text:
Letter to Editor from Mike Buettell
June 13, 2016 by David Dehlendorf
Just when was America great?
Submitted by Mike Buettell, San Juan Island, June 12, 2016
Donald Trump wears a hat, that says, "Make America Great Again." (You can get your own for about $15, in red or white.) Have you ever wondered just what period in history he is referring to?
The New York Times asked him specifically and he answered, "late '40s and '50s," a time when he said,"We were not pushed around, we were respected by everyone." ( it's interesting to note that he did not mention the Reagan era as being "Great.")
The Donald was born in 1946 (like me) so our memories of the late '40s are pretty minimal; however, when you mention the 50's, visions of movies like "Stand by Me," "American Graffiti," "Grease," and TV shows like "Happy Days," and "I Love Lucy," pop into minds. Personally the words, poodle-skirts, Pony tails, Drive-In, malt shop, leather jackets, hot-rods, Rock and Roll, Black-and -white TV, the "Family car," tight-leg jeans, Elvis and Doris Day bring a big smile to my face. All of those were very good things, and like Donald I miss them.
There are some words used in the '50s, where no one smiles: Polio, Scarlet Fever, TB, Measles,Small Pox, Bikini Atoll, segregation, discrimination, "The Klan," Cold War, McCarthyism, corporal punishment, and the list goes on. In addition, women of the '50s could be anything they wanted as long as it was a housewife, teacher, nurse or secretary. Great? I think not.
So, what's the point? I think all of us "old dudes" secretly long for the simpler days of our youth, when a pimple on the chin or a certain girl/guy in English class was a much bigger issue than who was running for office; but the fact is its not 1955 anymore. The world is massively more populated, complex and inter-connected. Trump's simplistic message of ,"Make America Great Again," resonates strongly with the poorly educated, a group he admits that he loves, but misses the target. A better slogan on the hat, although tough to fit, might be:
Let's all put our differences aside and work to make the American Dream a reality for each and every citizen. Let's set the example to the rest of the world that the words "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," are still alive and achievable. And possibly most important, let's look for ways to incorporate the words, honesty, integrity, community-service, hope, trust, compassion, and love into every day conversation. If we could do that, America would be greater than its ever been.
Now, all we need is a leader who can deliver that slogan.
Category: Letters to the Editor, National elections, National government
A debtor's prison by any other name still reeks of the systemic problem of prison for profit »
« Letter to Editor From Lori Stokes


Our latest 2.0 remote control is compatible for the USA 4 digit, USA Pro, & USA Garage Timers only.
NOTE: Check to be sure that this remote control is identical to the one that needs replacing. If the remote is different than the one you currently have, check our other replacement options or give us a call for further assistance. Ordering a different remote may cause some functions not to work.
Replacement remote works great and excellent customer service!
Arrived quickly, works as intended. Thank you!


I received 3 water resistant power chargers that can charge Universal compatibility - charge cameras, tablets, ebook readers, GoPros, and smart phones including the iPhone 4, 5, and 6, Samsung Galaxy Note, HTC and Nokia phones. I have the Samsung Galaxy and I charged the power supply and then charged my phone. It took no time for it to charge.2600 mAh 5300 mAh11000 mAh is pretty powerful and can charge my phone up to 2 to 3 times without recharging. These chargers are really great.
I love that it is water resistant. My husband uses the big power bank and takes it on his boat. I use the mAh 5300 and my daughter and son both use the 2600 mAh. They all work great and have great powerI never have to worry about rain or when I a going out to the beach or pool. Great charger to have. I received these Power Banks complimentary in exchange for my unbiased opinion and review. All opinions and words are my own.


text:
11:25am Monday 20 January 2020
Scientists show both types of diabetes are caused by same underlying mechanism
3:38 August 20, 2014
The findings, published today in the FASEB Journal (20 August), provide compelling evidence that juvenile-onset or type-1 diabetes and type-2 diabetes are both caused by the formation of toxic clumps of a hormone called amylin.
The results, based on 20 years' work in New Zealand, suggest that type-1 and type-2 diabetes could both be slowed down and potentially reversed by medicines that stop amylin forming these toxic clumps.
Professor Garth Cooper, of The University of Manchester and with his University of Auckland-based research team, at the led the study.
As well as producing insulin, cells in the pancreas also produce another hormone called amylin. Insulin and amylin normally work together to regulate the body's response to food intake. If they are no longer produced, then levels of sugar in the blood rise resulting in diabetes and causing damage to organs such as the heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves if blood sugar levels aren't properly controlled.
However, some of the amylin that is produced can get deposited around cells in the pancreas as toxic clumps, which then, in turn, destroy those cells that produce insulin and amylin. The consequence of this cell death is diabetes.
Research published previously by Professor Cooper suggested that this is the causative mechanism in type-2 diabetes. This new research provides strong evidence that type-1 diabetes results from the same mechanism.
The difference is that the disease starts at an earlier age and progresses more rapidly in type-1 compared to type-2 diabetes because there is more rapid deposition of toxic amylin clumps in the pancreas.
Professor Cooper's group expects to have potential medicines ready to go into clinical trials in the next two years and it is anticipated that these will be tested in both type-1 and type-2 diabetic patients. These clinical trials are being planned with research groups in England and Scotland.
For further information, please contact Alison Barbuti, Media Relations Officer, Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, The University of Manchester.
Paper title "The pathogenic mechanism of diabetes varies with the degree of overexpression and oligomerization of human amylin in the pancreatic islet beta cells" is published in FASEB J – Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Bethesda, MD, USA (http://www.fasebj.org/), the world's most cited biology journal on Wednesday 20 August 2014.
1. According to the American Heart Association [1], the prevalence of diabetes for all age groups worldwide was estimated to be 2.8% in 2000 and is projected to be 4.4% in 2030. The total number of people with diabetes is projected to rise from 171 million in 2000 to 366 million in 2030. Similar figures have been produced by other groups such as the International Diabetes Federation [2].
2. The cost to the NHS of treating diabetes is £10 billion, approximately 10% of the NHS budget [3]
3. The two common forms of diabetes are type-1 diabetes (also known as juvenile-onset diabetes, where there is an absolute requirement for insulin in order to ensure survival) and type-2 diabetes: these represent about ~5% and ~95% of all cases, respectively.
4. In type-1 diabetes, immune cells are thought to destroy the pancreatic islet beta-cells which normally make insulin, thereby causing the disease.
5. In type-2 diabetes, the pancreatic hormone amylin is thought to adopt an unusual shape that renders it toxic to beta-cells which it probably destroys over a longer period.
6. Our work is supported by the Endocore Research Associates University of Auckland, New Zealand; the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment; the Health Research Council of New Zealand; the Maurice Wilkins Centre; and The University of Manchester, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Medical Research Council; and was facilitated by the Manchester Biomedical Research Centre and the UK National Institute for Health Research Greater Manchester Comprehensive Local Research Network.
01/14/2020 Diabetes
Researchers discover process that may explain how Type 2 diabetes develops
Sugar not to blame for high risk of heart disease in those at high risk for diabetes
Blood lipid profile predicts risk of type 2 diabetes better than obesity
Brain function irregular in children with Type 1 diabetes, study says
NTU scientists discover new way to promote insulin production in pre-diabetes phase
LANDMARK DRUG TRIAL WHICH COULD REVOLUTIONISE TREATMENT FOR TYPE 1 DIABETES
Researchers Find New Potential Approach to Type 2 Diabetes Treatment
11/05/2019 Diabetes Researchers engineer insulin-producing cells activated by light for diabetes
Scientists Identify Potential Way to Prevent Type 1 Diabetes
Protein insight may lead to better control of type 2 diabetes
With one click, 'digital pipeline' automates classification of diabetic kidney disease
Popular Pain Medication Associated with Greater Risk of Hypoglycemia
07/22/2019 Diabetes Link between diabetes and heart failure stronger in women than men
Discovering how diabetes leads to vascular disease
New insight into the biology of insulin release

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Kamusi Project International (KPI) is an independent non-profit, tax-exempt, non-governmental organization registered in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. KPI is responsible for all activities associated with the Kamusi Project worldwide 🌍, except for the United States. Activities include international fundraising and expenditures, and project development that occurs or originates in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, or any country in the Americas other than the United States.


text:
Startseite › Urgent Actions › 2019 › 01 › Journalist arbitrarily detained incommunicado › Journalist's request for provisional release rejected
FI 001/19-1
Abgeschlossen am 5. Februar 2019
Journalist's request for provisional release rejected
On 18 January, Macomia's District Judicial Court ruled that the pre-trial detention of journalist Amade Abubacar was lawful and ordered that he remain in detention awaiting trial. Mr. Abubacar was arrested by police on 5 January and transferred from the Macomia District Police Command to military detention in Mueda district. He was held incommunicado by military forces for 12 days before being transferred back into police custody. He is currently being held at the Macomia District Police Command.
Amade Abubacar was arrested on 5 January by the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) in Macomia district, Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique and taken to Macomia's Police Station. He was arrested when he was interviewing internally displaced people (IDPs) who had fled their homes due to the intensification of violent attacks carried out by people believed to be members of an extremist group known as Alshabab in northern Cabo Delgado province. On the same day, Amade Abubacar was transferred from police to military custody, where he spent 12 days in incommunicado detention. He was transferred back to police custody on 17 January.
The northern districts of Cabo Delgado province, including Macomia, have experienced armed attacks since October 2017. The attacks are carried out by people believed to be members of an extremist group, Al-Shabab, who invade villages, set houses on fire, hack villagers to death with machetes and loot their food. Several residents of the attacked villages have fled to other districts fearing for their lives.
This province is important to the central government due to its richness in mineral resources, including gas and ruby. Therefore, the government increased the military presence in the region after the attacks began. Since then, the authorities have intimidated, harassed and prevented journalists from reporting on the situation. Amade has been covering attacks on civilians by armed groups in the Cabo Delgado province since its beginning. In fact, the community radio where Mr. Abubacar works, Nacedje radio, is a state-owned community radio in Macomia district, Cabo Delgado province in Northern Mozambique. He has been working at Nacedje community radio for more than 10 years. He was the director of this radio station for a couple of years. Nevertheless, in September 2018, he was demoted from his position as director. The reason for his demotion was his frequent reporting on the armed attacks targeting the northern districts of Cabo Delgado province. His demotion was already a result of government censorship and harassment of journalists in the region. Mr. Amade Abubacar was arrested while carrying out his work in the city he is based in.
For more information, please read the Amnesty International press release "Mozambique: End Brutal Killing Spree by Armed Group" (https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/06/mozambique-end-brutal-killing-spree-by-armed-group/).
8 Briefe verschickt
UA 001/19-1 english
UA 001/19-1 deutsch
UA 001/19-1 français
Folter, Unfaires Gerichtsverfahren, Journalisten, Meinungsäusserungsfreiheit, Mosambik


text:
Filed under: Politics/Current Events — jbwatson @ 6:40 pm
Tags: abortion, Barack Obama, Ed Henry, Henry Louis Gates, Jay Carney, Kermit Grosnell, murder, no comment, press conference, Trayvon Martin, trial
The realities of the Kermit Grosnell case are exceedingly gruesome, and there is enough information about the case out there that I did not feel the need to address it here–specifically since it is so gruesome that there is really no comment needed. I cannot imagine how any person who is not mentally ill could defend his actions. If you have not heard of him, or do not know what I am referring to, and you want to know, just Google his name and you will find out far more than you want to know. If you would like me to make it easier for you, you can read this article from USA Today. I'll be honest, though, I suspect most people cannot read the article without becoming physically sick. Just read the opening line of the article and you will know enough to put the rest of what I am going to say in context.
At yesterday's White House briefing White House Press Secretary Jay Carney made no announcements, instead opening the floor for questions from the White House press corps. One of the reporters present, Ed Henry (senior White House correspondent for Fox News), asked Carney about the Gosnell trial (he is on trial for murder) and the president's reaction to the situation. You can watch the press briefing on the White House web site and/or read the transcript.
Initially Carney said that the president "does not and cannot take a position on an ongoing trial." Interesting. If you check YouTube for the video clip of the press briefing you will see that most of the comments there correctly point out that President Obama has had no problem at all taking a position on ongoing trials in the past. Just over a year he ago he made comments on the Trayvon Martin shooting, specifically, according to The Huffington Post, because "he and his press handlers were feeling pressure, coming from black activists and others, to make a public comment on the Martin case." In that instance Obama's comments were cautiously guarded, because he said he did not want to "impair" the ongoing legal process, but that did not stop him from commenting on the matter.
In July 2009 President Obama did not let his unfamiliarity with all of the facts stop him from addressing the Cambridge, Massachusetts' police department's arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. In fact, in a press conference the president said, ""Now, I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that. But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly….and, number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact." Maybe so, Mr. President, but that kind of rhetoric did nothing to specifically address the problem, and in fact could serve only to inflame any hostility in and toward the matter. But here's another fact for Mr. Obama and Mr. Carney–there again the President of the United States was making specific comments on an ongoing legal matter.
So, convenient though it may have been for Mr. Carney to dodge the question by saying the president cannot take a position, the facts speak for themselves and when pressured to do so, when convenient, or, more accurately, when it will play well in the African-American community, Mr. Obama has had no problem taking a position on an ongoing legal matter.
After saying there was no position being taken Mr. Carney said, "Certainly, the things that you hear and read about this case are unsettling, but I can't comment further on an ongoing legal proceeding." "Unsettling" is an understatement to say the least. Mr. Henry was not ready to let the issue go, though. He pressed Mr. Carney with this background and question:
I understand the legal proceeding. The President as a state senator in 2003 voted against a bill that would provide medical care, as I understand, to babies who would be born after a botched abortion like this. And the President at the time said he couldn't support it as a state senator because he felt like any doctor in that situation would take care of a child.
When you hear this kind of evidence that suggests there's at least one doctor who apparently did not, I understand you can't comment — you can't deal with the deliberations of the case, but is there some legislative solution or at least a conversation that needs to happen in Washington? Because on guns, you were just saying, we need common-sense reform, we need to save lives. In this case, do we need to be saving lives as well?
Carney's response? "Well, again, you're relating it to a case that I can't comment on and the President can't comment on. I would simply say that the President's position on choice is very clear. His position on the basic principle that, as President Clinton said, abortions ought to be safe, legal and rare is very clear. I just don't have comment that could shed light on this specific case."
Mr. Carney was missing Mr. Henry's point entirely. He was no longer asking for specific comment on the Gosnell case; he was asking whether or not President Obama has the same impetus to seek "common-sense reform" to save the lives of babies who survive abortions as he seems to wont to do with gun control.
The sad truth is that Mr. Carney, and President Obama, had no comment. When a black teenager is shot, he has a comment. When a black scholar is arrested–as it turns out, at his own home–he has a comment. But when a black abortion provider is killing babies who have been born alive, he has no comment. That's the bottom line, and in my opinion it is inexcusable.
And quite frankly, their "no comment" speaks volumes.


text:
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Review Flash
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CD Review: Twins in Fear - Unification
Written by Christian W.
Dark Dimensions Label Group
Twins In Fear
Artist: Twins in Fear
Title: Unification
Genre: Indie / Electro
Label: Scanner / Dark Dimensions Label Group
TWINS IN FEAR is a new electronic project of the Ukrainian-Swiss duo Maria and Lena who both live in Hamburg at the time. They both have worked as background singer and dancers for several projects in the past. In 2019 they decided to express their emotional world in their own songs. The result is a mixture of electro pop and gloomy synthesizer tunes. The lyrics are in German, Russian and English. In their own words: "Most pop songs are happy and designed to put you in a good mood. Our music is the exact opposite. We don't want to promise a good mood if that's not what we're feeling. Why shouldn't we share our tears with you? We also want to sing about bad thoughts and reveal our fear of this world."
Their debut album 'Unification' was primarily announced for May but rescheduled half a year due to the Corona crisis. Before the album release, back in early 2020 and only a few weeks before the shut down the duo could be seen live as a support act on the "Female Electro Bizarre" tour with the German band GRAUSAME TÖCHTER. The fact that these two bands shared the stage was no coincidence. In fact, there are several links between them. Recording and mixing for both acts is done by Gregor Hennig while Hans-Jürgen Osmers is responsible for arrangements and production. They also publish their work on the same label. Aranea Peel, singer of GRAUSAME TÖCHTER, is responsible for the photos and artwork of the album.
There is not much information available about the duo, yet. However, they did an interview with American online magazine Static Realms. In this interview they were asked whether they are really twins. They answered: "Yes, we really are twins, as in we are of one mind. We always feel, smell, taste and think like one girl. No matter the situation, we share the same experience. Once we come together, that's when the magic happens. In other words, we are one person divided into two bodies. You might think you're seeing two girls, but in reality, there's only one."
The duo has also released two videos which both can be found on YouTube:
'Abseits', released on December 8th 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1xc8v8b6TY
'Geld', released November 26th 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI41UTYTfV8
If you like GRAUSAME TÖCHTER make sure to give them a listen. In case you do not know both of them but like electronic music off the beaten track give them a try as well!
01. Abseits
02. Geld
03. Herz
04. Unification
05. Allein
06. Wo die Sonne nicht scheint
07. The Hunt
08. Rätsel
09. Träume Explodieren
10. Vampir
11. Bus verpasst!
12. Through the Darkness
13. Angst
Lena & Maria Dabrova
https://www.facebook.com/TWINS-IN-FEAR-410678636387630 / https://scanner-dd.bandcamp.com/album/unification
Music: 8
Sound: 9
Total: 8 / 10
Live Review: Brememinale - Bremen 2022 - 2022-07-17 (1 match)
Live Review: Grausame Töchter - Hanover 2019 - 2019-12-26 (1 match)
You are here: Home Artists P-T CD Review: Twins in Fear - Unification


text:
Q: perl lwp useragent and mysql data download and update character set trouble I've migrated to a new hosting provider, with same freebsd system, and one of my perl scripts stopped working properly.
It downloads data from external https site and stores it in mysql db.
Data is in cp1251 encoding, same encoding is in mysql base, tables and connection.
From my.cnf:
character-set-server=cp1251
collation-server=cp1251_general_ci
init-connect="SET NAMES cp1251"

When connecting to mysql from perl script:
$dbh->do('SET CHARACTER SET cp1251');

So, I'm getting this data with
$ua = new LWP::UserAgent;
....
$res = $ua->get(....)
$s = $res->decoded_content();

Then script will parse this $s and insert result into mysql. When it does, encoding is corrupted!
Funny thing that I discovered is if I just write this data to a text file, then read it from this file and insert it into mysql - it's not corrupted!
When I view this text file I see that data is in cp1251 encoding.
What changed since previous hosting:
perl: from 5.10.1 to 5.14.4
libwww: from 5.835 to 6.05
mysql server is the same 5.1
UPDATE: Wow, just found something.
If I replace $res->decoded_content() with $res->content(), everything works.
Maybe that's because there's no charset in headers of the page I'm downloading.
I still don't understand how decoded_content messes with the string in such manner, that it looks like cp1251 but it isn't. Some utf flags maybe? Help plz.
UPDATE2: Here's the script (main parts):
#!/usr/bin/perl

use POSIX qw(strftime);
use LWP::UserAgent;
use HTTP::Headers;
use HTTP::Cookies;
use Digest::MD5 qw(md5_hex);
use DBI;
use common::sense;
no utf8;
no strict;

$ua = new LWP::UserAgent;
$hh = HTTP::Headers->new(
  User-Agent => 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:21.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/21.0',
  Accept => 'text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,*/*;q=0.8',
  Accept-Language => 'en-us,en;q=0.7,ru;q=0.3',
  Accept-Encoding => 'gzip, deflate',
  Connection => 'keep-alive',
);
$ua->default_headers( $hh );
$ua->cookie_jar({});
$ua->timeout(20);

YMoney();

sub YMoney {

  $res = $ua->get('...');
  $res = $ua->post('...');

...

  $res = $ua->get("...");
  $s = $res->decoded_content();
  @list = reverse split("\n", $s);

  $dbh = DBI->connect("DBI:mysql:database=orders;host=localhost;port=3306", ....);
  $dbh->do('SET CHARACTER SET cp1251');

  for $line (@list) {
    next if ($line !~ /^\+;/);

    @pay{'data', 'amount', 'comment'} = map { s/"+//g; $_ } (split(';', $line))[1, 2, 5];
    $pay{hash} = md5_hex( join('', @pay{'data', 'amount', 'comment'}) );

    $id = $dbh->selectrow_array("SELECT id FROM ymoney WHERE hash = ?", {}, $pay{hash});

    if (!$id) {
      $dbh->do("INSERT INTO ymoney (operator, hash, data, amount, comment) VALUES ('yandex', ?, ?, ?, ?)", {},
      $pay{hash}, DB_Date($pay{data}), DB_Amount($pay{amount}), $pay{comment}
      );
    }
  }
}

A: As an approximation, Perl operates either on the raw bytes you give it, or on Unicode codepoints. When dealing with text data, the latter is much more useful. But this means that you have to decode all your input, and encode your output.
 __________  |                  _______________
\ WEB PAGE \ |               __|__             |               _______
 \ -------- \ \-------------\  L  | YOUR APP    \--------------\ DATA |
 / -------- /  〉 encoded data 〉 W  |              〉 encoded data 〉 BASE |
/ -------- /  /-------------/__P _| codepoints  /--------------/______|
\__________\ |                 |_______________|

When you use decoded_content, LWP is so nice to give you codepoints directly. The undecoded content is not useful: It may be compressed, have a transfer encoding, or may be in an unexpected charset.
But this means that now, you have to encode that text again. You can either do so explicitly if the server expects a binary blob, or let DBI sort this out for you – no set character set should be necessary.
TL;DR: Remove any encoding hacking unless you know what you are doing. If you follow best practices, everything should work out just fine. Otherwise, do your own encoding with Encode.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Chris McKay & The Critical Darlings
40 Watt Club
As you may remember, our "quiet one", Josh is beginning to come out of his shell. As further evidence of claimed fact, here's his first-ever blow-by-blow show report.
Now over to Josh:
"Don your dirtiest AC/DC T-shirt, rev up the old truck, and head down to your closest firework stand, for this is a moment worthy of cheap sparklers and 99 cent bottle rockets!
This, my Darling friends, is my first show report; I being Joshua Harrison, the Critical Darlings' very own drummer and, coincidentally, lover of all things Funky. Not to be confused with Frank DeFreese, our retro stylin' fashion guru, who is so funky that he was actually born wearing skin tight, plaid polyester pants. No, it is I, the man in the back, the lurker of the drum-kit that speaks to you now.
May 1, 2008 was a very special day for two reasons:
1 – It marked my very first time playing at the 40 Watt!
2 – As if that wasn't already sweet enough, take this on for size. It was my man Frank's birthday. Here is how it all went down.
5:45 pm - I race into Downtown, Athens. With wheels screeching, I blazed down to the 40 Watt. I thought I was going to be late for the Darlings' sound check! You see compadres, this was to be an amazing night. It was a benefit show filled with wonder. We were playing with Birds & Wire, Blue Flashing Light and the Ice Cream Socialists. ALL the money went to aid the Red Cross.
So I get there and see there is no drum kit set up. In case you are unaware, knowing whether or not I have to play my own kit, play someone else's kit, bring only some of my kit, bring my kit and not be able to play it, or have to build one from river wood…is the most annoying dilemma I face at every show. Luckily, some guys from BFL were there with their drummer's kit. Adam was frantically trying to put together the kit for the sound checks since the drummer wasn't there! I stepped in to help them out, plus I even improved a drum part for one of their songs so they could check.
The stage sound was alright, but circumstances allowed me to be the only Darling to sound check that night. (Note from Chris: To be truthful, we probably needed soundcheck the least.)
6:30 ish: Frank, Gina, Emily, Joe, and I go to celebrate the birth of our bass playin' homo-sapien. The amber glow of beer doth flow into our chalices, and all was merry. Afterwards we parted ways, every man and woman choosing the best way to get ready for the massive rock bomb we were going to drop upon the unsuspecting inhabitants of our Greece inspired town.
10 pm: Birds & Wire began the show with a pleasant, enchanting set of melodic folksy/jazzy/ light rock. All was well. We had all been worried about turnout in a college town during finals because the show was to begin at 9 and at that prescribed time, the crowd consisted 100% of people made out of antimatter. By 10, I noticed that somehow, quite a few people made of matter had appeared, giving us eager faces to potentially rock off.
Backstage, Amanda used her sly skills to take some posed (but not too posed) pictures. Check them out in our photo album, candid and promo pic sections!
11pm: The time had come for Chris, our bad-ass-song-writing-genius leader to take us into combat. Joe (our axe-wielding-guitar-god-nice-as-hell guy), Frank (our bass- thumping-connoisseur of beer and fast women) and myself mounted the stage and did what we do.
Because few words have the power to explain the Critical Darlings and what the people in the audience were about to experience, we simply began to play. It's like trying to explain what an atomic bomb explosion looks like to someone that's never seen one. You just can't do it. Mid show, Emily presented Frank with a clown painting we had all chipped in for, while a circus tune erupted from Joe's fiery fingers. A moment of pause, like the calm before the storm, and the Darlings charged on.
Though we ran into technical difficulties (a.k.a. bass strings and chords not being worthy enough to be touched by hands so manicured) (Note from Chris: not to mention a little too much celebratory wobbliness on stage right), it was a great show.
There is always room for improvement. And believe me, the Critical Darlings will never stop getting better until the end of our days. That's why any show you see will be massive, but never as good as one you'll see later on. Evolution is key.
Afterwards, we all hung out backstage and partied it up like the rockstars we try to be, while BFL took on the stage. I'm sorry to say that I didn't stay to see the Ice Cream Socialist, but I wished them a great show in spirit.
That, my friends, is my first show review. More to come in the future. Keep an eye on the myspace page because it is in a constant state of being updated. Watch out for a show near you, because we all need to take a moment in our lives to put on our tightest shirt, take a deep breath, and be rocked utterly to oblivion!"
Athens, GA Set List
(with Chris' totally biased ratings for the evening)
1. Scared Of Myself ****
2. The Only Way****
3. Waiting For The Siren****
4. Sadder Day***
5. Rage On****
6. Phony****
7. Towel Cape Song***


text:
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Improved choice and new accolades for Vredestein winter tyre ranges
22-10-2021 Vredestein, Passenger Vehicle, Passenger Vehicle
Wintrac and Wintrac Pro available in 23 new dimensions; acclaimed for 'exemplary' performance
Apollo Tyres is significantly broadening its portfolio of award-winning Vredestein winter tyres this year with the launch of products in 23 new dimensions. Available in diameters from 15 to 22 inches, the new tyres are suitable for compact, family cars and SUVs (Wintrac), and high-performance cars and SUVs (Wintrac Pro). The arrival of the new products coincides with a host of new accolades for the Vredestein winter ranges, conferred by leading European tyre testers.
The latest Vredestein Wintrac, which is being launched in 11 new sizes, is engineered to deliver confidence-inspiring grip on snow- and ice-affected roads. Available for 15- and 16-inch wheels, the Wintrac features a new-generation high-density silica compound that extends tyre life up to an additional 10,000km compared to the previous-generation tyre. There is a 10% improvement in resistance to aquaplaning thanks to improved tread design, and 5% more rubber in contact with the road significantly improves grip on wet and snow surfaces.
The Vredestein Wintrac Pro range, which provides unrivalled performance in the harshest weather conditions at speeds of up to up to 300km/h, is expanded this year with the launch of 12 new dimensions for wheels 17- to 22-inches in diameter. Compared to its predecessor, the latest Wintrac Pro offers 15% better handling in the snow and 10% better braking in the wet, and has a speed rating of Y in most sizes.
Podium places in leading winter tyres tests
Both the Wintrac and Wintrac Pro have performed exceptionally well in a number of leading group tyre tests, establishing the superiority of Apollo Tyres and its Vredestein products in extreme environments.
In Autobild's largest winter tyre review where 50 products were tested, the Wintrac achieved third place overall; praised for its "convincing all-round talent with dynamic driving characteristics on wet and dry roads, precise steering response, and low rolling resistance."
The Wintrac also placed third in Auto Motor und Sport's 2021 winter test, with the German automobile magazine recognising the popular Vredestein tyre in particular for its 'performance-price' characteristics. The Wintrac beat products from a host of leading European tyre makers, and received a 'very good' overall rating.
The Wintrac Pro has also won recent acclaim, finishing third overall in the AutoBild Sportscars test of winter tyres, receiving an 'exemplary award' for "convincing all-round talent with very good winter and wet qualities, stable wet and dry handling, and low price level."
Additionally, the Wintrac Pro finished fourth overall in the recent AutoBild Allrad test of SUV winter tyres, winning praise for being a "winter specialist with good performance on wet and snowy roads," and for its "short snow and wet braking distances, high aquaplaning safety, and [its low] price."
In a collaboration between European car clubs, Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC), Europe's largest motoring association and Touring Club Suisse (TCS), the largest Mobility Club in Switzerland, tested both of the Vredestein winter tyre ranges against leading rivals. The Wintrac finished fourth overall, performing well on wet and snow, and achieved first place for its grip on ice. Labelled "very recommendable" by the TCS reviewers, the Wintrac impressed TCS for being a "very balanced tyre", for its durability, and for its low fuel consumption compared to rivals. The Wintrac Pro also performed well and was praised for its performance on both snow and ice, as well as on dry and wet surfaces. Like the Wintrac, it performed well in fuel consumption tests.
In Auto Zeitung, the Wintrac Pro outperformed other tyres in wet and icy conditions. In particular, the tyre impressed the testers with the best traction and deceleration in the snow, as well as extremely high grip levels in the wet. The German publication said the Wintrac Pro tyre is 'Highly recommended' and also named it the "price-performance champion."
Daniele Lorenzetti, Chief Technology Officer at Apollo Tyres, said: "The winter segment is highly competitive and Vredestein products remain in high demand thanks to our continued focus on innovation and performance, and our investment in design and materials. These new tyres are engineered to tackle some of the very worst winter conditions, and it's very rewarding to see the efforts of our R&D team recognised by some of the leading tyre testers in Europe."
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A survey commissioned by Apollo Tyres has found that only 6% of motorists in the UK are able to correctly identify a tyre's 'load rating', […]
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New sponsorship of 2023 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships will boost awareness of Vredestein winter and all-season tyre range
The Vredestein premium tyre brand is to become an Official Sponsor of the 2023 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, being held in Courchevel Méribel, France, […]
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Following two successful years in the Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship (FIA ETRC) with TOR Truck Racing, Apollo Tyres has signed a new two-year […]


text:
Ке́мпинг (от  «проживание в лагере») — оборудованный летний лагерь для автотуристов c местами для установки палаток или лёгкими домиками, местами для стоянки автомобилей (на общей стоянке или непосредственно у жилья) и туалетами. Функционирование кемпинга основано на самообслуживании. Кемпинг может также включать инфраструктуру сферы обслуживания, например магазины, эстакады для осмотра и мойки автомобилей. В русском языке «кемпинг» приобрел иное значение, чем исходное английское слово camping, под которым подразумевается вид туризма, связанный с проживанием в палатках, домиках на колёсах или специально оборудованных лёгких домиках. На автомобильных дорогах Российской Федерации для обозначения кемпинга служит дорожный знак 7.10.

Организацией кемпингов, как правило, занимаются представители малого бизнеса, которые сами предпочитают именно такой вид проживания на отдыхе. В Российской Федерации нет чётких критериев, которые позволяли бы определить туристический лагерь или автостоянку как кемпинг, однако набор минимальных требований существует:

 огороженная территория;
 доступ к электросети;
 душевые и туалеты;
 площадка, подготовленная для установки палаток.

Существование большого количества приверженцев самостоятельной организации отдыха способствует росту числа кемпингов в любом месте притяжения туристов. Граждане РФ организуют кемпинги не только на территории России, но и на территориях соседних стран, чьё законодательство позволяет вести предпринимательскую деятельность иностранцам без бюрократических проволочек — Грузия, Абхазия, Беларусь и другие.

См. также
 Глэмпинг

Автомобильный транспорт
Путешествия
Автомобильный туризм

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Archive pour la catégorie 'Information'
From Warsow with love
The calendar year ended. As usual, the rotating presidency of the EU Council has changed hands. While the Poles say goodbye, the Danes took place for the first half of 2012.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,
Everything good must eventually have its finale, and the six months of the first Polish Presidency of the European Union Council is finally coming to an end. For 184 days we have tried to serve the European Union and its citizens. Our holding of the Presidency came at a difficult time and one full of challenges, and we hope that we have been able to fulfil this task.
We would like to thank you sincerely for the interest and trust that you have bestowed on us by visiting the official website of the Presidency www.pl2011.eu and the good will you have shown. We express our gratitude for your support and commitment, as well as for your criticism and activity.
The year that is now coming to an end has been important for Europe. In the New Year wish all of you optimism and solidarity, and also what is expressed in the motto of our Presidency: 'More Europe in Europe'.
Now the presidency of the EU Council passes to our friends from Denmark. And we guarantee - you can count on us. Good luck! I kan regne med os. Held og lykke!
Thank you and best regards,
The team of the Polish Presidency
Publié dans Citizenship, Culture - Media, Information, Public management, research | Aucun commentaire »
And the European Capitals of Culture for 2012 are …
Two European Capitals of Culture were designated in 2012: Guimarães and Maribor. Discover these two cities, respectively Portuguese and Slovenian!
Guimarães (Portugal) and Maribor (Slovenia) take over the title of European Capitals of Culture 2012 on 1 January. Both cities have a busy calendar of events planned for the year, with the aim of showcasing themselves to the world and building a lasting legacy for their citizens. The official programme of events begins on 13 January in Maribor and 21 January in Guimarães.
The official launch of Maribor 2012 will take place over the weekend of 13-15 January, with music, theatre and dance performances. Numerous and varied cultural events, combining traditional and innovative approaches, from carnival to contemporary dance, are planned throughout the year. Young audiences will be a particular focus of the events.
Guimarães will open its festivities on Saturday 21 January with a theatre and multimedia open-air show. Its programme for the year focuses on four themes: City, Community, Thought and Arts.
Representatives from Tallinn (Estonia) and Turku (Finland), the 2011 European Capitals of Culture, will attend the launch events in both cities to pass over the baton to the 2012 Capitals.
Organisation and funding of the European Capitals of Culture are principally the responsibility of the cities and Member States concerned.
The European Commission has contributed with a €1.5 million grant to each city. Known as the Melina Mercouri Prize after the Greek Culture Minister who inspired the initiative, the grant is awarded on the basis that the city's cultural programme meets three criteria: it highlights the European dimension, fosters the participation of the public, and is an integral part of the long-term cultural and social development of the city.
The European Capital of Culture title is an excellent opportunity for cities to improve or even transform their image, to put themselves on the world map, and rethink their development through culture. The title has a long-term impact, not only on culture but also in social and economic terms, both for the city and for the surrounding region. For example, a study has shown that the number of tourists staying for at least one night increased by 12% on average compared with the year before the city held the title; this figure was as high as 25% for Liverpool in 2008 and Sibiu (Romania) in 2007.
The current rules and conditions for hosting the title are set out in a 2006 decision (1622/2006/EC) of the European Parliament and Council of Ministers.
Following Guimarães and Maribor in 2012, the future European Capitals of Culture will be Marseille (France) and Košice (Slovakia) in 2013, Umeå (Sweden) and Riga (Latvia) in 2014, and Mons (Belgium) and Plzeň (Czech Republic) in 2015.
Publié dans Citizenship, Culture - Media, Information, research | Aucun commentaire »
The "roaming" on the radar of the European Parliament
The goal is for Parliament to reduce prices and promote competition for communications made abroad.
Ms Niebler backs the two-track approach proposed by the European Commission in July 2011, i.e. to set new caps on retail prices (charged to clients) and wholesale prices (split between operators) as of 1 July 2012 on one hand, and to introduce structural measures to boost competition on the other..
One proposed "structural" solution would be to require operators to offer clients domestic and international roaming services separately, so that they are able to choose a different supplier of roaming services if they so wish, with effect from July 2014.
The new retail and wholesale price caps proposed by Mrs Niebler go beyond those proposed by the European Commission.
Reducing roaming prices
According to Tony Shortall, Director at Telage, a telecoms consultancy, the structural problem is at the wholesale level: wholesale costs are extremely high and must drop significantly.
Boosting competition
Emmanuel Forest, of Bouygues Telecom, argued that the "structural" solution, i.e. enabling clients to buy roaming services separately, would be complex and probably inefficient in terms of competition, because the costs of doing so would be higher for smaller operators.
He suggested that an alternative solution would be to oblige operators to offer customers a genuine European tariff, close to domestic prices.
However, Jacques Bonifay, of Transatel, warned that setting roaming price caps too low would reduce competition.
Transparency and consumer protection
Industry Committee rapporteur Angelika Niebler also backed an amendment proposed by Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee rapporteur Eija-Riita Korhola (EPP, FI), that would require operators to notify customers when they approach a €50 "safety cap" on roaming charges.
Publié dans Citizenship, Culture - Media, Information | Aucun commentaire »
The European Commission proposes to enhance public administrations' computer data
The European Commission proposes a new digital strategy to support the economy of the Union
Europe's public administrations are sitting on a goldmine of unrealised economic potential: the large volumes of information collected by numerous public authorities and services. Member States such as the United Kingdom and France are already demonstrating this value. The strategy to lift performance EU-wide is three-fold: firstly the Commission will lead by example, opening its vaults of information to the public for free through a new data portal. Secondly, a level playing field for open data across the EU will be established. Finally, these new measures are backed by the €100 million which will be granted in 2011-2013 to fund research into improved data-handling technologies.
These actions position the EU as the global leader in the re-use of public sector information. They will boost the thriving industry that turns raw data into the material that hundreds of millions of ICT users depend on, for example smart phone apps, such as maps, real-time traffic and weather information, price comparison tools and more. Other leading beneficiaries will include journalists and academics.
The Commission proposes to update the 2003 Directive on the re-use of public sector information by:
- Making it a general rule that all documents made accessible by public sector bodies can be re-used for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, unless protected by third party copyright;
- Establishing the principle that public bodies should not be allowed to charge more than costs triggered by the individual request for data (marginal costs); in practice this means most data will be offered for free or virtually for free, unless duly justified.
- Making it compulsory to provide data in commonly-used, machine-readable formats, to ensure data can be effectively re-used.
Introducing regulatory oversight to enforce these principles;
- Massively expanding the reach of the Directive to include libraries, museums and archives for the first time; the existing 2003 rules will apply to data from such institutions.
In addition, the Commission will make its own data public through a new "data portal", for which the Commission has already agreed the contract. This portal is currently in 'beta version' (development and testing phase) with an expected launch in spring 2012. In time this will serve as a single-access point for re-usable data from all EU institutions, bodies and agencies and national authorities.
Open Data is general information that can be freely used, re-used and redistributed by anyone - either free or at marginal cost.
The Commission's proposal today would operate in full respect of rules on the treatment of personal data.
Studies conducted on behalf of the European Commission show that industry and citizens still face difficulties in finding and re-using public sector information. That is to say, open data is largely undeveloped in Europe.
In the important sector of geographical information, almost 80% of the respondents to Commission surveys say that they are prevented from making full use of information held by public bodies. Reasons include high fees, non-transparent rules and practices regarding re-use, a lack of transparency on what type of data is held and by whom, and exclusive licensing agreements which may have the effect of undermining competition.
In its 'Digital Agenda for Europe' the Commission identified the re-use of public sector information, alongside fast and ultra fast internet access, as key to delivering a Digital Single Market.
Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information introduced a first set of measures to make it easier for businesses to obtain access and permission to re-use government-held information. It also brought about a process whereby governmental agencies lowered the fees charged for obtaining the information. Today's proposal extends access and widens the coverage of the Directive.
Publié dans Economy - Finances, Information, Local development, Public management, research | Aucun commentaire »
The European Commission requires citizens to choose the best system of electric journey planning
As part of a competition, European citizens are asked to choose the electronic journey planner they prefer.
The idea behind the challenge was to raise awareness about and stimulate development of all-in-one journey planners, going beyond national borders and offering alternative transport modes. Now it is time for the public to have their say on the submitted planners.
The challenge for a truly European travel planner was open to everyone, companies and organisations or anyone with an interest in travelling. 28 examples of journey planners were submitted and 22 new innovative ideas. Unfortunately not all submitted planners – innovative and easy to use as they may be – could satisfy the strict cross-border and multimodal requirements.
Now it is time for the public to cast its vote, between 5 December 2011 and 13 January 2012, on the 12 short-listed planners. In parallel, an expert jury will meet to deliberate on the submitted ideas. The best entries in each category will be announced by Vice-President Kallas at an event in Brussels in February 2012. As a prize, the winners in each category will be invited to next year's ITS World Congress in Vienna (22-26 October 2012) to present their ideas and solutions at the Commission's stand.
The big challenges faced by the transport sector today, such as increasing congestion, fuel costs and climate change require that we look for and find smarter ways to travel. More multimodal travel – using different types of transport as part of one door-to-door journey – is part of the answer. It is not only better for the environment, but it is also likely to be easier on our wallets and offer personalised travel solutions. Although more than 100 journey planners already exist, there is not even one yet that would allow European citizens to find information or book a ticket for the entire journey within Europe regardless of the number of countries or transport modes involved.
Publié dans Information, Local development, research | Aucun commentaire »
A European label for the symbolic sites of European integration
Following a decision of the European Parliament, a European heritage label could emerge in 2013 for the symbolic sites of European integration.
Particular attention will go to "transnational" sites, given their special symbolism for Europe's common history.
Every two years from 2013, Member States will be able to propose up to two candidate sites, from which the jury of 13 independent experts will chose a maximum of one.
The label will guarantee the quality of selected sites such as monuments, natural, submerged, archaeological, industrial or urban sites, cultural landscapes, places of remembrance, cultural goods and objects or intangible heritage associated with a place. It may also be granted to contemporary heritage, for relevance to Europe's common history and heritage, rather than its architectural or aesthetic merits.
Candidate sites
Particular attention will go to "transnational" sites, given their special symbolism for Europe's history. These sites must nonetheless meet the conditions for granting a label and designate a co-ordinating site to be sole interlocutor with the European Commission.
Member States may also apply for a "thematic" label for several national sites linked by a common theme.
Towards uniform heritage labels
The European heritage label scheme builds on an intergovernmental one of the same name, started in 2006. Sites that have been awarded labels since 2006 under the old scheme may apply for labels under the new one. Within six years of the new scheme's entry into effect, a decision should be taken on whether European third countries may also take part.
Managing, protecting and promoting the sites will remain the responsibility of Member States. The European Commission will run communication and awareness-raising work such as creating a specific internet site for the label and encouraging promotional activities that network labelled sites.
Publié dans Culture - Media, Information, Justice - Security, Public management, research | Aucun commentaire »
The EU welcomes Russia's arrival in the WTO
The WTO accession of Russia comes after many years of discussions.
The EU has today welcomed the conclusion of negotiations for Russia's accession to the WTO. Today's unanimous approval by the Members of the Working Party on Russia's WTO accession brings an end to this 18 year long process and paves the way to formalising the results of these negotiations by the entire Membership of the WTO. The EU now looks forward to a unanimous political endorsement of Russia's WTO accession at the 8th WTO Ministerial Conference on 15-17 December this year.
European Commissioner for Trade, Karel De Gucht, welcomed the news saying, "I am delighted that Russia is now set to join the WTO. This is an important step for Russia's economic development and for the multilateral trading system. I'm also very pleased at this achievement today because Europe has played a critical role to ensure this long-standing goal has finally been reached. I now look forward to the upcoming WTO Ministerial in December to formally endorse Russia's accession to the WTO Membership."
The EU acknowledges the major efforts of the Russian Federation as well as its negotiating partners in finding solutions for the most difficult issues, which were resolved in the last weeks and days. The EU is also appreciative of the determination of Georgia and Russia to reach a timely resolution of their sensitive bilateral issues, and we very much welcome the efforts of the Government of Switzerland for their instrumental role in this respect.
The accession of Russia to the WTO is significant from both a multilateral and bilateral perspective. Russia as well as its trading partners will benefit from Russia's integration into the global, rules-based system of trade relations. Russia's accession to the WTO is especially important for the EU, Russia's largest trading partner. We are convinced that this step will give a major boost to further development of our economic relationship. Russia's membership in the WTO will also prove an important stepping stone for deepening the bilateral economic integration, including through the conclusion of the ongoing negotiation on the New Agreement.
Benefits for the EU of having Russia in the WTO:
It would open up opportunities in the Russian market for EU investors and exporters alike. Russia's import tariffs would come down and there would be a limit on export duty levels for a list of essential raw materials.
WTO accession would improve the overall business and investment climate. Russia would adopt international product standards and WTO rules in a number of areas such as customs procedures, licensing and intellectual property.
Accession and the ensuing economic reforms would help to make Russia's economy more transparent and predictable. This would create a strong incentive for foreign companies to boost their investments in the Russian economy – in all sectors.
Russia's entry in the WTO will have an estimated value for the European Union of €3 900 million.
EU-Russia trade in facts and figures
Russia is the EU's third largest trading partner after the US and China with an 8.6% share of EU trade in 2010.
The EU is Russia's biggest trading partner with a 45.8% share of its overall trade in 2010. Total trade with Russia amounted to €244 billion in 2010, compared to €183 billion in 2009. Imports from Russia increased by 31.4% in 2010, and exports from the EU to Russia went up by 38.2%.
The EU is by far the most important investor in Russia. It is estimated that more than 75% of the investment stock comes from the EU.
Publié dans Co-op & Development, Economy - Finances, Enlargement, Industry, Information, Justice - Security, research | Aucun commentaire »
Back to the last EURES session
The past three days, a meeting of the working group associated with the EURES informal forum of EURES managers was held in Warsaw. Discover the content of this session.
During the meeting, Member States belonging to the EURES Network received information on the EURES guidelines on the development of the EURES network and work programme to be implemented by the European Commission and Member States. The meeting was a platform for exchanging experiences between countries, as well as an opportunity to obtain information and to talk directly with the European Commission.
During the meeting, new tools were presented for work carried out as part of the EURES network, as well as the initial results of the study commissioned by the European Commission: Assessment of indicator measurement systems used by Public Employment Services and relevant recommendations on indicators of geographical mobility in the labour market. The meeting also summed up actions taken within the EURES network. The meeting participants had an opportunity to find out about a pilot project of virtual workshops and training for EURES staff, prepared by the European Commission, as well as proposals to promote mobility within the EURES network.
In addition, a Ministry of Labour and Social Policy representative familiarised participants with details about how the EURES network works in Poland's decentralised system of public employment services.
During the workshop, EURES managers attempted to develop a proposal for a EURES services directory, which will be incorporated into EURES service offerings in 2020. The EURES Working Group Meeting was also an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences and share best practices in the field of cooperation within the EURES network.
The conference was attended by EURES Managers from the EU/EEA countries, social partners, representatives of the European Commission and representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.
Publié dans Citizenship, Co-op & Development, Information, research | Aucun commentaire »
The agriculture and fisheries of the EU in figures
The paperback book on statistics of agriculture and fishing is available.
Which Member States are the main producers of cereals? Which Member State produces the most drinking milk and the most cheese and where is the most beef, pork and poultry meat produced?
Answers to these questions can be found in the 2011 edition of the Pocketbook on Agriculture and fishery statistics1 issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
The pocketbook presents selected tables and graphs providing a statistical overview of the agricultural sector in the European Union. The most recent data are presented for the 27 Member States as well as the EFTA countries when available. This pocketbook, intended for both generalists and specialists, is divided into seven chapters: milk and milk products, agricultural accounts and prices, main agricultural products, agriculture and the environment, land cover and land use, rural regions and fishery statistics.
This News Release presents a small selection of the information found in the pocketbook.
Almost half of total harvested EU cereal production came from France, Germany and Poland
Cereals are the main crops grown on arable land in the EU27. After a large cereal production in 2008, favoured by good weather conditions during the year and high cereal prices the previous year, production fell in 2009 and 2010, due to a decrease in the total area under cereals and less favourable weather conditions. On average, the EU27 produced around 300 million tonnes of cereals per year over the period 2008-2010.
Based on the average production for 2008-2010, France (23% of the EU27 total) was the largest producer of cereals, followed by Germany (16%), Poland (10%), the United Kingdom (8%), Spain (7%) and Italy (6%). For all three of the main cereals harvested in the EU (wheat, barley and grain maize), France was the main producer.
Germany, France and Italy the largest cheese producers in the EU27
Cow's milk collection2 in the EU27 reached 136.4 million (mn) tonnes in 2010. From this milk, 31.5 mn tonnes of drinking milk and 9.0 mn tonnes of cheese, among other products, were produced.
The United Kingdom (6.9 mn tonnes or 22% of the EU27 total) was the largest producer of drinking milk, followed by Germany (5.3 mn tonnes or 17%), France (3.7 mn tonnes or 12%) and Spain (3.5 mn tonnes or 11%).
Germany (2.1 mn tonnes or 23% of the EU27 total), France (1.9 mn tonnes or 21%), Italy (1.2 mn tonnes or 13%), the Netherlands (0.8 mn tonnes or 8%) and Poland (0.7 mn tonnes or 7%) were the main producers of cheese.
Germany, Spain and France the largest producers of pig meat in the EU27
In 2010, 22.0 mn tonnes of pig meat, 12.2 mn tonnes of poultry meat and 7.9 mn tonnes of cattle meat were produced in the EU27.
For pig meat, Germany (5.4 mn tonnes or 25% of the EU27 total), Spain (3.4 mn tonnes or 15%), France (2.0 mn tonnes or 9%), Poland and Denmark (both 1.7 mn tonnes or 8%) and Italy (1.6 mn tonnes or 7%) were the largest producers.
France (1.7 mn tonnes or 14% of the EU27 total), the United Kingdom (1.6 mn tonnes or 13%), Germany (1.4 mn tonnes or 11%), Spain and Poland (both 1.3 mn tonnes or 11%) were the largest producers of poultry meat.
For cattle meat, France (1.5 mn tonnes or 19% of the EU27 total), Germany (1.2 mn or 15%), Italy (1.1 mn or 14%) and the United Kingdom (0.9 mn tonnes or 12%) were the largest producers.
Publié dans Agriculture - Fisheries, Information | Aucun commentaire »
Vous vous trouvez dans les archives de la catégorie Information.


Timing: The Sweepstakes begins on August 4, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time ("ET") and ends on August 4, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. ET (the "Sweepstakes Period"). Sponsor's designated computer is the official time-keeping device for the Sweepstakes.
Prizes: Each winner will receive one (1) Lenovo Laptop and (1) Backpack. Approximate Retail Value ("ARV"): $298.65 USD.


text:
Blues Highway is a 1994 American short documentary film directed by Bill Guttentag and Vince DiPersio. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

References

External links

1994 short films
1994 films
1994 documentary films
1994 independent films
American short documentary films
American independent films
Films directed by Bill Guttentag
1990s short documentary films
1990s English-language films
1990s American films


Carlton VFLW players Brooke Walker, Chloe Dalton and Darcy Vescio yesterday ran onto the brand-new Australian Rules Football oval of La Trobe University Sports Park designed by Warren and Mahoney in association with MJMA Toronto.
The La Trobe Sports Park is Australia's first purpose-built facility of its kind combining education spaces with industry leading sporting facilities.
The first phase of the project – completed in December 2018 – comprises a state-of-the-art Australian Rules Football oval, a Pavilion and a FIFA-1 standard and accredited synthetic football pitch.
The VFLW team will use the new Sports Park as its home base, joining the Melbourne City NPL Youth and Women's Teams and 25 affiliated student sports clubs – from frisbee to wakeboarding.
Warren and Mahoney worked with design partners MJMA, Arup, Tract, Wood and Grieve, PLP, Architecture and Access, Buro North and FCA, during the design process to make sure the facility met the needs of La Trobe and the surrounding community.
The 60-hectare site masterplan is designed to cater for multiple sporting codes with fields of play for AFL, rugby, hockey, soccer, and baseball, along with leisure and recreation opportunities through the site on the University's Melbourne campus at Bundoora.
"The ability to host multiple sporting events is a hallmark of a good sports facility, but a great facility brings to life the client's grander vision for fostering and building community. The La Trobe Sports Park contributes to the University's vision for the University City of the Future, which will establish it as the epicentre of Melbourne's growing Northern suburbs," said Maguire.
Construction on phase two has begun and marks a major evolution in the expansion of La Trobe's sports education offering. Phase two will include a new research and teaching building; an indoor stadium, complete with six, multi-purpose highball courts; space for commercial tenancy, and a plaza area offering a lookout to the Sports Park.
La Trobe University's Vice Chancellor, John Dewar, said this new stage of development marks an important milestone in the University's Sports Park project.
"We're proud to work with La Trobe University as a partner who shares our values in placing considered and robust community consultation at the heart of the design process." Maguire added.


The adjacent chart shows the price movement of MCX Silver continuous contract. It had given a breakout from the Inverse Head & Shoulders pattern and is currently consolidating above the breakout level. Also, it is trading above the 20 DMA and 40DMA. It has multiple support levels in the zone of 42,200-41,950. Dips towards the support zone should be seen as a buying opportunity. On the way up, it is likely to head towards the upper end of the channel, which is currently pegged at 43,900.The momentum indicator is in a 'Buy' mode, thereby confirming our bullish view on the white metal.


text:
Weston-super-Mare £20 million richer thanks to Banksy's Dismaland
James Smart
Graffiti artist Banksy's new exhibition has brought an estimated £20 million of extra revenue to the English resort town of Weston-super-Mare.
Banksy's Dismaland.
Dismaland, a subversive temporary theme park set in a derelict seafront lido, has sold out its 4,500 tickets a day, and claims to offer 'entry-level anarchism'. The town's hoteliers' association estimates an additional 50,000 nights have been sold in local accommodation, with visitors also spending money on dinner and drinks. The show closes on Sunday. Read more: travelweekly.co.uk
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So… What is a Bakoon anyway?
I think one climbed into my garbage can and woke me up the other night. Seriously though, Bakoon International (website) is a Korean-based high-end audio company that cross-pollinates with collaborators in countries like the USA and Japan. Quite international, really. The word "Bakoon" itself translates into something like "lucky dream." I've gotten lucky in a dream once or twice.
Amplified current is converted back to voltage and sent on its way.
This approach is quite different from most traditional amplification stages used in audio, as these work exclusively in the voltage domain, with current being something of a side gig. This SATRI stuff all seems quite Zen-like, but we know we must be patient and open-minded so that we can ultimately be rewarded.
The SATRI current gain circuit apparently offers several advantages to the listener. These seem to stem from a more clean application of gain in the current domain, which in turn translates into less time smearing, faster transient response, and improved purity of sound.
The Bakoon Amp-41 is the second-from-the-top model in the Bakoon line-up. The most expensive model is the Amp-51R, which is their reference amplifier, retailing for $19,500. It's twice as powerful as the Amp-41 (100 watts per channel, as compared to 50 watts per side for the Amp-41), and obviously more expensive.
The Bakoon Amp-41 looks pretty nondescript at first glance. It's a plain, black rectangular box sitting on three squat columns. It also sports a series of very small, non-irritating LEDs and a substantial volume knob on the front panel. Not bad looking, but it doesn't exactly look like it ought to cost nine grand either. The weight surprises; the Amp-41 is a hefty little guy, weighing in at 15 kg. The back panel is simple: two sets of RCA (voltage) inputs, and two sets of BNC (current) inputs, as well as substantial plastic binding posts. I used the voltage inputs exclusively during my evaluation.
A small, cheap-looking remote control comes with the amp. I found it useful and intuitive, but underwhelming for a $9000 product.
I didn't look under the hood, but published photos seem to show well-laid out circuit boards, a substantial toroidal transformer, and good build quality throughout. The amp runs to the hot side of warm, but not as hot as my First Watt amps.
We all love late night listening sessions. I'm talking about the kind when everyone else is asleep, there's no traffic outside, and the refrigerator isn't constantly running. It's just you and the system, chugging along in perfect harmony. It was in exactly this situation that the Bakoon Amp-41 and I first really connected.
I started out by running the amp in as part of my second system, fed by my old Lavry DA10 DAC. The Amp-41, in turn, drove a pair of efficient Omega Loudspeaker Systems Super Alnico Monitors (SAMs). A simple system, yes, but potent. I must like this Lavry DAC. It's been with me for over 10 years, and that's an eternity in the world of digital audio. Ever so slightly wet and dark in tone, it mates well with most everything else I use.
It was late one night when I got this system put together. The windows were open, and outside of an occasional cricket chirp, my surroundings were dead quiet. I tossed on some familiar jazz, and that was it. I was done. Hooked and reeled in. The Bakoon Amp-41 had me in its clutches, and I couldn't escape. Hour after hour (and album after album) crept by. I knew I needed to go to bed, but I just couldn't pull myself away. What I was hearing was just so different from anything I'd experienced from reproduced audio before, and I just kept wanting to experience it in its newness.
So then, what's the deal? In the simplest possible terms, it's all about transparent immediacy. We've all heard reviewers speak of removing veils from recorded sound, as in getting closer to the real event. As in really hearing what the microphones actually captured. Many components seem to editorialize recorded music, often in ways that are pleasant to us. As an example, in my second system I typically use an old Cary Audio preamplifier and one of Dennis Had's Inspire SET amplifiers. The combo, when played into the SAMs, sounds wonderful. Beautiful in fact. However, compared to the purity of the Amp-41, the Cary/Inspire combination brings to mind light maple syrup: tonally viscous and clearly flavored to the sweet side. In contrast, the Bakoon Amp-41 reminds me of high-quality mineral water, as in transparent, flowing, and with only a hint of flavor.
The Bakoon Amp-41 sounded so convincing in my second system that I didn't want to move it out. This amp walks a narrow path, somehow remaining harmonically complex and convincing while emphasizing speed, pace, timing, and transparency to the source. I found this balancing act absolutely fascinating and sonically engaging. Choosing a new jazz album, Blue Dream by the Jamie Saft Quartet (RareNoiseRecords, 24/96 flac file, streamed via Qobuz), I can pinpoint the various strengths of the Amp-41.
The drum kit on Blue Dream was vivid, with exceptional depth of timbre. Cymbals seemed very well delineated within the soundstage, with lots of space surrounding them. The sax is clear and totally unfettered. This album is actually quite complex in its scoring, yet I was able to easily delineate space around each performer, such was the clarity of presentation. Even sitting at my desk, where the plane of the speakers is well behind me and to my right, I was amazed at the coherence and width of soundstage the off-axis system was presenting to me.
Moved over to my main system, the Bakoon Amp-41 most certainly brought its "A" game. I got the same sorts of results as in the second system, but just more of it: more presence, more transparency, more everything. Give the Amp-41 a great source and great speakers, and it will thank you over and over again.
The Bakoon amp had no issues at all driving my big ATC SCM 100 monitors. I heard plenty in the way of dynamics and tonal texture, though the bass might have been a bit softer and less extended than I hear with my big Pass Labs X250.8 amp (review here). Again, clarity and honesty to the source ruled the day. To that end, my digital sources round-robined between the excellent Bricasti M1 Classic DAC (reviewed here) and a new Crane Song Solaris Quantum DAC which is breaking in for evaluation. Both DACs are superb at their price points, and the Bakoon Amp-41 opened a transparent door through which I could easily pick up on minute differences between the two converters.
Have I mentioned how much I'm enjoying music streaming via the French service Qobuz? Fortunately, this hi-resolution streaming service will be available shortly to all music lovers here in the States at a price competitive with my other fave, Tidal. One thing I like about Qobuz is that it seems to specialize in classical and jazz releases, mostly in high-resolution formats (up to 192 kHz/24 bit). But no MQA, if that matters to you.
I've been having a ball checking out new jazz and classical releases on Quobuz each week. Right now, I'm listening to Gilad Hekselman's album Ask for Chaos (Motema, 24/44.1 FLAC file, streamed via Qobuz). This stuff is perfect late-night chill jazz that works just as well on a rainy afternoon like we have today. Via the Bakoon Amp-41 and the ATC monitors, this music flows over and past me in a most natural, un-encumbered sort of way. The notes seem to jump from the speakers and burst out like fresh blossoms that then echo and naturally die away into nothingness. With Bakoon Amp-41, I just keep coming back around to how naturally unfettered it sounds. There's no incisive edge, no baked-in ambiance …. There's just music: pure, simple, and honest. A musical Zen.
Hekselman's tune "Do Re Mi Fa Sol" has a sweet country-like feel to it, reminding me somewhat of Bill Frisell's artistry. Thanks to the Amp-41, the electric guitar sounds just so yummy, sporting enough sweet texture that I almost feel like I could bite into it and give it a good chew. A funny analogy, yes, but that's the different kind of way that this Bakoon Amp-41 has me experiencing and thinking about recorded music.
I just don't quite know what to make of the wonderful Bakoon Amp-41. It's an odd bird. Unassuming in appearance, it packs a big punch, especially at a rating of only 50 watts per channel. It's expensive and elegant in expression, though one must turn a blind eye the cheap remote. The Amp-41 is breathtakingly honest in its speed, transparency, and resolution. Listening to it really does remind me of looking at a green landscape through an open window on a sunny day.
I must admit that I have enjoyed my time with the Amp-41 far more than I expected to when I first laid eyes on it at Scot Hull's place. I was bummed when Scot told me that the amp needed to be returned to its distributor for a show appearance earlier than I had expected. Yes, I did intentionally hang on to it until the last possible moment, but not due to my own slothfulness. I truly did enjoy it enough that I didn't want to part with it. Perhaps at another time, the Bakoon Amp-41 and I can find an excuse to become re-acquainted. I'll look forward to it.
In short, I will not forget the Bakoon Amp-41 anytime soon.
Power Consumption 300 watts max.


To access Debug Mode press 8 and 6. The camera views may be accessed from here.
On the World Selection screen, press 4 and 2.
Go to the Wild-West level in single player. Find the pulsating wall in the mine shaft, and drive through it to see Atari HQ.


text:
The first Elms Hotel was opened in 1888. However, the current building is 100 years old as fires claimed the first two buildings.
Only two hours from Maryville and 30 minutes from Kansas City sits the town of Excelsior Springs. History runs rich in the town much like its purported miracle mineral waters.
According to the Excelsior Springs Area Chamber of Commerce, the existence of the town is credited to a natural spring, known as Siloam Spring, which sits on the edge of the western border of what is now known as Fishing River Township.
The spring was first discovered by accident by a black farmer named Travis Mellion. According to historical records, the event happened in 1880 as Mellion's daughter was suffering from a form of tuberculosis, A jug of water was taken to Mellion's home, and his daughter drank and bathed in the water and within weeks she was completely cured.
Another farmer named Frederick Kugler is also said to have been cured by the healing waters after applying them to an old Civil War gunshot wound and recovering. Due to both of these recoveries, the city began to attract other ill people and put Excelsior Springs on the map as "America's Haven of Health."
Excelsior Springs historian Kevin Morgan said the town experienced its most prolific period from 1888 to 1929.
"We had built quite an infrastructure of clinics and hotels by the time the Great Depression came along," Morgan said. "So, Excelsior continued to be a vacation place and a place for people to come and get mineral baths and, and do those spa experiences."
Signs like these would greet visitors when they visited the spa at the Hall of Waters.
Steam baths were used to rid the system of the toxin by sweating them out through the pores of the skin. It was also believed that this treatment lead to better organ function.
Like the steam cabinet the steam room was used by patients to sweat out the toxins through their pores. Patients would lay with their head sticking out so an attendant could place a cool cloth on their head, as the cloth warmed up patients could feel the heat coming up their legs towards the waist. Once a second cool cloth was placed on the forehead the heat would go back down to their legs and feet as they cooled off.
Patients would sit on a stool inside the light cabinet, wrapped in a sheet with their head sticking out. Users would soak in the dry heat of the lights to soften their muscles and joints. The light baths lasted 10-15 minutes.
One of the many tubs which would be used by visitors to Excelsior Springs to soak in the healing spring water.
These baths were used to help relax the patient and their muscles to help with soreness and tension.
Along with taking a verity of baths patients could also receive massages as a part of their spa experience.
The patient would sit in this bath, filled with warm water, for 5-10 minutes. It was meant to sooth discomforts and pains in the lower parts of the body, keeping them clean and increasing blood flow.
The Scotch Need Spray was used in for the treatment of nervous troubles by alternating hot and cold water at various pressures to stimulate circulation. The hoses on the marble base could be used by the attendant to spray the patient with hot or cold water on a particular part of the body.
Scotch Need Spray treatments started with hot water from the overhead shower, then the smaller heads were added dousing the patient in ice-cold water. Treatments generally lasted three to five minutes.
Hall of Waters spa
Morgan said the popularity of Excelsior Springs began to plummet in the 1950s.
"The reason is primarily because of the advancement of medicine in the Second World War replaced natural healing as the nation's first choice for self-care," Morgan said.
Postdoctoral research fellow for the Archaeometry Laboratory at the University of Missouri Daniel Pierce has spent time digging into the history of Excelsior Springs. Pierce was first introduced to Excelsior Springs nearly seven years ago after working with the Missouri Archaeological Society in a public archaeology program in the town. After spending a week in Excelsior Springs, Pierce said he fell in love with the town.
"I was introduced to the amazing history there and realized there was so much to be discovered through archaeology, both in historic and prehistoric contexts," Pierce said. "I couldn't believe there was so much to be explored there, yet no one was conducting full excavations anywhere."
Pierce previously worked as an adjunct archaeology professor at the University of Missouri- St. Louis and after his initial visit he was inspired to start his own digs through the creation of a summer field school in 2015. He said the main purpose of their excavation was to identify the location of a specific spring, called Regent Springs as it used to be one of the largest and most popular springs.
"At one time, there was a large gazebo-like pavilion, and a beautiful park on the banks of the Fishing River near the Elms Hotel," Pierce said. "There are various photos from the era that show the area with hundreds of people relaxing and enjoying the day at the park. Ladies in big dresses, men in their full suits and hats."
However, over the past hundred years, Pierce said the location of the pavilion and other features were lost due to flooding.
"The pavilion, retaining walls, bridges over the river, and other features had crumbled over the years and had subsequently been buried over with decades of mud and silt due to river flooding," Pierce said. "In other cases, vegetation had completely consumed the features. So our main goal was to rediscover that park and learn the location of it."
Pierce said he and his students did achieve their goal of rediscovering the spring by the end of their trip to Excelsior Springs.
"Rediscovering this history really demonstrated the importance of archaeology," Pierce said. "There is an amazing history beneath our feet. If we don't work to rediscover it, it can be lost forever."
Pierce said the trip not only allowed students to gain job experience but also taught them more about the town as most had never heard of the town before they arrived.
"It was very interesting to learn about the importance of water and the many mineral springs in the area," Pierce said. "Who would have known that Excelsior Springs was one of the most popular tourist attractions in the entire Midwest at the turn of the century. A city that is seemingly a blip on a map today, was once well known nationwide."
The Hall of Waters was constructed as a health resort to allow the public experience the healing spring waters of Excelsior Springs. The building was complete with a competition-sized swimming pool filled with salt water and a polio-pool located on lower levels, along with bottling works.
While the Hall of Waters in no longer a spa but stands as Excelsior Springs City Hall memories of what the building use to be still stand like this fountain which use to flow with the mineral spring water.
The Hall of Waters during its day would also sell bottles of the mineral water as well as soda made in town.
Five different varieties of mineral water were bottled in Excelsior Springs and shipped all over the world.
Hall of Waters
In its heyday, the town saw an abundance of well known, now historical figures. The Elms Hotel became the place to stay with its various spas and pools utilizing the healing mineral water. According to the Elms Hotel website, Al Capone, "Pretty Boy" Floyd and Bugsy Moran were common residents of the hotel and would reportedly host illegal gambling and bathtub gin parties during prohibition.
The hotel was also a common retreat for U.S. presidents. According to the eMissourian, President Harry S. Truman awaited to hear the election results in the 1948 election at the Elms Hotel and President Franklin D. Roosevelt frequented the hotel seeking a cure for his disability.
While there is no longer public access to the springs or any spa related treatments for the healing waters, Morgan said Excelsior Springs is in a resurgence. He also said the city was a good place to visit no matter a person's interest.
"If they were a photographer, I would tell them it was a good place to come and shoot photos because we have this eclectic mix of architecture downtown," Morgan said. "We have a historic preservation program that's been going on for a while. So, we have three different national registered districts in Excelsior Springs."
Morgan also said there is a lot of outdoor and historical things for people to experience.
"If the person is interested in nature Excelsior Springs is good because it is in a very natural setting," Morgan said. "There are lots of trees here and five minutes in any direction you're in the country. We have Watkins Mill state park, that is just minutes away and Jesse James Farm is about five minutes away plus we have festivals here all year long."
Pierce said he encourages everyone to visit the Excelsior Springs and experience it for themselves.
"There is so much amazing history in that city and so many people are more than excited to tell you anything you want to know about it," Pierce said. "This is definitely not just your average run-of-the-mill small city. There are some amazing things going on there that hardly anyone knows about."
Places to visit in Excelsior Springs
Places to eat at in Excelsior Springs
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Rarely available in Diamante Village (only 55+ community within Platina), full 3 bedroom condo with wonderful views of canal/lake. Light, bright and open! Beautiful white 24" tile throughout the social area and glassed enclosed patio and laminate in all bedrooms. Newer stainless steel appliances in eat in kitchen, freshly painted throughout and ready for a new owner. Wonderful split floor plan that affords good privacy to the Master Suite. Wonderful closet space and a perfect place to call home. Very active clubhouse with great amenities. Pool, Gym, Arts & Crafts room, Card Rooms, Theater, Tennis, Billiard Room, and a wonderful café serving delicious food.


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