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Cena Wilhelma Müllera, německy Wilhelm-Müller-Preis bylo literární ocenění, jež bylo udělováno mezi lety 1997 a 2013 každé tři roky Ministerstvem kultury Saska-Anhaltska (). Střídala se s cenou Friedricha Nietzscheho a cenou Georga Kaisera. Byla dotovaná částkou ve výši 15 000 euro a udělovala ji porota, jež vybírala z předložených návrhů. Ocenění bylo pojmenováno po Johannu Ludwigu Wilhelmu Müllerovi. Cena byla předávána v měsící říjnu v Anhaltské zemské knihovně v Desavě ().

Nositelé
1997 Karl Mickel
1999 Richard Pietraß
2001 Rainer Kirsch
2003 Wolfgang Büscher
2004 Thomas Rosenlöcher
2007 Wilhelm Bartsch
2010 Stephan Wackwitz
2013 Angela Krauß

Odkazy

Reference

Externí odkazy
 Cena na kulturpreise.de

Německé literární ceny
Sasko-Anhaltsko

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The future of solar energy is certain to be long and adventurous. Many experts agree that there is no end in sight, at least not any time soon, for the sustainability of solar energy as a "green" energy source that won't have a negative impact on our environment. Additionally, the fact that it's free, except for installation costs is another factor that will probably see many homeowners switching over to this form of energy source.
Using a solar panel system means you will be self reliant for your power, so you won't need to rely on the public power grid, which is an excellent benefit. You will at the very least be able to save on your electricity bills, and you may even be able to drastically reduce them. Also, you can actually earn money because in many areas the government will buy any surplus energy you create. Regardless of whether this is something that operates in your area, you will be able to make enormous savings by installing a solar panel system.
Solar panels will not only help you to reduce your costs, but it's good for the environment. Most of the processes that occur when producing electricity have quite a large negative impact on the environment due to waste and pollution. On the other hand, the production of solar power has no by-products or any negative impact on the environment whatsoever. And because it uses the sunlight to create energy it's renewable, meaning it cannot become depleted. Even though the positive effects on the environment may not be fully visible right now, the environment will do better if more people use cleaner sources of energy. The long-term effects will be immense, and the next generations will see these effects. Otherwise, if we continue at the rate we are going today, it is likely our grandchildren will only be able to see trees in museums because we seem to be doing a great job of killing our planet.
Everything required to build solar panels can be found on the internet or at a home improvement store, so you may want to think about doing it yourself. The power of the solar cells you use will be the main factor that determines how much energy you get from your solar panels. If you want to get the maximum amount of solar power, then, you need the best possible solar cells.
On average, 80 solar cells will produce about 100 watts of electricity. Based on how much energy you need, you can use this figure to estimate how many solar panels to build and how large they'll have to be. Your entire house, if you have enough solar panels, can actually be powered if positioned and used in the proper way. The cost of heating your home will dramatically reduce, especially if you use your solar panels to power your heating system.
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text:
Pavel Sokol (born 30 June 1969) is a Czech former rower. He competed in two events at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

References

External links

1969 births
Living people
Czech male rowers
Olympic rowers of Czechoslovakia
Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
People from Uherské Hradiště
Sportspeople from the Zlín Region


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Home Planning and housing Planning Conservation
The historic environment includes all aspects of the environment resulting from the interaction between people and places through time. It is a non-renewable and shared resource, which is part of Middlesbrough's identity. It contributes to a sense of place and a quality environment.
The historic environment can play a key role encouraging economic growth, by creating successful places for businesses to locate and attract inward investment, driving regeneration. In turn, a strong economy can help to sustain and enhance the historic environment, including enabling sustainable uses for historic and traditional buildings.
The speed of Middlesbrough's development from the early 19th century is unique. It grew from Middlesbrough Priory (a middle point between Durham Cathedral and Whitby Abbey), founded in 1119, to rural areas with tiny populations mostly owned by the Hustlers of Acklam and the Pennymans of Ormesby until 1801.
In 1829, Joseph Pease and other Quaker businessmen purchased land in the area for 'Port Darlington' on the banks of the Tees. A year later, a branch railway line was brought in from the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR). The construction of the branch line was the trigger for the S&DR to commission the first ever locomotive designed purely to haul passenger traffic. A town was planned to supply labour to the new coal port, and Middlesbrough was born.
The early town, called St Hilda's after the parish church that stood there until 1969, was centred on a market square, where the first town hall was built in 1846. This area was planned along a grid pattern, which was replicated across the town as rapid expansion continued up until the 20th century. The industrial revolution and John Vaughan and Henry Bolckow's discovery of iron ore in the Cleveland Hills in 1850, led to iron and steel gradually replacing coal. South of the old Town Hall and St Hilda's, a new town centre was laid out, again on a grid pattern, around what is now Centre Square, with some of Middlesbrough's most significant and prominent buildings built there over the last century. The Town Hall was built by 1889 and the Transporter Bridge in 1911, showcasing Middlesbrough's Victorian power and vitality.
Some of Middlesbrough's historic environment is designated as Scheduled Monuments, Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Registered Parks and Gardens. Some are identified (but classed as non-designated) because of local significance, such as those buildings and sites found on Middlesbrough's Local List.
There are key buildings and sites that are particularly representative of Middlesbrough's history, including early industrial and railway heritage. And there are other buildings and sites that are rare survivors of an earlier time, including rural and agricultural heritage, including:
land and heritage assets around St Hilda's (Middlehaven) the world's first planned railway town
land and heritage assets around the 1830 Middlesbrough branch line of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and related heritage assets
buildings related to people who made substantial contributions to Middlesbrough's history and development, including Henry W.F. Bolckow, Captain James Cook, Dorman Long, and John Vaughan
buildings designed by architects who made substantial contributions to Middlesbrough's historic environment, including Sir Walter Brierly, G.G. Hoskins, R.R. Kitching, Gustav Martens, Robert Moore, John Ross, and Sir Alfred Waterhouse
Our Conservation Officer oversees change in Middlesbrough's historic environment. This is done by managing proposed changes to, or within, heritage assets, and by managing the location and form of new developments, aiming for high quality, good design which respects the character and appearance of the area.
Good conservation planning decisions make good places. Good places are places where people want to live, and economically successful places.
We offer pre-application advice on proposals for changes to listed buildings and Local List structures, and to buildings within conservation areas, to guide better applications. For more information, get in touch using the contact details below.
Email: conservation@middlesbrough.gov.uk
For queries about trees and hedgerows, please contact:
Email: developmentcontrol@middlesbrough.gov.uk
Middlesbrough Local List

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Some Info I Looked into on Elite Commercial REIT
Posted on Published: January 23, 2020 - Last updated: January 29, 2020 By: Author Kyith
Categories REIT
Elite Commercial REIT has all the right metrics you would look for in a worthy Reit to invest in. Great looking 7.1% dividend yield, long wale, low debt to asset, freehold property and a tenant that looks like someone who you expect to be the last to default on their rent.
Sometimes it is either I overthink things or that I am absolutely right to be a little more skeptical.
Private equity firm Elite Partners is looking to IPO Elite Commercial Reit. A lot of the context for how to look at this REIT is shaped by the people associated with supporting this REIT.
If you read the prospectus, you might pick out something you like or do not like about it. The prospectus is 750 pages at least, with half of it just valuation report. So the main bulk of it is about 300-400 pages. If you are interested in this REIT, you should read it.
The IPO just got registered on the 28th Jan 2020. I have updated the post to reflect gaps in information where I would otherwise missed out.
The IPO Offer – 0.68 Pounds per Unit with 7.1% Dividend Yield
A total of 332 million units will be on issue. Out of these 332 million units:
Private Trust Investors, who currently are holding on to the properties will hold 139.7 million units (42%)
Cornerstone Investors such as the private banking arm of UBS AG, Bank of Singapore and CIMB Bank will hold 77.8 million units ( 23%)
109 million units will be placed out in an International Placement (33%)
You the retail public can subscribe to the 5.73 million units (2%)
This retail issue is a very small one.
The IPO is at 0.68 Pounds. At this price, the indicative dividend yield for 2020 is 7.1% and 2021 is 7.2%.
I will share more about the shareholding mix later in the article.
Elite Commercial REIT's Demand Will Come from Private Banking Clients Looking to Leverage on REITs
From what I was told, there is a strong demand for Elite Commercial REIT from private banking clients.
This is because they can borrow in Great Britain Pounds to purchase this REIT in the same currency.
With a seemingly long WALE, reasonable leverage, government tenanted portfolio, clients are willing to boost their yield if they have access to cheap interest loans.
For example, a client has $1 million in fixed deposit, they can borrow another $1 million and invest in Elite Commercial REIT.
In another example, a client can buy $1 million worth of Elite Commercial REIT yielding 7.1%, borrow $1.5 million and invest in Elite Commercial REIT. The interest is estimated to be around 1.80% currently.
The debt to asset or loan-to-value is 60%.
Some Background on the Origins of This Property Portfolio
I managed to gather some background on what may have transpired before the IPO.
So it goes like this:
Singapore based private equity firm Elite Partners acquired a portfolio of 97 commercial properties in the UK from British developer Telereal Trillium for 282 million pounds one year ago in Nov 2018.
Elite Partners have decided to IPO these 97 properties almost 1 year later in this upcoming IPO.
Telereal Trillium started its life in 1998 when the UK Government decide to shift its property strategy. Sir Malcolm Bates concluded that government bodies are moving from being owners and operators of assets into intelligent purchases of long term services. So instead of owning or leasing offices, they decide to buy property services.
In 1998, the government executed Project PRIME, which was the out-sourcing of almost all of the Department of Work and Pension (DWP) offices to the private sector.
This includes a transfer of ownership of the freehold premises, responsibility of rental costs, maintenance and cost of upgrading the buildings. DWP retains the rights to occupy the estate for 20 years. They reserve the right to reduce the payment in the event of poor performance or if the buildings become unavailable.
This is an exercise by the government to rationalize their costs.
The 20-year contract ends on March 2018.
In January 2017, Minister of Parliament debated on the Future of the DWP estate. There were some details revealed in the debate.
The department is committed to reducing the size of its estate by 20% and increasing the "co-location" of Jobcentre Plus offices with other local services such as local authority benefit teams and mental health services.
The whole debate centers on the pace of the rationalization of space. Here are some interesting parts of the discussion:
Suffice to say, the government looks to have a mandate of trying to rationalize the space. In a Sunday Post, the newspaper reported that privatizing the job centers under the PRIME contract have resulted in some outlandish payouts by the government entity.
In 2018, a new 10-year, FRI lease commencing on 1st April 2018 was signed by the DWP at newly agreed market rents.
An FRI lease is one which places responsibility for all costs of repair and insurance of the property with the tenant. This new 10-year lease is also subjected to CPI-linked rent reviews.
Before the lease commerces, Telereal Trillium instructed CBRE to sell the 280 million "The Hayhill Portfolio". The sale will put the net initial yield or net property income yield at 7.81%.
DWP's delivery of services has changed significantly over recent years and, following a comprehensive review of its estate, through which the DWP has secured new leases across its UK portfolio to provide operational and occupational stability into the future, the DWP has committed to new leases on these 98 properties.
Graham Edwards, Chief Executive at Telereal Trillium said: "With the undoubted covenant of the DWP taking new 10 year leases on these 98 assets at current market rents, it is a good time to rebalance our portfolio. We continue to invest across the UK in the office, industrial, and strategic land sectors, where we deploy our asset management capabilities to create value. Over the last year we have invested in excess of £100m in new investment property, land, and residential development schemes."
This probably coincides with a re-organization within Telereal Trillium where there are a number of high profile changes including the CEO.
This may highlight the shift in strategic direction:
The changes coincide with the conclusion of Telereal Trillium's 20-year PRIME property outsourcing contract with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on the 31st March 2018. They are in line with the company's increased appetite to find and complete on new investment opportunities, to invest in its own estate, particularly in the areas of strategic land and residential development, and to continue the effective management of its existing £6.5bn property assets, and strategic property partnerships with BT, Aviva, DVLA and Royal Mail.
On top of the Hayhill Portfolio, Telereal Trillium is also putting other government outsourced portfolios such as the Bruton and Stratton Portfolio up for sale.
We can read this Hayhill portfolio in a few ways but I think Telereal Trillium may think this isn't the future direction of how the firm is going.
It may very well be that they see the government's direction to be constantly optimizing this portfolio and downsizing it. The WALE of this portfolio is rather long at 8.6 years. However, if the government is going to rationalize the portfolio, what happens after the lease ends?
They do not renew the lease
The Manager will need to lease to someone else
The place is hard to lease out and stays vacant. The property value drops since the majority of the property value is tied to the strength of the tenant lease
The new tenant moved in could not pay as high of a rent as a government with deeper pockets
These are some of the risks that I do foresee. There are a few properties in the portfolio that may be able to break their lease within 3.6 years so we may see some actions before this.
Some Details of the Portfolio
The portfolio consists of 97 properties that are distributed across the United Kingdom. Except for one, the rest of the properties are freehold.
The appraised value is about 319 million pounds. At an exchange rate of 1 GBP to 1.75 SGD, this portfolio is valued at S$558 mil. The expected debt on the balance sheet should be approximately 97.5 million pounds. This bring the debt to asset to roughly 30%.
One of the unique nature of this portfolio is that 99% of the gross rental income is derived from UK Government as tenants. There are rental escalation yearly based on consumer price index (CPI) adjustments.
The portfolio is basically very close to triple-net lease in that the maintenance, insurance costs are borne by the tenant.
The manager describes this portfolio has "stable, recession-proof and Brexit-proof cash flows". The manager forecast that in 2020 the net property income (NPI) yield is 7.1%.
The Sponsors, Managers, and Cornerstone Investors and Lock-up Periods
There are likely to have 95 million units in issue.
Out of these, UBS AG' Singapore and Hong Kong Branch, Bank of Singapore and CIMB's Singapore branch have agreed to subscribe for about 77.83 million units at the offer price on behalf of their private banking clients.
So this REIT IPO would likely be heavily tilted towards the private banking clients of these cornerstone investors (UBS, Bank of Singapore and CIMB).
From what I read, there are no lock-up periods for the cornerstone investors.
The REIT will be managed by Elite Commercial REIT Management.
The sponsors for the REIT are:
Elite Partners Holdings (EPH)
Ho Lee Group, which is a property and construction firm
Sunway Group, a Malaysian conglomerate group
There are also a few characters associated with this IPO if we take a look at the unit lenders and those who would eventually be the substantial shareholders:
It feels very different from the REIT IPO that usually get a lot of good fanfare, where they garner the support from major institutional investors, fund houses or banks.
The prominent name here is Tan Kim Seng, who over the years have put together a few other IPO. It feels that there was a massive support gather exercise to find enough interest parties to roll out this IPO.
Together with a push to private banking clients tells me in the future, the REIT would have a lot of major shareholding volatility.
Details of Taxation
Whether we are dealing with overseas properties or local, we have to accept that there is always some risks when it comes to changes in existing taxation policies.
A REIT with overseas properties will be more complex because we have to navigate a few layers of country taxation, tax shielding.
There are a few layers of possible taxes:
Taxes on Income in the UK
Withholding taxes when money flows from UK to SG entity
Capital gains tax during disposal in the UK
Using interest expenses as a tax shield to reduce the taxable amount
Withholding taxes when money flows from SG tax offices to the REIT
Taxes on Income in Singapore
Taxes to shareholders
#1 – UK companies will be subjected to UK corporate tax on their worldwide income at the prevailing rate of 19%. Dividends received by another UK entity is exempted from UK corporate tax.
#2 – There is no withholding tax flow for UK Companies to other UK companies whether it is a dividend or interest income.
#3 – There are corporate taxes on capital gains made by non-residents in the UK. However, if unitholders are tax-resident of Singapore and a few more countries, they are exempted from this tax.
#4 – This one concerns whether the UK entities can use interest expense to reduce taxable income. Like the Singapore REITs with USA assets such as Keppel Pacific Oak, Manulife US REIT, the government wants to prevent UK companies from headquartering overseas so as to gain tax advantages. To not be considered as a hybrid entity, Elite Commercial REIT or RSIL will need to sufficiently held by an entity with at least 10% of the entity's units.
The independent tax adviser assessed and believes that Elite Commercial REIT is not a relevant entity, and RSIL is treated as the ultimate parent.
#6 – Elite Commercial REIT has received exemption of a 17% corporate tax on income accrual in Singapore, income derive from overseas received in Singapore. Their income includes interest income on bonds issued by Elite UK Commercial Holdings Limited (ECHL) to Elite REIT, dividend income from Regal Sheen Investment Limited (RSIL) and any proceeds from the redemption of bonds.
RSIL also received an exemption of taxes on dividend income it will received from ECHL. Singapore does not impose capital gains taxes.
#7 – The tax-exempted dividend, after-tax income, capital distributions unitholders will receive from Elite Commercial Trust will be exempted from taxes.
Singapore GST on Elite Commercial REIT and RSIL can be claimed back.
RSIL is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). There are no BVI income tax and withholding tax applicable here.
Properties in UK are subjected to Value added tax (VAT), Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) and Land and Buildings Transaction Taxes.
As a summary of this taxation section, we do see that in the proforma statements, there were tax expense charged. This is a mixture of deferred taxes and current taxes.
Deferred taxes were recognized as temporary differences between carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amount used for taxation purposes.
The current tax refers to the corporate taxes incurred at the current tax rate of 19% (mentioned in #1) as well as deferred taxes
If we look at the distribution adjustments, which is made up of 100% management and trustee fee paid in units, Elite Commercial REIT is likely subjected to some form of taxes.
The important one is that it is likely there are no withholding taxes when the income flows from UK to BVI to Singapore.
The Buildings
Majority of the portfolio builds are old.
Like the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s old. This is not new as in the United States, we will also have a lot of very old properties that are still around today. I could not find much information when these older buildings have been improved upon.
You can read more about them in the second half of the prospectus.
Pay attention to the valuation section. In that section, you can find information about the Initial Yield, Equivalent Yield, and Reversionary Yield.
The Initial Yield will show the yield based on first-year rent
The Reversionary Yield will show the yield of the property it will eventually rose and fall to
The Equivalent Yield will be somewhere in between these two and show probably the average yield you will get overtime
By reviewing these three figures, we can have a direction of whether the market rent Telereal renewed in 2018 is above, below or roughly similar to the market rent now.
If Initial Yield is higher than Reversionary Yield, the current rent is higher than market rent. A worrying sign.
If it is the other way, then there may be a higher potential for higher rental reversion when the rent gets renewed in the future.
This property shows the current rent is vastly above the market rent. The initial yield is much higher than the equivalent and reversionary yield.
This property shows current rent vastly below-market rent.
I tried to categorize the properties based on whether the current rent is above or below the current rent.
Number of properties where current rent is greater than market rent: 76
Number of properties where current rent is below the market rent:19
Almost the same: 2
78% of the properties have current rent higher than market rent. It does indicate to me that the properties are being rented above their current potential rent as assessed by the valuer.
If the properties do not get renewed, re-leased rent might be lower. For some, you could see a 2-3% yield gap.
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Chua TC
Monday 10th of February 2020
Thanks for your analysis. I have a few questions: 1.Am I right to say an overseas investor domiciled in Singapore do not have to psy withholding tax on UK income or distribution. 2. What is the lock up period for the owner investors? 3.What would be a good price range to enter? Thank you TC
Kyith
Hi Tc, whether you pay withholding tax depends on which countries it enters. So in this case, it will be UK to Singapore. The lock up period can be found in the prospectus. When the yield is closer to 8%
Thursday 30th of January 2020
fantastic detailed analysis job..........with the uk exiting the eu will throw up some currency fluctuations but hard to define .....at this juncture the bet is the uk will reduce its interest rate .......so would appreciate your view good / bad / investment for small punters...
Sinkie
Thursday 23rd of January 2020
I'm always skeptical of overseas properties being marketed locally in S'pore. If it's so good, their home market investors will have grabbed it already.
And UK investors are as (or even more!!) property-crazy AND income/yield-crazy as Sinkies. Yes, hard to imagine but quite true.
This looks pretty much like an exit plan for private & HNW investors.
If you're positive about UK property, a better bet will be British Land --- it owns over 100 acres of trophy assets in London & it focuses on big integrated campus-like mixed-use developments in London catering to new demographics & new trends in modern living --- work, live, play, grow, mixed residential & commercial, restaurants, shops, bars, offices, millennials, high-tech growth companies, urban living.
Brexit issue has suppressed it to a 20-yr low valuation & 5+% dividend yield over the last 2+ years. It has formed a base & has been rising in the last few months.
BTW, GIC has co-invested with British Land into 1 of its integrated mixed-use central London campus. Very successful .... 97% occupancy rate & US$173M in rents every year.
Friday 24th of January 2020
They have 40% retail exposure and going thru years of write down.
I believe there is 20pct WHT buying UK REIT directly.
Hi Sinkie, thanks for the valuable knowledge. I think I must developed the skills to evaluate comprehensively in a fast manner so that eventually I will develop that gut feel to know fast if something is good or not good.
HI Kyith,
How did you find out the current market rate on current properties in UK?
Hi Sunny,
It is stated in the prospectus the Colliers valuation.
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Early Spanish Colony Unearthed In Downtown Pensacola
A long-running mystery has been solved after artifacts surfaced confirming the location of the oldest multi-year settlement in the United States in Pensacola, Florida.
Sarah Pruitt
Early in October, a local historian named Tom Garner was driving through downtown Pensacola when he noticed ground disturbed on a private lot where a house had recently been bulldozed. Garner had read the translated version of Don Tristán de Luna's papers years earlier and identified the neighborhood as a possible site for Santa María de Ochuse, the colony Luna founded in 1559. His suspicions about the area had only increased due to its close proximity to the two shipwrecks linked to Luna's expedition that were later found in Pensacola Bay.
After Garner—who had been trained in professional archaeological methods at the University of West Florida (UWF)—walked over to the site with the exposed earth, he spotted a shard of pottery that he identified as the rim of an olive jar dating to the mid-16th century. He contacted archaeologists at UWF about his discovery, and they got permission from the property owners to investigate further. Garner's subsequent collections turned up numerous pottery fragments, which he brought to a UWF laboratory. The archaeologists who examined his findings—including John Worth, associate professor of historical archaeology and a noted historian of 16th-century Spanish colonies in the southeastern United States—were stunned.
De Luna's landing.
"What we saw in front of us in the lab that day was an amazing assemblage of mid-16th century Spanish colonial period artifacts," Worth told the Pensacola News Journal. "These items were very specific to this time period. The university conducted fieldwork at this site in the mid-1980s, as have others since then, but no one had ever found diagnostics of the sort that Tom found on the surface. People have looked for this site for a long time." The property owners granted a five-day window in early November so that the university team could excavate about half an acre of land before construction began on their new home. The archaeologists turned up many more fragments of Spanish, Aztec and Native American pottery at the site, along with wrought iron nails, glass trade beads and other artifacts.
Some 1,500 people lived in Luna's 16th-century colony, which is believed to have stretched over what are now multiple blocks of downtown Pensacola. The university is not revealing the exact location where the artifacts were found, in order to protect the neighborhood and the integrity of the site, but they will say it is in an urban downtown area within view of the two shipwrecks in Pensacola Bay linked to Luna's expedition. The Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research discovered the first ship, Emanuel Point I, in 1992. UWF turned up the second, Emanuel Point II, in 2006, and is currently excavating the wreck. Back on land, Worth and his colleagues are seeking permission from local residents to access the site of the colony for further excavations and testing this summer.
Historians believe Luna's fleet left San Juan de Ulua (Veracruz) in June 1559 and reached the coast of Florida at Santa Rosa Island, near modern-day Navarre Beach, the following month. He was traveling with 550 soldiers, 200 Aztecs and an unknown number of African slaves and had been tasked by the Spanish government with forming a settlement on the coast of Florida before moving inland. In August, Luna's expedition arrived at the Bay of Ochuse (now Pensacola Bay), where they selected a site for their settlement and began offloading supplies.
Europeans had settled in the present-day United States earlier, but none of their settlements lasted more than a few weeks. Luna's colony would endure two years, but not without significant struggles. Just five weeks after the colony was founded, a hurricane struck, destroying half of the fleet and all of the provisions that remained aboard. The Spanish sent various relief fleets to aid the colonists, the first of which arrived in December 1559. According to Worth, there is evidence that some of the settlers moved inland into Alabama for around six months, close to a large Native American settlement along the central Alabama River called Nanipacana. In June 1560, suffering from lack of food, they returned to Ochuse.
In April 1561, a fourth relief fleet arrived bearing orders from the Spanish viceroy for its captain, Angel de Villafañe, to replace Luna as the colonial governor. Luna returned to Spain, and most of the remaining colonists headed with Villafañe on an expedition to Havana, Cuba; only 50 men were left behind at Santa María de Ochuse. In late August 1561, Villafañe returned to pick up the remaining Ochuse colonists and head back to San Juan de Ulua, ending the life of this early European settlement in North America.
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The head of the British Army has made military history by addressing a conference on homosexuality, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
General Sir Richard Dannatt, the chief of the general staff, told members of the Army-sponsored Fourth Joint Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual Matters that homosexuals were welcome to serve in the Army.
In a speech to the conference in London on Thursday, – the first of its kind by any Army chief – Gen Sir Richard said that respect for gays, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-sexual officers and soldiers was now "a command responsibility" and was vital for "operational effectiveness".
In the speech, he said: "We have made real progress in our understanding of equality and diversity in the military context, and there is a desire to achieve more yet. My recent Equality and Diversity Directive for the Army sets the standard that we must live by, and, importantly, it communicates that standard to everyone in the chain of command.
"Respect for Others", one of the Army's core values, is at the heart of this directive.
"Respect for others is not an optional extra, it is a command responsibility and an essential part of leadership, teamwork and operational effectiveness. We must get dealing with each other in the Army right, so that we also get it right when dealing with other populations on operations, when we often have men and women from other nations under command."
The Army has often had a difficult relationship with the gay community in comparison to the Royal Navy and RAF. Only last year, Gen Dannatt banned soldiers in uniform from attending the Gay Pride march. By contrast, gay personnel from the Royal Navy and the RAF were encouraged to attend in uniform.
Sources close to the general, who is a Christian with deeply held views, said that Gen Dannatt was determined to speak at the conference because he wanted to demonstrate that the modern Army is a tolerant organisation, where people of any sexual orientation can make a valuable contribution.
The source added: "There will be a reaction to this by some in the Army but I think the majority of soldiers will welcome it. Being gay isn't the issue it once was. What matters on the battlefield is how you fight not who you sleep with – it's just not an issue."
The armed forces ban on homosexual serviced personnel was lifted in 2000 following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which described it as a "grave interference" into the private life of individuals.
When the ban was in place gay and lesbian service personnel were ruthlessly hunted down by members of the special investigation branch of the Royal Military Police. Troops who "confessed" to being gay after hours of interrogation were disciplined or discharged from the military for being in breach of military law.
The military's defence chiefs had previously claimed that allowing homosexual personnel to serve openly in the forces would impact on operational effectiveness and was prejudicial to military discipline.


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Home News Insights Stop Online Piracy Act: fair play or a stacked deck?
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Stop Online Piracy Act: fair play or a stacked deck?
Insight December 22, 2011
Currently under debate in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Stop Online Piracy Act ("SOPA") would provide the Attorney General and copyright holders with tools to combat copyright infringement and trafficking of counterfeit goods. Whether the bill goes too far, though, is under heavy scrutiny. Opponents to SOPA, including Internet giants such as Google and Facebook, worry that the bill will result in Internet censorship akin to China's Internet firewall. Others, including the RIAA and MPAA, believe it is necessary to protect U.S. intellectual property.
SOPA's procedure and relief vary depending on whether the U.S. Attorney General or a copyright holder takes action against websites or operators deemed in violation of the bill. Essentially, SOPA enables copyright holders to cut off sources of funding and traffic for offending sites by preventing completion of payment transactions, and barring advertisements on, as well as advertisements directing traffic to, the allegedly infringing site.
Following is a brief overview of the process when initiated by a copyright holder.
SOPA creates a private right of action for copyright holders
Copyright holders need only have a "good faith belief" that an Internet site, domestic or foreign, is at least partly dedicated to the theft of U.S. property.
A site is deemed as such if it is directed to the U.S., is used by U.S. users, and: the site offers "goods or services in a manner that engages in, enables, or facilitates" copyright infringement, sale of goods bearing counterfeit marks, or circumvention of copyright protection systems; or the operator of the site has taken deliberate steps to "avoid confirming a high probability" that the site is used to "carry out" copyright infringement or circumvention of copyright protection systems; or the operator runs the site with the goal of promoting copyright infringement or circumvention of copyright protection systems.
The copyright holder must send a written notification to payment network providers (e.g. PayPal) and Internet advertising services, who must then take certain actions upon receipt of the notification.
Payment network providers must "expeditiously" take "technically feasible and reasonable measures" designed to prevent its service from "completing payment transactions involving" customers located in the U.S.
Internet advertising services must "expeditiously" take "technically feasible and reasonable measures" which disable placement of ads on the site, ads pointing to the site, and must stop providing or receiving compensation for advertising services in connection with the site.
Additionally, both types of entities must provide notice of the action to the offending site.
The gamut of "feasible" actions is noticeably restricted by the inclusion of "reasonable". Therefore, simply because a party could implement a costly process to deal with allegedly infringing sites, this does not necessarily mean that such action is reasonable.
Counter notifications
SOPA does provide site owners with the ability to file counter notifications. An effective counter notification bars payment network providers and Internet advertising services from outright disabling their services upon receiving a SOPA notice. Instead, a copyright holder would first have to get approval from a court.
Importantly, if the allegedly infringing site is a foreign Internet site, then the owner must consent to U.S. jurisdiction in its counter notification. Assuming the foreign site is not actually violating SOPA, it would still have to consent to U.S. jurisdiction, thereby exposing itself to potentially crippling costs. In these situations, it may be more cost efficient to simply shut down and start over.
Copyright holder relief
In cases where the defendant issues an effective counter notification, SOPA grants the copyright holder access to temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, and injunctions to cease and desist any further activity as a site dedicated to theft of U.S. property.
Incentive to comply
Entities which comply with SOPA's mandates, or which voluntarily block access to, or end financial affiliation with, the allegedly infringing site, receive immunity from suit and damages which may arise out of compliance. This may ultimately mean that parties who receive a SOPA notice will immediately take action against the site, regardless of whether the site actually infringes. Acting otherwise risks immunity and subjects the party to liability.
Provision to prevent abuse of SOPA
Although the private action is easily triggered, the bill provides that anyone who knowingly, materially misrepresents whether a site is dedicated to the theft of U.S. property, is liable for damages and costs and attorney's fees. Those seeking to successfully argue misrepresentation must meet a high burden, especially compared to the ease with which copyright holders may initiate the process. Due to this burden and the cost of litigation, infringing parties are more likely to simply shut down the site and setup another one, while non-infringing parties face the possibility of shutting down altogether.
SOPA's reach and implications
Copyright holders need protection for their work as well as the tools to ensure their work is not misappropriated. The ease with which copyrighted work can be reproduced and distributed is a valid concern. While SOPA seeks to equip copyright holders with new tools to combat piracy, it is undoubtedly far reaching.
SOPA would allow U.S. copyright holders to sue even foreign Internet sites which may violate SOPA. Thus, if a copyright holder has a good faith belief that a site based in a foreign country is misappropriating a copyrighted work, then the copyright holder can fatally disrupt that site's operation. Though this may be considered fair play where the site actually infringed on a copyright and reached into the U.S. for illegitimate purposes—what of the sites that do not so infringe? Is it fair play when a site, operating legitimately, is one day alerted that its advertising and payment systems have been disabled due to a foreign copyright holder's good faith belief that only a portion of the site is infringing?
Although SOPA contains provisions for arguing these cases, not many Internet sites would have the funding to litigate in the U.S. This seems especially unfair where the copyright holder is mistaken and the site is actually non-infringing.
The House is expected to continue debating and amending SOPA early next year.
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Police in California are urging anyone who may have been victimized by a 62-year-old man Latu Kamisese Lavaki (originally from Tonga) to contact law enforcement. The San Mateo County Sherriff's Office, in the US, released a media statement on Wednesday, calling Lavaki a "prolific sexual predator".
Two convicted murderers in California, Tevita Kaihea (22) and Charlie Hola (22), were handed large prison sentences by a court in Sacramento yesterday 27 August. Kaihea received a prison sentence of 112 years to life whilst Hola received 48 years to life.
A Tongan-American scholar Angelina Finau (22) of Los Angeles, has been selected by the United States Government's prestigious Fulbright Student Program.
When Americans are asked what percentage of US government spending goes to foreign aid, the median answer is 25%. The correct answer is 1%. No wonder, then, that when President Donald Trump justifies cutting aid on the grounds that other countries need to step up because they are not paying their fair share, many people believe him. By Peter Singer.
A group of 22 United States Peace Corps volunteers were sworn-in today Thursday, November 3, at the Tanoa International Dateline Hotel before they take up assignments teaching English in rural village schools in Tongatapu and the outer islands. U.S Ambassador to Tonga Judith Cefkin said that next year marks the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps in Tonga.
A new United States Government fishing regulation that went into effect late last month, violates a conservation measure for high seas fishing in the Western and Central Pacific, "This is a superpower abusing a measure agreed to in December 2015," said Dr Transform Aqorau today, 13 May.
New rainwater catchment systems and rehabilitated cement tanks were unveiled at Tefisi, Vava'u, on Wednesday 25 May, in a project funded by USAID.
The visa system that performs national security checks of the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs is experiencing technical problems, according to a statement from the US Embassy in Fiji.
The Republic of Kiribati and the United States have signed a boundary treaty delimiting the waters between their two countries.
Kurt Campbell, the US Assistant Secretary of State for the East Asian and Pacific Affairs, arrives in Tonga on August 1, the first stop of a tour that includes six other Pacific Island countries.
Tonga's Prime Minister Lord Tu'ivakano will depart Tonga tomorrow, May 16 to attend the 2012 NATO Summit hosted by US President Barack Obama, in Chicago.
A trilateral security discussion among the United States, Australia and Japan that first was initiated in August 2002 will be intensified and elevated to the foreign ministerial level, according to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.


There's so much I'd like to write about, but...I find it soooo difficult to write a whole blog post. Takes a lot out of me for some reason (or at least I think it does until I actually do it! Like now for example). So, I was thinking of maybe writing in aphorisms instead, like Nassim Taleb. Or at least just shorter and more terse form of essay... Maybe that'll encourage me to write more often..
From a young age I've loved history, and loved even more the prospect of becoming part of the historical process, especially in terms of the history of our people, and the rabbinic literary tradition. I've always tried to collect scholarly works of people I either knew or was acquainted with. My English teacher in high school actually wrote a small commentary on the Parsha in Hebrew, so I acquired that. My high school was also next door to the home of the Romanian "Tenker" Rebbe, so I read his works as well. When I went on to yeshiva in Israel, the rabbis I studied by wrote more serious works: one rabbi wrote a popular commentary to "Nach", another on Sugyot. Though the most influential authors Ive met was during my time in the yeshiva of Moshe Pinto in Petach Tikvah (himself a student of Avraham Ḥafuta). He wrote a very important commentary on Gemara, and he even introduced me to Yitzchak Yosef during his visit to the yeshiva. He is the author of the extremely popular "Yalkut Yosef" series on halacha, which I've been studying since my childhood (not to mention brief meetings I've had with other Sefaradi Gedolei Hador, Ovadia Yosef, Yitzchak Kaduri, Meir Mazuz and Shalom Messas). Since then, every time I see any of their sefarim on a bookshelf, I feel like I'm an active part of the Torah tradition, and that, in a way, I know the authors of all the other sefarim on the shelves. Which is similar to the feeling you get when you write truly innovative Divrei Torah on a Sugya; you real feel like you're part of a chain that did not begin with you, and will not end with you.
The same is true for more secular literature as well, of course. Sometimes you read a book, a novel, and it seems so magical. It's almost hard to believe it's some "made up story" that some guy dreamed up on a Tuesday afternoon. But the more you meet actual authors, of novels, non-fiction and even popular text books on things like science and economics, you begin to feel that this is a continuing, living tradition. None of this is over your or anyone else's heads. The people who wrote these works are actually very human and very fallible. They've just studied a lot more than you. Or are more innovative than you. So, on a smaller level, reading the writings of your peers, whether on blogs or on Facebook or what have you, is a continuation of that phenomenon. People your age and who you know can be authors as well. Perhaps one day it won't be their blog you're reading, but their book, or their best-selling novel, or their science text book or their sefer. And perhaps under their influence, you will do the same.
I was just thinking about Tiberius (again!) recently (as a result of me absetmindedly singing "אוחיל יום" to myself, which is a piyut praising the holiness of that city).
I posted not long ago on Facebook how it's funny that not only did a huge amount of Jews live in places like Tiberius and Sepphoris (Teveria and Tzipori), and not only did a lot of Rabbis live there, but the Mishna and the Palestinian Talmud were both written there. Why is it funny? Because these cities were built by the Romans and were centers of commerce and commercialism. Jesus himself speaks of how he always found those distant Roman cities to be daunting in their corruption. My message on Facebook was that Jews really are, as the Nazis said, incorrigible Capitalists and mercantile and bourgeois etc.
I've been exposed recently, here and there, to something I know of through Nietzsche (GS 341) and popular culture, known as the phenomenon of Eternal Return, in which ones reality repeats itself an infinite number of times.
My first recent exposure to the concept has been when I watched (the entire television series of) Battlestar Galactica; a line that is constantly repeated by both Cylons and Humans is, quite similar to the line from Peter Pan, "All of this has happened before, and all of this shall happen again". And, more recently, I saw the 1993 Harold Ramis film, Groundhog Day, in which Mr. William Murray is forced to relive Feburay 2nd in an eternal loop (I had seen the film as a child, but recalled very little from it). Aside from being a feel-good Hollywood romantic comedy, it also brings up some core Nietzschean existential issues: for Bill Murray can only escape the loop when he has completed his mission of living the perfect day--of course, there are moralistic problems with the premise, for example that he improves himself only in order to impress the woman he desires--but otherwise it's thoroughly moralistic.
The only question is, what place does Eternal Return have in religion, and for that matter, Judaism? It is clear that it's origins are in what is known as the "Eastern Religions". Pre-Monotheistic peoples from the ancient Egyptians to the Hindus to the Greeks and even their philosophers believed in certain forms of Eternal Return and of course, reincarnation. And we also know that essentially, Judaism frowns upon reincarnation, or "גלגול" (as an aside, I came to the conclusion a couple of years ago that "גלגול\גלגל", cycle, wheel, is obviously a construct of the word "גל", wave, twice. In other words, a wave that would turn into itself would be a natural cylinder). According to the Torah we only live once, and it's our job to perfect ourselves in order to live out a possible eternal existence in perfection. Not that we'll just return again to this world, to live life over again. Luria and others have devised a form of reincarnation that fits in with the Talmudic conceptualization of Reward and Punishment, but it's not "essential Judaism".
I myself though, ever since I was fourteen years old, envisioned a helpful meditation based on a Groundhog Day-like treatment of Eternal Return (I wonder if that's where I got it from?) that is helpful in a Devotional way. It's also based partly on Luzzatto, who says (in MY) that one should only do something, or indulge in some halakhic leniency, if one is certain that he is doing it because it's permissible, not because his Evil Incantation is prompting him. My idea was that if you wish to do something that you know isn't right, but want to at least indulge in a little, you should think "How intrinsically correct and right is this act? Is this something I'd be ok with doing for a couple of years? Ten years? A hundred years? A thousand? Ad infinitum? If not, then that proves that it's not something you should be doing even for a short time.
May God have mercy on us and return us quickly to His Torah, Amen.
Well, strangely enough, I actually just saw the 2009 thriller "Law Abiding Citizen", a thoughtful screenplay written by Mr. Kurt Wimmer. This is an example of one of those fine worksof art that question the core values of our society, but which you rarely hear anyone speaking about.
Assuming you too have seen it: I'm not entirely sure what Wimmer is trying to prove; Butler is depicted as the villain, but he wasn't a villain to me. He wanted to change the corrupt system at it's core. A Sodom and Gomorrah type of operation. Sure G-d said he wouldn't destroy the city if there were ten righteous people within the city, but it also says that once punishment comes to the world it kills the righteous along with the wicked.
And anyway, Fox himself becomes his enemy by taking the law into his own hands. That's my favorite part. Although I feel he ends the film as he started; a pompous prosecutor who's totally dependant on the corrupt system.
I, at the very least, challenge anyone who doesn't believe in the death penalty; not to mix Left and Right into the subject, but judge everything on its own, does it make sense to let murderers free? What does that say about society? I personally believe that if it can be proven that someone murdered without any provocation, if he was tortured/maimed for life it would actually prevent future crimes of the same nature, since, if evidence of the previous judgement is evident, who in their right mind would risk it happening to them? And if they did it anyway, surely they deserve the same fate. I mean honestly, does it make sense to give the same punishment for a kosher meat plant owner who hired illegal immigrants and for someone who killed a family in cold blood for no reason other than a malicious spirit?
I have an acquaintance who I (supposedly) know from the Mir (I don't quite remember him), who, like me, is one of those "lost souls of Borough Park", and, like me, does thinks like go to Arbit at one o'clock at night for no particular reason. Anyway, he spotted me picking up some lemons at the 24 hour fruit store and inquired about the state of my religiosity (he sees me as being a bit "modern"). As it happens he then met a mentally unstable friend of his (another lost soul) and we spoke with him for a while. After he parted from us though, my friend suggested that if I'm not doing much Torah-learning on a daily basis, perhaps it would be best for me to look into at least reading the Torah portion correspondent to the day of the week and/or the Daf Yomi.
The Connection: The twentieth page of Avodah Zarah discusses the issur of "לא תחנם". While Nitzavim/Vayelech don't mention it specifically, it does state in verse five of the thirty first chapter "וַעֲשִׂיתֶם לָהֶם כְּכָל הַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִי אֶתְכֶם", i.e. those stated in seventh chapter, "לא תחנם" being one of them.
The Daf: Even without the talk of "לא תחנם", I'd definitely put this daf on a list of "most interesting dapim in the Gemara". It talks about giving away land in Eretz Yisrael, it talks about looking at girls and how the Tanaim dealt with it, and it contains the quote which is the foundation of my main spiritual guide, the Messilat Yesharim. Yes, certainly not a daf you want to miss. For me by the far the most absurd part about it is something I had thought of when I was young, if only whimsically: saying the brachah of "שככה לו בעולמו" (which is recited upon seeing beautiful creations) on on attractive girls! (You'll have to read the sugya to find out what happens with that!).
The Parsha: There are two major theological questions that I noticed in this parsha, and they both occur when G-d calls Moshe and Yeshoshua' to the tent to tell them what will happen in the End of Days. First of all, the fact that G-d knows they'll sin brings to question the principle of "הכל צפוי והרשות נתונה". Secondly, it's well known that the Halocaust is alluded to here (via the Torah Codes).
The truth About Moreinu's cursing the Palestinian People!
Also, he wished the prayer upon "Yishmael". This is another topic: the Israeli media always tries to single things out as if they're very recent historical phenomenon. As if there were never Haredim before 1948, as if there were never Zionists before 1948. According to them, there were barely even Jews before 1948. Everything in the world started in the here and now. Obviously that's absurd. The relationship between Jews and Arabs for example; way older than 1948. Unlike European Jews, we have always been praying for the destruction of "Yishmael" in our prayers and our songs. Even a thousand years ago, one of the songs written for Simchat Torah, called "יום שמחה לישראל", goes through the entire alphabet withing joy upon Israel and destruction upon Yishmael (and it's extremely descriptive). Our greatest poets, even from the Golden Age in Spain, called Yishmael our greatest enemy and have prayers to G-d for their downfall all throughout their poetry.
So, again, חכם עובדיה is not, nor has he ever been a politician. He spearheaded the founding of a political party, but only, in his own words, to have more funds stipend to Sephardic religious institutions. He is no more than a rabbi and a "halachist", and uses the same terminology that was always used, especially today when the Arabs are at our necks to such an extent.
I think the Neturei Karta and other Satmar Chasidim are being more than a little misleading about their own ideologies to the secular media solely in order to deride the Zionist ideology in the eyes of the Nations. They urge people to differentiate between "Jews" and "Zionists", explaining that only Zionists believe in Occupying Palestinian land and killing innocent civilians, while they portray themselves, representatives of real Judaism, as political doves.
I feel they are being openly misleading since the Satmar must believe in Mashiach. Because if they didn't, they would be outside the pale of Orthodox Jewry by all standards. They believe in a Mashiach who will be accepted to Satmar standards, but if there one day is a may who conforms to all their Messianic requirements, they will be compelled to follow him. And in every version of the Jewish story, whether you're Satmer or Abayudaya, Mashiach leads the Jews back to Israel. Here's the tricky part; there are already Palestinians in Israel. But they too will of course accept the authority of a Satmer Mashiach, because he is, after all, not Zionist. ...won't he? Well, we have a tradition about the Messianic Era that states "עולם כמנהגו נוהג", nothing will happen on a supernatural level. Besides for the return of the Jewish state under Mashiach, things will be the same. In that case: no. The Palestinians will not leave their houses because a Satmer Mashiach tells them to or because a Lubavitch Mashiach tells them to! In that case, there can be no way around some level of bloodshed. Even the Satmer agree to that. Just because their Mashiach hasn't come YET, doesn't mean they don't believe that he will or that they gave up on their Messianic dream to occupy Palestine.
I think it's silly to imagine a Judaism exclusive of Eretz Yisrael, and what living there entails. I'll give you an example; I think it's stupid how the כיבוש הארץ is always attributed to Yehoshua and Yehoshua alone. It says clearly in the summer parashyot which no one ever bothers to read that Moshe Rabenu was also involved in many of the initial campaigns East of the Jordan. That's right, the man who received the Torah twice with his very hands has the same person to draw his sword and fill it with the blood of the armies of the Bashan and the Emori, to make way for Jewish Settlers. And let us not forget the author of the beautiful Tehillim which fills our mouths every day of the week; David Hamelech, another great pillar of normative Judaism, waged wars with neighboring nations only for the sake of acquiring land! Even according to Satmer, Judaism and "Zionism" cannot exist without each other (for them they do now, but they have not and will not always be apart).
Nothing much of great import to report, friends, besides for the fact that on Tuesday night, after a direct wall-to-wall facebook invite, I decided to attend one of the writing meetings (most likely a spin-off of the poetry meetings) orchestrated by the honourable Mr. Baruch Tauber. I had been feeling my creativity wane anyway so I felt it would be good for me. And it was. Tauber had an image prepared for us which we were to see, and subsequently formulate a story from. In this case it was a girl and a man on a highway fixing a car. Based on that I started writing a short story, since I wasn't sure what protocol called for (it turned out vignettes were more appropriate), and based as well on the fact that, as I've mentioned here before, I'm trying to work on my narrative writing. It was about a girl with divorced parents who was having a frictional relationship with her father who had custody of her on Sundays only. Long story short, my idea was to have them reconcile as a result of a non-injurious car accident (perhaps I'll post it here later). Though I admitted that was quite a dull scenario, and quite honestly not one I'm interested in myself, but time was of the essence.
Feivel also mentioned how he's blogging less these days, much like me. And much like me, not because he's lacking ideas, but because the transferral of those ideas from electrons in the brain to pixels on a screen often seems daunting. Perhaps I am just projecting my own issues upon others, but I think there's less blogging going on in general at the moment, and in the Chabad community in particular. It can't just be me, since Sara Bonne seems to be struggling with quite the same issue.
Another Chabad-blogger-related-issue that's crossed my mind is that the poetry slam itself seems not to be happening much recently. I think it may have to do with the fact that it's biggest protagonists were the Kings and the [TRSers], who are now living more sedentary lives, and have less of a need for poetry slams. Oh well, lets hope them well and hope the occasional slam returns in the autumn.
"To be a free people in our own land, The land of Zion and Jerusalem." These are the words that end the Hatikvah anthem. For generations, many of the more traditional factions in Judaism opposed the idea of "Political Zionism", and their opposition could easily be manifest in this last verse of Hatikvah; the Secular Jews who revived Zionism and established the Jewish State in Zion wanted a society "free" from G-d's laws and free from religious responsibilities. Quite simply, they wanted to be freye yidden, or "free Jews", a derogatory term used by the Ultra Orthodox in Europe connoting Secular Jews.
What I always wondered how they overlooked though, is that Hatikvah is obviously not the first Jewish text yearning for national "freedom". Every day we say in our prayers תְּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל לְחֵרוּתֵנוּ, "Blow the great ram's horn to liberate us". Also the famous prayer in the Hagadah לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּאַרְעָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּנֵי חוֹרִין, "Next year in the Land of Israel, free men". We see that Jewish liturgy has always been replete with prayers for freedom. Not freedom from religion, as traditionalists naively suppose about Hatikvah, but freedom to serve G-d as we're meant to.
This topic of national liberation finds an appropriate place in our current spot on the Hebrew calender. Tonight we mourn the destruction of our beloved Temple in Jerusalem, and the subsequent fleeing of G-d's Direct Presence from the earth. Our sages say the main reason for this destruction was because our ancestors harbored too much baseless animosity for one another (Yoma 9b). But that is a more spiritualistic reason responding to why G-d allowed it to occur, but there were naturalistic political reasons the Talmud discusses as well (Gittin 56a), and what arises from the entire narrative is that the reason for the Destruction was the stubbornness of the Nationalist Party, who were always looking to oust the Romans from the Holy Land. Since, had the Peace Party been the only ones in power, there would have not been any reason for war, and Israel would have prospered, yet, under the boot of the Roman, prosperity is quite relative, and for many war is preferable to peace (if it seems silly to you to make such an ado out of the Roman presence in Israel, just see how fired-up the Arabs are today in contemporary Palestine about "foreign occupation").
Were they sinners then? Those who brought about the destruction of G-d's Sanctuary on Earth? I think it would be silly to say such a thing, because, unlike what the Haredim propose, freedom has always had a prominent place in our liturgy and our national conscience. Even in the face of adversity, it is a mitzvah to strive towards the further emancipation of our people. Not to give this post a political tone, but just to be clear: Even today, in what is called the "Israeli Occupied West Bank" and Judea, while we are in fact in power and it is the Arabs who are struggling for their emancipation, there is still much action taken to prevent our people from living freely on its land. So, today as well, it would be wrong to criticize their struggle.
May we all merit to work in unison, drive the Arab off the Temple mount, and rebuild the Third Temple brick by brick with our own two hands. Amen.
Are not shared intellectual levels and interests clear signs of compatibility for marriage? How can they not be?
I haven't been writing much recently it seems; I keep seeing my name fall lower on the "recently updated" blogrolls of my friends who were kind enough to include me in their lists. It's mostly due to lethargy I guess, a trait I unfortunately have an unusually intimate relationship with. By the way, hope to see you by the Israel Day Parade today!
It says in Brachot 24/a, discussing what one can be facing while reciting Kri'at Sh'ma, quotes Ribi Yitzchak who says "A tefach (of revealed flesh) in a woman is 'erva'", and then quotes Rav Hasda who says that "The 'leg' of a woman is 'erva', the hair in a woman is 'erva' and the voice of a woman is 'erva'".
I do not wish to discuss Kol Isha for the moment, so let's stick with the leg prohibition: The Hebrew word used is "שוק". The definition of שוק is not clear; many poskim understand it as meaning the thigh (upper portion of the leg) until the knee. Based on this understanding they not only allow men to recite K"S in the presence of women who's upper legs are covered, but in general allow skirts for women as long as they cover the thigh (and knee). What many don't know though is that other poskim understand שוק as the calf (the lower portion of the leg)! Which would mean that not only must that part of the leg be covered for men to recite K"S facing it, but that a woman must cover her entire leg in general (stockings are not considered a covering in halacha unless they are 100% opaque, so it's as if they're not there).
In my struggle for a more Egalitarian Judaism, one thing I always feel bad about regarding the dress restrictions on women is dressing so properly that it's at times absurdly out of place. For example, my mind always told me that if an Orthodox woman is doing something like mountain climbing, a little more leniency should be provided than just being able to don trousers under a skirt, which is as far as most authorities are willing to allow. The funny thing is though that based on the reasoning of one explanation of this statement, woman's dress restrictions lessen greatly.
To begin, it would seem that this statement is extremely restricting; we just stated that a woman's lower leg cannot be revealed because it's mentioned in this statement. But isn't this part of the Gemara's statement only discussing K"S? If the leg being erva means that you can never reveal that part of the body in the presence of men, wouldn't that mean that a woman cannot speak or have her hair uncovered in front of men?
First of all, the Gemara later says that one can never gaze upon a woman's calf (if he is not married to her etc). But in regards to hair the commentators say that only a married woman's hair is considered erva, but in front of an unmarried woman's hair you can say K"S, and she does not have to cover her hair in general. And the reason they give is that only a married woman's hair is alluring. The hair of an unmarried woman is a usual sight.
We see, therefore, that much of tzni'ut (even against what in says in the Gemara) is based on what people today find alluring. So something such as wearing shorts, for example, for a girl, during mountain climbing, might have a היתר based on this mode of thought. I'm obviously not saying I find it to be ok, I'm only saying that these are not clear-cut proofs, and can be used in either direction.
On a similar vein, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein actually has a Tshuva speaking about how tzni'ut in general is dependent on what is acceptable in that place. He says, for example, that if a man lives in a place where everyone walks around with bare arms, even before kings, there is nothing wrong for him to have his arms exposed all day, even in prayer. On the other hand, he also says that if one lives in a place where ankles are always covered, it would even be prohibited for a man to have his ankles exposed. Or even if one generally has his arms or ankles covered outdoors, he may not have them bare at home.
Which is a problem for me at times: For example if I wish to go biking in shorts, I often go from a community where shorts are unacceptable for men (Ultra Orthodox Jewish communities) to a place where everyone is wearing shorts. My opinion is that in the Jewish community one must wear long pants until one reaches an area in which it is acceptable. ועוד חזון למועד.
2) Tzitz Eliezer 1/62 (though compared to Rav Ovadia it just seems like a lot of unsourced Haredi ranting).
4) Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society Number IV/May Women Wear Pants?
5) And this shiur from Rav Willig of Yeshiva University, who seems to have come to similar conclusions about lower leg exposure (at 22:10).
You know friends, there's something about me that's been on my mind recently, having to do with my verbal interactions with my peers and acquaintances. It seems that I'm rarely if ever the one to end any conversation. It's like I don't "believe" in ending conversations. Which is strange because it's diametrically opposed to my verbal nature as a child. Growing up, I would never exchange a word with someone I wasn't familiar with, and wouldn't say much to friends either. I was quite the nonverbal character. Since my early adulthood though I've been shocked at times to reveal the loquacious version of my personality. Studying the phenomenon as a whole though, I'm coming to think they're not only related, but a direct cause and effect. It's actually because of my quietness that I'm so talkative! Both due to my childhood "תעניות דיבור" and to my extremely limited social interactions as an adult, it seems I've developed a great hunger for that which I've been deprived of so long: speech.
On the other hand though I also have certain ideals at stake when effecting and listening to vocal cord movements. Firstly, I am a great admirer of the art of speech, and feel that it's all but been lost since a century ago, mostly as a result of modern communicative technology. My ideal is people who can continue a single conversation for days, and not even be strayed by a tangent. To me it's representative of mental wealth. Secondly, in regards to listening to others, I refuse to "space out" or stop a conversation abruptly because I find the subject matter uninteresting, and I base my behaviour on my own negative experience: I've been in many environments where my voice was not heard, since those I was speaking to either did not share my interests, or were objectively extremely dull and uninteresting people. Therefore I always make a point to listen.
The Man, the University, the Mystery!
I'm a Talmudist who has emerged from the Beit Midrash into the world with a vision that filters my reality through a Theological prism, though on the other hand I feel our religion has been corrupted by adding too much to it. I therefore attempt to reevaluate life and Judaism using thinkers in the spirit of Rational Judaism as my guide, while sometimes digressing about my station in life. ...I also talk about shidduchim sometimes!
Are The Greeks Still Nursing a Grudge Against Jews for Chanukah?
Interesting links and status updates- daily!


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Why SWP?
Building Upon a Decade of Deploying Small-Cell Solutions to Improve Connectivity
VAIL, Colo. — Crown Castle, which bills itself as the nation's largest provider of wireless infrastructure, has a history of installing traditional cell towers that dates back to 1994 and now numbers more than 40,000—mostly located in the nation's top 100 markets.
But two Colorado success stories in particular highlight the Houston-based company's decade-long push into small-cell solutions that set the stage for a boom in 4G LTE shared networks and now the Denver metro area's growing move toward 5G.
"Where the growth is happening across the country is the demand for 5G services," Tanya Friese, manager of government relations for Crown Castle, told Route Fifty in an interview. "We're really at the beginning of kind of the hockey-stick deployment here of the number of sites needed."
Small-cell solutions, or SCS, are toaster or microwave-oven-sized antennas on new 35-foot poles or existing street lights or utility poles that bring cell service down closer to the user at street level. They typically use public right of ways through deals negotiated with local jurisdictions. Crown Castle has installed more than 14,000 SCS "nodes" nationwide over the past 10 years.
In Colorado, the company has installed small cells in Denver, Lakewood, Cherry Hills, Greenwood Village, Centennial and Colorado Springs. Now Crown Castle is gearing up for significantly more installations throughout the Denver area, including Federal Heights, Aurora, Northglenn, Commerce City and Edgewater, to name a few.
"So, what we've done in the last five to 10 years is nothing compared to what's in the pipeline now and what we're seeing in the near future across the existing networks in the Denver market," Friese said.
"What we're seeing now and what our current deployment is is about a thousand small cells throughout metro Denver and some of the surrounding communities."
That will require about 130 miles of new fiber, she added, and that's just for new Crown Castle installations. Other cellular infrastructure providers will likely be just as active.
"That's a huge commitment right there, and we're just at the beginning stages of that deployment right now—the permitting and everything with all of the jurisdictions," Friese said. "It's multiple municipalities that we have to educate on small cells and working in the right of way."
But before the Denver boom, two projects really demonstrated Crown Castle's capabilities in a state with some serious topographical challenges for line-of-sight cellular services. First, Crown Castle worked with Clear Creek County and the Colorado Department of Transportation to provide small cell coverage along U.S. Highway 6 in notoriously windy Clear Creek Canyon.
The major route between Denver and the casino towns of Blackhawk and Central City, Clear Creek Canyon had no cellular coverage in an area known for accidents. First responders were reportedly elated to finally have cell service.
"It has vastly improved communications in the canyon—formally a true dead zone," CDOT spokesman Bob Wilson said. "We have lots of cameras in the canyon now, as well as cell coverage, and we have the ability to connect electronic message boards if and when we decide we want one or more in the canyon. Emergency service communications and, in turn, response time, has greatly improved."
Then Crown Castle pulled off another major public-safety project that had the added benefit of significantly improving both cellular service and wifi coverage in one of the nation's most iconic and heavily trafficked ski towns, like Vail.
"We started talking to Crown Castle in 2013 because we were having huge cell issues with all the carriers," said Vail's IT director, Ron Braden. "We knew what was coming and we knew we had a huge problem. [Coverage] was horrible."
What was coming was the 2015 World Alpine Ski Championships—second only to the Olympics in terms of alpine ski-racing prestige. Vail and nearby Beaver Creek were expecting in excess of 150,000 additional guests, and that's at ski resorts that typically do well over 2 million skier days combined each season, with up to 20,000 snow riders on busy days at Vail.
The town inked a deal with Crown Castle in 2014 and the race was on to install 29 small cells, one macro site and a hub site for equipment on land that was provided by the town. Crown was also part of a project to upgrade coverage at nearby Beaver Creek—host resort for most of the races.
"We needed broadband as we looked down the road, the future of LTE," Braden said. "It had to be LTE-based. We needed to have a ton of both coverage and capacity, and then we augmented it with the wifi system. So, Crown also paid for retrofitting our public wifi system."
The town chipped in some in-kind services, public right of ways and a little land for the hub site. Other than that, Crown picked up the entire $7 million tab, which it will recoup in long-term contracts with AT&T and Verizon, Braden said. The coverage has been remarkably improved throughout the upper Vail Valley.
Braden says the need to upgrade Vail's cellular service also had a lot to do with public safety during an international sports event.
"We actually were the second ones in the country to test out D Block LTE FirstNet for public safety, so we had four nodes in Vail and then our site in Beaver Creek at Race City was D Block enabled for LTE public safety as well," Braden said.
But the project was also aimed at tourists, businesses and homeowners.
"We looked at it from both perspectives—from the full-time residents of Vail who work from home from West Vail to East Vail and pretty much everywhere that needed that broadband and cellular capacity as well, in addition to the guests, the special events, the powder days, the Burtons, the GoPros, where we're packing 20,000 people into two square miles," Braden said.
The Burton US Open is arguably the nation's largest annual snowboard competition, held every March in Vail, and the GoPro Games in June are an annual action sports event that also draws large crowds.
Besides improving the overall business environment needed to attract companies—Denver recently landed on the top-20 list for Amazon's HQ2—upgrading cellular capacity can be a big driver for landing special events from Super Bowls to Papal visits. Or at least providing for better video streaming, photo sharing and social media connectivity for such events.
"The Pope visited the city of Philadelphia, and Crown and the carriers worked feverishly to improve the network to accommodate the millions of people who came into the area to get a glance of the Pope," said Daniel Schweizer, Crown Castle's director of government relations for the western region for small cell.
"The seminal events do commonly increase activity," he added. "The benefit is that even after the event is concluded, all the lingering benefits of good, robust communications are intact."
Denver is among three U.S. cities—including Salt Lake City and Reno—currently in talks to bid for either the 2026 or more likely 2030 Winter Olympics.
The article originally ran on routefifty.com.
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Q: how to implement app likes 'Lovecall'? I wanna do functionality like 'Lovecall' or iphone homepage, which can redraw icons automatically with animation. Can you give me idea about how to implement?(Demo is the best).
thanks

A: Have you seen OpenSpringboard?

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