text:
Belonging in a New Myanmar
Identity, Law, and Gender in the Anthropology of Contemporary Buddhism
Author: Juliane Schober 1
1 Arizona State University j.schober@asu.edu
anti-Muslim hate speech; belonging; gender; global communications networks; laws; Myanmar; secularism; Theravada Buddhism
"To be Burmese is to be Buddhist" is a slogan commonly identified with the dawn of nationalism in the country known today as Myanmar, where violence between Buddhist, Muslim, and ethnic communities has increasingly jeopardized liberalizing reforms. How do contemporary forms of Theravada Buddhist discourse shape ideas of belonging in a multi-religious and ethnically diverse Myanmar following the dissolution of military rule in 2011? How do digital technologies and globalizing communication networks in this nation influence rapidly changing social identities, anxieties, and imaginaries that Brigit Meyer identifies as 'aesthetic formations'? In this article, I trace diverse genealogies of belonging to show how contemporary constructions of meaning facilitate religious imaginaries that may exacerbate difference by drawing on past ideologies of conflict or may seek to envision a new and diverse Myanmar.
JULIANE SCHOBER is the Director of the Center for Asian Research and a Professor of Religious Studies at Arizona State University. As an anthropologist of religion, she works on Theravada Buddhist practice in Southeast Asia, especially Burma/Myanmar. Her current research focuses on regional exchange networks and the mediation of icons in such networks. In addition to having published many essays, she is the author of Modern Buddhist Conjunctures in Myanmar (2011), editor of Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and Southeast Asia (1997), and co-editor of Buddhist Manuscript Cultures: Knowledge, Ritual, and Art (2009). E-mail: j.schober@asu.edu
I. Portrait: J. D. Y. Peel
II. Articles
Eschatology, Ethics, and Ēthnos
The Chaco Skies
The Religious Foundations of Capoeira Angola
Money, Religion, and Symbolic Exchange in Winter Sleep
III. Special Section: Toward a Comparative Anthropology of Buddhism
Ritual Tattooing and the Creation of New Buddhist Identities
The Ethics of Collective Sponsorship
The White Cotton Robe
Rethinking Anthropological Models of Spirit Possession and Theravada Buddhism
IV. Book Reviews
The Discourse on Communal Violence in Myanmar
Buddhist Identity and the Muslim Other in Myanmar
Ethnicity, Gender, and Law
The Public Discourse of the Sangha in the Digital Age
Abeysekara, Ananda. 2002. Colors of the Robe: Religion, Identity, and Difference. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.
Abeysekara, Ananda. 2002. Colors of the Robe: Religion, Identity, and Difference. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.)| false
Al-Adawy, Heba. 2013. "Persecution of the Rohingya: The Dark Side of Development in Myanmar." Regional Studies 31 (4): 43–65.
Al-Adawy, Heba. 2013. "Persecution of the Rohingya: The Dark Side of Development in Myanmar." Regional Studies 31 (4): 43–65.)| false
Asad, Talal. 1993. Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of Power in Christianity and Islam. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Asad, Talal. 1993. Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of Power in Christianity and Islam. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.)| false
Brass, Paul R. 1997. Theft of an Idol: Text and Context in the Representation of Collective Violence. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Brass, Paul R. 1997. Theft of an Idol: Text and Context in the Representation of Collective Violence. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.)| false
Brooten, Lisa, and Yola Verbruggen. 2017. "Producing the News: Reporting on Myanmar's Rohingya Crisis." Journal of Contemporary Asia 47 (3): 440–460.
Brooten, Lisa, and Yola Verbruggen. 2017. "Producing the News: Reporting on Myanmar's Rohingya Crisis." Journal of Contemporary Asia 47 (3): 440–460.10.1080/00472336.2017.1303078)| false
Cable, Olivia. 2014. "Sectarian Conflict in Mandalay." New Mandala, 18 July. http://www.newmandala.org/sectarian-conflict-in-mandalay.
Cable, Olivia. 2014. "Sectarian Conflict in Mandalay." New Mandala, 18 July. http://www.newmandala.org/sectarian-conflict-in-mandalay.)| false
Cheesman, Nick. 2017a. "How in Myanmar 'National Races' Came to Surpass Citizenship and Exclude Rohingya." Journal of Contemporary Asia 47 (3): 461–483.
Cheesman, Nick. 2017a. "How in Myanmar 'National Races' Came to Surpass Citizenship and Exclude Rohingya." Journal of Contemporary Asia 47 (3): 461–483.10.1080/00472336.2017.1297476)| false
Cheesman, Nick. 2017b. "Introduction: Interpreting Communal Violence in Myanmar." Journal of Contemporary Asia 47 (3): 335–352.
Cheesman, Nick. 2017b. "Introduction: Interpreting Communal Violence in Myanmar." Journal of Contemporary Asia 47 (3): 335–352.10.1080/00472336.2017.1305121)| false
Crouch, Melissa, ed. 2016a. Islam and the State in Myanmar: Muslim-Buddhist Relations and the Politics of Belonging. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Crouch, Melissa, ed. 2016a. Islam and the State in Myanmar: Muslim-Buddhist Relations and the Politics of Belonging. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199461202.001.0001)| false
Crouch, Melissa. 2016b. "Myanmar's Muslim Mosaic and the Politics of Belonging." In Crouch 2016a, 9–38.
Crouch, Melissa. 2016b. "Myanmar's Muslim Mosaic and the Politics of Belonging." In Crouch 2016a, 9–38.)| false
Crouch, Melissa. 2016c. "Personal Law and Colonial Legacy: State-Religion Relations and the Practice of Islamic Law in Myanmar." In Crouch 2016a, 69–97.
Crouch, Melissa. 2016c. "Personal Law and Colonial Legacy: State-Religion Relations and the Practice of Islamic Law in Myanmar." In Crouch 2016a, 69–97.)| false
Das, Veena. 1998. "Specificities: Official Narratives, Rumour, and the Social Production of Hate." Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture 4 (1): 109–130.
Das, Veena. 1998. "Specificities: Official Narratives, Rumour, and the Social Production of Hate." Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture 4 (1): 109–130.10.1080/13504639851915)| false
Ei Ei Toe Lwin. 2014. "Hluttaw Stays Silent on Conflicts." Myanmar Times, 11 August. http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/mandalay-upper-myanmar/11310-hluttaw-stays-silent-on-conflicts.html.
Ei Ei Toe Lwin. 2014. "Hluttaw Stays Silent on Conflicts." Myanmar Times, 11 August. http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/mandalay-upper-myanmar/11310-hluttaw-stays-silent-on-conflicts.html.)| false
Farrelly, Nicholas. 2016. "Muslim Political Activity in Transitional Myanmar." In Crouch 2016a, 99–126.
Farrelly, Nicholas. 2016. "Muslim Political Activity in Transitional Myanmar." In Crouch 2016a, 99–126.)| false
Foxeus, Niklas. 2016. "Contemporary Burmese Buddhism." In The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism, ed. Michael Jerryson, 212–235. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Foxeus, Niklas. 2016. "Contemporary Burmese Buddhism." In The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism, ed. Michael Jerryson, 212–235. Oxford: Oxford University Press.)| false
Harriden, Jessica. 2012. The Authority of Influence: Women and Power in Burmese History. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Press.
Harriden, Jessica. 2012. The Authority of Influence: Women and Power in Burmese History. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Press.)| false
Ikeya, Chie. 2008. "The Modern Burmese Woman and the Politics of Fashion in Colonial Burma." Journal of Asian Studies 67 (4): 1277–1308.
Ikeya, Chie. 2008. "The Modern Burmese Woman and the Politics of Fashion in Colonial Burma." Journal of Asian Studies 67 (4): 1277–1308.10.1017/S0021911808001782)| false
Ikeya, Chie. 2011. Refiguring Women, Colonialism, and Modernity in Burma. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.
Ikeya, Chie. 2011. Refiguring Women, Colonialism, and Modernity in Burma. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.)| false
Keck, Stephen. 2016. "Reconstructing Trajectories of Islam in British Burma." In Crouch 2016a, 39–68.
Keck, Stephen. 2016. "Reconstructing Trajectories of Islam in British Burma." In Crouch 2016a, 39–68.)| false
Khin Mar Mar Kyi. 2016. "Gender Policy." Oxford-Myanmar Policy Brief Series 1 (1). https://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/mar.pdf.
Khin Mar Mar Kyi. 2016. "Gender Policy." Oxford-Myanmar Policy Brief Series 1 (1). https://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/mar.pdf.)| false
Kornfield, Jack. 2014. "Buddhists Betray the Teachings." Lion's Roar, 14 July. https://www.lionsroar.com/buddhists-betray-the-teachings-jack-kornfield-on-the-anti-muslim-violence-in-burma.
Kornfield, Jack. 2014. "Buddhists Betray the Teachings." Lion's Roar, 14 July. https://www.lionsroar.com/buddhists-betray-the-teachings-jack-kornfield-on-the-anti-muslim-violence-in-burma.)| false
Kyaw Phyo Tha. 2014. "Accountability Sought in Mandalay Riots' Aftermath." Irrawaddy News, 11 August. http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/accountability-sought-mandalay-riots-aftermath.html.
Kyaw Phyo Tha. 2014. "Accountability Sought in Mandalay Riots' Aftermath." Irrawaddy News, 11 August. http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/accountability-sought-mandalay-riots-aftermath.html.)| false
Kyaw Phyo Tha. 2015. "Union Parliament Passes Population Control Bill." Irrawaddy News, 7 April. https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/union-parliament-passes-population-control-bill.html.
Kyaw Phyo Tha. 2015. "Union Parliament Passes Population Control Bill." Irrawaddy News, 7 April. https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/union-parliament-passes-population-control-bill.html.)| false
Kyaw Zwa Moe. 2014. "Burma's Time Bomb?" Irrawaddy News, 18 July. http://www.irrawaddy.org/commentary/bur-mas-time-bomb.html.
Kyaw Zwa Moe. 2014. "Burma's Time Bomb?" Irrawaddy News, 18 July. http://www.irrawaddy.org/commentary/bur-mas-time-bomb.html.)| false
Lawi Weng. 2014a. "In Meeting with NLD Cofounder, Wirathu Cautions against Suu Kyi Presidency." Irrawaddy News, 24 February. http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/meeting-nld-cofounder-wirathu-cautions-suu-kyi-presidency.html.
Lawi Weng. 2014a. "In Meeting with NLD Cofounder, Wirathu Cautions against Suu Kyi Presidency." Irrawaddy News, 24 February. http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/meeting-nld-cofounder-wirathu-cautions-suu-kyi-presidency.html.)| false
Lawi Weng. 2014b. "Thein Sein Asks Parliament to Discuss Interfaith Marriage." Irrawaddy News, 27 February. http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/thein-sein-asks-parliament-discuss-interfaith-marriage.html.
Lawi Weng. 2014b. "Thein Sein Asks Parliament to Discuss Interfaith Marriage." Irrawaddy News, 27 February. http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/thein-sein-asks-parliament-discuss-interfaith-marriage.html.)| false
Leider, Jacques P. 2012. "'Rohingya,' Rakhaing and the Recent Outbreak of Violence: A Note." Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group 89–90: 8–11.
Leider, Jacques P. 2012. "'Rohingya,' Rakhaing and the Recent Outbreak of Violence: A Note." Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group 89–90: 8–11.)| false
Leider, Jacques P. 2014. "Rohingya: The Name, the Movement and the Quest for Identity." In Nation Building in Myanmar, 204–255. Yangon: Myanmar Egress and Myanmar Peace Center.
Leider, Jacques P. 2014. "Rohingya: The Name, the Movement and the Quest for Identity." In Nation Building in Myanmar, 204–255. Yangon: Myanmar Egress and Myanmar Peace Center.)| false
Lincoln, Bruce. 2003. Holy Terrors: Thinking about Religion after September 11. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lincoln, Bruce. 2003. Holy Terrors: Thinking about Religion after September 11. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.)| false
McCarthy, Gerard, and Jacqueline Menager. 2017. "Gendered Rumours and the Muslim Scapegoat in Myanmar's Transition." Journal of Contemporary Asia 47 (3): 396–412.
McCarthy, Gerard, and Jacqueline Menager. 2017. "Gendered Rumours and the Muslim Scapegoat in Myanmar's Transition." Journal of Contemporary Asia 47 (3): 396–412.10.1080/00472336.2017.1304563)| false
Meyer, Birgit. 2009. "Introduction: From Imagined Communities to Aesthetic Formations—Religious Mediations, Sensational Forms, and Styles of Binding." In Aesthetic Formations: Media, Religion, and the Senses, ed. Birgit Meyer, 1–28. London: Palgrave.
Meyer, Birgit. 2009. "Introduction: From Imagined Communities to Aesthetic Formations—Religious Mediations, Sensational Forms, and Styles of Binding." In Aesthetic Formations: Media, Religion, and the Senses, ed. Birgit Meyer, 1–28. London: Palgrave.10.1057/9780230623248)| false
Min Zin. 2014. "The People vs. the Monks." New York Times, 6 June. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/07/opinion/the-people-vs-the-monks.html.
Min Zin. 2014. "The People vs. the Monks." New York Times, 6 June. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/07/opinion/the-people-vs-the-monks.html.)| false
Moe Myint. 2015. "Activist Ma Thandar, Widow of Slain Journalist, to Seek Election on NLD Ticket." Irrawaddy News, 7 September. http://www.irrawaddy.org/election/news/activist-ma-thandar-widow-of-slain-journalist-to-seek-election-on-nld-ticket.
Moe Myint. 2015. "Activist Ma Thandar, Widow of Slain Journalist, to Seek Election on NLD Ticket." Irrawaddy News, 7 September. http://www.irrawaddy.org/election/news/activist-ma-thandar-widow-of-slain-journalist-to-seek-election-on-nld-ticket.)| false
Nobel Zaw. 2015. "Union Parliament Passes Population Control Bill." Irrawaddy News, 7 April. http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/union-parliament-passes-population-control-bill.html.
Nobel Zaw. 2015. "Union Parliament Passes Population Control Bill." Irrawaddy News, 7 April. http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/union-parliament-passes-population-control-bill.html.)| false
Rabinow, Paul. 2009. Marking Time: On the Anthropology of the Contemporary. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Rabinow, Paul. 2009. Marking Time: On the Anthropology of the Contemporary. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.10.1515/9781400827992)| false
San Yamin Aung. 2014. "Muslim Organization Makes Offerings to Mandalay Buddhist Monks." Irrawaddy News, 4 August. http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/muslim-organization-makes-offerings-mandalay-buddhist-monks.html.
San Yamin Aung. 2014. "Muslim Organization Makes Offerings to Mandalay Buddhist Monks." Irrawaddy News, 4 August. http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/muslim-organization-makes-offerings-mandalay-buddhist-monks.html.)| false
Schissler, Matt. 2016. "New Technologies, Established Practices: Developing Narratives of Muslim Threat in Myanmar." In Crouch 2016a, 211–233.
Schissler, Matt. 2016. "New Technologies, Established Practices: Developing Narratives of Muslim Threat in Myanmar." In Crouch 2016a, 211–233.)| false
Schissler, Matt, Matthew J. Walton, and Phyu Phyu Thi. 2017. "Reconciling Contradictions: Buddhist-Muslim Violence, Narrative Making and Memory in Myanmar." Journal of Contemporary Asia 47 (3): 375–395.
Schissler, Matt, Matthew J. Walton, and Phyu Phyu Thi. 2017. "Reconciling Contradictions: Buddhist-Muslim Violence, Narrative Making and Memory in Myanmar." Journal of Contemporary Asia 47 (3): 375–395.10.1080/00472336.2017.1290818)| false
Schober, Juliane. 2010. Modern Buddhist Conjunctures in Myanmar: Cultural Narratives, Colonial Legacies, and Civil Society. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.
Schober, Juliane. 2010. Modern Buddhist Conjunctures in Myanmar: Cultural Narratives, Colonial Legacies, and Civil Society. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.10.21313/hawaii/9780824833824.001.0001)| false
Schober, Juliane, and Steven Collins. 2012. "The Theravada Civilizations Project: Future Directions in the Study of Buddhism in Southeast Asia." Contemporary Buddhism 13 (1): 157–166.
Schober, Juliane, and Steven Collins. 2012. "The Theravada Civilizations Project: Future Directions in the Study of Buddhism in Southeast Asia." Contemporary Buddhism 13 (1): 157–166.10.1080/14639947.2012.669277)| false
Schober, Juliane, and Steven Collins. 2017. Theravāda Buddhist Encounters with Modernity. New York: Routledge.
Schober, Juliane, and Steven Collins. 2017. Theravāda Buddhist Encounters with Modernity. New York: Routledge.10.4324/9781315637600)| false
Than, Tharaphi. 2014. Women in Modern Burma. New York: Routledge.
Than, Tharaphi. 2014. Women in Modern Burma. New York: Routledge.)| false
UN News Centre. 2014. "Myanmar: UN Experts Alarmed at Draft Bill Imposing Restrictions on Religious Conversion." 20 June. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48094#.U-BBPldWYQ.
UN News Centre. 2014. "Myanmar: UN Experts Alarmed at Draft Bill Imposing Restrictions on Religious Conversion." 20 June. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48094#.U-BBPldWYQ.)| false
van Klinken, Gerry, and Su Mon Thazin Aung. 2017. "The Contentious Politics of Anti-Muslim Scapegoating in Myanmar." Journal of Contemporary Asia 47 (3): 353–375.
van Klinken, Gerry, and Su Mon Thazin Aung. 2017. "The Contentious Politics of Anti-Muslim Scapegoating in Myanmar." Journal of Contemporary Asia 47 (3): 353–375.10.1080/00472336.2017.1293133)| false
Wood, Graeme. 2014. "A Countryside of Concentration Camps: Burma Could Be the Site of the World's Next Genocide." New Republic, 21 January. http://http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116241/burma-2014-countryside-concentration-camps.
Wood, Graeme. 2014. "A Countryside of Concentration Camps: Burma Could Be the Site of the World's Next Genocide." New Republic, 21 January. http://http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116241/burma-2014-countryside-concentration-camps.)| false
Yegar, Moshe. 1972. The Muslims of Burma. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
Yegar, Moshe. 1972. The Muslims of Burma. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.)| false
Zin Mar Aung. 2014. "We Will Not Back Down." Irrawaddy News, 19 June. http://www.irrawaddy.org/contributor/will-back.html.
Zin Mar Aung. 2014. "We Will Not Back Down." Irrawaddy News, 19 June. http://www.irrawaddy.org/contributor/will-back.html.)| false
Article by Juliane Schober


text:
Plan Your New QuickBooks 2012 System
QuickBooks Online For Dummies Cheat Sheet
3 Handy Tool Buttons in QuickBooks Online
17 Keyboard Shortcuts for QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Online Accountant
How to Set Up the QuickBooks 2019 Chart of Accounts…
QuickBooks 2012 All-in-One For Dummies
By Stephen L. Nelson
If you understand a couple of big picture items — what accounting does and what accounting systems do — from the very start, you'll find that the QuickBooks 2012 Setup process makes a whole lot more sense.
What accounting does
Think about what accounting does. People may argue about the little details, but most would agree that accounting does the following four important things:
Measures profits and losses
Reports on a financial condition of a firm (its assets, liabilities, and net worth)
Provides detailed records of the assets, liabilities, and owner's equity accounts
Supplies financial information to stakeholders, especially to management
What accounting systems do
Now take a brief look at what accounting systems — or at least at what small business accounting systems — typically do:
Produce financial statements, including income statements, balance sheets, and other accounting reports.
Generate business forms, including checks, paychecks, invoices, customer statements, and so forth.
Keep detailed records of key accounts, including cash, accounts receivable (amounts that customers owe a firm), accounts payable (amounts that a firm owes its vendors), inventory items, fixed assets, and so on.
Perform specialized information management functions. For example, in the publishing industry, book publishers often pay authors royalties. So royalty accounting is a task that book publisher accounting systems must typically do.
What QuickBooks 2012 does
Okay, after you understand what accounting does and what accounting systems typically do, you can see with some perspective what QuickBooks does:
Produces financial statements
Generates many common business forms, including checks, paychecks, customer invoices, customer statements, credit memos, and purchase orders
Keeps detailed records of a handful of key accounts: cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and inventory in simple settings
QuickBooks does three of the four things that you would expect an accounting system to do. QuickBooks doesn't supply the specialized accounting stuff. For example, QuickBooks doesn't do royalty accounting.
What QuickBooks 2012 doesn't do
So, QuickBooks does three of the four things that accounting systems do, but it doesn't do everything. QuickBooks is often an incomplete accounting solution. Be careful, therefore, about setting your expectations. You also, typically, need to figure out workarounds for some of your special accounting requirements.
QuickBooks gives users and businesses a lot of flexibility. So, returning to the previous example, a book publisher can do much of what it needs to do for royalty accounting in QuickBooks. This royalty accounting work simply requires a certain amount of fiddling as the business is setting up QuickBooks.
However, QuickBooks (or at least the most popular versions of QuickBooks) does suffer from a couple of significant weaknesses:
QuickBooks Pro doesn't supply a good way to handle the manufacture of inventory. However, QuickBooks Premier and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions do support simple manufacturing accounting. (These versions of QuickBooks help you account for the process of turning raw materials into finished goods.)
Only QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions handles the situation of storing inventory in multiple locations. In other words, QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Premier simply show, for example, that you have 3,000 widgets. It doesn't let you keep track of the fact that you have 1,000 widgets at the warehouse, 500 widgets at store A, and 1,500 widgets at store B.
In spite of the fact that QuickBooks may be an incomplete solution and may not handle inventory the way you want or need, QuickBooks is still a very good solution. What QuickBooks does, it does very well. Consider the fact that QuickBooks will be around for a long, long time.
It's far more likely that an accounting software product with 600 users, for example, will be discontinued rather than a product like QuickBooks, which has 4,000,000 customers.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
S. Korea mistakenly fires machine gun near border with N. Korea
Floods in Pakistan: looming humanitarian crisis
By Imran Khalid
"I have never seen climate carnage on the scale of the floods here in Pakistan. As our planet continues to warm, all countries will increasingly suffer losses and damage from climate beyond their capacity to adapt. This is a global crisis, it demands a global response," wrote U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a tweet at the end of his two-day solidarity trip to Pakistan.
This tweet encompasses the whole situation. Unquestionably, the recent visit by Guterres is expected to help Pakistan greatly in highlighting the devastating impact the recent floods have had on the country. The 33 million people impacted by the catastrophic floods, which have caused an estimated $30 billion worth of damages, cannot be explained in words.
The scale of the colossal devastation is unimaginable. More than half a million houses in Pakistan were reported damaged or destroyed in early September, with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reporting that more than 1.17 million houses have been damaged and nearly 566,000 destroyed as of Sept. 8.
The devastation is of biblical proportions. The NDMA reports that some 33 million people have been affected by the heavy rains and floods and it has officially declared 81 districts as "calamity-hit:" 32 in Balochistan, 23 in Sindh, 17 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, six in Gilgit-Baltistan and three in Punjab. Some 664,000 people are reportedly living in relief camps. Many more are reportedly living with host communities.
This data shows the numbers only and it does not explain the actual human tragedy that is being witnessed in each household affected by these massive floods and horrendous monsoon rains. No estimate can capture even a fraction of the human cost of the tragedy that continues to unfold in the affected parts of the country. These unusual and unprecedented floods are directly correlated to the changing climate patterns due to greenhouse gases being emitted by industrialized nations.
Against this backdrop, a sense of injustice is being seriously felt in many countries. Pakistan contributes less than 1 percent of the global greenhouse gases, which are raising the temperature of our planet, but its geography makes it extremely vulnerable to climate change. Even Guterres has articulated his assessment that there is "no memory of anything similar to what has happened with the impact of climate change in Pakistan."
Global warming is making air and sea temperatures rise, leading to more evaporation. Warmer air can hold more moisture, making monsoon rainfall more intense. Scientists predict that the average rainfall in the summer monsoon season will increase due to climate change. But Pakistan has something else that makes it susceptible to the effects of climate change ― its immense glaciers. With 7,253 known glaciers, the highest amount outside the polar region.
That's why it is sometimes called "the third pole." Those glaciers feed rivers that account for about 75 percent of the stored-water supply in a country of at least 220 million people. But global warming has intensified the melting process of these glaciers, a situation that has further aggravated the worst floods in Pakistan this century. The intense heat also melted glaciers in the northern mountainous regions, increasing the amount of water flowing into tributaries, which eventually makes its way into the Indus River.
So, Pakistan is suffering through no fault of its own. Global warming is the main culprit that has brought about the devastation in the country. The real challenge for Pakistan ― and the international community ― will be based on how to deal with this massive devastation and the looming humanitarian crisis. Guterres is making very sincere efforts to mobilize the international community to help Pakistan in tackling this unforeseen catastrophe.
Pakistan and the United Nations have joined hands to launch the 2022 Pakistan Floods Response Plan with an appeal for $160 million for flood-hit people so as to provide them relief and rehabilitate them, which is still very little compared to estimated damages of $30 billion. Many countries and organizations are engaged in humanitarian assistance for the flood-hit people in Pakistan.
In addition to this, Pakistani people, known for their philanthropy and generosity, are making all-out efforts to provide relief goods to their fellow citizens in flood-stricken areas. Innumerable charitable organizations, philanthropist individuals as well as the armed forces are working together to provide relief goods to the affected people. For a cash strapped-country, these floods have created huge economic problems.
The restructuring and rehabilitation of one-third of Pakistan needs massive and generous support from the international community, which is still missing. Yes, some countries have started sending relief goods, but that is too small to create any impact, they are minuscule in relation to the level of damage. The volume of international support is very disappointing, factually speaking.
Despite the vehement and emotional appeals by Guterres, there is very little awareness about the significant flood damage in Pakistan. The international community needs generously to give debt relief and financial assistance to help Pakistan come out of this humanitarian and economic crisis quickly.
A gigantic uphill task lies ahead both for the Pakistan government and the international community, as well as for charitable organizations, philanthropists and Pakistan's friends, for the rehabilitation of the people. There is a need for a holistic plan with a multi-pronged approach covering the thematic clusters of food security, agriculture, health, education, nutrition, shelter, sanitation and hygiene.
Guterres did not mince words while appealing for generous financial support for recovery and relief operations and rehabilitation of the affected people and damaged infrastructure. The international community and the U.N. need to come forward with a tangible and sustainable solution to support Pakistan in these testing times. Pakistan is a resilient nation, but it needs reassurance from the international community regarding support and assistance in order to recuperate from this disaster quickly.
Dr. Imran Khalid (immhza6@gmail.com) is a freelance contributor based in Karachi, Pakistan.


Further Comments: A tall headless figure is said to haunt the valley during the winter months.
Further Comments: A woman who lived here died after giving birth to two sons, although she had time to make her husband promise not to remarry. This promise he failed to keep, and shortly after the wedding his former wife came home post mortem. She was seen by the children's nanny and the sound of her silk dress heard along the corridors. The family locked up the drawing room as it was the ghost's favourite place to manifest. Eventually the rector of the parish banished the ghost to a cupboard which was then boarded up, although sometimes the former wife could be heard behind the planks.
Further Comments: Slowly walking along carrying a coffin, this group of phantoms appear to have lost their heads.
Further Comments: To spot the phantom funeral procession is said to bring bad luck or death (or both!).
Further Comments: This rocky pile was once said to be home to fairies and witches, and it concealed a massive wealth of treasure within.
Further Comments: Said to have been seen a number of times, this road was the haunt of an old woman who would zigzag along holding an old lantern. She would vanish next to a field.
Further Comments: This black hound, known locally as tchen Bodu, is seen as a death omen for either the witness or someone close to them.
Further Comments: A line of soldiers wearing grey uniforms walking along this road are said to be occupying German forces from the Second World War.
Further Comments: La Braye du Valle was once a tidal channel, crossable only by using two stone bridges. Over the years, a number of people slipped from the bridges and drowned, leaving their ghosts to haunt the area. Le Pont St Michel was additionally haunted by a 'feu bellenger', or Will-o-the-Wisp, and the cries of someone in distress.
Further Comments: A phantom white hare was said to manifest when storms rolled through the area.
Further Comments: Leading a white goat with a rope, this phantom man hasn't been reported for quite a while.
Further Comments: Little was known about this phantom until adjustments were made to the road and a coffin discovered containing large human bones. When properly buried the ghost never returned..
Further Comments: The sounds of wailing and crying, thought to be linked to a past murder, would cause people to avoid this area at night, until a man armed with a bible spent the night on the beach. He wouldn't say what happened, other than reassure people the sounds would never return.
Further Comments: All members of this ghostly funeral procession were said to be headless.
Further Comments: The ghostly figure wearing a long grey coat was named as Matthew De Sausmarez, a former owner of the manor. The road running alongside the manor was another area haunted by a black dog.
Further Comments: Several phantoms are said to haunt this former German building, including a ghostly soldier and a lady. Disembodied voices have also been reported (and recorded). In 2008 a photograph was taken which some believe show a spirit, although it is more likely to be a result of a long exposure and camera shake.
Further Comments: Mr Blondel left instructions that on his deathbed the church bell should be tolled to show his passing. However, when Blondel died the bell remained silent, so his ghost took to climbing the church tower and throwing crockery around in the rectory kitchen. Thirteen members of clergy gathered and locked the ghost in a cupboard.
Further Comments: Riding white horses, three figures were said to gallop loudly down the hill.
Further Comments: Local legend says this college is home to a phantom Nazi soldier and, perhaps more tongue in cheek, to a student who was accidently locked in the library over the summer holidays and starved to death.
Further Comments: Over a period of nine months, a shadowy entity had manifested six times to one witness. The entity would hover over the witness and touch her right arm before vanishing. Two visiting mediums had said that the entity was either a sailor or pirate who had once lived on the site.
Further Comments: This phantom older woman, wearing old fashioned clothing was observed in the area of the former garden by a nearby house owner, whose own home in turn was haunted by a tall cloaked man.
Further Comments: Prior to Victor Hugo moving into the property, this house was empty due to the belief that the ghost of a woman who committed suicide haunted it.
Further Comments: A man decided to follow a female phantom who was known locally for walking through the area at night, who would stop to wring her before vanishing. The man marked the spot where she disappeared and returned the following day. Digging at the spot with friends, they discovered the skeleton of a baby. When the bones were buried in a churchyard, the ghost never returned.
Further Comments: Children would be told that this 350 centimetre tall stone was a giant's cricket bat, thrust into the earth after the another giant refused to fetch the ball. One story says the site is also haunted by an old woman manifesting on moonlit nights.
Further Comments: Several headless people are said to hurry up and down this lane during the winter months.


text:
Survivor Meets Agatha Christie
By: Lucy Foley
As a child, I loved playing the game Clue. I remember being invited to a Clue themed party in third grade and how disappointed I was because I had to play the part of Professor Plum, dressing up as him for the party – pipe and all. To this day, my children and I play this game often and watch the movie from 1985 starring Tim Curry as the Butler and Lesley Ann Warren as the infamous Miss Scarlett. As a child, I always wanted to be Miss Scarlett, but so did every little girl. No one wanted to be the matronly Mrs. Peacock and certainly not Professor Plum. 35 years later, the game still provides so much entertainment for my family. Who doesn't like to try and solve a mystery? Clue is suspenseful enough to keep us on our toes without being too scary.
If you are a fan of Clue, you will absolutely love The Guest List, by Lucy Foley. This highly entertaining whodunit invites readers to take part in a wedding that is set on a brooding and mysterious island off the coast of Ireland. Jules, the bride is a beautiful and successful magazine owner. Will, the groom, is the star of a reality TV show called Survive the Night. Their wedding is the event of the season. Every detail has been carefully orchestrated down to the perfect wedding cake that was brought over by boat, piece by piece. The narrators of this story are the bride, the mate of honor's plus one, the best man, the wedding planner, the bridesmaid, and the dead body. On page one of the book, you learn that a murder has been committed, and the big question is who dies? Your job as the reader is to figure out who died, and of course what was the killer's motive?
Will, is movie-star handsome and dresses like he stepped out of Saville Row in London. He was raised with a perfect pedigree and educated at all the "right" schools. His father was the Headmaster of Trevellyan, the boarding school that Will and his 4 groomsmen attended. The television show that he now stars in, is based on a game that they played at Trevellyan called Survivor. As the story goes on, you come to discover that this is no ordinary childhood game. Their experiences more closely resembled Lord of the Flies where only the strong survive.
Jules, the beautiful and successful bride has her best friend from childhood, Charlie perform her "mate of honor" duties. Charlie taught Jules to sail when she was younger, and still may be in love with her despite the fact that he is married to Hannah, his plus one. Hannah can't be too happy about their close relationship.
Olivia is Jules' younger half-sister. She spends most of the weekend in her room or walking out by the bog staring at the sea. Olivia has always been their mother's favorite and because of this, there is deep animosity between the sisters.
Johnno, Will's best man and former classmate, has always been a little bitter because he was on scholarship at Trevellyan and the boys never let him forget it. Now in his 30s, he still hasn't managed to get his life together and clearly holds some resentment towards Will who seems to have it all.
Aoife, the wedding planner, owns the Folly, the stately castle-like structure on the island. She has purchased it in hopes of it becoming an exclusive wedding destination for the wealthiest jet setters. While we don't know her connection to the island, we know that she has been coming since she was a child and has a very dark and mysterious secret. She is married to Freddy, her partner and chef, who seems like a very creepy guy.
What seems like the perfect wedding weekend, in the perfect setting, is actually a gathering of old friends who still hold strong feelings, deep resentments, and secrets that have never been shared. As the champagne is popped, and alcohol starts to loosen people's tongues, long-buried tensions start to emerge staging the perfect setting for a crime. While the island is beautiful, mysterious, and remote, it also holds secrets from a dark past of disappearances, drownings, and deaths, setting the stage for a deep and dark mystery.
As in the game of Clue, Foley, has planted several hints throughout each narrator's story, so that you will try and solve the puzzle on your own. But she is very good at throwing you off the trail. In the glittering, high society crowd of 150 guests, anyone could be a suspect.
You will get a strong sense of each of the characters while being thoroughly entertained throughout! This is a quick page-turner and an easy read. Take it with you to the beach or pop it in your bag for a great vacation read.
How To Cope During Times of Crisis
Another Whodunit
From Illinois to Paris - A Life of Lies and Deception in the Art World


12 College Admission Essays That Worked. 7. Jeremy: Yeah, I'm fine. Just puttin' myself together. I think I've got a good idea for a college application essay . . . -- END--. Visit www.how-to-write-college-essay.com for tips and step-by-step methods to write a winning college application essay.
College Admissions Essay: Writing Tips. By USFSM Learning Support Services (10/2012). ❖. 3 Types of Questions. ➢ Who are you? • The school wants to know you better. • How you choose to present yourself. • Reveal your personality, insight, and commitment. • Find one or two things that reveal your best qualities.
Sample College Admissions Essays. We have prepared this handout of actual essays written by current Harvard students who attended secondary schools in the UK (with ... that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response.".
Tips for a Great College Essay. Why write an essay? The purpose of the essay is to convince admission officers whom you've never met, in less than ten minutes, that you would be a good match for their colleges. At the most basic level, it allows admission officers to evaluate your communication and writing skills.
MBA ESSAYS. Gateway to your dream schools. Poonam Tandon. CEO, myEssayReview. - Written by students who were accepted into top 20 schools ..... MER students with scores between 610 and 680 have secured admission to schools such as Kellogg,. Booth, ISB ..... to get into a good college for undergraduate studies.


Please call our facility or stop in to make an appointment. In order to make your visits as convenient as possible we ask that you provide us with your physician referral, insurance information and a completed patient information packet. This will allow us to verify your insurance benefits and contact you with your financial responsibilities and allow our office to maintain a continuum of care that is seamless. We have provided our insurance information sheet and patient information sheet below for your convenience.
New patients are welcomed into our facility. You are a valued customer and we would like you to be a member of our community. If there is anything that we can do to make your visits with us more enjoyable, please let us know. We seek to exceed your expectations!


– Roadwork will occur on Freedom Boulevard this summer (from 200 N to Bulldog) but there is no room for lanes. The Committee has proposed putting lanes in on 100 West (from 800 N to Center) where there is plenty of width so on-street parking would not be impacted.
That's it. Enjoy the ride–it will be safer and more pleasant thanks to Engineering and the efforts of the Committee.
Post by Aaron Skabelund, Chair of the Provo Bicycle Committee. Thanks to Joli for the new lane photography.
This entry was posted in Provo Bicycle Projects, Provo Bike Committee by Jamie. Bookmark the permalink.
I wonder where the bike lanes will go on Canyon Drive south of 2230 North. Those car lanes seem to extend right up to the curbs on either side with no room for expansion.


text:
THE SECOND WAVE CRISIS: HOW THE DELHI HIGH COURT IS DEALING WITH THE GOVERNMENT MISMANAGEMENT
Legal news and UpdatesApril 30, 2021
Written by: Sagar Rana (Intern)
The Delhi High Court, on 26th April 2021, brought back a disposed-of petition filed by advocate Rakesh Malhotra related to Covid-19 testing's and infrastructure, stating that the virus has raised its "ugly head" once again. The court said the pandemic is raging with much greater intensity and it is apparent that the healthcare infrastructure is at the stage of impending collapse.
Taking a special note of the trouble of daily wagers and migrant labourers, the high courtrecalled the State's failures during the last year's migrant crisis. It, therefore, directed the government to utilise the available money with the board constituted under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1996 to provide medicines, food and other necessities to construction workers.
On 27th April 2021, The Delhi High Court hauled up the Aam Aadmi Party led government in the Delhi over its management of the Covid-19 crisis, stating that its confidence was shaken by the government's reaction and that if the government cannot manage the situation, the court will ask the Centre to step in.
The division bench of Justices Rekha Palli and Vipin Sanghi said, "Set your house in order. Enough is enough. If you cannot manage it, tell us, and then we will ask the central government to send their officers in and do it. We will ask them to take over. We cannot let people die like this,"
The court also noted that the government has failed to check the alleged mismanagement in the distribution of medical oxygen and widespread black marketing of oxygen cylinders and essential Covid-19 drugs in Delhi. The court asked the Delhi government to take over Seth Air Products, a cylinder-supplying unit in Dwarka, which, it said, could be resorting to such practice of black marketing. It also wanted a report from the state government on the deaths in hospitals resulting because of oxygen shortage.
On 28th April 2021, the Delhi High Court objected to a so-called "change" by the Centre Government in the COVID treatment protocol related to Remdesivir use amid a shortage of the drug. The court showing its dissatisfaction stated the said change in protocol is wrong and a complete non-application of mind because of the fact that under the protocol being followed now only patients on oxygen support were being given Remdesivir which means that those people who do not have oxygen will not get Remdesivir either. Justice Prathiba M Singh remarked, "It appears you want people to die." The court also said it will consider later whether a medical committee should review if the protocols or guidelines for administering Remdesivir need any modification.
The Centre, on the allocation of the drug to Delhi, told the court that over 52,000 vials, out of the allocated amount of 72,000, were sent to the national capital till April 27. It said the allocation was being made on account of the actual caseload of a state. However, the courtsaid the allocation cannot be so low for Delhi. The Centre then said that in the coming days the allocation would increase as there would be a rise in production.


Lord Elliott of Morpeth: My Lords, I intervene not to deal with the matter of fallen stock—with which my noble friend Lady Byford dealt well, and about which I have a great deal of sympathy as a countryman—but to thank the Minister for introducing the code and express a full appreciation of it.
A long time ago, in another place, I was chairman of the Select Committee on Agriculture. In that capacity, I presided over a full inquiry into intensive methods of food production. That is not a pleasant memory. I still remember certain parts of that inquiry with dismay. Some of my noble friends have today suggested that some of the interim legislation may have been unnecessary. I disagree. We have come a long way since that distressing experience. I warmly welcome the code of recommendations.
I shall comment on only two aspects. The code includes suggestions on handling of cattle—on tolerance, patience, pressure and noise. I can fully recall the terror of animals born and reared in the peace of the countryside suddenly knowing the turmoil of a cattle market.
A long time ago, as an officer of a National Farmers Union county branch, I was partly responsible for an attempt to introduce a fatstock marketing board. That would have meant animals for slaughter going straight from farm to slaughter point. Unfortunately, commercial arguments defeated that idea, but I welcome paragraph 14 on page seven, on handling. I also welcome recommendations on accommodation made on pages 17 to 19.
Having felt deeply about animal welfare ever since I presided over that inquiry years ago, I hope that the recommendations in the code will be fully appreciated by the industry. I hope that they will also be fully noted and implemented. I warmly welcome the code.
Lord Plumb: My Lords, I fully support the comments of my noble friend Lady Byford and the questions that she posed. She need make no apology for taking 15 minutes to pose those questions and make those points, because they are all extremely relevant to the situation as seen by stock owners throughout the country.
As your Lordships may know, I have spent a major part of my life concerned with the welfare of farmers and farming families. I was born into a family of stock keepers—dairymen, beef keepers, pig keepers and keepers of sheep and poultry. I was therefore brought up fully accepting the five freedoms listed in the preface to the code of recommendations, but no stock man in this country worth his or her salt needs telling in 150 paragraphs that without good management and appropriate welfare, stock will suffer and so will the business.
Stock owners could add a sixth freedom to the five listed: freedom from inspectors who may arrive at feeding or milking time, causing mental suffering to both stock and stock men. I have experience of such occasions and of appalling ignorance by some inspectors who call at certain times, interfering with the general management of the stock.
I am of course aware that, as my noble friend said, consultation on the code has taken place over a considerable time—certainly for more than a year. It is difficult to believe that anyone feels that he must necessarily approve all the recommendations or to understand why we are being asked to rubber-stamp them now, when change takes place at all times. Their enforcement is inconceivable and reprehensible.
However, in parts, the report is so elementary that, frankly, a 10 year-old could have written it. It does not bring us up to date with modern techniques and modern farming. It repeats some codes to which we have become accustomed. I am sure that other noble Lords will mention the issue of fallen stock. I make no apology for raising it or returning to various points.
What scientific basis is there for accepting a change in the rules for disposing of fallen stock? The way in which fallen stock is disposed of has been in place since time immemorial. In the 1960s I served on the foot and mouth inquiry. We made it absolutely clear from scientific evidence that we had then—I see no reason to change—that burial was far safer than burning. Therefore, in practical terms, why change? If there is some science behind that recommendation, can we be assured that it has been reviewed by other scientists with knowledge equal to or better than some of the scientists involved in recommending such drastic and costly change—change, incidentally that is bound to impinge on the cost of living for every man, woman and child who is a consumer?
from the associated ground water? If there were reported problems from that route, were any steps taken to correct the matter? If so, what were they?
In the unfortunate event of the proposed rules being enacted, what steps will be taken to prevent fluid, possibly from diseased carcasses that are already in a collection vehicle, contaminating country lanes and main highways? More particularly, what steps will be taken to prevent disease from carcasses contaminating farm premises when a collection vehicle has arrived and is parked on the farmyard or must cross land, perhaps SSSI land, to collect a carcass? Milk collection has been a factor in the possible spread of disease. Yet lorries picking up fallen stock will have to pass to collect carcasses. I remind the Government that we supported them when they talked of the need for vigilance and heightened awareness of bio-security.
As I understand it, it is proposed that all fallen stock on the farm will be subject to the change, and a consequence of that law is that it will include even sheep. We are dealing with cattle now, but let us not forget that any sick animal will crawl away as far as it can across the holding, common or wherever it is to die. That is one of the problems affecting the collection of animals.
Mercifully, BSE did not reach anything like the epidemic proportions that some forecast. There was concern that it might even spread to sheep. The level of BSE in the population is already declining to an extremely low figure, presumably as a consequence of action already taken. So, given the seriously flawed prediction and the sharply declining incidence, what logic is there in taking those wildly expensive and disruptive steps to further curtail a condition that by all available yardsticks already appears well under control?
Many of the recommendations, therefore, are contrary to the restriction of the spread of disease. Quite rightly, we still have rules in place for foot and mouth disease and many others. I am not opposed to recommendations that ensure stock are kept healthy and so on. But some proposals, particularly on fallen stock, are unworkable and contrary to the Animal Health Act.
Lord MacGregor of Pulham Market: My Lords, I, too, wish to discuss the issue that my noble friends Lord Plumb and Lady Byford raised about fallen stock. I am grateful to her for putting forward the views and asking the questions that she did. I think it right to do so, because the matter is now of very urgent concern to farmers. So far as I can see, from farmers' point of view, there has been no progress since the code was last debated in this House. Norfolk farmers, including former constituents, have expressed to me concerns about the matter. I know that we are talking about cattle, but the issue was discussed at a very recent large meeting of pig farmers. There was great concern, not to say desperation, among farmers about what they could do in the next four weeks. The points that they raised are also relevant to other stock. I wish to raise three of them.
The first relates to renderers and knackers. Margaret Beckett in another place and others repeated the point that there is sufficient national capacity, but that is not the issue for many farmers. What matters to them is the capacity available to them within a reasonable distance. In Norfolk, certainly, there is now very little capacity for renderers and knackers. The point that my noble friend Lord Plumb makes about bio-security is highly relevant. For example, pig farmers are very concerned that, unless they can be assured that vehicles coming on farm are absolutely OK as regards cleanliness and bio-security, there will be a resurgence of classical swine fever, which did such harm to the pig industry not long ago, foot and mouth disease and so on. Pig farmers have not been reassured about that concern.
"it was my impression that is going out—".
So Margaret Beckett was not clear when the guidance that had been promised for some time would reach farmers. They cannot make decisions about incineration unless they know what that detailed guidance says.
"I believe that some information and guidance is already on the DEFRA website".
Yet all farmers must take decisions by the end of this month. That seems entirely unreasonable.
that will be. Certainly, farmers whose stock is not covered by the schemes are extremely unclear whether or not there is any funding.
I make those brief points because they seem to add up to a situation in which it is completely unreasonable to ask farmers to make decisions in the next three weeks without knowing on what basis they are making them. Farmers want to abide by the law; they certainly do not want to break it, and they are very concerned about the possibility of doing so at the end of this month. That is why I believe that the Government should be pressing within the Commission for a temporary suspension until those issues can be sorted out. I plead that, on practical grounds, the Government consider the matter very seriously.


text:
Q: Postgresql low performance with max and min (wrong index?) I'd appreciate some help here, I'm new with Postgresql and don't fully understand what's happening here.
I have the following table:
history=> select * from last_sales.store01 limit 5;
     item  |  timestamp   |        price
  ---------+---------------+----------------------
 pants001  | 1579686380060 | 168.7500000000000000
 shoes001  | 1579686382376 |   0.0000278500000000
 tshirt001 | 1579686381610 |   0.0194620000000000
 pants001  | 1579686385421 |  18.1308000000000000
 jacket001 | 1579686386952 |   0.0000271400000000

With the following indexes:
history=> SELECT * FROM pg_indexes where tablename='store01';
schemaname  | tablename |                  indexname                 | tablespace |                                                        indexdef
-------------+-----------+-------------------------------------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 last_sales | store01   | store01_item_timestamp_price_key           |            |  CREATE UNIQUE INDEX store01_item_timestamp_price_key ON last_sales.store01 USING btree (item, "timestamp", price)
 last_sales | store01   | store01_item_timestamp_desc_key            |            | CREATE INDEX store01_item_timestamp_desc_key ON last_sales.store01 USING btree (item, "timestamp" DESC)
 last_sales | store01   | store01_item_timestamp_desc_price_key      |            | CREATE INDEX store01_item_timestamp_desc_price_key ON last_sales.store01 USING btree (item, "timestamp" DESC, price)
 last_sales | store01   | store01_price_item_timestamp_desc_key      |            | CREATE INDEX store01_price_item_timestamp_desc_key ON last_sales.store01 USING btree (price, item, "timestamp" DESC)
 last_sales | store01   | store01_price_desc_item_timestamp_desc_key |            | CREATE INDEX store01_price_desc_item_timestamp_desc_key ON last_sales.store01 USING btree (price DESC, item, "timestamp" DESC)
 last_sales | store01   | store01_price_asc_item_timestamp_desc_key  |            | CREATE INDEX store01_price_asc_item_timestamp_desc_key ON last_sales.store01 USING btree (price, item, "timestamp" DESC)
(6 rows)

The table has 5,321,707 entries.
And these are the queries that I'm performing:
history=> explain analyze select max(price) as maxprice from last_sales.store01 where item = 'shoe001' and timestamp >= 1579860457181;
                                                                                QUERY PLAN

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Result  (cost=734.23..734.24 rows=1 width=32) (actual time=2212.094..2212.095 rows=1 loops=1)
   InitPlan 1 (returns $0)
     ->  Limit  (cost=0.56..734.23 rows=1 width=6) (actual time=2212.084..2212.086 rows=1 loops=1)
           ->  Index Only Scan Backward using store01_price_asc_item_timestamp_desc_key on store01 (cost=0.56..173147.88 rows=236 width=6) (actual time=2212.082..2212.082 rows=1 loops=1)
                 Index Cond: ((price IS NOT NULL) AND (item = 'shoe001'::text) AND ("timestamp" >= '1579860457181'::bigint))
                 Heap Fetches: 1
 Planning Time: 8.987 ms
 Execution Time: 2212.129 ms
(8 rows)

And almost the same one but with min, instead of max:
history=> explain analyze select min(price) as maxprice from last_sales.store01 where item = 'pants001' and timestamp >= 1579860457181;
                                                                                QUERY PLAN

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Result  (cost=734.23..734.24 rows=1 width=32) (actual time=1907.985..1907.986 rows=1 loops=1)
   InitPlan 1 (returns $0)
      ->  Limit  (cost=0.56..734.23 rows=1 width=6) (actual time=1907.976..1907.978 rows=1 loops=1)
            ->  Index Only Scan using store01_price_asc_item_timestamp_desc_key on store01 (cost=0.56..173147.88 rows=236 width=6) (actual time=1907.974..1907.975 rows=1 loops=1)
                  Index Cond: ((price IS NOT NULL) AND (item = 'pants001'::text) AND ("timestamp" >= '1579860457181'::bigint))
                  Heap Fetches: 1
Planning Time: 0.227 ms
Execution Time: 1908.015 ms
(8 rows)

I think the performance of both queries, is poor (both around 2k ms). This is a test DB, in an AWS RDS t2.micro, with no activity other than the query.
Also, is using the same index for min and max?

A: First step is to VACUUM ANALYZE the table to make sure the table isn't full of dead tuples and the statistics are up to day.
For a btree index to be maximally efficient, all but one of the conditions on it need to be equality.  You have one equality, one inequality, and one max, which is pretty much the same as an inequality.  Also, all the equality conditions need to be on the leading columns.
The index which is most likely to be most useful is going to put the equality first, so that would be either (item, price, timestamp) or (item, timestamp, price)  You already have the last of those, so try adding the first and see if it gets used.  But, perhaps the last of those really is the best, and the planner is incorrectly not choosing it.  So another thing you can try is dropping the indexes starting with price, and seeing what it does then. Unless your "price" column is mostly NULL, it is hard to see what makes the planner think that this is a good index to use.
PostgreSQL knows how to follow an index either forwards or backwards, so in general it can use the same index for both min and max.

A: The query has to scan the index until it finds an entry that satisfies the WHERE condition, and it seems like there are not too many rows that satisfy the condition (PostgreSQL estimates 236), so this takes a while.
The index only scan makes that fast, because you don't have to read the table, but the index itself will be big (check with \di+ store01_price_asc_item_timestamp_desc_key). Also, perhaps the index is not cached well (use EXPLAIN (ANALYZE, BUFFERS) and set track_io_timing = on to figure out how much time can be gained by caching the index).
I'd say that apart from improved caching, there is not much you can do to make this query faster.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Comprehensive, end-to-end data publishing for local, regional & national government.
Data & stats work hardest when they are connected. To make better-informed policy decisions, to work more efficiently, to design and deliver more innovative services, you need to collect, integrate and analyse data from many sources. PublishMyData is designed specially to link public sector data to the world: Our suite of tools helps you get your data into a well-defined, interconnected, machine-accessible, clearly structured and documented form, ready for analysis and application.
PublishMyData: World-class tools, whether you're a data publisher, consumer or app developer.
Use the data cart to tailor custom downloads combining data from anywhere on the site.
Share data inside and outside the organisation with built-in team workflows for data publishing and review.
Linked data lets you zoom between precise detail and the big picture with context-aware charting.
Automatically-created APIs make your data re-usable by the world.
Out-of-the-box understanding of UK administrative geography puts your data on the map.
Programmable authoring pipelines make uploading new data effortless and repeatable.
[DCLG's PublishMyData site] is an outstanding example of how Open Data can be published, reused and exploited to benefit a wide range of stakeholders. It supports extremely efficient data reuse and integration, and is a gold standard to which others should aspire.
PublishMyData is a complete end-to-end solution: polished end-user site, powerful management interface, performance-tuned graph store, programming interfaces, on-demand software updates and world-leading data modelling consultancy. Best of all, we take care of all the hosting and maintenance and provide technical support as well as an uptime guarantee.
UK administrative geography built-in, with map-based tools.
You have total, autonomous control of the publishing process.
PublishMyData is the favourite linked data publishing software of the UK public sector, powering the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, The Scottish Government, Office for National Statistics and MyNHS open data.
PublishMyData is available on the gov.uk Digital Marketplace (G-Cloud), or direct from Swirrl.


Harsheel Dani lost to Marc Zwiebler  Germany 21-8, 15-21, 21-7.
Harsheel Dani defeated Dmytro Zavadsky  of Ukraine 21-19, 21-16.
Harsheel Dani defeated Jacob Maliekal  of South Africa 16-21, 21-17, 21-7.
K. Nandagopal\Shlok Ramchandran defeated Haktan Doğan [Q]\TUROsman Uyhan of Turkey 21-17, 21-12.
K. Nandagopal\Shlok Ramchandran lost to Kasper Antonsen\Niclas Nohr of Denmark 21-17, 21-17.
Harsheel Dani defeated Kestutis Navickas of Lithuania 21-14, 23-21.
Harsheel Dani defeated Ukraine's Danylo Bosniuk 21-9, 21-13.
Lalitha Dahiya lost to Sashina Vignes Waran  France (Walkover).
K. Nandagopal\Shlok Ramchandran of India defeated Nuh Baskin\Oguzhan Mehmet Celik of Turkey 21-7 21-9.
K. Nandagopal\Shlok Ramchandran defeated Matthew Chau \Sawan Serasinghe of Australia 21-9, 21-16.
Dinesh Chaudhry \Lalita Dahiya lost to Emre Sonmez\Bengisu Ercetin of Turkey (Walkover).
All the Indian Contigents are in the Main Draw.
Akshay Dewalkar & Pranavu Jerry Chopra.
Sikki Reddy & K. Maneesha.
Name of the Tournament: Mersin Turkey International 2015.
Tournament Dates: 17-Dec-2015 to 20-Dec-2015.
Venue of the Tournament: Servet Tazegul Sports Hall.
This entry was posted in Past, Tournaments and tagged Harsheel Dani, K Nandagopal, Lalitha Dahiya, sameer verma, Shlok Ramchandran on December 21, 2015 by krishnakumar.
BAHRAIN: It will be an all-India men's singles final on Sunday at The Victor-Rayan Sports Bahrain International Series Badminton tournament here in Isa Town, Bahrain.
In the semifinals also which was played on Saturday, also saw all the four Indians battling it out for a spot in the summit clash.
Sameer Verma seeded No.1 here, came the better of his practice partner Aditya Joshi 21-14, 21-16.
The two players practice at the Pullela Gopichand badminton Academy.
Aditya's elder brother Pratul Joshi, unseeded here rallied back strongly to shock eighth seed Subhankar Dey 15-21, 21-19, 21-16 to storm into the final. Pratul Joshi overcame Mumbai's Harsheel Dani 21-13, 21-17.
In the women's singles, Indian youngster Saili Rane beat Alesia Zaitsava of Belarus to enter the final.
In the Women's doubles match Poorvishi S. Ram and Sara Sunil pair came the better of Palwasha Bashir and Sara Mohamad 21-14, 21-8 of Pakistan to clinch their title.
This entry was posted in News and tagged Harsheel Dani, Poorvishi S. Ram, Pratul Joshi, Saili Rane, sameer verma, Sara Sunil, Subhankar Dey, The Victor-Rayan Sports Bahrain International Series on November 3, 2015 by krishnakumar.
BAHRAIN: Almost all the Indian Contigents participating in the Victor-Rayan badminton tournament here have their dream run intact against their opponents as most of them winning their respective rounds and moving ahead.
In the Men's Singles matches, Sameer Verma  and Sarang Lakhanee won their respective matches against the Pakistan players. While Sameer Verma  won against Awais Zahid of Pakistan 21-17, 21-12 in straight sets. Sarang Lakhanee won against Murad Ali of Pakistan 21-16, 11-21, 21-10 in the decider.
Other Indian Men's Singles players like Pratul Joshi, Harsheel Dani, Abhishek Yelegar, Subhankar Dey  and Adithya Joshi all won their respective matches to move ahead to the Quarter Finals.
In the Women's Singles match India's Saili Rane  won against Veronika Sorokina of Kazakhstan 21-14, 13-21, 21-18. While Lalitha Dhaiya treired hurt against Li Lian Yang of Malaysia at 10-3.
In the Men's Doubles match Vineeth Manuel and S. Sanjeeth won against Uzbekistan's Amrullo Bakhshullaev , Artyom Savatyugin pair 21-17, 21-13.
This entry was posted in News and tagged Abhishek Yelegar, Bahrain, Harsheel Dani, Isa Town, Pratul Joshi, S. Sanjeeth, Saili Rane, sameer verma, Sarang Lakhanee, Subhankar Dey, Victor-Rayan International Series 2015, Vineeth Manuel on October 31, 2015 by krishnakumar.
Nagpur: In the best-of-five-match final in the West Zone Badminton Championships here, Maharashtra were Down 0-2 but, the hosts gave a brilliant fightback in their next all the three doubles matches to register a memorable victory.
It was Akshay Dewalkar, an international shuttler's persistence approach to put his badminton experience under pressure made Maharashtra rally back strongly to defeat Madhya Pradesh 3-2 to clinch the seniors' title of the West Zone Inter-State Badminton Championship at the DY Patil Indoor Stadium at Nerul in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Dewalkar won both his matches, men's doubles and deciding mixed doubles to clinch the victory against Madhya Pradesh.
MP started off well by winning both their singles matches comfortably. Abhimanyu Singh won against Harsheel Dani of Mumbai in three games, while Shriyanshi Pardeshi won against Neha Pandit of Pune, thus making the score look 2-0.
MP won the Juniors (U-19) title earlier on the same day.
Other semifinals results are Maharashtra won against Goa 3-0, while Madhya Pradesh won the deciding mixed doubles to down Gujarat 3-2.
Maharashtra coach Amrish Shinde quoted, "We should have won both the titles but our juniors missed it narrowly. Akshay played superbly and won both his crucial matches to bail us out," Shinde told TOI soon after the finals.
Seniors: Maharashtra bt MP 3-2 (Harsheel Dani lost to Abhimanyu Singh 18-21, 21-9, 14-21; Neha Pandit lost to Shriyanshi Pardeshi 18-21, 14-21; Akshay Dewalkar/Akshay Raut bt Azad Yadav/Shubham Prajapati 21-7, 21-10; Manasi Gadgil/Vaishnavi Iyer bt Khushboo Patel/Kirti Prasad 21-13, 21-7; Akshay Dewalkar/Revati Devasthale beat Abhimanyu Singh/Shriyanshi Pardeshi 21-12, 21-15).
Juniors: Madhya Pradesh bt Maharashtra 3-2 (Shubham Prajapati bt Arya Bhivapathaki 21-16, 21-12; Shriyanshi Pardeshi bt Mrunmayi Saoji 21-5, 21-11; Pramesh Patidar/Sanjay Thakur lost to Deep Rambhiya/Prasanjeer Shirodkar 21-19, 16-21, 14-21; Kirti Prasad/Sanjveeni Marathe lost to Mrunmayi Saoji/Akshaya Warang 20-22, 13-21; Shubham Prajapati/Shriyanshi Pardeshi bt Aman Sanjay Farogh/Riya Arolkar 21-10, 21-15).
This entry was posted in News and tagged Abhimanyu Singh, Akshay Dewalkar, Akshay Raut, Akshaya Warang, Aman Sanjay Farogh, Arya Bhivapathaki, Azad Yadav, Deep Rambhiya, Harsheel Dani, Khushboo Patel, Kirti Prasad, Manasi Gadgil, Mrunmayi Saoji, Neha Pandit, Pramesh Patidar, Prasanjeer Shirodkar, Revati Devasthale, Riya Arolkar, Sanjay Thakur, Sanjveeni Marathe, Shriyanshi Pardeshi, Shubham Prajapati, Vaishnavi Iyer on October 6, 2015 by krishnakumar.


Who would be interested in meeting?
I know there are at least a couple members in this group now who don't live close enough to meet on a regular basis, but are there any who do? If you are here and interested in meeting, leave a note and maybe we can put something together.
I live about an hour outside of Seattle, and am always up for fellowship.
the last message in this group is already from 2010! wow. where is everybody?
Any way I am living in the heart of Seattle and I don't mind at all to meet with those who want .that too. So make your mind up and let me known who is ready to open her home. I am single, though married, but we don't live together. I have no answers yet what Y_H want me to do or not in matter. any way I can only meet with other females or couples to make that clear. We could also meet at my house though I have only a tiny studio as my home. But it works if more than 4 people wanna come together we can use some of the public rooms in the house , for Torah study for ex.or what ever is on our mind like prayer , worship also in dance. Let me know.
Every Thursday we meet in my home for prayer for our kids and grandkids, 4 female diciples of Yeshua. You are welcome to join us.We meet 4:30 pm for 1-2 hours.
Thank you for your invite, though Tacoma is too far from Seattle. I do not travel on shabbat.


text:
Lophorina minor — вид воробьинообразных птиц из семейства райских птиц (Paradisaeidae). Эндемик острова Новая Гвинея. Ранее считалась подвидом .

Распространена на юго-востоке острова Новая Гвинея на полуострове Папуа, в основном в пределах горных массивов Оуэн-Стэнли и Вартон. Обитает в горных тропических лесах на высоте от 1650 до 1900 м.

Подвидов не образует.

Примечания

Райские птицы
Птицы Новой Гвинеи
Эндемики Новой Гвинеи
Животные, описанные в 1885 году

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Suited Community: People between 18yrs and 60yrs.
Delivery time: we shipped products by EMS. It only takes 3~7days to USA, Austrilia, Canada and UK after confirming the payment!
Price: The more the cheaper!
Storage : Keep in cool, dry and dark conditions.


4 x 12 Heavy Gauge Steel Floor Grill - Brown Discounts Apply !
Classic design steel floor vent made of durable steel makes this the perfect commercial return air grille choice. Tough, thick, steel floor vent has the weight to take on heavy foot traffic. It is constructed with rigid, sturdy steel, yet has a smooth surface with a neutral tan finish to blend into any decor or color scheme. Its surface also features an air flow free area averaging 75%.
Regarding measurements: Please ensure you are measuring the actual size of the floor hole into which this vent will be placed. In order to have the correct vent size, please do not measure the faceplate of the old grille. For instance, if the floor hole size is 4 x 12 inches, purchase a 4 x 12 inch grille. Faceplate dimensions are 5 13/16 x 13 13/16 inches and have an approximate thickness of 3/16 inch. The grille will sit into the hole opening approximately 3/4 inch. See enlarged photo above for grille details.
Top quality item fits like a glove.
Heavy duty and quality paint finish, perfect for any foot traffic area.


Theology teacher Katherine McMichael leads her sophomores through a QiGong movement. The practice focused on taking energy from the five elements on Earth, and is said to allow energy to flow through the body.
WEB EXCLUSIVE Sophomores spent their World Religions class practicing QiGong, an Eastern self-healing practice, to wrap up their unit on Taoism.
QiGong uses a series of slow movements paired with deep breathing rhythms and is a part of ancient Chinese tradition.
McMichael lead sophomores through forms she learned in her own practice of QiGong, with a focus on unblocking the flow of qi (energy) in the body in order to return the mind and body back to balance.
The healing system has deep roots in Taoism and Buddhism, two religions that are a part of the World Religions course, and participating in a part of another culture allows students to have a more real connection to what their learning, according to McMichael.
During the World Religions course, students were offered opportunities to take part in different physical practices of each religion they learned about.


text:
Men's The North Face Bags
Showing 1 Men's The North Face Bags Products
Kids' Thermoball Eco Puffer Jacket, Sizes XXS-XL
There are 1 Men's The North Face Bags available for sale.
Where To Buy Men's The North Face Bags
You can buy Men's The North Face Bags from 3 available retailers.
There are 10 products of Men's The North Face Bags for sale at Bergdorf Goodman.
There are 7 products of Men's The North Face Bags for sale at Neiman Marcus.
There are 1 products of Men's The North Face Bags for sale at MatchesFashion.
Alternatives to Men's The North Face Bags
If you like The North Face, you should explore Men's The North Face Shirts, Men's The North Face Sweats & Hoodies, Men's The North Face Bags, Men's The North Face Underwear & Socks, Men's The North Face Petites, Men's The North Face Outerwear, Men's The North Face Tops, Men's The North Face Pants.
There are 295 other alternative brands that are popular in this category like Men's 8 MONCLER PALM ANGELS Bags, Men's Innerraum Bags, Men's Peter Millar Bags, Men's PS by Paul Smith Bags, Men's C.P. Company Bags.
Men's The North Face Bags are available in the following sizes: XXS. Men's The North Face Bags is also available in the following colors: Black
Men's The North Face Bags are available to buy ranging from $22.00 to $1,850.00, giving you enough of a selection depending on your budget.
Men's The North Face Bags Buying Guide
You want to make sure that you buy the best Men's The North Face Bags. Here are some things to consider while shopping for Men's The North Face Bags:
Taking Care - Consider if there is any special way to take care of Men's The North Face Bags to ensure longer life span with the product.


I am a loving,caring and humbled lady who knows how to take good care of a man who knows what he wants in life. I am a go getter, love cooking,hang around with friends and family,love music and socializing with people.
mmmmmmgk hasn't asked any friends to write a recommendation yet.


Did anyone order at or after 4:30 PM CST and get their phone?
Discussion in 'iPhone' started by britneyfan, Sep 22, 2012.
I haven't. I'm still on backorder.
You ordered comparatively late. What's messy about it?
That's not that late. It hasn't even gone out of backorder.
It's not late in real terms, but with respect to the sheer volume of preorders Apple received it is. I doubt you'll find very many who ordered the same time as you and already received their phones.


text:
'use strict';
const resolve = require('path').resolve;
const sync = require('glob').sync;

/**
 * Require files sync and execute a callback after require
 * @param {string} path the pattern to find the file(s)
 * @param {function} callback an callbck to execute for each file
 */
module.exports = (path, callback = x => x) =>
    sync(path)
      .map((p) => resolve(p))
      .map((p) => require(p))
      .map(callback);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


firstly, take bread slice and spread butter generously.
further, toast the butter side till it turn golden and crisp.
remove the bread slice from the tawa and spread pizza sauce over toasted bread slice.
additionally top with chopped onions, capsicum, jalapeños and olives.
also top with generous amount of grated cheese.
and sprinkle oregano and chili flakes.
cover with a lid and allow to cook on low flame till the cheese melts completely. alternatively you can bake in oven in 500 degrees fahrenheit or 250 degree celsius for about 5-8 minutes.
once the cheese melts immediately cut into slices.
finally, serve bread pizza hot with chilli flakes and oregano on top.
Hi there, this weekend is nice for me, since this time i am reading this fantastic informative paragraph here at my house.


Assassin's Creed III: Soldier's Campaign (#1) - Duration: 5 minutes, 35 seconds.
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (Part 2) - Duration: 10 minutes.
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (Part 1) - Duration: 11 minutes.
Max Payne 3: Part 6 - Duration: 12 minutes.
Max Payne 3: Part 5 - Duration: 10 minutes.
Max Payne 3: Part 4 - Duration: 10 minutes.
Max Payne 3: Part 3 - Duration: 10 minutes.
Max Payne 3: Part 2 - Duration: 10 minutes.
Batman: Arkham City (Part #4) - Duration: 11 minutes.
Batman: Arkham City (Part #3) - Duration: 11 minutes.
Battlefield 3: Part 2 - Duration: 11 minutes.
Batman: Arkham City (Part #2) - Duration: 10 minutes.


text:
Meet Kambi at ICE
Welcome to the partner network, Miami Valley Gaming
Kambi Group plc Q3 Report 2022
Reach new heights with a Kambi career
Kambi CEO, Kristian Nylén, on how the sports betting supplier is evolving its product strategy to lead the industry into a new era.
As we look back at 2022, we want to share some important milestones and news that the Kambi team shared throughout the year.
Jonathon Hurst, Head of Soccer at Kambi, drills down into the popularity of stats bets and the battle for customer retention
Jonathon Hurst, Head of Soccer at Kambi, considers the impact of injury time on betting activity during this year's World Cup.
Jonathon Hurst, Head of Soccer at Kambi, looks at who bettors are backing to win in this year's World Cup
Kambi named Platform Provider of the Year at American Gambling Awards
World's trusted sports betting partner recognised as a leader in the regulated US online sports betting and gaming market
Bet Builder: Improving the sports betting experience
David Bretnitz, Kambi's Senior Director of Sales, sat down to answer some questions about Kambi's award-winning in-event combination product, Bet Builder
Kambi crowned Sportsbook Supplier of the Year at Global Gaming Awards Las Vegas
Kambi kicks off busy G2E week in style after being recognized as the leading B2B sportsbook in the Americas
What it takes to launch a successful online sportsbook in the US
David Bretnitz, Senior Director of Sales, USA at Kambi, on what it takes to launch a successful sportsbook in the States.
A conversation on Kambi's acquisition of Shape Games – KambiCast
A special episode of the Kambicast on the rationale behind the acquisition of Shape Games, including why a combination of Kambi and Shape Games will enable us to deliver greater outcomes for our partners
Q&A: Kambi and Shape Games CEOs on the rationale behind the deal
Kambi has acquired front end specialist Shape Games, a deal which significantly strengthens Kambi's existing front end capabilities and complements its award-winning sportsbook technology.
All news & Insights
Kambi is the leading, independent sportsbook partner to visionary operators worldwide, trusted to provide the tools and insight required to achieve long-term success in regulated markets, as well as offering the ultimate in sports betting technology.
Kambi's unrelenting dedication to sports betting ensures its partners have a market-leading sportsbook to offer their players across retail and online.
Kambi
Kambi was created to improve the sports betting experience for players across the globe. Every day we relish the challenge of developing and maintaining the highest quality sportsbook in the world, maintaining Kambi's record as the industry's only premium B2B sportsbook supplier. To achieve this, we look for the best people in and outside the industry to help us realise a simple belief, that the smallest incremental changes have the power to deliver the biggest impact.
Find out how you can help.
Kambi careers
07 Feb - 09 Feb 2023
Kambi will once again be exhibiting at the European-focused show which consistently draws thousands of professionals from across the full breadth of the global gaming industry. Meet the Kambi team at stand S1-410
Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention 2023
27 Mar - 30 Mar 2023
Kambi will once again be attending the Indian Gaming & Tradeshow Convention. This annual event is both the meeting place where the community gathers to learn, network, and exchange industry-specific ideas, as well as a cultural celebration of success, strength, and self-reliance. The Kambi team will be on hand to provide insight into current sports […]
Listed on Nasdaq First North Growth market in Stockholm


text:
Shale gas lowers power rates during heat wave
While most of the nation east of the Mississippi River copes with its most intense hot weather since 2012, the glut of cheap natural gas from U.S. shale fields has subdued power prices.
Shale gas lowers power rates during heat wave While most of the nation east of the Mississippi River copes with its most intense hot weather since 2012, the glut of cheap natural gas from U.S. shale fields has subdued power prices. Check out this story on commercialappeal.com: https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/money/2016/07/26/shale-gas-lowers-power-rates-during-heat-wave/90572050/
The Commercial Appeal Published 1:47 p.m. CT July 26, 2016
Power prices are keeping their cool during the U.S. heat wave.
Memphis Light Gas and Water Division rate comparisons were not immediately available Tuesday.
PJM Interconnection, which coordinates the movement of wholesale power in 12 states between Chicago and Washington, D.C., said spot on-peak power at its Western hub has averaged about $36 a megawatt-hour in July, down from $65.17 on average during the first 25 days of July 2012, grid data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Average natural gas prices at the hub serving the mid-Atlantic region and New York fell 51 percent to $1.51 per million British thermal units during the same period. Transmission systems also have been upgraded and expanded to ease bottlenecks.
"To help give you an idea of how much a kilowatt hour is, it's equal to ten 100-watt light bulbs burning for one hour, and for our residential customers, it costs only about seven cents," MLGW's website says.
For gas futures, the heat wave is already over. With stockpiles at 3.277 trillion cubic feet as of July 15 — 21 percent above the five-year average — a surge in air conditioning use has had a limited impact on prices.
"If power plants are running and gas supplies are good, prices will be low," Michael Clendenin, a spokesman for Consolidated Edison Inc. in New York, said in an e-mail.
New York has baked at 90 degrees Fahrenheit or higher since July 21 and will remain there through Thursday, the National Weather Service said. The eight days of 90-plus readings would tie for the fifth-longest heat wave in the city since 1869. The longest was 12 days in 1953.
Philadelphia, which is hosting the Democratic national convention, could hit two degrees higher than the old record set in 1899, and Washington could tie a 1930 record of 100 degrees, said Jim Hayes, a meteorologist with the U.S. Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland
"This is a very impressive hot streak for us," Hayes said. "We're certainly going to make a run for the record in Philadelphia."
Across the contiguous 48 states, the U.S. is on track for its third hottest July since 2000 in terms of cooling degree days, said Matt Rogers, president of the Commodity Weather Group in Bethesda, Maryland. Cooling degree days are calculated by subtracting a base of 65 degrees from the daily average temperature.
Read or Share this story: https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/money/2016/07/26/shale-gas-lowers-power-rates-during-heat-wave/90572050/
Candy company Dinstuhl's to open Downtown shop
Amazon lifts FedEx Ground restriction
Here's how Memphis' economy compares to the US economy
Methodist-St. Francis deal may be challenged
UPS plans Memphis hub expansion; $38 million tax break OK'd
Memphis startup Glanris aims to clean wastewater — using rice hulls


[bug#33920] [PATCH] gnu: gauche: Update to 0.9.7 - removed html doc.
Subject: [bug#33920] [PATCH] gnu: gauche: Update to 0.9.7 - removed html doc.
Prev by Date: bug#34097: [PATCH] import: github: Do not update URI for packages	using git-fetch.
Next by Date: bug#33986: [PATCH 1/9] gnu: Add ocaml-sexplib0.
Previous by thread: [bug#33920] [PATCH] gnu: gauche: Update to 0.9.7 - removed html doc.
Next by thread: [bug#33920] [PATCH] gnu: gauche: Update to 0.9.7 - removed html doc.


It was Hiawatha Bray, a columnist for The Boston Globe who writes about information technology, who broke the story, at least in my town. In a column on 3 February this year, he recounted what happened to the Litchfield brothers, a pair of British computer security experts whose company, Next Generation Software, specializes in developing programs to help businesses and governments defend against computer viruses and hackers. Mark and David Litchfield are experts at finding weaknesses in widely used software, and last year they found a bug in Microsoft's SQL Server database software. To establish that the bug could be used to cripple computer networks, David Litchfield wrote an exploit program, a kind of dummy virus. The existence of the bug, a buffer overflow problem, was then communicated to Microsoft, which published a fix in July. Other security experts had already been asking for copies of the exploit program so they could test their own systems and become familiar with this new potential method of attacking networks, and David Litchfield eventually released his code, but only after the patch to fix the program had been published. He thought, quite reasonably, that once the fix was available, SQL Server users would no longer be vulnerable.
He was wrong. On the last weekend in January, the Slammer worm struck. Millions of computers were attacked, and the entire worldwide web was crippled for some time. Businesses are estimated to have lost tens of billions of dollars. It seems that many corporations and individuals hadn't yet bothered to install the patch. And David Litchfield discovered, to his horror, that his code was used as the template for the worm. To be sure, any good programmer could have worked out the code without help, but because of the Litchfields' well-meaning publication of their exploit program, that hadn't been necessary. Now Mark and David Litchfield must decide whether they will ever again publish or distribute their exploit programs. They have received hundreds of e-mails from colleagues begging them to continue releasing such code, because many in the computer business believe that the best way to deal with such weaknesses in widely disseminated programs is to publicize them and make examples widely available. But these colleagues don't have to live with the feelings of responsibility that the Litchfields now have. So from now on, every bug they discover - and they've already found others, in Microsoft's Windows XP and 2000 operating systems - will call for their judgement.
A similar judgement call was made a few weeks ago by the editors of a number of life-science journals, who released a statement of a new policy regarding the publication of reports of scientific research in areas such as microbiology and genomics that could potentially be of use to bioterrorists. The policy, which has received widespread attention, permits the journals to request that experimental details be omitted from papers if, in the view of the editors or a panel of experts (depending on the journal), the information could be misused. In some cases, publication of the work could be embargoed altogether.
The policy has been sharply criticized. The arguments against it would be familiar to the Litchfields: that any form of censorship runs contrary to the spirit of science; that it creates a slippery slope leading to government control; that free exchange of ideas and data represents the best way to anticipate possible misuses of science and technology and to generate the methods to counter them.
The demand for freedom of inquiry and the open exchange of information always wars with the demand for security. While recognizing that absolute security is impossible, governments have a legitimate right - and a duty - to take reasonable steps to protect the lives of their citizens. In a repressive society, such steps are merely part of the general curtailing of liberty. But in a free society the trick is to strike a balance between protection and oppression. There is always a danger, as the witch-hunting excesses of the Cold War remind us, that one can destroy a free society in the name of saving it.
I am completely in agreement with those who worry that this danger is near. The US government has recently shown disturbing tendencies to ignore the fundamental freedoms of its citizens for the sake of what many of us believe is a false sense of security. Other governments are unlikely to resist the temptation at least to control the public's access to information, a goal that many in power have secretly harbored for years.
But I am not in favor of doing nothing. At the heart of many of the objections to the policy of the journal editors, I believe, is a basic sense that the corruption of biology for evil purposes is unlikely. I recognize, and share, the concerns of my colleagues that even self-censorship, as a concept, sets a dangerous precedent. But I wonder if many scientists - who after all tend to have a mostly positive view of human nature as a result of largely associating with other scientists, a class of humanity not known for crimes or acts of violence - have a realistic perspective on the existence of evil.
I once taught a course in the social history of the detective story to a class of extremely bright, well-read college freshmen. As part of the discussion one afternoon, I asked them if they thought that evil existed. Almost to a person, they argued that real evil was a literary abstraction. Historical examples I offered were dismissed as illustrating madness, not evil. The notion that someone could be technically sane yet delight in human suffering and death was something they were neither prepared nor willing to accept. I suspect that many scientists may feel the same way.
Professional writers, whose careers depend on understanding the human condition, tend to be less starry-eyed. Two noted science-fiction authors have explored this subject in stories that are eerily similar. The older story, 'The Supreme Moment', was unpublished during the lifetime of its author, Robert E. Howard, best known for his fantasy tales of Conan the Barbarian. It was eventually published in 1984 in Crypt of Cthulhu magazine #25 and reprinted in The New Howard Reader #1, edited by Joseph W. Marek. The story concerns five wealthy, powerful men who are trying to convince a crippled scientist to save the human race from a fungus that is spreading across the earth, destroying all vegetation. The scientist, Zan Uller, knows how to make a fungicide but refuses to reveal the formula. As a justification, he explains that he had a tormented childhood and a career bedeviled by sabotage from rival scientists, persecution by religious fanatics, and ridicule for his discoveries. His five visitors threaten to force him to reveal the formula by torture, believing it justified to save the planet. Before they can act, to forestall them and to take his vengeance on a world that has given him nothing but misery, Uller commits suicide.
'Judgement Day', by L. Sprague de Camp (who, interestingly, was chosen to complete Howard's unfinished Conan stories after the latter's early death), was published in the August 1955 issue of Astounding Science Fiction magazine and later reprinted by Ballantine Books in The Best of L. Sprague de Camp. A physicist, Wade Ormont, has developed a formula for a nuclear reaction using iron, a cheap, widely available material. If he publishes the details of his discovery, he realizes that the probability is high that someone will eventually use it to destroy the world. Although he doubts that the US government would do that he is convinced that if he turns over his information to them it will eventually become more widely known: as the theft of the atom-bomb secrets proved, nothing can be kept hidden forever. In thoughts that chillingly echo our concerns about rogue states and terrorist organizations with weapons of mass destruction, Ormont decides that sooner or later some 'crackpot' head of state will use this capability to wreak havoc on a planet-wide scale. He then reflects on his own life history. Like Uller in The Supreme Moment, he had a childhood filled with physical and verbal abuse. His marriage failed and most of his other human contacts have been brief and hostile. An attempt at therapy quickly ended when he resented the psychiatrist's description of his personality as schizoid. Now in his mid-50s, enfeebled by a heart condition and with little will to live, he has become thoroughly misanthropic. He guesses that even if he publishes his formula in an obscure place, it would be discovered and used by a madman within a decade or two, and it is unlikely that he would live to see the end of the world. Finally, he reaches a decision: "There is one way I can be happy during my remaining years, and that is by the knowledge that all these bastards will get theirs someday... I hate everybody... I shall write my report."
Both Howard and de Camp recognize that there can be people who are capable of great acts of malice and vindictiveness. It used to be argued that no one would be likely to use a chemical, biological or nuclear weapon since to do so would lead to far too great a risk of the user's own destruction, either through retaliation or the failure to control the damage from one's own use. The advent of suicide bombers and eschatological cults like Aum Shinrikyo should dispel that notion. There are people who would not blanch at the end of the world, or at least the destruction of large parts of it, and who hold their own lives (or, more commonly, the lives of their followers) very cheaply. Some of them are neither so insane as to be incapable of cunning nor so technically inept as to be unable to adapt 'peaceful' discoveries to their own ends. It is true that most of their activities up to now have been of the low-tech kind, and they probably will continue to be for the near future, but it is indisputable that at least some of them have tried to obtain or develop biological weapons, and it seems certain that such attempts will continue.
"We often forget that our actions...can have very real consequences in real life," David Litchfield wrote shortly after the Slammer incident. I think the biological community has to face the fact that software experts - and physicists and chemists - are no longer alone in their nightmares over the possible misuse of their discoveries. Until human evolution, ethically speaking, catches up with technological evolution, we will all have to live with this possibility. The policy adopted by the journal editors seems to me a wise attempt to seize the initiative from those in government who would use the public's increasing fear of biology as a license for repressive control of scientific research and publication. As a community, I think we should adhere to this policy for the time being while continuing to debate its merits and considering alternatives. During these discussions, we will no doubt also be asking ourselves how we would feel, and what the consequences to our profession would be, if one of our publications were to form the blueprint for a terrorist act. If we have trouble imagining the answers, Mark and David Litchfield do not.


Hanoi (VNA) – President Tran Dai Quang has praised the role and effective contributions made by Slovakian Ambassador to Vietnam Igor Pacolak during his tenure in Vietnam, describing it as one of the important factors to enhance Vietnam-Slovakia friendly and cooperative ties.
During a reception in Hanoi on August 29 for the outgoing ambassador, President Quang suggested the two sides further uphold the role of the Vietnam-Slovakia Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation, increase the exchange of visits by ministries, agencies and businesses, and promote trade and investment to further lift two-way trade in the coming years.
President Quang urged Slovakia to continue supporting and fostering the comprehensive cooperative partnership between Vietnam and the European Union (EU), prompt the early signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and recognise Vietnam as a market economy.
Vietnam is ready to assist Slovakia in boosting ties with ASEAN and its member states, he said, adding that the country promises all possible optimal support to Slovakian firms to seek business opportunities in the country.
President Quang recommended Slovakian enterprises to invest in the fields where Vietnam has huge demand such as renewable energy, infrastructure, environmental protection, food processing, and food safety and hygiene.
The President wished that the Slovakian government would continue creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese nationals to integrate into the host country, thus helping to increase mutual understanding between the two nations.
The State leader also expressed his hope that, with his experience and understanding about Vietnam, the ambassador would continue serving as a bridge to propel Vietnam-Slovakia ties forward.
Pacolak, for his part, said during his tenure in Vietnam, the two countries has seen more than 30 visits from the deputy ministerial level upwards and signed about 20 cooperation agreements. Vietnam currently ranks 14th in the list of Slovakia's trade partners.