text:
IMMUNO-/PRECISION ONCOLOGY
Immuno ID NeXT PlatformTM
NeXT PersonalTM
NeXT Liquid BiopsyTM
ONCOLOGY CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS
NeXT Dx TestTM
PHARMA RESEARCH SOLUTIONS
Transcriptome Sequencing
Targeted Cancer Panels
miRNA Sequencing
Personalized Therapeutics
Unlock the power of DNA
Optimizing RNA
NeoantigenID
MHC binding prediction
ImmunogenomicsID
Press Release Details
Personalis Announces Delivery of the 125,000th Genome to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program
MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 2, 2021--Personalis, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSNL), a leader in advanced genomics for population sequencing and cancer, announced today that it has delivered the 125,000th whole human genome sequence dataset to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program (VA MVP).
First contracted by the VA MVP in 2012, Personalis has delivered over 50,000 of these genomes in the past twelve months.
"This represents another important landmark for both the program and for Personalis," said John West, Chief Executive Officer. "We congratulate the VA MVP for reaching this important milestone. We strongly believe that the research projects being performed today will enable precision medicine in healthcare systems in the future across a wide range of disease areas. As a global leader in genomic sequencing and comprehensive analytics services, Personalis is uniquely suited to lead these population-scale efforts and we are currently in the process of expanding our business operations internationally."
About the VA Million Veteran Program
Launched in 2011, the VA MVP is a landmark research effort aimed at better understanding how genetic variations affect health. Up to two-million veterans are expected to enroll in the VA MVP. Data and genetic samples collected through the program are stored securely and made available for studies by authorized researchers, with stringent safeguards in place to protect Veterans' private health information. The VA MVP was enrolling veterans at 63 VA medical centers nationwide prior to the pandemic. The VA's central biorepository is equipped with a state-of-the-art robotic system for DNA extraction and storage and is currently being expanded to support up to 4 million samples. With approximately 830,000 enrollees since 2011, the VA MVP already far exceeds the enrollment numbers of any single VA study or research program in the past, and is in fact one of the largest research cohorts of its kind in the world. The VA MVP provides researchers with a rich resource of genetic, health, lifestyle, and military-exposure data collected from questionnaires, medical records, and genetic analyses. By combining this information into a single database, the VA MVP promises to advance knowledge about the complex links between genes and health. Veterans' privacy and confidentiality are top priorities in the VA MVP, as in all VA research. For more information about the VA MVP, visit www.research.va.gov/MVP. This press release does not imply a Department of Veterans Affairs endorsement, and is neither paid for nor sponsored, in whole or in part, by any element of the United States government.
About Personalis, Inc.
Personalis, Inc. is a leader in population sequencing and cancer genomics, with a focus on data, scale, efficiency and quality. Personalis operates one of the largest sequencing operations globally and is currently the sole sequencing provider to the VA MVP. In oncology, Personalis is transforming the development of next-generation therapies by providing more comprehensive molecular data about each patient's cancer and immune response. The Personalis® ImmunoID NeXT Platform®is designed to adapt to the complex and evolving understanding of cancer, providing its biopharmaceutical customers with information on all of the approximately 20,000 human genes, together with the immune system, from a single tissue sample. The Personalis Clinical Laboratory is GxP-aligned as well as CLIA'88-certified and CAP-accredited. For more information, please visit www.personalis.com and follow Personalis on Twitter (@PersonalisInc).
All statements in this press release that are not historical are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of U.S. securities laws, including statements relating to attributes or advantages of the Personalis NeXT Platform, Personalis' services for the VA MVP (including continued receipt of VA MVP samples and continued laboratory operations at the company), the company's business opportunities, leadership, plans, vision, growth or expansion, or other future events. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, that could cause actual results to differ materially from any anticipated results or expectations expressed or implied by such statements. Factors that could materially affect actual results can be found in Personalis' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's most recent reports on Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q, and include those listed under the caption "Risk Factors." Personalis disclaims any obligation to update such forward-looking statements.
Investor Relations Contact for Personalis:
Caroline Corner
investors@personalis.com
Media Contact for Personalis:
Jennifer Havlek
pr@personalis.com
www.personalis.com
Source: Personalis, Inc.
© 2022 Personalis Inc. All rights reserved.


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Usually associated with the Maritimes, Red Spruce grows in scattered locations in eastern Ontario, but populations can be locally abundant. They are sometimes confused with White Spruce (Picea alba), but careful scrutiny rewards the observer with the correct ID.
Red Spruce have hairy young twigs (use magnifier), smaller cones, wider-growth form, and yellowish-green foliage (often shiny). The foliage is arranged more densely and forward-facing on twigs, the tree is more shade-tolerant and more likely to grow in lower pH conditions. It is found in close association with Red Maple (Acer rubrum). White Spruce have hairless young twigs, longer cones, narrower growth form, and blueish-green foliage. The foliage is arranged less densely and more perpendicular to twig direction, the tree is less shade-tolerant and more likely to grow in higher pH conditions.
This photo shows Black Spruce, Red Spruce, and White Spruce.
For a good description of the differences between these trees, go to this blog entry of the Native Tree Society.
Red Spruce has been found on the eastern side of Ottawa out to Vankleek Hill, the Alfred Bog, and Hawkesbury, and in Gatineau Park, Quebec. Two isolated populations have been located west of Ottawa, one in Algonquin Park and the other at Rose Hill Nature Reserve. There are probably more to be discovered! The best site to view many 100+ year old Red Spruce is in the NCC Greenbelt at Anderson and Leitrim Road. Other good public sites include: Gatineau Park along the Wolf Trail particularly on the northern side of the loop and Lavigne Natural Park near Bourget.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/6007553 – Multiple photos taken in Lavigne Natural Park showing branching habit and glistening needles.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9176821 – Foliage and immature cones in the south eastern edge of the Greenbelt.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/5264009 – Mature cones, Wolf Trail.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9060693 – Large mature trees – shape and silhouette.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/6003586 – Reddish-yellow twig with hairs.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2506911 – Mature bark of a tree in the south eastern edge of the Greenbelt.
Mostly Ottawa area Red Spruce entries in iNaturalist, click here.


Internet Editor's Note: The authors recently published an article titled "Bridging the common factors and empirically supported treatment camps: Comment on Laska, Gurman, and Wampold" in Psychotherapy.
Interpretation of existing research findings' implications about what interventions should be disseminated to improve mental health.
Beliefs about what types of research are most likely to produce results that will move us closer to the above consensual aims.
The therapy relationship is important.
Good therapists are flexibly responsive, applying techniques that are appropriate to the clinical situation, rather than rigidly adherent.
Certain presentations call for certain specific techniques (e.g., exposure for anxiety).
Cost-effectiveness and disseminability, not just efficacy, are relevant criteria for choosing treatments.
Effective treatments need to apply across clinical diagnoses, as training therapists in highly disorder-specific "packages" is inefficient.
What therapists do should be based on scientific evidence.
(2) cost-effectively disseminate training that enhances those therapy elements.
In turn, some proponents of CFs implied that, if the amount of variance in outcome due to a treatment package is minimal (a belief not shared by all discussants), it is wasteful to continue to investigate and disseminate said treatment packages.
Given these points of convergence and remaining disagreements, what could be the next fruitful steps for moving the field forward? It appears that all stakeholders want to identify core change mechanisms in psychotherapy, and that it would be ideal to determine whether we can capably train therapists to deliver those mechanisms, whether they have traditionally been classified as CFs or model-specific techniques, at the appropriate time.
We envision a paradigm shift in evidence-based practice and training that can fulfill these next steps, thereby moving us closer to achieving the goals of psychotherapy. The shift need not be jarring. Scientifically, it is a natural extension and integration of the aforementioned positions of both CF and EST practitioners and researchers. Clinically, it is consistent with what good therapists already do, and with the way humans in general think and learn.
We have proposed one attempt to synthesize the CF and EST perspectives, which we refer to as context-responsive psychotherapy integration (CRPI; Constantino, Boswell, Bernecker, & Castonguay, 2013; Constantino, Overtree, & Bernecker, 2013). CRPI is a reconceptualization of the CF perspective on psychotherapy. It seeks to move away from the often-misspecified application of the term CFs to relationship variables only (see Lambert & Ogles, 2014) and move toward the application to clinical scenarios (e.g., treatment processes, patient characteristics) that clinicians commonly encounter and to which they need to be effectively responsive.
(2) develop evidence-informed ways of responding to these scenarios/characteristics/themes.
Specifically, CRPI suggests an if-then endeavor in which therapists respond to patients' characteristics (from baseline through treatment) and emerging clinical scenarios (both in and out of session) with pointed, principle-driven, and evidence-backed strategies. These strategies would be common in that therapists could capitalize on them in any treatment context given their relevance and empirical support for addressing a commonly encountered scenario. Integration with ESTs comes in the form of clinicians providing a coherent mental illness conceptualization, treatment rationale, and relevant intervention (or what Jerome Frank, 1961, called "rituals"). Such elements, while they can be packaged differently in different empirically supported treatments, are also common in what they provide patients—i.e., hope, remoralization, and framework around which to mobilize internal and external change resources.
Rupture-repair strategies when sensing tensions in their working alliance with the patient (Hilsenroth, Cromer, & Ackerman, 2012).
Motivational interviewing tactics when observing patient ambivalence about change (Westra, 2012).
When the above markers dissipate, therapists could return to their foundational approach for that patient (i.e., the approach that involved the rationale for the treatment goals and tasks). Thus, in CRPI, clinicians can maintain their preferred orientation (thereby aligning with their change philosophies), while also incorporating flexibly manualized responsiveness elements on which they can be trained efficiently. As noted, this paradigm shift need not jar! And for therapists who are integrative or cross-trained, they can have more rationale options to offer that might resonate with patients to instill hope, foster task/goal alignment, remoralize, etc.
Moreover, CRPI might be what effective therapists already do, with such responsiveness perhaps partly accounting for the common finding of outcome equivalence among active treatments (Stiles, Honos-Webb, & Surko, 1998). We argue that codifying/manualizing this type of responsiveness will theoretically allow *everyone* to be a good therapist.
The common clinical scenarios (e.g., alliance ruptures, patient change ambivalence) and responsive interventions modules (e.g., evidence-based rupture-repair techniques, MI techniques) that we have advanced are obviously not a comprehensive list; CRPI will evolve as additional empirically-supported markers and effective responses are identified.
CRPI is not a static package to which proponents need to maintain an allegiance to one theory, though one can scratch this itch if it exists through providing a good theoretical treatment rationale and using a corresponding set of interventions, or rituals (which happen to be treatment activities with empirical support; Ahmed & Westra, 2009; Frank, 1961).
The responsiveness modules themselves, if shown to favorably influence their target scenario (e.g., MI strategies causing reduced change ambivalence), need not have a comprehensive theory of pathology, treatment, and change—a criticism of the CF approach as currently stated (e.g., see Lambert & Ogles, 2014).
It defines a treatment "method" broadly—that is, as any therapeutic strategy and corresponding principle regarding when to apply it. Responsiveness modules can be manipulated and tested as causal, which is vital for CFs to gain legitimacy beyond a post hoc explanation for treatment equivalence (Crits-Christoph, Chambless, & Markell, 2014).
Research that isolates person and process markers for shifting into and out of responsiveness modules could be hugely impactful for tailoring treatment to the person and the moment—a major step forward in answering what works for whom and when?
The construct of therapist adherence could get more predictive mileage if reconceptualized as rationale-ritual congruence and if-then responsiveness.
Finally, CRPI has dissemination and implementation appeal.
As research uncovers common contexts and effective responsiveness strategies to address them, it is much more reasonable and efficient for therapists (of any orientation) to engage in modular training for these contexts versus trying to learn hundreds of ESTs.
Therapists are likely to make more use of empirically based interventions if they do not require drastic changes to their current clinical practice (CRPI does not require such changes and it purposefully builds on one's preferred orientation).
CRPI's if-then nature draws on research on the cognitive capacities of humans; when plans are formed with an if-then structure, less cognitive control is required for effective implementation (Parks-Stamm & Gollwitzer, 2009).
As CRPI evolves, so too can training; the field would not be required to hold onto a training model specified decades ago (e.g., the Boulder model), and training programs can incrementally revisit their methods in light of crucial evidence (versus relying on "guru-based" supervision and adherence to rather static accreditation criteria).
CRPI involves a reconceptualization of CFs toward clinical scenarios (e.g., treatment processes, patient characteristics) that clinicians commonly encounter and to which they need to be therapeutically responsive in some way.
One semester of intensive training on a theory-driven model of psychotherapy through weekly didactic group meetings and individual supervision.
Two semesters (including summer) of approximately five team-based meetings on each of the five starter responsiveness modules that we have proposed; that is, modular workshops involving didactics, observations, and experiential role-plays centered on evidence-based strategies for fostering expectations, repairing alliance ruptures, using MI spirit and technique, managing self-strivings, and responding to routine outcomes monitoring feedback with clinical support tools (Constantino et al., 2014).
Our approach fits our main premise that the most skillful therapists will know how to harness the power of a persuasive rationale (which could derive from an EST) and when and how to respond to common clinical scenarios and patient characteristics based on multi-method evidence.
Constantino, M. J., Boswell, J. F., Bernecker, S. L., & Castonguay, L. G. (2013). Context-responsive integration as a framework for unified psychotherapy and clinical science: Conceptual and empirical considerations. Journal of Unified Psychotherapy and Clinical Science, 2, 1-20.
Constantino, M. J., Overtree, C. E., & Bernecker, S. L. (2014). Emerging technologies and innovations in professional psychology training. In W. B. Johnson & N. J. Kaslow (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Education and Training in Professional Psychology (pp. 510-528). New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.
Crits-Christoph, P., Chambless, D. L., & Markell, H. M. (2014). Moving evidence-based practice forward successfully: Commentary on Laska, Gurman, and Wampold. Psychotherapy, 51, 491-495.
Frank, J. D. (1961). Persuasion and healing: A comparative study of psychotherapy. Oxford England: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Lambert, M. J., & Ogles, B. M. (2014). Common factors: Post hoc explanation or empirically based therapy approach? Psychotherapy, 51, 500-504.
Parks-Stamm, E. J., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2009). Goal implementation: The benefits and costs of if-then planning. In G. B. Moskowitz & H. Grant (Eds.), Psychology of goals (pp. 362-391). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Wampold, B. E. (2001). The great psychotherapy debate: Models, methods, and findings. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Publishers.
Westra, H. A. (2012). Motivational interviewing in the treatment of anxiety. New York, NY: Guilford Press.


text:
Home » BioCNG Begins to Rock as CNG Rolls On
Daily GPI / NGI All News Access / Natural Gas Vehicles (NGV)
BioCNG Begins to Rock as CNG Rolls On
Richard Nemec
TAGS fuel / fueling / stations / trucks
Work to Begin on Vietnam's First LNG Import Terminal as New Players Join LNG Push
Natural Gas Futures Rally Continues as Attack in Saudi Arabia Rocks Oil Markets
A wastewater-derived compressed natural gas (CNG) has rocked into prominence in Grand Junction, CO, for fueling transit bus and waste-hauling fleets, the sixth location nationally for the renewable version of CNG used in natural gas vehicles (NGV) of all sizes.
A Madison, WI-based company named for its product, BioCNG, is slated to design and build a biogas conditioning system and gas pipeline for the Persigo wastewater treatment plant, owned by the City of Grand Junction and Mesa County. The system will produce about 500 gasoline gallon equivalents (GGE) daily from the Persigo digester gas.
The renewable CNG will be transported by a six-mile pipeline to an existing CNG fueling station in Grand Junction. There, both Grand Valley Transit CNG buses and the city's refuse trucks will be fueled, along with street sweepers and general utility pickup trucks.
Both the city and the transit system are continuing to add CNG vehicles to their fleets, a BioCNG spokesperson said.
There are currently five other BioCNG systems in operation in the United States, in Sacramento, CA; St. Landry Parish, LA; Riverview, MI; Janesville, WI; and Dane County, WI.
In the CNG fueling system arena, a new fuel system for Class 8 over-the-road tractors used in long-haul trucking will provide both back-of-cab and side-saddle configurations for the tractors' fuel storage. South Carolina-based Mainstay Fuel Technology is making the storage, management and delivery systems for the tractors; Fontaine Modification is delivering and installing both optional system placements.
Mainstay manufactures CNG fuel storage and delivery systems for Class 6, 7 and 8 trucks with both back-of-cab and side-saddle installations.
Elsewhere, one of a series of seven new CNG fueling stations opened in Amarillo, TX; two new ones were announced for travel stops in Oklahoma; and U.S. Oil's CNG fuel station unit announced a deal with a food distribution company in Indianapolis.
Amp Trillium announced the first public access CNG fueling station in Amarillo. It is the second of seven public stations Amp Trillium is developing for the Dairy Farmers of America and Select Milk Producers. The first station in the portfolio was opened earlier in July in Waco, TX.
The Amarillo station is located a half-mile south of Interstate Highway 40 and within two miles of Amarillo International Airport. Three Class 8 trucks will be able to fuel simultaneously at 10-12 GGE/minute, said an Amp Trillium spokesperson, noting the station operates 24/7 with Trillium's patented faster, more efficient fueling system.
In Oklahoma, Love's Travel Stops said the company will continue to add CNG fueling; the next two locations will be in Ardmore and Webbers Falls, OK. These will be fueling stops for heavy-duty CNG trucks.
Love's currently has 12 locations offering fast-fill CNG fueling in five different states, centered in Oklahoma and Texas, but also Arizona, New Mexico and Ohio.
In Indiana, U.S. Oil's Gain Clean Fuel unit plans to build a Gain CNG station to support the operations of Delco Foods, an Italian and specialty food distribution company based in Indianapolis.
Gain General Manager Bill Renz said the Indianapolis location continues the company's building of a national CNG network of stations. "We continue to see fast-paced growth in CNG demand throughout the United States and the Midwest."
West Coast Correspondent | Los Angeles, CA
Richard Nemec began writing for NGI in 1995 and has 30 years experience in the energy industry. He holds BA from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; and a MA in journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL; and completed MBA courses at Northwestern's Evening Graduate School of Management.
rich.nemec@naturalgasintel.com
Recent Articles by Richard Nemec
San Francisco Bans Natural Gas in New, Remodeled Municipal Buildings
North Carolina Cooks Up RNG Recipe from Food, Energy Sectors, While California Expands Options
Wyoming Governor's Budget Proposal Looks to Low Carbon Options
Oregon Sued for Rejecting Decarbonization Ballot Measures
Wyoming Firm Plans to Repurpose Produced Water from Energy Operations for Farmlands

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
package ezbake.ezbroadcast.core.client;

import com.google.common.base.Optional;
import ezbake.base.thrift.Visibility;
import ezbake.ezbroadcast.core.EzBroadcaster;
import ezbake.ezbroadcast.core.thrift.SecureMessage;
import ezbake.thrift.ThriftUtils;
import org.apache.thrift.TBase;
import org.apache.thrift.TException;
import org.kohsuke.args4j.CmdLineException;
import org.kohsuke.args4j.CmdLineParser;
import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Properties;
import java.util.Scanner;

/**
 * This class is a REPL that can be used to broadcast data onto topics from any one of the different broadcaster
 * systems. A configuration file must be provided that will be used to create a broadcaster.
 */
public class BroadcasterCLI {

    @Option(name="-f", aliases="--configFile", usage="The configuration file for the broadcaster to be instantiated", required=true)
    private String configFile;

    @Option(name="-c", aliases="--thriftClass", usage="The thrift object type that will be used to receive messages.")
    private String thriftClass;

    public void run() throws InterruptedException, IOException, TException, ClassNotFoundException {
        Properties props = new Properties();
        props.load(new FileInputStream(new File(configFile)));

        EzBroadcaster broadcaster = EzBroadcaster.create(props, "BroadcasterCLI");

        String input = "";
        Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);

        while (!input.equals("q")) {
            System.out.print("Broadcast(b) or Receive(r)? ");
            input = scan.nextLine();

            if (input.equals("b")) {
                System.out.print("Enter a topic: ");
                String topic = scan.nextLine();
                broadcaster.registerBroadcastTopic(topic);
                System.out.print("Enter a string to broadcast: ");
                String message = scan.nextLine();

                broadcaster.broadcast(topic, new Visibility().setFormalVisibility("U"), message.getBytes());
            } else if (input.equals("r")) {
                System.out.print("Enter a topic: ");
                String topic = scan.nextLine();
                broadcaster.subscribeToTopic(topic);

                Optional<SecureMessage> message = broadcaster.receive(topic);
                if (message.isPresent()) {
                    if (thriftClass != null) {
                        Class clazz = Class.forName(thriftClass);
                        TBase object = ThriftUtils.deserialize(clazz, message.get().getContent());
                        System.out.println(object.toString());
                    } else {
                        System.out.println(new String(message.get().getContent(), "UTF-8"));
                    }
                } else {
                    System.out.println("no message");
                }
            }
        }

        System.out.println("done");
        broadcaster.close();
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        BroadcasterCLI broadcasterCLI = new BroadcasterCLI();
        CmdLineParser parser = new CmdLineParser(broadcasterCLI);
        try {
            parser.parseArgument(args);
            broadcasterCLI.run();
        } catch (CmdLineException e) {
            System.err.println(e.getMessage());
            parser.printUsage(System.err);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            System.err.println(e.getMessage());
            System.exit(1);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
StorageNetworks gains on 4Q results, marketing pact
StorageNetworks shares moved up $2, or 7 percent, to $29.94 Thursday after it topped estimates in its fourth quarter and announced a marketing alliance with Sun Microsystems and Exodus.
In the quarter, StorageNetworks (Nasdaq: STOR) posted a loss of $36 million, or 36 cents a share, on sales of $21.2 million.
First Call Corp. consensus pegged the computer data services firm for a loss of 44 cents a share on sales of $19.2 million in the quarter.
The $21.2 million in sales marks a 578 percent jump from the year-ago quarter when it lost $14 million, or 59 cents a share, on sales of $3.1 million.
On Thursday, the company announced that it will team up with Sun (Nasdaq: SUNW) and Exodus (Nasdaq: EXDS) to co-market managed storage services hosted on Exodus Internet data centers.
The data centers will be powered by StorageNetworks based on Sun Microsystems arrays, servers and software and will provide end-to-end storage services to customers.
For the fiscal year, StorageNetworks lost $124.9 million, or $2.12 a share, on sales of $48.2 million compared to a loss of $23.9 million, or 98 cents a share, on sales of $6.3 million in fiscal 1999.
Last quarter, the company topped analysts' estimates when it posted a loss of 37 cents a share on sales of $14.3 million.
StorageNetworks shares moved up to an all-time high of $154.25 in July before crashing to a low of $16.50 earlier this month.
Ten of the 12 analysts following the stock maintain either a "buy" or "strong buy" recommendation.
How to save even more on Prime Day 2019: Think the deals are already good? Here's how to score additional savings.
Jony Ive leaving Apple signals the end of Steve Jobs era: From Apple TV Plus to its chief designer moving on, the iPhone maker is becoming a different company.
Discuss: StorageNetworks gains on 4Q results, marketing pact


text:
Productivity and Technology Data
To provide, analyze, and publish data on productivity trends in the U.S. economy, as well as in major sectors and individual industries, and examine the factors underlying productivity change.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor
L - Dissemination of Technical Information; Z - Salaries and Expenses
Public Laws 54-249, 62-426, 71-537, 76-77, and 94- 206, 29 U.S.C. 1, 29 U.S.C. 2b.
2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Not applicable.
Provides for: (a) Labor Productivity (output per hour worked), unit labor costs and related measures for the business, nonfarm business and nonfinancial corporate sectors, for manufacturing sectors, and for industries; (b) Multifactor productivity indexes (output per combined inputs of capital and labor) for the private business and private nonfarm business sectors; and (c) Multifactor productivity measures (output per combined inputs of capital, labor, energy, materials, and purchased business services) for manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries.
Not applicable. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: Quarterly.
Contact the nearest regional office of the Bureau of Labor Statistics listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog.
Lucy P. Eldridge
2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E.
Eldridge.Lucy@bls.gov
https://www.bls.gov
(Salaries and Expenses) FY 18$10,749,395.00; FY 19 est $10,500,000.00; FY 20 Estimate Not Available FY 17$10,932,451.00; FY 16$10,749,905.00; -
"BLS Handbook of Methods"; "Major Programs Bureau of Labor Statistics"; "BLS Publications on Productivity and Technology"; "Estimating Capital Inputs for Productivity Measurement: An Overview of Concepts and Methods"; "The Impact of Research and Development on Productivity Growth"; "Trends in Multifactor Productivity, 1948-81"; "Labor Composition and U.S. Productivity Growth, 1948-90"; "Monthly Labor Review."


text:
Get to Know Renee Powell, a Leading Lady in Golf
By Marcia Pledger
Renee Powell, who owns and runs Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio, is not your everyday golf pro, as evidenced by the honorary doctorate (one of two she's been awarded) sticking out from behind the big-screen TV on the wall of the pro shop. There's also a plaque naming her one of Golf Digest's Top 50 Women Teachers and an award from the PGA as the 2003 First Lady of Golf. And it doesn't take much researching to learn that Powell was the second African-American woman to play on the LPGA Tour.
Her golf course is different, as well. It was built in 1946 by her father, Bill—the first African-American to own and operate a course in the U.S.—who returned from serving in World War II only to be turned away from local courses. He carved Clearview by hand from an old dairy farm and opened it to all; in 2001 it was named a National Historic Site for "putting the fair in fairway."
Yet Renee Powell doesn't speak in the negative. Instead, she's a proud and optimistic ambassador for diversity in golf.
At Clearview, she goes out of her way to make everyone comfortable, interrupting an interview to greet golfers, black and white, young and more seasoned, including 75-year-old Ted Thomas, who's been playing the course for 40 years. She tells an 8-year-old boy to work on his putting because his lesson with her will be slightly delayed. Then she smiles as the boy's mother talks about how she was terrified to pick up a golf club until one of Powell's programs aimed at women changed everything.
The 71-year-old Powell shows no signs of slowing down. From coaching and organizing tournaments to serving on boards including the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Women's Golf Journal, her energy seems boundless.
"If you're going to do something right, or be more than average, you have to apply yourself," she says, recalling her childhood regimen of hitting 500 to 1,000 golf balls every day.
Two years ago, Powell, Queen Elizabeth's daughter Princess Anne, and five others became the first women granted membership into the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, ending 260 years of male exclusivity. It was one of her proudest moments, a validation after a competitive career that brought threatening letters, racial slurs, and exclusion from the hotels, restaurants, and pro-am events enjoyed by other players.
The LPGA was founded in 1950, but it wasn't until 1964 that Althea Gibson broke the tour's color barrier. Since then, the LPGA has had only seven other African-American players, including Powell.
"Yeah, that's sort of mind-boggling," she says. "Most people don't realize there hasn't been much change in 67 years."
She steers the conversation to other subjects, including a golf program she runs for women veterans in Northern Ohio. Powell launched it six years ago as a way of combining recreation and therapy for these women. It's the only program of its kind, and it's free.
Continuing to stress the positive, Powell says that women and minorities will be major contributors to the future growth of golf.
"In a game with decreasing numbers, we have to look at areas where there's a lot of potential. Young people may be the long-range goal, but short-range goals are adults who have never played or are now getting back into the game," she says. "Remember: Golf is the game you can play for a lifetime."
10 Tips for a Budget Golf Trip to Ireland
The Best Scottish Local Gems
Golf Cars Becoming More Like Automobiles?


text:
Alleged Russian state-sponsored hackers behind Baltic energy networks
May 20, 2017 By Pierluigi Paganini
A wave of cyber attacks against the Baltic energy networks raised concerns that foreign states could disable them in the region.
A wave of "exploratory" cyber attacks targeted energy networks of the Baltic states, the NATO alliance is following with apprehension the events.
Baltic attacks raised concerns that foreign states could disable the energy networks in the region.
Experts suspect the involvement of a Russian state actor due to strategic interest of Russia in the states the are on the political front line between Russia and the West.
NATO members Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are members of the European Union plan to synchronize their grids with the EU.
"Suspected Russia-backed hackers have launched exploratory cyber attacks against the energy networks of the Baltic states, sources said, raising security concerns inside the West's main military alliance, NATO." reported the Reuters agency, "The Baltics are locked into Russia's power network but plan to synchronize their grids with the EU."
NATO experts and cyber security researchers believe hackers are testing the Baltic energy networks for weaknesses.
"On a daily basis there are DDoS attacks designed to probe network architecture, so it could well be possible that something (serious) could take place later on," a Brussels-based NATO official said under a condition of anonymity.
The most clamorous attacks against the energy industry in East Europe was the ones that targeted the grids in Ukraine that caused a power outage in specific areas of the country, anyway according to a number of experts, utility officials and law enforcement agencies Baltic energy networks were targeted with an unceasing offensive over the past two years.
There is the conviction that Russian state-sponsored hackers powered these attacks.
According to the Reuters, at the end of 2015, hackers launched a DDoS cyber-attack on an Internet gateway used to control a Baltic electricity grid. The attack disrupted the operations but did not cause blackouts.
According to the same source, alleged Russian hackers had launched a DDoS attack against a Baltic petrol-distribution system to disrupt petrol deliveries from storage tanks to a network of petrol stations.
The Reuters reported also a malware-based attack against a Baltic grid.
"In a separate malware attack on another undisclosed Baltic grid, also around end-2015, hackers targeted network communication devices, serial-to-ethernet converters (STEC), which link sub-stations to central control, two other sources said. The attack did not cause service disruption, they added." states the Reuters.
Security experts are still investigating the above incidents, we cannot exclude that hackers have compromised the critical infrastructure and are still undetected due to sophisticated TTPs.
STECs converters were also targeted in Ukraine by the Russian Sandworm APT group, the same crew that targeted energy companies in Western Europe and the United States in a campaign in 2014.
According to the two sources cited by the Reuters, investigators had detected the presence of Sandworm in the Baltics, in one case was still active.
"It's the same kind of slander as all the other similar accusations," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked by Reuters about the possible hacks.
"Russia has never cut power flows to the Baltic states or threatened to do so."
Lithuanian grid operator Litgrid confirmed that cyber attacks on its systems are not a novelty but it added that it had not seen DDoS attacks.
Latvia's grid operator AST confirmed that no incident was observed in the last months.
"A security official based in the Baltics said cyber attacks usually increased when Russia carried out large military exercises near its borders with the Baltic states." continues the Reuters.
In its 2017 national security threat assessment, the Lithuanian government reported large-scale DDoS attacks in April 2016 against state ministries and institutions, Vilnius airport, media and "other important Lithuanian cyber infrastructure".
"A major part of executed cyber attacks against the state sector of Lithuania in 2016 were associated with Russian intelligence," the report said.
Lithuania's state-owned energy holding group, Lietuvos Energija, also confirmed that it had faced sophisticated cyber attacks against its systems, including power distribution.
"We do assume that we have adversaries who want to harm us," said Liudas Alisauskas, information security chief at Lietuvos.
(Security Affairs – Baltic energy networks, Russia)
Baltic energy networksDDoSenergyInformation WarfaremalwareRussiaSandwormstate sponsored hackers
UIWIX, the Fileless Ransomware that leverages NSA EternalBlue Exploit to spread
Stegano Exploit Kit now uses the Diffie-Hellman Algorithm
Security experts discovered a new ransomware family, dubbed UIWIX, that uses the NSA-linked EternalBlue exploit for distribution The...


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Blue Plaque
Rotherham District Civic Society
Protecting and preserving all that is best in the heritage of Rotherham
Established 1968 (R)
The Blue Plaque
Heritage Trail in Rotherham
Rotherham District Civic Society is proud to have an impressive Blue Plaque scheme that is recognised and celebrated as a symbol of Rotherham's heritage and a living footprint of the Towns history. The increasing number of Blue Plaques unveiled serves as a permanent reminder to the important contributions of the history of Rotherham, the country and the World.
The Rotherham District Civic Society commemorates the contributions, lives and notable influences it has excerted together with succesful people from all walks of life.
Supported by Donations
The long term future of the Blue Plaque scheme relies upon the generosity of those who value its historic significance. As a Registered Charity we seek everyone support to continue the recognition and placement of these important markers.
The approximate manufacturing cost of a Blue Plaque is £500. If you value the work of the Rotherham District Civic Society please consider making a donation no matter how small.
You can make a donation:-
You can now listen to the narrative of each unvielled Blue Place to accompany the "Discovering Rotherham Blue Plaque Booklet". If you have enjoyed listening, please consider making a small donation.
There is also a link to Google Maps locating the many sites which forms Rotherham's Heritage Trail . The purpose of this trail is to help both residents and visitors to discover the many different aspects of Rotherham's heritage, and the Civic Society's role in helping to preserve it.
We would love to hear your thoughts about the trail and how long it takes. How did you visit the many places of interest, on Foot, Bike, Car or Bus?
The map will continue to become populated so please keep visiting the site.
Have we missed a place, event or a person of importance out? Why not get in touch!
Email: secretary@rotherhamcivicsociety.org
Blue Plaque Scheme.
The Blue Plaque Scheme Audio files can also be access through SoundCloud
Blue Plaque Audio Library
The Blue Plaque Scheme
The Blue Plaque - Introduction
Hewett Cottrell Watson (1804 - 1881)
Major General Anthony St. Leger (1731 - 1786)
Ebenezer Elliot (1781 - 1849)
William Mason MA (1725 - 1797)
Rose Heseltine (1822 - 1917)
Joseph Stanley Crowther (1925 - 2013)
Sir Donald Coleman Bailey OBE (1901 - 1985)
Ann Hinchliffe (1805 -1873)
Frederick Seward Trueman OBE (1931 - 2006)
Derek Dalton (1947 - 1993)
Peter Bartle (1932 - 2006)
Charles Sargent Jagger MC ARA (1885 - 1934)
William Green (1717 - 1777)
The Cutlers Arms
Ivy Cottage - PArish Workhouse
Fred Kichen (1890 - 1969)
Dorothy Greene (1899 - 1998)
Tommy James (1898 - 1971)
John Mason (1831 - 1914)
Thomas Badger (1793 - 1862)
The Charity School - The Bluecoat School
James Edward Knight (1867 - 1930)
Charles Sydney Gibbs (1876 - 1963)
4 Station Road Masbrough
Thomas Rotherham (1423 - 1500)
Arthur Wharton (1865 - 1930)
Address: The Centre, Brinsworth Lane,
Brinsworth, Rotherham S60 5BU
First Tuesday of the month
Time: 2.15 pm to 4.00 pm
Projects | An active Society
Copyright © 2018 www.rotherhamcivicsociety.org
Rotherham Civic Society


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CAAMFest 2016's Special Presentations are stronger than ever, featuring a diverse lineup of local and international spotlights, Asian Americans in Animation, youth workshops, a Pacific Islander showcase, community screenings and even a special sneak preview.
1990 Institute: Youth Voices on China
Youth Voices on China is the 1990 Institute's signature contest, which fosters global awareness among young Americans. 2016 student submissions address the President on how to build more positive relations with China by sharing creative cultural exchange ideas. Hear stories of the next generation calling for change. CAAMFest is excited to welcome back this innovative program.
New People Cinema
March 19, 2016 2:30 pm Free
David Hand / SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS / USA / 1942 / Animation / 70 mins
Enjoy a special screening of the beloved animated disney classic BAMBI at The Walt Disney Family Museum. This screening is presented in conjunction with TYRUS, our opening night documentary on the life and times of 105-year old Tyrus Wong, whose watercolor concept art influenced the distinctive look of BAMBI. Afterwards, view special selections of Wong's artwork on display.
Walt Disney Family Museum
March 19, 2016 10:30 am To purchase tickets, go to: waltdisney.org
March 20, 2016 3:00 pm To purchase tickets, go to: waltdisney.org
Be About It
Christopher C.C. Wong / SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS / USA / 2015 / Bay Area Connection, Documentary, Short, Social Issue / 39 mins
BE ABOUT IT follows reporter Alan Wang and athlete AJ Jabonero as they navigate living with hepatitis B. The disease looms both large and minute, captured in life-altering and day-to-day moments. Startlingly intimate, poignant — their paralleled narratives show the reach and cost of hepatitis B in the Asian American community.
March 13, 2016 12:15 pm Not Available
March 19, 2016 12:50 pm At Rush
Colma: The Musical
Richard Wong / SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS / USA / 2006 / Narrative / 113 mins
We mark H.P. Mendoza's 10-year anniversary of his seminal ground-breaking film, COLMA: THE MUSICAL (written by and starring the Bay Area auteur himself), with an interactive showcase. Join us as we reunite many of the cast and crew with once-in-a-lifetime live performances and a raucous, profanity-laced sing-a-long!
Everything Will Be
Julia Kwan / SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS / Canada / 2014 / 90 mins
Vancouver's Chinatown was once rich in culture and diversity. As more of its heritage is traded in for new trends, the history of this storied neighborhood is getting pushed aside. Award-winning director Julia Kwan captures these moments in flux as the fate of this community unfolds.
City College of San Francisco-Chinatown/North Beach Campus
Ty Sanga / SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, CAAMFEAST / USA / 2015 / 60 mins
There are two things that are unshakable in Hawaiian culture: food and family. Embark on a culinary journey with chef Ed Kenney as he explores the traditional Hawaiian foods poi (a paste-like dish made from taro) and pipikaula (salted dried beef) and how they have influenced culture in Hawaii.
Roxie Theatre
Justin Lin / SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS / Japan, USA / 2006 / Action, Narrative / 105 mins
Buckle up for the 10th anniversary of the biggest thematic departure in THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS franchise, TOKYO DRIFT. Troubled American teen Sean discovers high-octane Tokyo street racing, and things get complicated when he falls for his rival's girlfriend. Starring Sung Kang, who also appears in PALI ROAD.
Frank Wong's Chinatown (working title)
James Q. Chan / SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS / USA / 2015 / Documentary / 35 mins
FRANK WONG'S CHINATOWN (working title) is the story of 81-year-old Frank Wong. This unknown, self-taught artist has spent the past four decades recreating his fading memories by building romantic, extraordinarily detailed miniature models of the San Francisco Chinatown rooms of his youth. Wong's miniature dioramas become rare portals into a historic neighborhood.
In Conversation With Randall Okita
CAAM welcomes Okita to the Bay Area with a special screening of his short films and a discussion of the influences and processes involved.
In This Program: The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer, Machine with Wishbone, Fish in Barrel, No Contract, Portrait as a Random Act of Violence
Gray Area Foundation for the Arts
Mele Murals
Tadashi Nakamura / SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, DOCUMENTARY / USA / 2015 / Documentary / 60 mins
Beyond the serene coastlines that have made the Hawaiian Islands famous lies a deeper community connection amongst locals. Artists Estria Miyashiro and John Hina travel to the rural town of Waimea, HI, where they attempt to connect ancient Hawaiian traditions and graffiti with the youth of tomorrow.
Preceded by: CAAMFest @ OMCA
Oakland Museum of California
CAAMFest @ OMCA


What's Wrong with Jim Johnson?
Jim Johnson has been struggling. He leads the league in saves, but he's blown 9 saves on the year, including 3 in his last 3 opportunities. In today's post located at ESPN Sweetspot Network affiliated Orioles blog, Camden Depot, I take a look at what is wrong with Jim Johnson to see why he isn't performing as well as he did last year, and what the Orioles can do about the situation.
Direct Link to Article –> What's Wrong with Jim Johnson?
This entry was posted on August 16, 2013 at 11:48 am and is filed under Pitching with tags Camden Depot, Jim Johnson.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


Psychology internships allow students to get real-world experience in their desired field and explore new possibilities.
The department requires psychology majors to complete one of two capstone projects prior to graduation, with an internship being one of these elements. Neuroscience majors can also complete internships as part of their degree requirements, although this experience is an elective within their curriculum.
Our internship program serves students with junior or senior standing who are interested in gaining experience that bridges the gap between academic course work and the challenges of working in the fields of psychology or neuroscience; approximately 70% of psychology majors meet their capstone requirement via this option. Students completing an internship are able to relate their academic knowledge of psychology to actual career situations and responsibilities in one or more professional settings.
Before registering for internship, students must receive departmental approval. If the student chooses an internship site that is not a commonly used site, a member of the department will investigate the site to ensure its suitability before approval. The department's internship program is coordinated by Dr. Jenna Marx, assistant professor of psychology. Questions about this requirement can be directed to her at 717-867-6196 or marx@lvc.edu. For a copy of the full department handbook with additional information, email Dr. Lou Manza at manza@lvc.edu.
The psychology department has developed a professional relationship with a variety of agencies that allow students to gain real-world experiences that relate to their career interests, and a list of these agencies is available to all students through the department. Students interested in pursuing unique internship experiences are encouraged to explore possible internship settings that will offer personalized experiences that are consistent with students' long-term goals. Placements of former interns include psychiatric hospitals, school psychology departments, zoos, veterinary clinics, crisis intervention agencies, research hospitals, human resource agencies, hospice programs, and counseling centers.
Field Placement: Students are required to complete 45 clock-hours at their respective agency for each academic credit earned. Before beginning the field placement, the person responsible for providing supervision is given a letter detailing departmental guidelines and expectations for the intern. A comprehensive evaluation form is also provided which must be completed before the end of the internship. Requirements for successful completion of the field performance include a satisfactory evaluation and submitting a daily log of activities to the psychology department after completing the field experience.
Seminar (PSY 400): In addition to the field placement, students are required to attend an internship seminar that meets weekly. During seminar, students currently involved in a field placement engage in round-table discussions about issues related to their internship experience. In addition, students are required to read a series of articles that deal directly with internship issues. These articles include issues related to ethics, clinical writing, stress, assault risk, and self-care. Students also learn basic skills related to intern/client interactions via role-playing exercises.
Evaluation: After approval, students are permitted to take up to 12 credits of internship, no more than 9 of which may be at one particular site. Generally, students complete 3 and 6 credits of internship. Requirements for successful completion of the internship seminar include class attendance and the completion of a paper detailing the internship experience. Upon successful completion of both primary components of the internship (field placement and seminar) students are given a grade of "P" for the number of credits taken.


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POTTSVILLE, Pa. -- Next weekend will be the five-year anniversary of a fire that killed four children and two adults in Pottsville.
Community members are now getting together to honor the lives lost, not only in that fire, but another tragedy that happened decades before.
At Bunker Hill Park in Pottsville, there is a garden.
"It just affected me, again, being a mother and I felt horrible for the mom," Michelle Yarnell said.
In the garden, there are stones with the names of six children lost in two fires over the years.
Four of them died in a fire on Pierce Street in Pottsville on Mother's Day of 2013.
The other two children died in a fire on the same street two decades earlier.
"I felt, what better place to remember the kids at than up here at the playground where they played a lot?"
Five years ago, Michelle Yarnell and several community members put this memorial garden together for the family members of the children who were lost.
Now, they plan to clean up the park.
"We're going to put new mulch in, flowers. There's lots of raking to do, weeding. These benches will be sanded and repainted and these are the children's' favorite colors."
Yarnell also plans to replace the memorial stones in the garden with new ones they include the children's' favorite toys.
She's asking the community to help her revamp the garden on Mother's Day weekend.
A woman who lives across from where one of the fires happened is thankful for the garden.
"It's hard to do something in this area for them but I think the playground would be nice," Colleen Kline said.
"It's something that you're never going to get over but I'm just hoping this is a place for them to visit and that way they can maybe get some peace and some closure and some connection with the kids," Yarnell added.
If you would like to help clean up the garden in Pottsville, you can do so next Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon.


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Home » Islam » Islamic Laws » Piety and the Hajj
Piety and the Hajj
By: Sayyed Hussain Sheikh al-Islami Tooyserkani
Although the Hajj is an important religious obligation, it is especially related to 'Taqwa', for it requires the suffering of a long journey by people who live in distant lands. It also requires money, health, and safe route in a way that some scholars have compared to Jihad; the greater Jihad in which people sometimes lose their lives.
Meeting with Muslims from other sects, taking part in world congresses of Muslims on trade and politics, visiting the holy city of Medina, taking off one's ordinary clothes and getting into the state of Ihram (ritual consecration), observing all religious duties in the Shajarah (tree) Mosque, moving towards the secure city of Mecca, performing Tawaf (circumambulation around the Kaaba), sa'y (running) between the two famous hills of Safa and Marwah, Taqseer (clipping the nails and cutting the hair), going to Mash'ar al-Haram,1 Arafat, and Mina, returning to Mecca and performing religious obligations are all important and amazing.
Hence, Taqwa has to be observed in all that. In this relation, God says: "And accomplish the pilgrimage and the visit for Allah, but if you are prevented, (send) whatever offering is easy to obtain, and do not shave your heads until the offering reaches its destination, … and be careful (of your duty) to Allah, and know that Allah is severe in requiting (evil) … and make provision, for surely the provision is the guarding of oneself, and be careful (of your duty) to Me, O men of understanding."2
On the importance of Taqwa, which is the spirit of offering sacrifice, God says: "There does not reach Allah their flesh nor their blood, but to Him is acceptable the guarding (against evil) on your part."3 That is to say that the offering of sacrifice must be aimed at getting close to God and not to the wall of the Kaaba.
Forbidding certain acts, God says: "O you who believe! Do not violate the signs appointed by Allah nor the sacred month, nor (interfere with) the offerings, nor the sacrificial animals with garlands, nor those going to Sacred House seeking the grace and pleasure of their Lord, and when you are free from obligations of the pilgrimage, then hunt, and let not hatred of a people –because they hindered you from the Inviolable Mosque (the Kaaba)- incite you to exceed the limits, and help one another in goodness and piety, and do not help one another in sin and aggression, and be careful of your (duty to) Allah; surely Allah is severe in requiting (evil)."4
About staying in Mina, God says: "Then whoever hastens (his departure) in two days, there is no blame on him, and whoever remains behind, there is no blame on him, (this is) for him who guards (against evil), and be careful (of your duty) to Allah, and know that you shall be gathered together to Him."5
Taqwa, in relation to the Hajj, is a special Taqwa, for the Hajj itself is distinct from other religious obligations in different dimensions. One has to observe piety from the very beginning; that is to say that one must prepare himself for this spiritual journey. One must realize that it is an obligatory duty and any delay in it is a sin. One who denies it, is considered as an unbeliever.
One must take great care in providing the money which must be well-gotten, saying goodbye to his family, getting acquainted with the rituals of the Hajj and how to behave with other co-travelers, choosing a friend of journey, knowing the priorities of the journey like intention, purification of body (Ghusl), supplication, charity, performing a two-rak'a prayer, reciting the sura of al-Hamd, the verse of al-Kursi (throne, 2:255), the suras 113 and 114 beginning with "Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn" and "Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of people", and the Sura of Tawheed (112), remembrance, glorifying Allah, saying Tahleel and Takbeer,6 taking soil (from the area of the tomb of) of Imam Hussain (AS) with him, wearing a finger-ring of agate and turquoise.
He should ponder on what journey he is going on, a journey that most of the prophets and the imams went on their feet more than twenty times, a journey that one is accompanied by one of the infallibles knowingly or unknowingly. He should have conviction that Imam Mahdi (AS) accompanies the Hajj pilgrims every year.
Ibn Shahrashoob narrated from al-Alqami that someone said: "I was somewhere between Mecca and Medina when a shadow appeared from a distance. It appeared and disappeared until it reached near me. The shadow greeted me and I replied to the greeting.
I asked: "Where are you coming from?"
He said: "From Allah."
I asked: "Where you are going to?"
He said: "Towards Allah."
I asked: "To whose presence are you going?"
He said: "To Allah."
I asked: "What is your provision?"
He said: "Taqwa (piety).."
I asked: "Who are you?"
He said: "I am an Arab man."
I said: "Introduce yourself!"
He said: "I am a man from Quraish."
I said: "Introduce yourself more!"
He said: "I am a Hashemite."
I said: "Reveal your identity!"
He said: "I am an Alawite."
Then he recited a poem eulogizing Ahl al-Bayt and their truthfulness. Finally, he said: "I am Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Hussain." He then disappeared and I did not understand whether he went up to heaven or went under the earth.7
A Hajji has to observe Taqwa in visiting the tomb of the holy prophet (SAW), the light of the worlds, the master of the worlds, and the seal of prophets as well as in visiting the tombs of the infallible Imams in the Baqee' Cemetery. He should realize that he has been honored by having the chance of visiting the land of the revelation, the descending place of angels, the place of the holy prophet (SAW) and the imams, the birthplace of the holy lights, the place of the five pure ones, the place of the shining suns, and the fountain of the perfect virtues and knowledge.
A Hajji should realize what honorable people he is going to visit, who are observing his speech and deed, and who are his hosts. His hosts are those whose knowledge has not disappeared by the veil of death, whose life and death are equal, and who are quite different from other human beings. In the Supplication of Rajab, we read: "There is no difference between You and them save they are Your servants. Whatever they have, comes from You. Their power and knowledge are acquired but Your knowledge is inherent. You have given them such a power!"
In this holy land, one must engage in character building, serving people, increasing one's knowledge, exercising piety, and acquiring divine wisdom. Idle sport, mammonism, egoism, opportunism, love of position, backbiting, slandering, treason, indecency, and impiety must be avoided.
A Hajji should remember what endeavors were undertaken by the holy prophet of Islam (SAW), the Imams of guidance, and their honorable companions. He should see what sacrifices were made, what battles were fought, which people offered their lives for Islam and were martyred to safeguard the holy prophet (SAW) and Islam.
In Medina, he should realize what sacrificial deeds Lady Fatima (a.s.) did to help Islam and to defend Imam Ali (AS), what oppression and injustice she suffered and how she, who had been wronged, was buried at night. What plots the enemy had hatched in Medina, what scandals they brought about, what innovations in religion they introduced, how Imam Ali's right was usurped, which people hurt the holy prophet (SAW), which people diverted the path of Imamate, and who were the people thinking of their passions and Satanic objectives.
Truly, Medina is like a book of history, religion, politics, ethics, and knowledge which has to be studied carefully. Medina is like a divine book which has to be pondered on. Medina is like a book in one of whose pages you will see divine knowledge and revelation, on another page the holy prophet's mission, and on the next pages, the advice of the Ahl al-Bayt, kindness, friendship, love, assistance, hospitality, good behavior, counseling, equality, honor, respecting the elderly, feeding the poor, restraining of anger, patience, endurance, pardoning, observing the believers' rights, shaking hands (with others), hugging others, love of kinship, reciting the holy Quran, supplication, weeping in the heart of night, and spending the night in worshipping.
You will see how the Imams made pilgrimage to Mecca from Medina. You will see how they got into the state of Ihram in the ash-Shajarah Mosque and their saying Labbayk (Talbiyah).8 You will see their move from Medina to Mecca, their reciting of Takbeer on the way, their entry into Mecca, and you will see how they performed circumambulation, how they did Sa'y (ritual running) between Safa and Marwa, Taqseer (cutting of nails and hair), their prayers and supplications.
In Mecca, one has to look at the past. A Hajji must know what kind of people lived in Mecca, what evil deeds they committed, what they worshiped, what they were interested in, what the Arabs were doing before Islam, what their creeds were, what changes Islam brought about, how the holy prophet of Islam (SAW) was deputed, what reactions he faced, what calamities he suffered, what battles he fought, how the messenger of Allah (a.s.) invited the idolaters to Islam, how he saved the wretched and misled people, how the only savior of humanity, the seal of the prophets and the Imam of the pious attracted people's hearts, and how he cleansed and purified the sacred House (the Kaaba), the Rokn (the corner of the Kaaba), and the Maqam9 from the idols.
In Mecca, you can think of the shining sun of the universe, the seal of prophets and the Imam of the pious. You can call to your mind the Night Journey of the holy prophet (SAW) as well as the supplications and moaning of the Imam of guidance and ponder on the Hajj rituals.
When Ash-Shabliy had returned from the Hajj and went to meet Imam Sajjad (AS), the Imam said to him: "Have you performed the Hajj, Shably?"
Ash-Shabliy said: "Yes, O son of the messenger of Allah!"
The Imam (AS) asked: "Did you go to Miqat (the place where the pilgrims intend to perform the hajj or the Umrah) and took off your sewed clothes and performed Ghusl?"
Ash-Shabliy said: "Yes, I did."
The Imam (AS): "Did you intend to take off the clothes of disobedience and sin and put on the garment of obedience?"
Ash-Shabliy: "No, I did not!"
The Imam (AS): "Did you intend to do away with hypocrisy and doubt?"
Ash-Shabliy: "No, I did not."
The Imam (AS): "When you performed Ghusl, did you intend to purify yourself from lapses and sins?"
Ash-Shabliy: "No."
The Imam (AS): "Then, you have neither gone to Miqat, nor taken off your sewn clothes, nor performed Ghusl!"
The Imam (AS): "Did you purify yourself? Did you get into the state of Ihram (consecration)? Did you have the intention of performing the Hajj!"
Ash-Shabliy: "Yes, I did."
The Imam (AS): "When you purified yourself, got into the state of Ihram and intended to perform the Hajj, did you intend to purify yourself with the cleansing medicine of repentance for the sake of God Almighty?"
The Imam (AS): "When you got into the state of Ihram, did you intend to observe all what God Almighty has made unlawful as unlawful for yourself?"
The Imam (AS): "When you intended to perform the Hajj, did you intend to cut your relation with anyone (or anything) other than God?"
The Imam (AS): "Then, you have neither purified yourself, nor got into the state of Ihram, nor intended for the Hajj!'
The Imam (AS): "When in the Miqat, did you perform a two-rak'a prayer of Ihram? Did you say the "talbiyah"?"
The Imam (AS): "When in the Miqat, did you have the intention of Ziyara (visiting)?"
The Imam (AS): "When you performed the two-rak'a prayer, did you intend to get close to God with the prayer which is the best deed of servants?"
Ash-Shabliy: "No."!
The Imam (AS): "Then, you have neither entered the Miqat, nor performed the prayer, nor have said "Labbayk"!"
The Imam (AS): "Did you enter the Sanctum, see the Kaaba, and offer the prayer?"
The Imam (AS): "When you entered the Sanctum, did you intend to refrain from backbiting any Muslim and consider it unlawful?"
Ash-Shabliy: "No!"
The Imam (AS): "When you arrived in Mecca, did you intend in your heart that you have turned loyally to God?"
The Imam (AS): "Then, you have not entered the Sanctum, nor have you seen the Ka'ba, nor have you offered the prayer."
The Imam (AS): "Have you circumambulated the Kaaba, touched the corners (of the Kaaba), and gone between Safa and Marwa?"
The Imam (AS): "Once, you performed Sa'y, did you have the Niayyah (intention) that you are escaping towards God? Was the Knower of the unseen aware of this?"
The Imam (AS): "Then, you have not circumambulated the Kaaba, nor touched the corners, nor performed Sa'y."
The Imam (AS): "Did you extend your hand towards the Black Rock and touched it? Did you stop at the Maqam of Abraham and perform a two-rak'a prayer?"
The Imam made a loud cry in a way that his soul was departing from his body. He then drew a sigh, saying: "One, who touches the Black Rock, is as if he has shaken hand with God Almighty. O you wretched one! You should not waste the reward of an act whose sanctity is so great, for you might change the act of shaking hand into disobedience and commitment of what is forbidden." Then, the Imam (AS) said: "Once, you stopped at the Maqam (station) of Abraham, did you have a Niyyah (intention) that you are ready for any act of obedience and to give up any act of disobedience?
The Imam (AS): "Once, you performed a two-rak'a prayer in that place, did you have the Niyyah of doing so to adhere to (Prophet) Ibrahim so as to knock down Satan?"
Ashibliy: "No."
The Imam (AS): "Then, you have not touched the Black Rock, nor have you stopped at the Maqam of Abraham, nor have you performed a two-rak'a prayer!"
The Imam (AS): "Did you go to the Zamzam Well and drink from it?"
The Imam (AS): "Did you have the Niyyah (intention) to turn to obedience and give up disobedience?"
The Imam (AS): "Then, you have not gone to the Zamzam Well, nor have you drunk from it."
The Imam (AS): "Did you perform Sa'y between Safa and Marwah, and commute between them?"
The Imam (AS): "Did you have the Niyyah that you were between fear and hope?"
The Imam (AS): "Did you go to Mina?"
The Imam (AS): "Did you have the Niyyah that you would keep people safe from your tongue, heart, and hand?"
The Imam (AS): "Then, you have not gone to Mina!"
The Imam (AS): "Did you have a stop at Arafat, go up the Mount of Rahmah (mercy), know the desert of Namirah, and call God near the pebbles?"
The Imam (AS): "Once, you stopped at Arafat, did you recognize God's knowledge over everything and know that your record of deeds is with Him? Did you get to know your inner secrets?
The Imam (AS): "Once, on the top of the Mount of Rahmah (Mercy), did you realize that every believing man and believing woman will receive God's mercy and He will assist every Muslim man and Muslim woman?
The Imam (AS): "Near Namirah, did you have the Niyyah (intention) that you do not enjoin something unless you yourself are ready to observe it, and do not forbid anything unless you yourself refrain from it?"
The Imam (AS): "Once, you stood near the Alam (emblem) and the Namirat, did you have the Niyyah that they should bear witness to your obedience and that they together with the guarding angels would do so by the order of the Lord of heavens?"
The Imam (AS): "Then, you have not stopped at Arafat, nor have you gone up the Mount Rahmah, nor have you recognized the Namirah, nor have you called God, nor have you prayed to Him, and nor have you been near the Alam and the Namirat."
The Imam (AS): "Did you perform a two-rak'a prayer between Arafat and Muzdalifah, pick up pebbles, and go to the al-Mash'ar al-Haram (the hill in Arafat)?"
The Imam (AS): "Once, you performed a two-rak'a prayer, did you have the Niyyah that the thanksgiving prayer on the tenth night of Dhul Hijjah would take away all hardships and bring about ease?"
The Imam (AS): "Once, you passed between the two emblems and had no deviation to the right or left, did you have the Niyyah not to be deviated from the religion of God?"
The Imam (AS): "While collecting pebbles in Muzdalifah, did you have the Niyyah to keep disobedience and ignorance away from yourself and to be steady with knowledge and good deeds?"
The Imam (AS): "In the al-Mash'ar al-Haram, did you have the intention to awaken your heart like that of the pious and those who are fearful of God?"
The Imam (AS): "Then, you have not passed between the two emblems, nor have you performed a two-rak'a prayer, nor have you gone to Muzdalifah, nor have you collected pebbles, nor have you been to the al-Mash'ar al-Haram."
The Imam (AS): "Did you arrive in Mina? Did you throw pebbles at Satan? Did you shave your head? Did you offer sacrifice? Did you perform a two-rak'a prayer in the al-Khayf Mosque? Did you return to Mecca and perform the last circumambulation?"
The Imam (AS): "When you were throwing pebbles in Mina, did you have the Niyyah that you have achieved your goals and that your Lord has fulfilled all your needs?"
The Imam (AS): "When you were throwing pebbles, did you intend to throw your enemy Iblis, and by completing the rituals of the hajj, to disobey and faraway from him?"
The Imam (AS): "When you shaved your head, did you have the Niyyah that you have been cleansed from all pollutions and have been purified from sins as if you were born just then?"
The Imam (AS): "Once you performed the prayer in the al-Khayf Mosque, did you have the Niyyah that you should not fear anyone except God Almighty for your sins and that you do not hope but for the mercy of Allah?"
The Imam (AS): "When you offered your sacrifice, did you have the Niyyah that you have cut off the throat of greed due to piety, and did you have the Niyyah to follow the tradition of Abraham when trying to sacrifice his dear son? This is the tradition of one who seeks Allah's nearness."
The Imam (AS): "When returning to Mecca and performing the last circumambulation, did you have the Niyyah to return to obedience with the mercy of God Almighty, do what is obligatory, and seek His nearness?"
The Imam (AS): "Then, you have not arrived in Mina, nor have you thrown pebbles at Satan, nor have you shaven your head, nor have you performed the rituals, nor have you prayed in the al-Khayf Mosque, nor have you performed Efadhah (the hurrying of the hajjis in masses from Arafat to Mina) circumambulation, nor have you become close to God. Go and perform another Hajj, for you have not done it!"
Ash-Shabliy started weeping for what he had lost in his Hajj and kept on learning about the Hajj rituals until he went to perform the Hajj the following year with certainty and acknowledgement.10
Abdurrahman ibn Katheer reports: "I was performing the Hajj with Imam Sadiq (AS). He went up the mountain to have a view. The Imam cast a look at people and said: "How great is the number of those who weep and wail and how few is the number of (true) Hajjis."11
Abu Baseer has reported: "I was performing the Hajj with Imam Sadiq (AS). When we were engaged in the circumambulation around the Kaaba, I said: "May I be sacrificed for you, O the son of the messenger of Allah! Does God forgive this people?" The Imam said: "O Abu Baseer! Most of the people you are watching are monkeys and pigs." I said: "Can I see them as you see them?" The Imam uttered certain words and rubbed his hand on my eyes. Immediately, I saw them as monkeys and pigs. This was hard to me. The Imam rubbed his hand on my eyes again and I saw people as they were."12
I will bring this topic to an end with a tradition on the virtue of the Hajj. Imam Ali (AS) has been reported by Imam Sadiq (AS) and Mo'awiya ibn Ammar as saying: "A Bedouin came to the messenger of Allah and said: "I lost the chance of performing the Hajj. I am a rich man. Tell me what I should do with my wealth which has the same reward as the Hajj does." Turning to him, the messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "Look at Mount Abu Qubais. If this mountain turns into red gold, and you will give it as charity, you will not attain what a Hajji attains."
Then, the holy prophet (SAW) said: "Surely, if one sets out for the Hajj, he does not lift or put down anything, except that God will write ten rewards for him, write off ten of his bad deeds, and exalt for him ten degrees . When he rides on his camel, God will do the same for every step he takes. When he performs the circumambulation around the Kaaba, he will come out of his sins, and when he does Sa'y between Safa and Marwah, he will come out of his sins. When he throws pebbles (at Satan), he shall be free of his sins."
The messenger of Allah (SAW) then said: "Whenever a Hajj pilgrim stops, he will come out of sins." Turning to the man, the holy prophet (SAW) said: "How can you attain what a Hajj pilgrim has attained?" 13
1. A hill in Muzdalifah where the hajjis should supplicate Allah earnestly.
2. Qur'an, 2:196-197.
3. Qur'an, 22:37.
4. Qur'an, 5:2.
5. Qur'an, 2:203.
6. Tahleel is the reciting of "la ilaha illallah: there is no god but Allah" and takbeer is the reciting of "allahu akbar: Allah is greater (than all)".
7. Kashf al-Ghummah, vol.2, p. 353.
8. "Labayk allahumma" means: my Lord, here I am at Your service.
9. The station of Abraham about thirty meters from the gate of the Kaaba where he used to stand when he was building the Kaaba.
10. Mustadrak al-Wasa'il, vol. 2, pp. 186,187.
11. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 27, p. 181.
12. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 47, p. 79.
13. The Fourteen (traditions) of Sheikh Baha'ee, p. 92.


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By-elections to be held on October 14
Home / Media Coverage / By-elections to be held on October 14
17Aug 2018 by paieadmin
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday announced that the by-elections to be held on National Assembly (NA) and provincial assemblies seats will be held on October 14.
Returning officers (ROs) of the constituencies concerned will publish public notices pertaining to the matter, according to the schedule issued by the commission.
Moreover, nomination papers for the by-elections can be submitted from August 28 to August 30.
The initial list of candidates will be published on August 31.
Furthermore, the electoral body will complete review of the nomination papers by September 4.
Following the review, another list of candidates will be published on September 14 and candidates will be allowed to withdraw their candidatures by September 15.
The final list of candidates will be issued by the ECP on September 16.
Moreover, the final list will also include the candidates' respective electoral symbols for the by-elections.
The by-elections are set to take place on 30 seats, out of which 11 are NA seats and 19 are provincial assemblies seats.
The NA constituencies include NA-35, NA-53, NA-60, NA-63, NA-65, NA-69, NA-103, NA-124, NA-131 and NA-243.
Earlier on Thursday, the ECP had announced that the election for the office of president will take place on September 4.
Published in Pakistan Today


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I struggle with depression, too. I think all sensitive souls do; maybe all humans. I feel like it is part of the human condition and that there is too much messaging out there that tells us we are supposed to be happy all the time, and that when we're not there is something wrong with us.
But, how can we have the ups without the downs? How can we know hot without knowing cold? How can we know love and kindness without knowing fear, hate, and meanness? This is the land of opposites, the world of dichotomy. We are here to experience the ups and the downs. And, for those of us that are extra-sensitive, the ups are really really blissfully up and the downs are really really dreadfully down.
I have learned that meditation helps. By quieting my mind every morning for just 15 minutes, even just sitting and trying to, the sharp edges are removed. The downs still feel down, but I have the clarity of mind to realize they won't last. I have the clarity of mind to know I always feel better eventually. Instead of fighting the depression or trying to think my way out of it, I have learned to hunker down and let it pass. Fortunately, I have created a life for myself where on my very down days I can stay home and not affect the world with my mood. I have learned if I have to go out or interact with others, if I put my head under hot water, scrub my hair in a long hot shower, some of the depression and mental demons get removed. I have learned coffee and chocolate and intense exercise also help. And I have learned that giving into the listlessness and allowing myself to get "nothing done" on really bad days helps me just nap or read or watch movies through them. Allowing myself to be depressed and realizing there is nothing wrong with me helps me embrace it and settle into it, and allows it to pass faster. I also believe, if you truly are an ultra-sensitive being, you will notice you have been allowed to create a life in which you can stay home when you are super depressed; the universe has provided for us, we are not forced to be out in the world as often as others.
So, what if depression isn't that bad? What if we need it so we will stay home? What if we need it so we will self-nurture? What if we need it so that when we bounce back up the bounce is so high we get incredible clarity and spread tons of love? What if we need it to realize we really do feel best in service to others and so we spread tons of love and kindness when we are feeling good? We give where we can give. We listen where we can listen. We are patient and understanding where we can be patient and understanding. And so on and so forth.
I think those of us that are ultra-sensitive feel and absorb the energy of others, much more than less-sensitive people do. I think our downs are so down because we are feeling every else's down. And, the truth is, we are born to love. We are born to live in joy. We are born to be different and to celebrate our differences and to create lives that please us; and most people on this planet do not do that. So we feel their sadness. Our sadness gets amplified because we are tuning into the sadness of close to eight billion people.
I think there needs to be more dialogue about depression. I think it needs to be normalized. I think there needs to be more messaging on listening to our hearts and doing the little tiny things that make our hearts sing. I think we should all nurture the child within us, the one that wants to stay home under a blanket watching movies or wants to eat only mac and cheese for dinner three nights in a row. I know that when I allow myself to indulge in these ways my body eventually craves exercise and healthy food. My body will tell me when I've had enough sofa time or junk food. I have learned that the less I force myself to do anything and the more I wait for inspired action, the better my work is. I have learned that when I allow myself to sleep and not greet the world on depressed days, I get five days worth of stuff done in one as soon as I feel better.
I don't think life should be as difficult as we are taught it is. I don't think we are as bad or as broken or as ugly or as messed up as the media and doctors and ministers and teachers would have us think we are. I think being human is incredibly messy and that we signed up to experience all of it. Don't you want to say, when you are reviewing your life after you die, that you experienced all of it? The highs and the lows. The scary and the safe. Don't you believe that only by feeling out of balance and depressed and foggy and confused can you know the incredible bliss that comes with clarity and feeling balanced and knowing who you are and what you want, even if it only comes in flashes?
I don't think there really is bi-polar disorder. I think, as Abraham Hicks teaches, there is "aligned with Source and your own Higher Self" and "unaligned with Source and your own Higher Self." And that it make sense we would pop in and out of alignment as we navigate the turbulent waters of life on planet earth. And I think the more we honor who we truly are and what we truly need, especially us introverts and HSPs, we will feel better and better and better more of the time, and we will not feel so alone and freaked out when we don't.


Maldives is a place where style, opulence, and perfection meet a world of beauty and tradition. Select from an array of stunning Maldives hotel retreats scattered across over 200 coral islands. Suspended in the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, these tropical atolls are simply gorgeous; surrounded by crystal clear lagoons and fringed by sugar-sand beaches.
The Maldives islands are a veritable temple of seduction with villas and hotels consisting of private plunge pools with Jacuzzi jets; this is an exclusive front-row seat for the fabled purple and pink sunsets that grace these islands where you will sense the powerful aura of this majestic location.
Have fun from plenty of marine activities ranging from unlimited water sports, deep sea fishing and a vast collection of exotic cuisines in some of the best luxury hotels in Maldives.
Our 2018 Maldives holiday packages are tailor-made for a mind-blowing experience. Whether you need luxury or cheap Maldives holidays, we have something for everyone.
Treat your stay by selecting some of the best of Maldives resorts on our honeymoon destinations in Maldives. Also, feel free to select accommodation from the best hotels in Maldives for a honeymoon on our list. A holiday or Honeymoon in Maldives is a spectacular experience filled with memories of a lifetime.
Maldives is the lowest country in the world. Its ground level is averaged at 1.5 meters, and its highest point, a certain spot in Villingili Island is the lowest (highest point) on the planet that is at 2.3 meters- 7 feet 7 inches . Because the country is low-lying, Maldivians worry about the possibility of it sinking, especially as climate change continues to take effect.
To raise awareness on climate change, Maldives held an underwater cabinet meeting in 2009, where they sunk desks to the ocean floor and had politicians wear scuba diving gear. It was the first country in the world to do so.
The Maldives was under British protection in 1887 and were a dependency of then-colony Ceylon until 1948. An independence agreement with Britain was signed July 26, 1965.
At any given time of the year, there are 10 to 12 different species of whales and dolphins that call the coral reefs of the Maldives home.
It is an Island that was Formed by an Exiled Indian Prince sometime before 269 BC.
A Tourist Visa (30 days validity) is issued on arrival free of charge. Passports must be valid for 6 months.
Dihevi is the native language. English is widely spoken throughout the Maldives and in particular the resorts of Male.
The climate is tropical and for extra hours of fun in the sun visit the Maldives during the months of December to April, which is the dry season. The winters are pleasant also with sunny weather and cool breezes. Christmas is also a great time to visit Maldives.
The islands are subject to mild monsoons. The southwest monsoon between May and October tends to bring more rain and wind than is usual. The north-east monsoon, from November to April, is the dry season with very little wind.
The summer never seems to end with the annual average daily temperature boasting 25.4 C (77 F) to 30.4 C (87 F).
Romantic dinners on the beach, sunbathing on powder soft beaches, the very best spa treatments or just lazing around in your luxurious villa while watching the endless turquoise water - There are endless ways to let the magic of the island amaze you.
The Maldives offers exceptional dive and snorkelling sites among the vibrant untouched reefs of the exotic atolls. The abundance of wildlife in the Maldives sets it apart from other diving destinations. Many different species of sharks can be seen in these waters as well as an incredible variety of different fish. Whether you're snorkelling or scuba diving the combination of stunning coral reefs and year-round high visibility has made the Maldives one of the reef diving hotspots of the world.
Whether you choose to remain on one island or explore many you won't be disappointed in the magic of the Maldives. There are tourist boats with daily trips that leave from most of the islands. This is a thrilling way of capturing the essence of the Maldives archipelago. Or for a private getaway, charter a dhoni for the day and get whisked off to an inhabited island for a romantic picnic.
Maldivian culture is a unique combination of global influences.
With influences from the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe the Maldivian culture offers a unique blend of music, tradition and cuisine. Influences can be found in the curries which are a staple in the Maldivian cuisine, music played on the traditional bodu-beru drum which resembles an African drum and the local dhoni boats used by the fishermen which are similar in design to the Arabian dhows.
Save 10% on Maldive Island Holidays by booking as an Add-On destination combined with a Safari Adventure.
Whether you are planning a romantic honeymoon holiday, a diving holiday or a winter escape, we will help you choose the perfect luxury hotel in the Maldives.


Home Destiny News What Will The Dawning Bring To Destiny 2?
The Dawning, an event that celebrates Christmas in the Tower is coming to Destiny 2. In Destiny 1 The Dawning brought with it gifts for all Guardians, as well as a secret or two to unlock. Most of the Vendors usually have a gift to give, including Eris Morn who likes to hand out boxes of raisins or celery. In the absence of the usual state of the Tower and the normal Vendors scattered about the Tower and the Farm what can we expect from The Dawning this year?
Well firstly both social spaces are being completely changed for the event, giving them falling snow and bright lights in the sky. This is a pleasant change from the normal way these areas look and brings snowball fights to them as well. That's right from snow piles in each social space you can pick up a snowball and blast your friends in the face, for epic bragging rights all through The Dawning. It's important to note that for the duration of the event these snowballs will be in Strikes as well, and you'll be able to blast enemies in order to stun them, leaving them open for massive damage.
In the Crucible Mayhem will be returning as part of The Dawning. Mayhem is a mode in which abilities and Supers are charged at an increased rate, and Power Ammo is more plentiful. This makes for manic matches in which Guardians brutally rip each other apart with a huge flurry of space magic that not only looks great but feels awesome too.
Players will need to earn Dawning Engrams throughout The Dawning in order to earn the event-specific gear, which looks incredible. You can buy these by completing Crucible matches and Strikes, and all other milestones each week during the three week event.
Finally, there will be an opportunity to give Vendors gifts this year. You need to pick up a Dawning gift schematic from the Bazaar in the Tower, which you need to travel to different worlds in order to craft. When you give that gift to the Vendor it's designed for then you'll get one in return. This seems more like what Christmas is about and feels more like a game than a gift-receiving simulator. Let us know your thoughts int he comments.


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Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens (13 March 1852 – 23 January 1902) was the youngest son of English novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. He emigrated to Australia at the age of 16, and eventually entered politics, serving as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1889 to 1894. He died in poverty at the age of 49.

Early life
Nicknamed "Plorn", Dickens was named after novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton and educated at Tunbridge Wells in Kent at a private school owned by the Reverend W. C. Sawyer, later Anglican bishop of Armidale and Grafton.  He also attended lectures at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, Gloucestershire.

Move to Australia
Charles Dickens encouraged Edward, along with his elder brother Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson Dickens, to migrate to Australia, which he saw as a land of opportunity.  Alfred migrated in 1865 and Edward in 1868. Edward arrived at Momba Station just before his sixteenth birthday. Dickens settled at Wilcannia, New South Wales, where he became manager of Mount Murchison Station (part of Momba). He married Constance Desailly, the daughter of a local property owner, in 1880. He opened a stock and station agency, was elected as an alderman of Bourke Shire Council and bought a share in Yanda station near Bourke. He lost heavily from bad seasons and in 1886 was appointed government inspector of runs in the Bourke District.  He was never able to pay back a loan of £800 from his most successful brother, Henry.

Parliament
Dickens nominated for the seat of Wentworth at the 1882 by-election, but withdrew before the polls, won by fellow pastoralist Edward Quin. He was then elected member for Wilcannia in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1889 and held the seat until he was defeated by Labor Party candidate Richard Sleath in 1894.

Later life

Dickens then became a rabbit inspector for the Government of New South Wales, then an officer for the Lands Department in charge of the Moree district. He subsequently had difficulty finding employment and died after several months' illness in Moree, in debt and childless. He was buried in Moree Cemetery.

See also
 Dickens family

Notes

Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
1852 births
1902 deaths
Charles Dickens
Australian stock and station agents
19th-century Australian businesspeople

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