We recently sparked some fun launching the new Sea-Doo Spark in Miami the week of March 14-24, 2014. We were all over the waterway, roads and culminated the week with an exclusive deadmau5 concert on Sunday, March 23 at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. Enjoy these images of Sea-Doo as we #SPARKSOMEFUN in Miami!
The artist Greg Mike painted a #SPARKSOMEFUN mural in the Wynwood Arts District in Miami.
Dabs Myla painted a Sea-Doo Spark and deadmau5 story in the Wynwood Arts District.
Artist ABSTRK painted a mural on a truck to #SPARKSOMEFUN.
Sea-Doo Spark mobiles cruised the streets of Miami stopping for photos and to give away deadmau5 concert tickets.
mau5head riders roamed the waterways all over Miami and South Beach.
Artists ABSTRK, Greg Mike and Dabs Myla created the mau5head masterpieces worn by the mau5head riders.
A giant 10-foot deadmau5 head graced multiple beaches and attracted fans vying for concert tickets.
Once it got dark we had #SPARKSOMEFUN light projections all around Miami.
Concert day loomed bright and sunny and hundreds gathered for the exclusive deadmau5 concert. Here are some fun scenes from the event!
And as the lights went down….
Brody Jenner and Vanilla Ice were special guests.
Brody Jenner and Adrien de Alexandris (BRP Marketing Manager) at the concert.
David Garibaldi and Vanilla Ice!
Photos courtesy of WorldRedEye.com, Sea-Doo and our loyal fans!


text:
50 Shad3s: Chapter 2 part 2
I realized the other day that I say "So" instead of "um." It's not much better. Just a pointless syllable that gives me an extra little moment before I have to proceed. It's hard to dive into these things; you'll forgive me just a little bit of procrastination before I leap in. So.
Here's what's bothering me the most: so there was never any plot in this thing, in the standard sense. Just a general, unpleasant tension between Ana and CG punctuated by either big dumb fights or sex. Just two character bumbling back and forth between these two poles, both basically uninteresting.
And that's where we still are, only they're married now. In real life, of course, the wedding isn't where the story ends. But this is a book, and that's where the book is supposed to end, because it's a big deal or whatever. So now that we've raced through the wedding, into territory unknown, where will we stop? I don't know where we will stop. I have no idea where this will stop or why it even started. Why did it even start? Oh well.
Onwards and upwards.
Our story thus far:
Ana Steele is married to billionaire / kink-enthusiast / child-abuse survivor Christian Grey. He is domineering and they are usually upset with each other except for when they're having sex.
Ana takes her top off on a beach while reminiscing about the wedding and Christian gets mad.
They ride a jet-ski back to their honeymoon yacht and riding jet-skis cheers up Christian a bit.
Ana and CG are off the beach and they're done jet skiing around and they had a G&T and now Ana jumps into a pointless flashback about nothing.
Let's look at how this pointlessness is set up:
I shudder as my mind drifts back to our conversation about prenups. It was the Sunday after his birthday, and we were seated at the kitchen table enjoying a leisurely breakfast . . . all of us. Elliot, Kate, Grace, and I were debating the merits of bacon versus sausage, while Carrick and Christi- an read the Sunday paper . . .
Right? So. For you geographers, CG's parents live on the east side. They live in Bellevue. They live in New Jersey to Seattle's New York. They live in Mandeville to Seattle's New Orleans. They live in some boring place relative to a more interesting place. But they don't live far. Particularly late at night, after a party? It's a very quick drive. You just zip over the bridge and then you're back in Seattle. So it's weird that everybody slept over. But somehow, everybody slept over. I guess? I mean it would also be weird if they'd all reconvened Sunday morning after a Saturday night party. But still. It's curious.
Anyway they start talking about a potential Grey / Steele prenuptial agreement because a website called "Seattle Nooz" introduces the idea. "Seattle Nooz" would've sounded like a plausible name for a news website in 1995 I bet.
Here's the "relevant" line from the article: "Bet she's reading one helluva prenup." This word makes CG lose his shit! I'm not going to bother spending much time on this scene because it's like one page. Fake news site is mentioned. Fake article read. CG flips out, triggered by the word "prenup." Insists that they won't have one. They do another instant apology thing and CG insists that he'll love her forever or whatever and that he'll be SO CRUSHED if she were to leave again. And then this waste of paper ends with CG asking his mom if they can get married there at the family estate.
And then we're back on that dumb yacht.
CG finishes his phone call and insists that Ana finish her drink so that they can go have sex. It sounds exactly like a parent telling a child to finish a glass of milk before she leaves the dinner table. What a cute relationship! And so worthy of emulation.
Everybody! Get ready to get super horny! I'm sure this part is going to get you super turned on because that's what happens to Ana so why shouldn't it also happen to you as well?
Oh my, the look he gives me could be solely responsible for global warming. I pick up my gin and drain the glass, not taking my eyes off him. His mouth drops open, and I glimpse the tip of his tongue between his teeth. He smiles lewdly at me.
Super hot, right? With his mouth all hanging open and whatever? And that lewd smile? BRB gotta go change my pants.
"I'm going to make an example of you. Come. Don't pee," he whispers in my ear.
I gasp. Don't pee? How rude. My subconscious looks up from her book—The Complete works of Charles Dickens, Vol. 1—with alarm.
"It's not what you think." Christian smirks, holding his hand out to me. "Trust me." He looks so sexy and genial. How can I resist?
"Okay." I place my hand in his, because quite simply, I'd trust him with my life. What has he got planned? My heart starts pounding in anticipation.
Whoa. Whoa. Let's everybody calm down.
First, I am going to take back claiming that EL didn't ever really write anything very kinky because I don't know if there's any other way to interpret this, right?
I guess Ana is about to pee on Christian?
Hey brah. If that's your thing? And it obviously is because why else would you say that? You planned this one very well. The whole purpose of renting the boat in the first place was to get Ana nice and tipsy top side, so CG can take her to a nice comfortable place below deck, and you know, she can't refuse, because of the implication.
Christian and Taylor, file photo
But yeah. There's a lot going on in this exchange so let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Look: we all want Ana to pee on Christian. We are all feeling the same way: legitimately excited to find out what's going to happen next for literally the first time in this entire ordeal. But there's a lot of other weird shit we shouldn't skip.
"I'm going to make an example of you." Um. Oh? An example. . . for whom? Precisely? Oh so maybe other people are going to watch this go down? That seems possible now. Weird.
Subconscious is reading The Complete works of Charles Dickens, Vol. 1. I don't have anything to say about this. I'm just curious. What do you think EL is trying to accomplish with this bit? Proving subconscious is smart? Boring? Lazy because she's only on vol. 1? No idea.
"It's not what you think." Huh. Well. He says it's not what Ana thinks, but Ana seems to have no idea what to think. So I am not convinced, Christian. I think that it's exactly what I think, and what Ana is not smart enough to think. Haters gonna hate, lovers gonna love. Christian Grey don't even want none of the above.
They head into their boat bedroom. CG gets naked right away. Ana does a quick survey of the interior. That's one of EL's sweet moves: interrupt the action by spending a long time talking about the furniture or whatever and then ending with a list of colors: "dark walnut furniture with cream walls and soft furnishings in gold and red." Predictable! But hey. It makes sense. You're trying to increase the tension by building up anpissitation. Sorry. Anticipation. That was a weird typo, right? Huh.
Check out how bad this sentence is:
He grasps my chin, pulling slightly so that I stop biting my lip and runs his thumb along my lower lip.
Right? You just cross out that part about the lip-biting and it's at least serviceable. Just another reminder that none of this shit was edited.
Anyway. Next CG is pulling out handcuffs. So that's going to be very different. Sure, Ana has been restrained by various things in previous sex scenes but never handcuffs so this will be very, very different and not at all a boring waste of our time. So he's got cuffs and keys.
"We're going to need a safe word."
"Stop won't be enough because you will probably say that, but you won't mean it." He runs his nose down mine—the only contact between us.
My heart starts pounding. Shit . . . How can he do this with just words?
"This is not going to hurt. It will be intense. Very intense, because I am not going to let you move. Okay?"
Oh my. This sounds so hot. My breathing is too loud. Fuck, I am panting already. My inner goddess has her sequins on and is warming up to dance the rumba. Thank heavens I'm married to this man, otherwise this would be embarrassing. My eyes flick down to his arousal.
"Okay." My voice is barely audible.
"Choose a word, Ana."Oh . . ."A safe word," he says softly.
"Popsicle." I say, panting.
I'm pretty sure CG said in the previous book that they didn't need safewords anymore or some shit. This book doesn't always agree with the previous book. Oh well!
"Stop won't be enough because you will probably say that, but you won't mean it." I don't know that I need to comment on that so hey. I won't.
"Very intense, because I am not going to let you move." Oh, like in literally every other sex scene in this entire mutterflushing trilogy? Cool. Can't wait.
I don't even need to say anything about inner goddess because what the shit? What the shit, EL James? What even is that?
What's the embarrassing part? Christian's boner? The rumba dancing, which nobody knows about except for Ana, so it can't be embarrassing? I don't know what's happening.
Popsicle. Sure, why not. Sure.
So next CG uses two pairs of cuffs. One on Ana's left ankle and wrist. The other on her right ankle and wrist. It's not a terrible scene, by EL's standards. It's just that it lacks any distinguishing features. Just the same thing again. Some contrivance to keep Ana from moving. Yawn.
But then it gets gross, eventually, because these things always get pretty gross.
"Why do you defy me, Ana?" "Christian, stop . . ." He circles deep inside me again, ignoring my plea, easing out slowly and then slamming into me again. "Tell me. Why?" he hisses, and I'm vaguely aware that it's through gritted teeth. I cry out in an incoherent wail . . . this is too much.
"Tell me."
"Christian . . ."
"Ana, I need to know."
Right? The problem here is that there's no sense of fun. CG just never gives us any hints that this is a game. He never winks. All I really need is for him to mutterflushing wink now and again so we can feel like he's in on the joke. But he never does. Never ever does.
Oh and then the parts where Ana has orgasms are so gross but you should read them with me because solidarity.
He groans loudly and thrusts deep, again and again, over and over, and I am lost, trying to absorb the pleasure. It's mind-blowing . . . body blowing . . . I long to straighten my legs, to control my imminent orgasm, but I can't . . . I'm helpless. I'm his, just his, to do with as he wills . . . Tears spring to my eyes. This is too intense. I can't stop him. I don't want to stop him . . . I want . . . I want . . . oh no, oh no . . . this is too . . .
"That's it," Christian growls. "Feel it, baby!"
I detonate around him, again and again, round and round, screaming loudly as my orgasm rips me apart, scorching through me like a wildfire, consuming everything. I am wrung ragged, tears streaming down my face—my body left pulsing and shaking.
That's hot, right? No? Oh right. No. Not particularly. The climax (heh) of every sex scene feels a little bit like it was written by a virgin trying to sound like a real sexpert.
The end of the scene? This line: "I really must misbehave more often."
Ugh. See, this is where we need to be, but we never get there. That's a much sexier idea: Ana willfully "breaking" CG's dumb rules so that she can be "punished." So when she "breaks the rules" CG gets "mad" and then he has to "punish" her.
The quotation marks are important. They are what's missing, for me. Every time CG gets mad, he really does get mad and he's borderline out of control, or actually out of control, and it's always for something suuuuuper dumb. And so when we get to the punishment stage, it just seems like, yeah, maybe this is the time he's going to snap and maybe the book is going to end with Ana getting thrown off the mutterflushing boat.
Next scene:
A pressing need from my bladder wakes me. When I open my eyes, I'm disorientated. It's dark outside. Where am I? London? Paris? Oh—the boat. I feel her pitch and roll, and hear the quiet hum of the engines. We're on the move. How odd. Christian is beside me, working on his laptop, casually dressed in a white linen shirt and chino trousers, his feet bare. His hair is still wet, and I can smell his body wash fresh from the shower and his Christian smell . . . Hmm.
"Hi," he murmurs, gazing down at me, his eyes warm.
"Hi." I smile, feeling suddenly shy. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Just an hour or so."
Hey so is Christian roofying Ana here? I feel like this is a legit question for us to ask. She falls asleep immediately after sex every time, no matter what time of day. And I don't think this was the first time we've seen her waking up and she's out of it. She's like, "waking up from anesthesia" out of it, even though she's just an hour into a nap and she's been napping the whole day. This is like her third nap so I'm pretty sure she's getting drugged. That's going to be my new theory: Ana is getting drugged like, every chapter.
Oh! But at least we're back talking about Ana's bladder again! You know what Chekhov said about pee! "Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the second chapter that a character must not pee, in the third or fourth chapter someone must absolutely get peed on. If nobody's going to get peed on, you shouldn't have mentioned pee in the first place." Right? We all know that.
Oh but of course that was just a dumb red herring. Seriously what the shit? Why did Christian Grey say "Don't pee"? That is a thing that he said. Why?
Don't know. Don't mutterflushing know. No mutterflushing idea. What reason could there possibly have been for this? Why did you do this, EL? What was your purpose? I just can't figure out the point of any of the things happening, you know? I guess there isn't one.
Here's how the chapter ends. Ana is looking in the bathroom mirror, having just relieved herself. It's almost like EL had this glance in the mirror planned earlier, but then was like, "Oh ok. I want Ana to see herself in the mirror after the handcuff sex. But why would anyone go into a bathroom and see a mirror? Hm. I guess maybe she might go in to pee? Not sure if readers will really buy that, tho, you know? Ooh! I've got it! I should bring up the idea of peeing earlier in the chapter. Have Christian specifically tell her not to pee, so that'll make it more believable that she has to pee later. I'm a genius! I deserve all the money I'm getting paid!"
I'm sorry I'm obsessing over this. The thing is that this book is super boring? And so I have to really cling on to the weird stuff when weird stuff happens. That's the only way to sneak any enjoyment out of this thing is to just really, really overanalyze the weird bits that stick out. Otherwise, I'll lose it. Like, for real.
Anyway. Ana looks in the mirror, and she's shocked! Last line of the chapter:
Holy Fuck! What has he done to me?
SPOILER ALERT: I'm going to tell you what he did to her.
Not yet tho.
Lower.
Farther down.
See, I know that this book has been out a long time. But I know that lots of people get upset about spoilies so I want to make sure that I don't bother anyone. I don't want anyone to be like, "Ugh! There's no longer any point in me reading these essays! You've spoiled the next chapter for me! I might as well skip Chapter 3 entirely! And quit reading in general because it's brought me nothing but misery!" I want to avoid that.
So here, finally, is the spoiler:
What Ana sees is that she's covered in hickies. And not just any hickies! These must be magic hickies, because they somehow happened during the sex scene even though there was never any indication during the actual sex scene that any hickies were happening.
WAIT. Holy shit. She was asleep for an hour. Did Christian roofie her gin & tonic so that he could give her hickies for an hour? Because that would be fucked up. I'm pretty sure that's what he did. That is not ok, Christian Grey. I am glad that my copy of this book is a bootleg and hence none of my hard-earned money is supporting Christian Grey's filthy hickey habit. I hacked it from the internet by typing the code words "fifty shades freed pdf" into a google. I shouldn't share this with you? But fyi "pdf" is kind of like an internet hack. You use it to get books that you want. I think it's like a password? Anyway, another reminder: make sure you have a good, strong password. Three letters is not long enough! Do four, like for your PIN.
Oh also I looked at the back of somebody's credit card the other day? And they'd totally written their own PIN on the back! That's nuts, right??
Hey speaking of nuts--do you think I'm losing my mind? Be honest with me. Honesty is the foundation of every good relationship. Honesty, and roofie hickies. I guess we'll find out more about them roofie hickies next time!
Posted by Alden Eagle at 3:00 AM
Labels: 50 shad3s, 50 shades, flashback, handcuffs, hickies, roofies, yacht
50 Shad3s: Chapter One

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


30 years of this beloved videogame franchise come together in one epic mobile brawler. We created two spots for two different targets: the die-hard Final Fantasy fanatics and the mobile brawler audience.
If Corsair wanted to create an underground pro esports Fight Club, it would probably look something like this.
For the first time ever, the performance power of wired PC accessories meets the freedom of wireless.
LA's original coffeehouse, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, needed a serious refresh. We focused on creating a bright, airy atmosphere that invited a SoCal state of mind - things that Starbucks definitely couldn't own.
This mini documentary tells the story of the last neon bender in Richmond, Doug Solyan, and his personal quest to keep the craft alive.
Your yard is the only piece of the earth that you have complete control over. It's also your first line of defense against annoying neighbors. If you can't change the world... change your corner of it.


text:
Are Sri Lankan cricketers underpaid?
by Theekshana Somaratna March 9, 2013, 12:03 AM 385 Views 0 Comments
By Theekshana Somaratna | March 8, 2013
The World Cup finalists have been forced to take a pay cut. © AFP
The recent conflict between SLC and players over central contracts has become a very emotional topic. For the cricketers in particular, this must be a difficult topic to handle; dealing with the worth of their work in a very public stage. For some fans, this is almost a sacrilegious topic; how can one actually put a number on the audacity and flair of Dilshan's dilscoop? Can we actually measure the joy a Kulasekara in-swinger brings, especially when it crashes into Michael Clarke's middle stump?
Be that as it may, we live in an increasingly commercialised world, and the current operative adjective for national cricketers is professional. We have to take a look at the numbers, but it is unfortunate that interested parties are promoting numbers partial to their argument, without conveying the complete picture. Others, even more alarmingly, use subjective emotional phrases targeted towards the more malleable parts of the human body. In this environment, it was felt that a basic comparison of the player salaries, potential cricket board revenue and player performance numbers between major cricketing nations could serve as a platform for a more objective approach. This would also help fans on both sides of the argument engage in a more fact-based discussion. The scarcity of financial information published by the SLC and other cricket boards, as well as the complex pay structures of cricket players, hampers an accurate comparison, and hence the analysis below can be best termed as incomplete. However, the available information and approximations there from does provide us with valuable insights.
Country SL Aus Eng Ind Pak Ban NZ
Player Retainer $36K – $140K $230K – $2000K $375K – $600K $46K – $186K $16K – $37K $7K – $22K $72K – $177K
PPP Adj. Retainer $70K – $275K $143K – $1230K $355K – $570K $111K – $450K $37K – $86K $17K – $55K $56K – $138K
Player Income ~$75K – ~$250K ~$2000K (avg) ~$1050K (avg) ~$500K (avg) ~$160k (avg)
PPP Adj. Income ~$150K – ~$490K ~$1230K (avg) ~$990K (avg) ~1210K (avg) ~125K (avg)
Revenue Share % 67 24.5 – 27 20 (2010) 26 (2010) 27
The comparison initially looked at four items of data to compare the payment of salaries to cricketers by the cricket boards from seven of the Test playing nations. The four items looked at are annual retainer fees, total player income from national cricket boards and their Purchasing Power Parity adjusted numbers in order to better compare the purchasing power or value of the salaries in different countries. Total player income from the national board (hereafter referred to as Income) includes match fees, performance incentives, sponsorship shares etc in addition to basic retainer, but does not include any money players earn through participation in IPL and other T20 leagues, nor does it include commercial sponsorships players receive individually. Ideally, we should compare the PPP adjusted Income from all countries, but since we only have estimates, if at all, we will have to compare the PPP adjusted retainer fees for some countries. The comparison does not include salary data for South African and West Indian players due to inability to source. The salary numbers for Sri Lankan players are as per their new contracts, which are significantly less generous than the payments in previous years.
When you look at the retainer fees, Sri Lankan players receive a much higher fee than Bangladeshi and Pakistani players in both nominal and real (PPP adjusted) terms. When you look at player Income, it is clear that Sri Lankan players lag far behind Income received by Australian, English and Indian players. However, the gap between the English and Sri Lankan cricketers income in real terms might be actually bridged by IPL income, since the SLC allows players to participate in the tournament, whereas ECB discourages such participation in general. The salaries of New Zealand players are comparable to Sri Lankan players in nominal terms, but in real terms our salary structure is more generous. Overall, Sri Lankan players earn more than Pakistani, Bangladeshi and New Zealand cricketers in general from their cricket boards, while earning less than Australian, English and Indian cricketers.
Revenue Share data indicate a stark difference between the figure for Sri Lankan players and figures for Australian, Indian, England and New Zealand players. This high percentage could be indicative of high player salaries as well as low board revenue. The SLC revenue picture deserves a separate attention on its own, which has been partially addressed here. While SLC unquestionably has to develop more lucrative revenue streams, it should be noted that even if the SLC revenues were doubled, the revenue share figure for Sri Lankan players would still be higher than the figure for their contemporaries abroad.
Popularity 1 Top 3 2 1 1 1 2 2
GDP 59,773 1,542,055 2,433,779 1,946,765 230,525 118,693 166,923 390,919
GDP per capita 2,880 66,371 38,811 1,514 1,199 767 35,973 8,078
Note : GDP values are 2012 IMF estimates, per capita figures are 2011 IMF figures both in US$ millions.
We also need to take into account the different economic environments the national cricket boards face when striving to generate revenue. The revenue a sporting body can generate depends to a great extent on a) popularity of the sport, b) the value of the media market it caters to, which influences the broadcasting revenue, and c) the disposable income of the fans, which influences the ticket and merchandise sales. For popularity, we have looked at the popularity rank of cricket in the particular country. Since we don't have specific information on the latter two indicators, we have looked at Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a proxy for value of the media market and GDP per capita as a proxy for disposable income. GDP is also a reasonable proxy indicator for the value of commercial sponsorships available as well. Since we are utilizing proxies, any conclusions from these two sets of data will be discussed in relative terms rather than on an absolute basis.
In the Indian subcontinent, cricket is far and away the most popular sport, but even in the other countries cricket ranks amongst the top two or three most popular sports. Amongst the Test playing nations, Sri Lanka has the smallest economy by far, and the three countries United Kingdom, Australia and India have GDP at least 25 times bigger than ours. In terms of GDP per capita, we have the fifth-highest figure out of the eight countries. The effect on cricket board revenue from these disparities will be moderated by the foreign revenue generated via bilateral series and multilateral tournaments. What is clear from these GDP numbers is that it is unrealistic to expect the Sri Lankan cricket board to match the revenues or the player salaries of countries like Australia, England, South Africa and India. Going by these numbers alone, and considering the vast disparity in economic strength of these four countries vis-à-vis Sri Lanka, it would be probably futile to expect our player salaries to be even in the same ball park in the near future.
What these numbers also highlights is the importance of playing more matches more frequently with (economically) top four cricketing nations. And that in turn accentuates the importance of being in a virtuous cycle of performance, better play opportunities and resources. The third set of data takes us on a related direction in looking at the current ICC ratings for Test nations, in line with the principal that, everything else being equal, player salaries should be commensurate with their performance. We need to note however that everything else is not equal and that the ratings below provide only a snapshot in time.
Country SL Aus Eng Ind Pak Bang NZ WI SA
ICC Test Ratings 92 117 118 105 104 0 78 91 128
ICC ODI Ratings 110 116 117 119 107 78 82 86 112
ICC T20 Ratings 131 102 118 119 119 84 98 126 114
It is important to note the differences in objectives among countries, where cricket bodies like CA and ECB are focused on Test performance, whereas some of the other countries, due to strategy or lack of it, are focused on the shorter versions of the game. Sri Lanka's recent Test performance has been mediocre at best, while we are very competitive in the shorter versions of the game. Logically, our opinion of the fairness of the player pay with respect to performance will depend on the importance we ascribe to different formats of the game. If we value Test performance, our player income can be termed as excessive, but, if we consider the shorter forms of the game more important, one could argue that our players deserve a salary structure comparable to the other top performing nations.
What is also interesting from these numbers is that the economically top four cricketing nations do not have a rating below 100 for any of the formats, perhaps highlighting a resources and performance link. The competitive performance of Pakistan across all formats is also to be noted, a testament to the talent and resilience of Pakistani players in spite of their low salaries and other challenges they face. They would likely emerge top if we calculate a rating/player salary ratio.
Overall, Sri Lankan players' salaries are in the middle of the pack, with all the countries who pay better salaries facing vastly better economic conditions, while our overall performance can also be termed as average. While these numbers taken together suggests that the Sri Lankan player salaries are fair, it is not the intention of this article to come to a definitive answer to the question in the title. That requires more detailed information, which is perhaps not available in the public domain and more in-depth analysis. But it is to be hoped that this information would inform a more constructive exchange of opinions on the matter, and perhaps remind us to take a look at the numbers first before we shout, comment or tweet.
Theekshana Somaratna also blogs here.
SLCASri Lanka Cricket (SLC)
0 Shares47 Views0 Comments
Sports Journalists barred from Test series coverage
Sri Lanka Cricket rope in Grant Luden as trainer
SLC should look into players' fitness before picking team
Why Sri Lanka cricketers break down often
COVID hits referees, umpires and other sports officials hard


text:
'use strict';

var fs = require("fs"),
	path = require("path"),
	_ = require('../../util/underscore'),
	fm = require('../../util/fileManager'),
	moment = require('moment');

var builder = {
	_loadTemplates:function(loadPath,array){
		var files = fs.readdirSync(loadPath);
		for(var i in files){
			var templatePath = files[i];
			if(templatePath.indexOf(".")==0)continue;
			var name = (path.basename(templatePath,".").split("-"))[0];
			array[name]=_.template(fs.readFileSync(path.join(loadPath,templatePath), "UTF-8"));
		}
		return this;
	},
	buildFrontendViews:function(){
		this._elementTemplates = [],this._actionTemplates = [];
		builder._loadTemplates(path.resolve(__dirname,"../../../templates/module/frontend/template/elements"),this._elementTemplates)
				._loadTemplates(path.resolve(__dirname,"../../../templates/module/frontend/template/actions"),this._actionTemplates);

        if(typeof this._config.views == 'undefined') return;
		for(var i =0 ; i<this._config.views.length; i++){
			var viewConfig = this._config.views[i];

			//create folders
			var moduleViewsPath = path.join(this._config.options.output,"ui","modules",this._config.name,"views");
			if(!fs.existsSync(moduleViewsPath)){
				fs.mkdirSync(moduleViewsPath);
			}
			var moduleTemplatesPath = path.join(this._config.options.output,"ui","templates",this._config.name);
			if(!fs.existsSync(moduleTemplatesPath)){
				fs.mkdirSync(moduleTemplatesPath);
			}

			//build frontend view.json
			var file = path.join(this._config.options.output,"ui","modules",this._config.name,"views",viewConfig.name+".json");
			if(fs.existsSync(file)  && !fm.isAllowedOverride(file) && this._config.options.override==false) {}else{
				var metadata = _.clone(viewConfig);
				delete metadata.functions;
				metadata.comment = "APPBUILDER_ALLOW_OVERRIDE = YES // if you have manual modified this file please change APPBUILDER_ALLOW_OVERRIDE value to NO";
				fs.writeFileSync(file, JSON.stringify( metadata, null,"  " ), 'utf-8');
				if(this._config.options.verbose) console.log("\tFile "+file.replace(path.dirname(this._config.options.output),"")+" ...... created");
			}
			//build frontend view.js
			var getBreadcrumb=function(viewConfig){
				var breadcrumbArray = [];
				breadcrumbArray.push({
					name:'home',
					displayName:'Home',
					url:'#'
				});
				breadcrumbArray.push({
					name:this._config.app.name,
					displayName:this._config.app.displayName,
					url:'#'+this._config.app.url
				});
				breadcrumbArray.push({
					name:viewConfig.name,
					displayName:viewConfig.displayName,
				});
				return breadcrumbArray;
			}
			// action面板不需要在模板中预先渲染了
			// var actions = [];
			// for (var key in viewConfig.actions){
			// 	var action = viewConfig.actions[key];
			// 	if(typeof action.name=='undefined') continue;
			// 	action.selector = ".act-"+action.name.toLowerCase();
			// 	var classNameArray =  null;
			// 	if(action.hasOwnProperty('className')){
			// 		if(action.className.length > 0){
			// 			classNameArray = action.className.split(" ");
			// 		}
			// 	}
			// 	var className = "";
			// 	if(classNameArray != null){
			// 		className = "."+classNameArray.join(".");
			// 	}
			// 	action.className = className;
			// 	action.localeName = 'action'+action.name.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + action.name.slice(1);;
			// 	action.appName = this._config.app.name;
			// 	//这个是动态编译模板用的
			// 	if(typeof this._actionTemplates[action.type]=='function'){
			// 		actions.push(this._actionTemplates[action.type](action));
			// 	}
			// }

			for (var key in viewConfig.actions){
				if(typeof viewConfig.actions[key].name=='undefined') continue;
				viewConfig.actions[key].selector = ".act-"+viewConfig.actions[key].name.toLowerCase();
			}
			var actions = viewConfig.actions;

			// var formFields = [];
			// for (var key in viewConfig.fields){
			// 	var field = viewConfig.fields[key];
			// 	field.placeholderName = "placeholder"+field.name.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + field.name.slice(1);;
			// 	field.selector = "record-"+field.name.toLowerCase();
			// 	field.showField = (viewConfig.type != 'addFormView');
			// 	field.momentDate = moment().format("YYYY-MM-DD");
			// 	field.fieldName = 'field'+field.name.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + field.name.slice(1);;
			// 	//这个是动态编译模板用的
			// 	if(typeof this._elementTemplates[field.type]=='function'){
			// 		formFields.push(this._elementTemplates[field.type](field));
			// 	}
			// }
			for (var key in viewConfig.fields){
				if(typeof viewConfig.fields[key].name=='undefined') continue;
				viewConfig.fields[key].selector = ".field-"+viewConfig.fields[key].name.toLowerCase();
			}
			var formFields = viewConfig.fields;

			var data = {
				"APP_NAME" 		: this._config.app.name,
				"MODULE_NAME" 	: this._config.name,
				"VIEW_NAME"		: viewConfig.name,
				"MODEL_NAME"	: viewConfig.model,
				"FUNCTIONS"		: viewConfig.functions?viewConfig.functions:[],
				"ACTIONS"       : actions,
				"BREADCRUMB"	: getBreadcrumb.call(this,viewConfig),
				"ELEMENTS"      : formFields,
				"SUBVIEWS"      : viewConfig.subviews,
				"VIEW_TYPE"     : viewConfig.type,
				"VIEW_EL"     	: ".nest-views ."+viewConfig.name,
			}
			switch(viewConfig.type){
				case "addFormView":
				case "editFormView":
                case "detailFormView":
				case "editForm":
				case "detailForm":
				case "addForm":
					var viewTemplateFile = path.resolve(__dirname,"../../../templates/module/frontend/view/formView-template.js")
					var viewJadeTemplateFile = path.resolve(__dirname,"../../../templates/module/frontend/template/formView-template.jade")
					break;
				case "nestAddFormView":
				case "nestEditFormView":
				case "nestDetailFormView":
					var viewTemplateFile = path.resolve(__dirname,"../../../templates/module/frontend/view/nestFormView-template.js")
					var viewJadeTemplateFile = path.resolve(__dirname,"../../../templates/module/frontend/template/nestFormView-template.jade")
					break;
				case "nestPieChartView":
					var viewTemplateFile = path.resolve(__dirname,"../../../templates/module/frontend/view/nestPieChartView-template.js")
					var viewJadeTemplateFile = path.resolve(__dirname,"../../../templates/module/frontend/template/nestChartView-template.jade")
					break;
				default:
					var viewTemplateFile = path.resolve(__dirname,"../../../templates/module/frontend/view/"+viewConfig.type+"-template.js")
					var viewJadeTemplateFile = path.resolve(__dirname,"../../../templates/module/frontend/template/"+viewConfig.type+"-template.jade")
					break;
			}
			var file = path.join(this._config.options.output,"ui","modules",this._config.name,"views",viewConfig.name+".js");
			if(fs.existsSync(file) && !fm.isAllowedOverride(file)  && this._config.options.override==false) {}else{
				var template = _.template(fs.readFileSync(viewTemplateFile,{encoding:'utf-8'}));
				fs.writeFileSync(file, template(data), 'utf-8');
				if(this._config.options.verbose) console.log("\tFile "+file.replace(path.dirname(this._config.options.output),"")+" ...... created");
			}

			//build frontend view.jade
			var file = path.join(this._config.options.output,"ui","templates",this._config.name,viewConfig.name+".jade");
			if(fs.existsSync(file) && !fm.isAllowedOverride(file)  && this._config.options.override==false) {}else{
				var template = _.template(fs.readFileSync(viewJadeTemplateFile,{encoding:'utf-8'}));
				fs.writeFileSync(file, template(data), 'utf-8');
				if(this._config.options.verbose) console.log("\tFile "+file.replace(path.dirname(this._config.options.output),"")+" ...... created");
			}

			//build frontend view.html
			var jade = require('jade');
			var fn = jade.compile( fs.readFileSync(file,{encoding:'utf-8'}) );
	    	var html = fn();
	    	var file = path.join(this._config.options.output,"ui","templates",this._config.name,viewConfig.name+".html");
	    	fs.writeFileSync(file, html	, 'utf-8');
	    	if(this._config.options.verbose) console.log("\tFile "+file.replace(path.dirname(this._config.options.output),"")+" ...... created");
		}
		return this;
	}
}
module.exports= builder;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
@implementation STASDKUITripLocationAnnotation

- (id)initWith:(STASDKMDestinationLocation*)location {
    self.location = location;
    self.identifier = location.identifier;
    self.titleStr = location.friendlyName;
    self.coordinate = CLLocationCoordinate2DMake(location.latitude, location.longitude);
    return self;
}

- (NSString *)title {
    return self.titleStr;
}

- (NSString *)subtitle {
    return @"";
}

@end


text:
Category - NBA Basketball
Wanna Make Money in the NBA? Be a Center
By Erik Johnsson Over the past few seasons, the NBA has seen a rapid shift from the "ground-and-pound" style of the 90s and 2000s to the small ball, "pace-and-space" style of today. Now more than ever, it feels like...
NBA MVP Predictions
By: Jake Levene and Zach Diamandis Around this time every year, a familiar but always exciting debate reignites: who should be the NBA's MVP? There are familiar faces, such as Lebron James, who has been within the top 10 of MVP...
Do NBA Playoff Games Have More Fouls?
By Andrew Puopolo Earlier on in the NBA Playoffs, I was watching a game in which 5 or 6 possessions in a row ended in a foul. This got me wondering, do playoff games, on average, have more fouls than regular season games? Or was...
Analyzing the NBA Through Twitter Follows
By Benedict Brady Following an incredibly exciting week for NBA twitter, we have decided to take a look at how NBA players interact with each other on twitter's platform. While NBA players have relationships with each other...
Does Winning A Specific NBA Quarter Matter?
By: Matty Cheng In the 2018 playoffs, the Golden State Warriors have typically dominated the third quarter, especially with Stephen Curry detonating, but is domination in the third quarter more important than doing so in the...
Do NBA Players Perform Better In Revenge Games?
By Matty Cheng Not just any other game. December 2nd, 2010: new Miami Heat LeBron James' revenge game against his former team, the Cavaliers. April 13th, 2013: Carmelo Anthony's homecoming game against the Denver Nuggets he...
How Much Correlation Between Seasons Is There in Each Major North American Sports League?
By Andrew Puopolo Last week, I wrote a piece about parity in the NFL. Many of the comments on that article claimed that since 5 out of the 6 NFC playoff teams differed from a year ago, there was plenty of parity in the NFL...
2017: A (Somewhat) Statistical Review
By Danny Blumenthal and Andrew Puopolo As 2017 comes to an end, we look back at the milestones and moments that made this sports year memorable, and also some weird moments that made it unique. NFL Football 1.) The New England...
NBA Referee Experience and Home Bias
By Henry Johnson Referee bias is the rare subject on which painted-up fans and bespectacled statisticians seem to agree. In study after study, in sport after sport, referees are shown to exhibit favoritism toward the home...
Which Major North American Sports League Suffers Most From The "Big Market Effect"
By Andrew Puopolo Major North American sports leagues suffer from a competitive imbalance, where teams from bigger cities like New York and Los Angeles have traditionally had more success than teams from small cities like...


text:
– Vision
– Mission
– Values
– Companies
– Message from the Chairman
To become a leading organization in spreading knowledge and innovative ideas that paves the way for the progress of the Arab nation at large.
Enriching Arab families with distinguished scientific, cultural, educational and entertaining content of exemplary quality that's accessible for all segments of society.
Professional Development for Educators
Teaching Arabic Language to Egyptian Expatriates
Animation Production
CD/DVD Replication
جميع المنتجات Applied SciencesArtsBusiness AdministrationCinemaCulturalEducationalEntrepreneurshipFeatured BooksSocial IssuesStationery & School Supplies
Book Launch & Signings
Request Book Fair
Home/Cultural/Adults/Page 7
Arabic Fiction
Sarcastic Literature
Coloring & Activity
Dictionary & Encyclopedia
حروفي مع زينة
حكاية حروفي
Arabic, English (1)
The book is based on the episodes of the TV program The Art of Life. It deals with a number of life-skills that should be learnt by presenting a problem that happened due to lacking the knowledge of these skills and the means to acquire them. Such life-skills help ensure a better life that can be enjoyed and lived as intended by God.
A series of stories, whose heroes are buildings and builders that present conclusive moments in Egypt's architectural history or " Al Gheitany's" biography, intermitted by glimpses where Al Ghietany explains architectural expressions in metaphoric descriptions and a Sufi demeanor as he views things and their reflections and search for meanings and their antonyms.
Each story is an establishment of a life, a movement, a ray of light in a deserted human passage way with significant titles.
Al Gheitany swings between the visible and invisible, secrecy and revelation to tell more and more, without closing the building's door at the end of the text.
The Book of Architecture
The author tackles the scientific miracles in the Quran, an important issue that triggered widespread controversy, clarifying the proper understanding of such theory amongst the intellectuals and those who argue about it. Dr. Zaghloul Al Naggar furthermore stresses the fundamental standards that should monitor such concepts and the importance of highlighting scientific miracles of the Quran in the contemporary modern scientific revolution.
The Case of Scientific Miracle in the Quran
A novel based on the author's personal biography, telling the story of a young man named Hassan who spent his childhood in Gaza with his two brothers who are members in Hamas organization, his father, his mother and a sister- the youngest of them. Hassan lived through and witnessed many tales manifesting the contradiction between the Shaikhs' talks and acts, as well as their refusal to engage in argument.
He was forced to abandon studies at Hamas Islamic University and move to Algeria to join the Faculty of Mass Communication at one of its universities. After he returned to Gaza, Hassan began to recognize the difference between the attitude of anti-occupation defense that has vanished in the air after Oslo treaty, the first Intifada (Uprising) and the armed conflict between Hamas and Fath groups.
The Cursed Slogan
A critical review of Sayed Kotb's book "Landmarks on the Way", scrutinizing it and commenting on the topics covered in it.
The Delusions of the Way
This book presents young men and women who refused to surrender to unemployment, and came up with ideas to face this crisis; ideas that were really unconventional and at other times just plain and simple.
Accordingly, we have new creative professionals who are proactively participating in building their country.
The Early Bird Catches the Worm
I would not be exaggerating if I say that the ÒDevelopment BookÓ of the world has
long been inscribed, but is seems we either do not know how to read, or do not
want to read as the process of economic, administrative and political development has been scrutinized to the extent that the curricula of developmental political economy discourse essential decisions and systematic phases similar to ÒcookingÓ books, with a difference in analogy.
In return, it seems that EgyptÕs contemporary history, at least in the times of Mohamed Ali, is merely a series of setbacks intersected with partial success in some field. Why hasnÕt renaissance, development and achievement ever been a title to the book of EgyptÕs contemporary history? What is the procedure that we
overlook or disregard that hinders us to follow the procession whether in our neighbouring nations or the far away ones.
Why are we left behind while others progress?
The Egypt We Aspire
The book includes rare documents that are published for the first time which display the nature of the relationship between the state and the church throughout nearly 60 years. They also include a map of the intellectual streams of the Christians in Egypt, either of the educated elite or the Christian clergymen, with the aim of clarifying the difference between these general trends.
The Egyptian ChurchThe Equipoise of Religion and the State
What ties me to these countries are not the maps drawn in the geography school book, or the ancient history that closely connected Egypt and the Levant, nor any religious predisposition pertaining to the life stories of the Prophets' what ties me to the Levant are specific details, the soft beautiful voice of Fayrouz, fragments of worn out collection of poems on the bookshelf of my grandpa carrying the name of Nizar Qabbany and the fine and strong dancing steps shaking the floor underneath in Baalbak. All these details were essential elements in the formation of my dream of visiting these countries.
The Fayrouzis
An observation and analysis of the psychological state of the Egyptian people since the revolution and up till today, as well as their general health status and the
societal and political implications on the generation's outlook on the psychological well being of Egyptians.
The Great Revelation
You could hear a pin drop… and they knew that not before long, there will be screams, overpowered by the roars of guns and wailing of women nearby.
They might be raping a woman before the eyes of her husband and children, or killing a father in front of his children and turn his house's yard into a blood filled pond…all of this is taking place now.
The Heaven of Hell
The author with sincere awareness, a loving heart and a captivating style, raises very critical issues relating to Egypt and corrects many wrong widespread misconceptions.
She sets an absolutely new meaning to the term "Egyptian". The uniqueness of that book lies in the clear description of the case of Egypt in each and every phase of its long history and through each and every plight it went through, thereby opening peopleÕs minds and hearts to comprehend and understand that Egypt is alive and has not died despite all the difficult times it went through. The author stresses in her book the great contribution of Egypt humanity in all aspects of life, including the religious and artistic fields as well as human development.
The Identity of Egypt
El Nahda Tower, 21 Ahmed Orabi St.,
Sphinx Square, Mohandessin, Giza, Egypt
Hotline: 16766
Tel.: (+202) 33464903 - 33468984 - 33466434 - 33472864
About Nahdet Misr
Educational products & International curricula
Educational & digital projects
Nahdet Misr Venture Capital
Cultural books for adults
Cultural books for children
© 2017 Nahdet Misr. All Rights Reserved.


For over 65 years, the Zaffiro family of Channel Fish Processing (CFP) has provided the freshest, highest quality North Atlantic fish to wholesalers everywhere. Over the years, Channel has grown and developed from a processor of Cod and Haddock into a family run company that conducts business globally and provides a wide variety of fresh and frozen products.
Spirit of India was established in 1998. A restaurant is owned and run by a chef par excellence Mr. Raghbir Singh along with his wife Ms. Jaspal Kaur. Spirit of Inidia, an old and finest restaurant in South Melbourne, Australia ensures at all times that the highest standard of food & service is delivered. Spirit of India is renowned for its finest North Indian cuisine and traditional artworks. The mouth-watering dishes with a modern twist, add a dash of spice to one's dining experience. Fitted with the best antique artefacts for great ambience it boosts a dining for 90 guests. Spirit of India features delicacies from the North India such as Samosas, Malai Kofta, Dal Makhani, Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala, Beef Madras and much more. We specialise in Catering for Special Occasions/Private functions.
Manufacturing & supplying certified organic input from last one and half decade which help in growing organic product. We produce cereals, vegetables etc.
Omrfoodstreet.com celebrates the food events for the biggest function in india like navratri festival etc..
Sweet As provides the Toblerone chocolate, Candy Buffet, Lindt chocolate balls, Chupa Chups, jelly belly beans, sugared almonds, gift hampers & bulk lollies online in Australia. It is one of the best online shopping sites and it gives fast delivery. Sweet As has many offers on different items.
In Amritsar, the food and service industry today are at an all-time high. The restaurant business seems like the newest hot trend. There is a rapid growth in the number of restaurants that are coming up around us. Every restaurant around is trying to attract more customers.
Link Details » What makes us go back to a restaurant?
If you need Commercial Beer System,Nitrogen Coffee Equipments,Bar and Restaurant Equipments,Then you come to the right place.We are India and exported worldwide.
Relieve the stress & fatigue of the whole day with Ratri Chai, also known as Relaxing Tea, which is designed to provide complete relaxation to the nervous system.
Brickhouse quality steaks and seafood, served by a highly professional staff in an inviting atmosphere, the Brick house restaurant has no equal in Central Oregon. Offer Dinner, Happy Hour, First Hour Special, Just for kids and more.
Duke Burger House is one of the best burger restaurant in Doha, Qatar. Where you can enjoy the ultimate burger in Doha, with different recipes like veggies, beef, chicken, french fries and much more varieties.
Story Distributing is a full line branded wholesaler and dealer of petroleum fuel products in the state of Montana. We are also the proud owners of the Casey's Corner Convenience Stores, where we serve Southwest Montana with fuel and amenities such as food, drink, full restaurant services, Chester's Chicken and much more.
oruspoon Instant Milk tea is simply tea added with milk and sugar as we in India love it. Just pour the contents of the oruspoon into a hot cup of water and you are ready with a hot cup of the classic Indian tea. Keep a couple of spoons handy as you never know when you need a cup of tea in your hand to make the moment perfect.
Perfectly tailored epos software for hospitality to suite busy cafes, restaurants and bars for Menu Management, Daily Inventory, Foreign Currencies and Table Reservations.
We bring forth a unique collection of products like Display Freezer,Wine Cooler,Laboratory Freezers,Blood Bank Freezer,Mini Fridge,Ice Machine,Ice Flaker etc.
eLyqd.com - The Vapor Store of USA & One stop destination for purchase E-Liquids, Vapor Juice, E-Juice from popular brands with available all flavors like fruits, tobacco, alcohol & many more @ affordable Price with Free shipping & exciting discount offers. Shop Online & Find a Vapor Store Near You.
Order food delivery and Indian takeaway online from The Spice Route, North Lakes-4509 gives you Online menu, ratings, Credit Cards Accepted free to use.
Order food delivery and Indian takeaway online from Indian Brothers-Cairns, Cairns-4870 gives you Online menu, ratings, Credit Cards Accepted free to use.
Order food delivery and takeaway online from Soul Pizza - valley Fortitude Valley-4006 Online menu, ratings, PayPal Credit Cards Accepted, free to use.
Order food delivery and takeaway online from Indian Cuisine Coomera-4209 Online menu, ratings, PayPal Credit Cards Accepted, free to use.
Order food delivery and Pizza takeaway online from Diamond Pizza & Grille, Hurstbridge-3089 gives you Online menu, ratings, Credit Cards Accepted free to use.
Make your food more tastier and creamy by adding the perfect companion of your dish, the Cool M Cooking Cream by Amrit food, the leading cooking cream manufacturer in India.
Wholesaleshopy is wholesale supplier of wide range of food products. Wholesaleshopy is also India's First Wholesale Food Online Market. Our Mission is to provide a complete wholesale food market on your fingers. Our Products include all kind of food stuffs like Chocolates, Juices, Sauces, Dates,Beverages,etc. We have products from around the globe like Germany, USA, China, Dubai, Indonesia, Thailand,Turkey and many more.
We have seen our self running for cake and gift to several shops. Whenever we need purchase a gift hamper or a cake in dessert we do lots of research and it take time. We decided to overcome this issue and for customer convenience we started providing online cake and gift service in all over India. We have a fully loaded website where you can find tons of idea about cake and gift. Even though you are confused, we have a customer support team who is always ready to solve your query. If you are looking for midnight delivery we have facility for that. We provide free shipping at your location.
We make Jungle Juice London from quality ingredients which include fruits and vegetables, smoothies, juices, salads, fruit salads, soups, Yogurts, bagels, and pies.
Le Fringe Hair Salon is Best Hair Salon in Bondi Junction which provides amazing haircuts and coloring. Contact our hair experts for your Hair Treatment services in reasonable Price.


The Wow Hostel in Hualian,Taiwan is fabricated partly from reclaimed materials, giving it a quirky, youthful vibe.
A large living wall connects the ground floor with the second floor.
The ground floor cafe is open to guests and passersby.
There is an onsite gaming area with a 3D mural by a local artist.
A repurposed shipping container door leads out to the terrace.
A wall cabinet in one of the lounges was made out of recycled window frames.


Surrounded. By foreign voices, coming from foreign people on foreign ground. The crowd of Spanish children are chattering away with excitement as they watch the English girl pick up the last of her camping gear and amble down to the beach. That's me. I'm the English girl. I'm the one walking to the beach. I can feel all the eyes on me, boring into my back in disbelief at what I'm about to do. The challenge: spend the night on the small, jagged island of Aucanada.
was not working, only to find Peligo's body. A new lighthouse was installed further up the coast, putting Aucanada Lighthouse out of use. Other than a few local youths, no one has visited the island, due to a number of unexplained disappearances.
a night on the island would be the ultimate initiation. Everyone knows the story behind Aucanada. Locals say the disappearances were a result of Peligo's ghost, that he haunts the island and anyone who visits it. One of the older boys, Carlos, after being dared, went to the island a couple years ago, but when dusk arrived he freaked out and swam back. The current pulled him out to sea and he nearly drowned. Although people made fun of him for being scared, no one has been since. Deep down they knew. They knew something on that island was dangerous - they just didn't know what. He claims he felt the presence of Peligo, and thought he saw the old man before diving into the unforgiving sea.
is only waist deep, but as the water rises, the current becomes stronger and anyone stupid enough to try and swim in it is swept out to a soggy death.
It's time for me to go to the island now, it's low tide. In about half an hour it will be too high to swim in, and low tide won't be until 6:27am tomorrow. I step into the water, gripping my camping gear tight as I feel the water slithering through my toes. "Go!" someone shouts from the crowd. I wade further into the water. The Mediterranean water is not warm at the beginning of summer and it steals my breath from me.
before I can leave. Twelve hours before I become accepted as a local, as a friend. I turn around, the crowd cheer, and gradually they all disappear into their villas. All but one. Carlos. He told me not to bother, that "it's not worth it". At the time, I laughed dismissively, not wanting to seem uncool. But now, alone on the island, with the icy wind wrapping itself around my body, I wish I'd taken him more seriously. I stumble up the remnants of what must have been the path up to the lighthouse. A creak sends daggers through my heart, causing it to pound in my ears, and for a moment I'm paralysed.
Relief, a fuzzy numbness, rushes through my body, leaving my legs tingling. It was an old sign post swaying slightly in the wind. Barely legible, in blood red paint, peeling off the termite ridden wood, is the word Faro. Faro means lighthouse, I think. "When you see the sign, stick to the path, it will lead you to the lighthouse". These words play in my mind on repeat, like a broken record. "Stick to the path." Curious as to why it seemed so imperative to stick to the path, I asked. I wish I hadn't. They told me that there are ditches you can fall into that you can't escape from. I had told myself they were trying to scare me, it was an attempt to scupper my success. But now, staring into the darkness, I would believe that anything was hiding amongst the trees, lurking in the shadows.
I notice it's just the moon's reflection in a shard of glass from the old lamp at the top of the lighthouse. I breathe a sigh of relief. The iron gate up ahead squeaks eerily as it wobbles on its hinges. I push it open, the metal still warm from today's sun, and walk slowly into the cosy courtyard that lies at the foot of the lighthouse. The crumbling walls guarding the courtyard act as a shield, protecting me in a bubble from the suffocating wind and ruthless cold. I start to relax a little, and watch the last of the sun's rays dissolve into the watery horizon.
I watch a pair of obsidian cormorants having a diving competition in the pool of ink that I guess is the sea. It is almost peaceful, snuggled in my sleeping bag beneath the stars, staring into the heart of the moon. Feeling some level of safety, I let my tiredness consume me and soon I am sleeping soundly.


Log in to Studielink: www.studielink.nl. (For explanation of Studielink, please click here).
Submit your personal details (please ensure that you enter exactly the same name(s) as in your identity card or passport.
Add new enrolment: mind you choose the correct intake (February 2019 or September 2019).
Add your previous or current education and answer the supplementary questions. Even students who don't have their secondary high school diploma yet, can apply.
1. Programme B HBO-ICT English Stream (Eindhoven).
This option is for students who do not know their specialisation yet.
After your enrolment request has been sent, you will immediately receive a confirmation e-mail from Studielink.


Ikan Jelawat or Sultan Fish (Leptobarbus hoevenii), a tropical water fish is very easy to rear, do not have to eat much and pretty smart. Now Nov-2008, one of them is about 10.5 inches. The other is almost 9.5 inches. They grew about 1 inch in a year. In this 1 year since they fell sick in Aug-2007, they fell sick again a few times (about twice) after they recovered. As they are bigger now, I had decided to give them the whole of big tank by moving the gold fish to the hospital tank which is about 2 feet.
I did this because the gold fish fell sick very often especially the smaller one. As gold fishes are 'gready and dirty' fishes, water needs to be changed more frequently. This smaller plastic tank is easy to manage and has less water. Changing of water will be easier with smaller tank. Then the water in the big tank will get dirty slower.
So, what did I do that help my Sultan fish? Wah, quite difficult because I have to change the tank water pretty often. 1) I quarantined them after changing water for them. I put very little water, about 4 to 6 inches deep. The tank will be cleaned / wiped everytime the water is changed. 2) I put some salt and some liquid general medicine (green colour) into the water everytime I changed water for them. 3) I changed the water almost everyday (the longest, fortnightly) during the first week of quarantine. Then 3 days to 1 week once. So, they were quarantined about 3 weeks before I put them into normal condition again.
I went through all this trouble because I did not know what caused the sickness. I want to make sure that the tank is free of harmful micro-organisms and their eggs or fungus and their spores. However, this did not help much as they fell sick again after a few months.
So I decided to change the water more frequently for them, about once a month. It has been about 6 months since the last time they fell sick. Fishes fall sick mostly because of bad environmental conditions and chemistry which may be poisonous and kill or weaken them. Then micro-organism or fungus will attack them and not from micro-organisms or fungus first.


text:
Auto workers' tenuous return a ray of hope in jobs crisis
Auto workers are returning to factories that have been shuttered since mid-March due to COVID-19
May 15, 2020	by Tom Krisher, The Associated Press
DETROIT – Defying a wave of layoffs that has sent the U.S. job market into its worst catastrophe on record, at least one major industry is making a comeback: Tens of thousands of auto workers are returning to factories that have been shuttered since mid-March due to fears of spreading the coronavirus.
Until now, it was mostly hair salons, restaurants, tattoo parlours and other small businesses reopening in some parts of the country. The auto industry is among the first major sectors of the economy to restart its engine.
About 133,000 U.S. workers – just over half of the industry's workforce before the pandemic – are expected to pour back into assembly plants that will open in the coming week, according to estimates by The Associated Press.
In addition, parts-making companies began cranking to get components flowing, adding thousands more workers.
Looming in the background is an economy decimated by the pandemic. Nearly 3 million laid-off U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, raising the total seeking aid in the past two months to about 36 million.
Although some states have begun to let selected businesses reopen, workers are still reporting difficulty getting unemployment benefits. Freelance, gig and self-employed workers are struggling.
Even the auto sector won't see a full return to normal yet, and if people don't start buying vehicles again, workers could be sent home. Yet automakers say there's enough pent-up demand, especially for pickup trucks, to get factories humming again.
That could help states slow the drain on their unemployment benefit funds. In Michigan, where over one-third of the labour force sought benefits, the fund fell from US$4.6 billion before the pandemic to $4.1 billion on April 30, said Jeff Donofrio, director of the state Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, in a prepared statement. Some returning auto employees could work part-time and get still some unemployment benefits, but federal programs could cover part of their payments, he said.
At Ford, where about 47,000 U.S. factory workers will return by next week, there's optimism that consumer demand will accompany them. Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley said in a prepared statement that the company has seen sales start to recover.
Ford is predicting stronger sales in the future in Europe, China and the U.S. based on data collected from new models equipped with internet modems that show the number of times an engine is turned on and off. The company found a correlation between the number of trips people take and auto sales, with trips increasing as restrictions eased.
Auto sales in China, where the virus peaked before the U.S., could be a harbinger of things to come. China sales fell just 2.6% in April from a year earlier, compared with a 48% free-fall in March. Production at many plants is nearly back to normal after being shut down in January and February. Volkswagen, Honda, Mercedes and Ford reported no virus cases among employees since reopening.
U.S. sales fell 46% in April compared with a year ago, but analysts are forecasting a smaller decline of 30% in May. Sales have been juiced by incentives, with offers of 0% financing for seven years.
Pickup trucks are giving automakers the most hope, said Jeff Schuster, senior vice-president at LMC Automotive, a consulting firm. From January through April, total auto sales were down 21%, but pickups were only off 4%, he said.
Yet Schuster says automakers could be a little too optimistic. "Those consumers who are still unemployed are not likely to be making auto purchases," he said.
Some U.S. automakers, like General Motors, are restarting slowly, only bringing back workers on one shift in factories, some of which ran around the clock before the pandemic. Others, like Subaru in Indiana, have a full complement of employees.
Although companies are taking precautions, one big virus outbreak at an auto plant could send the industry back into hibernation. And the industry could face parts supply interruptions from Mexico, where the government wants to reopen factories despite rising virus cases.
Automakers in the U.S. are requiring employees to fill out questionnaires daily to see if they have symptoms, taking temperatures with no-touch thermometers before workers enter buildings, and requiring gloves, masks and face shields. They've also tried to keep at least six feet between workers, staggered time between shifts so workers don't interact, and put up plexiglas barriers when possible.
All the steps were tested on U.S. workers who volunteered to make protective gear and breathing machines while they were laid off. Automakers say they know of no virus cases among workers in the effort.
Cindy Estrada, United Auto Workers vice-president for Fiat Chrysler, said she's been impressed by the companies' safety commitment. But she's sure some workers, especially in the hard-hit Detroit area, will be fearful because family members or co-workers have had COVID-19. At least 25 UAW members employed by Detroit automakers have died from the virus, although no one is sure if they caught it at a factory.
The union will be watching in case workers get infected, though there's no magic number for when it will try to close a factory, Estrada said.
"If something looks like it's becoming a hot spot, then we need to act quickly and make adjustments," she said. "No one wants to see that happen."
Auto workers union, Detroit 3 at odds as contract talks open
Despite risks, auto workers step up to make medical gear
NA auto factories likely to stay closed another 2 weeks
Hyundai Motor union warns auto tariffs could hurt U.S. jobs
COVID-19 causes surge in demand for telecom services in Canada
Alberta Energy Regulator blocks sale of Shell assets over clean up concerns


Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club played host to 20 teams for the Volvo RS Feva Grand Prix.
Saturday's conditions were not quite up to the Yorkshire Dales SC reputation with light fickle conditions but with an improving forecast throughout the day. Conditions for Sunday, however, looked like it would be touch and go for any sailing so it was agreed to run 4 of the 6 races on Saturday.
Saturday tested the teams to the full with light, shifty winds. Local Yorkshire Dales SC sailor Henry Rastrick with crew Rupert Jameson from Hayling Island Sailing Club lead throughout to take race 1, Tom Storey and Ollie Kent from Yorkshire Dales SC came in 2nd with Ewan Wilson Wormit Boating Club and Teddy Ferguson Windermere School in 3rd.
The 3rd race saw an increase in breeze and a change at the top with Storey and Kent taking the win Jamie Rastrick Yorkshire Dales SC and Madeline Bristow Leigh and Lowton SC in 2nd and brothers Kevin and Eddie Farrell from Llandudno SC came over the line in 3rd.
Last race of the day and it was Ewan Wilson and Teddy Ferguson over the line in first and a tight battle followed with Rastrick and Jameson in 2nd and Sian and Elouise in 3rd.
Sunday delivered the conditions that Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club is so famous for, strong wind blowing straight down the reservoir allowing the race officer to set a long course directly in front of the clubhouse giving spectators a perfect view of the action.
Tom Storey and Ollie Kents downwind speed allowed them to pull away from the fleet to take race 5 with Henry Jameson and Issy Spurway left in the wake to take 2nd and Ewan Wilson and Teddy Ferguson in 3rd place.
The final race of the day saw Henry and Issy lead the race throughout to take the win, Tom and Ollie came in 2nd and the Dylan's came in 3rd.
Class Chairman Jon Webster thanked Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club team, Race officer Keith Escritt and his safety team along with the ladies in the Galley. Thanks also went to all the RS Feva families who travelled to the event and made it such a great weekend for all.
The UK RS Feva Class would thank our class Sponsors Volvo for their continued support.
Next event is the PA Consulting RS Feva National Championships at Royal Torbay YC.


text:
/*
 * DO NOT EDIT THIS CODE BY HAND! It has been generated with jsvcgen.
 */
package com.solidfire.element.api;

import com.solidfire.gson.Gson;
import com.solidfire.core.client.Attributes;
import com.solidfire.gson.annotations.SerializedName;
import com.solidfire.core.annotation.Since;
import com.solidfire.core.javautil.Optional;
import java.io.Serializable;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Objects;

/**
 * ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest
 * ModifyGroupSnapshot enables you to change the attributes of a group of snapshots. You can also use this method to enable snapshots created on the Read/Write (source) volume to be remotely replicated to a target SolidFire storage system.
 **/

public class ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest implements Serializable {

    public static final long serialVersionUID = -2331163540132065018L;
    @SerializedName("groupSnapshotID") private Long groupSnapshotID;
    @SerializedName("expirationTime") private Optional<String> expirationTime;
    @SerializedName("enableRemoteReplication") private Optional<Boolean> enableRemoteReplication;
    @SerializedName("snapMirrorLabel") private Optional<String> snapMirrorLabel;
    // empty constructor
    @Since("7.0")
    public ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest() {}

    // parameterized constructor
    @Since("7.0")
    public ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest(
        Long groupSnapshotID,
        Optional<String> expirationTime,
        Optional<Boolean> enableRemoteReplication
    )
    {
        this.groupSnapshotID = groupSnapshotID;
        this.expirationTime = (expirationTime == null) ? Optional.<String>empty() : expirationTime;
        this.enableRemoteReplication = (enableRemoteReplication == null) ? Optional.<Boolean>empty() : enableRemoteReplication;
    }
    // parameterized constructor
    @Since("10.0")
    public ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest(
        Long groupSnapshotID,
        Optional<String> expirationTime,
        Optional<Boolean> enableRemoteReplication,
        Optional<String> snapMirrorLabel
    )
    {
        this.groupSnapshotID = groupSnapshotID;
        this.expirationTime = (expirationTime == null) ? Optional.<String>empty() : expirationTime;
        this.enableRemoteReplication = (enableRemoteReplication == null) ? Optional.<Boolean>empty() : enableRemoteReplication;
        this.snapMirrorLabel = (snapMirrorLabel == null) ? Optional.<String>empty() : snapMirrorLabel;
    }

    /**
     * Specifies the ID of the group of snapshots.
     **/
    public Long getGroupSnapshotID() { return this.groupSnapshotID; }

    public void setGroupSnapshotID(Long groupSnapshotID) {
        this.groupSnapshotID = groupSnapshotID;
    }
    /**
     * Specify the time after which the group snapshot can be removed.
     * If neither 'expirationTime' nor 'retention' is specified for the original group snapshot, the snapshot
     * will be retained until manually deleted.
     * The format is:
     *   ISO 8601 date string for time based expiration, otherwise it will not expire.
     *   'null', or not specified, the snapshot is to be retained permanently.
     *   'fifo' causes the snapshot to be preserved on a First-In-First-Out basis, relative to other FIFO
     *        snapshots on the volume. The API will fail if no FIFO space is available.
     * Note: The 'retention' option is not supported by ModifyGroupSnapshot.
     **/
    public Optional<String> getExpirationTime() { return this.expirationTime; }

    public void setExpirationTime(Optional<String> expirationTime) {
        this.expirationTime = (expirationTime == null) ? Optional.<String>empty() : expirationTime;
    }
    /**
     * Replicates the snapshot created to a remote cluster.
     * Possible values are:
     * true: The snapshot is replicated to remote storage.
     * false: Default. The snapshot is not replicated.
     **/
    public Optional<Boolean> getEnableRemoteReplication() { return this.enableRemoteReplication; }

    public void setEnableRemoteReplication(Optional<Boolean> enableRemoteReplication) {
        this.enableRemoteReplication = (enableRemoteReplication == null) ? Optional.<Boolean>empty() : enableRemoteReplication;
    }
    /**
     * Label used by SnapMirror software to specify snapshot retention policy on SnapMirror endpoint.
     **/
    public Optional<String> getSnapMirrorLabel() { return this.snapMirrorLabel; }

    public void setSnapMirrorLabel(Optional<String> snapMirrorLabel) {
        this.snapMirrorLabel = (snapMirrorLabel == null) ? Optional.<String>empty() : snapMirrorLabel;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean equals(Object o) {
        if (this == o) return true;
        if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;

        ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest that = (ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest) o;

        return
            Objects.equals(groupSnapshotID, that.groupSnapshotID) &&
            Objects.equals(expirationTime, that.expirationTime) &&
            Objects.equals(enableRemoteReplication, that.enableRemoteReplication) &&
            Objects.equals(snapMirrorLabel, that.snapMirrorLabel);
    }

    @Override
    public int hashCode() {
        return Objects.hash( groupSnapshotID,expirationTime,enableRemoteReplication,snapMirrorLabel );
    }

    public java.util.Map<String, Object> toMap() {
        java.util.Map<String, Object> map = new HashMap<>();
        map.put("groupSnapshotID", groupSnapshotID);
        map.put("expirationTime", expirationTime);
        map.put("enableRemoteReplication", enableRemoteReplication);
        map.put("snapMirrorLabel", snapMirrorLabel);
        return map;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        final StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
        Gson gson = new Gson();
        sb.append( "{ " );

        sb.append(" groupSnapshotID : ").append(gson.toJson(groupSnapshotID)).append(",");
        if(null != expirationTime && expirationTime.isPresent()){
            sb.append(" expirationTime : ").append(gson.toJson(expirationTime)).append(",");
        }
        else{
            sb.append(" expirationTime : ").append("null").append(",");
        }
        if(null != enableRemoteReplication && enableRemoteReplication.isPresent()){
            sb.append(" enableRemoteReplication : ").append(gson.toJson(enableRemoteReplication)).append(",");
        }
        else{
            sb.append(" enableRemoteReplication : ").append("null").append(",");
        }
        if(null != snapMirrorLabel && snapMirrorLabel.isPresent()){
            sb.append(" snapMirrorLabel : ").append(gson.toJson(snapMirrorLabel)).append(",");
        }
        else{
            sb.append(" snapMirrorLabel : ").append("null").append(",");
        }
        sb.append( " }" );

        if(sb.lastIndexOf(", }") != -1)
            sb.deleteCharAt(sb.lastIndexOf(", }"));

        return sb.toString();
    }

    public static Builder builder() {
        return new Builder();
    }

    public final Builder asBuilder() {
        return new Builder().buildFrom(this);
    }

    public static class Builder {
        private Long groupSnapshotID;
        private Optional<String> expirationTime;
        private Optional<Boolean> enableRemoteReplication;
        private Optional<String> snapMirrorLabel;

        private Builder() { }

        public ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest build() {
            return new ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest (
                         this.groupSnapshotID,
                         this.expirationTime,
                         this.enableRemoteReplication,
                         this.snapMirrorLabel);
        }

        private ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest.Builder buildFrom(final ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest req) {
            this.groupSnapshotID = req.groupSnapshotID;
            this.expirationTime = req.expirationTime;
            this.enableRemoteReplication = req.enableRemoteReplication;
            this.snapMirrorLabel = req.snapMirrorLabel;

            return this;
        }

        public ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest.Builder groupSnapshotID(final Long groupSnapshotID) {
            this.groupSnapshotID = groupSnapshotID;
            return this;
        }

        public ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest.Builder optionalExpirationTime(final String expirationTime) {
            this.expirationTime = (expirationTime == null) ? Optional.<String>empty() : Optional.of(expirationTime);
            return this;
        }

        public ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest.Builder optionalEnableRemoteReplication(final Boolean enableRemoteReplication) {
            this.enableRemoteReplication = (enableRemoteReplication == null) ? Optional.<Boolean>empty() : Optional.of(enableRemoteReplication);
            return this;
        }

        public ModifyGroupSnapshotRequest.Builder optionalSnapMirrorLabel(final String snapMirrorLabel) {
            this.snapMirrorLabel = (snapMirrorLabel == null) ? Optional.<String>empty() : Optional.of(snapMirrorLabel);
            return this;
        }

    }
}


text:
The Most Successful Viral Video Campaign Of All Time Now Includes This Dancing Baby Spider-Man
Aaron Taube
Apr. 1, 2014, 4:40 PM
Evian has released the latest sequel in its popular "baby&me" campaign. You may not care about the water brand's dancing babies, but this is one of the single-biggest online ad campaigns ever.
The original "roller babies" has had more than 75 million views across all platforms. In 2011, it set a record for being the most-viewed ad of all time. A sequel, in which people see baby versions of themselves in a mirror and have no choice but to start dancing, has been viewed more than 70 million times on YouTube and was 2013's No.1 most-viewed YouTube ad.
Simply put, it is currently the single-most-important viral Web video ad campaign on the planet.
This time, Evian has tapped Spider-Man to shake his groove thing.
In the new video, Spider-Man is seen swinging around the city — as Spider-Man is wont to do — when he is confronted by what appears to be a baby Spider-Man across the street.
YouTube/EvianBabies
Spider-Man then jumps down to the street as the '90s banger "Here Comes the Hotstepper" begins playing in the background. He then meets his baby-sized doppelganger in the reflection of a store window, and a Web-based dance-off ensues.
Baby Spider-Man be like:
Here's the full ad:
The video continues Evian's 5-year-old dancing baby campaign, and follows a video released a year ago that showed adults dancing with their baby-sized reflections.
The Spider-Man video was done by the agency BETC Paris and helps promote The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which comes to U.S. theaters May 2.
GIF by Amanda Macias.
SEE ALSO: Evian's Babies, The Most Successful Viral Ad Campaign Of All Time, Roll Again
More: Advertising Water Spider Man


Talented youngsters from Jammu and Kashmir can contribute greatly to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a delegation of schoolgirls from the state today.
New Delhi: Talented youngsters from Jammu and Kashmir can contribute greatly to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a delegation of schoolgirls from the state today. The girls are touring various parts of the country as a part of the Indian Army's "Sadbhavana" programme. The prime minister interacted with the girls on a host of subjects, ranging from education to the Swachh Bharat campaign and benefits of yoga.
"Delighted to welcome a delegation of school girls from Jammu and Kashmir, who are touring various parts of the country as a part of the Indian Army's Sadbhavana programme.
"The school children from Jammu and Kashmir and I had a lively interaction on areas pertaining to education, Swachh Bharat, benefits of Yoga," PM Modi later tweeted.
"They were particularly keen to know about the steps our government is taking towards furthering girl child education.
"The talented youngsters from Jammu and Kashmir can contribute greatly to the nation. It is gladdening to see more youth from the state joining the civil services and showing great potential in sports," he said in a series of tweets.


text:
Comments (13 comments)
Mauritanian anti-slavery activist wins human rights award
By John D. Sutter, CNN
(CNN) - A Mauritanian anti-slavery activist, Biram Dah Abeid, will be honored on Friday by the human rights group Front Line Defenders. Abeid, who is the head of a group called IRA Mauritania, was featured last year in the CNN documentary "Slavery's last stronghold." Mauritania, a desert country in West Africa, was the last country to abolish slavery; and an estimated 10% to 20% of its population lives in some form of slavery, according to Gulnara Shahinian, the UN's special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery.
The Mauritanian government has denied slavery's existence in the country but does operate a program for formerly enslaved people.
Abeid was selected from 100 nominees in 40 countries, according to Front Line Defenders. The award, given to "human right defenders at risk," will be presented at a ceremony in Dublin, Ireland, and will be given by Irish President Michael Higgins. FULL POST
Post by: John D. Sutter -- CNN
Topics: Mauritania Slavery's Last Stronghold
Comments (166 comments)
CNN iReporters send message to Mauritanian slaves: 'We're with you'
By John D. Sutter and Edythe McNamee, CNN
(CNN) - Dozens of CNN iReporters recently uploaded videos of themselves telling escaped slaves in Mauritania that "we are with you" in the struggle for freedom. The videos follow a CNN project called "Slavery's Last Stronghold," which documented slavery in the West African country.
Mauritania was the last nation in the world to abolish the practice, and a UN representative estimates 10% to 20% of Mauritanians still live in a form of slavery.
The iReport videos came in from all over the world - and each began with the phrase "we are with you" in Hassaniya, the language spoken by a group of women who attend classes at a center for escaped slaves in Nouakchott, the capital. In the iReport videos, an African-American woman shared a few lines from a slave song her ancestors sang. School children in South Korea chanted "we are with you" in unison. A family gathered in a living room to record a video. Messages also came from Sri Lanka and Germany.
Watch a highlight reel of the clips at the top of this post, and please let us know what you think in the comments.
CNN plans to find a way to show the messages of hope to these women who escaped slavery. By including a phrase in the local language, iReporters ensured that the women who escaped slavery will understand their messages.
Here are two other updates on slavery in Mauritania, following the project:
How to help end slavery in Mauritania
(CNN) - After reading CNN's special report on Mauritania, "Slavery's Last Stronghold," it may seem like little can be done to end slavery in this West African country, where an estimated 10% to 20% of people are enslaved.
That's far from true, however. You can be part of the solution. Here's how:
Donate to a worthy cause
Anti-Slavery International has set up a special donations page for a training center for escaped slaves in Mauritania's capital, which is run by SOS Slaves. The school, which is featured in the CNN project, teaches about 30 women to sew, cook, braid hair and dye fabric. The hope is that these escaped slaves and their children one day will open their own businesses. FULL POST
Topics: How to Help • Mauritania Slavery's Last Stronghold
U.S. ambassador to Mauritania: Slavery is 'completely unacceptable and abhorrent'
Editor's note: Mauritania was the last country in the world to abolish slavery. This story is part of a CNN special report, "Slavery's Last Stronghold."
(CNN) - Slavery in Mauritania has persisted for centuries - and it wasn't until 2007 that the West African country actually made the act of owning another human being and forcing him or her to work without pay a crime.
To date, only one person has been convicted on slavery charges in Mauritania - and some activists say little is being done to pressure the government to end slavery. In part, they say, that's because the United States has interests in working with the Mauritanian government to fight a branch of al Qaeda in the region. It might upset the balance of that agreement if the U.S. also urged Mauritania to tackle slavery. Two Mauritanian government ministers denied slavery exists in CNN interviews.
But CNN spoke recently with the U.S. Ambassador to Mauritania, who painted a different picture of the situation. FULL POST
UN: There is hope for Mauritania's slaves
(CNN) - A quick glance at slavery stats makes the situation in Mauritania seem fairly hopeless: The West African nation was last in the world to abolish slavery; an estimated 10% to 20% of people live in some form of slavery today; and, while the government made slavery a crime in 2007, only one slave owner has been successfully prosecuted.
But ask Gulnara Shahinian, the United Nations' special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, about her recent visits to the country and you see a picture that's hidden beneath those shocking statistics.
Shahinian says Mauritania could be nearing a turning point. It's clear what needs to be done to eradicate slavery in Mauritania, and government leaders finally are considering making some of the right decisions, she said.
"This country has opened its door" to discuss slavery with the UN, she said. "Why don't we try to support them?" FULL POST


Played a total of 1157 times by 236 registered members. Finished by 201 users who rated the difficulty as easy.
I had more fun with yesterday's game!!
WOO HOO!!! I finally got below 1:30. First time .
Even though I'm not in the Australian time zone physically, my heart is, so thanks for the Valentine's wishes donnamusica.
Good point fizzbut lol!!! He is wearing his heart on his sleeve I guess..and not on his cards!! Annie.. you are Queen of Hearts...get busy!!


text:
Tariel "Taia" Dadiani (; ), of the House of Dadiani, was Prince of Mingrelia from 1793 to 1794 and in 1802 as a rival to his elder brother, Grigol Dadiani, whose rule was marred by the long-standing struggle between the Imeretian crown seeking to subdue Mingrelia and Mingrelian efforts to win full independence, a continuation of the conflict which had plagued western Georgia for centuries. Tariel enjoyed the support of King Solomon II of Imereti, whom he joined in an uprising against the Imperial Russian encroachment in 1810.

Biography
Manuchar was a son of Katsia II Dadiani by his third wife Anna Tsulukidze. In 1791, King Solomon II of Imereti, who sought to unite all of western Georgia under his authority, deposed Grigol Dadiani and replaced him by his more amenable brother Manuchar. Manuchar's positions was soon tattered by Grigol's continuing efforts to comeback and he had to seek refuge in neighboring Abkhazia. Solomon then briefly installed Tariel as prince-regnant, but Grigol prevailed by 1794. With Solomon's renewed offensive in Mingrelia in 1802, Grigol was once again deposed and replaced by Tariel, but the king's success was short-lived. Grigol was able to resume his tenure and placed, in 1804, Mingrelia under the Russian protection.

When Prince Grigol died in October 1804, his young son and successor Levan was placed under regency of the princess dowager Nino. Tariel, like his brother Manuchar, quickly withdraw in opposition to the new government, further exasperated by Nino's efforts to dispossess her opponents of their estates. By January 1810, Tariel and Manuchar had been in an open revolt. Tariel entrenched himself at the castle of Dzhgali. When a combined Mingrelian-Russian force moved against him, Tariel agreed to surrender provided his estates were confirmed to him. Princess Nino reneged on her promise and Tariel fled to Solomon II of Imereti, joining him in resistance to the Russians. After Solomon's defeat, Tariel moved to the highland province of Lechkhumi and, together with the nobleman Beri Gelovani, induced the locals to take to arms, but the disturbances were quickly contained through Nino's diplomacy. Tariel then joined Solomon in his exile in Akhaltsikhe, in the Ottoman territory and subsequently resided with his in-laws in Guria. Eventually, he reconciled with his nephew Levan, who assumed full ruling powers after Nino was sidelined by the Russian authorities from the Mingrelian government. In 1833, Tariel led a mission to bring Levan's defiant nephew, Dimitri Sharvashidze of Samurzakano, to justice, which ended in Dimitri being killed during a skirmish in Chuburkhinji.

Family
Tariel was married to a daughter of Simon II Gurieli. He had six children, whose descendants still survive.

References

House of Dadiani
18th-century people from Georgia (country)
19th-century people from Georgia (country)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Nine things Lincoln council wants to do to improve transport in the city
Bosses have revealed a blueprint for the city
Are these the right answers? (Image: Lincolnshire Echo)
Reduced city centre traffic, better public transport and improved facilities for cyclists and pedestrians are all part of the new vision for the future of transport in Lincoln.
Lincolnshire County Council, working in partnership with City of Lincoln Council, North Kesteven District Council and West Lindsey District Council, has drawn up a new strategy for Lincoln that aims to improve transport and support future development to 2036 and beyond.
The draft strategy is set to be reviewed by the county council's Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee on Monday, March 9.
Flood alerts issued for Lincolnshire as UK braces for Storm Jorge
Urgent products recalls issued by Asda, Iceland, Tesco and Co-op
Cllr Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said: "One of the main goals behind Lincoln's new transport strategy is to offer a wider range of affordable, reliable and environmentally-friendly travel options for people to choose from when moving in and around the city.
"This will lead to more people using alternative forms of transport, resulting in less congestion and better air quality in the city centre, making Lincoln a more prosperous, attractive and healthier place to live, learn, work and visit."
Road works and traffic lights near Branston for work going on to construct Lincoln Eastern bypass (Image: Anna Draper/ Lincolnshire Echo)
Some of the proposals within the strategy include:
· Completing Lincoln's ring road by constructing the North Hykeham Relief Road
· Providing high-quality, traffic-free routes for pedestrians and cyclists
· Improving the A46 to the north and west of Lincoln
· Enhancing walking and cycling infrastructure within Lincoln
· Creating 'mobility hubs' around the city that offer a range of transport options from a single location
· Enhancing Lincoln's historic core by improving the area around Broadgate and Wigford Way/St Mary's Street
· Installing additional electrical charging points in and around the city to increase uptake in electric vehicles
· Improving bus priority around the city via new bus lanes and new routes
· Continue improving the area's rail service by increasing and adding new services to other urban areas
Cllr Davies continued: "This strategy provides a number of proposals for us, developers and planners to consider over the next fifteen years as we strive towards meeting growth targets for the area that include approximately 37,000 new dwellings and 12,000 new jobs up to 2036.
"Getting the North Hykeham Relief Road built as dual carriageway is a top priority, as it will help cut congestion, open up new development land and better connect the rest of the country to Lincolnshire 's coast.
"Another proposal in the strategy, probably one of our most ambitious, is to build a set of mobility hubs at key points outside the city.
Queues of traffic in the Bunkers Hill, Wragby Road area (Image: Anna Draper/ Lincolnshire Echo)
"In essence, these would serve as an interchange for people travelling into Lincoln by offering alternative means of travelling into the city centre by car.
Tributes paid to popular bar worker who was 'full of kindness'
Man trapped inside Coronavirus outbreak zone tells all of 'terrifying' experience
"For example, the hubs might include a city centre bus shuttle, electric-vehicle charging, Park & Bike, e-bike hire and delivery lockers.
"Combined with other measures, like improving bus and rail services, the strategy aims to ensure Lincoln has the infrastructure it needs to meet travel demands over the coming decades.
"The challenge now is finding the funding needed to make these improvements a reality. And the only way we're going to be able to do that is if everyone gets behind the plan and works together."
For more information or to view the strategy summary, visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/lincoln-transport-strategy .
City of Lincoln Council
North Kesteven District Council
West Lindsey