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Info & Media Center
IR Publications
a~inside Story28.04.2021
When "Sudel-Ede" worked for Springer
The 33-year-old Axel Springer began his career as a publisher 75 years ago with the "Nordwestdeutsche Hefte". The magazine championed plurality and sales boomed. One of the authors was Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler.
The lesson plan at the school of broadcaster Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR) had no shortage of interesting content. The schedule for the first week of March, 1947, for example, had "listening and critical examination" of the "Echo des Tages" show. Axel Springer was scheduled as the lecturer at 12 pm on March 4.
The 33-year-old had re-established the family publishing house Hammerich & Lesser with his father the year before and launched a company bearing his name. He had found immediate success with his first publication, the "Nordwestdeutsche Hefte", in April 1946 and had followed it up with the radio program guide "Hör zu!" in December. Reason enough to have him speak about the development of publishing houses. Following him was a certain "v. Schnitzler." His topic: "'Roundtable' preparation and production."
The man in question was the later propagandist of GDR television, Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler, who would achieve dubious renown with his TV show "Der Schwarze Kanal". On the show, which ran until 1989, Schnitzler dissected decontextualized passages from West German television to demonstrate the alleged reprehensibility of the capitalist system. One of his favorite enemies in the "FRG" – Schnitzler bitingly stressed every letter – was Axel Springer.
Syllabus of the broadcasting school from March 1947 © Unternehmensarchiv der Axel Springer SE
However, 75 years ago there were definitely points of contact – and even cooperation. Springer and Schnitzler were not only lecturers at the broadcasting school in Hamburg. Axel Springer also printed texts by Schnitzler in the "Nordwestdeutsche Hefte". In view of the later venomous tirades that would earn him the nickname "Sudel-Ede" – Mudslinging Ed – it is unsurprising that Schnitzler had little to say about the time. His memoirs on these early days included no mention of the connection. But the evidence is there.
The otherwise seemingly nondescript monthly magazine offered broadcasts from the British radio station in northern Germany, the NWDR, in written form, an idea proposed by the occupying power that was modeled on the BBC's weekly magazine "The Listener." Audio cassettes didn't exist back then, and the tapes were simply too expensive to be archived. So the shows were printed. Through the printed material, the British aimed to expand their instruments of reeducation, by which they meant reacquainting the German population with democratic customs.
The publisher at the right time at the right place
Axel Springer had already made a name for himself as a determined and eloquent young entrepreneur who was constantly tackling new newspaper projects, notwithstanding the fact that the British had repeatedly refused to grant him a license in 1946. Among other reasons, at the time private publishers were not yet allowed to publish political dailies. Peter von Zahn, commentator at NWDR and one of the people responsible for the "Nordwestdeutsche Hefte" raved about Springer's charm: "a finely balanced blend of wit, flattery, expertise and disarming self-deprecation."
The "Nordwestdeutsche Hefte" was a success for Axel Springer in many different respects. He was able to prove himself as a publisher as well as to link print and broadcasting – the most effective mass medium of the time. In addition, there was still little competition in Hamburg due to the paper shortage, and the cooperation with the British ensured him supplies. Circulation was around 100,000 copies by the end of 1946, generating a profit of 400,000 Reichsmarks, aided by the fact that the NWDR only charged 1,000 Reichsmarks in license fees per issue and the content was supplied free of charge by the broadcaster, as Kai-Axel Aanderud writes in his book "Axel Springer und die deutsche Einheit". And Axel Springer was accompanied by trusted comrades-in-arms: In addition to Zahn, prominent radio commentator Axel Eggebrecht and Walther Hansemann, Springer's journalistic mentor, were at Springer's side.
British license for the "Nordwestdeutsche Hefte" and first edition © Unternehmensarchiv der Axel Springer SE
Today, it is scarcely possible to imagine the difficult conditions under which the Hefte were created. The first issues were produced in a former flak bunker at Heiligengeistfeld. In order to use the rooms as offices, window openings had been blasted out of the thick walls. Power outages were a constant irritant. Axel Springer repeatedly asked the building administration for reasonable offices for the publishing house. The head of the office at that time was Senator Gerd Bucerius, who was also the publisher of the weekly newspaper "DIE ZEIT".
Axel Springer in his home office
When necessary, Axel Springer often worked from home. But the home office also had its pitfalls. The publisher repeatedly exceeded the electricity allotment, as evidenced by letters to the Hamburg power utility. To get the desired increase, a touch of hyperbole was applied. The publishing house, he wrote, was "one of the most important in the British zone". And as a publisher, Springer added, he would also have to host larger groups of people in the evenings, or use the time for intellectual concentration. By the end of 1946, the publishing house employed around 100 people.
A letter of June 18, 1946 to the housing authority of Grossflottbek-Othmarschen contains almost identical formulations. The housing authority refused to allow Springer to use the walk-in closet of his apartment as a work room. For the Springer family of three (publisher, wife and son Axel Springer Jr.), decided the authority, two rooms with a total size of over 72 square meters were sufficient. In view of the housing shortage, Springer was faced with a quartering order. But the authority did offer some flexibility: Springer was invited to "propose someone personally".
The first publications were created in a former flak bunker at Heiligengeistfeld © Unternehmensarchiv der Axel Springer SE
The early difficulties did not hinder the success of the "Nordwestdeutsche Hefte," however. Orders were so plentiful that they could not fulfill all of the subscription requests. Even in the East there were loyal readers. The head of the Archive for Popular Music in Halle, a frequent reader, was effusive in his praise: "Your Nordwestdeutsche Hefte is undoubtedly, in today's post-war Germany, the most sophisticated and substantial monthly paper I know of." It was not well received by the authorities in the soviet sector, however. The Saxon police forbade its distribution in circulating libraries in Görlitz and finally banned distribution altogether at the end of 1947.
"A remarkable pluralism"
What made it a success? One thing was the incredible hunger for new reading material after twelve years of Nazi propaganda. And there was also the variety of political, social and cultural topics, written by good authors. Indeed, the very first issue, which was printed in March 1946 and distributed in April, contained the typical Springer mixture: it was politically compelling with the "Retrospective on the Third Reich," culturally engaging with "Painting and Sculpture Today" and eminently practical with a piece on the question, "How do we overcome the marriage crisis?" In his academic work on the business life of Axel Springer, Tim von Armin finds the "Nordwestdeutsche Hefte" characterized by a remarkable pluralism. And not just because of the content. The paper would have printed authors of all ideological stripes virtually uncensored.
Co-editor Peter von Zahn at the microphone © Unternehmensarchiv der Axel Springer SE
Axel Springer at the radio microphone © Unternehmensarchiv der Axel Springer SE
Which brings us back to Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler. Born in Berlin in 1918, six years after Axel Springer, Schnitzler grew up in Cologne. His father, an acquaintance of Adenauer's, was a civil servant in the Foreign Office. Schnitzler also met the conservative journalist Hans Zehrer, a close confidant of Axel Springer's after the war, in his family home. Zehrer prepared the daily newspaper "DIE WELT", which was published by the British from 1946, and would serve as its editor-in-chief for many years after Springer bought the paper in 1953.
Influenced by his older brother, Schnitzler joined the Socialist Workers Youth in 1932. As a soldier in the war, he was captured by the British in 1944. Employees of the BBC's German Service, where communists who had fled into exile also worked, discovered Schnitzler's journalistic talent and gave him a chance.
After 1945, Hugh Carlton Greene, head of the German Service and now the British Chief Controller of the newly founded broadcaster Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, obtained Schnitzler's early release from captivity in order to employ him at the NWDR in Hamburg. There Schnitzler worked on the broadcast series "Sind wir auf dem richtigen Wege?" ("Are we off the right track?"), for which Peter von Zahn was responsible. Schnitzler slipped into the role of the ill-used young man by the NS-regime, which was not the case at all, and demanded insight and self-examination from himself and his listeners. In January 1946, he moved to the NWDR broadcasting station in Cologne as head of the "Aktuelles Wort" department, which consisted only of him."
Karl-Eduard Schnitzler on the air © Unternehmensarchiv der Axel Springer SE
His first text in the "Nordwestdeutsche Hefte" appeared in issue 3 in 1946. Schnitzler outlined in broad strokes the responsibility of former Field Marshal and Reich President Hindenburg for the decline of the Weimar Republic and Hitler's rise to power. In contrast to the common opinion that the aged Hindenburg had been taken advantage of, Schnitzler described him as a "clear representative of the interests" of the National Socialists.
Schnitzler's first text plagiarized
The text stoked a bit of an uproar. At first Schnitzler complained to Axel Springer that they had forgotten the "Karl" in his first name. In addition, the article had been shortened without his knowledge, and in Schnitzler's opinion omitted the very passages that were important to him. More serious, however, was the fact that Schnitzler's text turned out to be plagiarized from the essay "Hindenburglegende". The Berlin CDU politician Ferdinand Friedensburg had published the essay in September 1945 in the cultural-political monthly "Aufbau". Schnitzler had listed some works in the preface of his text that had inspired him. Friedensburg was not among them, however.
The editors, of course, were little pleased to have a dubious shadow cast on the "Nordwestdeutsche Hefte" right out of the gates. And they were stunned by Schnitzler's brazen excuse when he was confronted with the evidence of his plagiarism. He claimed he had drawn on his photographic memory, Zahn recalled. According to Schnitzler, whole pages stick with him so firmly "that he sometimes can no longer tell whether he came up with the text on his own steam or if it was the fruit of someone else's labor".
Despite the faux pas, the "Hefte" printed two more texts. Schnitzler was regarded as having a distinctive voice. In its 2nd issue in 1947 "Hör zu!" captioned his picture thus: "His suggestive, frank language and the down-to-earth quality of his political radio episodes have earned him many friends among the listening public, though his often sharp polemics against the backward forces of German history in the last century have also gained him many enemies." Axel Springer was evidently a fan.
Schnitzler goes east with some parting shots
Schnitzler's penchant for polemics was also evident in issue 6/47. Under the heading "Sin of the Nations", he called on the world to do everything in its power to finally break the endless succession of wars, interrupted only by brief phases of peace: "The chain of wars must now break; we must learn to think in new ways!" In issue 9/47, Schnitzler addressed the topic of "Revenge and Retribution in Politics". He reminded readers of the crimes committed by the Germans and urged them to put aside feelings of hatred and revenge. It was time, he said, to be honestly self-critical: "We Germans in particular, who expect not mercy but justice, should put ourselves at the service of this justice and bring it to our neighbors." Admitting guilt would lead to forgiveness, he wrote.
Article by Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler in the "Nordwestdeutsche Hefte," issue 9/47 © Unternehmensarchiv der Axel Springer SE
By this time Schnitzler's fate with NWDR was already sealed, a denouement that he later described as "revenge and retaliation by the broadcaster". Schnitzler had used his position at the Cologne radio station to establish contacts with Communist Party functionaries and to position sympathizers. Hugh Carlton Greene and Peter von Zahn transferred him to Hamburg on probation (and with a pay rise), but he was rarely given the chance to go on air there. In November 1947, he was sacked.
Schnitzler then went to East Berlin. From there he accused Greene of having promoted former Nazis in the NWDR and demanded an anti-Soviet and anti-Communist attitude from editors. He also characterized accusations that he had pursued "one-sided communist politics" in his broadcasts as groundless. In point of fact, Schnitzler would confirm exactly that in his memoirs. Schnitzler was supported in his effort by the SED's central paper "Neues Deutschland", which ran his complaint under the title "Democrats Unwanted at NWDR".
For his part, Axel Springer never commented publicly on the episode with Karl-Eduard v. Schnitzler. And he was, of course, able to follow the SED chief propagandist's opinion of his journalistic work on the "Schwarze Kanal". Schnitzler would soon forget the old motto of fairness toward one's neighbors. When publisher Axel Springer died on September 22, 1985, Schnitzler had only mockery to offer. Commenting on the words of the news reader on West Germany's news program Tagesschau – "The media landscape and the political landscape, will look different without this man" – Schnitzler had this to say: "I don't think so, unfortunately no." He himself died 16 years later, also in September, in 2001.
Axel Springer and Peter von Zahn: Reunion at the Berlin publishing house © Unternehmensarchiv der Axel Springer SE
As for the "Nordwestdeutsche Hefte", Armin's study found that publisher Axel Springer quickly grasped the limited market potential of a monthly magazine. He therefore converted the magazine from the so-called handbag format to a larger illustrated format and expanded the range of topics to make it more appealing to the masses. As competition grew with the discontinuation of licensing, Axel Springer oriented the "Hefte" even more in the direction of illustrated magazines and renamed it "Kristall" in 1948. In 1966, the product was finally discontinued after 20 years.
Lars-Broder KeilHead of Corporate Archive
From 2001 to 2018 Lars-Broder Keil was an editor in the domestic politics section of the WELT Group with a focus on contemporary history. Since June 2018 he has been employed in the company archive, where he has been in charge since July 1, 2019.
lars-broder.keil@axelspringer.com+49 30 2591 73612
Axel Springer, Home of Journalism
Journalismus war und ist stets Herzkammer unseres Unternehmens
From London with Brand Love
Job searches are not a big source of enthusiasm for most people. StepStone would like to change that. To do so, Diana Augustin and her team are developing an integrated marketing strategy for the job platform. Her focus also includes people who aren't even looking for a job yet – like the three chancellor candidates to whom StepStone gave a compelling tip before the federal election.
Classifieds Media
Axel Springer is the media and tech company.


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10 hilarious metal covers of top 40 pop songs
OK, it's about time we admit it: YouTube user Andy Rehfeldt is a loboto visionary. It's evident dude's a metalhead, but he also has no respect for genre conventions or boundaries—and that's how he created, with vocal work from a few friends, hilarious-cum-profound death metal Justin Bieber covers, Disney-fied versions of Slipknot tracks, Polka reboots of Chris Brown, and jazzy Rage Against the Machine ditties. He bastardizes, ruins, and improves songs simultaneously—and through his covers, we learn a little bit more about pop music. (Like, for example, how Coldplay essentially write power ballads, only with pianos.) So, Andy, keep doing what you do. Here are 10 of his covers of classic pop songs.
Culture Club – "Karma Chameleon"
The grainy, VHS quality of the video only adds to the creepiness of this death metal cover.
Ke$ha – "Die Young"
Ke$ha's vocals over top of metal guitars have us believing that, if she chose to pursue it, miss Sebert could have a long, long career in nü metal. Also, the breakdown at 1:40, with dancers in skull-themed face paint? Shit is hard.
Elvis Presley — "Blue Suede Shoes"
The blend of suggestive gyrating and Cookie Monster vocals makes Elvis somehow sexier.
Let's be honest: This sounds like whatever hard rock band played Edgefest in 2004.
Carly Rae Jepsen – "Call Me Maybe"
This is what Skye Sweetnam's metal band should sound like.
Maroon 5 – "Moves Like Jagger"
The smooth, sultry vocals and glossy guitars—not to mention the fact that it's paired with a runway video—makes this sound like an Econoline Crush b-side. Gross.
Miley Cyrus – "Wrecking Ball"
Who knew that nip pasties and absolutely vile vocals were such a power couple?
The Archies – "Sugar, Sugar"
We're digging the strained-vocal metalcore vibe of "Sugar Sugar." And since we're on the topic of Archie, we're thinking that Moose would be such a classic hardcore frontman.
Paul McCartney – "Eleanor Rigby"
The soaring chorus of "Eleanor Rigby" doesn't lose any of its sheen when it's backed by hard-strummed palm muting.
Bee Gees – "How Deep is Your Love"
Think Bee Gees fans would dig this death metal cover? We'd wager no. But we do.
Tags: Music, News, WTF, Carly Rae Jepsen, Coldplay, Elvis Presley, kesha, Maroon 5, Miley Cyrus
Watch the 2016 Polaris Music Prize Gala live at 8:00 pm ET
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13 chiptune cover songs to celebrate Nintendo Game Boy's 25th birthday

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Afghan women activists protest against Taliban's new burqa decree
Deepa Parent
Several religious scholars say the burqa is a Taliban dress code designed to repress women. Photo: AP/UNB
Women's rights activists march in Kabul against new face-covering order, despite threats and risk of imprisonment from Taliban
"You are all loose women for protesting against the burqa. Why don't you want to cover your bodies? You are not Muslims," a Taliban fighter yelled at Zoya* when she led a march of 20 women in Kabul on Tuesday. Zoya, 38, a women's rights activist and mother of five, was protesting against the controversial burqa decree issued by the Taliban last Saturday.
The decree says that women must cover their face in public, by wearing either the head-to-toe burqa, which has a grille for the face, or the niqab, which covers the face except for an opening for the eyes. Most women in Afghanistan wear a head covering but do not cover their face, though women in rural areas tend to dress more conservatively.
It's the latest addition to the raft of restrictions imposed by the Taliban since they took over Afghanistan last August. Women are barred from seeking employment, except in jobs that can only be filled by female employees (such as midwives, dressmakers and some administrative roles); and girls between grades 7-12 have been banned from going to secondary school.
The edict, issued by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, has alarmed not only the women of Afghanistan, but also the international community, which condemned the newest suppression of women's rights in the country. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it is "deeply concerned" by the move.
Zoya and other women activists mobilised as soon as they heard rumours about the new edict, one day before it was announced. As soon as the women started their demonstration in the capital, carrying placards that read 'No to obligatory burqa' and 'The burqa is not our hijab', they were confronted by Taliban fighters carrying guns.
"They screamed at us. They were pointing guns and threatened to attack some of the protestors. They called us loose women with no morals or character. You could translate that to the worst word you can use for women in English. That's what they said," explained a distraught Zoya.
"One of the Talibs turned towards a protester, who he knew was Pashtun, and asked why she was joining a protest with women like us, Tajiks, who are not Muslims. It was terrible. We were detained for two hours, questioned, threatened, and warned that if we continue, we will be imprisoned for these protests."
Samira*, 25, another women's rights activist, also demonstrated in Kabul against the new decree, on Monday. She explained what happened: "We can't just sit down and accept these restrictions imposed on us by the Taliban. They can't just suppress our voices. At 10am, I reached a park and spoke to the women there, and asked if they would join my protest against the Taliban. I was honestly surprised that they agreed, given the recent news of abductions and forced disappearances of women protestors. We stood together and demanded our rights."
Samira's life changed overnight when Kabul fell. Previously, she ran a successful clothing business in Kabul, alongside two male business partners. As soon as the Taliban took control of the city, it was announced that women must stop working and should be accompanied by mehrams (male relatives). "I had two men as business partners and we weren't allowed to work together anymore. I was forced to shut my enterprise. I was also setting up a little restaurant. They've made me change my life enough. I can't let them rule over my choices of clothing," said Samira.
Zoya worked for 18 years as a teacher, but lost her job when the Taliban closed schools for older girls. She wants to speak up for the rights of girls who are banned from classrooms and for the women of Afghanistan whose voices are being silenced. "We went back 20 years to the day the Taliban arrived here. My three daughters can't go to school. If I don't fight for them today, who else will?," asked Zoya. There are no restrictions on her two school-age sons.
Samira, Zoya and the dozens of other activists who protested unanimously reject the new rule. "We do not and will not wear a burqa. We already wear a hijab, which is our choice," said Zoya.
In a similarly defiant tone, Samira added: "You can't just make half of the population of the country disappear. We will defy these restrictions and only we women can choose what we want to wear. All I'm asking for is for the Taliban to change these rules and give us our freedom. For now, I won't wear it, even if they threaten to kill me."
Family support - including from men
As part of the new decree, the Taliban also announced that it will arrest male relatives of women who refuse to cover themselves from head to toe. Despite these threats, Zoya and Samira chose to stand against the Taliban. Zoya said: "My husband and male members of my family asked me to avoid these protests initially, but now they have decided to support my fight for women's rights. The men and women of Afghanistan have united in opposing this regime. We don't want them to rule us."
Seconding Zoya's stand, Samira added: "It's the same in my family too. My mother is worried for my safety and has asked me to avoid the protests. But at the end of the day, they're supportive of my choices and understand that if we don't unite against this rule, nothing will change in our beautiful motherland."
Women rights activists have faced threats ever since they marched on the streets, a few days after the Taliban first banned women from working. One of the most outspoken civil rights activists who led these protests is Hoda Khamosh, who represented Afghan women at talks on the humanitarian crisis in Oslo. In January 2022, sitting across from a table of Taliban officials, Khamosh stood up and demanded they call Kabul and release jailed protestors.
Speaking this week about the mandatory face veil decree, Khamosh said: "No one has recognised the Taliban as a government and all the promises they've made in international summits have not been kept yet. They're not only not stopping targeted killings, but are also trying to erase women from society. By imposing this rule they're trying to shut women within four walls. The Taliban are doing this because it was us women who stood against them. They believe women are slaves and aren't humans. They think we exist only to marry and have babies with. The Taliban don't think we're capable of doing anything else."
Khamosh's demands against the Taliban in Oslo were in response to forced killings, abductions and raids, which continue to grab headlines. Last September, female protestors and women's rights activists who protested against the ban on education and employment were beaten by the Taliban in Kabul and Herat.
However, these encounters and violent threats have failed to shake the will of Afghanistan's women. "If they think we will stop protesting after yesterday's verbal abuse, they're mistaken." said Zoya. "I am fighting for the future of my daughters and many others in our country. We plan to march again. Not only against the burqa decree, but also for education, hunger, poverty and employment rights."
From openDemocracy
What's at stake for Afghan women?
Don't use girls as justification for bombing Afghanistan, again
Taliban divisions deepen as Afghan women defy veil edict
N. Korea's Kim faces 'huge dilemma' on aid as virus ...
What should the world do about climate migrants?


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package org.apache.hadoop.hdfs;

import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FSDataOutputStream;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FileSystem;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.Path;
import org.apache.hadoop.hdfs.server.blockmanagement.DatanodeDescriptor;
import org.apache.hadoop.hdfs.server.blockmanagement.DatanodeManager;
import org.junit.Test;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;

import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;

/**
 * This class tests DatanodeDescriptor.getBlocksScheduled() at the
 * NameNode. This counter is supposed to keep track of blocks currently
 * scheduled to a datanode.
 */
public class TestBlocksScheduledCounter {

  @Test
  public void testBlocksScheduledCounter() throws IOException {
    MiniDFSCluster cluster =
        new MiniDFSCluster.Builder(new HdfsConfiguration()).build();

    cluster.waitActive();
    FileSystem fs = cluster.getFileSystem();

    //open a file an write a few bytes:
    FSDataOutputStream out = fs.create(new Path("/testBlockScheduledCounter"));
    for (int i = 0; i < 1024; i++) {
      out.write(i);
    }
    // flush to make sure a block is allocated.
    out.hflush();

    ArrayList<DatanodeDescriptor> dnList = new ArrayList<>();
    final DatanodeManager dm =
        cluster.getNamesystem().getBlockManager().getDatanodeManager();
    dm.fetchDatanodes(dnList, dnList, false);
    DatanodeDescriptor dn = dnList.get(0);

    assertEquals(1, dn.getBlocksScheduled());

    // close the file and the counter should go to zero.
    out.close();
    assertEquals(0, dn.getBlocksScheduled());
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Jerry Seinfeld is a comedian, actor, writer and producer that's most commonly known for his role on the hit TV show Seinfeld. Jerry not only co-wrote the show and co-produced it but was also one of the main actors on the show. Jerry's comedy line is generally based on observational comedy, American politics, uncomfortable social obligations and of course gender differences. All of these helped him to become the 12th top comedian of The 100 Greatest Standup of All Times. No matter if you are huge fan of Seinfeld's earlier work or if you prefer him in Bee Movie or Hindsight Is 20/20 you are going to love him live. He combines the best of all his years together for one great show. So get your Jerry Seinfeld show tickets today before you miss the tour.
Your tickets will ship within 24 hours and you will receive them in time for the event! Don't give up if the tickets you want are too expensive. Ticket prices change frequently, as determined by demand. Your information will be kept safe and confidential when you order tickets from us. We often have premium tickets available, as well as VIP seating, pit tickets, and tickets for sold-out concerts. Here at FrontRowKing.com, your experience is important to us so please let us know how we can serve you better. Front Row King is a popular and honest ticket broker! If you require assistance you're welcome to call us at 1-866-226-6811 and be sure to say you're calling about Front Row King. If the event is canceled, you are eligible for a full refund. We are completely focused on making sure you have the best experience possible.


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Bridge Rescue
Lake-effect effective
A bridge in the snow belt gets a new anti-icing system
Bob Persichetti Contributing Author / October 01, 2005
If there was ever a bridge in need of an anti-icing solution, it was the Ironwood Bridge on U.S. 20, a heavily traveled route circling South Bend, Ind.
Located just 20 miles south of Lake Michigan, the bridge is susceptible to the worst winter conditions. It receives an average of 80 to 90 in. of snow per year—sometimes as much as a foot overnight. Adding to the problem is the bridge's inclined position on a curve, flanked by sound barriers that block the warming effects of the sun.
Like other cities near the southeast shores of the Great Lakes, South Bend is subject to "lake-effect" snow. This snow is produced when cold winds move across long expanses of warmer lake water and pick up water vapor, which then freezes and deposits on the ground. The effect is magnified when the moving air mass is uplifted, producing snow at a rate of many inches per hour. Freezing mist also is a problem, encouraging the formation of treacherous "black ice" on roads and bridges.
Not surprisingly, traffic safety is a big issue in such areas. Snow and ice can reduce pavement friction and vehicle maneuverability, causing slower speeds, reduced visibility and increased accidents. Nationally, more than 1,100 people were killed and nearly 95,000 people were injured in vehicle crashes on snowy or slushy pavement in 2001, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Severe weather conditions also increase road maintenance costs. The FHWA also reports that state and local agencies spend more than $2.3 billion on snow and ice control operations annually and more than $5 million to repair infrastructure damage caused by snow and ice.
The Ironwood Bridge has seen its share of accidents. Statistics gathered by the Indiana DOT indicate that 17 accidents occurred on the bridge, 10 of which were snow and ice related, in a four-year period ending in 1999 (the last time measurements were compiled). Today, the heavily traveled south bypass through South Bend is used by approximately 34,000 vehicles per day (including a fair number of 18-wheelers), all traveling at high speeds.
Scraping the ice plan
The Indiana DOT began using anti-icing chemicals in 1996. Its winter battle plan included a twice-weekly schedule to spray the decks of the Ironwood Bridge. But specific weather conditions were necessary to apply it since the chemicals cannot be applied to the ice on cold or rainy days.
Other anti-icing programs would have required applying chemicals at every frost event. However, this option is difficult to budget for and almost impossible to forecast and can cause a bridge to frost over prior to chemical application or plowing.
The DOT also had considered options such as fixed automated anti-icing technology (FAST), a computerized system linked with automated weather reporting that automatically activates spray nozzles and valves to apply the deicing chemical. However, the cost to purchase and maintain such a system was prohibitive.
A new option for increasing safety on the Ironwood Bridge came to light when Indiana DOT engineer Tom Konieczny attended a meeting of the Transportation Research Board. While there, he heard about a new ice protection overlay system that was developed at Michigan Tech University and licensed and marketed by Cargill Deicing Technology.
The SafeLane Ice Prevention overlay system could be applied to prevent frost and ice from ever forming. It offered not only anti-icing characteristics, but the added benefit of better traction on asphalt and concrete.
After investigating further, Konieczny arranged an Indiana DOT contract to have the system installed on the Ironwood Bridge. The installation would be a test to determine how well the overlay worked in the South Bend environment and if proven effective, it could potentially find further application at other bridge locations in the area.
Aggregate storage
The patented technology used in the overlay system is the brainchild of Russ Alger, director of the Institute for Snow Research at Michigan Tech's Keweenaw Research Center. The center is located on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, where the area's unique lake-effect weather conditions—which produce up to 25 ft of snow per year—make it an ideal location for anti-icing and deicing research.
As a civil engineer, scientist and inventor with knowledge of pavement design, Alger conducts research to make roads safer through the use of chemicals used in combination with pavement and friction. His studies involve the residual effect of chemicals on pavement to determine which aggregates work better than others in holding chemicals on pavement. The patented technology that is now used in SafeLane Overlay came about after he had conducted research using epoxy overlays to make pavement last longer and remain safer at snowmobile road crossings.
For years, deicers have been used to remove ice from bridges and roads, and epoxy overlays have been successful in protecting roadbeds from chloride and water intrusion, but never before have they been used in tandem. The ice prevention overlay combines the pavement sealing and renewal characteristics of epoxy overlays with a unique aggregate that stores and automatically releases anti-icing chemicals as they are needed. A single application can treat multiple frost or ice events.
Wisconsin DOT's experience at a bridge with the ice prevention overlay in Crandon, Wis., demonstrated that up to 75% less deicer is needed to keep bridge surfaces clear. Instead of anti-icing the bridge twice a week they were able to go as long as every 30 days between chemical anti-icing treatments. The reduced deicer usage produces less runoff, so it benefits the environment. The protective epoxy also reduces the effects of chloride and water intrusion, known as primary catalysts for bridge structure oxidation.
The overlay system has shown promising results in test installations. The Crandon bridge had been the site of several accidents each winter. In a trial that lasted the course of two seasons, no accidents were reported.
Covered in ice prevention
The 400-ft Ironwood Bridge is the longest stretch to receive the overlay treatment. The installation covered 11,790 sq ft and took less than a week in May 2005.
The four-lane split bridge has two eastbound lanes and two westbound lanes with a barrier in between. The Indiana DOT opted to install the overlay system on the two eastbound lanes, which are usually the first to ice over. Over the winter, highway professionals will compare the treated and untreated lanes for effectiveness in reducing or preventing ice formation.
Laying down the system was a simple process. The first step was to ensure that the surface was in good repair, with no cracks or potholes. The crew also checked for delamination of the concrete. In this case, there were no major issues and the deck was in good shape. The surface was prepped to clean off oils and contaminants, followed by shotblasting to roughen up the surface and ensure a good chemical bond.
Step two was to spread the epoxy on the surface using squeegees and an aggregate spreader. The goal is to keep enough rock exposed to the surface so it will soak up and react with the anti-icing chemical. The rock acts as a reservoir to keep the chemical in place, and the chemical acts to prevent formation of ice crystals from bonding to the surface of the road.
Step three involved allowing the epoxy to set up for about seven to eight hours. After it cured, loose rock was scraped off and vacuumed up, followed by a grinding stage to get out high spots and overly sharp or rough edges.
Preparing for the best (results)
As the winter of 2005-2006 approaches, the Indiana DOT is anxious to monitor the results of the installation, with increased safety as a primary goal.
Two cameras have been installed on the bridge site to enable DOT staff to compare traffic on the coated and uncoated lanes to determine how well the system is working. In addition, Alger will travel to Indiana periodically over the winter to work with local highway professionals in assessing the results.
"It's awesome to know what we can do to make a bridge last longer and keep it safer," Alger said. "It may keep someone from getting in an accident in the middle of the night, especially if crews don't know when a frost event will happen."
At press time, Indiana's winter snows have not yet begun. However, DOT professionals have high hopes for the new anti-icing system. Benefits that could result include lower maintenance costs, extended bridge life and simplified scheduling, since crews should be able to apply chemical preventively on their own schedule, rather than after a snow or ice incident occurs.
First and foremost, however, the goal in South Bend is to improve safety and reduce accidents on the Ironwood Bridge. "If we can save one life, it's well worth it," Konieczny said.
Persichetti is general manager of Cargill's SafeLane Anti-icing Overlay business.
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Awards Invitation Cycle
Select Your Award
Individual Leadership Awards
Institutional Awards (Global & National)
Result Sheets
Assessors Invited
Winners' Digest
Global Institutional Awards
Golden Peacock Global Award For
Excellence in Corporate Governance - Winners
Instituted in the year 2007
Sl. No. Organization Sector Winner
1. Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, India Automobile
2. Honeywell International Inc., USA Engineering
3. Evalueserve Holdings AG, Switzerland Research and Analytics
1. Mastercard Incorporated, USA Financial Services
2. Premier, Inc., USA Healthcare
3. Infosys Limited, India IT
4. Cipla Limited India BPO
6. Nasdaq, Inc., USA Stock Exchange
Sl. No. Organization Sector Remarks
1. Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, India Automobile Winner
2. WNS Global Services (P) Limited, USA BPO Winner
3. Doha Bank, Qatar Financial Sector (Banking) Winner
4. Dell, Inc., USA IT Winner
5. Vedanta Limited, India Mining & Metallurgy Winner
6. Evalueserve AG, Switzerland Research and Analytics Winner
1. Genpact Limited, USA BPO Winner
3. Tech Mahindra Limited, India IT Winner
4. Marks and Spencer Group plc, UK Retail Winner
1. Volvo Car Corporation, Sweden Automobile Winner
2. The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, USA Business Services Winner
3. Capgemini SE, France Consultancy Winner
4. IRPC Public Company Limited, Thailand Petrochemical Winner
2. Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, UAE Government Winner
3. Infosys Limited, India IT Winner
5. Qualcomm Incorporated, USA Telecom Equipment Winner
6. Levi Strauss & Co., USA Textile & Apparel Winner
1. Diageo plc, UK Beverages Winner
2. Cummins, Inc., USA Engineering Winner
4. SEDCO Holding Group, Saudi Arabia Financial Services Winner
5. Kellogg Company, USA FMCG Winner
6. Aviva plc, UK Insurance Winner
7. PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited, Thailand Oil Winner
9. Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated, USA Real Estate Winner
10. H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB, Sweden Textile & Apparel Winner
1. Shiseido Company, Limited, Japan Cosmetics Winner
2. Centrica plc, UK Energy Winner
3. Energias de Portugal, S.A. (EDP), Portugal Energy Winner
5. Visa Inc., USA Finance Winner
6. The Savola Group, Saudi Arabia FMCG Winner
7. Zurich Insurance Group Limited, Switzerland Insurance Winner
9. Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd, India Pharmaceuticals Winner
10. NTPC Limited, India Power Winner
11. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., USA Science (Research & Application) Winner
1. Credit Suisse Group AG, Switzerland Financial Services Winner
2. Campbell Soup Company, USA FMCG Winner
3. Iberdrola S.A, Spain Infrastructure Winner
4. Time Warner Inc., USA Media Communications Winner
5. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, India Petroleum Winner
6. Baxter International Inc., USA Pharmaceuticals Winner
1. BASF SE Germany Chemicals Winner
2. Allianz SE Germany Financial Services Winner
3. Starbucks Corporation USA FMCG Winner
4. IRPC Public Company Ltd. Bangkok Petrochemical Winner
5. NTPC Ltd. New Delhi Energy Winner
1. PTT Aromatics & Refining Public Company Ltd. South East Asia Winner
2. iGATE Corporation Americas Winner
3. Larsen & Toubro Ltd. Asia Winner
1. Vodafone United Kingdom Winner
2. Nokia Finland Winner
3. Banco Bradesco Brazil Winner
4. NTPC India Winner
Individual Leadership Winners
1. Novartis International AG Overall Winner
2. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd Ethical, Social and Environmental Winner
3. Reliance Industries Ltd Stakeholder Management Winner
4. Satyam Computers Ltd Risk Management and Compliance Issues Stripped off
1. BHP Billiton Plc Winner
2. BASF Winner
3. Telstra Corporation Ltd. Winner
4. ONGC Ltd. Petroleum Winner
5. NTPC Ltd. Power Winner
6. Jubilant Organosys Ltd Chemical Winner
7. GTL Ltd. IT Winner
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Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, India
Category : Automobile
Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, India offers solutions ranging from SUVs to electric vehicles, pick-ups, commercial vehicles, tractors, two-wheelers and construction equipment. Company has a rich legacy of ethical governance practices and is committed to transparency in all its dealings and places with emphasis on business ethics. The code of conduct, applicable to directors as well as all employees, covers issues like ethics and bribery. Its online board portal provides web based solutions that act as a document repositioning and can be accessed by the members of the board. Audit committee of board has 4 members and all are Independent Directors. The group sustainability framework governs sustainability initiatives and provides board, areas of action, under Economic, Social and Environment (ESG). During the year the company undertook CSR activities, covering education support to underprivileged girls and increased water availability in 48 villages.
Honeywell International Inc., USA
Category : Engineering
Honeywell International Inc., USA is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance materials and technologies (PMT), and safety and productivity solutions (SPS). Corporate Governance is driven by the active involvement of every stakeholder – from the board of directors to employees across businesses and functions. Company has strong set of foundational principles: integrity and ethics, inclusion and diversity, and workplace respect. Zero-tolerance policy is enforced against any form of harassment or discrimination, and zero-tolerance policy prohibits racism by name. a robust ESG framework enables company's long-term success. Its sustainable opportunity policy is based on the principle that by integrating health, safety and environmental consideration into all aspects of business company protects its people, communities and the environment, achieves sustainable growth and accelerated productivity drives compliance with all applicable regulations; and develops technologies that expand the sustainable capacity of the world.
Category : Research and Analytics
Evalueserve Holdings AG, Switzerland is a leading analytics partner that helps clients achieve maximum impact by integrating data analytics and research-driven insights, contextual innovation and automation consulting. Company's corporate governance principles and norms are laid out in its Code of Business Conduct & Ethics (COBE) Policy to achieve company's core objectives. Company has adopted Enterprise Risk Management Policy to preserve this value through implementation of a structured process with risk appetite and values. Company undertakes CSR as a commitment to its stakeholders to conduct business in an Economically, Socially and Environmentally (ESG) sustainable manner that is transparent and ethical. Company has constituted an Audit Committee comprising of board members who have knowledge and understanding of all regulatory compliances for effective business operation.
Mastercard Incorporated, USA
Category : Financial Services
Mastercard Incorporated, USA works to connect and power an inclusive digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. "Decency Quotient", or DQ, drives company's culture. The company adheres to listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange as provided in the listed company manual, including the independence requirements which are set forth in the Corporate Governance Guidelines. COVID-19 has resulted in all meetings being held virtually for shorter duration and spread over several days, instead of being held over two full days. The Audit Committee and Human Resources and Compensation Committee specially focused on employee wellness and safety measures; and whistle blower policy. Specific principles are outlined in the corporate governance guideline which lays down the expectations from the directors.
Premier, Inc., USA
Category : Healthcare
Premier, Inc., USA is a healthcare company uniting an alliance of about 4100 US hospitals and healthcare systems and more than 2,00,000 other providers and organizations. The company aims to improve members' quality outcomes, while safely reducing costs. The Board remains focused on executing long-term strategy while, at the same time, they continue to take leadership role helping members create more resilient healthcare supply chain. Annual Director and Officer Survey is conducted to obtain information regarding each of the Director's background, experience, securities, ownership, independence, insider transactions and compensations. The whistleblower policy is readily available on the company website. The company has been recognized as one of the 2020 world's most ethical company for the 13th year in a row.
Infosys Limited, India
Category : IT
Infosys Limited, a public limited company, provides software solutions for financial services and insurance, life sciences and healthcare, retail customers, communications, energy, utilities and manufacturing. Company's Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) enables achievement of strategic objectives by identifying, analysing, assessing, mitigating, monitoring and governing any risk or potential threats. The company has adopted diversity policy and employs people from 144 Nationalities; including 38% women (in workforce as part of diversity). CSR projects support protection of national heritage, restoration of historical sites and promotion of arts and culture, environmental sustainability and ecological balance, healthcare and education. Rs. 100 Crore donated to COVID-19 relief fund.
Cipla Limited, India
Category : Pharmaceutical
Cipla Limited, a global pharmaceutical company, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products in branded and generic categories across multiple therapies in 80+ countries, with 46 manufacturing sites across the world. Company's corporate governance is founded on 7 pillars: transparency, fairness, accountability, competency, empowerment, sustainability, compliance and risk management. Company has a sustainability council headed by Chief Technical Officer to advise, steer and foster sustainable business practices. Competent Leadership (board composition) is the emphasised as overarching principle of board effectiveness. Company follows codes and policies for product communication with stakeholders such as code of practices and procedures for fair disclosure of unpublished price sensitive information, materiality policy and investor grievance redressal policy. Rs. 36.31 Crore was spent towards CSR projects in health, education, enhancing brand image by company's culture of 'Caring for Life'.
Nasdaq Inc., USA
Category : Stock Exchange
Nasdaq Inc., USA is an American Multinational Financial Services Corporation, that owns and operates the Nasdaq Stock Market in the United States and eight European Stock Exchanges. Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, Nasdaq Inc. quickly adapted to the new normal – a remote working environment – and conducted a virtual annual meeting to ensure the health and wellbeing of its employees, directors, shareholders and other stakeholders. A corner stone of ethics programme is the SpeakUp programme under which employees, contractors and third parties doing business with Nasdaq have multiple channels for raising ethics and compliance concerns or allegation of misconduct. Nasdaq has been supporting green growth solutions; and is committed to operating sustainable markets.


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South Carolina college student dies after 'accidental fall' at frat party
Posted 1:01 pm, April 10, 2019, by CNN Wire Service
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — A 20-year-old college student died at a fraternity party on South Carolina's Hilton Head Island Saturday morning.
Caroline Smith, a Furman University student from the Atlanta area, died after an "accidental fall," according to an obituary on the Dignity Memorial Funeral Home website.
Witnesses reported that Smith said she didn't feel well, and moments later, fell to the ground and was unresponsive, according to CNN affiliate WSAV3. Witnesses told officers they had been drinking, the station reported.
"I need an EMT. I think she's dying. She just fell and hit her head," a caller told a 911 dispatcher, according to the affiliate. First responders attempted to resuscitate Smith at the scene, but were unsuccessful, Major Bob Bromage of the Beaufort County Sheriff's office told the station.
Furman University said in a Facebook post that she was at an off-campus event in Hilton Head.
The Kappa Alpha fraternity's national office confirmed the Furman chapter organized the Friday night party.
Bromage told WSAV that investigators were looking into whether underage students were served alcohol at the party.
Smith was majoring in history and communications studies at the school, a statement from university President Elizabeth Davis said. Smith's brother, Ryan, is a junior at Furman, according to the statement.
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Suspected home intruder who got hit with machete and escaped from hospital has been caught
Oregon State student dies in fall while taking photos at a scenic overlook
College student on a trip to the Ozarks fell 100 feet to her death while posing for a photo
2 people were bitten by sharks in the last 2 weeks, both lived to tell their story
Man from New York, celebrating retirement, died of respiratory failure in Dominican Republic
Your questions about the Dominican Republic tourist deaths, answered
Robert Friend, 1 of the original Tuskegee Airmen, dies at 99
Indiana police attended the memorial for a toddler who fell from a cruise ship window
Fishermen reel in a big catch: Suspected cocaine that may be worth up to $1 million
Chobani pays off another another school district's lunch debt totaling $85K
Beating the odds, more than 100 homeless students in New York City graduate high school


Edwin Egede has had a fine blend of experience in academia and practice. He undertakes interdisciplinary teaching and research in the areas of law of the sea, public international law, human rights law and law of international organisations, especially as regards the United Nations. He has published widely in these areas, and has also made academic and professional presentations at various international conferences. Edwin has also contributed to external engagement by his involvement in national and international public policy development through involvement in professional workshops and by providing advice to entities such as the United Nations, African Union and States. He has been involved in projects funded by some of these organisations and is thus involved in projects that develop impact beyond the University setting. For instance, he was recently appointed as a consultant to the United Nations under a funded project to assist the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in establishing and implementing the African Blue Economy Strategy, in line with the African Mining Vision, especially as regards to deep seabed mining (this involved undertaking several missions on behalf of the United Nations). Furthermore, he has been appointed as a consultant for the International Seabed Authority (ISA), an intergovernmental organization based in Kingston, Jamaica to prepare a report on the common heritage of mankind and the operationalization of the Enterprise under Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 82 and the 1994 Implementation Agreement. He has also been appointed by the African Union (AU) as an independent expert member of an Ad Hoc Experts group established by the African Union Commission for the development of the annexes to the African Maritime Charter on Security, Safety and Development in Africa. In addition, he was part of a select team of 25 consisting of military officers, practitioners and academics (one of two academics) invited to participate in a 2016 NATO workshop in San Francisco on the law of the sea and human rights. Before becoming a full time academic in 2007, Edwin has played senior roles as a legal practitioner. He is currently a member of the International Bar Association (IBA) Public Law Committee.
Springer, Heidelberg/Dordrecht/London/New York, (2011), ppxxxii +271.
ISBN 978-3-642-17661-6; e-ISBN 978 -3-642-17662-3.
Review Essay on Law of the Sea (10,000 words) in Robert Denemark(ed.) International Studies Compendium, Volume VIII (2010, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing), pp. 4839-4855.
"United Nations Secretary-General Appointment Process: Time for a Female Secretary-General?", Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) Quarterly Newsletter issue 3 2014.


Project Description: The Government of India, through the NUHM, aims to facilitate equitable access to health facilities by enhancing the existing facilities and adequately planning to fill the gaps, so that the health status of the urban poor is improved. The project thus requires a careful assessment of the existing situation, and analysis for the gaps in service delivery.
In Rajasthan, IEISLSSD has successfully provided the much needed information services. SSD has collected information regarding urban poor settlements, demography, existing health facilities, and prepared a GIS database incorporating these information.


Garfield :: This is Odie-wan-Kanobe. He has the force to help us. He hides it well. - - EEEK! - HELP! HWLP! HELP! - - Garfield, you sissy. I can't believe you're afraid of a little spider. - I need your book. - FWAP - Thank you very much. - EEEK!


The fundamental drivers of Dubai's residential real estate market remain strong and opportunities exist for medium-to-long term investors, according to Deloitte, a global consultancy firm.
"Investment appetite remains, as the emirate represents a 'safe haven' opportunity for regional investors. Investment yields in Dubai's residential market have increased, as residential rental rates have not declined at the same rate as residential capital values in the past 18 months. Opportunities still exist for medium-long term investors," Martin Cooper, Director Real Estate Services at Deloitte Corporate Finance Limited wrote in Forbes Middle East magazine.
He added that Dubai has consolidated its position as a regional hub in the Middle East and North Africa region, through investment in transport infrastructure such as airports, ports, the Dubai Metro and the Dubai Tram, as well as investment in soft infrastructure such as education, healthcare, entertainment and leisure.
Economic diversification, and subsequent job creation, has encouraged foreign nationals to move to Dubai, helping to drive the emirate's population from 1.9 million in 2011 to 2.5 million in 2016, an increase of 32 per cent.
"Ongoing investment in infrastructure (both hard and soft) should enable Dubai's growing population and labor force to work more productively than regional peers, further consolidating its position as a regional hub," he said.
Dubai's residential sales market peaked in October 2014 as average sales prices stood at Dh1,455 per square feet (psf) for villas and Dh1,495 psf for apartments. Residential sales prices, as of May 2016, were at Dh1,288 psf for villas and Dh1,297 for apartments, a decline of between 12 and 13 per cent since October 2014.
Cooper refers to the 'flight to affordability' as a key driver for Dubai's residential sales market. This is reflected in average transaction prices coming down from Dh2 million in 2014 to Dh1.7 million in 2015.
Emirates 24|7 revealed this week that investment in the Dubai real estate market rose by a whopping 92 per cent in April and May combined, taking total investment in the sector to Dh48 billion in the first five months of 2016.
The total number of nationalities investing in the emirate were 127, with UAE Nationals (Emiratis) topping the chart with investments worth Dh12.024bn followed Indians at Dh5.885bn and Saudis at Dh3.655bn.
In April, Standard and Poor's Ratings Services said lifting of sanctions on Russia and Iran, oil price recovery and a weakened US dollar will strongly benefit the recovery of the Dubai property market.
"We still believe that the lifting of geopolitical restrictions, such the sanctions on Russia and Iran, could strongly benefit the recovery of the UAE property market. This would open new investment flows into the regions' real estate markets and partly compensate for the softening demand from other countries," it said.
Dubai is the host city for Expo 2020, which will run for a period of six months, starting October 20, 2020 until April 10, 2021. It aims to draw more than 25 million visitors, expecting Dh25 billion in total investment in infrastructure-related projects, with the creation of 277,000 new jobs.


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Home Latest Where are all the aliens Fermi Paradox
Where are all the aliens Fermi Paradox
The Fermi Paradox is a question which asks — "Where are all the aliens?" The universe is estimated to be around 13.7 billion years old, and there are roughly 100 billion stellar systems in our galaxy. According to NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, there could be as many as 30 billion Earth-sized planets in the Milky Way alone with similar conditions to Earth, meaning they could support life. Who Described Fermi Paradox first? Many people have asked this question before; one of the most famous was Enrico Fermi (1901–1954), an Italian physicist who co-developed the world's first nuclear reactor at The University of Chicago during WWII. There he developed what became known as Fermi Questions after being asked by colleagues why so many radio signals were being received from space yet no alien life had ever been detected or contacted?
The Fermi Paradox is a question which asks — "Where are all the aliens?" The universe is estimated to be around 13.7 billion years old, and there are roughly 100 billion stellar systems in our galaxy.
It is estimated that there are roughly 100 billion stars in our galaxy (the Milky Way), and the universe is 13.7 billion years old.
It's also important to note that Earth has been around for 4.5 billion years, life on Earth began about 4 billion years ago, and humanity has been broadcasting radio signals since 1930.
Who Described Fermi Paradox first?
To begin, the Fermi Paradox was first described by Italian physicist Enrico Fermi in 1950. On top of being a physicist, Fermi is most famous for his work on nuclear physics and quantum mechanics. He also won the Nobel Prize in 1938 for his contributions to America's Manhattan Project during World War II.
If you want to learn more about Enrico Fermi's life and scientific achievements, here are some great resources:
[https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1938/fermi-bio.html](https://www.nobelprize.org/) – The official Nobel Prize website has a biography of Enrico Fermi written by one of his former students!
Many, many stars have planets orbiting them.
The Milky Way galaxy has an estimated 100 billion stars. If we assume that only 1% of those have planets orbiting them, then there are still 10 billion planets in our galaxy. Our solar system has 8 planets and moons circling around the Sun, but even if we assume that the majority of those other stars also have a solar system like ours, it doesn't seem likely that there could be more than one planet with life on it in each solar system.
That would mean that at least ten billion planets out there might have life on them somewhere—which means Fermi's Paradox is resolved!
Life on Earth began 4 billion years ago.
How do we know this? Well, the earliest evidence of life on Earth is from 3.7 billion years ago (the exact date is uncertain), and it was single-celled organisms. The first multicellular organisms appeared about 600 million years ago (again, the exact date is uncertain).
So if we are to believe that life began 4 billion years ago, then it must have started with single-celled organisms. But what kind of environment would allow for this?
Our technology has been around in a recognisable form for around 80,000 years, but only in the last 400 years have we had a technological civilisation.
It is worth mentioning that although our technologies have been around for a long time, we can only really consider the present technological civilisation to have existed for about 400 years. This is because before this point, humans did not have technology that allowed them to send radio signals into space. Before this point, our technology was relatively limited; there were no computers or internet or TV or any of the things we take for granted today.
In fact, if you look at it another way: if there were an alien civilisation out there that had been broadcasting radio signals at us for 100 years and we had been receiving these signals but not responding back with any kind of acknowledgement (as is the case), what would they think? Would they think they were being ignored? Would they think we were ignoring their existence because we weren't transmitting anything ourselves?
Interestingly enough, even though our own society has only existed in recognisable form for a few hundred years now, many scientists believe that there may well be older civilisations out there somewhere else in the universe which could be millions of years old!
Our technology grows exponentially; Moore's law states that computing power doubles every two years.
We are reaching the point in human history where our technology grows exponentially. That's what Moore's law states: that computing power doubles every two years. The idea is that we started out with a computer chip capable of calculating 1 bit (a binary digit—zero or one), then in 1970 we had chips that could calculate 2 bits, and so on. As this exponential growth continued, it was estimated by 1975 that personal computers would be available to most people within 20 years; they were actually available within 10 years of the prediction.
Moore's law is not a law in the sense of a law of nature, but rather an observation about how quickly technology has been advancing since its invention around 1965 at Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation by Gordon E.. Moore, who was inspired by observing transistors doubling every year. It's important to note that this calculation does not apply only to semiconductors; it applies equally well to any other field where information processing occurs (e.g., genetics). It also does not mean anything about how much faster everything else happens over time – just about computers!
Humanity has been broadcasting radio signals into space for nearly 100 years now, and TV signals for 60 years.
As far as we know, humanity has been broadcasting radio signals into space for nearly 100 years now, and TV signals for 60 years. If there were intelligent aliens out there capable of receiving our signals, they could have found us a long time ago. So why haven't we heard from them?
There are at least two possible answers to this question. One is that there are no extraterrestrial civilizations powerful enough or interested enough in communicating with us. Another possibility—and one that's gotten more attention recently—is that any intelligent lifeforms out there would be unlikely to want to talk with us anyway because of the Fermi paradox: if you're an alien civilization with interstellar travel technology like ours, then your planet was almost certainly already visited by another such species before yours even developed radio waves!
So where are all the aliens?
To answer this question, we need to first understand how hard it is to find something. It took hundreds of years for astronomers to find out where our solar system was located relative to the rest of the galaxy. The most advanced telescopes today can only see objects that are tens or hundreds of lightyears away. That means that if there were an alien civilization just 5 lightyears away (the distance between Earth and Alpha Centauri), we would never be able to detect them with our current technology.
So why hasn't SETI found anything yet? Well, for one thing: we don't know how or when aliens will make themselves known. Perhaps they won't announce their presence at all; maybe they'll just show up one day on Earth's doorstep without warning and then disappear again when they get what they came for—or perhaps not even that! What if they're already here but hiding from us? Or maybe there's something about space travel that makes it impossible for lifeforms from another planet to visit ours…It could be anything! As long as there are unknowns about how aliens might behave in relation to us humans on this planet, then we simply cannot predict whether or not SETI will succeed until after its completion."
The Fermi Paradox highlights a fundamental question about the universe and our place in it: Are we alone? Where are all the aliens? It also raises some interesting questions about how long it might take for life to evolve into an advanced civilization.
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Chelsea Grant – Star Film Maker and Actress discusses her upcoming film War Lands
By G Gulati On Jun 16, 2021
Hello Chelsea, Welcome to ABOUT INSIDER! How did you get into film?
I was really young and thankfully quite cute! My mum would put me into modelling and acting jobs and I got a real passion for it. I thrived off it. Off being creative and the star of the show.
Tell us about War Lands?
I'm very excited about it. I have worked on it since 2016, from inception to now attaching our director and shortly our lead actor. It's been a challenge. We have such a great team together now and we are ready to shoot next year!
So, it's had quite a change up? There is a Chinese angle?
Yeah, the lead is now a Chinese hero who gets lost in the world of the Maori gods. Its quite brutal. An adventure/fantasy where magic and myth come to life.
Woah sounds epic!
Yes, it will be. It's a story so close to my heart. I cannot wait to share it with the world. And bring more Maori stories to the world stage. I grew up being told the stories of our people and as a writer I am influenced by that. Though this is a completely unique film. It is a story that has never been told because I created the world from scratch.
And you are Maori?
I am part Maori. There are no "full blood Maori" left anymore. I'm part Maori, Yugoslavian and British. I actually just did one of those DNA tests where they tell you exactly what you are. I'm very excited to get the results.
What's the best thing about Maori?
I love their welcoming hearts, their care and their love, respect for others. Maori are so loving. So loyal. It's a shame not to see that in the rest of the world. Not the Maori you meet in senior film positions, they can be quite racist against you for not being Maori enough. I am talking about the Maori who might run a restaurant, drive the bus, keep our streets clean, protect your rights in court!
What's the worst thing about being human?
The greed and pure evilness of others. I hate liars and I hate people who lie to get more. I unfortunately have had to deal with people trying to scheme us for money. Thankfully I told them where to go (gives me a gesture I won't repeat )!
Any tips for young wannabe film makers?
Don't let the judgemental a**holes get you down. There is so much trash in the world. Keep sticking to your guns and know if you work hard and stay determined you will get there. You will reach your goals. Your dreams.
To know more about Chelsea Grant don't forget to follow her on Instagram @chelseasummergreen
G Gulati
G Gulati is an Author, Celebrity Interviewer, Global Personal Branding & Brand Engagement Consultant known for his experience and ability to help individuals build head-turning brands that attract opportunities.
Gulati has authored 5 books, and his idea of a fun day is writing, listening to audible books and decoding personal brands through interviews and polls.
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In 2010, Congress enacted the Unearned Income Medicare Contribution Tax effective for years beginning in 2013.This tax is more commonly known as the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT). Taxpayers paying estimated taxes based on projected 2013 income may have already felt the impact of this tax.
The NIIT is a 3.8% tax imposed on certain unearned income of 1040 filers, estates and trusts that have income above statutory threshold amounts.The thresholds for individuals are modified adjusted gross income above $200,000 for single and head of household taxpayers and $250,000 for married couples filing jointly ($125,000, if filing separately). The threshold for estates and trusts is the lowest dollar value in the highest tax bracket for the applicable tax year.


text:
Q: Django returns error on ModelChoiceField with values rendered in runtime First the idea: I have a manger, who manages different branches each of which has restaurants assigned to them. I want him to be able to make orders and choose restaurants available for his specific branch. I use a class with static values to remember which manager is making the order.
Second: the code.
forms.py:
class NewOrderFormManager(Form):
    restaurant = forms.ModelChoiceField(queryset=None)
    # other fields here

    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        super(NewOrderFormManager, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)
        branches = StaticData.get_branches_assigned_to_manager()
        self.fields['restaurant'].queryset = Restaurant.objects.filter(branch__in=branches)

views.py:
class NewOrderFromManagerFormView(FormView):
    template_name = 'admin_custom/new_order_from_manager_form.html'
    form_class = NewOrderFormManager

    def get(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
        StaticData.find_branches_corresponding_to_manager(request.user)
        return super(NewOrderFromManagerFormView, self).get(request, *args, **kwargs)

    def post(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
        StaticData.find_branches_corresponding_to_manager(request.user)
        return super(NewOrderFromManagerFormView, self).post(request, *args, **kwargs)

    def form_valid(self, form):
        # some code to be executed

storage class:
class StaticData:
    branches = None

    @classmethod
    def find_branches_corresponding_to_manager(cls, user):
        cls.branches = None
        if roles.has_role(user, roles.ROLE_ADMIN):
            cls.branches = Branch.objects.all()
        elif roles.has_role(user, roles.ROLE_COURIER_MANAGER):
            cls.branches = user.couriermanager.branches.all()

    @classmethod
    def get_branches_assigned_to_manager(cls):
        return cls.branches

Third: the problem.
There seams to be some trouble with posting a request for some specific restaurant. When I access clean() method I can find an error saying that the choice I've made is not valid and I should choose another. I am using superadmin'account for this purpose and I've checked that I get correct branches when I callStaticData. Therestaurantsimply doesn't appear incleaned_data`. I've tried both digging into django's documentation and sourcecode but to na avail as for now.
UPDATE:
I've inspected the server log output and I see that on clicking "submit" button it uses GET:
"GET /custom_admin/new_order_from_manager/restaurant=5&price=0.04&phone_number=123123123&street=Gwarna&house_number=1&flat_number=&comment= HTTP/1.1" 200 13887

A: It seems that the lack of csfr token was a problem, so I've added it to my form:
<form method="post">
        {% csrf_token %}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (KTHV) - Nearly a month after four members of the military were shot and killed outside a recruiting center in Chattanooga, Tenn., the city of Russellville pays their respects.
One of the four killed, a hometown hero, was Staff Sergeat David Wyatt.
Over a thousand people attended the candlelight vigil held in Staff Sgt. Wyatt's honor, including his family, any military members from across the state, congressmen and his graduating class of 1998.
Those 1998 alumni were the organizers of the service, wanting a night to honor their classmate from the place they first met him.
"Ever since we graduated, if one thing happened to one of us, it happened to all of us. To support each other through good times and bad times. We're extended family," said Brian Duesterbeck, a friend of Staff Sgt. Wyatt, who also organized the vigil.
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (July 31, 2015) -- Data released by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education on Friday, July 31, indicates that Arkansas Tech University is the statewide leader in attracting incoming students who wish to major in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
The ADHE data shows that over the past five years, 1,541 first-time entering students at Arkansas Tech chose to major in one of the STEM fields.
That figure represents 20.3 percent of all STEM students in the State of Arkansas since 2010, and it ranks Arkansas Tech ahead of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (1,239 students), Arkansas State University (1,213 students), the University of Central Arkansas (1,055 students) and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (660 students) over the past five years.
Arkansas Tech student drowns in Pope Co.
POPE COUNTY, Ark. (KTHV) - A 21-year-old Arkansas Tech University student reportedly drowned in the Long Pool Recreational Area on Sunday.
The Pope County Sheriff's Office responded to a call around 3:38 p.m. on Sunday, July 19 of a possible drowning in the Long Pool Recreational Area. When deputies arrived at the scene, the victim, Zemaric Holt, was out of the water and was being prepared for transfer to St. Mary's Hospital. He was later pronounced dead by the Pope County Coroner, Danny White.


text:
Clutch Plays by Eagles Deliver Chambers' 200th Career Victory
story link
Fort Myers, Florida – The FGCU men's basketball team (10-3) showcased clutch play and performance Wednesday night as the Eagles won 84-81 at Arico Arena.Victories are remembered for hustle play on both sides and forwards Zach Anderson (Apopka, FL/Apopka HS) beat tie with corner 3-pointer and senior forward of Dakota Rivers (Windermere, FL/Windermere HS) block shot to save head coach game Pat Chambers200th win in total.
The back-and-forth thriller featured 17 lead changes and 11 draws. The Eagles won three in a row after overtaking Golden and his Griffins in the break 43-42. By Wednesday, the Eagles had allowed no more than 65 points in nine wins. Facing Canisius' team, who made 13-of-30, FGCU worked hard on their offensive ends to keep up on every possession, posting a season-high 51.7% in the game.
"I'm very proud of this group," said Chambers. and they were up by 5 but we kept chipping away bit by bit we stayed in the game we won easily we felt sorry for ourselves…and they didn't do it. (We) had a very positive pulse.
Anderson finished with a game-high 22 points, tying him and the senior guard in the home opener against Ave Maria on November 13. Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Indiana/Zionsville HS/Purdue) were the last two Eagles to score 20 or more points each in a game. Thompson finished the night with 21 points, including a pass from a drive to the paint that set up Anderson's game-winner. Thompson also added a game-best four of his 3-pointers and shared a team-best total with six rebounds.
"Give Canisius a great deal of credit," said Chambers. "Reggie Witherspoon is a great guy and a great coach. It's really hard to defend all the flares, the screening action, the baseline screen. They were on fire. They made 3 of 13. They were on fire. I'm very proud of us." We hung there and played the next one with attitude.
FGCU finished the non-conference portion of the season with a 10-3 record, with a best Division I non-conference win percentage of 76.92.
Down by one point at halftime, Chambers and FGCU lobbied for the Golden Griffins to score points in the paint instead of the perimeter. His defensive effort showed as Canisius shot 40.6% (13 of 32) in the second half after 46.9% in the first half.
A 3-pointer from redshirt freshman guard Taj Staveski put Canisius ahead 58-52 with 13:46 remaining, but the FGCU trailed an 8-0 lead capped by two spinning layups from the sophomore center. A run quickly reversed that deficit. Andre Weir (Hollywood, FL/Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory/Richmond) to 60-58.
thompson and guard guard Caleb Katto (Cape Coral, Florida/Southwest Florida Christian Academy) made two of FGCU's nine 3-pointers in a 7-0 stretch to go 72-70 with 5:12 remaining.junior guard Chase Johnston (Boca Raton, FL/Westminster Academy/Stetson.
Canisius did not surrender, but sophomore guard Xzavier Long scored a layup to tie the score at 81 with 1:17 remaining. Johnston threw in one of his most important defensive plays in the game when he stole the ball with 38 seconds remaining and gave the Eagles one more offensive possession of his. Anderson's winner came out with 11 seconds remaining after the FGCU broke through his huddle for timeouts.
"I'm really proud of Isaiah because he had layup potential, which was what we wanted.Zach AndersonChambers said. He goes above and beyond and deserves to make that shot at his greatness routine."
The Eagles made one final defensive effort at the buzzer when Rivers slammed a potentially game-tying 3-pointer with one second remaining.
Johnston had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists in his first appearance of the season, while Weir had 10 points. Henderson led Canisius with 19 points, while Long added 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
FGCU leveled the all-time series against Canisius at 1-1, with both teams winning on their home courts and Chambers improving to an all-time 3-0 against the Golden Griffins.
The FGCU will return to the Arico Arena on Saturday, December 31 at 1:00 PM after the holiday break for the ASUN season opener against Jacksonville.
For complete coverage of FGCU Men's Basketball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook (@FGCU_MBB) and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also visit www.fgcuathletics.com/email and sign up to have news about FGCU men's basketball and other programs delivered directly to your inbox.
Individual ticket, mini plan available
Tickets for the 2022-23 FGCU basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.FGCUTickets.com or by calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10 or more people. It will be a night to remember for families, businesses and other groups.
eagle campaign
It takes a team to achieve the latest goals – 1,000 to meet the department's needs in continuing academic performance, life skills, mental health, nutrition, strength & conditioning of student-athletes, and expanding and improving facilities. Mentoring and leadership training for million dollar campaign coaches and staff. This name embodies our mission and the purpose of his EAGLE campaign – Eagle Athletics creates excellence for a lifetime. Join our team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
coach chamber
Pat Chambers Officially introduced as the fifth head coach of FGCU men's basketball in March 2022, brings extensive college basketball experience highlighted by serving as head coaches at Penn State and Boston College . Chambers taught the Pennsylvania State University program where he coached for nine years (2011-20) and was head coach for two years at Boston College (2009-11). He has 200 career victories in that span, including four 20+ winning seasons. Part of his career as a head coach was highlighted by leading the Nittany Lions to his ninth-place finish in 2019-20, tying the best rankings in program history set in 1996. rice field. During his tenure, he was part of the Villanova staff helping the Wildcats qualify for the Final Four (2009), two Elite Eights and three Sweet Sixteens.
#FEEDFGCU
To benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), charities of choice by FGCU Athletics, We sponsor events in November and April. For more information, including how to donate, visit https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and use the hashtag #FeedFGCU to raise awareness.
About FGCU
Together, the FGCU team has won a staggering 94 conference regular season and tournament titles in just over 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just over 11 seasons that qualified for the DI postseason, the Eagles combined have qualified 47 teams or individuals to the NCAA Championship. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn a general slot into the NCAA Tournament. His eight programs at FGCU have earned top 25 national rankings in their respective sports. This includes both women's basketball (2021-22), beach volleyball (2022), men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer. (2018) as the latest four. In 2016-17, Green & Blue won the DI-AAA Rearfield Directors' Cup with a division-best 6th place finish, beating out several Power-5 and FBS agencies into the top 100 nationally. In 2018-19, the Eagles won his ASUN and Florida's Best 7 Team received the NCAA General Recognition Award for Percentage Improvement in Academic Performance in Sports. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the Fall 2020 semester, outperforming the general college undergraduate population for the 26th consecutive semester. , reached another milestone as all 15 programs achieved a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or higher. The Eagles also put in his all-time 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017, and he was recognized as one of two runners-up for his first-ever NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl. .
—FGCUATHLETICS.COM—
Bulls sink Hawks on Ayo Dosunmu's first career buzzer-beater
Community college funding plan in Texas should account for career outcomes


text:
Q: How to calculate the width of a text string of a specific font and font-size? I have a UILabel that displays some chars. Like "x", "y" or "rpm". How can I calculate the width of the text in the label (it does not ues the whole available space)? This is for automatic layouting, where another view will have a bigger frame rectangle if that UILabel has a smaller text inside. Are there methods to calculate that width of the text when a UIFont and font size is specified? There's also no line-break and just one single line.

A: If you're struggling to get text width with multiline support, so you can use the next code (Swift 5):
func width(text: String, height: CGFloat) -> CGFloat {
    let attributes: [NSAttributedString.Key: Any] = [
        .font: UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 17)
    ]
    let attributedText = NSAttributedString(string: text, attributes: attributes)
    let constraintBox = CGSize(width: .greatestFiniteMagnitude, height: height)
    let textWidth = attributedText.boundingRect(with: constraintBox, options: [.usesLineFragmentOrigin, .usesFontLeading], context: nil).width.rounded(.up)

    return textWidth
}

And the same way you could find text height if you need to (just switch the constraintBox implementation):
let constraintBox = CGSize(width: maxWidth, height: .greatestFiniteMagnitude)

Or here's a unified function to get text size with multiline support:
func labelSize(for text: String, maxWidth: CGFloat, maxHeight: CGFloat) -> CGSize {
    let attributes: [NSAttributedString.Key: Any] = [
        .font: UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 17)
    ]

    let attributedText = NSAttributedString(string: text, attributes: attributes)

    let constraintBox = CGSize(width: maxWidth, height: maxHeight)
    let rect = attributedText.boundingRect(with: constraintBox, options: [.usesLineFragmentOrigin, .usesFontLeading], context: nil).integral

    return rect.size
}

Usage:
let textSize = labelSize(for: "SomeText", maxWidth: contentView.bounds.width, maxHeight: .greatestFiniteMagnitude)
let textHeight = textSize.height.rounded(.up)
let textWidth = textSize.width.rounded(.up)

iOS 16 update:
UILabel.textRect(forBounds: CGRect, limitedToNumberOfLines: Int)

A: sizeWithFont: is now deprecated, use sizeWithAttributes: instead:
UIFont *font = [UIFont fontWithName:@"Helvetica" size:30];
NSDictionary *userAttributes = @{NSFontAttributeName: font,
                                 NSForegroundColorAttributeName: [UIColor blackColor]};
NSString *text = @"hello";
...
const CGSize textSize = [text sizeWithAttributes: userAttributes];

A: This simple extension in Swift works well.
extension String {
    func size(OfFont font: UIFont) -> CGSize {
        return (self as NSString).size(attributes: [NSFontAttributeName: font])
    }
}

Usage:
let string = "hello world!"
let font = UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 12)
let width = string.size(OfFont: font).width // size: {w: 98.912 h: 14.32}

A: You can do exactly that via the various sizeWithFont: methods in NSString UIKit Additions. In your case the simplest variant should suffice (since you don't have multi-line labels):
NSString *someString = @"Hello World";
UIFont *yourFont = // [UIFont ...]
CGSize stringBoundingBox = [someString sizeWithFont:yourFont];

There are several variations of this method, eg. some consider line break modes or maximum sizes.

A: Update Sept 2019
This answer is a much cleaner way to do it using new syntax.
Original Answer
Based on Glenn Howes' excellent answer, I created an extension to calculate the width of a string. If you're doing something like setting the width of a UISegmentedControl, this can set the width based on the segment's title string.
extension String {

    func widthOfString(usingFont font: UIFont) -> CGFloat {
        let fontAttributes = [NSAttributedString.Key.font: font]
        let size = self.size(withAttributes: fontAttributes)
        return size.width
    }

    func heightOfString(usingFont font: UIFont) -> CGFloat {
        let fontAttributes = [NSAttributedString.Key.font: font]
        let size = self.size(withAttributes: fontAttributes)
        return size.height
    }

    func sizeOfString(usingFont font: UIFont) -> CGSize {
        let fontAttributes = [NSAttributedString.Key.font: font]
        return self.size(withAttributes: fontAttributes)
    }
}

usage:
    // Set width of segmentedControl
    let starString = "⭐"
    let starWidth = starString.widthOfString(usingFont: UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 14)) + 16
    segmentedController.setWidth(starWidth, forSegmentAt: 3)

A: For Swift 5.4
extension String {
    func SizeOf_String( font: UIFont) -> CGSize {
        let fontAttribute = [NSAttributedString.Key.font: font]
        let size = self.size(withAttributes: fontAttribute)  // for Single Line
       return size;
    }
}

Use it like...
        let Str = "ABCDEF"
        let Font =  UIFont.systemFontOfSize(19.0)
        let SizeOfString = Str.SizeOfString(font: Font!)

A: Oneliner in Swift 4.2
let size = "abc".size(withAttributes:[.font: UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 18.0)])

A: Swift-5
Use intrinsicContentSize to find the text height and width.
yourLabel.intrinsicContentSize.width
This will work even you have custom spacing between your string like "T E X T"

A: Swift 4
extension String {
    func SizeOf(_ font: UIFont) -> CGSize {
        return self.size(withAttributes: [NSAttributedStringKey.font: font])
    }
}

A: This is for swift 2.3 Version. You can get the width of string.
var sizeOfString = CGSize()
if let font = UIFont(name: "Helvetica", size: 14.0)
    {
        let finalDate = "Your Text Here"
        let fontAttributes = [NSFontAttributeName: font] // it says name, but a UIFont works
        sizeOfString = (finalDate as NSString).sizeWithAttributes(fontAttributes)
    }

A: Since sizeWithFont is deprecated, I'm just going to update my original answer to using Swift 4 and .size
//: Playground - noun: a place where people can play

import UIKit

if let font = UIFont(name: "Helvetica", size: 24) {
   let fontAttributes = [NSAttributedString.Key.font.font: font]
   let text = "Your Text Here"
   let size = (text as NSString).size(withAttributes: fontAttributes)
}

The size should be the onscreen size of "Your Text Here" in points.

A: Not sure how efficient this is, but I wrote this function that returns the point size that will fit a string to a given width:
func fontSizeThatFits(targetWidth: CGFloat, maxFontSize: CGFloat, font: UIFont) -> CGFloat {
    var variableFont = font.withSize(maxFontSize)
    var currentWidth = self.size(withAttributes: [NSAttributedString.Key.font:variableFont]).width

    while currentWidth > targetWidth {
        variableFont = variableFont.withSize(variableFont.pointSize - 1)
        currentWidth = self.size(withAttributes: [NSAttributedString.Key.font:variableFont]).width
    }

    return variableFont.pointSize
}

And it would be used like this:
textView.font = textView.font!.withSize(textView.text!.fontSizeThatFits(targetWidth: view.frame.width, maxFontSize: 50, font: textView.font!))

A: The way I am doing it my code is to make an extension of UIFont: (This is Swift 4.1)
extension UIFont {

    public func textWidth(s: String) -> CGFloat
    {
        return s.size(withAttributes: [NSAttributedString.Key.font: self]).width
    }

} // extension UIFont

A: SwiftUI with Swift5
In SwiftUI, you could not find an easy way to convert UIFont to Font. So the previous answers may not work.
You could use GeometryReader{ geometryProxy in } inside the overlay() modifier to get the Text size. Be careful that if you don't use it inside overlay(), the View will expand to as much as it can.
If you want to pass the variable out, you may need to write a View extension function to do so.
Text("Lat.: \(latitude), Lon.: \(longitude) ")
    .font(Font.custom("ChalkboardSE-Light",size: 20))
    .overlay(
    GeometryReader{ geometryProxy in
        Image("button_img")
             .resizable()
             .frame(width: 10 , height: 10)
             .offset(x: geometryProxy.size.width)
             .extensionFunction{ //... }
              })

I copied the extension function from another thread a couple days ago.
extension View{
    func extensionFunction(_ closure:() -> Void) -> Self{
        closure()
        return self
    }

}

A: For 2022, updated.
For this very old question/answers, I'm just putting in the current way to do it that always works, which is a combo of answers below.
By always I mean the most common case - which is unfortunately the trickest case - when you're literally modifying something inside of drawText#in rect.
fileprivate extension String {
    func realSize(font: UIFont) -> CGSize {
        var s = self.size(withAttributes: [NSAttributedString.Key.font: font])
        s.width = size.width.rounded(.up)
        s.height = size.height.rounded(.up)
        return s
    }
}

Note that it rounds the size (specifically, up). Why? In most cases you'll want this since typically layouts have even sized points and that's "what you'll need" to match other rendering.
(Note that the difference is absolutely tiny anyway). Try it both ways to see, as you wish.
Hence for example something like
class StableLabel: UILabel {

    override var intrinsicContentSize: CGSize {
        // we arrange to return some fixed-always size ...
    }

    override func drawText(in rect: CGRect) {
        let painful = text!.realSize(font: font)

        // Assuming the size of this label is absolutely fixed by the layout,
        // we want to ALWAYS draw the text sitting at the BOTTOM CENTER
        // of the fixed size of this label, even as the size is changed.
        // For example a focus or such may be changing the point size.

        let left = knownSize.width - painful.width) / 2.0
        let down = knownSize.height - painful.height)
        let r = CGRect(origin: CGPoint(x: left, y: down), size: painful)
        super.drawText(in: r)
    }

A: For SwiftUI you can't use Font since it has no size(widthAttributes:
But if you define the same UIFont then you can get the size of this Text Label.
Then these methods work as a String Extension:
func widthOfString(usingUIFont font: UIFont) -> CGFloat {
    let fontAttributes = [NSAttributedString.Key.font: font]
    //Only works with UIFont not Font
    let size = self.size(withAttributes: fontAttributes)
    return size.width
}

func heightOfString(usingUIFont font: UIFont) -> CGFloat {
    let fontAttributes = [NSAttributedString.Key.font: font]
    //Only works with UIFont not Font
    let size = self.size(withAttributes: fontAttributes)
    return size.height
}

func heightOfStringBasedOnWidth(usingUIFont font: UIFont, width:CGFloat) -> CGFloat {
    let fontAttributes = [NSAttributedString.Key.font: font]
    //Only works with UIFont not Font, very nice method since you can limit the width
    //The below method just returns the height of the font regardless of width so you need to iterate over it
    let size = self.size(withAttributes: fontAttributes)
    if(size.width < width)
    {
        return size.height
    }
    else
    {
        var desiredWidth = size.width
        var lines:Int = 1
        while desiredWidth > width {
            desiredWidth -= width
            lines += 1
        }
        return size.height * CGFloat(lines)
    }
}


text:
Vienna Students Win Top Awards at Warwick Economics Summit
Anastasiia Hizenko (left) and Karim Elatraby (right) show off their winnings: an award certificate and the prize book, "Until We Are Free."
Webster Vienna students are celebrating after claiming two out of a possible three awards at the Warwick Economics Summit 2020.
Now famous for its incredible line-up of speakers - from Nobel Prize winners to Prime Ministers - the Warwick Economics Summit was first held in Jan. 2002. It was the first inter-university undergraduate economics event in the United Kingdom.
Last week, the 2020 Summit welcomed Webster Vienna's delegation of 14 students, who joined over 500 other student delegates representing 63 countries and 43 universities worldwide, for a weekend of lectures, debates, and student-led seminars.
Among them was Anastasiia Hizenko, a Bachelor's in Business Administration student, who was delighted to receive the award for 'Best Delegate' and a copy of "Until We Are Free," written and autographed by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Shirin Ebadi.
After winning, Hizenko enthused, "I am so happy to experience this opportunity and to be part of the Webster Vienna delegation! Not only was the WES 2020 packed with thought-provoking ideas, but I also genuinely feel the trip gave me a chance to realize how amazingly inspiring our international team of delegates is!"
The Webster spirit is alive with these fourteen delegates who attended the Warwick Economics Summit.
The Summit was also a perfect opportunity for Webster Vienna's 'Best Ambassador' winner, Karim Elatraby, to have a meeting with Carlo Cottarelli, ex-director of the International Monetary Fund and former Prime Minister of Italy.
When asked about the experience, Elatraby said, "The Warwick Economics Summit is an amazing event, a venue where you can experience the unexpected – the enthusiasm of the fellow students, but also the wisdom of the hand-picked speakers! Personally, every moment was like a dear diary moment!"
Fund Recipient Spotlight: Home care nurses apply critical skills in pandemic
Judith Ballew, an MSN student and recipient of a Front-Line Responders Fund award, describes how home care nurses have "quietly been on the front...