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What should the West do about dictatorships? Profit from them, of course.
In 2008, a Libyan graduate student at the Arab Academy for Maritime Transport was arrested, deported, blacklisted, and banned from Egypt on suspicion of "homosexual practices". On April 14, 2015, an Egyptian court upheld the decision, preventing him from re-entering, on grounds of protecting the public morality (1). Last December, a TV presenter named Mona al-Iraqi led a televised raid on a bathhouse in Cairo, which led to mass arrests, "compulsory medical examinations", and prison sentences.
On April 16, 2015, Egyptian-Canadian Khaled al-Qazzaz, who was an advisor to the Muslim Brotherhood-led government of Mohammed Morsi, was at the Cairo airport with his family, having been released after nearly two years in an Egyptian jail, awaiting deportation on medical grounds. They had been promised that Khaled had been cleared of all accusations, was not under investigation, and they could leave the country – Khaled, who had been in jail since 2013, and his wife and children, who had come from Canada to get him. They were detained at the airport for seven hours, their passports confiscated, and left the airport with no information (2).
On April 11, Egypt's famous "hanging judge", Nagy Shehata, sentenced 14 Muslim Brotherhood members to death, and 36 others to life in prison, including US-Canadian citizen Mohammed Sultan (3). Shehata is quite a countenance, pictured always in sunglasses. Human rights researcher Priyanka Motaparthy summarized Shehata's methods in a tweet (4) "#Egypt judge Shehata sentenced 204 people to death & 534 ppl to 7395 years in prison in just 5 rulings. Probably w/o removing his sunglasses."
Back in February, Egypt's president Sisi gave an interview to Der Spiegel, which provides insight into his mind (5). Given that power in Egypt is concentrated in Sisi's hands, his beliefs have consequences. This exchange, in which Sisi explains his massacre of hundreds people in terms of a "civilizational gap" is remarkable:
SPIEGEL: What happened on Rabaa Square was a massacre in which at least 650 Morsi supporters were killed by security forces. Those events represent an abuse of power.
Sisi: I reiterate that you are judging us based on your criteria. The number of victims at Rabaa could have been 10 times higher if the people had stormed the square. And the Egyptians were prepared to do that. The sit-ins were allowed to continue for 45 days and people had to look on as one of the main squares in our capital city was totally paralyzed. We had repeatedly called on the protesters to clear out peacefully. Would something like that be allowed in your country?
SPIEGEL: Our police would not fire live ammunition. If possible they would use tear gas or water cannons. And in our country, the interior minister would have to resign after a massacre like that.
Sisi: I am not ashamed to admit that there is a civilizational gap between us and you. The police and people in Germany are civilized and have a sense of responsibility. German police are equipped with the latest capabilities and get the best training. And in your country, protesters would not use weapons in the middle of the demonstrations to target police.
In the same interview, Sisi was asked about three al-Jazeera journalists, who were still in jail after many months. His response: the judiciary is independent and must not be interfered with. The interview was published in the February 7 issue of Der Speigel, and it's unclear when it was conducted. What is clear is that earlier that week, one of the three al-Jazeera journalists, Australian Peter Greste, was deported to Australia – freed, in other words, through some opaque process of negotiation, from the Egyptian prison system and from its 'independent' judiciary. Curiously, the independent judiciary could not manage the same feat for Canadian Mohamed Fahmy, who is of Egyptian origin and renounced his Egyptian citizenship because he was promised this would lead to his release. Nor of course could it manage that feat for Egyptian journalist Baher Mohamed.
Fahmy and Mohamed are out on bail and are being retried by the same vaunted 'independent' judiciary that put them in jail in the first place and that sentenced blogger Alaa abd-el Fattah to five years in jail (6). Since his release on bail, Fahmy has avoided any criticism towards Egypt's government, and wondered why Canada couldn't get him home the way Australia had done for Greste (7). Egypt's authorities have not shown Fahmy the same consideration.
As for Canada's government, it is primarily interested in doing a certain kind of business with Egypt. Export Development Canada is a government institution dedicated to financially supporting Canadian companies to do business overseas. It's Egypt country page says that the EDC has assisted 65 Canadian companies, insured 89 international buyers, and done $141 million CAD of business. The disclosure page shows the companies assisted this year: the African Ex-Im Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, and Transglobe Petroleum International, Inc. (8, 9).
In other words, the same Canadian authorities that have found themselves unable to facilitate the release of a Canadian journalist arrested for doing his job, have found themselves able to facilitate a few tens of millions of dollars of business – all the while claiming implicitly that they have insufficient leverage to influence the situation in Egypt. Just enough leverage influence to profit from it, presumably.
Scott Long of paper-bird.net is a blogger who has chronicled Egypt's descent into totalitarianism. He tells a story of how he was approached at a cafe and asked about his interest in human rights. He gave the man his contact information, but afterwards, he writes, he "cringed inside", because he wondered whether he had just helped someone or endangered his own security (9):
Other people, foreign passport-holders among them, have been arrested for "political" conversations in public places. You don't know if the person who approaches you is victim or violator, survivor of torture or State Security agent; or both.
That suggests more clearly than any headline how Sisi's regime is achieving totalitarianism – something Mubarak's clumsy and inept authoritarian rule, his iron fist of five thumbs, never managed, perhaps never imagined or tried. I see now that totalitarianism is less comprised in how the state controls your private life than in how you do. Ordinary emotions such as sympathy or compassion cease to be modes of solidarity and become dangerous betrayals, self-revelations to be regulated with sleepless scrupulosity, as though they, and not the people you suspect, are the real informers. Mistrusting yourself comes first. Mistrusting others is merely the consequence. But the self-hatred self-suppression brings – and I hated myself for my fear – demands other objects, a wider field of play. To be foreign to yourself is to apprehend foreignness all around you, to fear the stranger in the land of Egypt.
Egypt's increasingly totalitarian dictatorship is not described that way by the countries that do business with it, even if countries have citizens who have suffered at its hands. But look at its "hanging judge". Listen to its president explain away mass murder in terms of a "civilizational gap". Look at its bans for "homosexual practices" and its bathhouse raids, its jailing of bloggers and writers, its murders of activists like Shaimaa el-Sabbagh, its new laws on protests. For North American governments like Canada's, who send bombs to other countries in the region on the basis of "civilizational gap" type arguments, what is this dictatorship? A place to make money.
(1) See Mada Masr, "Court Grants Interior Ministry authority to deport 'foreign homosexuals'", April 15, 2015. http://www.madamasr.com/news/court-grants-interior-ministry-authority-deport-foreign-homosexuals.
(2) Khaled al-Qazzaz's family's website, April 16, 2015: "653 Days – FREEKQ – Khaled and his Canadian family allowed to leave Airport after 7 Hours" http://www.freekhaledalqazzaz.com/home/2015/4/16/653-days-freekq-khaled-and-his-canadian-family-allowed-to-leave-airport-after-7-hours
(3) CTV News, April 11, 2015: "US-egyptian citizen gets life behind bars, 14 sentenced to death". http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/u-s-egyptian-citizen-gets-life-behind-bars-14-sentenced-to-death-1.2322395.
(4) https://twitter.com/priyanica/status/592229159612653568
(5) Der Spiegel February 9, 2015. "Interview with Egyptian President Sisi". http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/islamic-state-egyptian-president-sisi-calls-for-help-in-is-fight-a-1017434.html
(6) See the UK Guardian February 23, 2015. "Egyptian activist Alaa abd El Fattah sentenced to five years in jail." http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/23/egyptian-activist-alaa-abd-el-fattah-sentenced-five-years-jail. See also Omar Robert Hamilton's blog in London Review of Books, "The Verdict": http://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2015/02/23/omar-hamilton/the-verdict/
(7) UK Independent February 13, 2015. "Freed Al-Jazeera Journalist: Why can't Canada get me home?" http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/freed-aljazeera-journalist-why-cant-canada-get-me-home-10045889.html
(8) EDC's Egypt country page: https://www.edc.ca/EN/Country-Info/Pages/Egypt.aspx. Disclosure page: https://www19.edc.ca/edcsecure/disclosure/DisclosureView.aspx.
(9) paper-bird.net: "Deport me!" April 18, 2015.
First published on TeleSUR English: http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Profiting-from-Dictatorship-20150429-0019.html
Author Justin PodurPosted on April 29, 2015 December 3, 2019 Categories Antiwar writings
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St. Joe Valley Metronet is two corporations created through a private-public partnership to improve the economic development climate in South Bend, Mishawaka, St. Joseph County and the region by providing telecommunications infrastructure – and not services – in the form of dark fiber-optic cable.
The Metronet network of fiber-optic cable extends more than 70 miles and has more than 100 subscribers in the most important commercial, education, medical and governmental centers in South Bend, Mishawaka and St. Joseph County.
The network is largely underground and laid out in concentric rings. This design increases reliability. In the rare event of damage to the network, signals can be rerouted to subscribers from the other side of the ring.
Metronet provides infrastructure. Subscribers choose among competing vendors and service providers for telecommunications and services such as cloud computing, server virtualization, internet, and others. Perhaps the largest concentration of cross-country fiber networks passes through South Bend near Union Station. Metronet connects subscribers to these networks allowing data to be sent worldwide in milliseconds.
Can you explain dark fiber?
Dark fiber is unused fiber. Light carries data signals on fiber-optic cable. Metronet fiber is "dark." Subscribers choose among competing service vendors or provide the equipment themselves to transmit light through the fiber.
Since fiber has virtually unlimited capacity, subscribers are limited only by the equipment used to light the fiber. Metronet's subscription fees are not based on bandwidth, so subscribers can light the fiber at any bandwidth they need.
How does Metronet compare with cable, telephone and wireless providers?
Metronet service differs in three basic ways. Fiber allows virtually unlimited capacity at speeds many times faster than available over cable, telephone or T-1 lines and wireless networks. Metronet's vendor-neutral, dark fiber service means subscribers choose among competing providers.
Competition keeps costs low and encourages innovation. Because the capacity is virtually unlimited, Metronet subscribers don't have to worry about exceeding data plan limits or service that slows when other users are on line.
In the late 1990s, Project Future, at that time the local Economic Development Organization for South Bend, Mishawaka and St. Joseph County, recognized that economic development opportunities in the region were hurt by the high cost and limited availability of broadband communications. Costs in the region were many times higher than in Chicago, even for the same level of service.
Project Future put together a task force including representatives of the City of South Bend, Mishawaka, St. Joseph County, the University of Notre Dame, the Chamber of Commerce and other business and community interests.
The task force concluded that a dark fiber, vendor-neutral network would best meet the area's needs.
When and how was Metronet incorporated?
St. Joe Valley Metronet Inc. was incorporated in 2004 with Patrick McMahon, executive director of Project Future; Gordon Wishon, office of communications technology at the University of Notre Dame; and Karl King, a respected South Bend businessman and community volunteer, as the initial members of its board of directors. Bylaws established the makeup of the board, with membership to include government representatives of South Bend and Mishawaka and of St. Joseph County; and representatives of Project Future, the initial founding subscribers and of other business, education and community organizations.
St. Joe Valley Metronet was granted nonprofit, tax-exempt status because its mission was to serve the interests of government. By requirement of the IRS, a second, for-profit, taxable corporation, called SJVM, Inc., was established. The nonprofit would be limited to serving governmental agencies and tax-supported schools. SJVM, Inc., the for-profit, was created to allow service to other users including banks, medical facilities and other commercial and business subscribers.
The for-profit, taxable corporation is wholly owned by the nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation and income earned by SJVM, Inc. goes to the nonprofit corporation in the form of dividends to support the nonprofit's mission.
This model of a nonprofit corporation owning a for-profit corporation is common. One well-understood local example was Notre Dame's ownership of the WNDU radio and television stations. Broadcasting income supported university activities. Just as in Metronet's case, the structure allows the nonprofit, through the second corporation, to perform beyond the limits placed on nonprofits because the for-profit generates income that benefits the nonprofit.
Seven initial founding subscribers, the University of Notre Dame, Teachers Credit Union, Memorial Health System, St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, Robert Bosch Corp., Madison Center and South Bend Medical Foundation, prepaid 10 years of subscription fees to fund building the network and two years of operational expenses. Metronet also negotiated reciprocal agreements with South Bend, Mishawaka and St. Joseph County giving access to conduit through which to extend Metronet fiber. These reciprocal agreements allowed the new fiber network to be built without breaking up streets and sidewalks and significantly lowered the prepaid subscription fees required from each of the founding subscribers.
In exchange, South Bend, Mishawaka and the county each received a number of pairs of dedicated fiber for their exclusive use. Metronet paid the costs of installing the fiber, expanding the network and building the redundant ring structure. Metronet also pays for monitoring and maintaining the fiber infrastructure, including that owned by the municipalities.
Didn't South Bend already have a fiber network?
The City of South Bend had fiber dedicated to meeting the city's communication needs, connecting city facilities and linking traffic signals to improve traffic flow. This fiber ran through conduit under city streets. It was neither designed for other uses nor used by entities other than the city.
And, prior to Metronet, South Bend's network was built in a star configuration with many dead-ends. In expanding the network and building the ring configuration, Metronet provided redundancy to South Bend's operations the city didn't have with its own network.
Aren't most Metronet-like networks around the country run by the city itself?
Metronet's model is unusual but not unique. Even before Metronet was created, the City of South Bend determined it did not want to be in the telecommunications business. Apart from the bureaucracy and expense of creating a new city-run utility and the significant costs of expanding the existing system to reach nonmunicipal users, it would have put the city in competition with existing telecommunications providers.
Some also saw potential issues in extending a city-owned and operated network to users outside the city limits.
Many municipally run networks are not dark fiber or vendor neutral, key factors in keeping costs low for Metronet subscribers.
How was Metronet funded initially?
Seven initial founding subscribers: the University of Notre Dame, Robert Bosch Corp., Teachers Credit Union, Memorial Health System, St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, South Bend Medical Foundation and Madison Center, prepaid 10 years of subscription fees to fund building the network and to cover two years of startup costs.
Continuing operations are funded from subscription fees. Metronet is not a municipal utility and is not subsidized by municipal or county tax dollars. In fact, Metronet pays property and income taxes.
What is Metronet's relationship with the city?
Metronet is a private corporation with reciprocal agreements with the cities and county giving Metronet access to municipal conduit in which to place fiber. In exchange, the city gets access to a specified number of pairs of fiber. Metronet is neither a city department nor city-owned and operated utility.
It has two employees. Neither is on the city's payroll. Metronet pays to improve, expand, monitor and maintain the network infrastructure. The for-profit corporation also pays income and property taxes, putting Metronet on a more even competitive status with commercial providers.
Does Metronet have an unfair competitive advantage over other providers?
First, Metronet offers a different solution than other providers since it leases dark fiber circuits and does not sell services. Second, Metronet pays taxes and also pays the costs of maintaining and expanding the network, just like other providers.
In fact, some providers and carriers lease Metronet fiber to support their operations and others are welcome to subscribe.
In a larger sense, the community profits. The City of South Bend has reaped millions of dollars in reduced operations costs, and Metronet's mission calls for returning profits to the community in the form of lower rates.
Metronet access has helped existing businesses expand and enter new markets, has made it possible for new businesses to start, and has supported economic development based on technology and innovation. Metronet is two corporations, one nonprofit called St. Joe Valley Metronet Inc. and one for-profit called SJVM, Inc.
By IRS rules, the nonprofit is limited to serving governmental agencies and tax-supported schools. All other organizations, such as manufacturers, health care centers, financial institutions and nonprofit agencies, are served by SJVM, Inc., the for-profit entity. Because of the limited number of organizations that can be served by the nonprofit, income generated from these subscribers isn't sufficient to meet the operational and growth expenses of Metronet.
The for-profit corporation is wholly owned by the nonprofit corporation. Income from the for-profit is returned to the nonprofit in the form of dividends and that money is used to maintain and expand the network. Individuals serving on the boards of directors receive no compensation and have no ownership rights or interest in the assets of either corporation.
The for-profit entity which produces the majority of revenue pays income and property taxes, putting it on a more competitive footing against traditional providers.
Are City assets used to support operations of businesses, entities, even government operations outside the city limits?
Yes. The University of Notre Dame, for example, one of the founding Metronet subscribers, is outside the city limits. It uses Metronet fiber that runs through city conduit to connect to its supercomputers housed at Union Station in downtown South Bend, and to national fiber networks. The city-owned conduit is used, but Metronet provides the fiber that runs through the conduit.
Notre Dame's status as a world-class research and teaching university would suffer without this access. This really is no different than allowing businesses not in the city of South Bend to route their trucks over city streets. Metronet's purpose is to support regional economic development. Economic development does not stop at city borders.
Who protects the interests of the municipal partners and of the founding subscribers?
A number of seats on the board of directors and on the executive committee are reserved for representatives from South Bend, Mishawaka and St. Joseph County as well as for representatives from each of the founding subscribers (see question "How was Metronet funded initially?").
As board members they set policy, approve budgets, plan expansions and prepare and approve long-term strategic planning. They protect their own interests.
Do South Bend and other municipal partners earn a return for allowing Metronet access to their conduit and network infrastructure?
The public-private partnership that helped launch Metronet has produced numerous benefits for the City of South Bend, the City of Mishawaka and St. Joseph County, meeting original goals of lessening the burden of government and justifying the agreement granting Metronet use of the municipal conduit. In general, Metronet facilitates the cities' and county's ability to do more technology-based innovations. Some of these innovations would not have been imagined but for the large, affordable data pipes Metronet provides. Resulting savings would have been much harder or not feasible without Metronet connectivity.
One of the City of South Bend's first improvements was the design of the network structure. Metronet is configured like a series of rings, creating redundancy. In the event of a break in the fiber, data can be rerouted around the intact side of the ring. Prior to Metronet, South Bend's network was built in a star configuration with many dead-ends. Metronet provides redundancy to South Bend's operations.
Metronet's speed, capacity and reliability support South Bend's innovative approach to Combined Sewer Overflow mandates, saving the city tens of millions of dollars to meet federal requirements to prevent storm water from overwhelming waste treatment systems.
Metronet supports use of a new VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephone and internet system. Because of phone cost savings, South Bend is breaking even on lease-purchase payments for the required equipment and expects to save $250,000 annually once the lease is paid off over approximately five years.
Two new applications controlling building energy and security systems will be added to the VOIP systems and the city expects to save 10 percent of its $8 million annual energy bill.
Bluetooth type devices are being installed to monitor traffic flow on main arteries. Integrating these with the original traffic control network supported by Metronet fiber optimizes traffic flow, saving drivers an estimated $3 million in fuel and uncounted hours of time.
Business growth enabled by Metronet also leads to new tax income, more employment and other benefits of economic development.
Metronet has two full-time employees. The executive director reports to the board of directors. Although each corporation has separate boards, the same individuals hold the same positions on each of the boards.
Board members are chosen as outlined in the bylaws, with seats reserved for representatives of the City of South Bend, Mishawaka and St. Joseph County, for founding subscribers and other specified organizations.
Doesn't having the same individuals sit on both boards pose a conflict of interest?
Since the nonprofit, tax-exempt entity owns the for-profit, taxable entity, and since the goals and missions of both corporations are the same, there is no conflict. The same individuals make decisions for both corporations. Board members are not compensated and have no ownership rights.
Income generated by the for-profit corporation is returned to the nonprofit corporation in the form of dividends and is used for expansion, maintenance and operational expenses. The two corporations do not compete with each other since, because of tax regulations, they serve different clients.
Is membership of the board public knowledge?
Yes. Appointments to the board are for fixed terms and are made as outlined in the bylaws, with seats assigned to the founding subscribers, the cities and county, and other institutions and organizations.
How much does it cost to be a Metronet subscriber?
Metronet has a variety of pricing models and costs determined by the needs of each subscriber. Some require multiple pairs of fiber and full redundancy and automatic backup systems. Others share fiber and pay only for the bandwidth they need.
Metronet has special rates for not-for-profit and social service organizations. For further information, please send inquiries to info@metronetzing.org.
Are there restrictions on what subscribers can do with their Metronet service?
Metronet leases fiber to all types of businesses, including telecommunications service providers. Subscribers agree to use the fiber only for their core businesses. An industrial user, for example, cannot sublease access to its fiber to another organization.
A service provider, however, lighting the fiber and providing technology services as part of its business mission, can lease a Metronet circuit and sublease access to it.
Metronet's strategic plan calls for extending the network as economically feasible and as subscribers demand. While much of that expansion will come through extension of fiber, wireless service may be initiated to reach areas where extending fiber would not be cost effective.
Metronet also is working with other counties in the region to bring them the proven benefits of its dark fiber, vendor-neutral model. The deficit in broadband service is felt throughout much of the region. Economic development in one town, city or county attracts similar development regionally if infrastructure is there to support it.


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Home/Music/Music DVD Review: Patti Smith – Live At Montreux 2005
Patti Smith's first official live release has been a long time coming, but Live At Montreux 2005 proves more than worth the wait.
Music DVD Review: Patti Smith – Live At Montreux 2005
Glen Boyd November 25, 2012	Comments Off on Music DVD Review: Patti Smith – Live At Montreux 2005 115 Views
On the liner notes for her first-ever official live DVD release, Patti Smith's longtime musical co-conspirator Lenny Kaye writes "we are jazz," and perhaps somewhat in awe of the storied venue where it was recorded, the free-form spirit of improvisation permeates much of Live At Montreux 2005.
This shouldn't be at all surprising to those who have long worshiped at the altar of the one-time reigning high priestess of punk-rock though.
Although Patti Smith is most often associated with the same late-'70s New York punk-rock boom that produced the Ramones, Blondie and Talking Heads, the stream-of-consciousness incantations on the longer songs from her masterpiece Horses, like "Birdland," owe as much to Ornette Coleman and Roland Kirk as they do to Dylan, Burroughs or Rimbaud.
However, on Live At Montreux 2005, Patti Smith and her band take this shamanistic approach a step further. The punk-rock wild child seen on such widely circulated bootlegs as the 1979 performance for Germany's Rockpalast broadcast (where she was the rather unlikely opening act for Johnny Winter) is mostly absent here. On this DVD, Patti Smith and her great band instead let the music speak just as loudly as her own formidable gift for wordplay.
There are numerous examples of the musicians here taking Patti Smith's songs to the dizzying heights of tonal exploration that jazz cats like Coleman, Kirk, and Miles Davis would surely appreciate. But Tom Verlaine's performance here in particular needs to be singled out.
Verlaine's great work with Television – particularly on their brilliant Marquee Moon – is already a matter of record. But as he sits in with Patti Smith's band for this performance, Verlaine's guitar work is just stellar. On "Beneath The Southern Cross," Verlaine's subtle flourishes add just the right amount of color to the dreamy, meditative quality of Smith's tone poem. His extended solo late into "Dancing Barefoot" likewise lends a trance-like feel, which Smith then polishes off nicely with one of her more passionate vocals.
Patti Smith herself gets into the spirit of musical improvisation as well here, dedicating "Seven Ways Of Going" to Ornette Coleman, before taking flight on the clarinet to scale her own heights of tonal bliss. On "25th Floor," she turns this same approach inside out, creating a frenzy of discordant noise worthy of Hendrix (though perhaps somewhat lacking his technique), on a beat-up old Fender Strat.
Although Patti Smith comes across more these days as an elder rock poet, it is fitting that for her long overdue first official live release she also acknowledges her past.
The "hits" are represented nicely here on letter-perfect versions of "Because The Night," "Free Money," and "Redondo Beach." Patti also re-embraces her original inner punk-rock revolutionary on a frenzied cover of "Not Fade Away," which segues nicely into the show-closing call to arms anthem "People Have The Power."
Coming more than 35 years after her landmark debut album Horses, Patti Smith's first official live document has been a long time coming. But the performance seen and heard on Live At Montreux 2005 proves more than worth the wait.
Tags eds-pick Lenny Kaye Patti Smith Punk Rock spoken word Tom Verlaine
Virtual SXSW: Film Review – 'The Mojo Manifesto': Punk Country Crooning
Mojo Nixon combined punk rock and country to craft a unique style sometimes described as cowpunk or psychobilly.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Q: JST Template Engine with Slim & Coffeescript This wiki page explains how to create a directory of Javascript templates that can be accessed from a JST object in the DOM:
https://github.com/marionettejs/backbone.marionette/wiki/Using-jst-templates-with-marionette

JST stands for Javascript Templates. This feature — available by default in Rails 3.1 (see notes)— allows you to distribute your Javascript templates as ready-to-use functions in your scripts.
This mechanism is very useful because it avoids having to download templates asynchronously or to distribute them in the source code of your pages.

(Please refer to the post for further info)
The example template engines given include pairing simple HTML with embedded Javascript and Coffeescript, and HAML files with embedded Coffeescript.
I am wondering if there is a similar template engine available that uses Slim and Coffeescript, that would allow me to achieve the same result.

A: For those interested, I have found an engine that does what I was looking for: https://github.com/jfirebaugh/skim
It's specifically for rails projects (for the time being), but enables the creation of Javascript Templates using Slim.
It's similar to haml_coffee (https://github.com/netzpirat/haml_coffee_assets), just uses slim instead of haml

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Cultural Amnesia: America's Future and the Crisis of Memory
Stephen Bertman
Praeger Publishers, 2000
The six Regents universities in Kansas host a summer academy for the top high school graduates before they go on to college. It rotates among the universities, and comes to Wichita State University, where this reviewer teaches, every six years.
During the summer three years ago, I was invited to be one of the academy's speakers in a panel on "Racism in America." In my opening talk, I sought to place the racial experience of the United States into historical context. My message essentially was that the presence of slavery, brought in by the slave trade, had run counter to the central ethos of American sensibility, which was powerfully oriented toward the Enlightenment. It was Britain, with its navy, that abolished the slave trade, responding also to the classical liberalism that predominated in its thinking. It wasn't long before slavery itself was abolished. The century and a third since that time has not been easy, but has marked the efforts of a society, again moved predominantly by humane instincts, to grapple with difficult human issues.
My remarks were followed by those of a vivacious, highly articulate "black activist." She excoriated virtually everything about "a racist United States," and was eloquent in her complaints of "victimization." She was followed by a black state senator, who mildly seconded her point of view and devoted most of his attention to refuting mine. The fourth panelist was a conservative, himself black-skinned, from Pakistan who did a much more effective job than I did of countering the charges of American "racism."
During the question and discussion period, the response by the thirty or so students present was revealing. Unanimously, they were vehement in support of the activist's attacks on the United States; and no one voiced any sympathy whatsoever with the perspective I had presented. The three or four black students among them were asked by the activist whether they thought of themselves primarily as black or primarily as American, and they all answered, "black."
What this episode illustrates is the enormity and success of the ideological attack that has been made on American institutions and ideals by the alienated intellectual culture that has, virtually without rebuttal, reached this generation of students through the schools they have attended. The image of the United States that I grew up with is not only obsolete, it is held in contempt. There is no "cultural memory" of the United States as a decent, humane and classically liberal repository of the best aspirations of humanity. The emphasis is entirely on negative factors, seen with hindsight, without any historical context, and with an outraged, alienated emphasis.
In any discussion of the loss of cultural continuity and consensus in the United States today, it is indispensable to take into account the profound alienation of the artistic-literary culture for as far back as the 1820s. The alienation against mainstream America began long before the counter-cultural years of the 1960s. Another factor, of increasing importance, is the role of immigration. Within the past few weeks, three delightful students in my classes - two from Vietnam and one from China -- have obtained their American citizenship. It is highly doubtful that they are steeped in alienation, but one thing is bound to be true: that their cultural associations and memories have no deeply set continuity with the American past. Vast immigration brings in new memories, new cultural associations, and thus discontinuity so far as a unified American culture is concerned.
Stephen Bertman, in his book Cultural Amnesia, does not discuss these things, but enriches our understanding by pointing to other, more existential, forces that are at work to shatter what was once the cultural consensus within the United States. He says that "each day, fewer and fewer of our nation's long-term memories survive." The causal factors that he discusses are summed up when he says: "The long passage of time, the urgent call of the senses, the accelerating power of technology, the lure of materialism, and the newness of our nation have all collaborated in obscuring the past and its meaning." Science, he says, challenges the validity of age-old traditions, while technology shows that antiquated things deserve to be replaced. Materialism "demeans subjects that can't be converted into cash." Education is focusing on job-preparation, which forces out the humanities.
As in his book Hyperculture: The Human Cost of Speed (Praeger, 1998), Bertman, a professor of Language, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Windsor in Canada, makes the account especially interesting by classical references and relevant background information. He begins and ends the book by telling of Homer's Ulysses, whose memories of his experiences during the ten years following the Trojan War, and his longing for return to his home and family in Ithaca, were recounted in The Odyssey. Bertman also spices the discussion of cultural amnesia with a detailed review of how memory works within the human brain, telling of the brain's physiology and about the various forms of amnesia. Perhaps most relevant is his account of how civilization establishes memory through oral traditions, language, writing, books, libraries, ruins, statues, and the like. He finds disturbing the rapid loss of monuments around the world because of pollution, and the deterioration of films.
The fact that Bertman seems unaware of the ideological "culture war" could be reason to discount his writing, but it would make better sense to listen to what he has to tell us about the forces that he does see at work. They are themselves of sufficient weight to make problematic the entire continuity of culture, not just of American culture but of any culture that is subject to the same forces (as all are, to one degree or another, today). We are "as the flies of summer."
Dwight D. Murphey


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text:
Justia Ask a Lawyer Pennsylvania Family Law My husband has says that Covid-19 is fake news!...
Norristown, PA asked 2 years ago in Divorce, Family Law and Child Custody for Pennsylvania
Q: My husband has says that Covid-19 is fake news! He has been putting us at risk every single day, says he doesn't care!
My husband is out socializing EVERY-SINGLE-DAY! Partying every/all weekend and refuses to distance/wear mask/etc. He wont allow our 6 yr old son to wear a mask when they are outside together which really bothers my son. Today, for the 2nd time (1st time was even worse), he has risked our son's health directly. My son was told to go in and hug (against his will) his older relative (a neighbor) She is also at risk, older/diabetes. I stepped in and stopped it. He then started to ridicule me and my son for believing the virus exists, that its fake news! My son was so confused. He then alluded that he is going to push even harder to include my son in his wreck-less socialization. To "drive you crazy" he said. I've wanted a divorce for years, and was waiting for my son to get a little older (for obvious reasons). But, his blatant disregard for his own child's health is mind boggling. My question is What can I do in the moment to stop him? Do I have any legal recourse? A leg to stand on?
DivorceFamily LawChild Custody
Cary B. Hall
Licensed in Pennsylvania
A: At this point, you're still married and each of you has as much "right" to parent your child as you each see fit. If you want to change that and have "a leg to stand on" to prevent your husband from parenting in a way that you oppose, then you'll need to file at least a Complaint for Custody and ask a court to grant you parental rights which are superior to his. You don't even have to file for divorce at the same time (but you'll save a few hundred dollars on court costs if you do), and you don't even have to be separated and living apart.
If you'd like to further discuss your custody situation, feel free to contact me offsite -- my office is in Norristown. Best of luck to you.
W. J. Winterstein Jr.
Michael Cherewka


Discussion in 'Bind/DNS/Nameserver' started by perlchild, Apr 19, 2004.
Can someone explain what changed with v2??
I had some problems with v1, and I'd really like to check v2 out and see if it fixes them. But it would help to have some documentation, somehow.


text:
Q: Exception draw text Android 4.4 Where button back action, I'm having this exception while rendering my view,this exception has occurred on Android 4.4, I tested it on a 8.0 and it ran normally.
also remembering that it happens sometimes, not always, but I still worry about how many times it happens.
android.view.GLES20Canvas.setupModifiers
GLES20Canvas.java - line 1421
java.lang.StackOverflowError
android.view.GLES20Canvas.setupModifiers GLES20Canvas.java:1421
android.view.GLES20Canvas.drawText GLES20Canvas.java:1251
android.text.Layout.drawText Layout.java:345
android.text.Layout.draw Layout.java:205
android.widget.TextView.onDraw TextView.java:5165
android.view.View.draw View.java:14473
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13369
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2947
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2947
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2947
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.widget.ListView.drawChild ListView.java:3363
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.widget.AbsListView.dispatchDraw AbsListView.java:2458
android.widget.ListView.dispatchDraw ListView.java:3358
android.view.View.draw View.java:14476
android.widget.AbsListView.draw AbsListView.java:3817
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13369
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2947
android.view.View.draw View.java:14476
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13369
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2947
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2947
android.view.View.draw View.java:14476
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13369
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2947
android.view.View.draw View.java:14476
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13369
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2947
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2947
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2947
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2947
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getHardwareLayerDisplayList View.java:13396
android.view.View.getHardwareLayer View.java:13124
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13335
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.draw View.java:14476
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13369
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout.drawChild DrawerLayout.java:1367
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.draw View.java:14476
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13369
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.draw View.java:14476
android.widget.FrameLayout.draw FrameLayout.java:472
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13369
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13364
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.View.draw View.java:14190
android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild ViewGroup.java:3103
android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw ViewGroup.java:2940
android.view.View.draw View.java:14476
android.widget.FrameLayout.draw FrameLayout.java:472
com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow$DecorView.draw PhoneWindow.java:2329
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13369
android.view.View.getDisplayList View.java:13411
android.view.HardwareRenderer$GlRenderer.buildDisplayList HardwareRenderer.java:1578
android.view.HardwareRenderer$GlRenderer.draw HardwareRenderer.java:1457
android.view.ViewRootImpl.draw ViewRootImpl.java:2385
android.view.ViewRootImpl.performDraw ViewRootImpl.java:2257
android.view.ViewRootImpl.performTraversals ViewRootImpl.java:1887
android.view.ViewRootImpl.doTraversal ViewRootImpl.java:1000
android.view.ViewRootImpl$TraversalRunnable.run ViewRootImpl.java:5674
android.view.Choreographer$CallbackRecord.run Choreographer.java:771
android.view.Choreographer.doCallbacks Choreographer.java:574
android.view.Choreographer.doFrame Choreographer.java:544
android.view.Choreographer$FrameDisplayEventReceiver.run Choreographer.java:757
android.os.Handler.handleCallback Handler.java:733
android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage Handler.java:95
android.os.Looper.loop Looper.java:149
android.app.ActivityThread.main ActivityThread.java:5061
java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative Method.java
java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke Method.java:515
com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run ZygoteInit.java:787
com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main ZygoteInit.java:603
dalvik.system.NativeStart.main NativeStart.java

also remembering that it happens sometimes, not always, but I still worry about how many times it happens.


Netfirms is one of old web hosting company at internet. They have a free web hosting plan for people who want to try their server.
There is one horizontal banner at the top of every pages. You must upgrade your plan if you want the banner gone.
You can use your own domain name or purchase a domain from netfirms. But for just try netfirms's service i recommend you to try their sub domain before purchase domain name . You domain will like www.yourname.netfirms.com.
Here is the screenshot of Netfirms basic hosting.


iBall Andi 3.5KKe Winner comes with a 3.5 inches Capacitive Touchscreen	display with a screen resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. Display type TFT.
For imaging, the iBall Andi 3.5KKe Winner sports a 3.2 MegaPixels Camera with Yes, NA. Up front, the smartphone from iball makes use of a 0.3 Megapixels Secondary Camera selfie camera.
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The iBall Andi 3.5KKe Winner gets the power from a Li-ion 1250 mAH battery.
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The smartphone is priced at Rs. 3,399. The device is available via Flipkart and leading offline stores.


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text:
Volcanoes, gelato and canals: Italy's great small cities chosen by readers
Guardian readers 1 day agoLike|1Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez make romance officialUnaccompanied Afghan evacuee children in Qatar limbo © Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Matteo Colombo/Getty Images
Winning tip: Happy wanderer in Puglia
© Photograph: Matteo Colombo/Getty Images Sunset over Polignano a Mare.
A little piece of my soul was left in Polignano a Mare, a beautiful slice of real Italian life in Puglia. Pretty houses perching on clifftops overlooking emerald seas, a labyrinth of streets leading to a stunning old town, delectable gelato and a buzzy atmosphere as locals promenade and music plays, all combine to create a real gem. The contemporary art museum is worth a gander. It is the wandering, however, getting lost in delightful white-washed streets, stumbling across the poetry written on doorways and stairs, finding a clifftop bar beloved by locals, which is the key to enjoying this romantic town.
Vivienne Francis, Kent
Lovely Lucca
© Provided by The Guardian Lucca
Lucca is the hidden jewel in the Tuscan crown of Italy, and September is the best time to visit. Just 20 minutes from Pisa, its medieval walls, cobbled streets and shaded squares create a calm, quiet atmosphere. Cars are absent inside the walls, so it's great to stroll around at any time, and not uncommon to hear Puccini's music playing from open windows or balconies – Lucca is the composer's home town. Around mid-September a candlelit procession followed by fireworks and open-air festivities mark the climax of the Holy Cross festival – simply magic.
Yasmin, Cambridge
Venice without the hype
© Provided by The Guardian Great water view of Chioggia with vintage cabins and bridgeChioggia, little Venice in Italy
Chioggia is like Venice without the crowds and the high prices. At the southern end of the Venetian lagoon, it combines views of the snowcapped peaks of the Dolomites on a clear day and the Adriatic from its fine, sandy beach. The pastel-coloured houses create a colourful canvas to its waterways, as the fishing boats chug slowly along, dispensing their catch to local trattories. A medieval clocktower watches over the city and the Museum of Adriatic Zoology showcases the area's maritime traditions. Sit at a cafe sipping your cappuccino with vistas of calm canals and chatting fishers.
Gonca, Birmingham
Baroque gems in Vigevano
© Provided by The Guardian Italy, Lombardy, Vigevano, Ducale Square
Just 35km south-west of Milan and easily accessible by road and rail, the town of Vigevano is an architectural gem. Its centre is dominated by the Castello Sforzesco, now a museum which is closely linked to that of Milan: it is connected to the town's outer fortifications by an amazing and unique 200 metre-long medieval, covered bridge and roadway which allowed horsemen to ride directly from the castle to defend the town. Alongside the castle is the breathtaking 15th-century porticoed Piazza Ducale, enclosed at one end by the baroque cathedral – it is one of the most breathtaking open spaces in Italy.
Ian Statham, Cardiff
Artisanal Anghiari
© Provided by The Guardian alley in the medieval village Anghiari, Arezzo, Tuscany
The vast, 13th-century defensive walls of Anghiari still loom high over the plain of the Valtiberina, location of the decisive Florentine victory over the Milanese in 1440, and celebrated annually by a colourful, viciously contested Palio. Hidden within, a flower-strewn labyrinth of winding alleyways reveals linen looms, artisans' workshops and boutiques hewn from the bedrock. The Southbank Sinfonia performs in the piazza under the stars each July, and the town revels in seasonal celebrations of Tuscan gastronomy, culminating in the "Chequered Tablecloth", in which local produce is served at candlelit, communal tables, accompanied by performances of folklore, poetry and song and dance.
Benedict Leonard, London
Roman Christian mosaics in Ravenna
© Provided by The Guardian Mosaic of the baptism of Jesus, in the Arian Baptistry in Ravenna. Photograph: Michael Honegger/Alamy
Go to Ravenna – it is perfect for a long weekend, and close to Bologna. The imperial capital in the dying days of the Roman empire, it houses the most amazing collection of early Christian mosaics you'll ever see. The art mostly dates from the fifth and sixth centuries and adorns just a handful of ancient churches in the compact city centre. The imagery is a real shock. There are no crucifixions or other signs of Christ's suffering, and everywhere you'll see sheep. Yes, they took the idea of us all being a flock very literally 1,500 years ago.
Chris Wilson, Fife
Sunsets in Sicily
© Provided by The Guardian Taormina with Mount Etna at sunset. Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images
The city of Taormina in Sicily has it all. It's perched on a hilltop, therefore boasting amazing views of an active volcano, Mount Etna, while also having beautiful sandy coves, which can be accessed by a steep hike or via cable car. The town's piazza is one of the best places to watch the sun set in Sicily and a visit to the ancient Greek-Roman theatre is not to be missed– you can even catch a show here today.
Rachel W, Cumbria
Blown away in Sardinia
© Provided by The Guardian The Roman amphitheatre in Cagliari. Photograph: Luis Leamus/Alamy
Try a short break in Cagliari, a beautiful and bustling port city on the island of Sardinia – . Countless places to eat and drink, all fiercely proud of the local produce. Bombas, a modern burger restaurant, is nestled inside a cave within the stunning medieval city walls. Sightseeing includes La Torre dell'Elefante, an imposing 14th-century limestone tower, the sprawling ruins of the Roman amphitheatre and a host of museums and galleries. We visited not expecting much, but were blown away by what Cagliari had to offer.
Dom S, Accrington
Railway rapture in Genoa
© Provided by The Guardian funicular railway Genoa
Genoa is steep, built into the Ligurian cliffs. But if you don't fancy walking up and down the many staircases, there are a series of delightful funicular railways. The Zecca-Righi funicular gets you from the city centre to the high hills in minutes. But best of all is the cute and weird Ascensore Castello d'Albertis-Montegalletto – a delightful little carriage that trundles you 300 metres into the hillside, before boarding its own lift to leave you high up above the city, overlooking the port and just around the corner from the Museum of World Cultures. Journeys are €0.90.
Thom, London
Friuli had you fooled?
© Provided by The Guardian Piazza Libertà in Udine. Photograph: MassanPH/Getty Images
Italy but not Italy … That's the feeling that strikes you as you wander the streets of Udine, in the lesser-known region of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia. Sitting in the shadow of the castle, Piazza Libertà is considered to be the most beautiful Venetian square on terra firma, but it's the people and food that hint towards a more unusual mix of influences. The local language, Friulian, and the hearty dishes of frico, cjarsons and gubana give clues to the city's mountainous hinterland and its intoxicating Germanic and Slavic influences. Yet as your senses are filled with new sights, tastes and sounds, a glass of bianco from the Collio vineyards reminds you that, well, maybe this is Italy after all.
Steve Bassett, Exeter


Home » A Story of Health Wins CDC Communications Award!
The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) have honored A Story of Health multimedia eBook/continuing education course with the "Excellence in communications" award. NCEH and ATSDR are agencies of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The award was given at the annual NCEH/ATSDR Honor Awards on February 3, 2015 to the Story of Health team for excellence in communication for the development of a medical education product that highlights the importance of environmental health. These awards are given annually to recognize excellence in product development and employee performance. The eBook was designed to harness the power of storytelling to improve environmental health literacy for health professionals, policy makers and health advocates. It was developed by a team from ATSDR, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE), the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California EPA (OEHHA), the Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN), and the Western States Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU). The first installment of the eBook, with chapters on asthma, developmental disabilities and childhood leukemia, is available to download for free on the WSPEHSU web site. Health professionals can register for free continuing education credits (CE) through the CDC. A fourth story on infertility and reproductive health is in development. The eBook has been downloaded by over 3000, with over 2400 CE registrations. Feedback from CE registrants has been overwhelmingly positive.


Can anyone recommend two recordings - one using a (relatively) high amount of repeats, and the other using a low amount? I am not familiar enough with the piece to be aware of any real differences.
Any opinions on differences between Scott Ross (Erato) & Scott Ross (EMI/Virgin).
I'm thinking getting one of them, but which?
Sorry, but I never heard the Erato version.
Thank you Only one to buy - I have and enjoy the Leonhardt on Vanguard.
Yes, the Leonhardt Vanguard Historic recording is superb. The State of Wonder set by Gould is a fine one to have, I prefer his 1981 version with the repeats over the '55. The set also includes a 1 hour + conversation which is essential if you are getting to know the works. I am not a total GG supporter but there's no complaints in his Goldberg's or Bach in general IMO.
Haven't heard the 1959 version or seen it available over here (not looked too hard to find it) but in general surfing I haven't come across it.
You're in England, right? Well, Amazon UK has it readily available.
Sorry, I didn't notice the Drasko link.
I got this (albeit in a different issue to the one Drasko has linked to) for about £1.20.
Now we need to dig out the WTC topic, sadly I didn't take to the GG recording of these masterpieces but am quite content with Tureck (mono) DG & Richter's RCA set, which does sound distant and slightly muffled in the recording.
Yes, that Tureck/DG mono set is totally compelling and my favorite complete WTC on piano.
I kid you not. Don loves Bach. The Goldberg Variations especially.
Hey Mark,do you think Don might enjoy Handel's Chaconne in G Major HWV 435?
Lord alone knows, Muriel. Don't think I've heard that.
They are a splendid set of variations,you can find it played by Murray Perahia.
Don does enjoy the Chaconne but not as much as the Goldbergs.
Except that when one listens to a piece, whilst being 'not able to sleep', to actually get to sleep!
P.S. Sorry Drasko, don't know the Scott Ross on EMI/Virgin.
It's very easy to accumulate dozens of Goldbergs without making any attempt to collect them all. There is one brand new recording I definitely will get - Burkard Schliessmann on Bayer.
Well, in my experience, it doesn't work; there is either relaxing into sleep, or there is engaged listening. So perhaps there is some better way to put it than "listening to a piece in order to fall asleep" . . . ?
Yes, Sony "06" as long as folks know that's it's simply the Gould "55" all gussied up to not sound like an historical recording. Personally, I think it's only part Gould. Let's face it - this tinkering around with the sound takes some of the fizz out of the performance.
Yes, it's Gould "55" but with sound quality of today. It's as if Gould was born 50 years later and recorded the work last year. All recordings are tinkering, this is just high-tech tinkering. Nothing relavant is taken away, only irrelevant noise.
Since the "intervention" results in more rounded and rich phrasing, I definitely prefer the original mono version.


Posted on June 5, 2005 by Mark A.
This links you to a video-compilation of what seems like every figure skating accident that has ever occurred (probably isn't, but there is a lot of them).
FYI: While I was watching this I had the volume turned down on the computer and was listening to Metallica's "Slither" on my Ipod. Oddly enough, the Metallica song complimented the impressive crashes on the screen quite well. I imagine any Metallica song will do, though.