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7 November 2008updated 24 Sep 2015 11:01am
Drugs, unrest and socialism
Top Bolivian politician Silvia Lazarte talks about her role in reforming the South American country
By Alyssa McDonald
For a politician whose country is wracked by such violent unrest some commentators predict civil war, Bolivia's Silvia Lazarte is surprisingly positive about her nation's prospects – steely, even, in her insistence the outlook is good.
As one of the most senior politicians in the ruling party, MAS (Movimiento al Socialismo, or Movement towards Socialism), Lazarte is understandably keen to emphasise the widespread support enjoyed by Bolivian president, Evo Morales.
At a referendum held in August, she points out, he won 67 per cent of the vote.
But, equally, the division and dispute at the heart of Bolivian politics are clear when she speaks about the government's right wing opposition.
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"These are people who never accepted their downfall in the last elections, who don't accept that they were kicked out of power. They were used to being in control and being in power and ignoring the people," she tells me when we meet at the New Statesman's offices in Victoria.
The most recent illustration of the opposition's refusal to submit came on 11 September this year, when at least fifteen people were killed on their way to a pro-government rally in the northern region of Pando.
Bolivia's political polarisation is matched by its shockingly wide poverty gap: despite rich reserves of oil, natural gas and minerals, it is one of Latin America's poorest countries.
Most of the country's resources are concentrated in a few wealthy lowland regions in the east known as the "Half Moon", which are largely populated by a European-descended elite.
However, the majority of the population – about two-thirds – belong to Bolivia's 36 indigenous peoples and live at subsistence level in the country's more mountainous, western regions. The current constitution ignores both women and the indigeous peoples.
So as the president of the Constitutional Assembly, Lazarte's importance to Morales's socialist reforms is clear.
She has led the drafting of the charter – expected to pass into law when it is put to a referendum in January next year.
The new constitution aims to improve the living standards for the indigenous population by redistributing profits from the gas fields in the east of the country.
Like Morales, Lazarte is herself an indigenous Bolivian, and she arrives for interview in full traditional dress: layered skirts, a narrow-brimmed white hat and an almost neon-bright patterned shawl.
For a Brit used to the funereal gloom of Western political fashions, her colourful appearance gives an immediate impression of flamboyance, but in her choice of words, of course, Lazarte is no less calculating than a British cabinet minister would be.
Her comments on the new constitution are unequivocal: "It is inclusive. That is the most important thing about the constitution, that everybody is taken into account," she explains, her expression completely neutral. "The rights of women … the indigenous, first peoples of Bolivia, all the ethnicities, languages, these are all recognized."
What she glosses over though is the response from the right wing, which has been vehement, sustained and extremely violent: the incident in Pando is only the most recent in a series of anti-government gestures which have erupted repeatedly in the two years since the Assembly was first created. Five of the wealthy regions have also voted for greater autonomy.
However, Lazarte is adamant that the situation has started to improve in recent months. "There really isn't as much division now. We got through this with the formulation of the constitution – the writing of the constitution was everybody's work. The government had their representatives there [on the Assembly] and in congress just like the opposition did."
The MAS government has made several major concessions in order to secure a date for the referendum, including an agreement that the president, Evo Morales, must only seek one more term in office.
Surely this suggests that the opposition has retained its ability to strongarm the government? Lazarte insists not: "the right wing has recently lost a lot of power, it's fighting within itself."
Her view stems from the aftermath of the killings in Pando. Leopoldo Fernandez, Pando's regional governor, has been jailed and stands accused of hiring hitmen to kill farmers on their way to a pro-government rally.
There is also an investigation looking at "the broader network" of regional governors and civic committee members who may have been involved in the killings.
As a result, she says, several suspects appear to have fled: "Branco Marinkovic, who is a key figure in Santa Cruz politics, apparently is no longer in the country, according to the information we have. Ruben Costas, who is the prefecto [regional governor] of Santa Cruz, apparently left, went to his hacienda and is not at large." Lazarte does admit though that there are "a few other groups around the place", such as the Santa Cruz Youth Union, who have been implicated in violence, but as the investigation is ongoing, will not go into further detail.
The US has also waded into this strained relationship. Concerned by Morales' warm relationships with Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and his support for coca-leaf growers, whose crop is important both culturally and for the Bolivian economy but also provides the raw material from which cocaine is produced, the US has never been supportive of Morales.
In 2005 the then US ambassador warned that if Morales was elected, Bolivia would lose Washington's financial support and goodwill.
Last month his successor, Philip Goldberg, was expelled after holding meetings with opposition politicians including Ruben Costas. Morales accused Goldberg of "seeking the division of Bolivia".
"The US ambassador was constantly meeting up with the right wing," Lazarte claims. "What happened with the ambassador from the United States was that instead of complying with Bolivian law and Bolivian policies, he decided to conspire against the government, and the Bolivian people will not accept that.
"What the Bolivian people don't want are impositions. We don't like it, we never will like it, and we won't allow it."
She claims that, along with Leopoldo Fernandez' arrest, his expulsion was "significant" in weakening the right wing, although Morales clearly didn't feel Goldberg's ejection was enough: just days ago he also suspended the activities of US drug enforcement agency, accusing its agents of working "to conduct political espionage and to fund criminal groups" involved in anti-government protests.
In this context, Lazarte's calm assurances that Bolivia has a united, peaceful future ahead of it – "we are now in a process of consolidation and achieving more consensus every day" – seem less than reliable.
With Fernandez in jail and the US presence in Bolivia weakened, the dangerous minority of right-wingers appears to have been brought under control for the meantime. But it is unlikely that the US will stop meddling in the country's affairs as long as Morales is in power; and how the right wing will behave as the referendum draws closer still remains to be seen.
Alyssa McDonald
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Country legends including Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris have hailed as a political masterstroke President Obama's nomination of Nashville hall-of-famer Loretta Lynn to fill the post of U.S. attorney general.
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Some legal analysts have attacked the president's choice of Lynn, best known for her 1972 hit "Coal Miner's Daughter," arguing that the singer has no formal legal qualifications. In fact, she never attended college, instead leaving school at 15 to marry moonshine-runner Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn.
However, other observers contend that Lynn, whose turbulent marriage was marked by extramarital affairs and domestic violence, would bring empathy for women's justice issues to the attorney general's office. She is famed for pushing the boundaries of country music in the 1960s by addressing a diverse range of social issues such as cheating husbands, drunk husbands and abusive husbands.


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Q: Determine if sum of series is rational or not Is there some methods to find out if the sum of an infinite series is rational or not if we have no closed form expression for the sum?
For instance:
$$\begin{align*}
&\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} \frac{n^2}{n!+1}\\
&\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} \frac{1}{n^{7/2} p_n}\\
&\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} \frac{n}{F_n}\end{align*}$$
where $p_n$ is the $n$th prime number and $F_n$ is the $n$th Fibonacci number.
And if a sum of a series have no provable closed form expression, can it still be rational?
And is there a series which is known to be rational, but not which rational?

A: No, there are no such methods (if you're talking about a proof) except for some rather special cases.  Even with a closed-form expression, it is quite rare to be able to prove that something is irrational.  On the other hand, given a good numerical approximation to a number you can use continued fractions to see if this number appears to be a rational with small numerator and denominators.  For example, $\sum\limits_{n=1}^\infty \frac{n^2}{n!+1} \approx 4.0271515294669515849240298741047887364140370824913$ which has the continued fraction representation $\begin{split}4; & 36, 1, 4, 1, 8, 2, 3, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 4, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 6, 2, 33, 2, 1, 1, 1, 4, 18, 4, 1, 2, 6, 8, 3,\\& 1, 6, 1, 3, 1, 4, 4, 1, 9, 3, 8, 1, 2, 35 \ldots\end{split}$. This shows no signs of terminating, so the number is likely irrational.

A: It's unlikely that there are general methods. Witness the irrationality of $\zeta(2)$, which has a closed form $\pi^2/6$ found by Euler in 1735 (see Basel problem), but which was proved irrational by Hermite in 1873 only.  Witness also $\zeta(3)$, whose irrationality was proved only in 1978 by Apéry, but for which no closed form is known.
I guess the closest thing to a general method is Dirichlet's irrationality criterion and its generalizations such as Hurwitz's theorem. But even these are hard to apply in any given particular case.

A: There are some useful results obtained in these papers (and the references therein):

*

*A theorem on irrationality of infinite series
and applications by C. Badea

*The Irrationality of certain infinite series by C. Badea

*A Theorem on Transcendence of Infinite Series II by M. A. Nyblom

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Additive prognostic value of NT-proBNP over TIMI risk score in intermediate-risk patients with acute coronary syndrome.
Turk Kardiyol Dern Ars. 2009 Jan; 37(1):1-8.TK
We evaluated the prognostic value of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) for further risk stratification of intermediate-risk patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS).
The study included 137 intermediate-risk patients (85 men, 52 women; mean age 62+/-11 years) with ACS, based on the TIMI risk score (scores 3 to 5). Serum NT-proBNP levels were measured 12 hours after the last anginal episode. The patients were divided into four groups according to the following NT-proBNP quartiles: 17-310 pg/ml (n=34), 313-688 pg/ml (n=35), 724-2,407 pg/ml (n=34), and 2,575-24,737 pg/ml (n=34). Primary endpoint of the study was mortality. The mean follow-up was 21.8+/-7.1 months.
There were 27 deaths (19.7%), 14 of which were in the 4th quartile (4th vs 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quartiles: p=0.02, p=0.01, and p<0.01, respectively). The first three quartiles did not differ significantly in this respect. In Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients in the 4th quartile had the lowest cumulative survival (log rank test, 4th vs 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quartiles: p=0.041, p=0.026, and p=0.009, respectively). NT-proBNP level was significantly higher in nonsurvivors than in survivors (p=0.01). In univariate analysis, mortality was also associated with the TIMI risk score, ejection fraction, and age. Patients who died were older (65.6+/-11.9 years vs 60.7+/-11.0 years; p=0.048) and had a lower ejection fraction (46.3+/-11% vs 54.1+/-9.8%; p<0.001) than patients who survived. Mortality rates corresponding to TIMI risk scores of 3, 4, and 5 were 25.9%, 29.6%, and 44.4%, respectively (p=0.58 for TIMI 3 vs 4; p=0.001 for TIMI 3 vs 5; p=0.013 for TIMI 4 vs 5). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that only TIMI risk score was an independent predictor of mortality (hazard ratio 2.3, 95% confidence interval 1.4-3.8, p=0.001).
NT-proBNP has an additive predictive value over TIMI risk score in predicting long-term mortality in intermediate-risk patients with ACS.
Eren NK
Department of Cardiology, Izmir Atatürk Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey. nkahya77@yahoo.com
Ertaş F
No affiliation info available
Yüksek U
Cakir C
Nazli C
Köseoğlu M
Ergene O
Acute Coronary SyndromeAgedAnalysis of VarianceAngioplasty, Balloon, CoronaryCoronary AngiographyCoronary Artery BypassFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansKaplan-Meier EstimateMaleMiddle AgedNatriuretic Peptide, BrainPeptide FragmentsPrognosisProportional Hazards ModelsProspective StudiesRisk FactorsSurvival Rate
Eren, Nihan Kahya, et al. "Additive Prognostic Value of NT-proBNP Over TIMI Risk Score in Intermediate-risk Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome." Turk Kardiyoloji Dernegi Arsivi : Turk Kardiyoloji Derneginin Yayin Organidir, vol. 37, no. 1, 2009, pp. 1-8.
Eren NK, Ertaş F, Yüksek U, et al. Additive prognostic value of NT-proBNP over TIMI risk score in intermediate-risk patients with acute coronary syndrome. Turk Kardiyol Dern Ars. 2009;37(1):1-8.
Eren, N. K., Ertaş, F., Yüksek, U., Cakir, C., Nazli, C., Köseoğlu, M., & Ergene, O. (2009). Additive prognostic value of NT-proBNP over TIMI risk score in intermediate-risk patients with acute coronary syndrome. Turk Kardiyoloji Dernegi Arsivi : Turk Kardiyoloji Derneginin Yayin Organidir, 37(1), 1-8.
Eren NK, et al. Additive Prognostic Value of NT-proBNP Over TIMI Risk Score in Intermediate-risk Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome. Turk Kardiyol Dern Ars. 2009;37(1):1-8. PubMed PMID: 19225247.
TY - JOUR T1 - Additive prognostic value of NT-proBNP over TIMI risk score in intermediate-risk patients with acute coronary syndrome. AU - Eren,Nihan Kahya, AU - Ertaş,Faruk, AU - Yüksek,Umit, AU - Cakir,Cayan, AU - Nazli,Cem, AU - Köseoğlu,Mehmet, AU - Ergene,Oktay, PY - 2009/2/20/entrez PY - 2009/2/20/pubmed PY - 2009/12/16/medline SP - 1 EP - 8 JF - Turk Kardiyoloji Dernegi arsivi : Turk Kardiyoloji Derneginin yayin organidir JO - Turk Kardiyol Dern Ars VL - 37 IS - 1 N2 - OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the prognostic value of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) for further risk stratification of intermediate-risk patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS). STUDY DESIGN: The study included 137 intermediate-risk patients (85 men, 52 women; mean age 62+/-11 years) with ACS, based on the TIMI risk score (scores 3 to 5). Serum NT-proBNP levels were measured 12 hours after the last anginal episode. The patients were divided into four groups according to the following NT-proBNP quartiles: 17-310 pg/ml (n=34), 313-688 pg/ml (n=35), 724-2,407 pg/ml (n=34), and 2,575-24,737 pg/ml (n=34). Primary endpoint of the study was mortality. The mean follow-up was 21.8+/-7.1 months. RESULTS: There were 27 deaths (19.7%), 14 of which were in the 4th quartile (4th vs 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quartiles: p=0.02, p=0.01, and p<0.01, respectively). The first three quartiles did not differ significantly in this respect. In Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients in the 4th quartile had the lowest cumulative survival (log rank test, 4th vs 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quartiles: p=0.041, p=0.026, and p=0.009, respectively). NT-proBNP level was significantly higher in nonsurvivors than in survivors (p=0.01). In univariate analysis, mortality was also associated with the TIMI risk score, ejection fraction, and age. Patients who died were older (65.6+/-11.9 years vs 60.7+/-11.0 years; p=0.048) and had a lower ejection fraction (46.3+/-11% vs 54.1+/-9.8%; p<0.001) than patients who survived. Mortality rates corresponding to TIMI risk scores of 3, 4, and 5 were 25.9%, 29.6%, and 44.4%, respectively (p=0.58 for TIMI 3 vs 4; p=0.001 for TIMI 3 vs 5; p=0.013 for TIMI 4 vs 5). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that only TIMI risk score was an independent predictor of mortality (hazard ratio 2.3, 95% confidence interval 1.4-3.8, p=0.001). CONCLUSION: NT-proBNP has an additive predictive value over TIMI risk score in predicting long-term mortality in intermediate-risk patients with ACS. SN - 1016-5169 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/19225247/Additive_prognostic_value_of_NT_proBNP_over_TIMI_risk_score_in_intermediate_risk_patients_with_acute_coronary_syndrome_ L2 - https://www.journalagent.com/pubmed/linkout.asp?ISSN=1016-5169&PMID=19225247 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -
Kaplan-Meier Estimate
Natriuretic Peptide, Brain
Peptide Fragments
Proportional Hazards Models
N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide assessment provides incremental prognostic information in patients with acute coronary syndromes and normal troponin T values upon admission.
N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide is associated with adverse short-term clinical outcomes in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention.
Does admission NT-proBNP increase the prognostic accuracy of GRACE risk score in the prediction of short-term mortality after acute coronary syndromes?
Prognostic value of biomarkers during and after non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome.
A multimarker risk stratification approach to non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome: implications of troponin T, CRP, NT pro-BNP and fibrin D-dimer levels.
N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide complements the GRACE risk score in predicting early and late mortality following acute coronary syndrome.
Prognostic significance of epicardial blood flow before and after percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with acute coronary syndromes.
Admission NT-proBNP levels, renal insufficiency and age as predictors of mortality in elderly patients hospitalized for acute dyspnea.
The value of NT-proBNP in early risk stratification of acute coronary syndromes.
N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and long-term mortality in stable coronary heart disease.

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Tibetan New Year is one of the longest festival in Tibet. Most of the Tibetan celebrate 15 days and some people celebrate 1 month. It's very special time to meet family and friends meet each other.Tibetan new year which usually is February or March in the Gre-gorian calendar.
An influential religious festival in Tibet. The 15th day of the fourth month on Tibetan Calendar is believed to be the time when Sakyamuni was born, stepped into Buddhahood, and attained nirvana. The festivities, starting from 1st day on fourth month, will last for 1 month. The biggest ritual is to worship Buddha and circumambulate in the inner, middle and outer parts of Lhasa. Sutra chanting, prayer turning, Cham dancing and other religious activities dominate the festival. Many people refrain from killing animals and give out alms to everyone who asks for it.
The liveliest festival of summer.
Traditionally begin with exhibitions of Thangkas of Buddha. As Tibetan operas are performed and giant Thangkas of Buddha are exhibited, it is also called "Tibetan Opera Festival" or "Buddha Exhibition Festival". Gala parties, yak racing and horsemanship displays are held during this period.
Anniversary of the Nirvana of the great Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetans make butter lamp offerings at window of the houses and in monasteries on the 25th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan calendar. Most beautiful thing is you can see the butter lamp on the roof of the Jokhang temple and thousand of Tibetan come to bless from the Jokhang temple during the evening time.
Universal Prayer Day. In central Tibet, on the 15th day of the fifth month in the Tibetan calendar, Tibetans go to the tops of local mountains to burn incense and hang prayer flags.
The most well-known events are Nakchu Horse Racing Festival and Gyantse Horse Racing Festival. Dressing themselves and their finest horses, hundreds of herdsmen take part in thrilling horse racing, archery and horsemanship contests. Generally lasting several days, with the longest ones over 10 days. Folk dance, art performance, barter trade and other activities add more to the festive mood.
Last for 1 week. It is believed when the sacred Venus appears in the sky, the water in the river can cure diseases. So Tibetans go to bathe in rivers to wash away potential diseases and wards off misfortune.
A traditional harvest festival held in farming areas when crops ripen. The main ritual is to walk around the crop fields. Activities such as singing, dancing, horseracing, and archery are held.
A day of prayer honoring the Buddha Shakyamuni's descent from the heavenly realms to the earth. It is the 22nd day of the 9th month on the Tibetan calendar.
In Lhasa you will see statues of Palden Lhamo the deity of protection. There are special prayers in the goddesses honor and relics are put on display. At the Jokhang Temple there are butter lamps and lots of candles.


Under #2, where you talk about using a pillbox or daily pill separator, this is NOT a good idea. In many states and probably abroad (dealing with customs agents and TSA) this is illegal. You MUST carry your prescription and non-prescription medications in their original bottles with the labels intact or risk confiscation of the medication, fines and even arrest, with or without a letter from your doctor(s) explaining the type of medicine you have with you and all because it was in a pillbox and not the original bottle. TSA, Customs Agents,and other officials do not know that little green pill controls your heart rate. For all they know it could be some illegal drug you plan to sell. So ladies and gentlemen, keep your medications in their bottles, whether you travel by plane, boat, train, car, bike, or feet. PLEASE!


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Top Moments: Real Housewives' Insane Brawl and Game of Thrones' Sibling Assault
Our top moments of the week: 13. Worst Melodrama: It's midway through Dancing with the Stars, and that means it's time for the annual Maks temper tantrum. Still burned by Julianne Hough's "phoning it in" comment and feeling the pressure to deliver for Meryl Davis, Maks comes thisclose to blowing a gasket, but is talked off the ledge by Meryl, who tells him to hold her hand. "It's really crazy. I must be the weakest freaking person in this ...
Joyce Eng, Kate Stanhope April 24, 2014 at 7:28 p.m. PT
Our top moments of the week:
14. Worst Melodrama: It's midway through Dancing with the Stars, and that means it's time for the annual Maks temper tantrum. Still burned by Julianne Hough's "phoning it in" comment and feeling the pressure to deliver for Meryl Davis, Maks comes thisclose to blowing a gasket, but is talked off the ledge by Meryl, who tells him to hold her hand. "It's really crazy. I must be the weakest freaking person in this cast," he says. "There's something about the nature of this show. ... It gets to you. I used to be too proud to admit it and now I'm too proud not to admit it." Has beauty tamed the beast? Eh, just for that week.
13. Best Resurrection: On the Season 2 premiere of Orphan Black, we're shocked and gratified to learn that Helena — the crazy, religious fanatic clone who was killed off last year — is actually still alive, if not exactly well. "Excuse me, my sister shot me," she tells an ER nurse before collapsing in a bloody heap. She may be a clone, but her particular brand of hungry insanity is one of a kind. Welcome back, Helena.
12. Best Save: Can you hear me now? The Voice's first live show of the season goes off with a hitch when the microphone cuts out during finalist Kristen Merlin's emotional performance of Sugarland's "Stay." Although viewers at home can't hear her at all, Kristen continues to sing, and someone rushes on stage to give her a new microphone just in time for the last few words. All four coaches stand up from their big red chairs and give her a rousing standing ovation. Now that deserves a mic drop!
11. Best Kill-Off: Another Arrow character must pay the ultimate price for being in Oliver's inner circle — only this time, instead of his best friend (RIP Tommy!), it's his mother. When Slade forces Oliver to choose between his mother and little sis Thea, Moira Queen decides to sacrifice her own life to protect her children. Of course, that only comes after she was about to reveal a big secret about Malcolm Merlyn, but we think we know the answer to that.
10. Worst Kill-Off: What goes around comes around on Fox's The Following when Claire revenge-murders Emma. We weren't exactly rooting for the matricidal murderer/Joe Carroll protégé, but we're more than a little sad that the show decided to kill off arguably its most interesting character — and left an excellent actress, Valorie Curry, out of a job. Worst, Emma's death continues a frustrating trend in The Following's sophomore season of killing off characters without rhyme or reason.
9. Best Valentine's Day Gift: On Mad Men, Don is forced to come clean about his leave of absence when Sally visits Sterling Cooper & Partners office only to find her father's office occupied by another man. Although Don and Sally's road trip back to boarding school is tense until Don finally reveals his Hershey meeting meltdown, the episode ends with Sally hopping out of the car and offering her dad a simple, "Happy Valentine's Day. I love you." Is there hope for their relationship after all? Don's shocked face says it all.
8. Worst Heart-to-Heart: In one of the most agonizingly raw scenes on The Blacklist to date, Liz confronts her beloved husband Tom, who is tied up in her kitchen, about being a secret agent planted in her life. Sadly, every word he utters — including memories of their early dates together — confirms that their whole lovey-dovey marriage had been a sham. Heartbroken, Liz snaps and breaks his thumb with a pair of pliers. Mere interrogation tactic or revenge for playing with her emotions? Either way, Liz still loses.
7. Worst Horseplay: Hannibal has served up a number of stomach-turning moments this season (we still can't un-see that guy ripping himself out of the human mural!) but the latest episode proves the show isn't horsing around. The episode's case-of-the week climaxes with our killer clawing his way out a dead horse's womb, where he'd been sewn in by one of his victims. As always, it be-hooves you to not eat while watching this show.
6. Best Gangsta: The only thing that makes Brian Williams "rapping" "Gin and Juice" better? His follow-up interview with Jimmy Fallon. The anchor by night, rapper by late night hilariously takes the Tonight Show host to task for his rap mash-ups that has "Twitter be goin' crazy" and begs to be let in on future collaborations. "What about some early pre-hearing loss Foxy Brown?" he deadpans. "Any Luda would be great. I'll do 'Roll Out.' 'Who's your weed man? / How do you smoke so good?'" Not content to rib just Fallon, Williams also voices reservations about Lester Holt "because of his flow". B Dubs, you're such a G.
5. Best Reveal: On Grey's Anatomy, the fight between newlyweds Jackson and April continues over how they want to raise their future children when it comes to faith. Although the discussion started as simply a hypothetical topic, things get serious in the final moments of the episode when April tells him that she is actually pregnant. There must be something in the water over at GSM!
4. Best Surprise Ending: Just a few episodes after revealing that Leslie is pregnant (with triplets!), Parks and Recreation really throws fans for a loop in the final moments of the Season 6 finale. After Leslie agrees to take a new job with the National Parks Department, the show flash-forwards three years. Suddenly, Leslie is a mom to three adorable children, Ben is in a tux for some reason, Larry (formerly known as Jerry) is now being called Terry, and Jon Hamm even pops up as an incompetent employee Leslie must fire. Oh, and did we mention Leslie has bangs?! Just please tell us that "Treat Yo' Self" has stood the test of time!
3. Worst Reveal: Lindsay Lohan's inert, baggage-heavy reality series gets a big ol' jolt in the closing minutes when the troubled starlet drops a major bombshell: she had suffered a miscarriage during the two weeks she was a no-show filming the series. "It's a very long story. I was sick, and mentally that messes with you," she confesses. "Watching this series, I just know how I felt at that moment, and I can relate to that girl, which sounds kinda crazy. But I'm like, 'Oh my God, this is really sad, who is helping her?'" It's a tragic revelation, but we can't help but wonder if it's true. (And if it is, who's the baby daddy?) Or is Lindsay making it up to play the martyr? Who knows? But we can all agree that LiLo probably would not make the best mom right now.
2. Worst Make-Up Sex: Game of Thrones one-ups itself in the disturbing department when quarreling twins Jaime and Cersei Lannister have a decidedly unsexy interlude in the wake of their son Joffrey's murder. The heightened atmosphere of grief, anger and frustration are too much for Jaime, and he forces a protesting Cersei to succumb to his carnal desires right there by the corpse of their incest-conceived son. "It's not right," she cries, along with Thrones fans everywhere.
1. Worst Dare: Kenya Moore and Porsha Williams have never, ever gotten along on the Real Housewives of Atlanta, but their feud reaches new highs — and new lows (literally) — on the first part of the reunion show. It starts innocently enough, when Kenya accuses Porsha of cheating on her now-ex-husband and then yells at her through a megaphone, as one does. But when Kenya dares the irate Porsha to hit her, what's a girl to do but yank Kenya down to the ground by her hair? In the end, Kenya threatens to leave the show altogether, and Porsha is carried out of the reunion. Kind of makes us miss the good ol' days when the Real Housewives of Atlanta would just lightly tug at each other's weaves, right?
What were your top moments?


There were two reasons or variables in my early career that led me to being somewhat of an expert when it comes to managing and leading recent college graduate sales job seekers.
The first reason was that I enjoy teaching. I always have. I never understood why many universities have PhD requirements for business professors, as even John Madden was once on the field in a helmet. So, when I was able to afford my first employee (she wasn't actually a true employee, but an intern on a 1099), I immediately got a young woman from NYU who is now, five years later my managing director.
The second reason I ended up managing recent college graduates is because I couldn't afford any employees with the least bit of experience in just about any facet of business beyond basic reading of a Microsoft Word document.
Right now, three of the women who work at my company are in their early twenties and have been here since they graduated college. All have different personalities, very different backgrounds and a very great learning experience for me to manage them.
One has a Masters degree from Columbia who was born in Trinidad. My buddy and head of recruitment, Amanda Lowy, is a kid just like me -- right down to our families and upbringing. My now CFO Dawn Fang, went to the third best college in China only to get a scholarship to get her Master's degree in human or resources from Pennsylvania State University.
Managing people from Ivy League schools is tough because they're very smart, but the thing that separates them from the rest of us is that they have followed rules their entire lives and, thus have the discipline to not tell someone they are full of you know what. They are great for corporate managers.
As an executive recriuter, I know that managing the all-American kid with a head on her shoulders, but no silver spoon in her mouth, is very interesting for the reason that she is just as smart as the Columbia University grad, but she suffers from the same disease as I do: telling it like it is.
Then, my CFO, who is on the other end of the company now and I don't deal with much, taught me a lot about managing recent college graduates. If you're a manager or sales manager in hiring recent college graduates just after graduating college, do not hire anyone from abroad or someone to analytical in nature.
Liam Gooley nyc web programmer helped Ken program KAS.


As part of today being National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day, Linde North America has opened its second California-based hydrogen fuelling station – with five more set to follow in the next year.
The new station opened for business can be located at the San Juan Capistrano Gas and Auto Services, on Junipero Serra Road in San Juan Capistrano.
Along with funding from the California Energy Commission, Linde also received support from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), as supporting zero-emission vehicles helps to achieve the region's goals of reducing harmful emissions.
At the heart of the hydrogen fueling system is the Linde IC 90 ionic compressor – the next generation of hydrogen compression technology, which enables higher throughput and enhanced back to back fueling.
It is anticipated that by the end of 2015, there will be a network of approximately 30 hydrogen fueling stations operating throughout California, with more coming the following year, providing a significant infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cell cars. Conservative industry estimates call for over 34,000 hydrogen powered cars to be on the road in California by 2021, with a significant growth curve from there.
To celebrate Black History Month, Linde North America invited special guest Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League and former Mayor of New Orleans, to speak about the significance of Black History Month, the contributions of African Americans, and diversity and inclusion.


Prince William is set to visit her grave on Thursday.
After the visit, Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara hosted the prince at the prime minister's residence.
Britain's Prince William arrived in Israel on Monday, the first member of the royal family to make an official visit to the Jewish state and the Palestinian territories.
Prince William's grandfather, Prince Philip, also visited Israel when his mother Princess Alice of Battenberg was named a Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in 1994.
William then stood in the same spot where the photo was taken and said: "Need to come back with the family for this shot".
It means that in the last two tournaments, no player has been involved in more goals than James. The chance for a World Cup goal has been a long time coming for Radamel Falcao .
"The Duke of Cambridge visits Jerash, the same site that The Duchess of Cambridge visited, aged 4, with her sister and father when the family lived in Jordan", the palace captioned the pics.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge previous year visited the Stutthof camp, following in the footsteps of his father Prince Charles who has long taken a particular interest in honouring survivors of the Holocaust and those who came to Britain on the Kindertransport. "We know some of the politics are hard, but this is not a political visit".
The official royal visit is part of a larger tour of the Middle East for Prince William.
Wearing a black Jewish skullcap, William, second in line to the throne, laid a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem memorial, where an eternal flame flickers and the names of extermination and concentration camps are engraved in the floor.
On Sunday, the Duke noted that his wife is "upset" to be missing the trip to Jordan.
Later, in the night, Nick and Priyanka were chilling in the balcony of her Juhu residence while she was enjoying the rains. The source also claims that they are very happy together and that things are getting more and more serious a time goes by.
Although not confirmed, local Israeli media have been speculating about Prince William visiting the three major religious sites in Jerusalem; the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, and the Western Wall.
The Israelis seized the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War.
A devoted Aston Villa fan, William, 36, is wearing beige trousers and a tie-less sky blue shirt, while 23-year-old Hussein, is wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt and jeans.
The prince wrapped up the busy day with a reception held by the British ambassador that included demonstrations by Israeli tech startups and which was attended by Israeli celebrities, politicians and other public figures. "Never has hope and reconciliation been more needed", he told the crowd, after wishing everyone a good evening, in Hebrew.
Xhaka curled the ball through traffic to tie the game at 1-1, and Ivanovic suddenly became a very unpopular man on social media. Xhaka, whose 52rd-minute piledriver set up the Swiss comeback, also made the "double eagle" gesture after his goal.
Peru have sparkled occasionally during the 2018 World Cup but are already out of the tournament after two 1-0 defeats. Click play to watch the Argentina players looking relaxed ahead of their third and final group game .
It was also unclear if the government would keep prosecuting cases against people caught crossing the border illegally. On Thursday, the Pentagon announced military bases were being prepared to shelter as many as 20,000 migrant children.
Messi's legacy as the greatest player to have ever played the game might depend on how he plays for the rest of this World Cup . Only Nigeria can be certain that if they win their game, Iceland and Argentina will not be able to catch them on points.
This led to Costa Rica being able to go on the counter-attack, but they too were unable to get past the Brazilian defence. In the next match against Costa Rica , he complained to the referee frequently about not getting calls in his favour.
But had Simona Halep not played with the level of mental strength as she did, Stephens would have probably won her second Major. Because I think ten years from now I think more and more players will want to have families and then coming back.
The name is derived from the Irish name Niamh , which means bright, radiant and snow, Arden told reporters at Auckland Hospital. Ms Ardern left Auckland City Hospital this morning with partner Clarke Gayford by her side.
Some analysts expect to see more instances of company shifts when the second-quarter earnings season kicks off next month. Republican Senator Ben Sasse placed the blame for Harley-Davidson's partial relocation squarely on Trump's shoulders.
Mnangagwa had speculated publicly in speeches this year that members of his own party were out to impeach him or worse. Mnangagwa was addressing supporters ahead of the July elections, the first after the deposition of Robert Mugabe .
A nine-year-old English bulldog has been named this year's World's Ugliest Dog at a contest in California. The dog's owner Megan Brainard of Anoka, Minnesota, will receive $1,500 for Zsa Zsa's win.
They are architecturally lovely ", Southgate said. "I think there's a big performance coming from England and it's just bubbling".
The BBC , who were televising the semifinal match between Kyrgios and Marin Cilic , apologised for that was seen. And as soon as Dimitrov showed any weakness, two double faults when serving to save the set, Djokovic pounced.
Republican leaders, however, say they are still aiming for a vote next week, with negotiations planned for this weekend. GOP lawmakers emerged from a lengthy closed-door meeting in the US Capitol late Thursday saying more work was needed.
Tabarez has now tried out two different pairs of wide midfielders in the two games and still has a question to answer. The South Americans broke the deadlock on 22 minutes through Suarez, who guided the ball home from a corner kick.
On Sunday, Senegal play Japan, who beat Colombia 2-1 earlier in the day, while Poland will face the South Americans. He had three disappointing seasons at Real Madrid and the team eventually loaned him to rival Bayern Munich.
Homicide detectives arrested Pompano Beach resident Dedrick Devonshay Williams , 22, shortly before 7 pm on Wednesday evening. He was charged with first-degree murder without premeditation and is held without bond at the Broward County Jail.


Great company and culture, fun people and environment.
Outpaced by newcomers to the market, now closed.
Don't rest on your laurels while competitors take over market share.
"It was wonderful for a time"
The culture at Workopolis was extraordinary. I've worked at other organizations praised for great cultures, but the people at Workopolis really made it a great place to work. One notable example--when longtime employees left the company, we'd have a sendoff party and former employees, some who hadn't worked there in years, would come to the celebration.
Unfortunately, the company was dragged down by a crippling re-platforming in 2007 or so, and the tech debt hampered it for many years. Also, the owners seemed content to invest in marketing over technology or product.
"A Case Study in Disruption"
If you were fortunate to land on the right team in the right era, real investment and mentoring was available. Some pockets of the company had remarkable cohesion and deep talent. During its heyday, Workopolis invested in technology and talent and produced some good results. Periods of good leadership.
Workopolis was a marketing company that ultimately couldn't compete against engineering focused companies. Failure to adapt and respond, sacred cows, refusal to properly acknowledge and learn from mistakes, and internal misalignment contributed to its demise. Lack of insights and over reliance on Hail Mary products that never successfully materialized left it ripe for disruption.
Arrogance in certain senior leaders destroyed much of the good culture.
There were plenty of early warning signs that were raised and summarily ignored. Trust your people more. A culture of blame isn't motivating.
Very friendly atmosphere, outstanding benefits.
Way too much tech debt, disengaged management.
Smart and fun people, good culture and events, good bosses, room for advancement, great location, beautiful office.
Team is getting smaller and smaller. Less budget for everyone/everything. Company seems to be contracting.
Great working environment, everyone was super friendly. Good benefits.
Little room for real advancement in spite of what managers and directors advised. The company is shrinking and streamlining a lot so that leaves little to no room for advancement opportunities.
Needs to get some vision - Workopolis used to be number one in the digital recruitment but for the last few years, they weren't able to stay ahead of the competition. Now they are way behind in everything it seems.
Glassdoor has 76 Workopolis reviews submitted anonymously by Workopolis employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Workopolis is right for you.


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Matthias Erzberger (Buttenhausen, 20 de septiembre de 1875-Bad Griesbach, 26 de agosto de 1921) fue un escritor y político alemán del Partido de Centro y ministro de Finanzas de 1919 a 1920.

Destacado integrante del católico Zentrum, se pronunció contra la Primera Guerra Mundial a partir de 1917 y, como representante autorizado del gobierno del Reich, firmó el armisticio entre Alemania y las potencias aliadas. Fue asesinado en 1921 por el grupo paramilitar de ultraderecha Organisation Consul.

Inicios
Nació el 20 de septiembre de 1875 en Buttenhausen (hoy parte de Münsingen), en el Reino de Wurtemberg, hijo de Josef Erzberger (1847-1907), sastre y cartero, y de su esposa Katherina (de soltera Flad; 1845-1916). En sus primeros años de vida ganó mucho peso, que perdió a lo largo de treinta años. Asistió a los seminarios de Schwäbisch Hall y Bad Saulgau, donde se graduó en 1894, y comenzó una carrera como profesor de escuela primaria (Volksschule). Mientras enseñaba también estudió Derecho constitucional y Economía en Friburgo (Suiza). Dos años más tarde se convirtió en periodista trabajando para el Deutsches Volksblatt, la publicación del católico y conservador Partido de Centro, en Stuttgart, donde también trabajó como escritor independiente.

Erzberger se unió al Partido de Centro y fue elegido por primera vez al Reichstag alemán en 1903 por el distrito de Biberach. Gracias a una actividad política inusualmente variada, ocupó una posición de liderazgo en el partido parlamentario. Se convirtió en un especialista en política colonial y en política financiera, y contribuyó a las reformas financieras de 1909. En 1912 Erzberger se convirtió en miembro de la facción dirigente (Fraktionsführung), la dirección del partido parlamentario. Apoyó un importante refuerzo militar en Alemania en los años 1912-13.

En 1900 se casó en Rottenburg con Paula Eberhard, hija de un empresario. Tuvieron tres hijos (un hijo y dos hijas).

Primera guerra mundial
Como muchos otros miembros de su partido, Erzberger apoyó inicialmente la participación de Alemania en la Primera Guerra Mundial y se dejó llevar por una ola de entusiasmo nacionalista. En septiembre de 1914 escribió un memorando en que exponía su opinión sobre los objetivos bélicos de Alemania; con miras expansionistas, abogaba por la anexión de Bélgica y partes de Lorena, entre otros territorios.

A estas alturas era secretario de la Comisión de Asuntos Militares del Reichstag y la mano derecha del canciller Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg. Erzberger se encargaba de la propaganda en el extranjero, especialmente en relación con los grupos católicos, y estableció un sistema de recopilación de información utilizando los recursos de la Santa Sede y de los masones. También participó en algunas misiones diplomáticas. Por ejemplo, colaboró con el antiguo canciller Bernhard von Bülow en un intento fallido de evitar que Italia entrase en la guerra en 1915. Escribió cartas a las principales autoridades militares, publicadas posteriormente, con extravagantes planes de anexiones alemanas. Considerado un oportunista, se decía que «no tenía convicciones, sino solo apetitos».

Los días 25, 27 y 28 de noviembre, Erzberger habló sobre la modernización de la Administración. Obtuvo un amplio apoyo socialista por intentar, a través del Bundesrat (Consejo Federal), proteger los derechos civiles de los ciudadanos. En diciembre de 1916 utilizó con éxito la Comisión de Presupuestos del Reichstag para sacar adelante la Ley de Servicios Auxiliares. Esta exigía que todos los hombres que no estuvieran en el Ejército o trabajaran en determinadas áreas de la economía fueran empleados en un trabajo vital para el esfuerzo bélico y, a cambio, reconocía a los sindicatos como socios negociadores en igualdad de condiciones con los empresarios.

Aparte de Karl Liebknecht —parlamentario por el Partido Socialdemócrata (SPD) entre 1912 y 1916—, Erzberger fue el único político alemán del que se tiene constancia que intentó detener el genocidio armenio, la persecución de los griegos y el Genocidio arameo en el Imperio otomano. En febrero de 1916 viajó a Constantinopla para negociar con los gobernantes de los Jóvenes Turcos, aliados de Alemania. Allí se reunió el 10 de febrero con Enver Bajá y Talaat Bajá, a cuya petición preparó un memorando sobre las medidas que debían adoptarse en favor de los cristianos en Turquía. Se refería explícitamente solo a los armenios católicos y nunca fue contestado ni considerado por el Gobierno otomano. El fracaso general de su misión en Turquía llenó a Erzberger de indignación y decepción.

En 1917, con los ejércitos estancados en ambos frentes, Erzberger cambió su postura política y se convirtió en uno de los principales opositores a la guerra submarina sin restricciones. En abril de 1917 se reunió con un enviado ruso en Estocolmo para discutir los términos de la paz. El 6 de julio expuso sus puntos de vista sobre la guerra en el Reichstag con un discurso  donde pedía al Gobierno que renunciara a las ambiciones territoriales y concluyera un final negociado de la guerra. El discurso fue notable en su momento por la forma en que delineó cuidadosamente el alcance de la debilidad militar alemana. Ese mismo día los principales diputados del Partido Socialdemócrata de la Mayoría (MSPD), el Partido de Centro y el liberal Partido Popular Progresista (FVP) acordaron formar un Comité Interfacultativo como órgano de coordinación; esto fue visto como el preludio de la parlamentarización de Alemania y, en consecuencia, los conservadores lo interpretaron como el «inicio de la revolución». El Comité, con la ayuda de la oratoria del socialdemócrata Friedrich Ebert, galvanizó a los opositores moderados del «partido de la guerra» y sirvió para pacificar a la clase obrera.

Los días 9 y 10 de julio el canciller Von Bethmann Hollweg obtuvo la promesa del Consejo de la Corona y del emperador de que el sufragio igualitario se introduciría en Prusia después de la guerra, para sustituir el sufragio prusiano de tres clases que repartía los votos en función de los impuestos pagados. La promesa se hizo pública el 12 de julio. Las acciones de Erzberger durante la primera quincena de julio contribuyeron a la caída de Von Bethmann Hollweg. Esperaba que fuera sustituido por Bernhard von Bülow, quien ya había sido canciller (1900-09) y secretario de Estado de Asuntos Exteriores (1897-1909). En su lugar, fue el menos experimentado Georg Michaelis, con apoyo del káiser, quien se convirtió en canciller.

El 19 de julio Erzberger convocó una votación sobre la resolución de paz del Reichstag, que recogía todos los puntos que había planteado en su discurso. Pedía una paz sin anexiones ni indemnizaciones, la libertad de los mares y el arbitraje internacional. La resolución fue aprobada por 212 votos a favor y 126 en contra. En un inicio recibió el apoyo del canciller Michaelis, pero, cuando habló de apoyarla en su discurso inaugural, añadió la salvedad «según mi interpretación», que luego utilizó como excusa para ignorarla. No obstante, Erzberger consiguió su principal objetivo al proponer la resolución, a saber: convencer a los socialdemócratas de que siguieran votando a favor de los préstamos de guerra mientras se buscaba una paz negociada. Al mismo tiempo los anexionistas, especialmente los del naciente Partido Alemán de la Patria —encabezado por Wolfgang Kapp y el almirante Alfred von Tirpitz—, iniciaron una «agitación salvaje» contra Erzberger.

El hecho de que lograra crear una mayoría parlamentaria formada por diputados del Partido de Centro, el FVP y socialdemócratas se considera uno de sus mayores logros, ya que representó una alteración fundamental en la política interna alemana. El Parlamento se había involucrado en asuntos de política exterior y bélica que, según la Constitución, estaban reservados al emperador, a la cúpula militar y al Gobierno. Erzberger salió de los procedimientos que rodeaban la resolución de paz como el diputado más poderoso de Alemania. Su intento de poner fin a la guerra con una paz amistosa contribuyó a su gran popularidad, especialmente entre las clases más desfavorecidas. Por otro lado, se convirtió en el hombre más odiado entre amplios sectores de las clases altas y en los círculos que no querían renunciar a las anexiones y rechazaban las exigencias de un cambio en la estructura social y política de Alemania.

Ese mismo mes de julio, en una conferencia a puerta cerrada en Fráncfort del Meno, Erzberger reveló el contenido de un pesimista informe secreto del ministro de Asuntos Exteriores de Austria-Hungría, el conde Ottokar von Czernin, al emperador austriaco Carlos I sobre el estado del esfuerzo bélico. El informe también llegó a manos de los aliados. Aunque nunca se ha demostrado que Erzberger fuera el responsable, hizo que la extrema derecha lo considerara un traidor a su país.

En marzo de 1918 Erzberger fue el partidario más influyente en el Gobierno de la candidatura del duque Wilhelm von Urach para el trono del mortinato Reino de Lituania (territorios hasta entonces parte del Imperio ruso), autodeclarado independiente en el mes de febrero. Ambos eran católicos de Wurtemberg. El 3 de marzo Erzberger presentó una pregunta en el Reichstag al general Wilhelm Groener —hasta agosto de 1917 cabeza de la Oficina de Guerra (Kriegsamt) e involucrado en la redacción de la Ley de Servicio Auxiliar a la Patria (5 de diciembre de 1916)— sobre si se había preparado un memorando para la reforma del Sistema de Contratación de Guerra.

Los intentos políticos de Erzberger por lograr la paz fracasaron; pero su ataque público al esfuerzo de guerra y la difusión de información sobre la fragilidad del Ejército alemán crearon un clima en que al Gobierno le resultaba cada vez más difícil mantener la creencia de que la guerra podía ganarse. Cuando, tras la derrota del Ejército de Tierra a lo largo de 1918, la marina alemana se amotinó en Kiel contra el lanzamiento de una ofensiva para «salvar el honor de la flota», los marineros informaron a sus oficiales de que lo que querían era «Erzberger», por entonces sinónimo de «paz».

Firmando el armisticio
El 3 de octubre de 1918, Erzberger entró en el Gobierno del príncipe Maximiliano de Baden como secretario de Estado, sin un plan específico. El 6 de noviembre un reticente Erzberger fue enviado a negociar con los aliados en el bosque de Compiègne. El príncipe Maximiliano suponía que Erzberger, como civil católico, sería más aceptable para los aliados que un militar prusiano; además, creía que su reputación como hombre de paz era inexpugnable.

Frente a las esperanzas de que Erzberger pudiera obtener mejores condiciones de los aliados, el mariscal francés Ferdinand Foch, principal negociador aliado, no estaba dispuesto a hacer ninguna concesión, a excepción de una ligera prórroga del plazo de retirada del ejército alemán.  Erzberger no estaba seguro de si debía esperar más cambios a favor de Alemania. El 10 de noviembre el propio jefe del Estado Mayor Paul von Hindenburg le contestó por telegrama que el armisticio debía firmarse, con o sin modificaciones; un poco más tarde Friedrich Ebert, nombrado nuevo canciller, telegrafió a Erzberger para que le autorizara a firmar.

Como jefe de la delegación alemana, firmó el armisticio que ponía fin a la Primera Guerra Mundial en Compiègne el 11 de noviembre de 1918 con el representante francés, el mariscal Foch. Pronunció un breve discurso en el que protestó por la dureza de los términos y concluyó diciendo que «una nación de setenta millones puede sufrir, pero no puede morir». Foch ignoró el intento de Erzberger de estrecharle la mano y se dice que respondió: «Très bien» ('muy bien').

Tras la guerra
De regreso a Berlín, Erzberger aceptó servir bajo las órdenes de Ebert como presidente de la Comisión del Armisticio, una tarea difícil y humillante. A principios de 1919 se enemistó con Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau, primer ministro de Asuntos Exteriores de la República de Weimar, por defender la entrega de Karl Radek, el diplomático y agitador bolchevique, a la Entente tras el colapso de la Revolución alemana.

Tras las elecciones federales en enero de 1919, Erzberger entró en el Gobierno de la República alemana dirigido por Philipp Scheidemann, de nuevo como ministro sin cartera, pero responsable de los asuntos relacionados con el armisticio. Cuando Scheidemann dimitió por las duras condiciones del Tratado de Versalles y un nuevo Gobierno dirigido por Gustav Bauer asumió el poder el 21 de junio de 1919, Erzberger se convirtió en ministro de Finanzas y vicecanciller. Tras la entrada en vigor de la Constitución de Weimar en agosto de 1919, Erzberger permaneció en ese puesto. Apoyó el Tratado de Versalles, ya que no veía alternativas militares o políticas. Fue tratado con especial desprecio por la derecha nacionalista como el hombre que había firmado lo que se iba a considerar una rendición humillante e innecesaria.

Sin embargo, consiguió que la Asamblea Nacional aprobara nuevas medidas fiscales. En julio de 1919, Erzberger introdujo lo que se conoció como la «reforma financiera de Erzberger». La reforma perseguía dos objetivos. En primer lugar, pretendía otorgar al Gobierno federal la autoridad suprema en materia de impuestos y gastos, y acabar así con la dependencia respecto a los estados constituyentes, como ocurría en el antiguo Imperio alemán. En segundo lugar, Erzberger aspiraba a una importante redistribución de la carga fiscal a favor de los hogares con ingresos bajos y moderados. En julio de 1919 se introdujeron los Kriegsabgaben (impuestos de guerra) sobre la renta y el patrimonio, así como el primer impuesto alemán sobre la herencia. En diciembre de 1919 se aplicó un Reichsnotopfer adicional (un impuesto de «emergencia» sobre el patrimonio), lo que provocó la indignación de los más acomodados. En marzo de 1920 se introdujo un impuesto federal sobre la renta. Sus elevados tipos impositivos hicieron a Erzberger aún más impopular entre la derecha.

El código tributario alemán aún lleva la huella de Erzberger. Estabilizó las finanzas nacionales, aunque seguían siendo difíciles por la carga de las reparaciones. También reformó y unificó las administraciones ferroviarias estatales (hasta entonces independientes) en el Reichsbahn, que empezó a obtener beneficios por primera vez y ayudó a pagar las reparaciones de guerra.

En sus disputas con la derecha política, Erzberger se opuso de forma especialmente aguda al Partido Nacional del Pueblo Alemán (DVNP), al que responsabilizó de la guerra. Fundado en noviembre de 1918 en él habían confluido monárquicos ultraconservadores, nacionalistas völkisch e incluso antisemitas. El resultado fue una disputa personal con el líder de los nacionalistas, el secretario de Estado de Hacienda en tiempos de guerra, Karl Helfferich, que publicó un folleto titulado «Fort mit Erzberger!» (¡Fuera con Erzberger!). Erzberger se vio finalmente obligado a interponer una demanda contra Helfferich por calumnia. El caso se juzgó en un tribunal de Berlín del 19 de enero al 12 de marzo de 1920. La acción se saldó con una pequeña multa para Helfferich (la legislación alemana no prevé ninguna indemnización o sanción por calumnias). Sin embargo, en su sentencia del 12 de marzo, el tribunal consideró que las acusaciones de Helfferich sobre las prácticas comerciales corruptas y las declaraciones falsas de Erzberger estaban parcialmente justificadas. En consecuencia, Erzberger fue obligado por su partido a renunciar a su cargo ministerial y a su escaño en la Asamblea Nacional ese mismo marzo de 1920. Durante el juicio, se produjo un atentado contra la vida de Erzberger cuando salía del tribunal que le dejó bastante herido.

Tras las elecciones generales de junio de 1920, Erzberger volvió a ocupar un escaño en el Reichstag (que sustituyó a la Asamblea Nacional provisoria). No obstante, de acuerdo con el deseo de su partido, se abstuvo de participar inmediatamente en la política, ya que se había abierto un proceso contra él por una acusación de evasión de impuestos. En 1920 publicó un memorándum en que intentaba justificar su posición durante la guerra, y lo siguió con revelaciones sobre la actitud de la Santa Sede en 1917 y la misión del legado papal en Múnich, Eugenio Pacelli (más tarde, papa Pío XII).

El poder de Erzberger en la política alemana se basaba en su gran influencia entre las clases trabajadoras católicas de Renania, Westfalia, Alemania Central y Silesia. En las regiones industriales de estos distritos, los obreros católicos estaban organizados en sus propios sindicatos en líneas de política social muy avanzadas, y Erzberger se convirtió en el principal exponente de sus puntos de vista en el Reichstag y en las plataformas públicas. Por otro lado, se enfrentó a la fuerte oposición del sector conservador y terrateniente de los católicos, de algunos miembros del alto clero (como el cardenal arzobispo Felix von Hartmann de Colonia) y de los intereses agrícolas bávaros, representados por el Partido Popular Bávaro en la Dieta Estatal de Múnich y en el Reichstag. Erzberger también era el líder del ala izquierda del Partido de Centro junto con Joseph Wirth, canciller entre mayo de 1921 y noviembre de 1922. Llegó a decir en una reunión del comité del partido que «la izquierda es la vida, la derecha es la muerte».

Erzberger siguió siendo perseguido por la implacable animosidad de los partidos reaccionarios, los conservadores y los liberales nacionales del Partido Popular Alemán. Esta hostilidad, que equivalía a una vendetta, se basaba no tanto en la política exterior de Erzberger —su negociación de los términos del Armisticio y la influencia decisiva que ejerció para asegurar la aceptación del Tratado de Versalles— como en su política financiera. Era sospechoso por sus actividades como ministro de Finanzas en 1919, como partidario de los sindicatos católicos liberales y, se decía, como asesor político del canciller Joseph Wirth, que preparó un nuevo esquema de impuestos diseñado para imponer nuevas cargas al capital y a los prósperos intereses terratenientes en el verano de 1921.

Asesinato
Las denuncias de la prensa conservadora y nacional-liberal sobrepasaron los límites ordinarios de la polémica partidista. El Tägliche Rundschau (Berlín), diario independiente pero próximo al DVP, observó, en alusión al aspecto de Erzberger, que «puede ser tan redondo como una bala, pero no es a prueba de balas». El punto culminante de estos ataques fue el asesinato de Erzberger el 26 de agosto de 1921 en Bad Griesbach, un balneario de la Selva Negra (Baden), mientras daba un paseo.

Debido a su firma del armisticio de 1918, Erzberger fue considerado un traidor por muchos miembros de la derecha política. Manfred von Killinger, miembro destacado de la Orden Germánica, planeó su asesinato reclutando a dos miembros del escuadrón de la muerte ultranacionalista Organización Cónsul, Heinrich Tillessen y Heinrich Schulz. Los asesinos eran antiguos oficiales de la Marina Imperial alemana y miembros del antiguo grupo paramilitar Marinebrigade Ehrhardt. Los asesinos de Erzberger fueron introducidos posteriormente en Hungría y no fueron procesados hasta después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Su funeral se convirtió en un mitin político, en el que uno de los oradores fue Joseph Wirth. Erzberger está enterrado en el cementerio católico de Biberach an der Riß.

Legado
Erzberger contribuyó a preparar a la nación alemana para la paz y a que el Partido de Centro, predecesor de la actual Unión Demócrata Cristiana, conservara un mínimo de poder en una Alemania cada vez más radicalizada. Sus reformas financieras, federales y ferroviarias transformaron Alemania. Con su optimismo y sentido de la responsabilidad, nunca retrocedió ni siquiera ante las tareas más difíciles. De hecho, su mayor y más trágico legado fue la firma del Armisticio. Esto, a pesar de que los militares le presionaban para que firmara lo antes posible, fue señalado durante décadas después como prueba de la Dolchstoßlegende, el mito de la puñalada por la espalda, que presentaba la rendición como una traición de los civiles del frente interno, especialmente de los políticos socialistas en beneficio propio, que socavaba la voluntad de lucha del Ejército alemán. Más tarde, la leyenda de la puñalada por la espalda ayudó a impulsar al poder al Partido Nazi, que la convirtió en parte integrante de la propaganda nazi. Por su papel, Erzberger fue calificado como uno de los Novemberverbrecher ('criminales de noviembre').

Referencias

Políticos demócrata-cristianos de Alemania
Militares alemanes de la Primera Guerra Mundial
Católicos de Alemania
Ministros de Alemania
Pacifistas
Políticos asesinados
Víctimas del terrorismo en Alemania
Vicecancilleres de Alemania
Alumnado de la Universidad de Friburgo (Suiza)
Miembros del Partido de Centro (Alemania)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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About EUPL
What is the EUPL
National Juries & selection rules
Winning Authors
Winning Authors 2021
Winning Authors 2009 - 2020
We are happy to introduce the following jury members for Italy:
Barbara Hoepli, publisher, bookseller, and chairman of the Board of Hoepli S.p.A - Casa Editrice Libraria, President of the jury
Alessia Rastelli, journalist for the "Corriere della Sera"
Anna Rottensteiner, head of the cultural event institution "Literaturhaus am Inn"
Annamaria Malato, CEO of Salerno Editrice Srl and president of the Rome Book Fair 'Più libri più liberi'
Barbara Hoepli
Barbara Hoepli (Milan 1971) is a publisher and bookseller. She is chairman of the Board of Hoepli S.p.A - Casa Editrice Libraria (Publishers and Booksellers) in Milan, Italy. She is also a member of the board and of the executive committee of the Swiss Chamber, Milan, Italy; and member of the scientific committee of the Scuola per librai Umberto e Elisabetta Mauri.
Alessia Rastelli
Alessia Rastelli (Civitanova Marche, Macerata - 1982) is a journalist for the "Corriere della Sera", where she is part of the editorial team of the Culture section and of the cultural supplement "la Lettura" (The Reading). She graduated from the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa after studying Modern and Contemporary Literature. She is the co-author of the web series "The noise of memory. Vera's journey from the Shoah to desaparecidos", directed by Marco Bechis and turned into a movie.
Anna Rottensteiner
Anna Rottensteiner, was born in 1962 in Bolzano/Bozen. After her studies, she worked as a bookseller, editor and literary scout (italian literature for german publishing houses). Since 2003, she has been the head of the cultural event institution "Literaturhaus am Inn" in Innsbruck. Since 2009, she has also been writing and publishing her own literary texts.
Annamaria Malato
Annamaria Malato is CEO of Salerno Editrice Srl, president of the Rome Book Fair 'Più libri più liberi', member of the Committee of the Presidency and of the General Council, as well as deputy chairman for the Small Publishers Group of the AIE (Italian Publishers Association). She is also Board member of Caltagirone Editore.


For patients with kidney disease, high creatinine is a common problem which always needs to be concerned by them. Beside, when patients are in the late stage of kidney disease, dialysis is an important measure to protect patient's health and prolong patient's lifetime.
Many patients with kidney disease have the doubt: dialysis is an important treatment for kidney disease, but it can not improve kidney function. Thereby, can dialysis lower their high creatinine level?
Creatinine is a breakdown product of muscle, which should be filtrated out by kidney. For patients with kidney disease, when their kidney function is damaged by their disease, creatinine will accumulate in their body and then their creatinine level will be higher than normal.
But it is not easy for patients with kidney disease to have high creatinine, because our kidney has strong metabolic ability. In fact, when patients with kidney disease has high creatinine, and if only patient's creatinine level is a bit higher than normal, it means more than half kidney function has been damaged.
What is the effect of dialysis?
Dialysis is a kidney replacement therapy, and as we can conjecture from its effect, it can replace our kidneys to complete their work.
Just like the function of kidney, dialysis can remove the metabolic wastes and excess fluid in patient's body, and it can also correct the imbalance acid-base and electrolytes.
Can dialysis lower high creatinine?
Creatinine is a metabolic waste, and it should be filtrated out by kidney. As a result, creatinine will also be filtrated out by dialysis during the treatment.
However, dialysis is not a perfect choice. In this treatment, blood will be transported out from patient's body, and that will cause the shortage of blood flow in patient's kidney, which will also cause patient's kidney function to be reduced gradually. As a result, patient's creatinine level will increase after a while.


Animal matching game is complete!
In January 2015 we added a new game for helping develop visual skills. Helen Murphy painted a series of wonderful animal blocks, and they are hidden around the playscape. The children choose an animal block (tiger, lion, giraffe, elephant, monkey, zebra) from a small shelf and then search around the room for the matching animal. Thanks to Helen for her wonderful artwork!!


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Amazon Launches 'Echo Show,' A $230 Alexa Speaker With A 7" Screen
by Laura Northrup
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If simply talking to Alexa on your Amazon Echo Speaker just wasn't doing it for you, soon you could talk to — and see — your friends or family through the e-commerce company's upcoming screen-equipped Echo Show.
Amazon unveiled the Echo Show, the latest in its line up of connected-devices in the Echo family, on Tuesday with the device officially set to be released on June 28.
As with the original Echo, the $229.99 Show — which is currently available for pre-order — is always on and always connected to the Internet, but the voice directions continue to only work when the "wake" word "Alexa" is spoken.
While Show has many of the same functions as the traditional Echo speaker, it looks significantly different and comes with added features.
For instance, Show — which comes in black or white — is more box shaped, and, of course, comes with a seven-inch digital screen. This screen, Amazon notes, provides users with an abundance of additional features.
"Echo Show brings you everything you love about Alexa, and now she can show you things," Amazon says on the Show's product page. "Watch video flash briefings and YouTube, see music lyrics, security cameras, photos, weather forecasts, to-do and shopping lists, and more. All hands-free—just ask."
Additionally, the device will come equipped with the ability to make free video calls to friends or family members who have an Echo or the Alexa App.
Amazon says the device will also come with a new feature called "Drop In," that allows users to connect to the Show even when they aren't home. For example, owners away from home can use the Alexa App to make a quick call or send a message to their family's Echo.
Echo Show includes eight microphones and noise canceling technology that allows the device to hear commands even when it's playing music.
The Show joins a number of other Alexa-enabled connected devices sold by Amazon, including the traditional large cylinder-shaped Echo, the smaller, portable Tap, and the even smaller round Dot. Last month, the company debuted the Echo Look, which is a camera that allows professional stylists to judge your appearance.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on Consumerist.
Canada Extra


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The Roosevelt Elementary School at 200 E. Arlington St. in Waterloo, Iowa was built during 1921-22 and extended in 1954.  It was a Late Gothic Revival architecture work by Waterloo architect Mortimer B. Cleveland.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.  It was deemed significant in the areas of education and architecture.  As for education, its library served the local community as well as the school.

References

National Register of Historic Places in Black Hawk County, Iowa
School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa
Gothic Revival architecture in Iowa
School buildings completed in 1922
Buildings and structures in Waterloo, Iowa
1922 establishments in Iowa


It's about more than reducing price, and it's not only for big corporates.
Large IT companies spend millions on market research to see how they stack up against their competitors, and use this information to figure out how to differ from them and be better.
Automotive manufacturers and importers watch every move competitors make; being first-to-market with a new fashion trend can mean the difference between a clothing brand outselling its competitors or disappearing.
Even cities position themselves against other cities to attract tourists and businesses. Why should competitive strategy (a vital part of marketing strategy) only be relevant to very large organisations? Why not your business?
Being competitive is a core requirement for all businesses irrespective of size. Not-for-profit organisations like charities, schools and religious organisations compete for funds, members and media attention.
Very small businesses and start-ups must wrench business away from competitors or alternatives just to survive. Without a compelling message about the advantages they offer over others, many of these organisations will fail as consumers take the easy route of buying the most popular, the most accessible, or the most familiar.
This plan should be focused on getting a sustainable advantage over competitors so it's much more than simply reducing price or having a special offer.
Implementing competitive strategy means taking actions to improve the firm's market position by gaining a competitive advantage over the organisation's rivals. The competitive advantage can either be delivering better customer value, or operating more efficiently than competitors, or both.
A lot of start-ups are born because the entrepreneur has an idea for an innovative new product or service that isn't available from competitors. This doesn't mean there's no competition or need for competitive strategy. Customers who buy the new product or service take money from other expenditure, and if the idea is successful it will attract many imitators.
Better value for customers can mean more offering for less money, higher functionality, a more convenient way of buying, faster delivery, better warranties or a host of other possibilities like making the buying experience more attractive or fun.
The Hooters chain of restaurants uses attractive and outgoing waitresses in hot pants; tyre fitment centres offer filter coffee and sport on a big screen; FNB boasts credit card delivery to your door.
More efficient operations can mean having lower costs of operations, higher quality for the same cost, less administrative overhead from making fewer mistakes, and faster turnaround time.
This last one is equally important for pizza delivery and those who make tooling for car manufacturers, which indicates just how across-the-board the requirement to be competitive is.
Monitor their reaction to your actions.
This may sound complicated, difficult to do, and hugely time consuming. You may think you only need to improve your offering, but that's not good enough; you should be doing that continuously anyway.
Competitive strategy can be intense and time consuming but can easily give you opportunities to grow in size and profit far beyond your current forecasts.
Microsoft, Facebook, Nandos and Discovery all started as small operations and grew to dominance in their sectors because they had great competitive strategies. Will your business be a giant of the future?
Many business plans I see list companies selling roughly the same product with or without their strengths and weaknesses, but make no attempt to show how you will compete with them.
This is meaningless. To identify your competitors I suggest you acquaint yourself with Porter's Five Forces: The bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, the threats of substitutes and new entrants as well as traditional competitors. Then list the four or five most worrying competitors; those that could hurt your business if they chose to.
Many entrepreneurs claim their business is so unique that there really are no competitors. If this is you, ask yourself: "Why am I not yet a billionaire?" It's likely that your competitive threat comes from customers using their available funds to buy something totally different but equally satisfying or better known to them. There are always competitors or imitators.
Once you have a prioritised list from any of the Five Forces, go and research the companies. There is an amazing amount of information on the Internet, in their publications and in news articles.
Talk to experts in your industry, have someone call them to see how they are treated, get profiles of the management team, identify their suppliers and major customers. Form an opinion about their size and financial and marketing strengths, identify their sales channels.
Investigate how they handled competitive situations in the past. Some companies are relentless litigators, others bully new entrants with price wars or threaten customers and suppliers to stop them from trading with you.
Now list their major strengths compared to your business, their style of operating and competing and look for areas of weakness. However powerful they are they will have weaknesses, search for them, think creatively. Their own size and power may be working against them, slowing responses, being arrogant or management being unaware of how staff treat customers.
Working out how you can compete with the identified companies may seem like a daunting task, especially if they are larger and ruthless. On the other hand not working out how you can compete is likely to lead to extremely unpleasant tasks like winding up your business, so take the plunge.
You have two broad opportunities to compete – you can have lower costs or you can be distinctively different in the eyes of the market.
Focus on how you can compete in areas where the competitors are weak. If they are large bullies get the community on your side, if they are bureaucratic be responsive, if they have quality failures make sure you have none, if they are arrogant be especially receptive to customers and their issues.
To be distinctively different means much more than just doing things differently. The difference must be desirable for customers. They must get more value when buying from you; lower prices or higher performance.
Higher performance is not only of the product or service, it may mean higher quality, faster or easier availability or better financial terms. You need to think creatively; look at successful marketers. Motor dealers have service plans, cell phone companies bundle free and paid calls into packages, countries offer tax free 'holidays' to encourage industrialists to set up new factories.
Barack Obama used social media to effectively deliver his 'yes we can' message to the electorate. Nandos and Kulula made it fun to deal with them. Small businesses can borrow and use these and many other ideas.
While you are planning, you may find that competitive strategies which look as if they would work against one competitor may not be the same for other competitors. Devise the best compromise of actions, focusing on the most threatening competitors.
If your competitive strategies are implemented it is likely you will take business from your competitors. They will not sit back and let you eat their lunch, they are going to react, possibly intensely or viciously. Be prepared.
Keep monitoring their style, strengths and weaknesses at regular intervals. Do the same to your own organisation; you do not want to fall into the same traps they did. This takes time, money and effort, but it is one of the easiest ways to grow your business significantly, and become stronger than competitors.
You will need to adjust your strategies as this happens, but you may now be able to afford formal competitive market research. Have fixed times set aside for competitive strategy focus and monitoring how your strategies are working. It's well worth the effort.
If you have read to this point you presumably are thinking seriously about competitive strategy. A percentage of you will be thinking that this is something you and your team really should do, but with the workloads of managers of entrepreneurial small and medium businesses, doing it may be a challenge.
You may be thinking, "How do we find time to do all this work? How do we find the money?" It really is a question of priorities. Would it be worth your while to not respond to a tender, to postpone the product development, to again delay the company profile that should have been done months ago?
Only you can answer these questions, but while doing so remember that good competitive strategy may mean you are creating a much better and bigger business over time, but gaining significant short-term advantages. Competitive strategy gets my vote as the priority.
Related: What Exactly is Strategic Planning?
Hello, I found this information for you: "Competitive Strategy". Here is the website link: https://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/advice/business-leadership/strategy/competitive-strategy/. Thank you.


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01/07/2021 - MSC Sports Radio Network Broadcast Schedule for Friday, January 8
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