Yorkers. In the spot, the New York Rangers winger says that committed adults should have a right to marry the one they love.
Though he isn't gay, he lived in West Hollywood in California and Chelsea in New York, respectively, while playing for the Los Angeles Kings and Rangers. Many of his friends are gay, he said in an interview.
Few are surprised Avery, one of the most intimidating players in the NHL, would lend his voice. When asked about gay players in the NHL in February, Avery told the Toronto Sun, "I'll stand beside him in the dressing room while he tells his teammates he is gay. Maybe if Sean Avery is there, they would have less of a problem with it."
Filed under: California • Gay and lesbian • Hockey • Most Intriguing People • New York • NHL • Sports • U.S.
Tweets by Pittsburgh's Rashard Mendenhall, shown here days before the Super Bowl in February, have caused a firestorm.
Wednesday's Most Intriguing People
Rashard Mendenhall
The Pittsburgh Steelers running back is in hot water after he made some controversial statements about Osama bin Laden's death via Twitter.
"What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side..." Mendenhall tweeted Monday, referencing bin Laden.
Steelers President Art Rooney II released a statement Tuesday, published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, condemning Mendenhall's remarks, ESPN reports.
"I have not spoken with Rashard so it is hard to explain or even comprehend what he meant with his recent Twitter comments," Rooney said. "The entire Steelers organization is very proud of the job our military personnel have done and we can only hope this leads to our troops coming home soon."
Zarar Ahmed
The 12-year-old from Abbottabad, Pakistan, was Osama bin Laden's neighbor and regularly visited the al Qaeda leader's family, reports the London Evening Standard. Zarar described the security of the compound, as well as the family members he met, in an interview with Sky News. Bin Laden's family included two wives: one who spoke Arabic and one who spoke Urdu. There were three children, a girl and two boys, Ahmed said. The family gave him two rabbits, he added.
The man who killed Osama bin Laden
He's the most iconic person you will never know, according to the Washington Post's Manuel Roig-Franzia. This week, the Post offered a composite of the "humble warrior" who killed the world's most-wanted terrorist.
He is a "tactical athlete." Ripped, with a lot of upper-body strength, gnarled hands, long arms and a flat tummy, said Richard Marcinko, a Navy SEAL veteran and a founder of the elite Team 6, which reportedly led the attack. One minute, the professional is mowing his lawn. The next, he is on assignment — and there's no crew cut. "He's bearded, rough-looking," Marcinko said. "You don't want to stick out."
The SEAL is probably between 26 and 33 years old, Marcinko said: young enough to be meet the physical demands but highly experienced in counterterrorism. He is a man; there are no female SEALS. He is also probably white, though the SEALs have diversified recently, Marcinko added.
The shooter also keeps tabs on his actions, said Stew Smith, another SEAL interviewed. Smith recently met with five other SEALs who could account for 250 terrorist kills between them. Still, this is THE kill, and his colleagues know it. "This is playing the Super Bowl and getting the Oscar in one breath," Marcinko said. "He wants credit — but only among his peers."
The CIA's former counterterrorism czar told Time magazine that the intelligence that led authorities to Osama bin Laden's compound was obtained by using "enhanced interrogation techniques" on both Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and Abu Faraj al Libbi. The tactics included waterboarding, sleep deprivation and "other techniques," said Rodriguez, who is writing a book. Abu Faraj was not waterboarded, Rodriguez told Time in his first public interview.
An Obama administration official has denied Rodriguez's assertion that "enhanced interrogation techniques" were used.
"There is no way that information obtained by (enhanced interrogation techniques) was the decisive intelligence that led us directly to bin Laden," National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said. "It took years of collection and analysis from many different sources to develop the case that enabled us to identify this compound and reach a judgment that bin Laden was likely to be living there."
Filed under: Al Qaeda • Most Intriguing People • Osama bin Laden • September 11 • Terrorism
Ex-Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf says second-guessing his country's role in the war on terror damages U.S.-Pakistani ties.
Pakistan's former president appeared on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360°" on Monday evening, offering a curious, if not contradictory account of his views on Osama bin Laden's whereabouts in recent years. A key ally in the U.S. war on terror until his ouster in 2008, Musharraf said he'd always known that bin Laden was in either Afghanistan or Pakistan. That remark drew protests from host Anderson Cooper who insisted that Musharraf always denied that his country was harboring the terrorist.
"Anyone who said (bin Laden's) in Pakistan also didn't have the intelligence (to prove it)," Musharraf said. "(Bin Laden being in Pakistan) was not based on any intelligence. It was guesswork."
Musharraf then blamed intelligence sources for the fact that bin Laden was in an urban area, so close to the Pakistan Military Academy and the capital of Islamabad - not in an Afghan cave, as many had speculated. Second-guessing Pakistan's cooperation in the war on terror only destroys trust between Pakistan and the U.S., he said.
Musharraf finished the interview by saying that while eliminating bin Laden is a good thing for "peace-loving people," having the U.S. military enter Pakistan doesn't go "with Pakistan's sensitivities."
"We cannot indicate in any form that we are willing to compromise on our sovereignty like that," he said.
Post by: CNN's Michelle Cumbo, CNN's Pam Sellers, CNN's Wayne Drash
Filed under: Al Qaeda • Most Intriguing People • Osama bin Laden • Pakistan • September 11 • Terrorism
Leon Panetta was a congressman and President Bill Clinton's chief of staff before becoming CIA director.
Wednesday's intriguing people
The CIA director will be President Barack Obama's nominee to succeed Robert Gates as defense secretary, a senior defense official and another U.S. official said Wednesday.
Panetta will be named as a nominee for U.S. defense secretary, CNN has confirmed. Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, will be tapped as Panetta's replacement at the CIA, a senior defense official said.
Panetta is a prolific public servant. For 14 years, he was a U.S. congressman from California, ultimately becoming chairman of the House Budget committee. He later was director of the Office of Management and Budget and then President Bill Clinton's chief of staff. Early in his career, the Santa Clara University alum was an aide to a U.S. senator and an assistant in the government's civil rights unit in the 1960s. Panetta won a an Army Commendation Medal while serving as an Army intelligence officer from 1964-1966.
Filed under: Barack Obama • Libya • Lindsay Lohan • Military • Most Intriguing People • Politics • U.S.
Mel Gibson opened up about regret, acting, Hollywood, friends, fame and his private life.
The actor/director (pictured) has given his first interview since a 2010 audio recording was released with him verbally assailing Oksana Grigorieva, the mother of his young daughter. The interview appeared late Thursday night on Deadline.com.
Gibson was funny, abashed and even melancholy —"Just Mel being Mel," reporter Allison Hope Weiner said. He took responsibility for his recent actions; played down charges of racism; and reconciled with the legal and social consequences he's facing to avoid humiliating his family. He accepted those who have ostracized him in the industry and thanked people like Whoopi Goldberg who publicly supported him.
Gibson also spoke frankly about the future of his public life. While his appearance in "The Beaver," directed by ally Jodie Foster and releasing May 6, is considered one of the best of his career, Gibson will spend most of his time writing. "I don't care if I don't act anymore," he said.
Filed under: Mel Gibson • Most Intriguing People • Showbiz
Pia Toscano, formerly of "American Idol," will reportedly appear on "Dancing with the Stars."
Viewers were shocked when the American Idol prospect was ousted from the top 10 last month. Last night, it was announced that the singer will appear on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" on Tuesday.
Filed under: Dance • Most Intriguing People • Music • Showbiz
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says he would sign a bill requiring presidential candidates to prove they were born in the U.S.
Gov. Bobby Jindal
The same day that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer announced she'd veto that state's "birther bill," her counterpart in Louisiana said he would sign similar legislation into law. According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Louisiana bill requires candidates to qualify for a federal election in that state by providing an original or certified copy of a birth certificate. "I don't purport to be a 'birther,'" said the bill's co-author, Rep. Alan Seabaugh of Shreveport. "This is from the standpoint of cleaning up an area of the law where there appears to be a gap."
On Monday, the running world marveled at the performance of 29-year-old Kenyan George Mutai for his record-setting time of 2:03.02 at the Boston Marathon. Tuesday morning that same community, and much of the world, is remembering Grete Waitz. In 1978, Waitz ran her first New York City Marathon, and shattered the existing women's world record by two minutes (2:32.30). The Norwegian went on to win eight more New York City Marathons. Her image appears on the current New York Marathon medals and many consider her the greatest champion the event has ever had. Waitz died of cancer this morning in Oslo, Norway, the Washington Post reported. She was 57.
Dan Glick
The former Newsweek correspondent and veteran independent journalist used his blog Monday to defend "Three Cups of Tea" author Greg Mortenson, whose truthfulness was called into question in an online article by Jon Krakauer and a "60 Minutes" segment Sunday night.
Glick said he witnessed Mortenson's hands-on work with his Central Asia Institute in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 1998. On Monday, Glick called Krakauer's article, "Three Cups of Deceit", an online assassination of the controversial writer/humanitarian. Glick also charged that the "60 Minutes" segment lacked "basic elements of fairness, balance, perspective, insight and context."
Mortenson has likely blurred the lines of reality in his book, Glick acknowledged. Also, Mortenson is "probably ill-suited to run a $20 million-a-year nonprofit," Glick wrote. Yet Mortenson's "bridge building" to the Islamic world has been immeasurable, he wrote. Mortenson's travels to and investment in the isolated region, as well as his awareness campaigns, have done much more good than harm, Glick said. "The same cannot be said for a lot of NGOs doing development work around the world, " he added, "much less our military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Don Most, Anson Williams, Marion Ross and Erin Moran
The four supporting cast members of the TV program "Happy Days" charge that the show's owner, CBS, has failed to pay royalties on merchandising items bearing their likenesses since the show's 1974 debut. A CNN/CNNMoney.com investigation reveals that the cast members - along with the estate of the late actor Tom Bosley - have not received payment for such items, particularly casino slot machines developed in 2008. "Someone came up to me and said, 'You must be cleaning up on those casinos,'" Ross said, describing how she first learned of the games. "He said, 'If you get five Marions, you get the jackpot."'
Filed under: 'Birther' movement • Arizona • Louisiana • Most Intriguing People • Politics
Vintage American cars are a common sight in Cuba, but that could change under reforms by Raul Castro.
For the first time since 1997, Cuba's Communist Party Congress will meet this weekend, marking the official debut of Fidel Castro's brother as its leader.
As NPR reports, Raul Castro is expected to propose radical reform measures. One, which may launch a real estate boom, will allow Cubans to buy and sell homes.
Also, the party is likely to lift the ban on the sale of automobiles made after 1959. Such a move could trigger culture shock in a country where hulking American-made sedans from the 1950s are an everyday sight.
"These cars are part of our national identity - like beans, rice and pork," mechanic Jorge Prats told NPR. "We take care of these old American cars as if they were a member of our family."
Filed under: Cuba • Most Intriguing People
Former major-league slugger Jose Canseco will become the player-manager for a minor-league team.
Considered the face of Major League Baseball's "era of steroid abuse," the former slugger will be named today as player-manager for the Yuma (Arizona) Scorpions, a minor league team with the North American League, the Yuma Sun reports.
"I think it's exciting for Yuma," league President Kevin Outcalt said. "It's going to be a lot of fun. Jose is a very accomplished player, he has a lot of sway in the media and in pop culture, and he's bringing that to the city. It will be a good team and a fun time at Desert Sun Stadium for the fans."
Canseco hit 462 home runs in a 17-year major-league career with the Oakland A's and several other teams. His 2005 book "Juiced" blew the lid off the use of performance-enhancing drugs by pro ballplayers, including himself.
Canseco's twin brother, Ozzie, who played just a handful of games in the major leagues, will also play and coach for the Scorpions.
Joseph Massino
The "Last Don" of the New York Bonanno crime family broke the code of silence Tuesday in a Manhattan federal court. During his testimony, Massino became "the first mob boss in history to turn stoolie," the New York Post wrote.
Massino was arrested in 2004 and is now in prison. He revealed that he became an FBI informant to avoid the death penalty and to protect his wife from prosecution.
Massino then identified Vincent Basciano as his hand-picked successor, confirming that Basciano ordered the killing of an associate.
Massino also detailed his own history with organized crime, which began when he was 12; his own recruitment in the 1970s by a former Bonanno mob boss; and how he personally led the Bonannos through scandals that included the "Donnie Brasco" FBI sting and the "Three Captains" murders. Massino continues his testimony today.
Pete Peterson
The former Richard Nixon aide, "Mad Men" ad exec and Wall Street billionaire has spent 30 years speaking out about the country's debt and dependence on entitlement programs. He's written books, given speeches and even donated a billion of his own dollars to fund a foundation to solve the problem. So what does the 84-year-old "godfather of our nation's finances" think of the Tea Party? "I don't know much about them," he recently told The New York Times.
Filed under: Arizona • Baseball • Celebrity • Most Intriguing People • Sports
Entertainer Billy Joel has canceled the publication of his memoirs, saying he'd rather look forward than back.
The Piano Man has surprised the entertainment and publishing industries by returning a substantial book advance and deciding against publishing his memoirs, the New York Post reported.
"The Book of Joel" was to be released by Harper Collins in June, CNN has confirmed. Yesterday, however, Joel announced the deal was off and the advance returned.
Joel has long struggled with alcoholism. In a February Rolling Stone interview, frequent touring partner Elton John chastised Joel for not getting clean.
Regarding the decision to shelve the book, Joel told CNN: "It took working on writing a book to make me realize that I'm not all that interested in talking about the past, and that the best expression of my life and its ups and downs has been and remains my music."
TIM NAFTALI
For 20 years, the privately funded Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library played down Nixon's role in the Watergate scandal that led to his 1974 resignation.
Two years ago, however, the museum came under the auspices of the U.S. National Archives, and on Thursday, a newly renovated wing of the Watergate Galley was opened.
According to USA Today, the $500,000 makeover includes elements such as the lock-picking tools used to burglarize the Democratic National Committee's offices. It also features the microphones Nixon had planted around the Oval Office and the audio proving Nixon's role in the cover-up.
According to Tim Naftali, the library's executive director: "The public deserves an objective, nonpartisan museum for their money."
MICHAEL KOSKO
The state worker who'd faithfully spent $2 weekly on his office lottery pool, yet passed on it the time his colleagues won the $319 million Mega Millions jackpot, told the New York Post on Thursday he had only one explanation for his bad luck: "I didn't have two singles."
DAVID SOKOL
The New York Times reported Friday that the man once deemed Warren Buffett's successor at Berkshire Hathaway resigned this week after disclosing that he'd purchased some $10 million in shares of Lubrizol just days before Berkshire acquired it.
Sokol, called one of Buffett's brightest utility players, approached Buffett in January suggesting that Berkshire buy the lubricant manufacturer, the Times reported. During the conversation, Sokol also mentioned that he owned the company's stock. After Berkshire's $9 billion purchase, Sokol made a $3 million profit.
In a statement, Buffett expressed his support for Sokol and insisted he did nothing unlawful. He added, however, that he assumed Sokol had owned Lubrizol stock for years, not days.
Critics now wonder if Berkshire needs tighter controls. As Buffett himself wrote in a July 2010 memo to his managers: "We can afford to lose money—even a lot of money. But we can't afford to lose reputation—even a shred of reputation."
Filed under: Most Intriguing People • Music • Showbiz
Moussa Koussa fled to London on Wednesday and said he had resigned as Libya's foreign minister.
Thursday's intriguing people
Moussa Koussa
Libya's foreign minister and its former intelligence chief shocked the diplomatic world Wednesday with his sudden defection to the United Kingdom.
According to CNN homeland security analyst Fran Townsend, Koussa played a key role in planning and executing the Pam Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. He also was integral in negotiating the dismantling of Libya's weapons of mass destruction program.
"Koussa is one of the most senior figures in [Libyan leader Moammar] Gadhafi's government, and his role was to represent the regime internationally," a British government official said in a statement, "something that he is no longer willing to do."
Rolling Stone on Wednesday published the most revealing interview with singer Rihanna since her 2009 battery incident with then-boyfriend Chris Brown.
In a risqué photo spread, the singer defined her self-imposed boundaries with Brown, despite agreeing to end a restraining order that she feels has hurt him professionally.
Most eye-opening however, was the singer's acknowledgment that she is prone to masochism in her sexual relationships, and via her multiple tattoos and piercings. She attributed it to verbal abuse from her father and the stress of her career.
"It's not something I am proud of, and it's not something I noticed until recently," she told Rolling Stone. "I think it's common for people who witness abuse in their household. They can never smell how beautiful a rose is unless they get pricked by a thorn."
Gregory Hollister
The retired U.S. Air Force colonel has obtained what he believes is a copy of President Barack Obama's draft documents from 1980 by impersonating the president to the Selective Service Office.
According to a news report in the Colorado Springs Gazette, which was originally reported in the blog Gratewire, Hollister used a private investigator to obtain what may be the president's Social Security number, and then impersonated Obama to obtain the documents.
Further buoying Hollister's suspicions are reports that the Social Security number obtained begins with 042. That, says Hollister, would mean Obama was born in Connecticut, not Hawaii as long stated.
While critics say Hollister has violated many federal statutes, he maintains his innocence.
"I was very meticulous and made sure everything I did was compliant with the law," he told the Gazette.
Alye Pollack
A YouTube video posted March 14 by the 13-year-old from Westport, Connecticut, in which she speaks out about bullying, has gained nearly 50,000 views.
During her plea, Pollack says that name-calling is a large part of the problem. She emphasizes her point by writing the vulgarities on paper with crayon and showing them to her audience.
"I used to be really, really confident," Pollack says in the video, "and now, not so much because people use these words."
Post by: CNN's Nicole Dow, CNN's Pam Sellers
Filed under: Barack Obama • Connecticut • Libya • Most Intriguing People • Music • Rhianna • Showbiz • Terrorism • United Kingdom • YouTube
Susan Lucci has played Erica Kane on "All My Children" since 1970.
The star of ABC's "All My Children" has played Erica Kane since the show kicked off in 1970. Now, according to industry blog Deadline.com, the 41-year-old soap opera may be facing cancellation. Ratings are reportedly at an all-time low in the 18- to 49-year-old women demographic, and they're down 34% from last year. The fate of Lucci and the rest of the show's cast could come as early as this fall, Deadline reports.
Filed under: Celebrity • Economy • Finance • Most Intriguing People • Movies • Music • New York • Showbiz • TV • U.S.
Gov. Jerry Brown says he wants California voters to decide if tax extensions are the way to cure the state's budget ills.
California's governor used YouTube this week to discuss the state's budget woes. He is calling for a special election for voters to decide between tax extensions or cuts in state services. "This is a matter of we the people taking charge and voting on the most fundamental matters that affect all our lives," Brown said in the YouTube video.
Filed under: Budget • California • Crime • Economy • Jerry Brown • Military • Most Intriguing People • Politics • Race • U.S. • Virginia • YouTube
Dallas Wiens, in a handout photo from Brigham and Women's Hospital, arrives in Boston to prepare for face-transplant surgery.
Dallas Wiens
The 25-year-old construction worker received a full face transplant last week at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Wiens, of Fort Worth, Texas, was severely burned in 2008 when the cherry picker he was using to paint a church touched electrical wires. He lost his nose, teeth, one eye, his lips and the muscles that generate facial expressions, The Boston Globe reported. He also lost the vision in his remaining eye.
"Dallas always said after the injury that he now had a choice. He could choose to get bitter or he could choose to get better," Wiens' grandfather, Del Peterson, said during a hospital press conference, according to the Globe. "His choice was better."
In a 15-hour operation involving 30 specialists, Wiens received the face of a donor whose age, skin tone and blood type matched his, the Globe reported.
Filed under: Boston • California • Health • Massachusetts • Military • Most Intriguing People • Music • New York • Texas • U.S.
Director Michael Moore addresses protesters Saturday at the Wisconsin Capitol in Madison.
The filmmaker behind the Oscar-winning documentary "Bowling for Columbine" appeared before union activists in Wisconsin and praised them for "arousing a sleeping giant," the Wisconsin State Journal reported. Moore addressed at least 30,000 protesters, urging them to continue their demonstrations against Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposals. "America is not broke," he told the crowd, according to the Madison newspaper. "The only thing that's broke is the moral compass of the rulers."
Filed under: Academy Awards • Celebrity • Charlie Sheen • Media • Most Intriguing People • Movies • NBA • New York • Politics • Protest • September 11 • Showbiz • Sports • Technology • Terrorism • Texas • TV • U.S. • WikiLeaks • Wisconsin
Brazilian prosecutors have filed charges against American journalist Glenn Greenwald, alleging he aided in cybercri�twitter.com/i/web/status/1…Ws


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text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Data.OleDb;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;

namespace MovieDb
{
    public class Movie
    {
        int id;
        string title, genre;
        int yearPublished;
        string ageRating, directorName;
        List<String> actors;
        #region Accessors and mutators
        public int Id
        {
            get { return id; }
            set { id = value; }
        }

        public string Title
        {
            get { return title; }
            set { title = value; }
        }

        public string Genre
        {
            get { return genre; }
            set { genre = value; }
        }

        public int YearPublished
        {
            get { return yearPublished; }
            set { yearPublished = value; }
        }

        public string AgeRating
        {
            get { return ageRating; }
            set { ageRating = value; }
        }

        public string DirectorName
        {
            get { return directorName; }
            set { directorName = value; }
        }

        public List<String> Actors
        {
            get { return actors; }
            set { actors = value; }
        }
        #endregion
        #region Constructors
        public Movie()
        {
        }

        public Movie(int id, string title, string genre, int yearPublished, string ageRating, string directorName)
        {
            this.id = id;
            this.title = title;
            this.genre = genre;
            this.yearPublished = yearPublished;
            this.ageRating = ageRating;
            this.directorName = directorName;
            this.actors = new List<String>(); ;
        }

        public Movie(int id, string title, string genre, int yearPublished, string ageRating, string directorName, List<String> actors)
        {
            this.id = id;
            this.title = title;
            this.genre = genre;
            this.yearPublished = yearPublished;
            this.ageRating = ageRating;
            this.directorName = directorName;
            this.actors = actors;
        }
        #endregion
        public static Movie getMovieByID(int id)
        {
            int movieID = 0, yearPublished = 0;
            string title = "", genre= "", ageRating = "", directorName = "";
            List<String> actorNames = new List<String>();
            OleDbDataReader reader = null;
            OleDbCommand command = new OleDbCommand("SELECT Director.FirstName, Director.Surname, Genre.Genre,  Movie.Movie_ID, Movie.Title, Movie.Year_Published, Movie.Age_Rating FROM  Director, Genre, Movie " +
                "WHERE Genre.Genre_ID = Movie.FK_Genre_ID " +
                "AND Director.Director_ID = Movie.FK_Director_ID " +
                "AND Movie.Movie_Id = " + id, DbConn.getInstance().Conn);
            DbConn.getInstance().Conn.Open();
            Movie movie = null;
            try
            {
                reader = command.ExecuteReader();
                while (reader.Read())
                {
                    movieID = int.Parse(reader["Movie_ID"].ToString());
                    title = reader["Title"].ToString();
                    genre = reader["Genre"].ToString();
                    yearPublished = int.Parse(reader["Year_Published"].ToString());
                    ageRating = reader["Age_Rating"].ToString();
                    directorName = reader["FirstName"].ToString() + " " + reader["Surname"].ToString();
                    movie = new Movie(movieID, title, genre, yearPublished, ageRating, directorName);
                }
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
            }
            finally{
                DbConn.getInstance().Conn.Close();
            }
            if(movie != null)
            {
                command = new OleDbCommand("SELECT Actor.FirstName, Actor.Surname FROM Actor, Actor_Movie " +
                    "WHERE Actor.Actor_Id = Actor_Movie.FK_Actor_Id " +
                    "AND Actor_Movie.FK_Movie_Id = " + movieID, DbConn.getInstance().Conn);
                DbConn.getInstance().Conn.Open();
                try
                {
                    reader = command.ExecuteReader();
                    while (reader.Read())
                    {
                        string actorName = reader["FirstName"].ToString() + " " + reader["Surname"].ToString();
                        actorNames.Add(actorName);
                    }
                    movie.Actors = actorNames;
                }
                catch (Exception e)
                {
                }
                finally{
                    DbConn.getInstance().Conn.Close();
                }
            }
            return movie;
        }

        public static List<Movie> getAllMovies()
        {
            int movieID = 0, yearPublished = 0;
            string title = "", genre= "", ageRating = "", directorName = "";
            List<String> actorNames = new List<String>();
            OleDbDataReader reader = null;
            OleDbCommand command = new OleDbCommand("SELECT Director.FirstName, Director.Surname, Genre.Genre,  Movie.Movie_ID, Movie.Title, Movie.Year_Published, Movie.Age_Rating FROM  Director, Genre, Movie " +
                "WHERE Genre.Genre_ID = Movie.FK_Genre_ID " +
                "AND Director.Director_ID = Movie.FK_Director_ID ", DbConn.getInstance().Conn);
            DbConn.getInstance().Conn.Open();
            List<Movie> movies = new List<Movie>();
            try
            {
                reader = command.ExecuteReader();
                while (reader.Read())
                {
                    movieID = int.Parse(reader["Movie_ID"].ToString());
                    title = reader["Title"].ToString();
                    genre = reader["Genre"].ToString();
                    yearPublished = int.Parse(reader["Year_Published"].ToString());
                    ageRating = reader["Age_Rating"].ToString();
                    directorName = reader["FirstName"].ToString() + " " + reader["Surname"].ToString();
                    Movie m = new Movie(movieID, title, genre, yearPublished, ageRating, directorName);
                    movies.Add(m);
                }
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
            }
            finally{
                DbConn.getInstance().Conn.Close();
            }
            foreach(Movie m in movies)
            {
                actorNames = new List<String>();
                command = new OleDbCommand("SELECT Actor.FirstName, Actor.Surname FROM Actor, Actor_Movie " +
                    "WHERE Actor.Actor_Id = Actor_Movie.FK_Actor_Id " +
                    "AND Actor_Movie.FK_Movie_Id = " + m.Id, DbConn.getInstance().Conn);
                DbConn.getInstance().Conn.Open();
                try
                {
                    reader = command.ExecuteReader();
                    while (reader.Read())
                    {
                        string actorName = reader["FirstName"].ToString() + " " + reader["Surname"].ToString();
                        actorNames.Add(actorName);
                    }
                    m.Actors = actorNames;
                }
                catch (Exception e)
                {
                }
                finally{
                    DbConn.getInstance().Conn.Close();
                }
            }
            return movies;
        }

        public static List<Movie> getMoviesByTitle(string title)
        {
            int movieID = 0, yearPublished = 0;
            string movieTitle = "", genre = "", ageRating = "", directorName = "";
            List<String> actorNames = new List<String>();
            OleDbDataReader reader = null;
            OleDbCommand command = new OleDbCommand();
            command.Connection = DbConn.getInstance().Conn;
            command.CommandText= "SELECT Director.FirstName, Director.Surname, Genre.Genre,  Movie.Movie_ID, Movie.Title, Movie.Year_Published, Movie.Age_Rating FROM  Director, Genre, Movie " +
                "WHERE Genre.Genre_ID = Movie.FK_Genre_ID " +
                "AND Director.Director_ID = Movie.FK_Director_ID " +
                "AND Movie.Title LIKE ?";
            command.Parameters.Add("Title", OleDbType.VarChar, 50);
            command.Parameters["Title"].Value = "%" + title + "%";
            DbConn.getInstance().Conn.Open();

            command.Prepare();
            List<Movie> movies = new List<Movie>();
            try
            {
                reader = command.ExecuteReader();
                while (reader.Read())
                {
                    movieID = int.Parse(reader["Movie_ID"].ToString());
                    movieTitle = reader["Title"].ToString();
                    genre = reader["Genre"].ToString();
                    yearPublished = int.Parse(reader["Year_Published"].ToString());
                    ageRating = reader["Age_Rating"].ToString();
                    directorName = reader["FirstName"].ToString() + " " + reader["Surname"].ToString();
                    Movie m = new Movie(movieID, movieTitle, genre, yearPublished, ageRating, directorName);
                    movies.Add(m);
                }
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
            }
            finally
            {
                DbConn.getInstance().Conn.Close();
            }
            foreach (Movie m in movies)
            {
                actorNames = new List<String>();
                command = new OleDbCommand("SELECT Actor.FirstName, Actor.Surname FROM Actor, Actor_Movie " +
                    "WHERE Actor.Actor_Id = Actor_Movie.FK_Actor_Id " +
                    "AND Actor_Movie.FK_Movie_Id = " + m.Id, DbConn.getInstance().Conn);
                DbConn.getInstance().Conn.Open();
                try
                {
                    reader = command.ExecuteReader();
                    while (reader.Read())
                    {
                        string actorName = reader["FirstName"].ToString() + " " + reader["Surname"].ToString();
                        actorNames.Add(actorName);
                    }
                    m.Actors = actorNames;
                }
                catch (Exception e)
                {
                }
                finally
                {
                    DbConn.getInstance().Conn.Close();
                }
            }
            return movies;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Published at Tuesday, April 09th, 2019 - 01:14:30 AM. Graduation Invitations. By Bobine Allocca.
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Law Prof. Victor Williams Sends Open Letter to PA's Unbound Delegates, Maryland, and RNC Spring Meeting-Eligibility - Stumpin' For Trump!
BETHESDA, Md., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Ted Cruz continues to tell the biggest lie ever in American politics – that he is constitutionally eligible to be President. If Cruz is nominated, Washington, D.C. Law Professor Victor Williams warns that the Democrats will forcefully challenge Cruz's obvious ineligibility in every one of the 50 states.
Cruz's falsehood is of constitutional proportions. In order to gain ballot access, Ted Cruz has repeated the Big Lie many times over to 50 state election officials – the eligibility lie was made in writing and under oath.
Having told the Big Lie so often for so long, has Cruz now convinced himself of eligibility? No – Cruz knows the truth and so do Democrats.
By his own adult admission, little baby Teddy Cruz came into the world a natural-born Canadian.
As every American school child knows, the Constitution's Article II, Section 1 requires an age exam and two soil tests for the presidency. First a candidate must be 35 years old. A candidate must have been a 14- year resident on the American soil and he must first have been born on that same, sacred American soil. The two soil tests insure the Commander-in-Chief will have exclusive allegiance to America.
Cruz was a loyal-Canadian-citizen until May 2014.
If Cruz is nominated, Democrats, like Alan Grayson, have pledged to immediately sue. Scores of millions of dollars will be thrown into multiple litigation efforts to disqualify Cruz.
Williams' Open Letter tells Pennsylvania's unbound 54 Delegates (not to be pledged on April 26) that a vote for Cruz in July is a vote for Hillary Clinton in November.
Williams' Open Letter also asks all unpledged RNC member-delegates — returning from their Florida Spring Meeting — to face reality: The Clinton war-machine will destroy Ted Cruz on the eligibility issue.
Williams' Open Letter also addresses his fellow Marylanders who vote on April 26. As Maryland's early filing deadline prevented his candidacy in his adopted-beloved home state, Professor Williams will proudly cast his Maryland vote for Donald J. Trump. Williams urges his Maryland neighbors to help him keep Ted Cruz in a distant third place.
In New Jersey, Victor Williams's legal team is now moving the Cruz challenge from the Secretary of State to the Appellate Division of the New Jersey judiciary. Soon, in delegate-rich California, Williams will open a Pacific front against Cruz.
Even Fox News says Ted Cruz is ineligible. This is not a joke folks!
www.VictorWilliamsforPresident.com. Victor Williams is a Washington, D.C. attorney, long-time law professor, prolific author, and 2014 founder of www.disruptivejustice.org.


Today's challenge is hosted by Amanda and the theme is TEXTURE. I had some gesso and added the jute before spritzing the mists. Come show us how you'd use up your stash to create Texture on your craft and link up the challenge at Use Your Stuff!


text:
Eurozone cracks widen
By David Llewellyn-Smith in European Economy
at 1:20 pm on May 1, 2020 | 16 comments
Via Magellen:
'il Boom' is how Italians describe the 'great transformation' of Italy over the 1950s and 1960s when a poor country turned itself into a modern industrial powerhouse with a stable currency, the lira. During those decades, rural southern Italians flocked to the industrial north and their cheap labour helped turn Italy into an exporter of capital goods, and companies such as De'Longhi, Ferrari and Gucci into global brands. As the economy achieved world-leading growth rates (matched only by Japan), the era featured a property frenzy, a baby boom, bountiful jobs and the rise of an entrepreneurial class. Such was Italy's rising wealth and status, the country in 1957 became one of the six founding members of the European Economic Community that later became the EU. "Italy was on fast forward," is how one historian describes the country's economic miracle.[1]
Italy's progress, however, soon faltered. The country's political system became corrupted and the rule of law patchy amid the post-war boom. The Christian Democratic Party was allowed to cement itself in power to keep out the main opposition Communist Party, albeit under an unstable republic political system designed to thwart the rise of another Benito Mussolini. The Christian Democrats let state-owned companies dominate key areas such as infrastructure and banking. The party used money earmarked for the south's renewal to enshrine its grip there. The corruption along with low productivity, militant trade unions, suffocating bureaucracy, poor education, emigration, a fragmented banking system, an ageing population and unaffordable welfare hampered Italy's competitiveness. As the economy stagnated from the 1970s, Rome's main policy response was to endlessly devalue the lira – in 1970, a Deutsche mark was worth 170 lire; by 1998, it could buy 1,000 lire. Italy's government debt at 120% of output in 1999, twice the limit allowed by the Maastricht Treaty that governed the euro, prompted the Netherlands and Germany to oppose Italy joining the common currency. Rome, while accusing the Hague of "spaghettiphobia", pledged to fix its finances. Germany's then chancellor Helmut Kohl chose to accept Rome's promises instead of the warnings of compatriots and allowed Italy into the eurozone.[2]
Perhaps he shouldn't have. Two decades later, Italy is so weak economically, financially and politically it poses an existential threat to the eurozone. A euro overvalued compared with the lira on top of Italy's economic flaws and demographic handicaps – its ageing population, Europe's oldest, is shrinking – has frozen Italian living standards at 1999 levels.[3] Italian banks are burdened with bad debts, sometimes beyond 15% of all loans. Rome's finances have deteriorated over the past two decades such that Italy's public debt stood at 135% of GDP on 31 December 2019.[4] The upending of Italy's political system after corruption scandals broke from 1992 led to the rise of populists such as three-time prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, Giuseppe Grillo's Five Star Movement and Matteo Salvini's League. The country's 65th government since World War II in power now is an unlikely coalition of the centre-left Democratic Party and Five Star headed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte who is not a member of either.
Such was the state of Italy when the coronavirus struck the eurozone's third-largest economy. Rome, in response, enforced an economically ruinous lockdown that is shaping up as the shock many cautioned the eurozone could not withstand. The question troubling Italy, which will only grow in menace over time, is how will Rome fund a recovery from the virus-induced recession when it can only borrow in euros, amid projections its debt could soar towards a default-prone 180% of GDP. Knowing the country faces higher borrowing costs, Rome has pleaded for help from fellow euro users and once again exposed the central flaw of the eurozone. The great weakness of the common currency is that it is a monetary union without fiscal union (and is far short of a banking union). Brussels is incapable of directing substantial funds to help Italy and other strugglers – Brussels-directed loans from Europe's inadequate rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism, are conditional. Europe's conundrum is that domestic politics hampers Rome's ability to accept conditional loans and substantial fiscal transfers can only happen with the sanction of creditor governments or parliaments. But creditor countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, which are battered too by the coronavirus, are refusing the closer fiscal ties that would help Italy. The flashpoint has been the pair's refusal to sanction eurobonds dubbed 'coronabonds'. Such pooled debt instruments would allow debtor countries to access funds at lower interest rates than if they sold sovereign bonds because eurobonds would be covered by eurozone, not one country's, taxpayers.
A standoff only serves to fan the euroscepticism that lingers over the continent and Italy especially. In the absence of steps towards a fiscal union, Italy in the near term is hurtling towards three outcomes, one of which could herald an imminent shock for the world economy. The turbulent outcome is that Italy's government, which is barely rated investment grade, defaults like Greece's did from 2012 but perhaps with fatal ramifications for the eurozone because Rome's debts are estimated to be 20 times larger than were those of Athens. The second possibility is that Rome defaults in an undisruptive way because Italy swallows a bailout that, while imposing microeconomic reforms, offsets the damage of an 'extend and pretend' solution. The third possibility is that Italy accepts some conditional aid to avoid a default. Under the latter two possibilities, the eurozone would be preserved for now but Italy would still be struggling enough to pose a longer-term threat to the euro. Whatever happens in coming times, Italy's woes are bound to eventually trigger a watershed event for the eurozone. Europe could become a much closer union or, at great cost, fragmented again.
Let's acknowledge that no officials can outdo eurozone policy makers in finessing last-minute fudges that postpone reckonings. Europe's elite are almost bound to conjure some quasi-solution that heads off a denouement – a small fiscal transfer could be trumpeted as a mega amount or Italy might accept loans with pseudo conditions from Europe's rescue fund. But big sums are needed to help Italy, the country requires genuine reforms, and more debt for the country might hasten its insolvency and fan anti-EU passions, perhaps trigger a government collapse. Maybe the ECB can save the eurozone for now.[5] But that will only condemn Italy to a stagnation that might shape public support for a euro departure come a future shock. Italy has some economic advantages that combined with micro reforms could help overcome its crisis. Italy's pluses include relatively low consumer and business debt and the industrial might centred on precision machinery and manufacturing that helps the country generate a current-account surplus. Creditor nations have a point that their taxpayers should not pay for southern profligacy. But the creditor governments allowed Italy (and others) into the eurozone, northern economies have benefited from a lower exchange rate than otherwise and creditor-enforced austerity has fed the euroscepticism in the debtor nations that now menaces them. The eurozone could fulfil the perverse destiny foreshadowed by its founders; they seemed to understand that Europe could only become a fiscal and political union should a crisis pose such a threat to peace and prosperity that national governments would have no choice but to succumb to unification.
While there are few signs that Europe is ready for closer union, the likelihood of a reckoning happening in coming years is rising. Italy is on a downward spiral because any widening in the Italian-German government bond spread boosts the possibility of a denouement. The 'doom loop' nature of Italy's plight – that the solvency of Italian banks is linked to the value of the large amount of Rome's debt they hold – is the most likely trigger that forces watershed choices on Italy and the eurozone.
Lagarde's gaffe
Christine Lagarde (born 1956) is among the most accomplished people on earth CV-wise at least. The successful lawyer, minister of France from 2007 to 2011 and the managing director of the IMF from 2011 to 2019 last year became president of the European Central Bank, replacing Mario Draghi, whose "whatever it takes" statement in 2012 quelled the first eurozone debt crisis. On March 12, Lagarde chaired the first ECB policy-setting meeting since the virus began tormenting northern Italy. As investors looked for assurances, Lagarde said the ECB "is not here to close spreads" on government bonds.[6] With that slip, Lagarde triggered a record daily slump in Italian bond prices that intensified the Italian crisis.
Radical ECB steps since and even Lagarde invoking Draghi have failed to quell the crisis. On March 18, the ECB unveiled the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program, under which the central bank has 750 billion euros to help companies and governments avoid bankruptcy. "There are no limits," Lagarde said when announcing the program, mimicking her predecessor.
The ECB cannot smother the crisis centred on Italy because it has limited powers for a central bank – it cannot act as an unconditional lender of last resort for insolvent governments.[7] Ultimately only politicians can sanction the decisions needed to rescue governments and protect the euro and constitutional courts could even limit what lawmakers can do.
Europe's handicap is that political cohesion has fragmented. The refugee crisis of 2015, the rise of autocrats in eastern states and the original eurozone debt crisis when the 'Troika' of the EU (read Germany), IMF and ECB crushed debtor nations to protect the common currency have reversed the thrust for a united Europe. Another tension is the UK's EU departure; its missing financial contributions have boosted wrangling over the EU's budget, which is being formulated for the next seven years. Perhaps the most cohesive political force in Europe is the potential damage of a euro exit or default by a country of Italy's size.
The EU's existing response to emergencies is moored in the European Stability Mechanism that was created during the debt crisis of 2009 to 2012. But this rescue fund offers loans laced with austerity measures that bailed-out citizens view as servitude to Brussels and Berlin. That's why Rome is baulking at tapping the fund even though to recover from the covid-19 crisis, Italy (and others) need a fiscal injection of at least 10% of GDP – the IMF predicts Italy's economy to shrink 9.1% in 2020 and that forecast looks conservative as the lockdown persists.[8]
Knowing fiscal generosity from wealthier euro members is wishful thinking, Italy and others pushed for coronabonds as the quickest and cheapest way for them to raise funds. Without eurobonds, troubled euro users only have national fiscal policies and a limited central bank to fight the health and economic emergency.
That a joint debt instrument is politically difficult was shown when eurozone finance ministers met in March. One largely Latin bloc of nine led by Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal clashed with a bloc of northern members led by the 'frugal four' of Austria, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands over a development that could burden northern taxpayers.[9] Such division[10] limits solutions to the ECB's questionable firepower and politically unfeasible responses such as the 500-billion-euro package that the EU announced on April 9 that provides help for workers, businesses and governments.[11]
Even though Italian Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri helped formulate and sanctioned the package, Conte said it was a "trap"[12] that Italy had no intention of using because the package calls on funds from the European Stability Mechanism. Vito Crimi, the acting leader of Five Star, the largest group in the ruling coalition, called the package a "rip off" and refused to consider the aid (though the Democratic Party was more open to the proposal).[13] The League described Gualtieri as a "traitor".[14]
Everyone connected to Italy knows that the lack of fiscal transfers from neighbours will inflame euroscepticism and deepen the threat that Italy poses to the eurozone.
The euro curse
The euro, Europe's most ambitious attempt at unification, was born flawed. Rather than design a common currency with the fiscal and political integration it needed to endure, Europe's elite saw the euro as a tool to achieve such political and fiscal assimilation that they knew they couldn't attain through voter assent. For this reason, the treaties surrounding the euro make its adoption 'irreversible'.
But the euro's central weaknesses push users to leave. One central defect is that, unlike other fixed-exchange-rate regimes including the gold standard, the euro regime offers no way to resolve member current-account imbalances. Another weakness is that eurozone members only have fiscal policy and regulatory powers, say over labour markets, to fight downturns. To avoid such austerity measures that boost government debt and poisons politics, countries have pondered euro escapes to reclaim an independent monetary policy and regain a unique currency.
Italy's most credible plan is to introduce a parallel currency, a scheme pushed by the League's Salvini, the power in Italy's 64th government and the country's possible prime-minister-in-waiting who once described the euro as a "crime against humanity". Under the plan, Rome would create 'minibot' Treasury notes to pay government employees, households and local creditors, who in turn could use the notes as de facto currency, even trade them on credit markets. The plan, according to reports, is to goad the EU into expelling Italy from the monetary union, even though that might set precedents for other struggling euro users or risk broader mayhem tied to the eurozone's interbank system where creditor (current-account-surplus) countries have claims on debtor nations.[15]
While microeconomic reforms combined with Italy's manufacturing prowess place Italy in a better position to leave the euro than Greece ever had, Italy's departure from the common currency would most likely still be fraught – the economy would likely plunge into a recession that shattered household wealth and purchasing power. That might make a Greece-like default a more tempting option for Italy though it's hardly a cure-all. In 2012, Greece conducted the biggest default in history when its non-government creditors accepted losses of more than 100 billion euros. Three bailouts and more technical defaults later Athens is still the eurozone's most indebted government – its debt-to-GDP ratio is 177% – while about 33% of the country's population is said to live in poverty.[16]
The coming times could see the ECB hold together the eurozone status quo. Or creditor nations might sanction closer fiscal ties to help Italy. Or Italy might embark on a post-default or post-euro future. Whatever happens, it's unlikely that anyone any time soon will describe Italy's upcoming era as "il Boom".
By Michael Collins, Investment Specialist
A nice potted history. We turn to AEP for the update:
The European Central Bank has left markets in the dark.
It warned in Gothic terms that economic output is in free-fall and that eurozone GDP could contract by a calamitous 12pc this year, yet declined to boost its emergency asset purchases or clarify how long it will keep those bonds. It choose not to follow the US Federal Reserve by purchasing junk debt.
The glaring mismatch rattled European bourses and pushed up risk spreads on Italian debt to 240 basis points. It was too little to assuage investors worried that the current pandemic package will run out by October, leaving southern Europe naked as countries struggle to cover the explosive rise in sovereign debt issuance.
Christine Lagarde, the ECB's president, vowed to keep buying bonds for as long as necessary to fight a recession of "unprecedented speed and magnitude". She insisted that the institution has €1tn (£870bn) of firepower at hand and will deploy it to prevent financial conditions tightening in whatever country. "We will not tolerate any risk of fragmentation."
Rhetorical assurances may not suffice. Investors know that the ECB is deeply divided and may be hitting its political and legal limits under EU treaty law with the latest €750bn package of "pandemic QE".
Andrew Kenningham from Capital Economics said there are "nagging doubts" over how far it is willing to go in extremis to prop up the system. Citigroup said Mrs Lagarde had done her "level best not to answer any question" and left confusion over what exactly the strategy is supposed to be.
The obfuscation was deliberate. Her hands are tied. A German-led bloc of hawks on the Governing Council is reluctant to give Europe's bickering politicians an easy way out or to let the institution become the fiscal backstop for insolvent countries. They are resisting a debt union by the back door.
The ECB focussed its immediate efforts on less controversial stimulus for banks, cutting its loan rate on the next batch of long-term lending (TLTROs) to an historic low of minus 1pc. This helps head off an incipient credit crunch but cannot alone stop the coming wave of defaults or revive crumbling output.
…In reality, the ECB is paralysed until the German constitutional court issues its long-waited ruling next Tuesday on the legality of earlier bond purchases. The judges in Karlsruhe typically grumble but go along with EU measures in the end.
However, this ruling is particularly treacherous because the ECB has breached its "capital key" so openly by mopping up vast amounts of Italian debt in what amounts to a state rescue.
Goldman Sachs estimates that purchases have been "heavily skewed towards Italy" since the launch of pandemic QE last month, reaching 35-45pc of the total. It is striking that such massive intervention has so far failed to stabilize Italian bond spreads.
The court ruling has already been drafted. The press release stretches to over five pages. This suggests that there will be no green light for unlimited QE and that the judges may constrain the ability of the Bundesbank to participate fully in rescue actions if the ECB strays too far.
"The message is going to be that you play with the capital key at your peril," said one source close to the case. "What is crucial is that purchases of Italian and Spanish bonds are proportionate. People are starting to realise that this case is extremely serious."
A restrictive ruling would be a bombshell at this delicate juncture, but precisely for that reason the litigants themselves expect a weak fudge. Professor Gunnar Beck, an MEP for Germany's eurosceptic AfD party and a lawyer handling the case, said the judges will shrink from anything controversial for fear of bringing down the whole EMU edifice.
"What is going on is obviously a breach of Treaty article 123 prohibiting monetary financing of states, and the sheer volume of purchases can no longer be classified as monetary policy. The ECB is pursuing an independent and illegal economic policy. But the court will cave anyway," he said.
For now the eurozone is in suspended animation. Last week's video-summit of EU leaders was a damp squib. Germany and the Netherlands succeeded in blocking any serious move towards joint debt issuance, insisting that the €540bn stabilization package come in the form of loans that further burden the most vulnerable Club Med states, already nearing the limits of solvency.
The planned "Recovery Fund" for rebuilding Europe has been downgraded days later to a "Recovery Initiative". The large headline figures are theoretical, relying on seed money to crowd in private funding.
Taken together it is thin gruel compared to the vast injections of direct fiscal support in the US or Japan – or indeed in Germany itself where emergency measures top 30pc of GDP and the state bank KFW is using its AAA credit rating to pass on free loans to Deutschland Inc.
Germany now accounts for half of all state aid in Europe. This keeps the German economy intact through the lockdown and ensures a powerful rebound as life returns to normal. The danger for monetary union is that southern Europe cannot afford to take such action and will suffer deeper structural damage as a result, blighting recovery and leaving half of Europe behind.
…A complex game of three-way brinkmanship is now underway. The ECB is trying to force EU leaders to step up to the plate with meaningful actions by holding back some of its latent firepower, but the hardliners on Governing Council are also trying to force the Italian government into activating the EU bail-out fund (ESM).
This instrument is a legacy of the eurozone debt crisis, freighted with poisonous memories, and widely-viewed in Italy as a Trojan Horse for a "troika-style" intervention by EU commissars. The conditions are ostensibly "light" but the EU's Stability Pact and Fiscal Compact are still law and would kick again as soon as the pandemic is over.
Italy would then be compelled to retrench – from an even worse position – going through the austerity saga again. It is an open secret that Berlin's objective is to force Italy to tap into its rich stock of private savings through a wealth tax, effectively a one-off confiscation to whittle down the debt.
Even if the coalition's Five Star Movement swallows the ESM – after calling it toxic for years – the consequences would play into the hands of Matteo Salvini's nationalist Lega party and probably usher in a full-blown anti-euro government at the next election.
Mr Kenningham says the ECB ultimately has no choice. It will have to underwrite fiscal deficits and become a lender-of-last resort to governments. Delay merely prolongs the agony.
The "weak fudge" is Europe's speciality.
There is no schedule Italian election until 2023 but that does not mean much in such a volatile parliament. We remain of the view that this is the big one for Europe.
It's eurobonds or Italexit.
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We work closely with our commercial clients, collaborate with local partners to provide a finished product that will lift and promote the products or services that the company or organisation can choose to showcased in print media or on the web. Commercial branding and company profiling are enhanced with eye catching photography, layout and illustrations. We offer advice for your marketing strategies.
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Gianni Salvatore is high quality premium brand , focusing on fit, style and material. We are blown away by his debut streetwear collection, and sure you will be too. When it was first brought to us, the designs were a game changer, and it did not take long after release on social media to see these trends seep in the fast fashion marketplace. That is of course a sign of a great designer and brand, so we are keen to see where they go from here.


Is another Nelson DeMille novel close to being made into a movie?
In his latest newsletter, posted after Thanksgiving, bestselling author Nelson DeMille gave a quick movie update. Apparently, Sony has interest in putting John Corey on the big (or small, as a television series?) screen!
Here's an except from the newsletter that talks about the potential movie news. To read the rest of what Nelson had to say, click here.
Some good news: Sony-TV seems to be moving ahead on making the John Corey novels into a series. We've been here before, but this seems real – or as real as anything can be in Hollywood. More on this when I hear.
I for one, would love to see Corey on the big screen. I find him to be a refreshing, fun, smart-mouthed protagonist that embodies the exact opposite traits of political correctness. More than that, DeMille is a fantastic author, one of the godfathers of the genre, and has already had great success (The Generals Daughter) turning his novels into films.
So what do you think, would you like to see John Corey on the big screen? Him the comment section below and let me know what you think!
Next Could Mega-author David Baldacci release new Will Robie and John Puller novels in 2016?
Just finished reading Spencerville. Couldn't put it down!!! When is the movie arriving in Australia?
Up Country would be a hell of a movie. Especially if they filmed it in the real Viet Nam.
The only problem with these books is that they are too close to real life events, and possibilities .
The absolute best actor would have been Bruce Willis. You need someone with a quick wit, great smirk, defiant attitude, and intelligence to play the part. Don't think Affleck would be the best choice.


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Supermassive Black Holes
We're investigating the important role that supermassive black holes play in the life cycle of galaxies and studying the gravitational waves released when black holes collide.
Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing
Back to Our research
Supermassive black holes were first postulated as the energy sources of quasars after their discovery in 1963 as the most luminous objects in the universe. By 1995, the existence of black holes was established and in 2002 we confirmed suspicions, held since the 1970s, that we shared our own galaxy, the Milky Way, with a black hole many millions of times the mass of our sun.
There is now thought to be a supermassive black hole in the centre of every large galaxy. Bigger galaxies have bigger black holes, but the precise relation, and the dependency on a galaxy's structure, requires further investigation.
Black holes have long held a fascination for scientists given their incredible density and gravity, capable of tearing stars in half, not to mention their influence on time. Our astronomers are investigating questions such as:
What is the relation between host galaxy mass and supermassive black holes mass?
How are supermassive black holes formed and how fast do they grow?
How do they power quasars and drive apparently superluminal jets?
Where is the missing population of "intermediate mass" black holes?
Swinburne astronomers also search for gravitational wave emission from supermassive black holes in binary orbits by monitoring sets of ultra-stable millisecond pulsars with the most sensitive radio telescopes in the world.
Astronomers at Swinburne discovered that the mass of a supermassive black hole depends upon the type of galaxy, spiral or elliptical, in which it resides.
Observational studies of massive black holes
We are discovering connections between the Universe's massive black holes and their host galaxies. By carefully analysing archival Hubble (optical) and Spitzer (infrared) satellite images, we are learning how the black hole's mass relates to the galaxy's morphology, and therefore how they co-evolved.
Using the space-based Chandra X-ray Observatory with our collaborators, we are also pursuing the discovery of a missing population of smaller black holes 100 to 100,000 times the Sun's mass. We also use the ground-based Keck Telescopes to measure black hole masses. Contact Profesor Alister Graham for more information.
MeerTime
The MeerTime project is a five-year program on the MeerKAT array, led by Swinburne, which will regularly time over 1000 radio pulsars to perform tests of relativistic gravity, search for the gravitational-wave signature induced by supermassive black hole binaries in the timing residuals of millisecond pulsars, explore the interior of neutron stars through a pulsar glitch monitoring programme, explore the origin and evolution of binary pulsars, monitor the swarms of pulsars that inhabit globular clusters, and monitor radio magnetars.
Parkes Pulsar Timing Array
Swinburne is a foundation partner in the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array project, which monitors 24 millisecond pulsars with the iconic 64-metre Parkes radio telescope for the primary goal of studying the low-frequency gravitational wave universe.
Bigger galaxies have bigger black holes, but the precise relation, and the dependency on a galaxy's structure, requires further investigation.
Image credit: James Josephides (Swinburne Astronomy Productions) and Professor Alister Graham.
Professor Darren Croton
Professor Alister Graham
Professor Jeremy Mould
Professor Ryan Shannon
Dr Mark Durre
See related research themes
Circumgalactic and Intergalactic Medium
Cosmology and Reionisation
Data-Intensive Astronomy, Astronomical Software and Instrumentation
Fast Radio Bursts and Transients
Globular Cluster Systems
Industry Translation
Pulsars and Gravitational Wave Astronomy
Stars and Planets
Contact the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing
If you have any questions, or are looking for more information, feel free to contact our office on +61 3 9214 8000 or at contact@astro.swin.edu.au.


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Info Page: Venom
Here is all the information you need about "Venom" on Canadian Netflix. Details include the date it was added to Netflix in Canada, any known expiry dates and new episodes/seasons, the ratings and cast etc. So scroll down for more information or share the link on social media to let your friends know what you're watching.
Sci-Fi Films, Action & Adventure
Great news! "Venom" is available to watch on Netflix in Canada!
Read our review!
Date Added: 2nd September 2020
Want to keep forever? Try looking for 'Venom' on Amazon.ca (paid link)
A reporter battles a mad scientist in a fight for his life after merging with a snarky alien symbiote that gives him remarkable superpowers.
Certificate: PG-13 Intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for language
Audio: German, English - Audio Description, English [Original], Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese
Subtitles: German, English, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, Reid Scott, Jenny Slate, Melora Walters, Woody Harrelson, Peggy Lu, Malcolm C. Murray
"Venom" was produced by Matt Tolmach Productions, Pascal Pictures, Marvel Entertainment, Tencent Pictures and Avi Arad Productions with a budget of $116m. With it's initial release on September 28th 2018 it made approximately $855.01m at the Box Office.
Watch the trailer for "Venom"
Where else can you watch 'Venom' on Netflix?
Here are some similar Films to "Venom" that are available on Netflix Canada
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)
Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)


Palisade is a favorite weekend getaway. You can sample great beers along the way in the Vail Valley and then relax at one of the beautiful bed and breakfasts after a full day of wine tasting.
Garfield Estates: Be sure to sample the Vioginier and Estate Syrah while you plot out your next tasting room with owner and vinter, Carol. Also, keep in mind that their wines are available in Denver and Winery Row off of I-70 and Pecos.
Whitewater Hill: Snap some photos at this vineyard, the mesa views behind it are beautiful.
Hermosa Vineyards: Ken, owner and vinter, will show you a great time and maybe even offer to tour you around the place after you had your fill of full bodied reds.
Mesa Park Vineyards: Nestle up to the bar and enjoy a delicious Cabernet Franc while you chat with Brooke, one of the owners.
Reeder Mesa Vineyards: Bring a picnic lunch or snack to enjoy on the beautiful deck overlooking the mesa while you sample the Petit Syrah or Petit Verdot. Based on the aesthetics and the wine, this is our favorite place for wine on the Western Slope and it makes for a true wine tasting experience peak (to our knowledge, it's the highest elevation vineyard in the area).