text:
import {assert} from '@webex/test-helper-chai';
import Metrics, {config} from '@webex/internal-plugin-metrics';
import MockWebex from '@webex/test-helper-mock-webex';
import FakeTimers from '@sinonjs/fake-timers';
import sinon from 'sinon';

function promiseTick(count) {
  let promise = Promise.resolve();

  while (count > 1) {
    promise = promise.then(() => promiseTick(1));
    count -= 1;
  }

  return promise;
}

describe('plugin-metrics', () => {
  describe('Metrics', () => {
    let webex;
    let metrics;
    let clock;

    const eventName = 'test_event';
    const mockPayload = {
      fields: {
        testField: 123
      },
      tags: {
        testTag: 'tag value'
      },
      metricName: eventName,
      test: 'this field should not be included in final payload',
      type: 'behavioral',
      eventPayload: {value: 'splunk business metric payload'}
    };
    const transformedProps = {
      fields: {
        testField: 123
      },
      tags: {
        testTag: 'tag value'
      },
      metricName: eventName,
      type: 'behavioral',
      timestamp: Date.now()
    };
    const preLoginId = '1b90cf5e-27a6-41aa-a208-1f6eb6b9e6b6';
    const preLoginProps = {
      metrics: [transformedProps]
    };
    const mockCallDiagnosticEvent = {
      originTime: {
        triggered: 'mock triggered timestamp'
      }
    };

    beforeEach(() => {
      clock = FakeTimers.install({now: Date.now()});
    });

    afterEach(() => {
      clock.uninstall();
    });

    beforeEach(() => {
      webex = new MockWebex({
        children: {
          metrics: Metrics
        }
      });

      webex.config.metrics = config.metrics;
      metrics = webex.internal.metrics;

      webex.request = function (options) {
        return Promise.resolve({
          statusCode: 204,
          body: undefined,
          options
        });
      };
      sinon.spy(webex, 'request');
      sinon.spy(metrics, 'postPreLoginMetric');
      sinon.spy(metrics, 'aliasUser');
      sinon.spy(metrics, 'submitCallDiagnosticEvents');
    });

    describe('#submit()', () => {
      it('submits a metric', () => {
        const promise = metrics.submit('testMetric');

        return promiseTick(50)
          .then(() => clock.tick(config.metrics.batcherWait))
          .then(() => promise)
          .then(() => {
            assert.calledOnce(webex.request);
            const req = webex.request.args[0][0];
            const metric = req.body.metrics[0];

            assert.property(metric, 'key');
            assert.property(metric, 'version');
            assert.property(metric, 'appType');
            assert.property(metric, 'env');
            assert.property(metric, 'time');
            assert.property(metric, 'version');

            assert.equal(metric.key, 'testMetric');
            assert.equal(metric.version, webex.version);
            assert.equal(metric.env, 'TEST');
          });
      });
    });

    describe('#submitClientMetrics()', () => {
      describe('before login', () => {
        it('posts pre-login metric', () => {
          const date = Date.now();
          const promise = metrics.submitClientMetrics(eventName, mockPayload, preLoginId);

          return promiseTick(50)
            .then(() => clock.tick(config.metrics.batcherWait))
            .then(() => promise)
            .then(() => {
              assert.called(metrics.postPreLoginMetric);
              assert.calledOnce(webex.credentials.getClientToken);
              assert.calledOnce(webex.request);
              const req = webex.request.args[0][0];
              const metric = req.body.metrics[0];

              assert.property(metric, 'metricName');
              assert.property(metric, 'tags');
              assert.property(metric, 'fields');
              assert.property(metric, 'timestamp');
              assert.property(metric, 'type');
              assert.property(metric, 'eventPayload');

              assert.equal(metric.timestamp, date);
              assert.equal(metric.metricName, 'test_event');
              assert.equal(metric.type, 'behavioral');
              assert.equal(metric.fields.testField, 123);
              assert.equal(metric.tags.testTag, 'tag value');
              assert.equal(metric.eventPayload.value, 'splunk business metric payload');
            });
        });
      });
      describe('after login', () => {
        it('submits a metric to clientmetrics', () => {
          const testPayload = {
            tags: {success: true},
            fields: {perceivedDurationInMillis: 314},
            context: {},
            eventPayload: {value: 'splunk business metric payload'}
          };
          const date = Date.now();
          const promise = metrics.submitClientMetrics('test', testPayload);

          return promiseTick(50)
            .then(() => clock.tick(config.metrics.batcherWait))
            .then(() => promise)
            .then(() => {
              assert.calledOnce(webex.request);
              const req = webex.request.args[0][0];
              const metric = req.body.metrics[0];

              assert.property(metric, 'metricName');
              assert.property(metric, 'tags');
              assert.property(metric, 'fields');
              assert.property(metric, 'timestamp');
              assert.property(metric, 'context');
              assert.property(metric, 'eventPayload');

              assert.equal(metric.timestamp, date);
              assert.equal(metric.metricName, 'test');
              assert.equal(metric.tags.success, true);
              assert.equal(metric.fields.perceivedDurationInMillis, 314);
              assert.equal(metric.eventPayload.value, 'splunk business metric payload');
            });
        });
      });
    });

    describe('#postPreLoginMetric()', () => {
      it('returns an HttpResponse object', () => {
        const promise = metrics.postPreLoginMetric(preLoginProps, preLoginId);

        return promiseTick(50)
          .then(() => clock.tick(config.metrics.batcherWait))
          .then(() => promise)
          .then(() => {
            assert.calledOnce(webex.request);
            const req = webex.request.args[0][0];
            const metric = req.body.metrics[0];
            const {headers} = req;

            assert.property(headers, 'x-prelogin-userid');
            assert.property(metric, 'metricName');
            assert.property(metric, 'tags');
            assert.property(metric, 'fields');
            assert.property(metric, 'timestamp');

            assert.equal(metric.timestamp, transformedProps.timestamp);
            assert.equal(metric.metricName, eventName);
            assert.equal(metric.tags.testTag, 'tag value');
            assert.equal(metric.fields.testField, 123);
          });
      });
    });

    describe('#aliasUser()', () => {
      it('returns an HttpResponse object', () =>
        metrics.aliasUser(preLoginId).then(() => {
          assert.calledOnce(webex.request);
          const req = webex.request.args[0][0];
          const params = req.qs;

          assert.match(params, {alias: true});
        }));
    });

    describe('#submitCallDiagnosticEvents()', () => {
      it('submits a call diagnostic event', () => {
        const promise = metrics.submitCallDiagnosticEvents(mockCallDiagnosticEvent);

        return promiseTick(50)
          .then(() => clock.tick(config.metrics.batcherWait))
          .then(() => promise)
          .then(() => {
            assert.calledOnce(webex.request);
            const req = webex.request.args[0][0];
            const metric = req.body.metrics[0];

            assert.property(metric.eventPayload, 'origin');
            assert.property(metric.eventPayload, 'originTime');
            assert.property(metric.eventPayload.origin, 'buildType');
            assert.property(metric.eventPayload.origin, 'networkType');
            assert.property(metric.eventPayload.originTime, 'sent');
          });
      });
    });
  });
});


We offer mobile service to all cites surrounding Norwalk CA , Cerritos CA , Compton CA and Lakewood CA. You can call us directly or use our live chat to get pricing and schedule your appointment right in the chat. Typical appointment scheduling is 1-2 days and there is a lifetime warranty with every replacement.
Compton CA , Lakewood CA , and surrounding cities.


text:
import React, { Component } from 'react';
import DownloadActions from '../../actions/download-actions';
import ReactInStyle from 'react-in-style';

class AddTorrent extends Component {
  addTorrentFileFromFile(ev) {

    const elem = ev.target;

    if (elem.files.length === 0) return null;
    const reader = new FileReader;
    let index = 0;
    const results = [];
    function read(index) {
      const file = elem.files[index];
      reader.readAsArrayBuffer(file);
    }
    reader.addEventListener('load', (e) => {
      results.push({
        file: elem.files[index],
        target: e.target
      });
      index ++;
      if (index === elem.files.length) {
        DownloadActions.downloadBlob({blobs: results.map(file => file.file)});
      }
      else read(index)
    });
    read(index);
  }
  addTorrentFromHash(e) {
    const hash = e.target.value
    if (hash.length === 40) {
      DownloadActions.downloadHash(hash);
    }
  }
  render() {
    return (

        <input type="file" onChange={this.addTorrentFileFromFile} />

 Or Drop files anywhere to add them.

        <input type="text" placeholder='paste file hash' onChange={this.addTorrentFromHash} />

		);
  }
};

AddTorrent.prototype.displayName = 'AddTorrent';

const Style = {
  color: '#fff',
  padding: '15px',
  background: '#555',
  borderRadius: '2px',
  minWidth: '200px',
  position: 'fixed',
  top: '15px',
  right: '30px',
};

ReactInStyle.add(Style, '.add-torrent');

export default AddTorrent;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Sieval Deco takes care of the digitisation of the entire order process in the interior industry. Sieval Deco calculates floors and sun blinds with your catalogue. This means that your product line is available and very easy to order for your relations and thousands of prospects. This can be done by the online software of Sieval Deco in the shop, but also by your own website with the help of our gateway. Sieval Deco sees to a faultless order of curtain or floor. After that, the order will be automatically forwarded to the (possible) workshop and to your ERP-system.
Sieval Deco is literally and figuratively the spider in the web of your order process.
No undefinable orders by phone, or costly mistakes that blur the relation with your customer. Your 'costs of failure' considerably go down.
According to numbers of our existing customers the loss of turnover as a result of mistakes decreases with an average of 95 % after the use of Sieval Deco. We also notice a significant increase in the number of orders and reduction of costs because of a raise of efficiency.
There are two possibilities to complement to Sieval Deco.
If you choose for your own version of Sieval Deco, this will completely be adapted to your range, manufacturing methods and style of work. This can result in a complete synchronisation with your workshop and own ERP system. You distribute this version with your customers, whereupon the order process will be processed completely digital.
We offer the possibility to place your catalogue in the workshop version of Sieval Deco. The users that place orders at your workshop(s) through Sieval Deco can consult your current range and order out of it.
Sieval Deco offers you the possibility to also enlarge your turnover online.
The Sieval Deco Gateway enables you to link your webshop to Sieval Deco.
mutually synchronised between the webshop and Sieval Deco.
image says more than a thousand words.
Your complete range available for your customers.
We have been using Sieval Deco for years now with great satisfaction and in the past years we have seen it grow into the reference of curtain calculation software and curtain ordering software. We think that this way of working will be the future!


To use your Hot Babes background codes, follow the instructions below.
Right-click here and save the Hot Babes background image.
Hot Babes graphics can be used by codes or manually by downloading the image.


text:
Imperial Valley by Johnny Shaw
When Tomas Morales tracks down Juan's grandfather, Jimmy Veeder and his wife head to Mexico for a honeymoon and to meet up with him, with Bobby Maves and Grizelda in tow. Little does Jimmy Veeder know that he's stepping into a hornet's nest of drug dealers and killers...
I got this from Netgalley.
Johnny Shaw's dimwitted duo, Jimmy Veeder and Bobby Maves, are back and in fine form. Jimmy gets married and heads to Mexico, only to stir up trouble as only he and Bobby Maves can. Things have changed since the last book, however. Jimmy has built a good life with Angie and Juan and has a lot more to lose.
As with the previous book, the humor is the star of the show. The book is peppered with hilarious lines, shades of early Joe Lansdale. In fact, if Joe Lansdale ever chooses to die and his estate wants to farm Hap and Leonard out to someone, he could do a lot worse than Johnny Shaw.
Speaking of Lansdale, Imperial Valley reminded me of Captains Outrageous, both because of the humor and of the structure, with the first half taking place in Mexico and the second, when the conflict comes home. While I knew Jimmy and Bobby wouldn't die, there were some tense moments.
One thing did irk me, however. When a book is this hilarious, it kind of deflates the sense of jeopardy. When everyone is cracking wise, it's hard to take the violence seriously. That being said, this book is high on violence but higher on laughs. I lost count of lines I would have uttered aloud if anyone was sitting within earshot.
Honestly, the third Jimmy Veeder fiasco does not disappoint. It's as funny as the previous two. Four out of five stars. Special bonus points to Shaw for including the World's Deadliest Mexican from Blood & Tacos #1 for a cameo appearance.
Posted by Dan Schwent at 12:00 AM
Twice Bitten - Rediscovering My Love of Profession...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A group of students involved in the Buckner Family Hope Center at Aldine in Houston recently helped vulnerable children through the Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls® drive at South Main Baptist Church.
The teens helped sort shoes gathered through the largest annual Shoes for Orphan Souls drive conducted by a single church. The congregation has collected more than 130,000 shoes since 2000.
"We at South Main had a pleasant surprise as 20 or so teenagers from the Buckner Teen Program came to help in our annual Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls/Henry Hill Memorial Shoe Drive," said Damon Ankenman, co-chairman of the drive. "South Main has partnered with Buckner ministries for the last 17 years in providing new shoes for orphans around the world.
The Hope Center's summer teen program encourages personal growth and leadership development between school years. Students learn new skills and ways to positively impact the lives of others. Volunteering to help a Shoes for Orphan Souls drive is an example of those opportunities.
"We went to a church to helped them get the pairs of shoes out from the boxes and tie them up with their pair and then they took us to see the whole church and lastly they gave us food and we had a good time and the people there were very kind," said Juan Dominguez, 17.
Students also learned the importance of footwear to vulnerable families who already are stretching their resources to survive. New shoes often are a luxury they cannot afford. In developing nations, a lack of footwear exposes children to disease and in some cases prevents them from attending school.


You might hear sad or shocking news today, so be prepared. It's not always possible to look on the bright side of things - sometimes the situation is just plain bad. Today it might have to do with an emotional betrayal of some kind. If this does happen to you, hang in there and weather the storm. Resist the urge to blame yourself and think you could have avoided this if you'd done things differently - it was out of your hands. It will be painful for a while but eventually the sorrow will fade and the sun will come out from behind the clouds again.


text:
2020 Candidates Offer New Government Ponzi Schemes
By Gary Galles
Seeing the Democrat debates has reminded Americans just how much of campaigning is promising something-for-next-to-nothing in attempts to buy electoral support. But when you think about historic Democrat bragging points, like Social Security and Medicare, that is not surprising. They have long been "something for you today partly at someone else's expense tomorrow" programs. In other words, they have been partial Ponzi schemes from the beginning.
While there have been many attempts to deny and confuse voters about the Ponzi-ness of those Democratic signature programs, the reason they are partly Ponzi schemes is very simple. After Social Security's creation, those in or near retirement at the time got benefits far exceeding their "contributions," which lasted for very few years. Giving those "excess" benefits over costs to the start-up generation meant that those resources would have to come from later generations of "players," just like Ponzi schemes.
Every time the program expanded, another partial Ponzi scheme of excess benefits over costs was created for the initial group of beneficiaries, again inevitably at the expense of later generations. Another started when Social Security benefit levels doubled between 1950 and 52, and when they were raised 15 percent in 1970, 10 percent more in 1971, and 20 percent more in 1972. Another started when disability and dependents' benefits were added in 1960. Still more were started when Medicare was added in 1966, and each time its benefits have been expanded (e.g., Medicare Part B, only one-quarter funded by recipients and Part D's prescription drug benefit, only one-eighth funded by recipients).
So how has the modern Democrat party built on its proud legacy of such Ponzi schemes? By adding new ones.
Obamacare was also a partial Ponzi scheme, with a slightly different mechanism. Its policy to "limit premium variation based on age" forced insurance companies to under-charge those older, requiring them in turn to over-charge those younger. That bad actuarial deal was why younger people had to be forced to buy coverage (or were bought off by extending how long they could stay on their parent's coverage). The consequence was that the coerced subsidy from the young allowed older recipients to get more than they paid for, which necessarily imposed an added burden on the next generation. Those near retirement age would also escape most of the future tax increases that would be part of funding it, adding to the inter-generational redistribution.
This January 30, over 200 Democratic co-sponsors returned to the older style of Medicare Ponzi scheme when they introduced the Social Security 2100 Act. It would increase all retirees' benefits (including current retirees who would pay nothing toward the boost) and increase the inflation (over)adjustment for benefits, picking future high-income earners' pockets to pay for the vast majority of it.
"Medicare for all" is also a partial Ponzi scheme. People are to get free medical benefits. But they must be paid for by income or other taxes. So what happens to those currently older? They get benefits for the rest of their lives while paying little in income taxes, since they are generally beyond or near retirement age. That excess of their benefits over their costs will again require imposing greater burdens on the earnings of those in the future.
That makes it important to remember that Democrats who are now promising a new something-for-next-to-nothing deal at the expense of later generations are from the same Ponzi party that in earlier years, promised those then older a great deal by sticking you with that tab and now defend those policies as their greatest hits.
However, while Democrats have historically led the charge in creating and doubling down on Social Security and Medicare Ponzi schemes (and scaring senior citizens into voting for them out of fear Republicans might put a stop to them), do Republicans offer serious hope for improvement? Some do, since many of who have publicly objected to such expanding Ponzi schemes have come from the libertarian leaning wing of the Republican party. But that subset doesn't dictate Republican policy. And political history is not very encouraging when it comes to preventing the pillage of future generations. For instance, Social Security passed the House, 372 yeas to 33 nays, and the Senate, 77 yeas to 6 nays, before the conference report was passed on a plausible deniability preserving voice vote, which hardly shows either unified or effective opposition by Republicans. The benefit increases in the early 1970s resulted from a bidding war between Richard Nixon and Legislative Democrats to buy senior citizen votes. George W. Bush was the ramrod for the Medicare, Part D, expansion of unfunded liabilities. And when have you heard President Trump propose anything that would confront the unsustainable status quo in either Social Security or Medicare?
In fact, what seems to have dictated both parties' policies, though to different degrees, is that present voters are willing to steal from future generations, many of whom do not yet get to vote, or are poorly informed or involved in the political process. That is, so long as the intertemporal redistribution is presented as "really" a noble and reliable political compact. So being clear that Social Security and Medicare are, at least in part, ignoble and unreliable (because they are unsustainable) political compacts of a sort we would put people in jail for if they did it in the private sector, may be the first small step toward any true hope of reform.
Gary M. Galles is a professor of economics at Pepperdine University. He is the author of The Apostle of Peace: The Radical Mind of Leonard Read.
This article was sourced from Mises.org
Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Follow us on Minds, Twitter, Steemit, and SoMee.


text:
Veronica traversii är en grobladsväxtart som beskrevs av Joseph Dalton Hooker. Veronica traversii ingår i släktet veronikor, och familjen grobladsväxter. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Veronikor
traversii

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Pt. 2 of Yves Smith on $13B JPMorgan Settlement: Deal Fails to Ease Pain of Foreclosed Homeowners
Web ExclusiveOctober 28, 2013
financial analyst who founded the popular finance blog Naked Capitalism. She is the author of the book, ECONned: How Unenlightened Self Interest Undermined Democracy and Corrupted Capitalism.
In part two of our interview with financial analyst and writer Yves Smith, we look at who wins and losses with the JPMorgan Chase settlement. While the New York Post accused the Obama administration of "robbing" JPMorgan, Smith breaks down how much the nation's largest bank will actually have to pay.
Click to watch Part 1 of the Interview.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman, as we turn to part two right now of what's being touted as the biggest banking settlement in U.S. history. JPMorgan is set to pay a record $13 billion fine to settle investigations into its mortgage-backed securities. Five years ago, the bank's risky behavior helped trigger the financial meltdown, including manipulating mortgages and sending millions of Americans into bankruptcy or foreclosure. JPMorgan said in a statement that its latest settlement is an "important step." However, many in the media have portrayed the deal as unfair to the bank.
We're going to turn right now to Yves Smith. She is a well-known financial analyst, and she is the founder of Naked Capitalism, the blog. She's also author of ECONned: How Unenlightened Self Interest Undermined Democracy and Corrupted Capitalism.
If you could talk about—how did JPMorgan Chase violate the law?
YVES SMITH: The violated the law part, we're not—we're not completely clear on JPMorgan proper. It's important to understand there are three legal entities involved. One is Bear Stearns, which they acquired during the crisis. One is Washington Mutual, which they acquired during the crisis. Jamie [Dimon] was delighted to buy those both at the time. And we may get into that detail. These are still financially extremely attractive deals to him. So the idea that Dimon was in any way, shape or form a victim in doing these acquisitions is really overstated.
But the key part of this deal is that this is about liability to investors. So, the government—the government is representing, in this case, a whole bunch of states that have claims against JPMorgan and the different entities, as well as the FHFA, which—sorry, Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which entered into its own deal. But basically, the bank sold—these different banking entities sold bonds to investors that they said would be of a certain quality, and they were way short of that. And then, it was because they were, you know, lousy borrowers. They basically would say that it had a higher loan-to-value ratio; that the fellow had income, and he didn't; that it was a primary resident, and it wasn't—those sort of misrepresentations.
AMY GOODMAN: Is this evidence that the Obama administration is getting tough on Wall Street?
YVES SMITH: I don't really buy that theory, because the thing that brought Jamie Dimon to the table was actually a criminal investigation which was initiated in 2007 under the Bush administration. It takes a long time to develop these prosecutions of these complex criminal frauds. So that's why it's been such a long lead time. And this settlement has been under negotiation for some time. There have been various investors, private investors, as well as the government, that has been pursuing these investor claims. So this has been sort of cycling through on all kinds of fronts. These suits—you know, for example, different other banks, Bank of America and, I believe, HSBC has settled their investor claims with the government. So those claims—they're just cycling through those kind of settlements right now.
AMY GOODMAN: Yves Smith, can you talk about the pain that was caused by this? It's always talked about in these sort of very un-understandable financial terms, macro terms, so it's hard to really understand, though millions of people felt what JPMorgan did.
YVES SMITH: Well, there—again, this part of the settlement actually doesn't get to the pain. That was a settlement we had last year. The settlement last year was the part—there was a huge federal-state settlement last year that was supposed to be about the homeowners. But in this case, this—these settlements are all about the investors. And so, you know, to your point, what JPMorgan is going to pay in this settlement is larger than what it paid in the settlement last year to homeowners. I mean, that just intuitively seems extremely unjust, you know, the fact that investors are basically going to get a bigger dollar compensation out of all these banking entities than homeowners got last year. I mean, that's crazy by anybody's standards.
AMY GOODMAN: You said that—you started to talk about how this money will be paid.
YVES SMITH: Mm-hmm.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you continue that?
YVES SMITH: Yeah, it's very complicated, because this is being presented as one settlement. That's part of how the numbers got so big. And, in fact, it's a whole bunch of settlements that have been piled together. That's why the numbers are so large. So, the biggest piece of this is from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. That's the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They bought a lot of subprime bonds and some subprime loans. And that's the issue I mentioned earlier, where they were promised steak, and they got hamburger that was significantly green. So, that's a—what they call in the law a contract claim. They were promised X, they got Y. It's no different than if you bought a car and discovered it was a clunker and went back to the manufacturer and said, "Hey, you know, either fix this car or give me a new one." The concept is exactly the same as that of these suits. So it's all—these are all contract claims, except—except for one piece, which is a fine that comes at—which is a—there's apparently a civil fine that's about $3 billion. That's the one piece that's different. The rest of the deal is all about that kind of liability, the getting-hamburger-when-you-were-promised-steak issue.
AMY GOODMAN: CNN host Erin Burnett argued last week on her program, Out Front, that JPMorgan is being forced to pay for things that it didn't do. Burnett said, quote, "Just because [JPMorgan] can afford it doesn't make it right. Going after companies, of course, should be based on wrongdoing, not on who has the money. And the truth in the case of JPMorgan's $13 billion fine is that many of the problem mortgages that they're paying for now stem from two acquisitions the bank made during the depth of the financial crisis." Burnett added, quote, "Five years ago, JPMorgan bought Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual. These were hastily arranged deals brokered by Uncle Sam. In fact, many would say the fair word to use is 'forced by Uncle Sam.'" Yves Smith?
YVES SMITH: That is one of the most ludicrous things I have ever heard. One thing investors say is "When the government is selling, you want to be on the other side of that deal." And Jamie Dimon is one of the most sophisticated and experienced acquirers of financial institutions in the world. He's literally done over a thousand deals. In fact, let's go to—let's go to the numbers on Washington Mutual. When they bought that company, it had—I hate to go through numbers, but we have to go through numbers to understand why this is so ludicrous—they had $40 billion in equity. JPMorgan wrote that reserve for $36 billion in losses. He expected $36 billion in losses. This is just chickens coming home to roost, that were anticipated at the time they did the deal. And even with writing down the bank equity at $36 billion, he booked a $2 billion profit at the time he bought that bank. Last quarter, they reversed another $750 million out of those reserves, meaning the deal has done even better than they expected. And on top of that, Washington Mutual was predicted at the time he bought it to earn $2.5 billion a year. He has made out wonderfully on Washington Mutual. Crying that this was a bad deal is ludicrous.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to turn to the media on the settlement, to ask you about the media's coverage of the Justice Department settlement with JPMorgan. One of the examples is a story in the Financial Times that ran with the headline, "Regulation: The Paper Tiger Roars." "Barack Obama's task force has mauled JPMorgan and is on the hunt for other prey." This is The Daily Show's Jon Stewart looking at similar reports.
JON STEWART: You know who must be thrilled to hear this news? Financial analysts and business reporters who, after years of covering corporate misdeeds, are finally seeing justice served.
LARRY KUDLOW: What is up with this incredible $13 billion shakedown of JPMorgan? … This is an arbitrary and political hosing!
ANDREW NAPOLITANO: I think it's a sophisticated shakedown.
JIM CRAMER: The Justice Department feels like it needs some scalps.
CHARLIE GASPARINO: The Obama administration is at war with American business.
MARIA BARTIROMO: Is this a witch hunt?
JIM CRAMER: This was a jihad against JPMorgan.
JON STEWART: It's a shakedown, witch hunt, scalping jihad! So, wait, what I saw is a mutually negotiated compensatory agreement for outstanding liabilities related to some shady business dealings, you see as a shakedown, witch-down, scalping jihad! I say tomato, and you say it's like if the Holocaust had sex with slavery while the last 10 minutes of Human Centipede watched. But I'll bite, I'll bite. What is the great injustice—what is the great injustice being done to JPMorgan Chase here?
MELISSA FRANCIS: Eighty percent of the mortgage-backed securities that they are being punished for were acquired when they got Bear Stearns and WaMu.
JIM CRAMER: To some degree, it seems wrong that—that JPMorgan has to pay for what happened at Bear.
ANDREW NAPOLITANO: What jury is going to hold JPMorgan Chase liable for the documents that Bear Stearns sold to people, when nobody currently running JPMorgan Chase had anything to do with the decisions that were made then?
JON STEWART: Oh, so you're saying, why is JPMorgan responsible for the liabilities of a company that they bought? Well, I guess, because they bought the company.
But if this is a new way you guys want to run [bleep] now, all right, how about this? I owe JPMorgan Chase $500,000 on my mortgage. But I decided, you know what? [Bleep] this place! I'm just going to sell it for $50,000 and walk away with the money. And under this new system, the guy who buys it doesn't owe you guys [bleep]! Problems you caused don't disappear because someone buys you; they're included in the price. You know who knew that? Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase. In 2008, he was asked about legal liability from buying Washington Mutual. He told investors, quote, "Any liability related to the assets … will come with us." He even braced his company for it by setting aside a $28 billion rainy day settlement fund. And guess what? It's raining, mother[bleep]!
So it looks to me like this government settlement—this government settlement is $15 billion less than what Dimon thought it might be. I mean, the only way this settlement could get any sweeter is if it was tax-deductible.
CNBC ANALYST: The final tab could be down to around $9 billion.
STEVE LIESMAN: That's because the majority of the deal is expected to be tax-deductible.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism?
YVES SMITH: Yeah, no, the idea that this settlement is that large or that punitive is really overstated. Both these institutions have made—were strategically very valuable to Chase. They have made the bank a lot of money. They reserved for these losses. And they're going to get—they may get money back from the FDIC for a portion of this. This is something that they're wrangling with the government right now. And they're going to get a significant tax deduction. So this—the victim meme is astonishing to me.
AMY GOODMAN: How does Jamie Dimon survive this? I mean, no, he doesn't get criminally indicted. How does he remain as the head of JPMorgan Chase?
YVES SMITH: He doesn't have a successor lined up, and he's got a cooperative board. He's managed to create the myth that he's indispensable. So, if his board isn't willing to do anything, then he basically stays in place. That's the way it works in corporate America. I mean, it's unfortunate.
AMY GOODMAN: You talked about the London Whale. Can you elaborate on how it relates to this largest bank settlement in history?
YVES SMITH: It doesn't relate directly, but it points to a big pattern. The issue with the London Whale was that there was a unit in the bank where basically, in general—called the chief investment office, where JPMorgan was taking advantage of accounting rules. You're basically supposed to use that kind of a kitty to help the bank's treasury. The bank has—all these banks have huge amounts of money flowing in and out that they have to invest on a short-term basis. And so, they're given very permissive accounting treatment for the money they keep in those units. He was basically running a prop trading desk in that bank, when the other banks—
AMY GOODMAN: What does that mean?
YVES SMITH: Proprietary trading means when they're taking significant speculative risks. Sorry, that's a—so, and when you compare the risks they were taking in that unit compared to the risks that other banks were taking, it was way out of line.
Now, on top of that, it turns out that they had—they, in particular, took a derivatives bet, which initially one of the traders—was going bad, and when the traders wanted to close out the position, they decided the losses were going to be so big that maybe they could somehow—you know, traders tend to do that: When they get in a panic, they try schemes to earn, to make more money, and they usually make things worse. In this case, they made things worse. The losses ballooned even bigger.
But the really bad part about this wasn't just the losses; it was JPMorgan's—more serious was JPMorgan's conduct while this was going on. They first got up in the press and basically said nothing was happening. They greatly understated the amount of possible losses. They—for a two-week period, the main regulator of this particular entity, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, asked for reports, and they basically made up "dog ate my homework" excuses, that somehow, "Oh, we were having computer problems, and we couldn't get the information to them." I mean, the way they treated the regulator was really outside the pale. And frankly, Dimon made very serious misrepresentations to investors during this period.
Now, if that isn't bad enough, in—under the Sarbanes-Oxley, which was a series of laws passed after Enron, that was supposed to eliminate the "I'm the CEO, and I know nothing" excuse. Sarbanes-Oxley specifically provides that at least the chief executive officer, which is Jamie Dimon, and the chief financial officer certify the financial reports for their accuracy, and they're also required to certify the adequacy of internal controls, which would include risk management. One of the things, as there were investigations and more and more was unearthed about this, is that the risk controls they had for this unit were grossly deficient. I mean, Wall Street professionals, when they heard about some of the things that were going on, were appalled. And Sarbanes-Oxley provides not just for criminal liability—or, sorry, civil. It provides for criminal. The language is almost identical. You could literally take a—you could start out with a civil case, and once you did discovery, if you thought the violations were serious enough, you could flip the same case to criminal. And I don't understand why there hasn't been—they haven't gone this route with Dimon. I mean, it's clearly that he's in a protected class.
AMY GOODMAN: So, in 2012—this was just after London Whale was revealed—JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon testifies before the Senate for the first time since his bank lost up to $3 billion in this risky speculative bet. Dimon apologizes for the loss but fails to explain how the money was actually lost. He also continued to voice his opposition to new banking regulations. This is one of the few tense exchanges from the hearing, with Oregon Democrat Senator Jeff Merkley questioning Jamie Dimon.
SEN. JEFF MERKLEY: In 2008, 2009, your company benefited from half-a-trillion dollars in low-cost federal loans, $25 billion in TARP loans, of TARP funds, untold billions indirectly through the bailout of AIG that helped address your massive exposure in repurchase agreements and derivatives. With all of that in mind, wouldn't JPMorgan have gone down without the massive federal intervention, both directly and indirectly, in 2008 or 2009?
JAMIE DIMON: I think you were misinformed. And I think that misinformation is leading to a lot of the problems we're having today. JPMorgan took TARP because we were asked to by the secretary of treasury of the United States of America, with the FDIC in the room, head of the New York Fed, Tim Geithner, chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke. We did not, at that point, need TARP. We were asked to, because we were told—I think correctly so—that if the nine banks there—and some may have needed it—take this TARP, we can get it to the—all these other banks and stop the system from going down. We did not—
SEN. JEFF MERKLEY: I'm going to cut you—
JAMIE DIMON: We did not borrow from the Federal Reserve, except when they asked us to. They said, "Please use these facilities, because it makes it easier for other" —
SEN. JEFF MERKLEY: We would all like to be asking—
JAMIE DIMON: And we were not bailed out by AIG, OK? If AIG itself would have—we would have had a direct loss of maybe a billion or $2 billion if AIG went down, and we would have been OK.
SEN. JEFF MERKLEY: Then you have a difference of opinion with many analysts of the situation who felt the AIG bailout did benefit you enormously. And I'm not going to carry that argument with you now.
JAMIE DIMON: Well, but they're factually—
SEN. JEFF MERKLEY: Sir—
JAMIE DIMON: They're factually wrong.
SEN. JEFF MERKLEY: Sir, this is not your hearing. I'm asking you to respond to questions. And I also only have five minutes.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Oregon Democrat Senator Jeff Merkley questioning JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism, if you could comment on what he said? But I have to say, this was not characteristic of the hearing. He is really—he was—you know, the senators there were on bended knee. They're asking him his reflections, his advice. Many of them have gotten over the years millions of dollars—their campaigns—from JPMorgan Chase, their relationship with Jamie Dimon.
YVES SMITH: Well, the other thing that was striking about that hearing, aside from a few exchanges like that, was that Dimon clearly dialed in his testimony. I have never seen a CEO show up for a hearing who was so clearly not prepared. Normally they're very scripted. He was just—his attitude could not have been more dismissive.
In terms of they didn't need a bailout, that's baloney. They had actually gotten a massive bailout before the AIG bailout, which they never acknowledge. Remember when Lehman went under, one of the things that happened in the week—it was basically about a week after Lehman failed was that there started to be runs on money market funds, and they had to guarantee up to $250,000 all the funds and money in money market funds. Had that not happened, JPMorgan would have been in terribly serious trouble, because the money from money market—this is, again, very technical, but the money in money market funds finances a sort of short-term loan that banks make among themselves called "repo." It's agreement to—it's agreement to sell secure—sales of securities with agreement to repurchase—that's a technical term. But JPMorgan is one of two banks that are the hubs in this repo system. So instead of banks doing repo with each other, they go through JPMorgan. And so, the bailout of the repo system, through this money market guarantee, was directly a bailout of JPMorgan. They got one of the biggest bailouts before any of the other ones happened. And similarly, a lot of people have said, to the point that Jeff Merkley tried raising about AIG, that if AIG had gone under, Goldman would have gone under, Morgan Stanley would have gone under. There's no question JPMorgan wouldn't have been engulfed. I mean, the fact—the worst is Dimon seems to believe his own PR. That's the really scary part of watching him.
AMY GOODMAN: Yves Smith, a jury last week found Bank of America's Countrywide—the unit of Countrywide liable for defrauding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with loans it should have known were substandard, the penalty yet to be determined. The government has requested a maximum of something like $850 million.
YVES SMITH: Well, it's good to see a fraud prosecution, finally. But this is sort of illustrative of the whole sort of "too little, too late." Only one executive was prosecuted. It was a fairly mid-level woman. The jury apparently sent a note to Judge Rakoff saying, "How come there are no other executives here? Why is she the only one we're being asked to find guilty?"
AMY GOODMAN: What was it?
YVES SMITH: Apparently they thought that it wasn't possible that only one executive could be responsible for the conduct.
AMY GOODMAN: Right, but why—what was the answer to their question?
YVES SMITH: I guess he basically said, "Sorry, you know, you're not here to ask those questions. You're only here to rule on what the prosecutors put before you."
AMY GOODMAN: And what is the larger answer to that question?
YVES SMITH: And the larger question is it's almost impossible that this wasn't approved and vetted at higher levels. I mean, that's been the tendency, to the extent that anybody—if there have been any prosecutions, it's either been small institutions or executives that could be thrown under the bus.
AMY GOODMAN: And what about the fact that Jamie Dimon can pick up the phone last week when his bank is being criminally investigated and, you know, call the attorney general, Eric Holder?
YVES SMITH: A lot of lawyers and law professors are outraged. I mean, that's really unheard of. And it, again, speaks to sort of the impropriety and the significant financial influence that JPMorgan has in the capital. They've been one of the biggest donors, you know, both to the Democrat—basically to both parties. And Dimon even said at one point during the crisis that he had a sixth line of business, and that was dealing with Washington, D.C.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you very much, Yves Smith, for joining us, financial analyst who founded the popular finance blog, Naked Capitalism, author of the book ECONned: How Unenlightened Self Interest Undermined Democracy and Corrupted Capitalism. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman.
StoryOct 28, 2013While Defenders Cry Foul, JPMorgan Chase's $13 Billion Banking Settlement a "Screaming Bargain"
StoryOct 28, 2013
While Defenders Cry Foul, JPMorgan Chase's $13 Billion Banking Settlement a "Screaming Bargain"


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If you have always wondered how best you can see mountain gorillas while in their natural habitat then this article has got all that you needed. To trek to see mountain gorillas usually leaves many in wonders as to how to catch a glimpse at these dramatic creatures.
The fact is that these apes live only in the wild meaning not even will you find them in the zoos. To view these intelligent and massive creatures, you have to consider traveling to Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These are the only destinations where mountain gorillas are found and a gorilla safari is a must do if you visit any of these destinations.
Most gorilla treks in these African states are always conducted within Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in southwestern Uganda as well as Volcanoes National Park in northwestern Rwanda. The Virunga National Park in eastern DR Congo is another amazing place to see the mountain gorillas. However the on and off insecurity threats in Eastern Congo hinder many travelers from accessing the region. Currently, about 1004 individuals of these large apes still thrive on earth and only distributed within the 3 African states.
In order to see the mountain gorillas, one needs to hold a gorilla trekking permit. The permits come at different prices within the different countries that host the mountain gorillas. Given that gorilla tourism was developed along guidelines of sustainable tourism, there is a limit on number of gorilla permits sold to tourists interested in gorilla watching. One habituated gorilla family is tracked by a maximum of only eight visitors per day.
In Uganda, you can secure a gorilla permit at $600 while in Rwanda you need $1500 and in the Virunga National Park in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, gorilla permits cost $400 per person. To book a permit, you can contact ground tour operator or do it directly through reservationist of respective countries. In Uganda you can get in touch with Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), in Rwanda-it is the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and in DRC, visit the Virunga National Park authorities. Besides, it is also possible for you to track/plan a gorilla safari on your own although this is a bit challenging and for this case, you will be accompanied by one park ranger guide who will take you through your trek. Gorilla treks are always led by a professional and experienced park ranger.
To see these apes, it involves you hiking through the dense vegetation and steep slopes of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Treks usually last for about 2 to 8 hours depending on your hiking speed, nature of habitat and location of these Great Apes. To view them, visitors are always assigned to one habituated family and in Uganda, there are about 17 that have been habituated and readily available for trekking, 10 are in Rwanda and only 8 are available in the Congo Virunga National Park.
Usually, the male silverback gorilla stretches up to 6 feet and has a weight of 500 ibs and they are largely vegetarians mainly depending on fruits, tree barks, roots, leaves and at times insects. In Uganda, about 480-500 of these Great Apes have been recorded and the rest are shared between Rwanda and DR Congo.
Gorilla treks can be done any time of the year. The best way for you to strike your imaginations with these dramatic creatures is for you to also consider which season you need to be at the destination. Regardless of the fact that treks to see these creatures are possible at any time of the year, seasonality is one significant factor any intending trekker should put into consideration.
That said, most visitors prefer traveling during the dry season which starts from June to September and December to February. This season is ideal the fact that the habitat remains relatively drier making it easier for trekkers to hike through the dense vegetation and steep slopes in search of these amazing creatures. Equally, the wet or rainy season is better for you to track gorillas and it is usually experienced from March to May and October to November. The challenge with this particular season is that the gorilla habitat tends to be wet and slippery making it a little bit challenging for one to take a hike to search for these unique creatures.
The other factors you need to consider is spending a night in an area where your trek is to kick start. There are many lodges that are distributed in and around the gorilla parks but you need that lodging facility that is close to starting point to avoid delays. For Uganda gorilla safaris, you need to know the sector where you are to go gorilla tracking. There are plenty of lodges in each sector ranging from budget lodges that come at very cheap prices to high end upmarket safari lodges that offer the luxuries you need during your holiday.
Besides, observe all the dos and don'ts for gorilla trekking and you will be on the safer side while on trek to view these dramatic creatures in their habitat.
In conclusion, in order for you to see mountain gorillas, you have to pay a visit to Uganda, Rwanda or the DR Congo. Book for your permit and your dream will come true in Africa!


Have aspirations to be a fitness or physique model? Read this training guide, and you'll be participating in professional fitness competitions faster than you think!
The world of competition bodybuilding has really grown and evolved over the last few decades, with the last five years in particular seeing a host of new entrants to this competitive field of fitness. A few decades ago, competing was mostly about bodybuilding, now there are multiple categories for entrants to concentrate on.
We recently spoke with Open Colleges' trainer Matthew Burns from New South Wales, about his exciting and varied career in the fitness industry. Take a look at Matt's original interview about competition prepping here if you missed it.
He'll be entering the Male Fitness Model category in the upcoming Australian Natural Bodybuilding Federation's (ANB) South Coast Physique Championships.
Matthew started out with a Bachelor of Exercise Science degree and while studying, Matthew gained his personal trainer qualifications and set to work helping people reach their fitness and nutrition goals.
After university, Matthew taught Physical Health and Performance (PHP) at a high school before working at Open Colleges as a Workplace Assessor for Fitness. He now teaches 3 popular courses; Statement of Attainment in Fitness Foundations, Certificate III in Fitness (Gym Instructor) and Certificate IV in Fitness (Personal Trainer).
1. When do you start preparing?
It's important to maintain a high level of fitness and nutrition throughout the year, so my training now is very much the same as it always is. However, I start focusing on the competition approximately 12 to 13 weeks beforehand.
For the first competition I took part in, back in 2012, I started training 22 weeks before, but trained more than I should have done and ate less than I should have. I've now educated myself more and have been able to put a much better training plan in place.
2. How has your training changed over time?
For my first competition in 2012, my preparation took much longer and I trained too much. For example, I did five days of weight training each week, at about 60 – 90 minutes per session.
I also did six or seven days of cardio each week, at 40 minutes per session. I'm now only doing three days of weight training and no cardio.
The picture below is Matt as he is just beginning his training. He's made some changes to his body through structured sculpting and regimented, sensible eating and training plans since this photo was taken. Check out the original article on Natural Bodybuilding here. Updates to follow!
By learning from my past experience from my first competition, I'm no longer second guessing what works. I've also increased my overall understanding of fitness and nutrition.
I've educated myself on my diet, understand more about water fluctuations and can see how stress and sleep have a big impact on water retention and your scale weight. This has all allowed me to fine tune my preparation for this second competition.
3. Do you increase your calorie* intake?
For my first competition, I had a bad relationship with food and it was very regimented. This time around, my whole approach to diet has changed dramatically, which has really helped.
I've worked out that my maintenance calories, which is the number I need each day in order to function properly and remain at my current weight, is 2100. However, to keep losing body fat, I need a 500 calorie deficit.
Between Monday and Friday I'll therefore consume only 1450 calories each day. However on the weekend, this increases back to 2100. I normally split this into five meals a day*.
4. What does your diet consist of around competition time?
Many people think that you can only eat protein and vegetables, with meals such as plain chicken, broccoli and rice. That's how I was the first time around, but now, I make sure I have enough carbohydrates, fats and protein in my diet.
My fibre is also a lot higher than it used to be.
5. So can you eat whatever you want?
I am still eating everything and am not restricted from any foods, just as long as I hit my daily macronutrients targets, which are my carbohydrates, fats and proteins. But I obviously can't eat ice cream every day as otherwise, I'll go over my carbohydrate and fat limits.
6. How do you monitor your progress?
I always track where I'm at in my targets. I track my girth measurements every week and get an average idea of what I'm weighing each and every day of the week. As we get nearer to the competition, I'll continue to check where I'm at in terms of my rate of fat loss.
7. Do you adapt your program as you go?
If where I am is consistent with my target, I'll keep everything as it is. If progress starts to plateau, I'll have to evaluate whether that's happening because of changing water weight, whether there are fluctuations in stress, or if it's sleep-related.
If it's not, then I'll have to make an adjustment somewhere. I could do this by increasing cardio or making a restriction in my diet. I'm not doing any cardio at the moment, so I would probably start by doing that.
8. Do you have to practise anything else for the competition?
Yes, posing has started this week, so I will continue to practise that from now, up until competition day.
9. How is your training at the moment? Are you on track?
At the moment, everything is on track. Nothing has really stalled and so I'll continue to lose body fat at the same rate that I had originally planned.
Leading up to the competition, I just need to try and maintain my strength and make sure I'm getting enough sleep and stress levels are managed.
We'll catch up with Matthew after the professional fitness model competition to see how he got on!
*In Australia the correct measurement of energy is the kilojoule, but anecdotally, many fitness experts tend to use the calorie system as it may be easier to calculate "on the fly". To convert calories to kilojoules use a reputable online converter.


text:
Siân Wright
Myers Briggs
Strength Finder
Achiever
Relator
As The Healer, Siân is an idealist, full of imagination & curiosity, keen to consider possibilities, and hopeful for a future better than the reality of the present moment. She has a special affection for the arts and creativity in general. She's also a pursuer of authenticity and meaning, but with an unusual sensitivity, caring, and compassion not usually associated with those who chase after truth. Siân is deeply concerned with the potential of others and that expresses itself in somewhat occasional (but always profound) encouragement to her fellow humans; She is accepting and nonjudgmental of them which is what makes her so approachable, endearing, and supportive.
Siân was born in NW England, but her family is Welsh; she lived there until she was 14 and then moved to Gainesville, Florida where her stepdad opened a rally car school. For Siân, "moving to the US was huge in terms of forming me, having moved from an urban, eclectic culture in England and then gaining an understanding of a different culture in the US." Those experiences led to a passion for people and culture. "Sometimes people don't go out of their way to understand a culture beyond what we're shown." Her upbringing in England wasn't sheltered and gave her a compassion for lower economic neighborhoods and having immigrated herself, she has a huge passion for immigrants coming to America. She feels like she's an "in-between" having come from an English speaking country, but was still an immigrant. "I'm a traveler, rather than just a British person or an American person."
Siân has always been attracted to art. She started with drawing, but ended up loving a combination of artistic expression combined with journalistic observation because she is captivated by the more social aspects of culture. Siân attended audio school and loves sound design since it relates back to capturing the sensory part of life. "I love that idea of taking existing things and then showing them through your perspective." However, her simultaneous interest in meaning led her to study philosophy at DePaul in Chicago. Side note: while there, her family (including younger brother, James) moved to Cleveland, Ohio which is why Siân landed there afterwards. She places a high priority on the equal exchange of ideas and the equal opportunity to flourish. As such she is keenly interested in the stories of other humans, particularly those on the disadvantaged end of justice. Social justice is a significant interest of Siân's. "There's something about social justice that makes me feel connected. From an early age, I've always felt like I should speak out."
Video Production, particularly serving as Director, Editor or Director of Photography.
Experienced and versatile in interview driven video production
On location and "Run & gun"-style shoots
Deep experience in audio and sound design in addition to video production.
Q&A with Siân
What's the best part of your story so far?
The opportunities I have had to travel so much and intertwine my passion for culture and people with my passion for filmmaking and photography. It really has fueled a fascination in documentary and photojournalism.
Being in Paris in January 2015 during the Charlie Hebdo attack and the march for solidarity afterwards was a huge turning point in that for me. Over three million people and 50 world leaders marched together in response to the attacks for freedom of expression, for solidarity. I'll never forget being there. The images from that event were in my first photography exhibit and pushed me into exploring my personal work beyond the street photography I was doing at that time.
What organization or company inspires you and why?
Leviathan is a conceptual design company in Chicago. They created an amazing visual tour for Amon Tobin. They take visual effects to a creative, craftsmanship level. I love their innovative creativity.
What is something no one would ever believe to be true about you?
I'm a raving and devoted fan of Swenson's. And especially the breaded mushrooms!
What are you passionate about related to the work you do in serving others?
I'm passionate about telling someone's story in a visual and creative way. It's like giving a voice to who someone is or what their business values and thats exciting to me.
What are you doing when you feel most like you?
In an alternative life, what would you want to give a try?
Viticulture (horticulture for vineyards). It's the opposite of what I do now. It's back to the basics.
What aspect of ipso's culture resonates with you the most?
Probably the people aspect. ipso prioritizes making connections and relationships with people.
What does "flourishing" mean to you?
Humans reaching/maximizing their potential. Growing a potential of yourself that you didn't even know you had.


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text:
An Urban's Rural View/
The Great U.S.-China Decoupling
An Urban's Rural View
By Urban C Lehner , Editor Emeritus
Connect with Urban:
@urbanize
(DTN graphic)
If, after seemingly endless volleys of tariffs and counter-tariffs, you are inclined to question President Donald Trump's assertion that trade wars are easy to win, you need to remember how he defines victory. Define it as he does and belief in easy victory makes sense. If you're a farmer or rancher, though, you might not agree with his definition.
For as the president has repeatedly made clear, he would declare victory if U.S.-China trade ceased altogether. "If they don't want to trade with us anymore, that would be fine with me," he said early last month. "We'd save a lot of money." (https://www.cbsnews.com/…)Later in the month, he tweeted that "We don't need China and, frankly, would be far better off without them." (https://www.washingtonpost.com/…)
In the continuation of that tweet, Trump said something else, something that has attracted a lot of commentary: "Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA."
Critics mocked his use of the archaic, legalistic "hereby" and declared he doesn't have the power to order companies out of China. (Trump later cited a decades-old law to insist he did have the power, but by my reading of the legal commentary that law would at most allow him to ban new investments, and only if he could convince Congress a national emergency existed.)
As bizarre as the "hereby ordered" part of the tweet was, the "we don't need China" part was in many ways more significant. It explains why Trump is making such maximalist demands on China, essentially insisting it revamp its entire economy along free-market western lines. He feels he can't lose: If the Chinese go along with his extreme demands, he wins. If they don't and trade ends, that too would constitute victory in his eyes.
To which Americans who've worked hard to develop a China market might respond, "Some victory." To many of them, victory is when China buys more American products, including soybeans, pork and even beef. Victory is when China no longer extorts and steals intellectual property from American companies. Victory is a level playing field for American investors in China.
But no more trade with China? Trump may call that victory; people who do business with China would call it decoupling.
In my previous post, I wrote that those who favor what amounts to a new cold war with China are winning "The Great China Debate." (https://www.dtnpf.com/…) Decoupling would be the natural economic complement to a cold war.
No one should underestimate how different the world would be if the U.S. and Chinese economies are decoupled and cold war sets in. Complex manufacturing supply chains that have taken years to build would unravel. New ones in other countries, mostly other Asian countries, would eventually take their place. Trump wants American companies to come HOME, and a few will, but American wage rates are too high for labor-intensive manufacturing. The factories that come back will be highly automated.
As Americans depart, European, Japanese and even Chinese companies will buy up American assets in China at fire-sale prices. Doing business in China's feverish business climate will give them a competitive advantage over American companies in other parts of the world.
World trade will shrink, and as it does worldwide economic growth will slow. American economic growth won't be spared. "In the worst-case scenario, the new world trading system will be dominated by discriminatory trade blocs that raise the costs of commerce, make trade negotiations harder, and encourage retaliation," wrote Chad P. Brown and Douglas A. Irwin in Foreign Affairs. (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/…)As other countries choose sides, many will probably prefer to align with China, the rising power with what is probably already the world's largest economy, over the U.S.
Needless to say, rebuilding market share in China for U.S. ag products would be difficult to impossible if this world comes to pass. Chinese officials are already seeking to lessen China's dependence on the U.S. for agricultural products.
And those are just the economic consequences. Decoupling would exacerbate the geopolitical tensions of the cold war. Part of what's mitigating those tensions now is the mutual economic dependency of the U.S. and China.
Do we want to go down this road? Not necessarily, but we also don't want to continue with the policies of the past that have tolerated China's increasing misbehavior. The problem, for U.S. agriculture and the country as a whole, is we're running out of time to come up with a policy that challenges China when challenge is warranted but remains committed to economic ties when they're mutually beneficial.
Urban Lehner can be reached at urbanize@gmail.com
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What an amazing wedding day! Laughter, tears and happiness kept our cameras clicking all day long! There wasn't a moment when something wasn't happening. By the time this day was done, Hannah and I were ready to head home. We were tired but we knew we had captured some great moments. Below are a few of our favorites and we hope you enjoy looking through them.
Alicia and Chris, thank you so much for having us be there, it was an honor and an immense joy to watch your special day unfold. It was great getting to see once again many past clients and friends. We wish you many years of happiness!
Feel free to leave comment for Alicia and Chris at the bottom.
P.S. thanks to Hannah for coming back to do another wedding with me, as always you did a great job.
Chris and I could not be happier with the work that Mark and his assistant Hannah have done for our wedding. We can't wait to see the rest of the photos! Incredible day captured so beautifully and we will be able to look back and cherish these memories forever. Thank you Mark!
Ah…. I just love all of the wonderful memories that Mark (& Hannah) caught on film of this day. Our family and friends have each worked with Mark and his associates over the years, and each engagement session/wedding he shoots in camera continues to get better and better! Every wedding is magical and sweet and timeless in its own specific ways – and here yet again, Mark (& Hannah) have captured such incredible, genuine, and amazing moments and emotions. Instead of those emotions being fleeting memories, they've been caught as forever moments on film, something they'll cherish forever (as we personally do, in everything you've captured for us in the past). Great work, you guys – you've done it yet again!!! 🙂 Thank you for encompassing all of the joyous emotions of Alicia and Chris's wedding day!
Such a lovely time was had. I am glad I was there to celebrate with Chris and Alicia! These photos are spectacular!
Mark you done it again! These pictures are amazing. Gorgeous bride! Flowers! Alicia your hair!! So beautifully captured. Looks like you had a wonderful send off into married life!
What a treat to see your photos of another wedding we collaborated on at Holy Cross church!
Thank you Alicia! We are so glad that you are enjoying your photos! CAn't wait to design your album!
Hailey, thank you for your glowing report and support! Great to see you and Matt again.
Molly, thank you and congrats on the new edition. I know there are some pretty happy grandparents down in Champaign!


Yesterday, a low-flying great blue heron crossed my path with a blossoming branch in his beak. He was on route from the tidal flat to a small colony of eight nesting pairs in the tall bare trees beside the trail. Then this afternoon, my friend thrilled at the hummingbird courtship antics happening outside her window. Tonight, I watched a pair of mallards try and lead me away from their nest in the muddy creekbed. So, in honour of all the birds that are working so hard right now, courting, building nests, laying and incubating their precious eggs, I want to share this beautiful piece.
When I first heard it, a few weeks ago, on this wonderful Sacred Nature album by Philip Carr-Gomme, it captured my heart. It's on the track called "Healing Sleep". He says it is a lullaby from the Scottish Highlands. I'd love to credit the poet, but I don't know who that is. If you know, please comment. You can read more about the album on Philip Carr-Gomme's blog.
This is lovely. I'm rather too fond of birds myself. It's a little early for it, but some of the ducklings are starting to hatch, and my porch received its first hummingbird visitor of the year a few weeks ago.
Thanks for sharing the poem/lullaby!
Ah, Spring… the perfect time to think on this poem about birds!
I love this passage, listen to it before bed each night. I'd love to find out more about this lullaby….it is beautiful.


text:
The ten most-read news stories on completemusicupdate.com in November 2013
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 2 December 2013
The Beatles made a strong showing in our most-read news stories for November 2013.
The Fab Four top the list thanks to a report on research that showed that they are the band whose music appears most frequently on file-sharing sites that comply with takedown notices. This would suggest that no one is currently managing the removal of the band's music from these sites. The other nine acts on the list are also successful heritage artists, though The Beatles had more than 100,000 files available illegally than their nearest competitor, Fleetwood Mac.
Lower down the most-read stories list is an article published in January about re-issue labels capitalising on The Beatles' first single, 'Love Me Do', falling out of copyright. The surge in traffic on that article occurred as the sound recording copyright in the UK finally extended from 50 to 70 years on 1 Nov – though the extension is not being applied retrospectively so tracks like 'Love Me Do' will not go back into copyright.
We are going back to takedown notices though. The Beatles may not be issuing any, but there are plenty going around – and at number six in our list, after issuing its 50 millionth takedown notice to Google alone, the BPI again called on search engine giant to do more about online piracy.
Aside from Google removing links to illegally uploaded music from its search engine, the key to combating piracy is surely offering legitimate services that are better and more convenient. The boom in streaming services is doing just that, but some would argue that the price points of your Spotifys et al are still off-putting for some people. One service offering cheaper entry points is Bloom.fm, which passed 500,000 users this month, news of which is also in our most-read list.
If it's not piracy and streaming royalties getting artists' backs up, it's big media companies telling them that they can't afford to pay them to use their music, but that they will offer 'great exposure'. And third in our most-read list this month is a report on musician Whitey taking a TV production company to task over this.
Elsewhere in the top ten this month, there's a late entry at number two in the form of Conrad Murray's oversharing about his relationship with Michael Jackson (which has drawn legal threats from the Jackson estate), plus reports on rumours that MKS had been dropped (they hadn't), the final release from the Jonas Brothers, and Paul Heaton's response to finding out that David Cameron is a fan of his former band, The Housemartins.
Our most popular features this month were an interview with audio engineer Bob Katz about his claims that iTunes Radio is ending the 'loudness war', a glut of Beef Of The Week columns starring James Arthur, Huey Morgan and Lily Allen, plus an Approved column on New Zealand brother-sister duo Broods.
The top ten most-read news stories in full:
01: The Beatles top most-pirated list
02: Conrad Murray "held Michael Jackson's penis every night", again denies causing singer's death
03: Whitey hits out at media firms playing the 'we have no budget' card
04: Polydor reportedly drops MKS
05: Re-issue labels capitalise on Love Me Do going public domain, as IPO begins consultation on copyright extension
06: As it issues its 50 millionth takedown request, BPI calls on Google to do more about piracy
07: Bloom.fm reaches half a million users
08: Copyright Extension specifics announced
09: Paul Heaton reiterates David Cameron pub ban
10: Jonas Brothers to bow out with last mini-album
You can receive all our news stories, job ads and features in a handy email every weekday with the CMU Daily. Sign up for free here.
READ MORE ABOUT: Bloom.fm | British Phonographic Industry (BPI) | Conrad Murray | David Cameron | Google | Jonas Brothers | Michael Jackson | MKS | Paul Heaton | Polydor | The Beatles | The Housemartins | Whitey


text:
Quick Answer: Which Institution'S Has Have To Approve The New Laws In European Union?
Which is the most powerful EU institution?
What are the three main criteria that a country needs to meet to be accepted into the European Union?
Can the EU impose laws on the UK?
What is the most powerful institution?
What are the three main law making EU institutions?
What are decisions in EU law?
Why are Turkey not in the EU?
Which countries are on the waiting list to join the EU?
What powers does the European Commission have?
What power does the EU have?
Does the European Parliament have any power?
Who are the members of the European Commission?
Which institution's has have to approve the new laws in Europe?
Who controls the European Union?
Why did Britain exit from European Union?
What is a basic act EU?
Which countries are not EU?
Are EU laws binding?
What is EU primary law?
Can Georgia join the EU?
What are the disadvantages of being in the EU?
The most powerful institution is the Council.
The Commission has few powers of coercion, although its neutral role and the depth of specialised knowledge it has acquired over the years give it plenty of scope for persuasion.
The Commission is much less powerful than the Council..
Countries wishing to join need to have:stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities;a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition and market forces in the EU;More items…•
As a member of the European Union, section 2 of the European Communities Act 1972 (c. 68) made provision for EU legislation to become law in the UK in two ways. Some EU legislation was directly applicable to the UK. This meant that it applied automatically in UK law, without any action required by the UK.
The chairman of the Federal Reserve is arguably more important than the president of the United States. The power of the Fed is unprecedented.
The three main decision-making institutions are: the European Parliament (EP), which represents the EU's citizens and is directly elected by them; the Council of the European Union, which represents the individual member states; The European Commission, which seeks to uphold the interests of the Union as a whole.
In European Union law, a decision is a legal instrument which is binding upon those individuals to which it is addressed. They are one of three kinds of legal instruments which may be effected under EU law which can have legally binding effects on individuals. Decisions may be addressed to member states or individuals.
The EU has accused and criticized Turkey for human rights violations and deficits in rule of law. In 2017, EU officials expressed that planned Turkish policies violate the Copenhagen criteria of eligibility for an EU membership.
There are five recognised candidates for membership of the European Union: Turkey (applied in 1987), North Macedonia (applied in 2004), Montenegro (applied in 2008), Albania (applied in 2009), and Serbia (applied in 2009).
Upholding EU law – The Commission can take action against businesses or states that are failing to comply with EU law. Policy – The Commission is the executive of the EU. It manages policies and drafts budgets. Representation – The Commission represents the EU in negotiations with other countries or organisations.
The Court of Justice of the European Union is based in Luxembourg. The EU has the power to make a law only if the treaties give it that power. This is referred to as 'conferral'. And the only areas that the EU should regulate are those that member countries cannot sufficiently regulate themselves.
Although the European Parliament has legislative power, as does the Council, it does not formally possess the right of initiative – which is a prerogative of the European Commission – as most national parliaments of the member states do.
High Representative/Vice-President In office. Josep Borrell Fontelles. … Commissioner In office. Thierry Breton. … Commissioner In office. Helena Dalli. … Executive Vice-President In office. Valdis Dombrovskis. … Commissioner In office. Elisa Ferreira. … Commissioner In office. Mariya Gabriel. … Commissioner In office. … Commissioner In office.More items…
The commission has the sole authority to propose EU laws and spending, but all EU legislation requires the approval of both Parliament and the Council of Ministers.
The European Council sets the EU's overall political direction – but has no powers to pass laws. Led by its President – currently Charles Michel – and comprising national heads of state or government and the President of the Commission, it meets for a few days at a time at least twice every 6 months.
Polls found that the main reasons people voted Leave were "the principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK", and that leaving "offered the best chance for the UK to regain control over immigration and its own borders".
These acts may undergo amendments in the course of time, by means of other similar acts. In this context, "Basic act" is the term to refer to the acts affected by the posterior amendments (referred to as "amending acts", in opposition to the "basic acts").
The European countries that are not members of the EU:Albania*Andorra.Armenia.Azerbaijan.Belarus.Bosnia and Herzegovina**Georgia.Iceland.More items…•
Regulations and directives are legally binding. They normally apply in all 28 EU member countries, although some directives are addressed to particular members. And both types of law are based on articles of the EU treaties that give the EU institutions the authority to pass laws in the relevant field.
EU primary law. WHAT IS PRIMARY LAW? It is the supreme source of law in the EU. It comes mainly from the founding treaties, notably the Treaty of Rome (which evolved in the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union) and the Treaty of Maastricht (which evolved in the Treaty on European Union).
Georgia does not have any official status as a candidate for future enlargement of the European Union, but in 2011 Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili expressed a desire for his country to become a member state of the EU.
Disadvantages of EU membership include:Cost. The costs of EU membership to the UK is £15bn gross (0.06% of GDP) – or £6.883 billion net. … Inefficient policies. … Problems of the Euro. … Pressure towards austerity. … Net migration. … More bureaucracy less democracy.
Quick Answer: What Types Of Free Speech Are Protected By The First Amendment?
What is fully protected speech? The right, guaranteed
What'S The Oldest Town In Wisconsin?
What is oldest building in the world? Megalithic Temples
Quick Answer: What Weapons Are Illegal In Arizona?
Are brass knuckles legal in Arizona? Arizona.
Question: What Are Jobs No One Wants?
What are the 5 most important jobs? 10 Jobs Americans
Question: Which Right Does The Ninth Amendment Protect Quizlet?
What makes the 9th amendment important? The enumeration


Neighbors Home Care Services is licensed by the New York Department of Health and has been a Licensed Home Care Services Agency (LHCSA) since 1983. The agency is inspected and audited regularly. All of our aides and nursing staff are fully certified.
To provide our clients with personalized and compassionate care when a helping hand is all they need to remain in the comfort of their own home.
We take our mission seriously and are always on call to handle an emergency. You can reach a live coordinator at any time, day or night, simply by calling: (914) 949-3112.
Click here to view a map of our service locations.


Cassandra Riley was born and raised on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. She received a B.A. from Christopher Newport University. She currently resides in Coastal Virginia with her husband and two children. She writes mostly contemporary romances, but dabbles in other genres.
So many people have helped her on her path to becoming a published author. Her family and friends have been instrumental to her. She would like to thank Piet Beerends for the cover and background pictures and Kristin Starcher at Like a Dream Photography for the head shots and photo sessions.


There's no denying it any longer: I'm an indie apologist.
I'm more willing to overlook a minor flaw in a game if it was designed and programmed by a team of two rather than a team of 50. I appreciate a few hours of unique gameplay more than a month's worth of stale environments and played-out game mechanics. And occasionally, in my weaker moments, I prefer personality to polish. If a game feels like it was made by a couple of guys in their spare time rather than designed by a committee of marketing execs, I'll probably be all over it.
So it's no surprise that I enjoyed And Yet It Moves, the latest indie sleeper hit to make its way onto Steam and Penny Arcade's Greenhouse. It meets all my criteria for essential indie-ness: made by less than five people, vaguely ambient soundtrack, story-less. What surprised me was how much I enjoyed it.
Originally a prototype that won the 2007 Indie Game Festival's Student Showcase, And Yet It Moves has received more than a fresh coat of paint in the intervening years. The Vienna students behind the title have taken the core gameplay concept - rotating the world around your character - and applied it across 16 levels, each with a unique "theme." It's can be a bit rough around the edges in spots, but a little frustration is a small price to pay for one of the most original, visually striking and downright surprising games to come out so far this year.
Beneath all the torn paper, And Yet It Moves is fundamentally a platformer - the object of each level is to make your way through a set of chalk checkpoints to a paper cut-out door that sends you on to the next zone. But with the ability to change the orientation of the world around you, every surface becomes a potential route forward. As in Portal or Braid, And Yet It Moves eases you into the experience by providing checkpoints after nearly every puzzle and slowly ramping up the difficulty. It's rare that you'll encounter an obstacle that a previous setback hasn't prepared you for.
When frustration does hit, however, it hits hard. Many of the games puzzles require you to tilt the world to manipulate the trajectory of other objects - drops of water, bananas or bugs, to name a few. These sections can be unintentionally tricky - while you're focusing on the item that you have to get from point A to point B, your character can build up enough momentum to fly apart the moment he hits the ground. And a few puzzles involving flint and flammable objects didn't fully click until my second play-through.
They're minor issues, though. Any doubts I had about And Yet It Moves quickly evaporated when I began the third and final chapter of the game. Where the previous chapters loosely represented a cave system and a lush jungle environment, the game's finale throws realism out the window in favor of super saturated colors, pulsing shapes and some of the most inventive puzzles in the game. The effect is so convincing that I actually became a little nauseous at a couple points - in a good way, of course.
Bottom Line: Fifteen bucks might seem steep for a three-hour game, but if you measure And Yet It Moves by the number of unique ideas it contains rather than just its length, it's a steal.
Recommendation: If you're still skeptical, download the demo here. Otherwise, just eat in a couple nights this week and pick up the full version, cheapskate.
Jordan Deam strongly advises you not to lick any toads before, during or after playing And Yet It Moves.


Working without fancy equipment, costly pots and pans, or gourmet gadgets, Lee and Steve are known not just for their simple recipes, ang light hearted style, but also for their outlandish costumes. For a Ceasar salad, they may be dressed as Roman gladiators. Or perhaps they will be attired as Venetian Gondeliers to prepare lasagna!
These culinary cut-ups are regulars on the TV talk show circuit with appearances on "CBS This Morning," "Dateline NBC," "Live with Regis And Kathy Lee," "Entertainment Tonight," and many others. Their syndicated TV cooking vignettes "KITCHEN CUT-UPS!" are broadcasted in over 50 countries in five languages. They've authored a cookbook "cookin' with the Cleavers," plus their television recipes are available on a three volume home-video series.
When not in a television studio, The Clever Cleaver Brothers take their talents on the road presenting their Vegas-style cooking show at conventions, festivals, home shows, corporate meetings, and other special events. Imagine cloning Julia Childs with Roseanne, Paul Prudhomme with dom DeLuise, or Justin Wilson with Jeff Foxworthy. The Clever Cleaver Brothers on stage are what happens when Saturday afternoon's TV cooking show meets "Saturday Night Live"—complete with costumes from Hollywood's greatest epics.


Long story short, i have been in contact with someone in OpenReach (OR) and have had site survey done and been told i can have FTTP by the end of Dec this year, which i thought was great news however i have now been looking at ISP deals and it seems there is only a handfull of ISP's that offer a FTTP product, so does anyone have FTTP a home? If so what ISP & deal do you have?
All I want is unlimted downloads..
I am with BT and I think we only have fibre to the cabinet, however, that is only in the next street.
I was looking into this some years ago and the cost was to high.
If your going after real FTTP the upload and download speed are the same 100mb/100mb 0r 1gb/1gb and anywhere in between.
this was the one i was looking at.
Yea this has been a nightmare for me for years, where i live in London's Docklands means most of us round here are on Exchange Only (EO) lines which means copper goes from out home direct into the exchange itself and our best speed has been about 4mbits, I took the bull by th horns about a year ago and invested in some new hardware that would allow me to hook up to a 4G based ISP called Relish.net which can give me speeds of 30mbits during early hours of the day but normally about 10mbit, all fine you might say, but no we now have a major develoment work going on which means a 11 story block of flats will be going up bang in my way of the cell site and hitting my speed for six as i will lose line of sight, no green cabinets round our way so FTTC is out, the block of flats next to me have hyperoptic and thier 1GB service but will not do our block as my landlord said they could not put there kit in our flats so that route is out for now however if we can get 5 more people they will supply us but i have already done the round and can't get anyone else to sign up.
However I have been very lucky and been able to get in touch with someone very high up within OpenReach (OR) and put case to them and after doing a site survey they have agreed that FTTP is an option for me and they will do it for me and it should be live by mid Dec and then we come to the problem of an ISP, I cannot see the point is have this speed and having a download limit put on me so all i will want is unlimited downloads and i'd be happy with 50mbit and given so few ISP's offer this option the price is not cheap.
I'm guessing i might have to have FTTP installed and wait till i get the offer of a good deal.
I'm not a great fan of Virgin with their 3 monthly price hikes and very expensive channels - but their fibre optic internet speeds are fantastic.


The new VOIP Service Provider Review and Ratings site whichvoip.com lets visitors submit their own VoIP service provider reviews, and assign a numerical rating to their assessment.
While there are only about 125 reviews posted so far, and the survey is not scientific, it still would be fun to see who's tops, and who is at the back of the ratings back.
Of the 26 providers rated so far, only two - Nuvio and GalaxyVoice- get perfect 5.0 ratings.
Since Nuvio has more votes than GalaxyVoice, let us interpret that as license to acknowledge Nuvio as whichvoip's leader.
"Have not had a problem with Nuvio. Excellent voice quality and tech/customer support," TJ writes.
"Pay $5 per month more for 2CPVoice.com (Powered by Nuvio) however Customer Service, Tech Support and sound quality are by far better than Vonage!" posts DaleS.
Oh, and the worst, you were wondering?
Seems unfair given they only have one vote, but Net2Phone's 2.9 score brings up the rear.
(Net2Phone's) "dialup device to device service is pretty bad," complains jUser. "Customer service has no technical information."