MANILA, DECEMBER 3, 2008 (STAR) By Marichu Villanueva - CLASSMATES: President Arroyo and former US President Bill Clinton discuss financial issues at the Clinton Global Initiative Asia forum in Hong Kong yesterday.
HONG KONG – Former US President Bill Clinton introduced President Arroyo as a "college classmate who looks 20 years younger than me" during yesterday's opening plenary session of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Asia Meeting being held here.
Mrs. Arroyo flew here upon Clinton's invitation for a sit-down discussion of global issues, including the financial crisis triggered by the credit crunch that hit major US banks and financial institutions.
The 62-year-old Mrs. Arroyo laughed softly. She and Clinton were classmates at Georgetown University in Washington where she pursued her foreign relations degree while her father, the late Diosdado Macapagal, was the president of the Philippines.
Mrs. Arroyo, meantime, told Clinton that the Philippines under her leadership has done its "homework" which is now helping the country weather the looming economic crisis.
Eleven former and present heads of state were invited to the CGI Asia Meeting being held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Wanchai.
Clinton invited the President to be one of five panelists on the topic "Balancing Growth, Sustainability and Equity" during the opening session of the CGI Asia Meeting. The reunion of the two leaders came after a long while since Clinton stepped down from the White House in January 2001 and Mrs. Arroyo was swept into the presidency after the EDSA-2 people power revolt that ousted former President Joseph Estrada.
Before throwing the first question to Mrs. Arroyo, Clinton related to his audience his initial conversations with her before the start of the plenary session.
"I asked her (Arroyo) how the Philippines is doing and she said, 'Relatively speaking, we're doing very well.' And she pointed out that she just got very high credit rating in the recent credit survey which is good except everybody else is down," Clinton said in jest.
"I thought it would be helpful if I ask her (Arroyo) basically to explain how the Filipinos are being affected by the current financial crisis and what she thinks she can do most effectively and whether the same policies will apply in other Asian countries," Clinton said.
In response, the President recited her government's subsidy to rice and public transport at the height of the oil price crisis, and the temporary lifting of tariffs on oil products earlier this year that were funded through the windfall collections of the government from the expanded value-added tax (EVAT).
"But we couldn't do any of those if we did not have the revenues that came from our painful reforms of the past several years. So the biggest challenge is not really what steps to take but the resources needed to be able to carry out those steps.
"So it's applicable to other countries. Certainly the steps are applicable but the challenge would be if were they able to do their homework beforehand to be able to have a strong fiscal position to do all these," the President told Clinton.
Before answering Clinton's question, Mrs. Arroyo took the opportunity to relay her congratulatory message to Clinton's wife, New York Sen. Hillary who was nominated the other day by US President-elect Barack Obama to become his Secretary of State.
"Now to go to your question, as I was telling you earlier the Philippines is doing relatively well in this global crisis. But that is small comfort to the average Filipino who feels higher prices for the food that he or she has to buy, or the gasoline that he or she has to buy," she candidly admitted.
"So it's important for us to be able to make sure that the global crisis does not become a crisis in our country," the President said, adding that in order to do this, the Philippine government would be needing the resources it was able to generate through a number of unpopular fiscal reforms she pushed in Congress, including the raising of the EVAT from 10 to 12 percent a few years back.


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Infecting the vote
A resident waits in line to vote at a polling place at Riverside University High School on April 07, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
In the United States, the coronavirus pandemic has infected at least 1.7 million people, killed nearly 100,000, and cost 39 million their jobs. But for Republican political operatives, it's an unprecedented opportunity.
For decades, a core GOP election strategy has been to make it as difficult as possible to vote. Over the years, Jim Crow laws have given way to voter ID requirements, registration purges, and reducing polling locations. But the coronavirus creates a powerful new way to discourage participation.
On the day of a presidential election, voters jam precincts to make their voices heard — especially in the hours before or after a typical workday. The crowds are always an annoyance. But this year, packing into a church basement with hundreds of people may be legitimately dangerous. The first Tuesday in November could coincide with a second wave of COVID-19 infections.
All Republicans need to do to lower participation is to make alternatives to this process cumbersome.
Over the holiday weekend, the Republican National Committee (RNC) sued California Governor Gavin Newsom. The RNC alleges Newsom "created a system that will violate eligible citizens' right to vote." What did Newsom do? He issued an executive order to send "vote-by-mail ballots" to "every registered voter." The RNC calls this action "a recipe for disaster."
According to the RNC, sending registered voters ballots "invites fraud, coercion, theft, and otherwise illegitimate voting." These "invalid votes dilute the votes of honest citizens and deprive them of their right to vote in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment."
To support its argument, the RNC does not provide actual evidence of voter fraud connected with mail-in ballots. Rather, it relies on anecdotes from a recent vote-by-mail election in Nevada where one voter found "about a dozen ballots" in his apartment complex's mailroom and "many more in nearby trash cans." Why this voter was rooting through trash cans — and why that proves that Newsom's order is illegal — is not explained.
The RNC lawsuit also relies on flawed analysis by Judicial Watch to claim that the number of registered voters in San Deigo County exceeds the number of registered voters. The organization made similar claims before the Iowa caucuses and had to be corrected by Iowa's Republican Secretary of State. After a report by Popular Information, Facebook removed an ad from Judicial Watch featuring its claim about Iowa voter registration because the ad violated Facebook's misinformation policies.
The RNC lawsuit largely mirrors public statements by Trump, who claimed last week that ballots and ballot applications sent by states to voters were "illegal." (They are not.)
The United States cannot have all Mail In Ballots. It will be the greatest Rigged Election in history. People grab them from mailboxes, print thousands of forgeries and "force" people to sign. Also, forge names. Some absentee OK, when necessary. Trying to use Covid for this Scam!
54,598 Retweets195,295 Likes
Trump has also struggled to provide any evidence of significant voter fraud from mail-in votes.
Q: And I just wanted to ask you, voters in five states — Utah, Colorado, Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon — all vote by mail. Can you or the White House staff or your campaign provide any evidence to back up your claim that mail-in voting is rife with fraud, like the example you gave of people working in rooms, filling out false ballots?...
TRUMP: The — I think there's a lot of evidence, but we'll provide you with some, okay? And there's evidence that's being compiled just like it's being compiled in the state of California, where they settled with Judicial Watch, saying that a million people should not have been voting in — you saw that.
California did settle a lawsuit with Judicial Watch in 2019. But the settlement did not prove that "a million people should not have been voting" in the 2016 election. Trump has made that claim repeatedly, and Politifact rated it "Pants on Fire." The settlement "makes no mention of voter fraud or illegal voting" and did not include an "admission of liability or wrongdoing by the state." Instead, the state agreed to "continue its work to adhere to modern list maintenance procedures under the National Voter Registration Act."
The California lawsuit is just the beginning. The RNC has created a $20 million fund to file lawsuits and engage in other activities to limit voting during the pandemic.
In 1981, the RNC created a "Ballot Security Task Force" during a New Jersey gubernatorial election. The scheme involved "having Republican operatives and off-duty law enforcement personnel hanging around dozens of minority-voting precincts, looking for evidence of election irregularities, and intimidating local voters." Members of the "task force" told "locals that their precincts were being monitored" and wore "quasi-official arm bands," while "physically patrolling polling places in areas made up mostly of minority voters."
It ended up working too well. Republicans narrowly won the election, but the Republican tactics were so brazen that the Republicans lost a subsequent lawsuit. The result was "a 35-year consent decree that included legal restrictions on the party's efforts to monitor polling locations."
The consent decree finally expired, and Republicans are back to their old tricks. Trump and the RNC plan to recruit "up to 50,000 volunteers in 15 key states to monitor polling places and challenge ballots and voters deemed suspicious."
Quantifying fraud
Election fraud does exist. In 2018, Popular Information documented how a Republican political operative systemically harvested and forged ballots to deliver a narrow victory to a Republican Congressional candidate. The state board of elections ultimately invalidated the results and ordered a new election.
But, in the aggregate, voter fraud is a very small problem. A seminal report by the Brennan Center found incident rates of voter fraud "between 0.0003 percent and 0.0025 percent." It is more likely that an American "will be struck by lightning" than commit voter fraud.
Could voter fraud impact the 2020 presidential election? A review of the 2016 election by the Washington Post found "four documented cases of voter fraud in the 2016 election." Three were Republicans who tried to vote twice, including one who attempted to vote absentee on behalf of her deceased husband.
Voter fraud is not a significant problem. There is, however, "a long history in America of elites using voter fraud allegations to restrict and shape the electorate."
How the Supreme Court could decide the next president again
On Sunday, a federal judge struck down key parts of a Florida law "that would require people with felony convictions to pay off financial obligations before regaining their right to vote." The law was passed by Florida's Republican legislature after voters overwhelmingly approved a 2018 ballot initiative to restore voting rights to most ex-felons. The law effectively undermined the intent of the 2018 initiative because "77% of more than 1 million Floridians with felony convictions who were released had outstanding financial obligations." Very few of those Floridians have the ability to pay.
Florida "has no centralized source that people can consult to find out whether they owe fees, fines or restitution." Figuring out what's due is maddeningly complex. The judge noted that the government was not able to definitively determine the amount owed by the named plaintiffs during the course of litigation.
The judge said it would be constitutional to withhold voting rights to ex-felons that owe money and have the ability to pay. But he put the onus on the government to provide accurate information to ex-felons within a few weeks. Other categories of ex-felons, including those with court-appointed lawyers, will have their voting rights automatically restored.
Most ex-felons in Florida had court-appointed lawyers. So the decision restores voting rights to hundreds of thousands of Floridians before the 2020 election.
Trump won Florida in 2016, but recent polling shows a close race. But the court decision is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court takes up the case, its decision could determine the next president.
It wouldn't be the first time.
cathy b
We are in it up to our hips.
Nothing the GOP, 1%Russia and Trump won't do to stay in power.
Our side doesn't know how to fight for this country's survival.
We have a post master general hand picked by Trump to battle vote by mail.
What about Mueller and Impeachment didn't teach us a thing about who we are dealing with.
We needed a tiger for a Democratic candidate. Instead we got a pussycat.
"Vote blue no matter who" must extend into the Senate and House and so far our side is not looking good to unseat enough to take them down.
Florida is Trump country. He has the pawns in place.
Between now and Nov. I expect worse.
The "noise" I wrote about in a comment months ago is daily taking us from real news to what Trump spins. The MSM Labradoodles forever chase his propganda ball.
Thank you Judd for all you do to throw a high beam on the truth.
Joseph Mangano
Does the potential for fraud exist with respect to VBM? Sure. Not to the extent that it warrants avoidance of the medium altogether, though. As this article details, the GOP knows exactly what it's doing. Oddly enough, re the presidential election and as with the Ballot Security Task Force, it may work too well. That is, by not offering people mail-in ballots, Trump and Co. might just hurt their chances in swing states where they might otherwise have won based on the political makeup therein.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Field notes on biodynamic practices - how working with animals and plants keeps the vineyards in balance.
Syrah - an ethereal wine that shows lifted floral elements with hints of black pepper and spice. Super elegant and supple, a beautiful expression of cool climate Syrah that shows the diversity and strength of the Raupo Vineyard.
We welcome Tamra back to Seresin Estate, where her wine journey commenced!
The cool nature of the vintage has produced some stunning Pinot Noir's and we are excited to release a limited selection of Magnums from the library cellar.
Reviewed by Joe Czerwinski for The Wine Advocate. Issue 235, published 1st March 2018.
Last week we harvested the stinging nettle from our biodynamic preparation garden to make our own stinging nettle tea preparation.
Join Leah Seresin on Tuesday 30th January from 6.30 to 8pm to enjoy a Seresin Estate Tasting at New Street Wine Store, London.
Flavours of New Zealand, London. 15th January 2018.
Heavy grey skies and rain welcomed us to the new venue for "Flavours of New Zealand". County Hall, based on the South Bank in London, once the hot bed of London Labour politics. With views over Westminster Bridge and the House's of Parliament.
20 of Ad Bibendum's most treasured producers were invited to attend and contribute to Ad Bibendum's 20th Anniversary. All producers made an anniversary wine and sent something special for the celebration dinner for our importer in Belgium.
Seresin Estate originally imported olive trees from a specialist olive nursery in Tuscany owned by the renowned Attilio Sonnoli. We chose a selection of the classic varieties: Frantoio, Pendolino, Leccino, Minerva & Maurino that make Tuscan extra virgin olive oil amongst the most interesting in the world.
We had a fantastic weekend at Auckland's greatest celebration of Food, Taste of Auckland held at Western Springs 16-19th November.
Seresin Estate is celebrating its 25th anniversary with fellow New Zealander, Chantelle Nicholson, Chef Patron of Tredwells, London, cooking at our Waterfall Bay, Marlborough Sounds restaurant. A short boat trip through the magical sounds will take you to the secret restaurant overlooking the bay, surrounded by native forest. Join us for our Waterfall Bay Feast! A degustation menu with wine matches from the Seresin Cellar.
We embrace the principles of organics and biodynamics in our viticulture and winemaking. In the winery minimal intervention allows layers of flavour to evolve, so that the wines are a natural expression of the soils from which they are grown.
All wines crafted at Seresin Estate are made without egg, dairy or protein products during production, meaning our wines are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
To contemplate this question above, we've included three opinions from our staff members. These are shared to consider the question fully.
On 12th July, we celebrated our quarter-century birthday in London with a luminous and memorable evening. We thank our friends from all over the world, who joined us at the Whitechapel Gallery and enjoyed our magnums of Tatai Pinot Noir, specially blended for the event. A collection of images captured by Domizia Salusest.
Join us for our one day wine sale. Limited stock, don't miss out, get there early!
Library stock, Magnums, Reserve wines, R&D trials, Bin ends, Olive Oil, Preserve Jars & other curios. One day only.
We were delighted to help celebrate the launch of Kowtow's very first ethical and 100% organic cotton denim collection along with the first drop of SS17!
The Seresin Estate Pinot Gris 2016 represents our evolving approach to this complex style. Described by winemaker Clive Dougall as "treading a line of texture and acidity", this wine has a more notable fruit driven, rose petal character than in previous years, with a cleaner, more linear style.
We are thrilled to announce we will be supporting the Wellington and Marlborough shows in The Absurdity of Humanity tour.
2017 was a memorable and challenging vintage. We had a wonderful warm start to the growing season, with good soil moisture helping the vines to grow well. We then experienced cold temperatures during flowering, resulting in lower yields and smaller bunches in our Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The temperatures never really soared and we will remember this vintage as having one of the coldest growing seasons, coupled with challenging rain events just before and during harvest.
Preparation 501 is made from very finely ground quartz crystal silica, which is buried inside a cow horn over summer. The preparation was recently lifted from the ground on the 18th April 2017.
Inspired by old world philisophies, our range of Pinot Noir's are selected for their soil, aspect and location within the vineyards. Made with minimal intervention, each bottle is a reflection of its terroir.
On Friday 27th January, winemakers, sommeliers and journalists set out to discover some of Marlborough's most unique Pinot Noir sites via a unique route through the hills and back-country.
On Friday 27th January, we together hosted a group of international Sommeliers, Journalists and Buyers travelling through New Zealand with New Zealand Winegrowers to Pinot Noir 2017. Guests arrived at Michael Seresin's private residence by boat to our pop up restaurant in Waterfall Bay.
Each of these wines manifests the terroir of our three vineyards and combined with our biodynamic viticulture and winemaking, encompasses an old world culture in a new world setting.
Beast of a Feast is the newest food, craft beer and music festival to hit Mount Maunganui this summer. Held 3rd January at Soper Reserve with a rockstar lineup of some of New Zealand's best breweries and street food vendors the event provided the perfect setting to acclimatise to a new year!
Cindy Sherman has spent nearly 40 years changing the way people think about photography, art, gender and identity, with character portraits that expose contemporary society.
Seresin Estate wines will be poured when the New York artist's international exhibition opens at the City Gallery Wellington this month (www.citygallery.org.nz), in what Seresin Estate General Manager Michelle Connor calls a perfect fit.
RAW WINE is a two-day celebration of some of the best wine talent in the world. Featuring over 100 growers, RAW WINE is one of the most exciting collections of fine, natural, organic and biodynamic wine artisans ever to come together in the city.
"Whether you see yourself as a wine connoisseur or simply enjoy the occasional glass of red, we all know wine can be the original elixir of happiness or transform the most ordinary food into a feast. Wine guru Simon Hoggart shares his zest for his subject with his refreshing and extensive knowledge so that anyone can sniff, swirl and slurp their way to becoming a wine aficionado, without fear of a hefty price tag."
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are top choices for Christmas. Seresin Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2014 and Rachel Pinot Noir 2012 are two smart, elegant options from Marlborough estate of cinematographer Michael Seresin. Whether purchased as a thoughtful gift or to be enjoyed at home, these distinguished vintages are perfect for any given occasion.
Seresin Estate is celebrating two remarkable decades with two long awaited wines.
To mark our 20th vintage we are releasing Moana Blanc and Moana Rosé, a pair of sparkling wines that reflect unique terroir, thoughtful winemaking and an ever patient resolve.
Set in the Penthouse of New Zealand House overlooking London's impressive skyline, we could not wish for a better space to unveil our impressive new vinatage and new to market wines.
We are very pleased to announce Jordan Hogg, Assistant Winemaker at Seresin Estate has been announced the Tonnellerie de Mercurey NZ Young Winemaker 2016. The National Final was held on Tuesday 23 August at MRC and the winner was announced at the Bragato Wine Awards dinner on Thursday 25 August.
We have a rare opportunity for an engaging communicator. This newly created position will be responsible for every visitor's experience at Seresin Estate and Waterfall Bay, in terms of tourism, business, media and events. The position will seek to not only enhance the overall brand experience for our guests, but also their online experience and customer service.
We are looking forward to showcasing our Seresin Estate Viognier 2011, and Seresin Estate Memento Riesling 2012 together with Louis Latour Agencies at the Harpers new initiative Think Indie, Drink Indie July 12th for Independent Merchants.
After all the grapes are safely in the winery, a second harvest brings a new group of interns to the Estate.
We very proud to announce Seresin Estate Assistant Winemaker Jordan Hogg, 29, was announced the Marlborough Tonnellerie de Mercurey NZ Young Winemaker 2016 at the recent competition held on Friday.
A new partnership between Seresin Estate and Mineral is a positive step forward, says Seresin Estate General Manager Michelle Connor.
She announced today that Mineral is to include the Seresin, OSIP and MOMO brands in its portfolio for distribution in New Zealand.
We are looking forward to showcasing our wines with Louis Latour Agencies at Imbibe Live next week. Imbibe is Europe's largest on-trade drinks exhibition and the home of drinks professionals.
We are delighted to be included within a series of upcoming Sommelier Masterclasses presented by Ronan Sayburn MS. The classes will include a comprehensive tasting, exploring New Zealand's wine regions and varieties.
Seresin Estate, of Marlborough New Zealand, has today announced a new partnership with Louis Latour Agencies to include its Seresin and MOMO brands for on and off-trade distribution in the UK.
Seresin Estate is pleased to announce two mid-winter lunches will be presented at their Waterfall Bay occasional restaurant in association with fine-dining Restaurateur Michael Dearth and Chef Ben Bayly, themed 'Living off the Land'.
Seresin Estate will be attending the 7th edition RAW, The Artisans Wine Fair, held 15th & 16th May 2016, London. Held in The Old Truman Brewery the fair is devoted to showcasing organic and biodynamic wines from around the world.
The hand-print was the first signature, the first form of art created by man and, for us, it is a symbol or our organic and biodynamic philosophy. All Seresin Estate wines are hand-tended, hand-picked and selected in the vineyard. Working this way does take a little more time, but gentler handling of the grapes allows us to nurture wines to express a unique sense of place.
At Seresin Estate organic and biodynamic principles underpin our philosophy to create expressions of our land. Principles unique to the biodynamic approach emphasize the use of manures and compost as well as using traditional astrological calendars.
Creating healthy soils is a key foundation for organic growing. Having a close understanding of what lies beneath helps us enhance and stimulate our soils, so our crops can benefit from a wide range of soil processes.
Seresin Estate is proud to once again attend International Trade Fair for Wines and Spirits, ProWein. Held in Düsseldorf from 13 – 15 March 2016 this trade event reaches over 52,000 visitors, drawn to see 6,000 exhibitors from 50 countries.
Organics can mean many things. This year we will be sharing a behind the scenes series of Field Notes to tell a little of our story at Seresin Estate, in celebration of our 20th Vintage.
On 13th August, Clive Dougall, our winemaker, will be at Masu for their Winter Wine Series. Showcasing Seresin wines alongside unique dishes prepared by the Masu team, this dinner looks set to be delicious. Reserve your place here.
Organic and biodynamic viticulture and winemaking are the heart and soul of life at Seresin, so we're looking forward to taking part in the Organic Winegrowers conference that is taking place here in Marlborough in July.
We finished our olive oil harvest on June 18th and are looking forward to launching our 2015 Olio Nuovo in the next few weeks. An Italian concept, Olio Nuovo literally means 'new oil' and is the freshest oil, direct from the press.
Team Seresin will be hitting the road on 14th and 15th August to participate in Wine Auckland, which is part of Restaurant Month. Our stand will be overflowing with our delicious wines of course, but will also feature our brand new vintage 2015 olive oils, honeys and wine vinegars. If you're in Auckland, grab yourself a ticket for this fantastic event and come and say hello!
Our Australian Estate Manager, Colin Ross, is on the road in Western Australia during July, the highlight of which is a masterclass in our Pinot Noir that will be held at Matilda Bay in Perth on 21st July. The event is being organised by our distribution partners in the region, Fine Wine Wholesalers.
So, that's it. All the fruit is now in the winery and our 2015 vintage is done. Hard to believe really. The whole farming year builds towards this moment and a few weeks of frenzied activity - and this year, it was even fewer weeks than normal!


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"The Master Switch": Is the Internet due for a takeover?
A new history of information industries insists that they all cycle from freedom to monopoly
By Laura Miller
Published December 13, 2010 12:01AM (EST)
Tim Wu's "The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires" has been out for a few weeks now and has already become one of those books that prognosticators and opinionators feel obliged to respond to. It's also a substantial and well-written account of the five major communications industries that have shaped the world as we know it: telephony, radio, movies, television and the Internet. Wu believes that all of these industries have moved through cycles of diversity and consolidation, and that if we think the Internet is immune to a takeover by some massive monopoly promising a more perfect (and more profitable) experience for users (and itself), then we should look to history, and think again.
For Internet pundits (whether amateur or professional), Wu's book is required reading, but the average citizen may find it even more revelatory and rewarding. Maybe you know a little bit about the rise and fall of the studio system in Hollywood, or you get misty-eyed over the crazy but creative early years of radio, before major broadcasting networks took over. Anyone past the age of 30 probably has at least a hazy memory of Ma Bell being smashed into Baby Bells by the Department of Justice in 1984, and may even be aware that some people still regard this as a crying shame. And, of course, you all know that the Internet is radically, uncontrollably decentralized by virtue of its very structure: It was designed to survive a nuclear war, right?
In "The Master Switch," Wu assembles all of these stories and reframes them as battles in a shifting landscape of high-stakes industrial warfare, from Ma Bell's dastardly campaigns against small independent phone companies to the conquest of every aspect of the movie industry -- from talent and production to distribution and theaters -- by the ruthless moguls of the studios' heyday. He scrutinizes the postwar years when AT&T was treated like a shadow agency of the federal government, and recounts how the Machiavellian head of RCA, David Sarnoff, double-crossed an idealistic old friend to suppress the introduction of FM radio (a technology whose capabilities have yet to be fully explored) for decades.
These industries -- "the defining business ventures of our time," according to Wu -- "have from their inception been subject to the same cycle of rise and fall, imperial consolidation and dispersion." Furthermore, "the time has come when we must pay attention" because we are now, with the Internet, "on the high end of a pendulum arc that, so far, has always begun to swing in the opposite direction -- toward greater control and centralization." And while Wu strives for balance, acknowledging that monopolies can provide seamless service, efficiency, high-quality content and sometimes even lower prices, his heart is clearly with the wild and woolly (if also sometimes scruffy) nature of the wide-open model that currently abides online.
The histories Wu relates are unexpectedly fascinating, partly because fierce conflicts make for good stories and partly because they invite us to imagine such scenarios as what the world might have looked like if Bell hadn't postponed the introduction of innovations like voice mail, fax machines and modems for so long. Mammoth communications monopolies might be stable, Wu points out, and they do encourage the development of new ideas that stand a chance of enhancing their current business, as in corporate-sponsored hotbeds like Bell Labs. But they also reflexively shut down anything that threatens to usher in the "creative destruction" of true innovation. A form of irrational "paranoia" (Wu's term) caused Bell to stifle the invention of magnetic recording tape by one of its engineers in the 1930s -- somehow they thought it would "lead the public to abandon the telephone."
The Internet is, of course, supposed to be different, with its ability to transmit all kinds of data without routing it through a central switchboard (the "Master Switch" of Wu's title). But Wu sees potential peril coming from a few quarters. Google -- which has become, effectively, the master switch through which many people negotiate with the Internet -- could defy its famous motto and go evil should it ever decide its survival requires "integration and the elimination of whatever competition it has." Apple, with the iPhone and iPad, devices that can run only Apple-approved apps, could use the seductive ease and aesthetics of such gadgets to maneuver itself into the role of content czar. And, above all, whoever owns the physical infrastructure through which we all connect to the Internet -- in most cases, the cable companies -- could decide to parlay that into control over what we see once we're connected.
Wu, a prominent champion of net neutrality, proposes what he calls "a Separation Principle for the information economy." He wants to see "those who develop information, those who own the network infrastructure on which it travels, and those who control the tools or venues of access ... kept apart from one another." He also wants the government to "keep its distance and not intervene in the market to favor any technology, network monopoly, or integration of the major functions of an information industry." This portion of the book, because it's theoretical and hypothetical, is considerably drier than the historical chapters, but since Wu sees the public and its notions of "information morality" as a key enforcer for his Separation Principle, most readers will be prepared to listen up.
Wu's proposal is eminently reasonable -- relying neither on the unfettered free market nor state management to fend off monopolistic schemes, but a flexible situation in which public authorities step in when needed to maintain the genuine competition that fosters innovation. Naturally, fundamentalists on either side will find much to criticize, and the book does contain a few errors. (He thinks Slate was "the first online magazine" -- tsk tsk.) By necessity, Wu can't provide in-depth histories of the ups and downs and ins and outs of all five of these complex communications industries. It's precisely the economy and common sense of "The Master Switch" that makes it valuable to the non-wonk wondering how we got where we are today, and where we might be headed next.
Laura Miller is the author of "The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia."
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Spieth Implementing New Strategy For Upcoming Season
Twitter/@SkySportsGolf
The 2015-16 PGA Tour season was by no means a failure for Jordan Spieth, but in comparison to his previous exploits, it certainly couldn't be considered a success. While his struggles in the biggest events are often seen as a result of his collapse on the back nine on Sunday at the Masters, Speith points even further back to the offseason leading into his 2016 schedule.
.@JordanSpieth is among golf's globetrotters this "off-season," writes @GolfweekMcCabe: https://t.co/hNf6EgIWxy pic.twitter.com/z1oVjw8wPI
— Golfweek Magazine (@GolfweekMag) November 18, 2015
Talking to Golf.com's Art Stricklin last week in Dallas, Spieth laid out what he believes affected him last year, and what he's changing in 2017 to guard against those same pitfalls.
"I just wanted an offseason. I needed some time off," Spieth told GOLF.com last week at the opening of Trinity Forest Golf Course in Dallas, the future site of the PGA Tour's Byron Nelson Championship in 2018 and home course of Spieth's longtime teacher, Cameron McCormick.
Spieth said the only events he intends to play the remainder of this year are the Australian Open, which he won in 2014 and tied for second in a year ago, and the Hero World Challenge, Tiger Woods's tournament, in early December.
"We'll just see how it goes from there," Spieth said. "I might do more, but I want to take it slow and see what happens."
That's a marked departure from his schedule a year ago. After his landmark 2014-15 season, Spieth circled the globe in search of tournament wins, exposure and appearance money. He played in five tournaments in five different countries from November 2015 to January 2016, with two separate trips to Asia. Last spring he admitted he was run down.
"I don't need that," Spieth said of his extensive travels. "I didn't miss it at all."
Spieth has greatly pulled back his holiday travel schedule, planning to only play in Australia next week at the Australian Masters, his first stroke-play tournament since the Tour Championship in September. Then, the only other tournament golf he has scheduled in 2016 is the 18-man Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas at the beginning of December.
Once the calendar flips, Spieth will defend his title at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the beginning of January before easing his way into the 2017 slate.
[Golf.com]
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Severe Weather Expected Wednesday & Thursday.
The National Weather Service is expecting severe weather today and tomorrow. This system can bring heavy rain, lightning and winds. If you can hear thunder you can be struck by lightning. You can find out more about this event at.
The Volusia county skywarn net is held on the 147.240+ T123 if there is a sever weather activation.


text:
Q: Which program to use to capture Java output as video I need to capture the output of a Java Swing program as video for the purpose of demonstration. I have tried Taksi video recorder and CamStudio, both of them are taking the video as a small rectangle starting from the left upper corner, and the rest of the screen being black.
I want the video to be fullscreen, how to do it?

A: Sometimes i'm using FF plug-in capture fox. A general purpose screen cast tool.
(Has nothing to do with Java at all.)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Each year, the Academy hosts a variety of events and programs to educate, inform and encourage members to strengthen connections within the Nashville medical community. Use the scrolling arrows below to view previous events or upcoming events with the Nashville Academy of Medicine.
February – December 2023 Feb – Dec 2023
Day on the Hill, NAM and TMA's annual policy briefing and lobby day in Nashville, connects physicians directly with lawmakers so they can advocate for their patients and discuss major issues affecting the medical profession in Tennessee. The 2023 Day on the Hill will be in-person on Tuesday, March 7.
Click here to register online.
Contact Rebecca Leslie with questions – rleslie@nashvillemedicine.org.
TMA House of Delegates @ Franklin Marriott Cool Springs
Apr 15 all-day
The TMA House of Delegates will convene in person on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at Franklin Marriott Cool Springs.
The Nashville Academy of Medicine will have one of the largest delegations in the state. If you would like to serve as a delegate, please email Rebecca Leslie at rleslie@nashvillemedicine.org for details.
The Big Payback benefiting MFN
May 9 – May 10 all-day
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee will be holding its 10th Annual The Big Payback on May 9th & 10th from 6pm to 6pm! MFN will be participating to allow our donors and partners to participate in this exciting day while supporting MFN. The Big Payback is a 24-hour online giving day that supports our community by coming together to lift up nonprofits so they may continue their extraordinary work in Middle Tennessee! We can't wait to celebrate A Decade of Giving with you!
Save the Date! 2023 Physicians Ball @ 14Tenn
2023 Holiday Open House


Published in Nebraska Anthropologist Vol. 17 (2001-2002). Copyright © Mary Cornelius; published by The University of Nebraska-Lincoln AnthroGroup.
Native American reservation schools have significantly higher dropout rates and lower graduation rates than the national average. Significant problems behind high dropout rates on Native American reservations in the United States include poverty, lack of support from elders and differing expectations and ways of communicating between teachers and students in the classroom. The history of Native American education includes many efforts at assimilation and the destruction of native cultural practices and languages. This still impedes today 's youth in that many elders still see schooling as a tool of assimilation and do not encourage or support success in what they see as the non-Indian world. Poverty and the lack of economic opportunities on many reservations discourage the effort needed to do well in school and complete an education, as jobs are often unavailable regardless of education.


text:
Kirk time perform adequately half male
As a parallel, it would be similar to a football team at the midfield line.
Jones showed off that explosiveness on several occasions in Seattle, ripping off three runs of 10 or more yards, all of which appeared to be close to breaking out for even bigger plays.
Among the non-endemic brands aligned with eSports are Coca-Cola, American Express and Nissan.
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This is for sure the best place I've been to that's on the western side of the world from Iceland.
Here's a complete guide to the Logan Paul vs.
We will continue to support 16 MLB teams at the local level.
Located in the Heart of Downtown New Orleans, Harrah's vision for development and commitment to the city mirror that of the Saints and Pelicans and we could not be happier about this partnership.
Looking at 2017, the San Francisco Deltas FC are joining as an expansion club, but replacements for the three departing clubs may not come until years down the road.
He got the rawest cosmic deal of his generation.
• CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman has resigned from his position days after he created a rift in the CrossFit community and unintentionally hurt many of its memberswith posts on social http://www.detroitapparels.com/21-Jersey detrimental to George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.
NBA 2K League has added four marketing partnerships: GameStop, Jostens, SAP and Tissot.
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All regular season events will have encore telecasts on NBCSN later the same night.
March Madness Live has continued to grow and become an important part of the way consumers interact with and follow the games.
So, how's Japan looking, as it steps onto the stage?
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K'Lavon Chaisson Edge LSU Jacksonville Jaguars 21.
Jean edged halfback Ode Burrell, also one of three third-round picks by the Packers in 1964, for the final two spots.
Stanford place second, according to the report driven by its 23 consecutive https://www.footballapparelsproshop.com/Pittsburgh-98-Jersey of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Learfield Directors Cup, presented annually to the university in the U.S.
Between 2014, the USL more than doubled in size to 29 teams.
He caught the ball in the high post and stood there for a while.
New York will have a lot to offer to fans, especially if the weather cooperates.
The roster is likely to include many of the other top-level players against whom Messi competes with and against on a regular basis, such as Dani Alves, José Manuel Pinto and Alexis Sanchez, plus Didier Drogba, Carlos Bocanegra, Alessandro Nesta and Radamel Falcao.
Many fans are projecting Bryan to take Malik Jackson's place but given Campbell's age and price tag I could see the front office parting ways with him sooner than expected.
We know that and we have to be aware of where he's at.
Raymond big or small your business might james
Up athletic brought in neil O'Donnell group coaching team


Iran: US war threats on Syria aimed at protection of Israel.
While the Iranian envoy to Beirut, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, stated during a meeting with the Lebanese Armenian Orthodox Church Leader, Aram I, that the US military threats against the Syrian nation are aimed at the protection of Israel in the Middle East, it seems that the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is so cheeky that he, although he lied about the "presence of Al-Qaeda in Syria" towards US congressmen in his response whether the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda is active in Syria, still thinks he can convince further European governments to support the Israeli-American war plans against Syria.
However, such a behaviour by politicians and especially by Israeli and US politicians, is already known. Why should I care about my chatter from yesterday? At least, many people still remember the lies, fabricated documents, and faked evidence in advance of the illegal war on Iraq.
Thus, an increasing number of people currently able to notice a similar process and even notice such incidents as the lie and statements by US Secretary of State John Kerry. Not to mention that normal people certainly are opposed to a war and know that a war will only increase the violence as well as the suffering of the people in the attacked country. Bombs cannot liberate people; already confirmed by many occasions and the United States were often a part of such incidents.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, Colin Powell 2.0, now seeks the support of more European governments for the US war plans against Syria. After U.S. President Barack Obama has failed to gain more support by the world leaders for "his" (better say – for the Saudi-Israeli-American) war plans against the Syrian government in Damascus at the G-20 summit in Russia.
After President Obama seems to be convinced that the upcoming vote on the resolution that will approve the US-led war on Syria will fail, US Secretary of State John Kerry has the order to convince more EU members about the American war plans against Syria. However, under consideration of the increasing number of Europeans who reject a war on Syria, the new job of John Kerry is certainly not so easy. But to be honest, it depends on the countries and the governments in Europe.
The intense lobbying efforts by US Secretary of State John Kerry in the US Congress under the pressure by the Israel Lobby and the regime in Tel Aviv, and with the revealing statement that Arab countries (probably Qatar and Saudi Arabia) will pay with petrodollars for the complete US-led invasion of Syria and the battles against the Syrian army, end in a trip to Europe.
While one has probably to honour the members of the US Congress who reject this war on Syria, it seems certain that US Secretary of State John Kerry will try to convince some more European governments about the US war plans against Syria – either by telling the truth, by the means of pressure or he will lie to them. A liar will not be believed even when he speaks the truth – and John Kerry lied.
That is already a fact. He lied in the direction of the faces of US congressmen.
Of course, the US administration in Washington knows very well that the European member states have different opinions about the possible US-led military strike on Damascus. Thus, it is no surprise that the reports say that the Obama administration "is already aware that there are divisions within the European Union (EU)" over a possible US-led attack on Syria. Perhaps US Secretary of State John Kerry will be able to remove some doubts, for example, at the Italian government.
In terms of the German government, they might publicly declare that Germany will not participate in a war on Syria, but behind the curtains, the German government and intelligence as well as the Germany armed forces already support the US-backed terrorists in Syria – almost since the beginning of the conflict in the Arab country. Thus, in case Washington launches its war on the secular government of President al-Assad in Damascus, Germany will be alongside them – just behind the curtains. There is a good reason why German soldiers and military equipment is already stationed at the Turkish-Syrian border and it is certainly not about the protection of Turkey.
John Powell, sorry, John Kerry will soon travel to Paris in order to hold talks with some French officials. However, the partly Zionistic administration of France is already "convinced" to support the US war plans against Syria. France will probably participate with troops and military equipment in a war on Damascus, while the UK and Denmark will only support such a war of aggression with other means and partly, just like Germany, behind closed curtains and conceal their machinations before their own population.
Of course, when Gulf Arabs pay, one has to meet them and to obey. Sounds like John Kerry would meet Netanyahu, but he is going to meet with key leaders of the Gulf-led Arab League (AL) in order to hold talks about the war plans on Syria and how to go on in terms of the support by more states and to better justify such military actions to/for the world public.
This case is partly dangerous (besides the war threats against Syria and the possible immediate launch of such a US-led attack on Damascus). It may happen that there will be another chemical attack or massacre under false flag in Syria next week.
However, if there will be another chemical attack or gruesome massacre on Syrian soil in the upcoming days, it would come as no surprise and is certainly again an act under false flag in order to get "better arguments" for the justification of the possible US-led strike on Damascus.
Barack Obama will (probably) receive a historical defeat at the vote of the US House of Representatives on the resolution that would permit his (the Saudi-Israeli-American…) war plans on Syria. Of course, there is still the possibility that the Obama administration will get enough votes for its "resolution for a war on Syria", but it currently does not look like this.
Many of the members of the US House of Representatives are either undecided or will certainly vote against a US-led war on Syria – and it does not matter whether the regimes in Saudi Arabia and Qatar will pay for the full-scale intervention in Syria or not. Some members of the US House of Representatives still remember the lies around the Iraq war and invasion and the consequences of the illogical and even counterproductive war policies of the recent US administrations in the past.
It remains to be seen whether US Liar of State, John Kerry, will be able to convince more European governments on the US plans of a war against Syria or not. So or so, it is certain that the U.S. administration is under a huge pressure to launch such a war on Syria, which will have dire consequences for the entire Middle East, for Israel and even for the United States in some levels. Not to mention that Syria is not so far away from Europe as some might think. And one has not even mentioned Iran, Russia, and China.
US President Obama serves the filthy rich sheiks – who financially support Al-Qaeda in the meantime.
Apropos Iran. The Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, said during a meeting with the Lebanese Armenian Orthodox Church Leader Aram I, that the US military threats against the government in Damascus and the Syrian nation are aimed at safeguarding the security of Israeli regime in Tel Aviv.
The Iranian envoy to Beirut and the Lebanese Armenian Orthodox Church Leader Aram discussed the recent developments in the Middle East as well as the increased possibility of a US-led war on Syria and the possible consequences and reactions for and by Arab countries in the region. However, they also discussed the possible reactions of the several resistance movements in the region and the warmongering of the regime in Israel.
The Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, also said during this meeting that the increasing international rejection of any US-led military strike against Syria and the statements for peace by the religious leaders would play a key role in raising the public awareness over global issues, particularly the need to oppose the use of military force against the Syrian nation.
The Lebanese Armenian Orthodox Church Leader Aram I said, for example, that the insecurity and the numerous problems of the Armenian people in the region, which they have already faced in the course of the recent developments, are calling for measures to prevent the possible outbreak of a horrible war in the Middle East. He urged all leaders on the world to try everything to prevent such a gruesome scenario of a full-scale war for the region.
true.. its just a "israeli issue" and as usual, they want US soldiers to die for them instead of their own people..
It's all about money, MK – – religious differences is jut the fig leaf.
If the EU is smart, they'll all stay home.
My letter to Obama, John Kerry, Congress and Representatives of the House.
How does it feel to play God? It looks like you are going to fulfill this prophecy of God about the total destruction of Damascus.
It is utterly and completely insane to attack Syria because some person or persons attacked their citizens with deadly chemicals. What kind of thinking is that and the rest of you all in our Government? Attacking Syria will kill way more innocent civilians there then the chemical attack that happened to them. This will end up bringing us into a major war, most likely World War III and the end of life as we know it today. I bet if you didn't have your bunkers to hide in you would think twice before starting up another war that can lead into hundreds of millions of innocent people dead due to the fact that it can spark off an all out worldwide nuclear war.
This is complete "Hypocrisy and Insanity" to bomb Syria and say it's to help the people there. It won't help anyone but our arms corporations and dealers and possibly pad a few more pockets full of cash in our Government. This is pretty scary. I wish I was born in a different country like Switzerland that minds their own business and doesn't get into wars all the time like we do here in the good old U.S.A. I use to love living here in America, growing up as a child; but now during the end times as the Bible has mentioned were in, has left me with total sorrow and upset. This is just so wrong of America to keep getting involved in wars in other countries and playing big brother.
I say we need to pull out of the U.N and run our own Government on an independent basis and never once attack another country again unless it first attacks us. I hope you can sleep well at night with your ideas of war because I sure can't sleep well at all knowing you might cause the end of our civilization as we know it today due to a possible all out nuclear war this can set off really fast.
How does it feel to play God? it looks like you are going to fulfill this prophecy of God about the total destruction of Damascus. I wish you and your loved ones all the best through these terrible times we are going through. You really have me and millions more people really upset and scared. The End is Near like it was in the days of the Roman Empire right before it collapsed.
Robert, I give those pogues about 2 weeks in the bunkers before they start killing each other. They know that what they are setting out to do is an abomination to God, we know it as well, and they know that we know – – Obama and the other lickspittles are giving the whole world the finger, including real Americans, like us. Never give up, Robert, Never. Since it's gotten to be public knowledge that the electronic voting machines are rigged do you know what I do on election day? I go to the range, then go to the house and clean my rifle.
Dumping the UN is not a new idea. Representative Larry MacDonald wrote a 2 page bill which would get us severed from the UN, World Bank and IMF, and 'they' killed him for it, aboard KAL 007. Some of us remember that the damned airplane just stooged around over Russian for some time, then finally left Russian airspace; the aircraft was shot down over Japanese waters. The Japanese Navy sortied, went to emergency military power, sounded general quarters and charged for the crash site, weapons free, ready for war. All 4 or 5 of their hopelessly outdated destroyers. Where was the American Navy? Tied alongside with no intention whatever of getting involved. I don't know why the Japanese turned back, and Japan has never trusted the US since. I don't blame them. Anyway, MacDonald was probably killed, but may have survived, since there were numerous reports of survivors but his bill disappeared, and there was no further action taken. If you type 'Rep. Larry MacDonald into your favorite search engine, you can probably find the original bill, somewhere. Now, MacDonald was, apparently, going to Seoul to meet with 'Scoop' Jackson, another proven patriot who returned to the US when the news of the crash got out, and very soon died of what appeared to be congestive heart failure. The point is that Americans, REAL Americans, never give up, and do everything they can to protect and defend the Constitution and the Republic; no one is calling for a violent uprising, so far as I know, but every time that you get your mitts on appropriate and relevant material, and 'four wind' it, you're doing something. Every time that some political rat is exposed for what he or she is, that's a positive.
Semper Fidelis, Robert, Always Faithful. At the time, the first thing a Marine recruit did upon acceptance AS a recruit, was to swear the oath of loyalty; politicians and governments were not mentioned, as being of secondary or terciary importance. The oath was never about them, always about the Constitution and the pledging of life and honor to defend it from all enemies, foreign and domestic. ALL enemies, Robert. That defense can take any number of forms from passing out FIJA material near the courthouse, or downloading things from the net to send to the four winds, to handing out 'Citizen's Rulebooks', the lawfully permitted burning of DVDs from 'alternative' media sites and passing them out, to something as simple as saluting the colors when the National Anthem is played before a game. Many times over the last several years I've been the only one on my feet, at attention, when the anthem was played; well, at first, then somebody else would stand up, then another, then others but that's the key, Robert; when one stands up, others will rise also. That's happening, guy, across our land and around the world. We may not live to see the day when American is once again free, but that's not important. What is important is that we were faithful to the end, and left that legacy for those coming behind us. Semper Fi, Robert. Never forget.
Arklight, I already thought about the bunkers and all those evil bastards hiding in them and fighting with one another and killing one another in their live graves filled with sin. That is all they know how to do it fight, kill and lie to everyone. These people in power are the lowest form of scum on this planet. I wish there was a way to grab them all up and put them behind bars. Than all us civilians could set up a court of real justice not being occupied by any corrupt officials to hold back any proceedings. Once they are all said to be guilty by our peers, they will all be given their last meal of the worst quality GMO laced oatmeal and allowed to sleep on cold concrete one night before execution time the following day. I would vote for the Electric Chair and take them all in one room to watch each one of their buddies being fried and it would be like a Doctors office where someone would walk out we appointed to the task to say NEXT and heard them all in one at a time like Cattle and free the world of their evilness.
Well, Robert, I'm sorry to say that here we have a difference of opinion. Personally, I favor a speedy, but fair, drumhead court, followed immediately by a 10 fo0t walk to the gallows.


text:
Q: Using Restkit with Swift I am trying to use RestKit in my Swift based project.
I do not seem to be able to use Swift primitive data types, like Int, Double, Bool and so on, except for String, Array and Dictionaries (which presumably is due to the fact, that they are toll-free bridged to NSString, NSArray and NSDictionary)
With objective-c I could define properties in my objects as being primitive datatypes as properties, which are assigned. In Swift I can only use objects (String, NSNumber, Array, Dictionary), otherwise the app crashes with "setValue:forUndefinedKey: this class is not key value coding-compliant for the key aBool".
Example:
Here's how my object would look like in Objective-C:
@interface TestObject : NSObject

@property (strong, nonatomic) NSString *aString;
@property (assign, nonatomic) BOOL aBool;
@property (assign, nonatomic) CGFloat aFloat;

@end

and the "equivalent" in Swift:
class TestObject:NSObject {

    var aString:NSString?
    var aBool:Bool?
    var aFloat:Double?

}

That crashes and while I do understand WHY it crashes, I would like to know, whether there is another workaround, than using NSNumber for Booleans, Integers and Floats, in the same way it works in Objective-C?
(If any of the RestKit developers are reading this: First of all thanks for your work and then: Are there any plans regarding Swift support / port to Swift?)

A: I am doing an app in Swift, and we started work in the summer of 2014, when Swift was quite new. I started using RestKit to handle REST communication with a server, and I have spent at least a full month with configuring RestKit for my use.
While I do not know your use case, I have found it easier to use Alamofire and SwiftyJSON for the work instead. It has saved me tons of hours. It also means that I am manually doing the conversion from dynamic types to the types in my entity objects, but the time spent doing that is far less than the time I previously spent trying to configure RestKit.
If this is not a viable way for you, you might want to have a look at the RKValueTransformer classes available in RestKit; in your RKObjectMapping you can specify your own transformers for individual properties. But again, I think the time is better spent with Alamofire and SwiftyJSON. They are native Swift libraries, after all.

A: For anyone who can't drop RestKit in a Swift project, this solution might be helpful.
In my case, the app was crashing because RestKit couldn't map "true"/"false" strings from the JSON to a Bool type in Swift.
I solved it adding another String attribute in my class and updating the wanted boolean value on its didSet method. In your case, this would be:
@objc class TestObject:NSObject {

    @objc var aString:NSString?
    @objc var aBool:Bool?
    @objc var aFloat:Double?

    @objc private var aBoolString: String? {
        didSet {
            self.aBool = aBoolString.lowercased() == "true"
        }
    }
}

Hope this helps!


We didn't really think the King of Comedy would go gently into the night, did we? That the Nutty Professor would just fade away after 83 years of making us laugh?
Forget it. This is Jerry Lewis we're talking about. He started working at 5 and hasn't stopped since. There's no quit in this guy.
Next month, the 88-year-old comedian will be coming to L.A. to appear at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills (the old Wilshire Theatre) for a 2½-hour show that may last all night.
It all depends on the audience, Lewis says. When they run out of questions for him, he'll go home.
"I'm sitting here preparing for the show like it's a 15-week engagement," he quips last week from his office in his 10,000-square-foot home just off the Las Vegas strip — a six minute drive to the nearest black jack and craps table.
"I love to gamble," says the man whose whole life has been one big gamble.
The word is Lewis is a tough interview. He doesn't suffer fools lightly. His record for the shortest sit-down with a reporter is under one minute. An out-of-town entertainment writer asked him what he was doing in Vegas?
Lewis shot back, "I've lived here for 36 years, schmuck." End of interview. Next time do your homework, pal.
I lasted an hour and felt like I had just gone 10 rounds with Joe Louis.
His two Chihuahua's — Paully (Dean Martin's middle name was Paul) and Rocky (named after a Muscular Dystrophy Association poster child) — roam the rooms while Callie, a rescue cat that Jerry and his wife of 31 years, SanDee, found on the streets is lying on the couch like she owns the place.
Meanwhile, Lewis is busy in his office doing what he does best — working on material.
"People are going to be paying good money to sit in that theater, and I'm going to be perfect," he says, opening a red, loose-leaf binder of old film clips from his days with Dean Martin, along with jokes, songs, and skits he'll be performing.
"I'm too old for pratfalls anymore but I promise the audience will be absolutely enthralled at how quietly I sit," he jokes.
His voice is strong, his patented funny faces still get a laugh, and his jokes are timeless. The only concession to age is a pair of earphones he wears during the interview to amplify sound.
"I said 'I'm in room 713.' " Bada-boom.
"The best comedy today comes from regular people," he continues. "I like to watch all those shows that shouldn't be on the air — reality shows. Some of them are hysterical, like that one about the fat people — "Born Losers" (The Biggest Loser).
He still feels deep regrets about never finishing the job he had for 61 years hosting the MDA telethon and raising more than $2.6 billion to find a cure for muscular dystrophy.
"I have children I talk to on the phone maybe once a month, but there are another dozen or so I've been very close with," he says of Jerry's Kids. "I've got one boy who laughs so hard we can't get into a discussion.
"And I say, 'well, you're probably never gonna so don't bug me.' He gets hysterical laughing. Nobody talks to him that way.
Lewis leans back in his chair and takes a deep breath — the tough guy façade cracking just a little.
"It hurts my heart because I gotta know that everyone of those children knew I had to do what I did. And I think they do. There was too much internal crap going on and I could not continue working with people I didn't trust.
And now the fire in his belly is honing in on another cause. Wounded Warriors.
"I'm watching television one night about six months ago, and they had footage of this young man lying back with his baby on his chest," Lewis says. "The camera tilts down and he has no legs.
"He told the story of going to the Veteran's Administration and having waited for four days before someone acknowledged his presence, much less took care of him. I want to know why the government of this country can't take care of the people who are keeping us safe?" Lewis says.
He wants to do a 20-hour telethon for the Wounded Warrior program with eight big name entertainers hosting in eight cities, and intercutting with Lewis in Las Vegas.
"I've already got a nod from George Clooney and Billy Crystal," he says. "I want the population of the United States to understand that if they all gave me a quarter I can deliver to the VA somewhere around $72 million dollars.
The walls in his showroom of an office are covered with family pictures, movie posters, humanitarian awards and photographs of him with the man he will forever be joined at the hip with in the public's mind — Dean Martin.
Martin and Lewis — the suave Italian singer/straight man and the zany Jewish kid who couldn't sit still. Their split after 10 years as the top comedy team in show business was painful for both of them, but it was time they pursued their separate careers.
In his 2005 book, "Dean and Me — A Love Story," Lewis has nothing but praise for his old pal who died in 1995.
"I rode on a train from L.A. to New York — the Chief — and wrote probably 30 pages of material for our act at the Copa one year," Lewis says. "I took Dean to the studio that night and in four hours he had it locked.
As always, he'll be nervous standing in the wings before the show at the Saban on Oct. 10, but the minute he walks on stage and hears that applause the nerves are gone.
"My dad used to say if you don't get nervous, you don't care," Lewis says. "When I hear that first applause, my heart spreads across my chest, and I'm as happy as a pig in s..t!
We didn't really think the King of Comedy would go gently into the night, did we?


I plan on rocking in the New Year in Rift. Anyone in for some activity. We could do an old raid, major rifts, anything really... Ideas?
I have a bunch of fireworks made up, so we could always get together and shoot off fireworks. We'd just need to figure out an ideal spot to not deal with mobs. Maybe I'll explore some and find a few good locations.
I'm thinking shoreward isle would be a good spot, if people want to gather up and shoot off fireworks and such.


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text:
Nick Viall & Vanessa Grimaldi End Their Engagement
Story from Pop Culture
Rebecca Farley
Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images.
Nick Viall and Vanessa Grimaldi, the duo that got engaged on the most recent season of The Bachelor, have ended their engagement. In a statement to E! News, the Bachelor couple announced their split.
"It's with a great amount of heartbreak for the both us as we have decided to end our engagement," the statement reads. "We gave this relationship our all and we are saddened that we did not get the fairytale ending we hoped for. We will continue to be there for each other no matter what. This hasn't been an easy decision, however, as we part ways, we do so with lots of love and admiration for each other."
As of late July, the couple was still together, although Nick Viall told reporters that it's "important to take things slow." Grimaldi, who was 29 when Viall's Bachelor season started, moved from her native Montreal to Los Angeles to be with the reality television star. (Viall is now also a entrepreneur. He started a mail order business called "The Polished Gent," which sells men's grooming products.) Grimaldi was also recently announced as the host of a Facebook Live beauty series called freeSTYLE.
In June, Viall, 36, admitted that relationships within Bachelor Nation can be difficult — a confusing statement, given that the franchise is meant to sow love.
"Being a part of the Bachelor world and dating in the real world, it's… relationships are hard. And a lot of relationships, unfortunately, don't work out," he told E! News.
He continued, "Some relationships, if you're lucky, do. And that's the same outside of the Bachelor world and that's the same in the Bachelor world. Ben and Lauren, we had a chance to hang out with a little bit. They're great people, and I know they both gave it their all in that relationship."
Viall is referencing Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell, another Bachelor couple. They broke up in May of 2017.
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The Bachelor Nick Viall Vanessa Grimaldi Break Up
Pop Culture • Celebrity Couples • Entertainment • News • The Bachelor
written by Rebecca Farley
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text:
Number of crimes against property Philippines 2019, by type of index crime
Published by Martha Jean Sanchez, Sep 15, 2020
In 2019, the number of theft incidents in the Philippines amounted to approximately 22.5 thousand. On the other hand, the carnapping of motor vehicles in the country amounted to 353.
Total number of crimes against properties in the Philippines in 2019, by type of index crime* (in 1,000 incidents)
Number of crime incidents in thousands
*Index crimes are crimes considered serious in nature and occurring with sufficient frequency and regularity that they are considered index to the crime situation in a given area (i.e. murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, robbery, theft and carnapping). On the other hand, non-index crimes are crimes in violation of special laws.
The source does not provide a publication date. Publication date is the same as the initial accessed date.
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Crime in the Philippines Cyber crime in India Crime in Singapore Crime in Asia Pacific
Department of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines). (September 8, 2020). Total number of crimes against properties in the Philippines in 2019, by type of index crime* (in 1,000 incidents) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved January 17, 2021, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1170818/philippines-number-crimes-against-property-by-type-of-index-crime/
Department of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines). "Total number of crimes against properties in the Philippines in 2019, by type of index crime* (in 1,000 incidents)." Chart. September 8, 2020. Statista. Accessed January 17, 2021. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1170818/philippines-number-crimes-against-property-by-type-of-index-crime/
Department of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines). (2020). Total number of crimes against properties in the Philippines in 2019, by type of index crime* (in 1,000 incidents). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: January 17, 2021. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1170818/philippines-number-crimes-against-property-by-type-of-index-crime/
Department of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines). "Total Number of Crimes against Properties in The Philippines in 2019, by Type of Index Crime* (in 1,000 Incidents)." Statista, Statista Inc., 8 Sep 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1170818/philippines-number-crimes-against-property-by-type-of-index-crime/
Department of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines), Total number of crimes against properties in the Philippines in 2019, by type of index crime* (in 1,000 incidents) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1170818/philippines-number-crimes-against-property-by-type-of-index-crime/ (last visited January 17, 2021)


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Does the Israeli Army Plant Knives on Palestinians?
To the Israeli ear the allegation sounds far-fetched. Israelis find it hard to believe that our soldiers and commanders could lie, until it's proven otherwise by security footage or photos.


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Prepare the white cake according to the directions on the box, adding the sour cream and vanilla. Bake in a 10 inch round baking pan and cool the cake completely.
For the lemon cream filling, whip cream until stiff peaks form, then fold in the mascarpone, sifted powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest of half the lemon. For the crumb topping, combine 3/4 cup of the lemon cake mix with the melted butter to make a crumb topping. To assemble the cake, cut the white cake in half to spread the lemon cream filling between the two layers of white cake. Frost the top of the cake with a thin layer of cream filling and sprinkle the crumb topping.
The secret is the mascarpone cheese.
544 calories, 34 grams fat, 55 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams protein per serving.


text:
George Best
The Chronicle has the obit: George Best: 1946-2005.
The handful of soccer players I heard about growing up — a very small group — included Pele and George Best. I remember reading something about Best in Sports Illustrated once. His exploits for Manchester United were described as little short of incredible. Nice article, but it didn't mean much because soccer wasn't a U.S. game and I never got to see him play. But following scraps of career news over the years — I took an interest from afar because he was Irish — I knew that alcoholism had cut short his brilliance.
Two bits from the obit worth noting:
" 'I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars,' he once said. 'The rest I just squandered.' "
"Best had battled alcoholism for decades and was diagnosed with severe liver damage in 2000. He received a liver transplant in 2002 but later resumed drinking."
The American sports star who comes immediately to mind is another preternaturally gifted athlete and helpless boozer whom the fans never stopped adoring: Mickey Mantle.
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KDFM Audit Key is a USB device that quickly and easily provides a snapshot of all the devices on a network, along with detailed meter readings. When you are visiting a customer for the very first time, you no longer need to spend time walking round the entire building, locating all the printers and recording the meter information for each.
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text:
Alexandre Girardet (* 22. Mai 1767 in Le Locle; † 15. Juni 1836 in Neuchâtel) war ein Schweizer Radierer, Zeichner und Aquarellist.

Leben
Alexandre Girardet wurde als Sohn des Buchhändlers und Verlegers Samuel Girardet (1730–1807) und der Marie-Anne Bourquin geboren. Er war der Bruder von Abraham Girardet, Abraham Louis Girardet und Charles  Girardet. Er heiratete Catherine Guian oder Guion.

Alexandre Girardet zog nach 1783 zu seinem Bruder Abraham nach Paris und wurde unter dessen Leitung tätig. Er signierte seine Radierungen mit A.-G. le jeune, um sie von den Werken seines Bruders zu unterscheiden. Er malte auch Bilder in Öl und Aquarell. Er illustrierte u. a. das Bilderbuch La Suisse Romande.

1792 kehrte er mit Abraham in die Schweiz nach Neuchâtel zurück und wurde dort 1794, als sein Bruder wieder nach Paris ging, dessen Nachfolger als Zeichenlehrer. Aufgrund einer Geisteskrankheit musste er auf die pädagogische Tätigkeit 1801 verzichten. Allmählich gab er auch die Kunst auf. Seine Werke behalten dank ihrer Detailtreue und der Präzision der Wiedergabe ihre Bedeutung als Dokumente ihrer Epoche.

Literatur

 Maurice Boy de la Tour: La gravure neuchâteloise. Delachaux & Niestlé, Neuchâtel 1928.
 René Burnand: L'étonnante histoire des Girardet. Artistes suisses. La Baconnière, Neuenburg 1940.
 Les Girardet. Trois générations d'artistes neuchâtelois XVIIIe et XIXe siècles. Peinture, gravures, dessins. Exposition, Le Locle, Musée des Beaux-Arts, 23 mai – 18 juillet 1948. Le Locle 1948.
 René Burnand: Les Girardet au Locle et dans le monde. La Baconnière, Neuenburg 1957.
 Jean-Pierre Jelmini u. a.: L'art neuchâtelois. Deux siècles de création. G. Attinger, Hauterive, NE 1992, ISBN 2-88256-058-3.

Weblinks

Alexandre
Maler (Paris)
Maler (Schweiz)
Radierer (Schweiz)
Person (Neuenburg NE)
Schweizer
Geboren 1767
Gestorben 1836
Mann

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