text:
Tempers flare among charter school supporters as state tightens vetting process
By Billy Ball
- in Education, Featured Articles
Allan Hawkes (Photo: Linkedin)
It was 13 days ago that the State Board of Education signed off on just eight of 28 aspiring new charter schools in North Carolina, a stunning flip for a board that's approved dozens of new charters since state lawmakers lifted the 100-school cap on charters in 2011.
Today, Alan Hawkes, a Greensboro charter leader who sits on the state's Charter School Advisory Board (CSAB), is still hot.
That's because five schools tapped for opening by Hawkes' board, which makes recommendations on charter applicants to the state board, were overwhelmingly voted down by the State Board of Education (SBE).
Board members cited typos, weak applications and publicly questioned whether some schools' academic plans were ready for prime time despite the CSAB's support. Typically, state board members heed the counsel of the CSAB, but not this month.
"Don't get me started about public charter school no-nothings (sic) on the NC State Board of Education," Hawkes wrote in an email to Policy Watch this week. "The temerity and ignorance of those soulless SOB's (sic) presuming to know better than the NC Charter School Advisory Board with its diversity of knowledge and experience in this area. If there is anyone who knows the good, the bad and the ugly about public school choice, it's members of our NC CSAB."
Bill Cobey, chairman of the SBE and a Republican appointee of Gov. Pat McCrory, isn't firing back.
"I won't return insults with insults," says Cobey.
"He obviously does not know members of the State Board of Education," Cobey adds. "I can't think of a more outstanding group of people who totally have a heart for children. Alan just doesn't know the members. If he did, I don't think he would characterize members that way."
Such is the tense, and oft-times hostile, relationship these days between state school officials and charter proponents such as Hawkes, a state Senate appointee to the CSAB who's one of many charter advocates lashing out at the state board this week.
Charter proponents like Hawkes are deriding a seeming reversal in fortunes for North Carolina's bustling charter sector, which has surged from 100 to 167 schools in roughly five years, before SBE members seemed to signal a more surgical approach to charter openings earlier this month.
Board members approved an additional eight schools to open for the start of the 2017-2018 school year, but left another 20 applications on the table.
"What the state board showed was almost no confidence in the (CSAB), or very little confidence," said Lee Teague, executive director of the N.C. Public Charter Schools Association, a state coalition of charter leaders.
Indeed, tempers are flaring as North Carolina public school officials are seemingly tightening their vetting process for new charters, publicly-funded schools across the state gifted with increased flexibility in their operations. It comes after a slew of new charters in recent years prepared to open their doors before crumbling under financial and academic concerns.
In North Carolina, it's an evolving process, officials say, but the vetting is especially important. After all, failed charters can cost the state a bundle. Since 2011, 15 charters have been shuttered in the state, many of them relatively new outfits. Some have reaped millions in public funds during their operations, despite reports of chronically poor academics and questionable finances.
The spate of charter closures since 2011 mark a surge in failing charters for North Carolina. In the five years before the legislature lifted the charter cap, just 10 charters were closed by the state. And in recent years, at least three new Charlotte-area charters were approved by state leaders before failing months later.
The problem has not gone unnoticed.
"We've had to live with those failures," said Cobey. "And at the end of the day, the state board has to own the decision as to whether or not we sign off on the charter."
When the STEM Education for a Global Society Academy, a Columbus County school that focused on interactive, hands-on learning methods, shut its doors due to governance issues in April 2015 just months after state leaders approved their application, the school had already pulled in nearly $1 million in taxpayer dollars, according to state records.
Other failed charters, of course, have absorbed much more in public funds. Kennedy Charter in Mecklenburg County, a charter serving children from troubled homes which operated for 18 years before closing this summer due to poor academic scores, took in more than $18 million over its lifetime.
Crossroads Charter High, also in Mecklenburg, closed this summer too due to academic performance issues and financial management, but took in more than $15 million from the state since it opened in 2001.
The risk, financially and academically, is high for charters in North Carolina.
"We want any charter school that we approve to have a very high chance of being successful," added Cobey. "I personally don't want to be part of any failures."
Charter schools in North Carolina educate a scant percentage, less than 5 percent, of North Carolina students. But the publicly-funded institutions, which receive per-pupil allotments from state coffers like traditional public schools, earn more than their fair share of controversy.
Across the nation, charters, freed from the constraints of the traditional curriculum, have been viewed as laboratories for innovation in public schools, reaching students who have struggled in traditional schools. Some have excelled; others have not.
And in North Carolina, which has seen a surge in charters since the GOP takeover of the N.C. General Assembly in 2011, bickering over school funding between traditional public schools and charters is an annual affair.
Indeed, this year, a Republican-led bill aimed at funneling more public cash into charters stalled amid bitter opposition in a Senate education committee, but is likely to return early in the legislature's 2017 session.
Additionally, anger over the state's charter vetting process, which can take months or even years in some cases, is nothing new. State lawmakers, frustrated with a slew of new charter closures in 2013, dismantled a previous charter panel before reassembling the new CSAB, Teague points out.
The CSAB makes recommendations to the State Board of Education about charter applications, but final say over openings and closings remains with Cobey's board.
Nationally, it's a bit of an unusual authorization process, experts say. The nonpartisan National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) recommends states have multiple authorizing panels. In many cases, states also give local boards—which are required to transfer local dollars into charters—the power to open and close charters.
The SBE's power, at times, has seemed to chafe state lawmakers, with powerful legislators such as Sen. Jerry Tillman, a Republican representing Moore and Randolph counties, speeding legislation this year limiting the state board's ability to close charters.
Tillman did not respond to Policy Watch interview requests this week, but based on recent days' bickering over the board's decision, the SBE's power over charters might be up for discussion again when the legislature reconvenes in January.
This week, Teague, with the state Public Charter Schools Association, called the state board's actions "out of the blue." SBE members, despite endorsements from advisors in some cases, criticized prospective charters' applications, criticizing typo-riddled documents submitted by applicants and unclear education plans.
"They had a clear majority vote from the CSAB and treated them like the advisory board had voted them down unanimously," said Teague. "That concerns me. They did it without any independent review on their own, and in a very arbitrary fashion. They didn't give these schools any benefit of the doubt."
Criticism of the vetting process is not a new thing in this sector. This week, Hans Peter Plotseneder, the CEO of the former Entrepreneur High School, a Charlotte-area charter focusing on vocational- and business-oriented schooling, criticized the state's "drawn-out process" for new applicants.
Plotseneder's school opened in 2014 before it closed, months later, over concerns about finances and governances. A 2015 report from The Charlotte Observer noted the foundering school had just $14 in its bank account at the time.
"You start submitting your application," said Plotseneder. "There is a long waiting time when nothing happens, and there was no explanation why there had to be such time."
Meanwhile, Teague says the CSAB should consider this month's SBE votes a "wake-up call," and should present schools they are recommending for approval "in a favorable light."
Asked to elaborate, Teague said some of the recommendations from the CSAB came with seemingly reluctant endorsements from advisory board members.
"I'm not talking about spin," said Teague. I'm talking about presenting it in a way that would lead the (SBE) to make a wise decision."
Denied charters may appeal the SBE's vote to the state's Office of Administrative Hearings, and Teague said he expects several to do so.
"That's another reason the state board should not have acted in the rather cavalier fashion it did," said Teague. "Now there's going to be a lot of resources spent by the state if these schools appeal."
But charter critics and state board members say SBE members are simply doing their job to prevent wasted taxpayer dollars and protect North Carolina children.
Yevonne Brannon, chairwoman of Public Schools First N.C., a statewide advocacy group for K-12 public schools, said the SBE's move indicates state leaders are "righting the ship" after several years of overly lax opening standards.
"I am encouraged to see the state board take a more careful look at charter applications," said Brannon. "This is their first opportunity to prevent a future problem."
Brannon called the SBE a "firewall" for unstable charter applicants, and that given the risk—financially and academically for sometimes struggling students—it's imperative state leaders get it right.
"If they're going to get all these privileges and flexibility, they should really have to show results for children," said Brannon. "If they're not serving their purpose and they're wasting taxpayer dollars and they're not serving children, they should have to go back to the drawing board."
Brannon, meanwhile, blasted charter backers such as Hawkes for lashing out at the SBE this week.
"I actually think we have a fairly strong State Board of Education," said Brannon. "And Bill Cobey's one of the strongest chairs that I've seen in a decade. I've been pleasantly surprised. He's been a very strong advocate for our public schools and he's been really independent in his thinking."
For his part, Cobey says this week that the increased scrutiny for charter applications is a "natural progression." And while he agrees charter openings have slowed of late, he says the quality of charter applicants is on the rise.
"We're just doing our job," said Cobey.
Cobey adds that he hopes new charter applicants get the message that the process will be "rigorous."
"Starting a school from scratch is not for the faint-hearted," he said. "It's a difficult process. It's a lot of work for people to do right, and we want charters to succeed."
Indeed, that's one things both sides can seem to agree on.
"A failing charter school helps no one," says Teague. "And quality charter seats help our goal."
Billy Ball, Managing Editor, joined Policy Watch in January 2016. In his 15+ years as a North Carolina reporter, he's covered public schools, state and local politics, courts, the environment, criminal justice and immigration for publications like The Independent Weekly, The Sanford Herald andThe Monroe Enquirer-Journal. During that time, he's won more than two dozen state, regional and national awards for his reporting and writing, including recognition for investigative reporting, commentary, and news features. In 2018, he won first place from the N.C. Press Association for political reporting. And his 2014 reporting on the death of Michael Anthony Kerr, which earned him a national award for "media impact" from The Media Consortium, exposed the mistreatment of a North Carolina inmate with mental illness in solitary confinement. His reporting led to ongoing reforms in how the state handles prisoners with a mental illness. Billy is a graduate of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism.
billy@ncpolicywatch.com
Follow @billy_k_ball
State turnaround teams successful, yet legislators push controversial school takeover plan
Haywood County considers shuttering elementary school
State lawmakers poised to loosen rules for virtual charter schools
Former state legislator adds fuel to the fire over how charter schools are funded
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text:
Home Improvement Green Improvements
How to Make a No-Sew Face Mask
Stacy Fisher
Stacy is an expert writer for The Spruce covering home DIY projects and crafts. She has over 18 years of journalistic experience, appearing as a DIY expert on the Dr. Oz Show and several radio shows. She has published hundreds of articles and co-authored a book.
Working Time: 5 mins
Yield: 1 mask
Making a no-sew face mask is easier than you might think, and is a great alternative if you can't sew or don't have the proper materials. A no-sew mask is a quick project that anyone can do—you don't need to be particularly crafty or have experience with a needle and thread.
Keep in mind that your mask should ideally be made of three layers of fabric—a water-resistant outer layer, a middle layer that acts as a filter, and an inner layer of water-absorbent fabric.
The best news is that it only takes about five minutes to make. You also won't need to go out for supplies, as this face mask tutorial also only uses items that you probably already have in your home. We've included potential substitutions at the end of the article as well, just in case you don't have of the suggested items.
Scissors (optional)
1 Bandana, scarf, or handkerchief
2 Rubber bands
You'll need just a few items to make your no-sew face mask. The bandana, scarf, or handkerchief needs to be at least 20 inches by 20 inches so it's large enough to cover your nose and mouth.
Prepare Your Fabric
Pick out the bandana, t-shirt, or other fabric you'd like to use. Lay your fabric out flat on the table, with the patterned side facing down towards the table and the back side facing up towards you.
Make the First and Second Folds
Take the top edge of the fabric and fold it down so it reaches the center of the bandana. Do the same with the bottom half and fold the fabric up so it reaches the center of the bandana, meeting the top edge that you folded down.
Repeat the Folds
Complete two more folds by folding the top down to the middle and the bottom up to the middle. This will create some pleats that will allow the mask to better fit your face.
Fold the Ends of the Fabric
Fold the right and left sides of your fabric rectangle towards the center. You'll now have a smaller rectangle of folded fabric and you'll be able to place a rubber band on each side.
Slide on the Rubber Bands
Take a rubber band and slip it over one end of the folded fabric, leaving a few inches on the end. Repeat with the other rubber band on the other side of the folded fabric.
If you'd like you can tuck one of these folds inside of the other to further secure the fabric, but this isn't necessary.
Finish Your No-Sew Face Mask
The side that's facing you will be the inside of the mask. It's now ready to use!
To wear, bring the mask to your mouth and put the rubber bands around your ears to hold it secure. The mask should cover both your mouth and nose.
Alternatives to a Bandana, Scarf, or Handkerchief
If you don't have any of these items at can cut up an old piece of clothing. Cotton fabric works jersey fabric from an old works in a pinch as well. You'll need to cut a fabric piece that's 20" x 20" to make this no-sew mask.
Alternatives to Rubber Bands
If you don't have rubber bands available, you have a few other options. If you have hair ties, they'll work great. Just make sure that they have plenty of stretch to them.
If you don't have rubber bands or hair ties, there are some other options. You can cut off a loop of fabric from a pair of pantyhose, tights, or leggings. If you have an old pair of socks, you can cut off part of the elastic cuff or the stretchiest part of the sock and use that. Almost any size you cut off will around 1/2" works great.
Just keep in mind that whatever you use to substitute for the rubber bands needs to be like elastic since these bands will be the part that fits over your ears.
Caring for Your Mask
These masks are great because they're reusable and so easy to take care of. Simply remove the rubber bands and wash the fabric like you would a normal piece of clothing. It's recommended that you wash the fabric masks after each use. Repeat this tutorial to fold your mask so you can wear it again.
How to Make a No-Sew Face Mask Out of a T-Shirt
The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Advice for the Public: When and How to Use Masks. World Health Organization, 8 June 2020
How to Wash a Cloth Face Covering. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 22 May 2020
How to Make a Reusable Mask
How to Make a Face Mask With Fabric Ties
How to Sew a Basic Face Mask
How to Clean and Sanitize a Face Mask
How to Make a Reusable DIY Beeswax Wrap
How to Make DIY Wrist and Ankle Weights
How to Reupholster an Ottoman
How to Reupholster a Chair Seat
Watch All "One Thing" Episodes
How to Paint Ombre Walls
3 Simple Ways to Fold Cloth Napkins
How to Make a DIY Coat Hook for Your Home
6 Clothes-Folding Techniques That Save Closet and Drawer Space
How to Make a Gift Bag Out of Wrapping Paper
3 Ways to Fold Your Towels for Neater Storage

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Interior Department Launches Interagency Working Group on Mining Reform
Group will convene experts, stakeholders, and public to review and reform mining laws, regulations, and permitting
Contact: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov
WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior today announced that it will launch a new interagency working group on reforming hardrock mining laws, regulations and permitting policies in the United States. The group, which will inform potential rulemaking efforts on mining, will help support President Biden's vision for a whole-of-government effort to promote the sustainable and responsible domestic production of critical minerals.
The formation of the interagency working group follows a recommendation to form a workgroup focused on mining laws and regulations from the 100-Day Reports that were produced under Executive Order 14017 on America's Supply Chains.
"If we're going to meet the needs of the clean energy economy while respecting our obligations to Tribal Nations, Western communities, taxpayers, the environment, and future generations, we need an all-of-government approach and the input of all Americans to make sure mining in this country is sustainable, responsible, and efficient," said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. "The 150th anniversary of the Mining Law of 1872 is a great opportunity to take a hard look at how we regulate and permit mining in this country. We look forward to working with our federal partners to update mining policies to reflect our current realities."
Hardrock mining on public lands — which includes gold, silver, copper, uranium, lithium, and nearly all critical minerals — is still governed by the General Mining Law of 1872, a law born out of the California Gold Rush that allows mining companies to stake claims on the vast majority of public lands regardless of potential conflicts with other uses. The law does not require royalties to be paid to the taxpayer for the extraction and sale of valuable minerals, and does not include any environmental, reclamation or financial assurance provisions.
The working group will bring together experts in mine permitting and environmental law to review existing mining laws, regulations and permitting processes. It will make recommendations for improvements necessary to ensure that new production meets strong environmental and community and Tribal engagement standards during all stages of mine development, from initial exploration through reclamation, while improving the efficiency and outcomes of the permitting process, consistent with the newly released Biden-Harris Administration's Fundamental Principles for Domestic Mining Reform. The working group will also assess the content and effectiveness of mining governance structures in other jurisdictions and identify potential best practices that could be adopted by the United States.
In the coming months, the working group will convene a series of roundtables designed to receive comments and feedback from Tribal Nations, state and local governments, environmental justice groups, labor organizations, the mining industry, environmental and conservation groups, outdoor recreation interests, scientists, legal experts, and others. Additional information about these roundtables, and instructions on how to participate, will be provided in the Federal Register.
Biden-Harris Administration Celebrates Groundbreaking of New Transmission Line, Delivering Clean, Reliable, Affordable Energy to Millions of Americans
Interior Department Finalizes Offshore Wind Safety and Environmental Responsibilities
Interior Department Takes Steps to Strengthen Offshore Clean Energy Development


We offer you transfers from your hotel or address in the Prague centre or to the bus station in the city of Prague. Fixed prices, no waiting rates, no extra charges.
*If you cannot find the place you wish to visit, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are ready to offer you a favourable individual price.


Did you know that ancient Chinese warriors would juggle in front of their enemies to impress and scare them before battle? Juggling is a hobby anyone can learn and with practice, you too could juggle balls like a warrior in no time!
Juggling is good fun and increases your brain power so that you can be both super cool and clever in front of your friends once you master it.
Most juggling experts say that once you can juggle balls you can juggle just about anything so you should aim to work up to juggling balls but start with something easier like scarves.
Learning to juggle is something you can start straight away. There are hundreds of how to' videos on the internet to help but ultimately the only way to learn is to practice, practice, practice.
Once you move up to juggling balls instead of scarves you will probably spend quite a lot of time chasing balls around the room until you can juggle with them more confidently. You will have to put a lot of hours into practice but the good news is that you can juggle just about anywhere at any time and if you don't have balls use something similar like tangerines which have a soft outer skin so they won't bounce and smash into things so easily. You can learn how to make juggling balls from balloons.
You can also learn to juggle balls with friends. Starting to learn to juggle with a friend can be so much fun and once you are both confident in juggling with three balls each yourself you can start to juggle with each other, passing the balls between each other as you juggle. How impressed will your friends be when you turn up together at a talent show or someone's party and just start to juggle between each other? It will certainly get people's attention.
Juggling balls could also be the start of a fantastic career. With many years of practice those who started with juggling balls have gone on to juggle as entertainers on stage in front of hundreds of people and the really good jugglers who have put in years of practice have gone on to juggle on television shows watched by millions of people. When you are a master juggler you can move on to juggle more difficult objects or juggle under more difficult circumstances like balancing on one leg or on an uneven surface.
The most famous jugglers in the world juggle everything from balls, batons and random funny shaped objects to fire and even swords and knives! It is important to remember that these jugglers have had years of experience and have specialist people to help with health and safety so no matter how good you think your juggling is DO NOT TRY JUGGLING THESE ITEMS yourself. You will need to go to a juggling or circus skills expert for lessons when you think you are ready to move up to these more difficult and dangerous forms of juggling.
So why not give juggling balls a try? It's easy to get started, not expensive at all and you can practice on your own or with friends absolutely anywhere. Remember, practice makes perfect but with a little bit of persistence you too could be impressing others just like an ancient Chinese warrior! Happy Juggling!
 Joggling combines juggling and jogging. Lanzi could run on high stilts (twice as long as his feet) and juggle at the same time.
 Xiong Yiliao (in Chinese 熊宜僚) juggled 9 balls and made 500 Song warriors flee in a battle around 603 BC. It was a glorious victory for the Chun army.


Sino Biological offers the high-quality reagents (proteins, antibodies, ELISA kits and cDNA clones) for signal transduction related research. These include a wide selection of tools to study protein kinases, phosphatases, receptors, adaptor proteins, transcription factors, etc.
Signal transduction is a mechanism that converts a stimulus to a cell into a specific cellular response, through which the cell makes modifications in either activity of enzymes or gene transcription. Signal transduction processes are often initiated through receptor ligation or stresses, and may involve a cascade of signals within the cell. With each step of the cascade, the signal can be amplified and eventually creates a change to the cell to achieve the desired cell response. Transmembrane receptors span the cell membrane, with part of the receptor outside and part inside the cell. The chemical signal binds to the outer portion of the receptor, changing its shape and conveying another signal inside the cell. The cascading series of intracellular biochemical events often involve phosphorylation cascade. Activated kinases can catalyze the transfer of a phosphate group to serine, threonine, or tyrosine residues on target proteins and regulate protein activity, localization, and protein-protein interactions. Activities modified by phosphorylation can in turn be terminated by the phosphatases.


Some people just don't enjoy us having nice things.
Take John Hofmeister, pictured here on FOX Business News discussing gloomy forecasts for rising oil and gas prices. As you can see, he is the former president of Shell Oil. He knows a thing or two about the roller coaster of death we know as "gas prices" in America. In 2010, he predicted gas prices would spike as the global demand for oil would increase. In 2012, he returned with predictions of "better than a 50 percent chance" that barrels of oil would surpass $120 a barrel.
He wasn't totally off-base. Remember $4 a gallon, anyone? It was like it was just last year. Now he's baaaaaaaaaack.
Most of us read that and hear the indecipherable sound of Charlie Brown's mother talking. However, the translation is that $5 per gallon gas will arrive before we know it, scary exclamation points!!!!!!
Of course, there was a catch: Hofmeister was shilling for awareness of natural gas, because of course he just happens to be the head of an organization called Citizens for Affordable Energy. This appearance was a nice PR move because consumers don't understand why prices skyrocket, they just point and blame.
Good for him, can't we just enjoy a "good for us" moment while the prices are so low?


This is a video that is an extensive overview on the importance of sleep. Sleep is critical for quality and length of sleep. Most Americans are sleep deprived because we're living in the "fast track." There are profound effects on osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and accidents.
Sleep is absolutely essential for good health and we all need between 7-8 hours every night. Lack of sleep leads to a state of inflammation and high levels of stress hormones that lead to a wide range of diseases that include type 2 diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, heart attacks, strokes, cancer, obesity and much more. It also aggravates any health care condition we might have. In our fast paced lives we don't get enough sleep and many of us resort to using sleeping aids that cannot solve the underlying problems.


text:
Александра Тимофеевна Статирова - советский хозяйственный, государственный и политический деятель.

Биография
Родилась в 1898 году в деревне Алгаши.

С 1916 года - на хозяйственной, общественной и политической работе. В 1916-1958 гг. — заведующая детским приемником, обучала грамоте солдат 1-го стрелкового полка Приволжского военного округа, в РККА, преподаватель истории, русского языка и литературы, заведующая библиотекой Высшей военной школы в Казани, преподаватель в ФЗУ Невьянского района, учитель русского языка и литературы в школе ФЗУ, техникуме механизации сельского хозяйства, директор семилетней школы № 42, директор школы-новостройки № 1 в городе Касли, директор Челябинского областного института усовершенствования учителей.

Избиралась депутатом Верховного Совета РСФСР 2-го и 3-го созывов.

Ссылки
 [chel-portal.ru/enc/Statirova_Aleksandra_Timofeevna Статирова]

Депутаты Верховного Совета РСФСР 2-го созыва
Депутаты Верховного Совета РСФСР 3-го созыва

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Encarnacao, J. and Goebel, M., Rosenblum, M.
We survey European activities in virtual reality, with an emphasis on selected efforts in architecture and sound, telepresence, scientific visualization, simulation, software design, and entertainment. This article surveys European activities and funding for VR with two caveats: First, nearly a year separates writing and publication. For most scientific fields, this publication delay for survey material would be minimal: for virtual reality, significant changes might have since occurred in some programs. We took advantage of the revision period to upgrade our information and the references as much as possible. Second, some long standing, significant European efforts go unmentioned as outside the scope of our short survey or as duplicates of others included. Despite the limitations, this sampling of Europe's leading efforts collectively gives an accurate snapshot of current European activity.


text:
Q: StackOverflow error in TextWatcher watcher in EditText I'm converting my amount text from EditText to a double format and im trying to remove to "," in the EditText to execute my proper format for my computations. What's wrong with my code and having stack overflow?
// Gets the two EditText controls' Editable values

String cleanBasicTax;
if(txtBasicTax.getText().toString().contains(",")){
    cleanBasicTax=txtBasicTax.getText().toString().replace(",", "");
}
else{
    cleanBasicTax=txtBasicTax.getText().toString();
}

String cleantxtSurcharge;
if(txtSurcharge.getText().toString().contains(",")){
    cleantxtSurcharge=txtSurcharge.getText().toString().replace(",", "");
}
else{
    cleantxtSurcharge=txtSurcharge.getText().toString();
}

String cleanInterest;
if(txtInterest.getText().toString().contains(",")){
    cleanInterest=txtInterest.getText().toString().replace(",", "");
}
else{
    cleanInterest=txtInterest.getText().toString();
}

String cleanCompromise=txtCompromise.getText().toString().replace(",", "");
if(txtCompromise.getText().toString().contains(",")){
    cleanCompromise=txtCompromise.getText().toString().replace(",", "");
}
else{
    cleanCompromise=txtCompromise.getText().toString();
}

Editable editableValueBasicTax = txtBasicTax.getText().replace(0, txtBasicTax.length(), cleanBasicTax),
    editableValueSurcharge = txtSurcharge.getText().replace(0, txtSurcharge.length(), cleantxtSurcharge),
    editableValueInterest = txtInterest.getText().replace(0, txtInterest.length(), cleanInterest),
    editableValueCompromise = txtCompromise.getText().replace(0, txtCompromise.length(), cleanCompromise);

A: Your TextWathcer changes the text that it is watching, causing another call to the watcher, causing another change to the text, ... and so on until you run out of stack space invoking methods.
One way to fix it is to set up a boolean flag to true when you're running inside the watcher and return immediately if the flag is set to kill the recursion. In pseudocode:
boolean mIsInWatcher = false;

void onTextChanged(...) {
   if (mIsInWatcher) return;
   mIsInWatcher = true;

   // text modifications here

   mIsInWatcher = false;
}

A: if you are calling a textView onTextChangeListener, and replacing text in the same method, you simply get into a loop, since replace will call the same method. And thus the error.
Try replace the text elsewhere.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Cakephp 2.0: array data in controller (from post) is not editable I have a simple crud application,
and the edit page in my controller is like so:
    function admin_edit($id = null) {

        if (empty($this->data)) {
            $this->data = $this->Product->read(); //product is the model

        } else {
           //its a post request, and $this->data is populated
            debug($this->data);

            //i force the id to another id
            $this->data["Product"]["id"] = 115;

            debug($this->data); //the data remains the same, doesnt change.. why?

           //i will save this later
        }
}

Both debugs result in this:
before
Array
(
    [Product] => Array
        (
            [id] => 8
            [alias] => ME
            [order] => 80
            [open_close_images] => 1
            [gallery_id] => 8
            [video_id] => 2
        )
)

after:
Array
(
    [Product] => Array
        (
            [id] => 8 //it must be 115 now!!
            [alias] => ME
            [order] => 80
            [open_close_images] => 1
            [gallery_id] => 8
            [video_id] => 2
        )
)

Why this?
In cakephp 1.3 that worked well, i don't understand how it can be possible to "lock" that array.

A: Try setting the id by (re-)setting the Model's id var, like this:
$this->Product->id = 115;

That should update the id properly.
EDIT
If you're trying to update other values, use $this->request->data instead (it's called that since CakePHP 2.0), for example:
$this->request->data['Product']['id'] = 115;


Upon arrival in Adisucipto Int'l airport of Yogyakarta, meet and greet with our guide then visit MALIOBORO Street. We may walk along this street which well known with various of goods and handicraft. Aferwards, depart to Manohara Hotel for check in.
Wake up call at 04.00 a.m., then prepare to see the Sunrise in Borobudur Temple. Our Guide will take you to the best position to see the sunrise. After see the sunrise at the top of the temple, we back to the hotel. Have a Breakfast, then depart to Yogakarta and Visit Sultan Palace , Taman Water Castle, shopping batik and silver at Kotagede. Afterwards, visit Prambanan temple and then transfer to airport for flight to the next destination.


On 1 March 1996 the Russian cosmodrome Svobodny was created by Decree 305 of the President of the Russian Federation. The main reason for its creation was the need to expand Russia's capacity to launch spacecraft with different payloads.
The final choice for the location of the cosmodrome fell on a site near the railway station of Ledianaja, used for several decades by the 27th rocket division of Strategic Rocket Forces. This meant that the new cosmodrome could make use of the facilities of the former rocket division of the Strategic Rocket Forces as well as the considerable expertise of its personnel.
Sbododny is situated in the Russian Far East, 120 km north of Blagoveshensk, at latitude 51° 42' N and longitude 128° 00' E. This is an area that can provide maximum safety during launches as the launcher's trajectory lies through deserted areas.
The Presidential Decree stated that the new cosmodrome would resolve the problems of the maintenance and preparation for launch of light-class launchers such as Strela and Start during 1996-1997, and that in the more remote future a launch complex for the next genereation Angara rocket could be built at the site.
Unfortunately, complex economic conditions within the country led to insufficient financing and it was decided to concentrate on building a launch complex for the Start family of launchers. To realise this project, technical buildings and launch sites for the Start launcher have been created.
The first launch from the Svobodny Cosmodrome took place on 4 March 1997 when a Start-1 launcher placed the Russian experimental satellite Zeya into a circular sun-synchronous orbit. To date a further three launches have taken place, all of which were for foreign companies or countries.
In 1999 it was decided to create a launch complex for the Strela launcher and work began immediately. The number of Strela launches will depend on the need to update the constellations of space vehicles and on requests for commercial launches of payloads of up to 2000 kg into near-Earth orbit or to the top layers of the atmosphere. From Svobodny spacecraft can be launched into orbits with inclinations of 51° to 62° degrees and from 90° to 104°.
The first Strela launch from Svobodny is planned to take place at the end of 2005. Further expansion of the test base, within the framework of the Strela project, will give an additional 'push' to developing the infrastructure at the cosmodrome.


1. Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca: Ethan Zohn won the hit reality TV show Survivor Africa. His girlfriend, Jenna Morasca, won Survivor Amazon. After being together for eight years, the adventure loving couple took traveling to new heights and joined the cast of The Amazing Race in September. Zohn and Morasca hoped the competition across the world would help them relieve stress following Zohn's battle against Hodgkin's disease.
2. Kylie Jenner and Tyga: It seems Kylie Jenner and her on-again off-again beau Tyga are always jet setting someplace new. Whether it's Mexico, the Caribbean,Turks and Caicos, or Miami, they seem to prefer tropical locals. They even sometimes bring Cairo, Tyga's song with Blac Chyna, on their trips with them. It's a true family affair!
3. Jay-Z and Beyonce: These two hip-hop and R&B superstars are always hopping on planes. From laid-back summer vacations to mixing work and pleasure, Jay and Bey have racked up a large number of frequent flyer miles. While Beyonce was working on her album, 4, the married couple took to France for some R&R and long studio hours. The travel time worked like magic, because Beyonce's album was a success and she became pregnant with their first child. In September, a month after the pregnancy announcement, the new parents vacationed in Hvar, Croatia.
4. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge: Traveling is a part of William and Kate's new life together, and they take it in stride. After their lavish wedding, the royal couple took a trip around Canada and the west coast of the United States this year. The North America tour took place from June 30, 2011 to July 10, 2011. Getting to see the world is just one of those royal perks!
5. Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder: When this pair got married in 2015 secretly in California, their next step was their honeymoon, planning an extravagant trip around the world. They started with Mexico, then headed to Brazil in less than a week. They were shortly seen together at a film festival in Nice, France. Happy in love, and happy in travel!
Where are the most exciting places you've traveled? Share your experiences below.


This is really something worth waking up to on a sunday morning!
Top the waffles with your favourite marmelade, fresh fruit or eat them plain while still hot!
Blend until the mixture is completely smooth. The consitency should be thick but still liquid. Add more coconut milk if too dry.
Spoon out the batter on the waffle iron close the lid and cook until golden brown. Carefull they don't get too dark! Remove with a wodden spatula and keep warm.
Top the waffles with your favourite fruit topping!


text:
Celebrating the Presentation Sisters and Nano's Spirit of Generosity in California
Presentation Sisters Honored at St Joseph's Parish, Upland, CA
On 4 November, twenty-two Presentation Sisters gathered at St Joseph's Church, Upland, California for a special Eucharistic Liturgy that the parish planned, to celebrate sixty-two years of Presentation life and ministry at the parish and the school. Sr Sheila Reen, PBVM, upon the request of Fr Tim Do, Pastor, delivered an inspiring and rousing reflection on the Scripture readings that were chosen. She also briefly shared the story of Nano Nagle, Founder of the Presentation Sisters, and the mission and charism of the Presentation Sisters with the people who filled the Church. After Communion, the Presentation Sisters, together with Sr Mary Frances Coleman, RSM, who attended the celebration, renewed their religious vows – a great public witness that touched many people on the eve of the National Vocation Awareness Week 2018.
After Mass, accompanied by the school choir, singing "One Step Beyond" (L. Lawton), and led by the school principal, Ms Sandra Alamo-Ng, lighting the way with a lantern, the congregation processed to St Joseph's School for the blessing of a new mural. This mural depicts the Presentation of Mary, Nano Nagle and the Presentation Sisters who served at the parish and school since 1955. The evening culminated with a delicious dinner in the parish hall. Entertainment was provided by St Joseph's School students. Sr Mary Frances Coleman, Director of the Office of Consecrated Life, relayed Bishop Barnes' greetings. Yet another surprise awaited – Fr Tim and Sal Chabolla from the Pastoral Council presented a plaque to the Sisters, re-naming the parish hall as the 'Presentation Hall'. The plaque was received by Sr Mary Kelly, PBVM.
The Presentation Sisters were honored – that's one reason for a celebration – but really, this presentation was also a tribute to the generosity, support and love of generations of people. It was indeed a night to remember and cherish.
Eighth Grade Mission Project
At St Joseph's School, Upland, CA, the Eighth Grade class has taken its first steps on an exciting adventure! This year, the class decided to help a primary school in Sampa, Ghana, by fundraising to complete a small but necessary project the school needs. In collaboration with Change the World of One (CWOO), a non-profit organisation that connects people who want to help with people around the world. The Eigth Grade has a unique opportunity to change the world of the students of this one primary school. SDA Primary School, Sampa, Ghana is a very poor, rural school, lacking in most basic amenities. With the first installment of $85, SDA Primary was able to build three new desks, big enough for two students each. On the front of each desk the students wrote "Donated by St Joseph's School (USA)."
Hand in hand with the fundraising, the students from both schools will participate in a cultural exchange program. Already, the Eight Grade students have received questions put to them by the SDA Primary students and have enthusiastically replied. Each month the sharing of questions and answers through writing, videos and photos will give both schools 'a peek' into their different cultures. At the end of their Eighth Grade year, the students will have gained an incredible amount of knowledge, understanding and appreciation for a culture totally different from their own. They will have taken a special journey with children from the other side of the world, growing together while making an impact on their lives.


How my expectations have rivaled reality during my first two weeks at Hamilton.
Going into college we all have a lot of expectations. We've been reassured by everybody, from family and friends to students and the school's faculty, that these years are going to be the best and that everything will work out in our favor. With these reassurances, though, we truly don't know what to expect. We worry about being independent and far from our familiar home; we wonder what the food will really be like and what classes will actually be like; we're curious about the dynamic of living with a roommate, or in my case multiple roommates, and hope that we make friends so that we never have to venture out to events or the dining hall by ourselves.
We hope for a lot of things to happen, like making life-long friends, and we hope for a lot of things to not happen, like running from the shower back to your room as we navigate the difficulties of communal bathrooms. No matter what we hope for or expect, it's impossible to know until you're actually living on campus and experiencing everything for ourselves.
All this being said, I, among the plethora of other students starting their freshmen year of college this fall, obviously had some set expectations and ideas about what life would be like on the Hill, here at Hamilton College. My expectations were high because of the school's ranking and high praise, but not unreasonable, in my mind. So, here are some of my expectations and the realities of what I have experienced in my short two weeks as a Hamilton student.
1) One of my main expectations was roommate drama. It seemed inevitable to me with six girls sharing a common space. I had faith in the dedicated staff at Hamilton who put together thoughtful questions to ensure that the people they put together would live harmoniously, but 6 girls just seemed like a lot.
I am happy to report that living with 5 other girls has not been a problem at all, other than the occasional wait to use the bathroom. Everyone is really respectful of each other and make extra efforts to stay quiet when others are sleeping. We all have different schedules and different friends groups already, but we are all able to peacefully coexist within our shared spaces and get along very nicely.
2) I expected to love all of my classes. As a first semester student, I was in awe of the variety of classes that were possible to fit into my schedule. The open curriculum here made it possible for me to explore my interests in advanced level classes and departments in every area of my varied interests. Having the ability to design my schedule to take the classes that I found most interesting in any discipline meant to me that I would love all of my classes and be able to produce thoughtful work since I was passionate about each of my four classes.
The class that I was most excited about was my advanced chemistry class. This higher level gave myself and 20 of my fellow freshmen the chance to truly delve into the interesting parts of the subject since we were assumed to already know a good portion of the introductory level material. This chemistry class is by far my favorite, and I never mind doing the homework because I find the subject so fascinating (shoutout to wag).
I expected my Religious Studies class to be intriguing and I was excited to learn about different cultures and how they interact to form our global society. This class is turning out differently than I had originally anticipated, but not necessarily in a bad way and I am definitely excited to see what's in store for the rest of the semester.
I hoped my math class would be challenging, but doable, which is certainly how it has played out. Advanced Calculus is definitely a struggle some days, but I always feel so accomplished and excited when I put in the effort and figure out the problems.
And, finally, the class that is the most different from my expectations is my Literature of Empowerment course. This class is certainly not my favorite, but I'm not giving up on it. I expect that it will significantly improve my writing and possibly change my perspectives, so I hope it transitions into more interesting, but we shall see.
3) I expected my dorm room to be pretty horrible, as freshmen, and college dorms in general, notoriously are.
I luckily escaped the freshmen dorm nicknamed "Dirty Dunham," and got into, in my opinion, the best dorm on campus, South. It's spacious, has a private bathroom, a common area separate from the bedroom, and a fireplace. Pretty nice for a first-year dorm. It obviously still has the characteristic features of a dorm, like concrete walls and cookie-cutter furniture, but I definitely feel like my space is my little home and we've done a great job of adding character and making it a relaxing and nice space to come home to.
4) Finally, I expected to make a lot of friends. Sure the forced ice-breakers during orientation were awkward, but everybody was bonding in the same boat of awkwardness and everybody else was looking to click with people and make friends on campus.
I was lucky enough to come to campus with a group of friends who I had been talking to for months over social media and an app, Groupme. It was awesome to finally hang out with all of them and develop our friendships beyond the realm of the internet and our phones, but it was also amazing to branch out and meet the people in my dorm and classes and to just recognize so many of my classmates from the awkward first interactions and Facebook posts.
Hamilton hasn't let me down yet and I don't expect that it will, but I'm definitely excited to test and develop new and ever-evolving expectations for the next four years here.


text:
Radu III. Čedni (romunsko Radu cel Frumos, turško Radu Bey) je bil mlajši brat Vlada III. Drakule in od leta 1462 do 1475 z nekaj prekinitvami vojvoda (knez)  Vlaške, * 1437 ali 1439, † 1475.

Bil je eden od sinov Vlada II. Drakula in njegove žene, kneginje Cneajne Moldavske. Razen brata Vlada III. je še starejša brata Mirceo II. in Vlada Meniha, oba nekaj časa vladarja Vlaške.

Življenje v Osmanskem cesarstvu
Leta 1436 je na vlaški prestol prišel Vlad II. Drakul, katerega so leta 1442 rivalski bojarji s podporo Ogrskega kraljestva odstavili. Vlad se je s pomočjo Osmanskega cesarstva že naslednje leto  vrnil na vlaški prestol, vendar je moral v zameno plačevati letni davek in v Odrinu za talca in garanta za zvestobo pustiti svoja sinova Vlada III. in Raduja.

Fanta sta bila na začetku v različnih garnizijah v Odrinu. Radu je postal dober prijatelj in izbranec sultanovega sina in kasnejšega sultana  Mehmeda II.. Po pisanju v latinskem prevodu Bizantinskih letopisov je bil tudi sultanov ljubimec. Zaradi lepega videza in morda intimnih odnosov s sultanom je dobil vzdevek cel frumos – čedni ali lepi. Vlad je verjetno razvil odpor do Raduja in Mehmeda II.

Oba brata sta se kasneje učila logike, Korana ter turškega in perzijskega jezika in književnosti.

Po umoru Vlada II. leta 1448 so Vlada III. osvobodili, da je na vlaškem prestolu zamenjal svojega očeta. Radu se je spreobrnil v  islam in dobil dovoljenje za življenje na sultanovem dvoru. Leta 1453  se je udeležil obleganja Konstantinopla, v katerem je mesto dokončno padlo. Po osvojitvi mesta je dobil dovoljenje za bivanje v novi palači  Topkapı.

Borba za vlaški prestol

Novembra 1447 je Janos Hunyadi napadel Vlaško zaradi njenega zavezništva z Osmanskim cesarstvom oziroma mirovne pogodbe, ki jo je podpisal Vlad II. Drakul, in njegovega hinavstva med pohodom na Varno leta 1444. Vlad II. je pred njim pobegnil, Raduja II. pa so ujeli bojarji iz Târgovișta, ga z žarečo greblico oslepili in nato živega pokopali. Kmalu zatem so Hunyadijevi vojaki  ujeli tudi Vlada II. in ga ubili. Turki so leta 1448 Vlada III. osvobodili in ga posadili na vlaški prestol, vendar  je vladal samo nekaj mesecev.

Radu je pri 22 letih postal vodilna oseba na osmanskem dvoru. Mehmed ga je poslal v Anatolijo, da bi zatrl tamkajšnji upor, in nato na mejo s Perzijo. Postal je uspešen poveljnik janičarjev in sodeloval v bitki pri Otlukbeli proti Uzunu Hasanu.

Brat Vlad III. se je leta 1456 vrnil v Vlaško, prevzel prestol od Vladislava II. in začel svojo drugo vladavino, v kateri je tako zaslovel.  Tudi on  je bil sposoben vojaški poveljnik, ki se je zdaj vojskoval proti Osmanskemu cesarstvu.

Leta 1462 je Vlaško napadla ogromna osmanska vojska, v kateri je janičarjem poveljeval Radu. Vlad se je umaknil v Transilvanijo in med umikom izvajal politiko požgane zemlje. Za seboj ni pustil ničesar, kar bi lahko uporabila osmanska vojska. Ko se je napadalska vojska približala Târgoviștu, je naletela na več kot 20.000 na kol nataknjenih Vladovih nasprotnikov. Prizor je bil preveč grozen celo za vsega vajene osmanske vojake, zato so se umaknili in se pregrupirali.

Vlad je maja 1462 proti osmanski vojski pod poveljstvom velikega vezirja Mahmud Paše uvedel gverilsko vojskovanje in umikajočo se vojsko zasledoval do Donave. 16. in 17. junija je ponovno porazil znatno osmansko vojsko v akciji, znani kot »nočni napad«. Turki so med napadom utrpeli velike človeške in logistične izgube.

Radu III. in njegovi janičarski bataljoni so bili sprva  zadolženi za odbijanje bratovih smrtonosnih napadov na umikajoče se spahije, potem pa je dobil nalogo, da osmansko vojsko povede do odločilne zmage. Z janičarji, dobro oskrbljenimi s smodnikom in denarjem, je začel pustošiti po vlaškem zaledju in kmalu osvojil večino podeželja. Brata Vlada III. je zasledoval do njegovega gradu severno od Curtea de Argeșa in ga nato pregnal iz Vlaške, kneževino pa vrnil pod osmansko oblast. Turki so izkoristili svoje dosežke in kljub ogrskim intervencijam in njihovem vplivu v regiji utrdili svoj  trgovski položaj na Donavi.

Vlada III. so bojarji  zaradi njegove ostre politike do njih  in za državo usodne borbe za oblast bojarji izdali. Pobegnil je na Ogrsko prosit za  pomoč svojega starega zaveznika Matijo Korvina, tam pa mu niso pomagali, ampak so ga  zaradi lažnih obtožb za izdajo aretirali.

Sultan je Raduja III. po njegovih zmagovitih pohodih imenoval za vlaškega pašo. Ob imenovanju je bil star 26 let. Janičarji pod njegovim  poveljstvom so kmalu zatem napadli Vladovo gorsko trdnjavo,  grad Poenari v dolini reke Argeș. Spahije so med njegovo vladavino dobili močna oporišča na jugu države.

Leta 1473 je oblast v Vlaški  z osmansko privolitvijo prevzel   Basarab Laiotă Starejši. V letih od 1473 do 1475 se je Radu še nekajkrat za krajše obdobje vrnil na vlaški presto, po njegovi smrti pa je oblast v Vlaški ponovno prevzel brat Vlad III. Drakula.

Zasebno življenje
Radu III.  Čedni je bil dobro izobražen vladar, ki je poskušal izboljšati položaj svojih podložnikov znotraj Osmanskega cesarstva.  Njegova spreobrnitev v islam še vedno ni dokazana in je zato sporna, pri čemer je treba upoštevati njegov položaj v Osmanskem cesarstvu in veliko število pisem, v katerih sam sebe imenuje »Kristusa ljubeč« in »pravoveren«.   Po pričevanju srbskega janičarja Konstantina Mihajlovića je bil Radu poveljnik janičarjev. Na pohodu proti svojemu bratu Vladu III. je bil na čelu 4.000 konjenikov. Sodeloval je tudi v operacijah, ki so se končale s padcem  Konstantinopla.

Poročen je bil s srbsko ali albansko princeso Marijo Despino. Njuna hčerka Marija  Vojčita je bila poročena s knezom Štefanom III. Moldavskim.

Sklici

Vlaški knezi


Amma used to prepare a vey dry pickle of gooseberries-Awala which I used to love.But sadly she is nomore & I cannot figure out how it is prepared.Could some angel tell me how?God bless.
Submitted by pj_automata on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 21:32.
My mother makes awalya lonche. The lonche is almost dry and is light yellowish in color mainly because of mustard I think. Does this description fit what you are looking for? If so, I can ask my mother for the recipe and post it.
Submitted by Vanita Kumta on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 22:46.
That description does not fit the bill.The one mom made looked a dark reddish brown.All the same you may share your recipe if it is not too troublesome.God bless.


ECommerce in China : one of foreign brands' main concern when they want to enter the Chinese market is to know which are the best eCommerce platforms. Indeed, the Middle Kingdom has become the world's largest eCommerce market.
E-commerce represents 25% of total Chinese consumption and generated $589 billion in 2015. China surpassed the US, which generated $341.7 billion in the same year. One of the most striking examples is the fact that Alibaba sold more than $14.3 billion in less than 24 hours during the "Single Day" in November 2015, a better performance than the "Black Friday" in the United States.
It's also estimated that mCommerce (eCommerce on smartphones) accounted for half of all eCommerce in China in 2015.
With a rising middle class, the demand of better quality goods has also increased. The Chinese purchase more imported goods because they trust them more than local goods in certain categories. Cross-border eCommerce represented 259 billion RMB ($40 billion) in 2015, which is 6% of China's total consumer eCommerce, with an annual growth of 50%.
Different platforms allow foreign brands to sell their products in China. However, they all have their specificities that need to be understood.
Tmall.com, also called Tian Mao (天猫) in Chinese is China's biggest B2C online retailer, cousin of Taobao and launched in 2010 by one of the biggest Tech companies in China, Alibaba. It allows foreign and local brands to sell their products. It offers a wide range of products such as apparel, food, shoes, luxury brands, and other types of products. Tmall.com launched a few years ago Tmall Global, which allows foreign brands to register to Tmall and to access to the Chinese market.
However, Tmall Global opted for an invitation-only policy. That means qualified merchants are either invited to join the platform or should apply through a certified third party agency (TP). That procedure has complicated the process of setting up a store on the Tmall Global, that is why JD Worldwide is an increasingly more attractive option due to its relative simplicity.
Tmall Global mostly targets Corporations that have been operating for more than two years and with annual sales around RMB 100 million ($33 million). They also target B2C overseas businesses; and Brand owners or authorized agencies.
The platform provides various marketing tools to help increase traffic and generate sales, they can also provide warehouse service (a Chinese adress is required).
A registered corporate entity outside Mainland China.
Retail and trade qualifications overseas.
Be the brand owner or authorized agency or possess the purchase voucher.
Possess the relevant stock certificate.
Technical Fee—RMB30,000 ($4600) or RMB 60,000 ($92,000), per year, depending on the type of store.
Commission—0.5% to 5 percent, depending on the type of store + 1% Alipay fee.
JD is China's largest online direct sales platform. The company owns and operates seven fulfillment centers and 166 warehouses in 44 cities. It also has around 4,000 delivery stations in China. JD allows sellers to open individual shopfronts and is licensed to import food, beverage products, apparel and shoes directly from foreign countries.
Like Tmall, JD opened a cross-border service, JD Worldwide, which enables foreign merchants to sell directly to Chinese consumers without a Chinese address. JD Worldwide communicates on its powerful logistics network (with its warehouses or JD's same-day and next-day delivery programs, for example) and on its zero-tolerance policy towards counterfeit products, which are a big issue in China. JD dominates fields like home appliances and consumer electronics in China.
Registered corporate identity outside mainland China, with registration capital of over RMB500,000 ($76,000).
Franchising Business Partner—This allows vendors to build a JD store and to use JD warehouses to store their own products. JD assumes full responsibility for warehousing, delivery and customer service. Which is a good thing for merchants!
Licensing Business Partner—Merchants can set up store and complete packaging in order to ship the order. JD will supervise customer service and process invoices.
Self Operation Partner—Merchants can sell on the JD platform. However, warehousing and delivery must be handled by the merchants themselves.
Security Deposit—RMB10,000 ($1,500) to RMB15,000 ($2300), depending on the product category.
Technical Fee—RMB1,000 ($150) per year.
Yihaodian is China's largest online retailer of food and beverages, stocking over 8 million SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). The platform is owned by Wal-Mart, the US retail giant, and is licensed to import food and beverage products directly from foreign countries.
In 2013, Yihaodian sold approximately 250 million imported items. With a similar logistics system to JD, Yihaodian owns 7 warehouses and operates more than 200 distribution centers in 40 cities.
Yihaodian allows foreign enterprises to sell tax-free and to be exempt from China's domestic product standards through "cross-border 'e-commerce. Enterprises are often free from VAT, license/permit and Chinese label requirements. Thus, the platform is a great opportunity for fresh food and beverage foreign merchants.
Applicant must be a Chinese mainland-incorporated enterprise.
Possess relevant tax registration certificate (either national tax or local tax).
Declaration of imported goods should be issued by Chinese Customs within two years of application; and Inspection certificate issued by Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau within two years of application.
Security Deposit—RMB 60,000 ($10,000)—RMB 90,000 ($15,000).
Technical Fee—RMB 8,880 ($1,361) per year.
Commission—1 to 6% + 1% Alipay fee.
Foreign brands must then choose the best platform for their products. They have to see in which fields the website is best at (Food & Beverages for Yihaodian, electronic devices for JD…), but also the prices and the option they might choose (Franchise, License…).
Among Tmall , Taobao still exist and offer good solution for small and Medium Companies that have low budget.
You want to Sell in China ?
You want to develop your E-Commerce in China, we can help you. We are an eCommerce Agency in China and help International Brands like you to develop their business in China.
In China, everything is different, complicated and a (good) agency can help you to save a lot of time and avoid mistakes.
About our ECommerce Agency ?
if you have any project , contact us , we have Experts in E-Commerce and we will introduce to you the right solution.
About ECommerce in China you did not really speak about Wechat ECommerce . Do you think it can be effective to open wechat store and sell on Wechat ?
Do you have any feed back on that please?
Yes of course can be effective for most of Business. Wechat is the future of the e-Commerce in China 😉 . Contact us for further information.
E-shop plateform are mostly revolving around the main social platform in China: WeChat.
Youzan is the biggest WeChat shop platform in China. They have some very successful success cases and are quite affordable 500 USD every Year.
Do you have a report on following cost for entering china e-commerce companies ?
We have a White book on E-Commerce in China.
Send us an email and we will send to you.


John David Neff, 71, Festus, passed away Wed., November 21, 2018 at Mercy Hospital St. Louis.
John, son of the late Floyd and Virginia (Allen) Neff, was born December 30, 1946 in Sullivan, MO. He was owner/operator of J. Neff Inspections & Consulting LLC and was a US Air Force veteran. He was a true entrepreneurial spirit; he enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren particularly watching their sports and encouraging them; he served on the Festus Planning and Zoning Committee and the Festus-Crystal City Sewer Commission.
Among his survivors are his wife of 37 years, Phyllis (Wilson) Neff, sons, John A. (Holly) Neff of St. Clair and Joe D. Neff of Arnold, daughter, Elizabeth Rincon-Ubertaccio of Ft. Worth, sisters, Leona (William) Matthews of Eureka and Peggy Turner of Olney, IL, grandchildren, Savannah, Johnny, Charlie, Sammy, Henry, Parker and Blake Neff, In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by a sister, Helen Spiller.
Arrangements was under the direction of Mahn Twin City Chapel, 515 Collins, Festus, MO 63028.


Celine Kiernan is the critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning author of five novels for young people. Her ghost story, Into the Grey, was the first book to receive both the CBI Book of the Year Award and the CBI Children's Choice Award. It won the 2013 Readers' Association of Ireland Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the 2014 Japanese Sakura Medal. She is best known for The Moorehawke Trilogy, which won the Readers' Association of Ireland Award for best book and was shortlisted twice for the Irish Book Awards and was longlisted for the Australian Inkys Award. It has been translated into nine languages. The Wild Magic Trilogy is Celine's first series for middle-grade readers. She lives in Ireland.
Victoria Semykina is an award-winning illustrator and fine artist who has been working in the fields of editorial, advertising and book illustration since 2005. Born in Moscow, she studied at the State Academic Art Institute, and later at the Bologna Academy of Fine Arts. In between illustrating, she loves observing people, travelling and riding her red bicycle, which features a useful basket for collecting materials for her collages and other artwork. Victoria lives in Bologna, Italy.


I have listed a new property at 202 8536 106A ST in Edmonton.
Great 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo in the heart of Old Strathcona. The efficient floor plan offers a modern open concept kitchen, dining and living room, complete with gas fireplace and large windows and patio doors overlooking a picturesque tree lined street. For optimum functionality each bedroom and bathroom are on opposing sides of the unit. In suite laundry and storage complete the interior. The large balcony overlooks a tree lined street and offers partial views of downtown. Included with the unit is one underground heated parking stall and one surface energized stall, plus ample street parking. GREAT LOCATION! Close to UofA, Whyte Ave, downtown, yet literally steps to the tranquility of the river valley and even a trolley train that stops outside in the summer for added charm and quick access across the river.


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Death of Family: Majority of Babies Born Out of Wedlock for First Time in History
The majority of babies were born to unmarried mothers in Britain for the first time in recorded history, the Office for National Statistics revealed on Tuesday.
ONS figures showed that there of the 624,828 live births recorded in England and Wales last year, over 320,000 were born out of wedlock, compared to 320,713 that were born to married parents or those in a civil partnership.
This means that 51.3 per cent of live births were born to unmarried women, the first time a majority of babies were born out of wedlock since such record began in 1845.
It is the first time since 1845, but the figures do coincide with COVID lockdown when weddings and civil partnerships were impossible – and illegal https://t.co/VObTKTRpKo
— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 10, 2022
Up until 1978, the percentage of children born out of wedlock was less than ten per cent, however, this increased to 34 per cent by 1988 and has been over 40 per since the turn of the millennium.
The head of health analysis at the ONS, Dr James Tucker said: "This follows the long-term trend of declining marriage rates and increasing numbers of co-habiting couples seen in recent decades.
"However, caution should be taken in interpreting the numbers as we don't yet know the full impact of the pandemic on marriage and civil partnership statistics."
The data showed that women are waiting until older ages, with the majority of babies (372,222) being born to women over the age of 30. Conversely, the number of children being born to women under the age of 30 has fallen to half of the rate seen 50 years ago.
Western Baby Crisis: First-Time German Mothers Now Over 30 Years Old on Averagehttps://t.co/r2MuvtrdIp
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) May 4, 2022
The increasing age of mothers has coincided with the government introducing a raft of policies geared towards increasing female participation in the workforce rather than raising their children at home.
One main area that the government has disadvantaged traditional families has been to levy taxes against individual earnings instead of families as a whole, meaning that families which rely on a single income of £50,000 will take home less money than two salaries of £25,000, thereby incentivising women to work rather than stay at home with children.
Should the supposedly Conservative government wish, it could make tax allowances transferable to mitigate this impact, however, so far, it has refused to even consider introducing policies to improve family life.
In addition to the anti-family taxation system, only lower-income families are eligible to receive marriage allowances from the government, meaning that millions of middle-class women are left with no option but to go into the workforce to support their families rather than being able to stay at home with their children should they wish to do so.
In contrast to the British government's hostile attitude towards traditional families, socially conservative countries in Central and Eastern Europe, such as Poland and Hungary have adopted pro-family policies to incentivise their native populations to reproduce.
Hungary has successfully increased both its marriage and birth rates through economic incentives for mothers, such as granting lifetime tax-exempt status for women who have four or more children.
Poland also introduced pro-mother policies, such as introducing a "maternal pension" to show "gratitude and respect" for women who have raised four or more children.
Priti Patel's 'Economically Inactive' Comments Betray UK Govt's Hostility to Traditional Family https://t.co/NsSuUcYD3Q
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 20, 2020
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/08/10/death-of-family-majority-of-babies-born-out-of-wedlock-for-first-time-in-history/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/09/babies-born-wedlock-2021-first-time-record/
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Again, Couillard held out Lev Tahor as an example of unacceptable behaviour.
Why? Who has been threatened by Lev Tahor? What makes them "unacceptable" and to whom? Why chose to focus the spotlight on them?
In the Knesset, Israel's parliament, a committee presented allegations of some of the most atrocious abuses of children of what some speaking to the committee called "a sadistic cult". Yet two things become immediately apparent, even in such biased reporting: (1) that Lev Tahor, under investigation by the Israeli state and subject to a mountain of allegations–has not been charged of any crime by the state prosecutor, even after years of investigation: "Attorney Galit Greenberg from the Justice Ministry, claimed in response there was the difficulty of obtaining evidence", and that, "for seven months the Canadian Community Social Services checked the community and found no evidence of abuse or torture"; and, (2) there is repeated reference to the need for the Knesset and prosecutors to liaise with Foreign Affairs, precisely because Israel would lead the now international chase for Lev Tahor. The story of Lev Tahor thus became a transnational one, spanning Israel, the US, Canada, Trinidad & Tobago, and lately Guatemala too.
This line of attack would be directly transferred to Canada by two avenues: (a) members of the politically-influential Montreal Jewish community, and, (b) provincial (Quebec, Ontario) governments and the federal government of Canada (more on the latter below). One must also note that while the Knesset committee met on November 21, 2013, the Knesset as a whole convened an "urgent hearing" on Lev Tahor on November 26, 2013. It was a mere day later that a Quebec court ordered the removal of 14 children from Lev Tahor.
The process of launching complaints against Lev Tahor in Quebec supposedly first began with allegations from a disgruntled husband against his wife–he left the community, and she chose to remain. The allegations he made were taken up by Ometz, a Montreal Jewish social services agency. In addition, David Ouellette, the public affairs director at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in Montreal, said Jewish community services had been active in exposing concerns about Lev Tahor–"concerns" first aired in Israel however. Ouellete declared: "They [Lev Tahor] are a sect. They are not reflective of Judaic values or any stream of Judaism. They are completely out of the norm." While rejecting claims that the persecution of Lev Tahor was motivated by "anti-Semitism" (thereby skirting the issue of Zionism), Ouellete of CIJA said this: "Lev Tahor is a radical cult. Perhaps they do suffer from delusions of persecution….The Jewish community in Montreal has been involved in the investigation of Lev Tahor." Indeed, they were more than just involved, as the motivation for the actions of the government of Quebec did not originate in the government of Quebec.
Ironically, while organized members of Montreal's Jewish "community" were actively refuting charges that the case of Lev Tahor was motivated by anti-Semitism, it is anti-Semitism itself that has been visited upon all orthodox ("visible") Jews: "It must be made clear that the Chassidic community of Montreal were actually the ones who brought the information about the abuse to the authorities….Lev Tahor are not Chassidim"–yet, 56% of Quebec respondents have a somewhat negative or very negative opinion of Chassidic Jews. That is only marginally lower than for Muslims (as a whole), who are disliked by 57% of Quebecers. That's "Quebec values" for you.
It's not just a little disturbing when a supposedly Canadian prime minister takes the identity and political program of another state and transfers it back to Canada, turning it into domestic policy. Yet, this is exactly what Prime Minister Stephen Harper did when first he announced the "theory" behind this Israelification of Canadian policy, followed by a specific example of its practice against Lev Tahor. He announced this theory most forcefully not so much in Canada, in dialogue with Canadian citizens, but in the Israeli Knesset on January 20, 2014. Keeping in mind the fact that the actual proportion of Jews in Canada is little more than 1% of the total population, a tiny minority even among our smallest minorities, this helps to underscore just how extreme Harper's stance is, even if it were reflective of all Canadian Jews' opinions. In that speech, Harper made a sweeping, unintelligent, and irrational assertion that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. In the process, what Harper thus articulated was itself a racist statement, because it stipulated that all Jews are Zionists. (Few noticed that in practice this meant that all Jews must be Zionists, or else–and it's an example of what that "or else" means in practice that Lev Tahor has experienced.) Canada's Independent Jewish Voices deemed Harper's fanatical assertion to be morally unacceptable: "Criticizing the Zionist cause—which has from the outset required the forced and permanent removal of Palestinians from their ancestral lands—is not at all indicative of a hatred towards Jews, and saying so is misguided at best, and at worst, racist and immoral." What Independent Jewish Voices immediately achieved, therefore, was establishing that the so-called "new anti-Semitism" that is the condemnation of Zionism, is a myth. The real "new anti-Semitism" is, if anything, the construction of this racial stereotype of Zionism being at the heart of all Jews, of being an inherent, innate, and essential quality of Jewishness. If Harper appears to have flipped, it's because he has. He also seems to have worked very hard in earning the scorn of an overwhelming majority of Canadians, few of whom consider Israeli priorities as personal priorities, the way he would like.
The actual practice of pro-Zionism as anti-Semitism is arguably one of the realities that has come to light in Canada's persecution of Lev Tahor. The case of Lev Tahor is a complicated one, that fragments and disperses so that an array of many different debates and conflicts, and many different realities of Canada, Israel and the international system, are simultaneously thrown up. In the briefest possible summary, Lev Tahor is a community of migrants and refugees from Israel that pursues what some call an "ultra orthodox" Judaic belief and practice. Many members first began as secular Jews, some in Israel and some in the US, some having served in the Israeli Defense Forces. The community fled Israel, where they were persecuted in large part for their strict Judaic anti-Zionism: the belief that life in the promised land (which does not imply a state) would only be possible after the messiah had come. Since there has been no messiah, the state of Israel is a false construction and one that potentially threatens the realization of what was promised by intervening if not thwarting the plans of the creator. Lev Tahor ultimately relocated to Canada, and specifically to the Laurentian region of Quebec, north of Montreal (in Ste-Agathe des Monts). Israel's interest in following and marginalizing Lev Tahor did not diminish simply because the community was now overseas. In its persecution, Israel was supported by the Canadian government, and by organizations among Montreal's Jewish and pro-Zionist population.
Ostensibly, the catalyst that brought down heavy-handed government interference was two-fold: (a) unproven allegations taken up by the Quebec government that the children of Lev Tahor were subject to abuse, and, (b) Lev Tahor's refusal to educate its children according to Quebec's secular curriculum. To avoid being forced to place their children in the Quebec school system, the community relocated once again, this time to Ontario in November of last year.
Quebec, however, did not relinquish its claim to Lev Tahor's children, seeking to take them all and place them into foster homes–again, without any proven charges, without any court hearing, without any actual evidence of child abuse. Lev Tahor then left for Ontario. However, seeing the writing on the wall in Ontario, and not waiting for the Ontario government to repeat the actions of Quebec (which it later did), Lev Tahor decided to leave Canada altogether–as is surely their right–choosing Guatemala as their next destination. In the journey to Guatemala, some members of Lev Tahor arrived at the airport late, missing their flight to Guatemala, and thus chose an alternate route that involved transiting through Trinidad and Tobago. In Trinidad, they were detained and involuntarily "deported" back to Canada, thanks in large part to the involvement of the Canadian federal government and a pliant neocolonial government in Trinidad. Those who made it to Guatemala have been allowed to stay legally, temporarily, with local courts rejecting Canadian government claims that the community had abused its children and had no right to leave Canada with them. Back in Canada, every attempt has been made to break up the group: arresting some on violations of immigration rules, yet not letting them leave the country with their children; taking some of the children, then returning them; and most recently, taking them to court for their refusal to send their children to Quebec (where the community no longer lives), but then recently Lev Tahor won their case so that Quebec has lost any legal hold. The Quebec chapter of this saga is thus now officially at an end.
Reducing this complexity, as even I have had to do for the sake of (relative) brevity, the dominant narrative pushed by governments and the media in Canada is that Lev Tahor is an extremist group, one that threatens the safety and welfare of its children, and that the conflict with Lev Tahor is really only about its children. It's not so simple however.
"The circumstances in this case fundamentally beg the question whether the community to which the appellants belong is entitled to foster self-perpetuation by the suppression or limitation of critical thought in its children"~ Ontario Supreme Court Judge Lynda Templeton (2014/4/14).
So when in 2008 the Canadian federal government and parliament "apologized" to survivors of the residential school system, for what exactly were they really apologizing? Was it just for the "hurt"? Was it for being now widely recognized that the system was sick–that which was officially intended to "save" Aboriginals "from themselves" instead did actual, greater harm? That the government would never again do this? Never again do it to whom? Just Aboriginals?
For whatever the Canadian government may have been apologizing, it was not for the humanitarian, assimilative, civilizing ethos at the base of residential schooling. It was not apologizing for a humanitarianism that can itself be genocidal. The proof of the superficial nature of its apology are in (a) the government's refusal to call the phenomenon what it was: genocide; and, (b) the fact that it has used the basic ideas of that system and sought to apply them globally, and once again at home, in the case of Lev Tahor.
Then what does the official policy of "multiculturalism" really mean, if there is no room for real "cultural differences"? Does multiculturalism boil down to mere outward tokens of difference, such as the presence of "ethnic restaurants" and "ethnic festivals" and that there is no bloodbath committed against persons hanging pictures of the pope on their walls or covering their sofas in plastic? What have "we" really learned from the residential school experience–that it's good to be sorry only when people find out about your wrongdoing? And what does it mean to be "free" in Canada, if you are not free to choose your preferred way of life? More on these questions below in the conclusion.
But was there any evidence of any sort of child abuse within Lev Tahor? Here I am not even asking the more provocative question of "who decides what is child abuse" and whether different cultural norms of parenting could be conceived as "abuse" from the vantage point of another culture. (After all, you may call forcing 14 year old girls to marry to be abuse…but I may in turn consider your overt sexualization of teens in your movies, music videos, and by the fashion industry, to be pure exploitation, perversion, without even the semblance of responsibility. I might consider your permissiveness to drinking, partying, etc., to also be neglect. You think of it instead as being modern, progressive, and allowing young people to grow. Clearly then, there is and can be no universal agreement here.) Instead I am merely taking the authorities' conceptions of "child abuse" at face value, on their own terms, and asking: have they proven their case?
Indeed, numerous media reports painted a picture of deliberate negligence or direct abuse–based on statements made by agents of youth protection (Quebec) or Children's Aid Services (Ontario). All of us thus read of children being forced to sleep in urine (not that they wetted their beds at night, as children often do, and that agents visiting in the morning thus naturally found urine on their sheets–but unnaturally jumped to the most shocking conclusions). We read of "bruises" on the face, which then turned out to be a mark from a magic marker and attempts by a mother to clean it off, leaving a tiny bit of redness on the cheek–no matter, the child was taken into custody, and then released. Few protested at the sense of genuine terror that must have been created by strangers marching into the community and seeking children under any pretext. And suddenly the chorus of outrage died down when we read that children forcibly taken into custody by the authorities in Ontario, had to be hospitalized as they went on a hunger strike–finally, some actual sadness and suffering…only not at the hands of Lev Tahor.
"Perhaps more troubling is the fact that Lev Tahor has been accused of child neglect and child abuse, without a shred of evidence to support either contention. This, in spite of the fact that Quebec's child protection apparatus has maintained a microscopic, vigilant eye on the community, without a single confirmed finding. The same, by the way is true in Ontario. Accusations and malicious rumors persist, but no findings of neglect and no findings of abuse.
In this regard, the effort by the Centre Jeunesse des Laurentides Youth Protection division to have fourteen Lev Tahor children taken from their Chatham, Ontario homes and placed in Quebec foster homes is instructive.
It's important for the reader to understand that, to date, and after multiple investigations in Canada, no evidence has ever been presented that documented and proved "child abuse" of any sort. None has been found in Quebec, and none found in Ontario: according to Constable Renee Cowell of the Chatham-Kent police who said in a statement that, "an initial assessment of the children's well-being has been conducted with the assistance of the Chatham-Kent Integrated Children's Services and at this time there are no concerns." What evidence there may have been was of overzealous "child protective services" agents and courts who appeared quite anxious to substitute prejudice, belief, and mere assumptions in place of any evidence that could stand up in a trial. Indeed, there has been no trial for abuse, no arrests for child abuse, and no convictions.
What could you possibly be thinking? One thing that the targets of such actions might be thinking is about how at the same time as this experience was unfolding, Canadian newspapers were publishing data that found that 149 children in Canada died while in the "care" of child protective services, just in one province alone where the investigation took place. That province, Alberta, is where Lev Tahor members were sent when they were deported from Trinidad & Tobago without a proper hearing, but with ample intervention by the Canadian federal government.
Why Taliban? How might this register with Canadians? It seems obvious: as we sent thousands of troops to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan, and just as the last troops return home from Afghanistan, this is meant to signal that these are the enemy, those we fight. Moreover, there is no place for them in our own home.
The people of Lev Tahor are not insensate half-wits. They have learned one of the most valuable lessons to be learned about Canada: that the place never looks so good as when one is leaving it. They have thus tried to leave–but even here the persecution continues to thwart their efforts. Secret court orders prevented their children from leaving: "More than 100 Lev Tahor children have effectively become prisoners of this country as a result of secret court orders that prevent them from obtaining passports and crossing international borders"–when one of the families demanded to see the orders, which were obtained in Quebec in November, 2013, they were told to file an access to information request. Critics cannot even exclaim, "why don't they just leave" when we actively try to stop them from leaving. Not to be too harsh, it is also worth noting that there has been some public support expressed for Lev Tahor in Canada–and this very article would be one such example.
Ironically, just two years ago Trinidad and Tobago celebrated its 50th anniversary of Independence. Independence of what?
Less depressing, and more of a validation that not every government "south of the border" will roll over and play dead, that not every government is a mere branch office of Canada, Inc., Guatemala has instead offered members of Lev Tahor temporary sanctuary–that is, those who made it to Guatemala separate from the group that was blocked in Trinidad. Indeed, Guatemala rejected the claims of the Canadian government, and refused to take the children into custody. In addition, a local court judged that Canada's desire to take away Lev Tahor's children would harm their emotional stability, health and integrity, and cause them significant harm. Canada was found to have violated the rights of the children. Guatemala knows a lot about genocide and its basic patterns–but unlike Canada, it has not been willing to dust away that history in order to continue reproducing it.
Clearly this is a complex case, and no one article can do full justice to the experience of Lev Tahor. However, the complexity presented by Lev Tahor is something that deserves our thanks: their presence, and our reactions to their presence, and their rejection of the dominant lifestyle, have thrown up all sorts of problems of what it means to be Canadian, what multiculturalism and freedom mean in Canada, and what is the true value of our apologies to our victims. We claim to have "values," and we draft a "charter" to "defend" those values. Why? What does it mean?
I have often wondered what "Quebec values" meant in a province, or nation, where on my way to work in the morning I had to pass huge lines of people waiting for the opening of the Apple store to purchase the latest iPad model. What these values mean when I continue walking along the same street and see others lining up inside the McDonalds and Starbucks nearby. Where are these values to be found when we play host to US defense contractors such as Bell Textron, which I see on my way home? In which aisle of my local Home Depot or Wal-Mart do I go to find Quebec values?
The suspicion that I have about "Quebec values" is that they represent a bleak projection of the insecurity of Canada's oligarchic elites. That some members of the broader public share in their nervous and aggressive insecurity is doubtlessly true, and is reflected in patterns of everyday life: from splenetic drivers who are ride up on your bumper because they want you to break speed limits (more than you already are), to people pushing you in lines, to the throngs in the morning whose "walk" to work is actually a furiously hurried race with coffee cup in hand for extra nervous jet fuel. The impression of a "me first, screw you" culture is not accidental: even a recent "Easter Egg hunt" turned into a virtual riot. However, I do not want to lose sight of those who command.
Elites need to charter their "values," which consist of a negation of the values of others, because these elites are fundamentally empty and are horrified at that realization. They can no longer rationalize their own raison d'être. They have no answers, because no questions were ever allowed. So they engage in these zero-sum language games: your speaking a language other than French, somehow takes away from those who speak French. These are not so much values as what Jean Baudrillard called a revenge on the other, a revenge motivated by the resentment that the other has maintained some cultural particularity and sense of integrity rooted in actual substance and practice. You, on the other hand, guzzle Starbucks and talk Quebec values. And when you talk "Quebec values" you propose "solutions" to a crisis that is entirely in your head, and where the solutions come from an Islamophobic France and a "post-9/11" USA, in your targeting Muslims…and those like them: such as, say, a Jewish Taliban.
Going backwards is probably one of the most progressive lines of thinking one can find in this place.
This is heartbreaking. But not without precedent unfortunately. Thank you for the excellent, well-researched and sourced piece Max; I was not previously aware of any of this, everyone should be.
It really is quite an incredible story. I have been quietly following reports of this for several months, ever since the first "Jewish Taliban" headline came out on CBC news (since amended or deleted). It's not quite over yet, so there may be more to come in the future. Thanks very much for reading this.


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Full Steam Ahead: First Patient is Dosed in Expanded CIRM Spinal Cord Injury Trial
September 27, 2016 October 17, 2016 / Karen Ring
Today we bring you more good news about a CIRM-funded clinical trial for spinal cord injury that's received a lot of attention lately in the news. Asterias Biotherapeutics has treated its first patient in an expanded patient population of spinal cord injury patients who suffer from cervical, or neck, injuries.
In late August, Asterias reported that they had passed the first hurdle in their Phase 1/2a trial and showed that their stem cell therapy is safe to use in patients with a more serious form of cervical spinal cord injuries.
Earlier this month, we received more exciting updates from Asterias – this time reporting that the their embryonic stem cell-based therapy, called AST-OPC1, appeared to benefit treated patients. Five patients with severe spinal cord injuries to their neck were dosed, or transplanted, with 10 million cells. These patients are classified as AIS-A on the ASIA impairment scale – meaning they have complete injuries in which the spinal cord tissue is severed and patients lose all feeling and use of their limbs below the injury site. Amazingly, after three months, all five of the AIS-A patients have seen improvements in their movement.
Today, Asterias announced that it has treated its first patient with an AIS-B grade cervical spinal cord injury with a dose of 10 million cells at the Sheperd Center in Atlanta. AIS-B patients have incomplete neck injuries, meaning that they still have some spinal cord tissue at the injury site, some feeling in their arms and legs, but no movement. This type of spinal cord injury is still severe, but these patients have a better chance at gaining back some of their function and movement after treatment.
In a press release by Asterias, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Edward Wirth said:
"We have been very encouraged by the first look at the early efficacy data, as well as the safety profile, for AST-OPC1 in AIS-A patients, and now look forward to also evaluating efficacy and safety in AIS-B patients. AIS-B patients also have severe spinal cord injuries, but compared to AIS-A patients they have more spared tissue in their spinal cords. This may allow these patients to have a greater chance of meaningful functional improvement after being treated with AST-OPC1 cells."
Dr. Donald Peck Leslie, who directs the Sheperd Center and is the lead investigator at the Atlanta clinical trial site, expressed his excitement about the trials' progress.
"As someone who regularly treats patients who have sustained paralyzing spinal cord injuries, I am encouraged by the progress we've seen in evaluations of AST-OPC1 in people with AIS-A injuries, particularly the improvements in hand, finger and arm function. Now, I am looking forward to continuing the evaluation of this promising new treatment in AIS-B patients, as well."
Asterias has plans to enroll a total of five to eight AIS-B patients who will receive a dose of 10 million cells. They will continue to monitor all patients in this trial (both AIS-A and B) and will conduct long-term follow up studies to make sure that the AST-OPC1 treatment remains safe.
We hope that the brave patients who have participated in the Asterias trial continue to show improvements following treatment. Inspiring stories like that of Kris Boesen, who was the first AIS-A patient to get 10 million cells in the Asterias trial and now has regained the use of his arms and hands (and regaining some sensation in his legs), are the reason why CIRM exists and why we are working so hard to fund promising clinical trials. If we can develop even one stem cell therapy that gives patients back their life, then our efforts here at CIRM will be worthwhile.
Kris Boesen, CIRM spinal cord injury clinical trial patient.
Asterias News Release
Asterias' stem cell clinical trial shows encouraging results for spinal cord injury patients
Young man with spinal cord injury regains use of hands and arms after stem cell therapy
Clearing the first hurdle: spinal cord injury trial passes safety review
Asterias Biotherapeutics, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, CIRM funded research, Clinical Trials, Embryonic Stem Cells, Industry News, Spinal cord injury, Stem cell research, Stem cells
Asterias Biotherapeutics, clinical trial, patients, Spinal Cord Injury, stem cell therapy, stem cell transplant
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Stem Cell Experts Discuss the Ethical Implications of Translating iPSCs to the Clinic →
2 thoughts on "Full Steam Ahead: First Patient is Dosed in Expanded CIRM Spinal Cord Injury Trial"
Bob Kanefsky
When you said Kris Boesen has regained use of his arms and legs, you meant to say "arms and hands", right? I read the press release and slides and watched B-roll, and there was no mention of him regaining the use of his legs as of that date. It's something to be hoped for, but Asterias was careful not to set the public's expectations that high. All the charts showed more like two levels of improvement in patients so far, which is a fantastic amount of improvement in just 90 days for AIS-A patients.
Karen Ring
Hi Bob. Thanks for catching that mistake. I did mean to say arms and hands, but Kris has also mentioned that he is regaining some sensation in his legs which is very encouraging.