Quick question about SFF my opponent and I are discussing in a current pbem game.
Enemy unit moves ADJACENT to stack: 9-1, 6fp hmg and 457 squad. They fire, and mg keeps rate.
Later, another enemy unit enters the same ADJACENT hex, and survives the residual.
The stack now declares all-in fire: sff for squad.
Q: is the fp of this shot 16 (full strength hmg, area fire for squad) or 10 (area fire for both, and sustained penalty for mg)?
The HMG would fire at full firepower if it fires alone, because by keeping rate it is not marked with a First Fire counter. Now the trick is that if the squad subsequent first fires and wants to use the HMG then it is considered sustained fire and has the penalties of being area fire and the +2 for malfunction. A8.3.
But I could be perfectly wrong on this!
If the squad fires as SFF, its MGs fire as SFF as well even if they are not marked with a First Fire counter. A8.3 "Whenever a unit uses Subsequent First Fire, it must use all MG/IFE in its possession … as Subsequent First Fire". Given that it would probably be better to use the MG alone.
The mixing of first fire and subsequent first fire is not symmetrical. A MG is always converted to SFF if the inherent is SFF. The inherent is *not* converted to SFF if the squad is not marked with a first fire counter even if the MG is using SFF. What is symmetrical is that in both cases both the squad and MG are marked with a final fire counter, i.e. if the inherent is not marked with a first fire but the unit uses a MG that is, the squad loses its ability to SFF with the inherent.
There's a very helpful "First Fire flowchart" on the Texas ASL website that is extremely useful for this (attributed to Bill Kohler, but the file says "visual update by Andrew Highley, based on work of Tom Repetti and Ole Boe", so I guess we have lots of people to thank for it).
It shows that, barring Cowering, the way to get the most uses of your squad and MG without risking Sustained Fire breakdown penalties would be to initially fire the squad and MG separately, then, if the MG keeps ROF, fire only the MG until it loses ROF, at which point you'll have a First Fire on the whole stack; then, use SFF with the Inherent FP only. This gets you a minimum of 3 shots, assuming the opponent keeps offering you valid targets. Also lets you lay Residual FP in up to 3 hexes without need for Spraying Fire, for when the opponent is pressing you extra hard.
OK...thanks for the above. Now trying to square this with the following Perry Sez. Is the reason the ATR is not area fire in this example because it is neither an MG nor an IFE? Any other weapons which are exceptions?
May an unmarked ATR fire as Defensive First Fire firegrouped with its manning squad who is firing as Subsequent First Fire?
More than that, I suggest firing the MG first until it loses ROF, then the inherent, then SFF (either with or without the MG). The advantage of firing the MG first is that if it is marked with first fire and a really, really great target shows up and you want to give everything you have, if the MG has lost ROF it won't convert the inherent to SFF, whereas if the inherent is marked, it will convert the MG.
This is not the best choice in all circumstances, of course. If you have a short-range squad (e.g. 5-2-7) and your opponent moves a unit close to you, hoping to draw fire so he can move other units that are farther away, you might fire the inherent first anyway. Also if your opponent offers a really great shot, all in.
I believe because ATR is neither MG nor IFE is correct. I can't think of any other SW that can firegroup with inherent FP used as SFF besides MGs & ATRs. MOL can if the attack is not SFF.


As most FMF readers know, I regularly post questions readers send to me asking for money advice. Then everyone here gets to chime in with their suggestions, thoughts, and opinions and the original reader gets a lot of good information to consider before making his decision on how to proceed.
Give us details. Quite often readers will leave out information that could sway the advice one way or the other, so when you submit your question, take enough time to thoroughly explain the situation so commenters can give you informed opinions based on facts.
Don't give us too much detail. While we need details, we don't need 10 pages of your life story to answer the vast majority of questions. Give us the facts that are relevant to the issue and leave it at that.
Don't send in a question that can be answered with a bit of work on your part. I regularly get submissions that could be solved if the person spent five minutes on Google looking for the answer. These questions don't see the light of day here. If you can answer the question yourself with a bit of work, do the work and don't worry about asking the question.
Realize what you'll get. You need to understand that you'll get opinions/advice from "regular" people, people like me and the readers of this site. In other words, you're not getting thoughts from personal finance "professionals" (in most cases -- there are some that respond here regularly.) So take the answers for what they are worth.
Have a thick skin. If you've done something stupid or are asking about doing something stupid, be prepared to be told so. The Internet seems to have a way of breaking down people's social "be nice" guards.
Send in your question well in advance of when you need an answer. I usually write posts a week or so ahead and I do not run more than one "help a reader" post in a day. So you should plan on submitting your question two or three weeks before you need an answer to make sure you have enough time to get responses and have time to consider them.
Get involved in the discussion. When your question is accepted, I'll email you the day and time it will be posted. Check back at that time, a bit later, and on and off during the next 24 hours. Respond to the questions/comments/suggestions and you'll get much more and much better feedback.
Did I miss anything? Those of you who regularly see and answer these sorts of questions can leave your own thoughts/suggestions below to fill in anything I've missed.
For those of you wanting to submit a question, simply do so by dropping me an email.
I'd suggest that the submitter actually respond to questions in the comments section or post an update. It's always more informative and fun when the submitter gets involved.
That's a good suggestion, Crystal. I added it.
My Name is Sunny and i am an indian passport holder. I am canadian immigrant. I have a nice job in middle east with pay of 90K US$ tax free. My job is good and i am happy.
I have been to canada to look fro jobs, but situation is not good. Most of my firends are suggesting i give up my residency (green card)and not go to canada ever, while some say it is good to give up your job and live there for 3 years and get a great passport.
Any suggestion - Original Canadians response prefered.
Most whole life policies seem to be aimed at the young. I am 60 years old and wish to know if whole life is for me. I have a 20 year term for 100K and am contemplating purchasing a 50k whole life as an investment in the event I pass 80 years. Also, it seems to be a good investment for my children and grandchildren. The 50k would cost me $2025 yearly. Is this a smart thing to do? Other than YES from insurance agents, I'm still question this? Help please!
I'll post your question in mid-October. Come back then to see the responses.
Whole life policies are generally cheaper than term policies. I don't know what your situation is like, but it has to be noted that the premiums will increase every year, and in the US inflation is likely to sky-rocket in the next decade due to "money-printing," unemployemnt, debt issues etc. so you will have less buying power in your retirement.
Also important to note is that extra life cover at age 60 will probably be very expensive.
I'll post your question in a couple weeks. Stay tuned.


text:
#import "NSPopUpButtonCell.h"

#import "IBDocumentArchiving-Protocol.h"

@interface NSPopUpButtonCell (IBDocumentArchivingGenerator) <IBDocumentArchiving>
- (void)unarchiveWithDocumentUnarchiver:(id)arg1;
- (void)archiveWithDocumentArchiver:(id)arg1;
@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


There are all types of studies out there but did you know there's actually one that will pay you to eat avocados?
A few colleges, including Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Pennsylvania State University, Tufts University, the University of California Los Angeles and Wake Forest University, are collaborating to inquire about the weight reduction impacts of avocados, as indicated by the Daily Mail. The investigation is financed by the Hass Avocado Board.
Together they are searching for 1,000 members to partake in the half year preliminary, which will center around regardless of whether eating one avocado for every day decreases instinctive fat in the guts.
Cancer Fighting Chocolate Avocado Cookies That Make You Thin!
To qualify as a member, you should be no less than 25 years of age, willing to eat one avocado for each day for a half year as a component of the test gathering or two avocados for each month for a half year as a major aspect of the control gathering. Men must quantify no less than 40 inches around their midsection, while ladies must gauge no less than 35 inches.
Notwithstanding those details, members will be paid $300 and are required to meet with a dietitian once every month. They will get a free MRI and wellbeing screenings.
If you live around the Inland empire in Southern California you may want to check it out.
How Long Does It Actually Take to Bake Chicken?
What Side Effects Does Sleep Deprivation Have on Us?


And, For Much Comfort This Aspen Colorado Cabin Has A Wood Burning Heater In The Living Room.
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text:
Liberal "Hero" Jon Stewart Cozies Up to War Criminal Myers
Six years of war sparks hundreds of actions this week
Iraq's Workers Unite as U.S. workers welllllllll……..
By jimstaro
(11 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
Look around you, what can one say, except possibly going further into lower wages, at least they wouldn't be stagnant as they have been for most for these past years.
And workers having a Voice, C'mon!!!
Iraqi unions announce new confederation
And where did this take place, wellll…. in Iraq, of all places:
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 03/17/09
At the first International Labor Conference ever held in Iraq, three of the country's major labor organizations announced the formation of a new labor confederation.
At the close of the two day meeting of Iraqi unions with their international allies, Iraq's powerful Federation of Oil Unions, the nationwide Electricity Association and the General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions signed an agreement to create a new labor confederation, a step toward unifying the Iraqi labor movement as an advocate for the interests of Iraqi workers.
The conference, held on March 13-14 in Erbil in the Kurdish Region of Iraq, drew more than 200 delegates from unions and federations across Iraq and solidarity delegations from the U.S., the United Kingdom, South Africa, Japan, Australia, and Iran.
More than a year in the making, the conference drew representatives from Iraq's oil and gas industry, its port union, the electrical generation and distribution industry, construction, public sector, transportation, communications, education, rail roads, service and health care industries, machinists and metal working sector, the petro-chemical industry, civil engineers, writers and journalists, food oil workers, tailors and students. Workers attended from fifteen of Iraq's eighteen provinces.
U.S. Labor Against The War did post up an announcement to this gathering of Iraqi workers:
It's in PDF form and you can read it in full here.
As it starts out with this:
To: The First International Labour Conference in Erbil, Iraq, March 13-14, 2009
From: The 186 organizations affiliated with U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW)
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
We send you our greetings and solidarity on the momentous occasion of the First International Labour Conference in Iraq.
This historic gathering of Iraqi unions and labour federations with your international allies marks an important step toward full
restoration of the inalienable rights of Iraq's workers to organize and bargain collectively in defense of the their interests in
unions of their own choosing, free of government interference, influence or control.
These rights are enshrined in the internationally recognized core conventions on the rights of workers adopted by the
International Labour Organization of the United Nations. These rights apply to all workers, in both public and private
sectors.
These rights are promised by the new Iraqi Constitution.
Oh and in case you were wondering, there were U.S. Labor representatives at the conference:
The U.S. delegation of six was organized by U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW), a network of 186 local, regional, state and national labor organizations that together represent more than five million union members. It included USLAW National Organizer Michael Eisenscher; USLAW Steering Committee Member Michael Zweig (a leader of United University Professions/AFT Local 2190); Bill Shortell, President of the Central Connecticut Labor Council; Jim Norris, President of United Steel Workers Local 675, representing oil industry workers in Southern California; and two members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, T.J. Buonomo from Philadelphia, and Aaron Hughes of Chicago.
This country, the U.S., has to rebuild the Labor Movement with stronger unions, not repeating the mistakes of the past, the workers of this country is what built it, and as we've been watching the money changers are the ones who have destroyed it.
Who's more equipped to rebuild the Labor Unions and Labor Rights, those who've are already known to be dedicated servers of the country and have now, many of them, served multiple tours in not one but two major long running conflicts and occupations. These Veterans have faced the adversity that the greater majority will never face, as that majority wasn't even asked to sacrifice. They've been tested beyond what most would be, they understand what working together can bring in results. They need now become our new leaders to rebuild this country, we have a long way to go to even get back to where we were.
This countries majority are mind and hand workers, not paper pushers, always have been. Some of these disciplined Veterans will, and should, get the knowledge needed to start and run new companies, others will get their knowledge, or use the already known and enhancing that, helping to build these new companies, but all must work together and share the success of these companies, for them, for their families, and for the country!
We must have new companies under the banner of defense contractors, the old are to well embedded and do what they please with little condemnation. We must get some of our manufacturing back, we've already lost way to many trades and a whole hell of a lot of experience, we can't have a Strong National Defense when we depend on others to manufacture our needs, especially in a National Disaster should one prevail. Just look around, where do those who've been laid off go, into the commercial or service sectors, if no ones buying there's no need for more workers at low wages, the stores and services are laying off as well.
If the Fat Cats don't want to give up their obscene compensations and perks, than the workers have to become as one and fight for what's right.
Telling auto workers they have to give back wages and benefits, again, to save their jobs, which is questionable to say the least, while executives receive 'multi- million dollar bonuses' on top of multi-million dollar wages and perks, is beyond obscene.
Blaming worker wages for being excess and causing the problems in cost and returns on investments is a fantasy fairytale that must end, if there's so much wealth to distribute to the top tier's than that's where the problem is. It isn't only in compensation it's also in what these companies spend to keep those they call the cream of the crop to stay, success or failure, and write off or hide from the tax payers.
And one way to do what is responsible, our responsibility, is to work with these Iraqi's, after the destruction we wrought on their country for no reason!!!!
American Labor Unions, Democracy, Democracy for the Worker, Erbil Iraq, Iraq Labor Conference, Iraq Labor Unions, Iraq Union Labor Confederation, US Labor against the War, USLAW
jimstaro on March 17, 2009 at 11:14 pm
The problems aren't only in congress!!!
Shaharazade on March 17, 2009 at 11:41 pm
belongs to the people be they here or in Iraq. The notion that the Iraqis must pull themselves up by their bootstraps and take responsibility is as absurd as saying that the workers in our own nation must sacrifice for the American Dream which apparently is the enrichment of the same deal. You be a slave and accept what either GM offer or Halliburton offers or else? WTF, viva the insurgents if we only had the sense to correlate or the courage to look at what is occurring. We should all be insurgents, we should all be able to build our future in the ashes of the gree, inhumanity and falling too bigs.
jimstaro on March 18, 2009 at 12:19 am
Winter Soldiers Speak Out in Europe
Hearing March 14th 2009
Hearing-homepage
In Freiburg on March 14th 2009 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans of the US military, German military, and British military told the truth of their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan in the hopes of letting the protesters know the horror of what they are protesting against, and to counter the lies of humanitarian wars.
YouTube Site Page, with the 25 Video Testimonies, video links can also be found at homepage.
Winter Soldier Europe – Hearing 14.03.2009 – Part 01
The rest, in between, can be found at the Home Site or the YouTube Link above.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


PROFILE A graphic designer with extensive experience in multimedia, web and print design. Exceptional collabora-tive and interpersonal skills, dynamic team player with well-developed written and verbal communication abilities. Highly skilled in client and vendor relations and negotiations; talented at building and maintaining "win-win" partnerships. Passionate and inventive creator of innovative marketing strategies and campaigns; accustomed to performing in a deadline-driven environments with an emphasis on working within budget requirements. EXPERIENCE Graphic Designer, The Neon Edge Inc. West Berlin, NJ	2008-2011 Created new design themes for marketing and collateral materials. Collaborated with creative team to design and produce computer-generated artwork for marketing and promotional materials. Participated in production of print and promotional items for key clients under directions of Marketing Department. Maintained multiple ecommerce websites, which included site design and product maintenance. I was also in charge of manufacturing graphics and promotional material. Mac Specialist, Apple Inc., Atlantic City, NJ	2005-2007 As a Mac Specialist I'm at the core of a customer's experience at the Apple Store. My job consists of offering the customer complete solutions for technology needs and giving personalized training on the OS X operating system and its applications. Graphic Designer, UPS Store, Brigantine, NJ	2004-2006 Created new design themes for marketing and collateral materials. Collaborated with creative team to design and produce computer-generated artwork for marketing and promotional materials. Participated in production of print and promotional items for key clients under directions of Marketing Department. Convention Show Decoration, Atlantic Exposition Services, Egg Harbor Township, NJ	2001-2005 My job consisted of; Convention and Exposition Consulting and Planning Services, Professional CAD-Drawn Floor Plans, Quality Carpeting, Custom Signage, Innovative Decorations, Logo Carpets and Banners, Exhibit Booth Design, and Booth Installation and Dismantling. Promotions Representative, Caesars Casino, Atlantic City, NJ	2001-2002 Worked with co-workers to create new concepts and ideas for clients, including basic construction of books, pamphlets, calendars, and catalogs, and logo design and copying. I had frequent interaction with customers' interests, complaints and concerns. The job required extensive knowledge of Microsoft programs and project planning. Intern, Inc-3 Multimedia Corporation, New York, NY	Spring 1999 Worked with Design team to create new concepts and ideas for clients. Had original work featured in AI Friedman's spring catalog. Basic Web design. Intern, Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY Winter 1999 Worked with Design team to create new concepts and ideas for clients. EDUCATION Richard Stockton College, Pomona NJ Bachelor's Degree in Visual Arts SKILLS Platforms: Mac OS X, Windows 7. Software Expertise: Adobe CS (All versions) and Office Suite (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook).
Odessa Maxwell is a photojournalist and professional photographer in the DC metro area. She has had a camera in front of her face since the age of 15. She remembers capturing the beauty of the United States Military Academy through a 110 mm camera. For her, the camera is the way of capturing the moment and the essence of life's journey so that others can experience the moment and the emotion. Her uncanny ability of being at the right place at the right time has made her photographs loved by her viewers. She is also able to set her subjects at ease which creates the opportunity to capture the moment without being intrusive. Odessa has just completed her second bachelor's degree in communication studies with a field of study in journalism from the University of Maryland University College. She also has a bachelor's of science with a field of study in literature from the United States Military Academy and a master's of executive business administration from Colorado Technical University. Odessa specializes in sports, general news, features, and spot news. She provides photography services for weddings, events, and dog show enthusiasts.
I am just starting out. I absolutely love taking pictures. I mostly do nature, but I have had a "photo shoot" at one point for a close friend, and he loved the way they came out. I am currently working as a nurse, but working just three days a week. I wanted to try out taking pictures, and if anyone would like to buy them, that'd be great. I'm looking for a way to earn money on the side, and it would be great if it would be doing something I love. If you would like to request a specific location, or a certain photo to be taken, I'm completely open for anything outdoors. Hope to hear from someone.
A highly professional video editor and cameraman, able to work under pressure and having the ability to be flexible, I embrace new challenges. I come with my own mobile video editing kit and camera kit.
I can get it done quickly and with the highest level of quality. As an experienced painter, illustrator, as well as storyboard and conceptual artist, I've worked for a wide range of clientele around the world including The History Channel, Friends of Animals, A&E, and General Mills to name a few. I take great pride in my work, am extremely versatile, can work in a number of different styles to suit your needs, and always aim to furnish my projects with a vision rooted in the finest of artistic traditions. I studied fine arts and illustration at Fashion Institute of Technology, painting at National Academy of Fine Arts, and Art Students League of New York. I am also an award-winning member of the Salmagundi Art Club.


Elaine and Kyle embrace during their sunset wedding portrait session at the Ole Hanson Beach Club in San Clemente.
A selection of wedding photos at Ole Hanson Beach Club capturing the special day of Elaine and Kyle at this European-inspired wedding venue in San Clemente. After photographing the couple getting ready in separate suites at Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort and Spa, we documented their romantic first look and garden ceremony at Ole Hanson Beach Club. This was followed by a sunset portrait session overlooking the Pacific Ocean and a reception filled with memorable speeches, warm family moments and lots of dancing.
A romantic nighttime portrait of Brittney and Shawn on the beach at the Omni Cancun Hotel And Villas.
A selection of photos from Brittney and Shawn's destination wedding in Mexico at Omni Cancun Hotel And Villas. We documented the couple getting ready in separate suites at this Cancun resort before their beach ceremony overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. The day ended with a reception under the stars as the couple partied with family and friends while being entertained by fire dancers and local drummers.
Lindsay and Austin embrace on the sands during their Laguna Beach wedding photo session.
Wedding photos at Hotel Seven4One capturing Lindsay and Austin's special day in Laguna Beach. After documenting the couple getting ready in separate suites at this stunning Orange County wedding venue, we photographed their romantic first look in the courtyard of Hotel Seven4One. This was followed by an intimate wedding ceremony on the sands of Laguna Beach and a sunset portrait session before they partied with those closest to them during a courtyard reception.
Leah and Kyle walk hand-in-hand along the Santa Barbara cliffs following their Bacara Resort And Spa wedding ceremony.
A selection of photos from the luxurious wedding of Leah and Kyle at the Bacara Resort and Spa, beginning with the couple getting ready in separate suites at this glamorous Goleta wedding venue. We then captured their romantic garden first look before they exchanged vows in front of around 200 friends and family overlooking the Pacific Ocean. After a sunset portrait session of the newly weds overlooking the Santa Barbara coastline, they partied with their family and friends during a glamorous ballroom reception.
Capturing an intimate moment between Junita and Joseph during their first look session at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica.
A selection of wedding photos from Junita and Joseph's vow renewal at Casa Del Mar, a private estate overlooking the sands of Santa Monica Beach. After documenting the couple getting ready in separate suites at this glamorous wedding venue, I photographed the beachside ceremony with their children at their side before a few final sunset portraits of the loved-up couple.


Aaron Equipment has a large inventory of process equipment built by Plama. Aaron's inventory of Plastics Equipment. If you are looking to buy machinery from Plama submit a request for quote online and if you are looking to sell your used Plama equipment submit a request online or contact Michael Cohen at 630-238-7480.


text:
Manchester City appeals possible Champions League ban
Premier League champion Manchester City is in danger of being kicked out of future editions of the Champions League after UEFA looked into reported Financial Fair Play breaches.
06 June, 2019 23:53 IST
Manchester City was alleged to have broken rules relating to FFP, third-party ownership and youth player recruitment in articles. - Getty Images
Manchester City has launched a legal bid to stop UEFA banning it from the 2020-2021 Champions League, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Monday.
Abu Dhabi-owned City, which retained the Premier League title this season, is in danger of being kicked out of future editions of the Champions League after UEFA looked into reported Financial Fair Play breaches.
The investigation was triggered by European football's governing body in March after claims City had hidden revenue from overvalued commercial deals in order to meet the UEFA spending guidelines.
According to the Lausanne based CAS the Premier League champion has now filed an appeal with the court ahead of an imminent sentencing decision from UEFA's Club Financial Control Body's (CFCB) adjudicatory chamber.
It is believed the committee is unlikely to rule against the conclusions of chief investigator Yves Leterme, who signed over his probe into alleged payments deception two weeks ago and is thought to have recommended City should be banned from the Champions League.
The decision would leave Pep Guardiola's side out of Europe's elite club competition, potentially for the 2020-21 campaign.
But City is believed to be challenging UEFA's right to send the case to its adjudicatory chamber and its competence to judge on the club at all.
City did not respond to a request for comment, but the club have previously said the referral to the judicial branch "ignores a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence provided by Manchester City".
City, which added the FA Cup and League Cup this season for an unprecedented domestic treble, also said the allegations of wrongdoing were "entirely false" and there is "comprehensive proof" otherwise.
Dugout videos
Court of Arbitration for Sport


text:
EUROPE To Release 'War Of Kings' Album In March
Swedish hard rock veterans EUROPE will release their tenth album, "War Of Kings", in March 2015 via UDR Music. Recorded at the brand new PanGaia Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, produced by Dave Cobb (RIVAL SONS) and engineered by John Netti, the CD sees the classic rocking quintet confidently creating 11 monsterously melodic, yet hard-hitting, classic rock and roll standouts for their fervent global audience.
"War Of Kings" will be available in multiple formats, as a CD digipak, a CD jewel case, a vinyl LP and in digital download format.
The album will be released in the UK on March 2, Japan on March 4 (via JVC), rest of Europe on March 6 and in the U.S. on March 10.
Says EUROPE singer Joey Tempest: "'War Of Kings' is the album we always wanted to make, ever since we were kids listening to bands like [LED] ZEPPELIN, [DEEP] PURPLE and [BLACK] SABBATH. And after hearing Dave Cobb's amazing production for RIVAL SONS, we simply had to work with him. Our adventure is still ON!"
EUROPE's place as a legendary classic rock band was platinum-stamped early in their career, having enjoyed an explosive period of worldwide success in the '80s, under-pinned by their hit album and single "The Final Countdown", before going on hiatus between 1992 and 2003. They reunited and quickly settled into a period of re-establishment which has seen them re-enforce their reputation worldwide as one of the premier purveyors of blues-tinged classic rock with an edge and some kick. Their last album, 2012's "Bag Of Bones", saw EUROPE hit the UK top 40 rock album charts and debut at No. 2 on the Swedish national charts, and "War Of Kings" is set to take full advantage of the global groundwork EUROPE have put in over the last few years.
Joey adds: "Hey! We took the long road! but we wanted to re-establish EUROPE the proper way. It's taken 10 years and countless tours since the reunion, but we're finally getting there! And we've done it our way!"
EUROPE will commence their roadwork supporting "War Of Kings" with a UK/Ireland tour in Dublin on March 2 (their first visit to Ireland in 25 years) before continuing in the UK with BLACK STAR RIDERS.
Says Joey: "Looking forward to 'tons' of touring in 2015! It's getting harder and harder to be modest and humble about this band! It doesn't get much better than this!"
"War Of Kings" track listing:
01. War Of Kings
02. Hole In My Pocket
03. The Second Day
04. Praise You
05. Nothin' To Ya
06. California 405
07. Days Of Rock 'N' Roll
08. Children Of The Mind
09. Rainbow Bridge
10. Angels (With Broken Hearts)
11. Light It Up
12. Vasastan (instrumental) (bonus track) (digipack and Japanese editions only)
JACK WHITE Says He's A Fan Of GRETA VAN FLEET
BOB DAISLEY Responds To SHARON OSBOURNE's 'Sad Old F**k' Slam: Fans 'Are Aware Of The Actual Truth'
Reunited MASSACRE Signs With U.K.'s UNITED TALENT AGENCY
METALLICA's KIRK HAMMETT, ROBERT TRUJILLO Cover RAMMSTEIN's 'Engel' In Berlin: Pro-Shot Video
BI*AS Feat. Former KORN Drummer DAVID SILVERIA: 'Hesitation' Single Released


Now that Evelyn has turned 1 and is now on the move we have had a big overhaul of her toys and its been out with the "baby" toys and in with the noisy, musical, light up, stand up toddler toys which has been met with shrieks of excitement from Evelyn!
One new toy Evelyn has been trying out is the Thomas and Friends - My first rail rollers spiral station.
This rail rollers spiral station allows children to drop their favourite engines into the top of Tidmouth sheds and watch them zoom down the spiral tracks. As they speed past the track signs which spins as the rail rollers hit it they then reach the bottom and are greeted by the fat controller who guides them into the clear lift tube to start the journey over again!
The track comes in several pieces which are really easy to put together and are just clicked in to place. I also liked the fact this toy doesn't require any batteries or fiddly bits to assemble so you don't have to worry about the batteries running out or replacing them etc.
Evelyn loves watching the rail rollers speed down the track and even her brother who is 5 has been having lots of fun racing them down the track with his little sister. The rail rollers are a good size perfect for little hands and can be easily gripped, Evelyn is able to pick them up unaided. She did struggle to master the lift handle at first but once we had shown her a few times she had it masters and was soon whizzing the rail rollers up and down the engine lift.
There are several ways the rail rollers can get around they can either spin around the track, drop down the centre (there a windows on the side so you can see it traveling down) or they can go up and down in the lift.
The Thomas and Friends - My first rail rollers spiral station makes a fantastic toddler toy as the bright colours are eye catching and the chunky parts and ease of use make it easy for toddlers to handle and master by themselves.
We would definitely give the Rail rollers spiral station a big thumbs up as it definitely kept Evelyn (and her big brother) entertained and both were giggling and encouraging their rollers as they watching the rail rollers whizz down the track. It feels sturdy, strong and built to last which is a must with toddler toys especially.
The Thomas and Friends - My first rail rollers spiral station is aimed at children 12 months + and is priced at £32.99. The set comes with two rail rollers (Thomas and a diesel engine) although more rail rollers can be brought separately. It is available to purchase from many stores and online include Argos.
Check out the range over at the Fisher Price website here - www.fisher-price.com.
I love toys like these Jessica! ... I mean Hayden of toys like these. It can keep them busy for hours while they are also learning which is a win-win.
Definitely keeping this in mind with Christmas coming up and I know a little girl who would love something like this.
This looks like a lot of fun! I'm sure my little boy would love this when he's older. Amelia also loves playing with toys like this!


Description CLI options <plug-in-name>-debug and <plug-in-verbose> which are made automagically available for dynamic plug-ins (as document by frama-c -<plug-in-name>-help do not actually seem to exist at all as they are not recognized as valid CLI options.
[kernel] error: option `-mthread-debug' is unknown.
[kernel] error: use `frama-c -help' for more information.
for the Early and Extending stages. => what about the verbose and debug options ???
just before the configuring phase.
To be confirmed by Julien.
The Loïc's patch is ok.


People in the UK- wait in line for ipad 2 for hours or order online?
Discussion in 'iPad' started by The Game 161, Mar 22, 2011.
Whats everybody doing? I will likely just order online. Will get on apple's site by midnight and order straight away which will hopefully mean I will get the ipad 2 within 3 or 4 days. I have waited forever for an ipad..whats a few more days?
a 16 wifi ipad 2.
Be interesting if the smart covers will be available to buy.
I thought about queing at my local apple store but really the risk for me is if I don't get one that day by waiting in line I will be waiting even longer as by the time i get home the chances are the online orders will be a good two weeks wait.
If I was you I would risk the lines... Delivery is likely to be far longer than a few days with current supply and demand issues.
I'm waiting for the Pre-Order to be announced as Apple have been promising us, and still are, on their web site. Must be soon now, with only a few days left before launch day.
I'm in two minds about it, just depends how long the waiting time will be. If I order when it is out my chances increase on getting here in good time.
sorry mate, there won't be pre-orders now.
its Tuesday, if they went live tonight, the earliest they could be shipped is Wednesday, and the launch-time stock comes from the factories in the far east, so they would not get to you by Friday.
I think it will be, order at midnight on friday, recieve next week, probably thursday or friday.
Order online and queue, if you get one from queueing, cancel your online order. If not, then it's still coming.
i could wait that long, but wouldn't want to. a week? fine, afterall i have never had an ipad so whats an extra week?
I think you'll be looking at several weeks... Take a look at other threads in relation to global supply and time lime.
Why do Apple still say there will be Pre-Orders on their Web Site then?
It would take them 5 minutes to change if, if they are no longer going to stick to their promise.
That's fine! Have even been thinking about delaying getting one so that any balcklight issues or anything like that can be sorted out.
I'm deffo not going to wait in line, if I was that desperate i'd be paying somone to wait in line for me.
Think i have decided to just order online.
although it depends what my order says when i buy. if it says 2-3 weeks then o will go and que.
Several weeks? why would it be that long?
John Lewis no longer have the iPad 2 in their search results. Before you got the usual "coming March 25th banner".
If the UK launch is anything like the US launch, then if you order online, your iPad will be shipped from China and will "ship" in 3-5 business days, IF you order within the first hour or two of the site going live. Once it ships, you are still looking at 3-7 more days after that.
I ordered one via the US within 5 minutes of the site going live on March 11. It arrived on March 22 at my US address. 11 days total. Just be prepared it could take that long.


text:
Salsåker
Salsåker, Sweden
January, like December, is a freezing cold winter month in Salsåker, Sweden, with temperature in the range of an average high of -3.8°C (25.2°F) and an average low of -8.1°C (17.4°F).
The coldest month is January, with an average high-temperature of -3.8°C (25.2°F) and an average low-temperature of -8.1°C (17.4°F).
In Salsåker, the average relative humidity is 92%.
In Salsåker, Sweden, during January, the rain falls for 5.5 days and regularly aggregates up to 38mm (1.5") of precipitation. Throughout the year, there are 134.7 rainfall days, and 438mm (17.24") of precipitation is accumulated.
Months with snowfall are January through May, October through December. January is the month with the most snowfall. Snow falls for 17 days and accumulates 245mm (9.65") of snow.
In January, the average length of the day in Salsåker is 6h.
In Salsåker, the average sunshine is 2.2h.
January through March and December, with an average maximum UV index of 1, are months with the lowest UV index. A UV Index value of 2, and less, symbolizes a low threat to health from the exposure to the Sun's UV rays for average individuals.
For the majority, extended sun exposure is not of great concern. Infants and people with sensitive skin must always be protected. The Sun's most intense and consequently most harmful UV radiation during midday hours should be decreased by minimizing exposure and seeking shade. A wide-brim hat offers excellent sun protection for eyes, ears, face, and neck. Sunglasses with UVA and UVB protection significantly reduce eye damage from sun exposure. Tightly woven, loose-fitting clothes provide additional protection from the Sun. Caution! The reflection of snow can nearly double the intensity of the Sun's UV radiation.
What is the coldest month in Salsåker?
With an average high-temperature of -3.8°C (25.2°F) and an average low-temperature of -8.1°C (17.4°F), January is the coldest month in Salsåker.
What is the temperature in January in Salsåker?
In January, in Salsåker, Sweden, the average high-temperature is -3.8°C (25.2°F), and the average low-temperature is -8.1°C (17.4°F).
What is the average humidity in January in Salsåker?
In January, the average relative humidity in Salsåker is 92%.
How much does it rain in Salsåker in January?
In Salsåker, Sweden, during January, the rain falls for 5.5 days and regularly aggregates up to 38mm (1.5") of precipitation.
How many days does it snow in January in Salsåker?
In January, in Salsåker, Sweden, it is snowing for 17 days. Throughout January, 245mm (9.65") of snow is accumulated.
What is the snowiest month in Salsåker?
January is the month with the most snowfall in Salsåker, Sweden. Snow falls for 17 days and accumulates 245mm (9.65") of snow.
How many hours of daylight does Salsåker have in January?
In Salsåker, Sweden, the average length of the day in January is 6h.
How long on average sun shines in January in Salsåker?
In Salsåker, the average sunshine in January is 2.2h.
What is the month with the lowest UV index in Salsåker?
Months with the lowest UV index are January through March and December, with an average maximum UV index of 1.
How high is the UV index in January in Salsåker?
In January, the average daily maximum UV index is 1. A UV Index reading of 2, and below, represents a low health threat from unprotected exposure to the UV radiation.
The windiest month (with the highest average wind speed) is March (10.8km/h).
Average snowfall days in January: 17 days
The month with the highest number of snowfall days is January (17 days).
Average daylight in January: 6h
Months with the least sunshine days are February and December (10.5 days).
Months with the lowest UV index are January, February, March and December (UV index 1).
Months with the most cloud cover are January and February (Cloud cover 65).
Months with the least cloud cover are June and July (Cloud cover 44).
Months with the highest visibility are May, June and July (9km).
January, like December, is a freezing cold winter month in Salsåker, Sweden, with temperature in the range of an average high of -3.8°C (25.2°F) and an average low of -8.1°C (17.4°F). In Salsåker, Sweden, during January, the rain falls for 5.5 days and regularly aggregates up to 38mm (1.5") of precipitation. [2136975]


text:
"But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 14: 10-11
The common law is a complex phenomenon, having various aspects, each of which conditions and depends on the other aspects. It has a supranational dimension, as the law that stands over sovereignty and conditions it; it has a national dimension, as the law of the polity, the expression of its sovereignty in a general and indiscriminate way; and it has the dimension of spontaneous generation, as being court-evolved ("judge-made" law, a common but inadequate formulation).
All of these dimensions are various aspects of what at bottom is a unified entity.
The common law is the law of nations
Common law finds expression, first and foremost, in an overarching law-order, a sort of natural law providing the principles undergirding all positive law-orders. This common, universal law-order does not exist in a vacuum, or as a sort of Platonic idea transcending the legal systems of the nations, but in greater or lesser degree is interwoven into each of them. In this sense the common law is the same thing as what Stahl referred to as the doctrine of law and state. (1)
Sovereignty and law
This common law stands above sovereignty and conditions sovereignty. All sovereign polities are called to implement it in the positive legal orders they shape and maintain. (2)
The opposite of the common law is the civil law, which is formed by absolute law-creating sovereignty, and is the creature of sovereignty. In the common-law order, sovereignty is the servant of the law and exists to implement the law. In the civil-law order, sovereignty is the creator of the law; law exists to implement the will of the sovereign, and in fact is the will of the sovereign. (3)
Two kinds of sovereignty
There are thus two polar-opposite forms of sovereignty, corresponding to the two forms of law. Limited sovereignty recognizes a society of pluralistic authority structures, and mediates the relationships between them. Its goal is the formation and promotion of a society of independent groupings and associations. Absolute sovereignty recognizes no authority structures it does not itself create and control. It strives to create, not a society, but an organization.
The common law so conceived inspired the law-order developed over the course of centuries by Western Christendom as the corollary of limited sovereignty. It was once shared, in greater or lesser degree, by all Western polities. Especially since the French Revolution, this law-order on the European continent has been superseded by the civil law, the product of absolute sovereignty and its lawmaking effort of codification. This has led to the formation of two Western legal traditions, the common-law and the civil-law traditions, the common-law tradition carried on by the Anglo-Saxon countries, the civil-law tradition carried on in the continent, the vehicle being the French Revolution.
This development is therefore a product of the 18th and 19th centuries. Previously, there was a fundamental unity among the legal systems of the Anglo-Saxon and continental countries of Western Europe, a unity the sight of which has been lost by reading back into history these later developments. Certainly, there were major differences, but those differences cannot be used as an excuse to ignore the fundamental unity. (4)
Sovereignty is national
As the common law calls for limited sovereignty, it calls for multiple sovereignty. The basis of this order of multiple sovereigns is the nation. (5) Nations have the calling to establish positive legal orders, each incorporating the principles of the common law. In so doing, each nation establishes its own branch of the common law, and this national law is thus also its common law. Therefore, there is no contradiction between the universal law-order and national sovereignty. A truly universal law-order in fact requires multiple sovereigns, because only then can it retain the criteria necessary to that universality. A universal sovereign, on the other hand, of necessity subordinates all independent activity to its own will, and cannot abide by any independent authority; it therefore can never submit to an all-encompassing order which it itself does not control – and, since it can never subject everything to its will, there will always be unresolved conflict, never unanimity. Today this tendency is evident in the quest to establish global jurisdiction for international organizations – universal jurisdiction. Such is the fulfillment of the civil-law tradition.
But the common law, which stands over sovereignty, conditions it and restricts it to the maintenance of an order of freedom and equality for non-sovereign, private entities. It is thus universally integrating. In this law-order, sovereignty serves to implement the principles of universal law in the particular legal order of the nation.
Private law is common law within a particular society
The expression of the common law in the life of the nation is the regime of private law. Private law is the law of liberty and equality. In it, legal persons are equals; with it, there is no respect of persons. It does not subordinate legal persons to a higher order or purpose, but allows them to pursue their own purposes; it integrates these persons as equals, coordinating them over against each other rather than subordinating the one to the other or treating them as subordinates of a greater whole. It thus strives not for an order of monolithic organization but one of a plurality of associations.
In a common-law society, there are therefore a plethora of legal persons – associations, and individuals through associations – pursuing independent goals, coordinated in terms of the integrating private law. Each of these associations in turn has an internal order governed by the principle of distributive justice, in which distributions are made rather than transactions, in which the members are apportioned shares and responsibilities, rights and duties, in accordance with the administrative will.
These associations are both private and public, ranging from the family to corporations, clubs, foundations, and then also to public communities such as towns, cities, and states. They all are governed by internal laws. Outwardly, they are coordinated and integrated with other associations in terms of private law. The common law qua private law integrates these activities in terms of the principle of commutative justice.
The two kinds of justice
It is of the utmost importance to realize both the difference between distributive and commutative justice, and the mutuality thereof. The besetting sin of left and right in the modern age has been to subordinate and even subsume the one principle to the other, leading to collectivism on the one hand and individualism on the other.
The concept of justice is fundamental here, and requires closer attention. The classic definition is "rendering to each his due," ensuring that what one has coming to him, one actually receives. The Roman jurist Ulpian's celebrated definition is: "Iustitia est constans et perpetua voluntas ius suum cuique tribuens" (Justice is the constant and perpetual will to render to each his due) – but this would seem to define the just will rather than justice in itself.
Aristotle went further, first making the important point that justice always concerns outward dealings with others rather than internal states of mind or mood – justice therefore always involves relations. He then took the decisive step of dividing justice into the two forms of distributive and commutative. Distributive justice is "exercised in the distribution of honor, wealth, and the other divisible assets of the community, which may be allotted among its members in equal or unequal shares." Commutative justice, on the other hand, "supplies a corrective principle in private transactions."
The important thing to notice here is that commutative justice is transactional justice. It focuses on the act, not the actors; as such, it is "no respecter of persons." It strives to abstract the thing from the person and focus simply on the justice involved in the transaction at hand. It is commutative justice that is being referred to when we say, "Justice is blind." It does not play favorites, "it calls them like it sees them."
Distributive justice, on the other hand, does not concern transactions but commands: it is realized when the command takes the person into account in an appropriate manner, looking to the need or merit of the various actors. Commutative justice concerns the thing; distributive justice concerns the person.
Yet Aristotle's distinction does not quite get to the bottom of the issue. Which is, that what really is being distinguished here is two dimensions of association, the outside and the inside, or the internal and the external. In other words, distributive and commutative justice are correlative; they are not alternative approaches to justice, but complementary approaches to it. The regime of distributive justice pertains to relations within a particular association, while the regime of commutative justice pertains to relations between particular associations.
Two kinds of justice, two regimes of enacting them
These two functionalities have two different methods of accomplishment. As H.B. Acton pointed out, (6) distributive justice requires a distributing agency to be set over the persons involved in the distribution. So the parties are subordinate to a higher decision-making authority. In commutative justice, the parties are coordinated over against each other in independence, are equal rather than being subordinated in terms of a higher relation.
This understanding corrects the impression given by an exclusive emphasis on the principle of methodological individualism. For there is no isolated individual standing over against society, in all his autonomous glory. There is rather the citizen, whose functioning within the associationalism of the common-law order makes it go. The individual's relationships are mediated, precisely through the associations of which society is composed. The citizen is the natural individual taking on the guises provided by the various associations of which he forms part. The key to properly-functioning citizenship is responsible membership in the various associations, some of which are natural and/or obligatory. One such example is the family, into which all are born. Another is the state, of which all are members (citizenship strictly speaking), with rights and responsibilities corresponding to that membership. For an association to remain healthy, its members must recognize its authority over them, recognize their place in it, and pursue the shared interest of that association.
The state: an association among associations
[This section is under construction.]
In the state association, that shared interest is the common good.
Common law as spontaneous growth
Since the sovereign does not impose the law but receives it, the common law in its guise of external private law is not imposed but rather issues forth, precisely as a function of the relations of the differentiated society. The state does not administer distributive justice over society, precisely because society is not an all-inclusive association. The state is entrusted with the peculiar function of sovereign mediation of civil relations, and hence acts as arbiter over society, not as manager over it.
In this process, law evolves rather than is promulgated. Law results from the interaction of the independent loci of authority which are allowed to arise when sovereignty is exercised as oversight rather than command. This issues forth in common law; common law therefore grows with society; it expands as society differentiates. A primitive society lacks much in the way of a common law because most relations are internal to the associations of which it is composed; these associations are monolithic. It is therefore no accident that primitive societies stand in isolation and have difficulty in maintaining open communications with the outside world. They have little concept of a universal law governing such relations.
The reach of common law
Directly, the common law governs the relations between associations, and between individuals to the degree that they act as legal persons outside of the boundaries of any particular association. Within associations it governs relations only indirectly, that is, to the degree that internal affairs impinge on the functioning of the broader legal order. For example, contracts establishing arrangements contrary to the institutions of the universal common law (e.g., polygamy, same-sex marriage) are impermissible.
Being a function of commutative justice, these relations are of the order of transactions. Since associations pursue independent goals, they do not attempt to subordinate other associations, but only to obtain from those other associations resources which they might need the better to attain their own goals. These transactions can take on numerous forms, and can have numerous objects; they can however be summarized in the term obligation – commitments to performance.
The institutions of common law: property and contract
Although there are two basic forms of obligation, contract and tort (Aristotle characterized these as voluntary and involuntary, respectively), contract is its example par excellence. (7) Contract establishes a commitment to some duty or performance. Contracts mainly involve the transfer either of goods or of services. In the case of goods, either a sale or some form of lease is contemplated; in the case of services, a commitment to do something or abstain from doing something.
Such obligation calls the concept of private property into existence. Private property only comes about in connection with these relations between legal persons. The contracts which arrange for a transfer of goods require the concept of property as a presupposition. Property, in turn, presupposes the existence of entities outside the owning group. The concept of property has no significance within the holding community, only outside of it – for everything within is held in common or in trust and is subject to the regime of distribution rather than exchange. Further, property is all the goods and services at the disposal of the group, thus not only material things but also the "human capital," the capacities of members capable of being put to profitable use and in demand on the part of those outside. All of these can be leveraged. In the chapter on common-law economics this will be explored more thoroughly.
The key role of the judiciary
The common law as external private law develops in terms of these inter-group arrangements, reciprocally influencing their development and being influenced by it. The point of contact of this development is the judiciary, the adjudicative branch of government. This is one of the main instruments through which sovereignty affects the social order. By rendering decisions in cases of dispute, the judiciary establishes and confirms valid forms of relation, and of the components of relation. These "jural relations" as they are sometimes known are rights, involving both the legal persons (individuals and associations) and the legal objects (goods and services).
The common law as a universe of burgeoning rights thus develops in the service of a spontaneous order. It facilitates relations between groups by bringing to bear the legal institutions which can mediate those relations. These institutions include property, contract, tort or delict, due process of law, legal personality. They are not imposed, but rather grow out of custom as sanctioned by the courts. However, they are implicit in the logic of the common law. Such relations will always be conducted through such legal institutions, wherever such relations arise.
Court-evolved law
In this process, the courts are determined by precedent and thus follow a given trajectory, although such determination is not rigid; they are guided forward by the inner logic of the common law as entailed in its capacity as a universal, integrating legal order showing itself no respecter of persons. Here the common law reveals itself as general equity. Therefore, courts operating in terms of custom and equity as so defined act, in the issuing of decisions, as determinators of value, of the norms by which society is ruled. They do so not by prescribing a law but by providing an interpretation which then gives to law and custom its boundaries and indicates its path forward into the future. Decisions and precedents are the framework through which the common law takes shape in a particular society.
The values of society are therefore fundamentally influenced by the decisions issued by the courts. The legal system takes shape upon this basis, and legislation, if it is to maintain the legal order of the common law, must respect this legal system and build upon it. In the civil-law approach, legislation becomes omnipotent and takes it upon itself to replace this customary order. In so doing it interrupts the continuity of a society with its past and introduces an artificiality and an uprootedness which has a thoroughly pernicious effect on societal mores.
The process of valuation
This is the process by which, in a common-law order, valuation takes place which is valid across the society. Valuation occurs through a process in which an appeal is made to sovereign (or the sovereign's representative) to adjudicate on a point of uncertainty. It is this decision which is decisive because it then becomes binding on society at large; it becomes law. And the law, as Stahl has noted, "is the primary, most immediate ethical measure for the actions of men;" (8) as such, it has a ripple effect throughout society, influencing its very moral fiber, for better or for worse.
The basic theorem of the common law
We can therefore establish as the fundamental theorem of the common-law order the following formula: the sovereign confirmation, under the leading of justice and in line with precedent, of (external) social value, in response to request, at the margin.
Sovereign confirmation: a binding decision made by the public authority, enforced by the power of that authority, that cannot be gainsaid.
the leading of justice: this decision is arrived at in strict consultation with the principle of justice.
in line with precedent: this decision is correlated with previous decisions pertaining to the matter at hand; it must be shown to follow those decisions, or, if necessary, to derogate from them, and how; such derogation carries the burden of proof.
social value: valuation which is "current," i.e., which is valid for society at large, and not just within a particular family or other group; as such, it is imparted to all, and all are held accountable to it.
in response to request: decisions are arrived at by appeal to authority, they are not handed down by decree. As such, they spring from the grass roots, from living reality, and capture the spontaneous development of society.
at the margin: decisions are made only regarding a fraction of conflicts and other situations of doubt, and provide guidance to actors as to how to conform future behavior.
This process implements and generates the integrating universal value structure upon which civilization rests, which is the common law.
It integrates the universal with the particular, the top-down with the bottom-up.
The common law therefore brings down the higher law, which is God's will for human society, into the life of the nation by means of the instrumentality of sovereignty, which through a process of spontaneous ordering overseen by the state generates the pluralist, differentiated, associationalist order characterized by liberty under law, and upheld by individuals dedicated to the citizen ideal.
"The standards of law and the institutions of the state differ across different countries and times and, being the work of man, everywhere and of necessity contain bad as well as good. There is indeed however something higher, something universal, at work in all creations of law and the state, which purposes to be consummated in all of these, the consummation or lack thereof amounting to the superiority or poverty of the same: that inward unchanging essence of law and state. Now jurisprudence is the science of law and state as it exists in a particular time under a particular people. From this stems the requirement for a higher science, having as its object this inner unchanging essence of law and state. It may be called the doctrine of law and state." Stahl, Principles of Law, p. 1.
"Common law (lex communis) has been naturally implanted by God in all men.… It is commonly called the moral law (lex moralis).… In this common law (jus commune) is set forth for all men nothing other than the general theory and practice of love, both for God and for one's neighbor.…. Christ set forth two headings of this common law. The first heading pertains to the performance of our duty immediately to God, and the second to what is owed to our neighbor.… Proper law (lex propria) is the law that is drawn up and established by the magistrate on the basis of common law (lex communis) and according to the nature, utility, condition, and other special circumstances of his country. It indicates the peculiar way, means, and manner by which this natural equity among men can be upheld, observed, and cultivated in any given commonwealth. Therefore, proper law (jus proprium) is nothing other than the practice of this common natural law (jus naturale) as adapted to a particular polity. It indicates how individual citizens of a given commonwealth are able to seek and attain this natural equity. Whence it is called the servant and handmaiden of common law (jus commune), and a teacher leading us to the observance of common law." Johannes Althusius, Politica, §§. 19, 20, 22, 30.
This is the theme of my book A Common Law: The Law of Nations and Western Civilization.
This theme calls for a book-length exposition. In the meantime, regarding the relationship of Roman and English law one may consult Bryce's Studies in History and Jurisprudence, Leoni's Freedom and the Law, McIlwain's "English Common Law" (cf. also his Constitutionalism: Ancient and Modern), for starters.
Stahl, Principles of Law, ch. 4: "The Popular Character of Law," pp. 79ff.
The Morals of Markets and Related Essays, p. 103.
Stahl, Private Law, p. 100.
Stahl, Principles of Law, p. 39.
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text:
Bedside detection of awareness in the vegetative state: a cohort study
Lancet. 2011 Dec 17;378(9809):2088-94. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61224-5. Epub 2011 Nov 9.
Damian Cruse 1 , Srivas Chennu, Camille Chatelle, Tristan A Bekinschtein, Davinia Fernández-Espejo, John D Pickard, Steven Laureys, Adrian M Owen
1 Centre for Brain and Mind, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada. dcruse@uwo.ca
Background: Patients diagnosed as vegetative have periods of wakefulness, but seem to be unaware of themselves or their environment. Although functional MRI (fMRI) studies have shown that some of these patients are consciously aware, issues of expense and accessibility preclude the use of fMRI assessment in most of these individuals. We aimed to assess bedside detection of awareness with an electroencephalography (EEG) technique in patients in the vegetative state.
Methods: This study was undertaken at two European centres. We recruited patients with traumatic brain injury and non-traumatic brain injury who met the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised definition of vegetative state. We developed a novel EEG task involving motor imagery to detect command-following--a universally accepted clinical indicator of awareness--in the absence of overt behaviour. Patients completed the task in which they were required to imagine movements of their right-hand and toes to command. We analysed the command-specific EEG responses of each patient for robust evidence of appropriate, consistent, and statistically reliable markers of motor imagery, similar to those noted in healthy, conscious controls.
Findings: We assessed 16 patients diagnosed in the vegetative state, and 12 healthy controls. Three (19%) of 16 patients could repeatedly and reliably generate appropriate EEG responses to two distinct commands, despite being behaviourally entirely unresponsive (classification accuracy 61-78%). We noted no significant relation between patients' clinical histories (age, time since injury, cause, and behavioural score) and their ability to follow commands. When separated according to cause, two (20%) of the five traumatic and one (9%) of the 11 non-traumatic patients were able to successfully complete this task.
Interpretation: Despite rigorous clinical assessment, many patients in the vegetative state are misdiagnosed. The EEG method that we developed is cheap, portable, widely available, and objective. It could allow the widespread use of this bedside technique for the rediagnosis of patients who behaviourally seem to be entirely vegetative, but who might have residual cognitive function and conscious awareness.
Funding: Medical Research Council, James S McDonnell Foundation, Canada Excellence Research Chairs Program, European Commission, Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique, Mind Science Foundation, Belgian French-Speaking Community Concerted Research Action, University Hospital of Liège, University of Liège.
Awareness*
Coma / diagnosis*
Electroencephalography / methods*
Motor Cortex / physiopathology
Persistent Vegetative State / physiopathology*
Point-of-Care Systems
G0001237/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
MC_U105559847/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom


text:
The Slopes of Davos
By T. Paul Cox May 7, 2013
image by imp kerr
The World Economic Forum charts its darkest fears: superbugs and fake Tweets
During the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, in a school auditorium outside the ski resort's secure perimeter, there's a smaller Open Forum – no invitation required for anyone who can make it up to the Swiss Alps. It's TEDx to Davos's TED, a neat package of webstream-ready inspiration. One of this year's presentations was Life Lessons from Jazz: Improvisation as a Way of Life, in which Columbia ethnomusicology professor Chris Washburne and his band taught the audience how to survive neoliberal uncertainty with the "spontaneous creativity that we have inherited from the African-American culture."
Quoting the early soloist Sidney Bechet, Washburne calls jazz the sound of freedom. "It's the sounds that emulate [sic] from the emancipated slaves. The newfound freedom that they found in the South of the United States, and they had to make sense of that freedom. They had to turn ugliness into beauty, and to rebuild their lives." So, too, do we have to grasp the new freedoms of the neoliberal world to improvise a way of life that celebrates uncertainty and precarity.
A favored metaphor in Davos, jazz offers these life lessons to the precariat and the elites alike, while negating the responsibility of the latter to do anything about the vulnerabilities of the former. We're all in the music together, and risk sets the rhythm. Jazz musicians "have one of the riskiest jobs in the world, because failure is just around the corner at every single turn," Washburne assures us between sets of Azure and Caravan. "As a matter of fact, you can think about jazz as just a series of failures."
The World Economic Forum belongs to those who drape themselves in risk and find opportunity in each reversal of fortune. They are used to improv – only improv promises mostly to enrich them, rather than allowing them to scrape by. In a way, the economic elite see this meeting as their own Montreux Jazz, a place for free-market thought leaders to fearlessly riff on the future as it comes.
Their setlist comes in an annual Global Risks report prepared at the start of the year. This document, with its clean graphics in five colors – Google plus purple – lays bare the terrors of the moment and sorely tests the macho boardroom definition of risk. In the corporate world, risk always carries a harmonic of opportunity; always exists to be snatched up by someone with big enough balls and a good enough hedge. It is a kind of commodity. Any disaster just needs to be quantified in two variables – likelihood of occurring, and potential impact – and it's ready for the market.
The first Global Risk reports emerged seven years ago from a network of experts and roundtable consultations bringing together risk advisors, academics and executives. Insurance corporations – Swiss Re, Zurich Insurance, Marsh & McLennan – played, and continue to play, a nonspecific role as "collaborators," providing guidance in the selection of risks. In 2011, the process switched to a larger email survey of leaders and thinkers from business, government, international organizations and the academies. Respondents were asked to rate a list of risks by likelihood of occurrence in the next ten years, by potential cost in billions of dollars, and by connection with other risks.
In 2012 the survey pool grew to include NGOs, and the unit of potential impact changed from billions of dollars to a value-neutral five point scale. Like the Open Forum, this was Davos in its inclusive, multi-stakeholder guise. The sample nevertheless remains heavily skewed toward the business world, which accounts for over 42 percent of respondents this year; all other groups are dwarfed, with governments coming in at 8.1 percent.
The list of risks also reached its current size and shape in 2012, and the authors decided to fix it in place for the sake of year-to-year analysis. These fifty possible disasters would thenceforth serve as the basic scale on which to jam – the definitive threats to business and, by extension, humanity. Until the next overhaul, we're stuck with the sound of 2012 – but if it's catastrophic imagination that we need, 2012 was a creative year.
Global Risks 2013 explores catastrophes that are too big and unknown to hedge, even if many of them are already coming to pass. Its portfolio is fifty risk factors thick, with water shortages, liquidity crises and orbital debris, each precisely weighted by likelihood and potential impact and charted like commodities. Backlash against globalization is up. Extreme weather is up. Nothing is down. It's never been clear exactly whose nightmares these risks are, and the lack of attribution is part of the point. They are supposed to rise up out of the data, objective and urgent, the voice of the planet demanding to be heard.
The data visualizations in Global Risks 2013, network charts and scatter plots of drifting risk points, look like graphic notation from the avant-garde wing of jazz. Simultaneously abstracting and reconstituting survey data into swarms of color, the graphics go for impact over legibility, sketching impressions of an intricate score that, if played as music, would carry a clear, smooth, rising melody.
From more than a thousand survey responses, the authors tease out three risk "constellations" of interlinked potentialities. The first constellation, Testing Economic and Environmental Resilience, invites a Sandy comparison that couldn't have been in last year's report: "Like a super storm, two major systems are on a collision course." The nor'easter of economic crisis and the hurricane of climate change, in their union, will bring unprecedented challenges.
With "green growth" going stale, the World Economic Forum endorses a successor mindset from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization: "climatesmart." Being climate smart means searching for synergies across mitigation and adaptation, across the demands of the carbon cycle and the GDP – in other words, looking for routes to continued growth that also happen to reduce emissions. The diametric opposition of these goals has not lessened in recent years, but with language like search and possibility, the report holds out hope that we can improvise our way between these major and minor scales. With communication and innovation, we can plan smarter, not harder. At some grand systemic level, climate-smart asks us to believe that capitalism and nature rise and fall together, and to trust that the Forum believes this too.
The second constellation is called Digital Wildfires in a Hyperconnected World. This is, indeed, talking about Twitter. The authors liken the Internet to early radio, and digital misinformation to the 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast – which would be frightening, if Wells's staged Martian invasion and the resulting panic had actually been the worst thing that happened in the 1930s.
All the classic pranks of recent years are present – the Sandy shark photos, fake Tony Hayward, and The Innocence of Muslims. But this risk stands on two unacknowledged assumptions: that the effects of misinformation are negative, and that the consequences of false information are greater than those of true information. The latter is disputed by several of the report's examples, like the case of the YouTube hit United Breaks Guitars. This ballad about a musician's travel mishap did damage United Airlines stock value, but it was not untrue.
What it comes down to is that executives, including many of those involved in the survey, regularly rate social media among the greatest risks their corporations face. The way the CEOs see it, talking about misinformation is the safest way of talking about the control of information. The report's authors nevertheless acknowledge that restrictions on freedom of speech may have "undesirable consequences." Their alternative proposal is halfhearted and unworkable: a persistent credibility rating system for Internet users, described as eBay feedback for the digital self.
The final constellation of risks is juicily titled The Dangers of Hubris on Human Health, referring to the unwinnable race against drug-resistant bacteria and viruses. This looks like the contest in which our would-be Satchmos come up against the planet's true masters of improvisation. But the assignment of blame gets a bit confusing. "Interestingly, respondents to the Global Risks Perception Survey connected antibiotic-resistant bacteria to failure of the international intellectual property regime," the authors explain, ever so slightly embarrassed with their own data. "The connection highlights a global market failure to incentivize front-end investment in antibiotic development through the promise of longer-term commercial reward."
This strange, spurious connection forces us to reflect finally on whose heads we're looking into, and what these graphics actually measure. The first question is answered deep in an appendix on page 61 where we find the breakdown of the survey sample, and that a lion's share of 42.1percent hail from the business world. Academics (17.8 percent), NGOs (16percent), governments (8.1 percent) and international organizations (7.7 percent) provide the sidemen to these bandleaders.
These well buried figures are important because the report tells us that different groups acknowledge different risks. NGO staffers give higher likelihood scores for most risks than government assessors, and higher impact scores than the business sector. Economists worry much about fiscal imbalances and little about income disparity. Women rate almost every risk higher, with "important implications" for managers seeking expertise "to make the most informed decisions" (There is only one risk, backlash against globalization, which men rated as more likely than women.)
Risk assessment experts deal with complex global systems, unknown variables, and the contentious political ground in which the acceptability of risk is decided. This is the reason for the survey: it's a clever way of quantifying the unquantifiable, crowdsourcing the actual work of assessment to a thousand informants whose own rationality operates below the report's level of analysis. The experts of 2013, now plugging the survey results into their own calculations, are getting nothing but feedback.
But the results are perverse: Every scatter plot in the report slopes contrary to the statistical curve of actual risk. In the real world, the most destructive possibilities – the real Hollywood spectacles – are the least likely to occur. But in the Davos surveys, a strong positive relationship between likelihood and impact lines up the dots on a 45-degree angle from 0/0 to 5/5 – in the aggregate results, in every breakdown, and even in the individual responses. As the authors note, but do not attempt to explain, "survey respondents seem to be associating high-likelihood events with high impacts" – an association found in no model of risk.
The word risk is of sterling coinage, invented with probability theory in the 17th century mathematics of gambling. Its meaning is formal and formalizing, which is why a science continues to be built around it. However, most of us – even experts – have a way of slipping into adjacent folk concepts. In positively associating impact and likelihood, the Forum's survey-takers are revealing not the slope of risk but the slope of danger: that which looms closest looms largest.
Risk as danger is messy, political, and cultural – not a subject for mathematics, but for anthropology. Mary Douglas was its foremost anthropologist, who,with political scientist Aaron Wildavsky, created the cultural theory of risk in the late-structuralist 1980s. Douglas described how certain risks are selected for focus and concern by groups primarily as an expression of the social order they wish to manifest. While governments see threats to authority and hierarchy, environmental activists see invisible poisons flowing from a corrupt modernity. Institutions devoted to the market focus on dangers that threaten the primacy of free contract between individuals – because free individuals, improvising, can ride out any other challenge.
All of us, every fisherman or engineer or parent or plutocrat, operate with keen risk awareness in our everyday fields of competence, says Douglas. But these fields are limited, and the same awareness doesn't necessarily apply to big risks that involve complex social judgments of value. Here, even for experts, "the onus of choice is shifted away from particular issues to a choice between kinds of social institutions," writes Douglas in Risk and Blame. "Blame falls in such a way as to reinforce the local community ideal. Far from being steadily analyzed, from the start danger is roped into the work of showing up villains or maintaining morale" writes Douglas.
In stark political terms, it's even easier to say: If an expert is warning that the retreat of intellectual property law may loose antibiotic-resistant bacteria on the world, that expert most likely belongs to an institution that feels strongly about the IP regime – perhaps an institution within the private pharmaceutical sector. Maybe it's just vested interest, or maybe there does seem to be an affinity between the invaders of protected bodies and the invaders of protected markets.
When Davos analysts collect such feelings and recirculate them as quantified risk, they are engaging in an ideological task well known to anthropology, consolidating their view of global morality in the most powerful language they speak. It should be a harmonious collaboration, drawing the Davos set further into a shared understanding of our age. But the strange concerns and backward slopes get in the way.
Institutional cultures and ideals are certainly not discussed in Global Risks 2013. Rational, free individuals are too fundamental to both economics and risk analysis. Instead, to explain their shortcomings, the report's authors take a leap over the cultural and go right to the cognitive level – sooner questioning decision-makers' brains than their allegiances.
Research in cognitive psychology and decision-making suggests that people use 'rules of thumb' to make judgments in the face of ambiguity and complexity. This approach usually serves well but can lead to predictably faulty judgments under some circumstances. Psychologists call such predictably faulty judgments cognitive biases, and these biases influence how we respond to the best information at our disposal and integrate it in decision-making structures.
The mental flaws include our over-reliance on recent personal experience; our hyperbolic discounting of delayed costs and benefits; and thresholds of concern below which we ignore risks. This "we" is never the specific we of the report's own survey sample, who are after all experts, but the authors choose the collective pronoun all the same. Each of us is entreated to look within, to clear out the cobwebs of irrationality that keep us from seeing the world as it is.
To locate these distortions in the recesses of human cognition, rather than in institutions and cultures, is a major feat of neoliberal thought. It's with such feats that the World Economic Forum papers over the base conflicts of our world, finding hope for consensus, triple wins, climate-smart synergy. Without acknowledging the different worlds of risk, danger and opportunity that we inhabit, there's always the promise of something simple and elegant. Something with a role for all of us, improvising together, as a band. Like this elegant Davos Quintet for 2013:
As the world faces a squeeze in public funds at the same time as the effects of climate change are increasing, it is only through collaboration among governments (to further the public interest), businesses (to search for innovative products and solutions), legal experts (to mitigate fear of liability), science (to bring good quality supporting data and analyses) and the financial sector (to innovate and avoid future damaging costs) that the limits of environmental and economic resilience can be successfully navigated.
If this collaboration ever happens, Chris Washburne has some advice from up on stage. "When jazz musicians are really improvising, we are pushing the limits almost over the precipice into chaos," he says, setting his trombone aside. "We're up here and need to deeply listen to one another, to hear each other's stories, and where we're going, and work with that together as a team. If we don't listen, that's when chaos kicks in, and that's when bad jazz happens."
Like the whole jazz metaphor, his insight is operationally useless at the global scale. To envision the Davos Quintet as musicians creating together leaves out power and conflict and all questions of resources. The proposal relegates all sides to communicative roles, simply writing the problem of the "squeeze in public funds" out of the score. It's not really a model at all, and neither is jazz. Rather, both work to naturalize the Davos world view – an ideology of the information age that, following the lead of jazzmen before, mystifies the musicians on stage as a conduit for something greater: the flow of the music.