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Coronavirus in Tennessee: Nashville reports 46 new cases, one new death
We'll have the latest news on the fight against the coronavirus in Tennessee below — as always, for free, because we want to share this vital information with our community. To support our mission, please consider subscribing.
WEEKLY CORONVAIRUS COLUMN:Tennessee is paying the price for a politicized pandemic
CLOSE TO HOME:TN reporter tracked months of COVID-19 deaths — then counted her grandmother among them
FROM THE FRONTLINES:TN doctor describes testing, telehealth and an 'hour-to-hour tension' amid virus
SPECIAL REPORT:Where Trump got more votes, fewer get vaccinated
Nashville reports 46 new cases, one new death
The Nashville Metro Public Health Department reported 46 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours Friday, including both probable and confirmed cases.
One new confirmed death was reported in the last 24 hours: a 58-year-old man with underlying health conditions. So far, 907 people in Davidson County have died of COVID-19, including both confirmed and probable cases.
There are currently 1,117 active cases in Davidson County. MPHD announced a total of 98,513 cases in Davidson County. Of those cases, 96,489 individuals are now considered inactive or recovered.
Currently, 12% of hospital beds in Middle Tennessee are available and 16% of ICU beds are available.
Drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site closed after storm damage
Nashville's drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site on Murfreesboro Pike will be closed Friday due to damage from severe storms this week. The city's two drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites at Meharry Medical College and Nissan Stadium will operate normally from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tennessee reports 1,187 new cases, 17 new deaths
The Tennessee Department of Health announced 1,187 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours on Thursday. To date, there have been 852,072 coronavirus cases reported as confirmed or probable in the state.
Tennessee reported 17 new deaths in the last 24 hours. In all, 12,245 people have died in the state as a result of the virus.
There are currently 803 people hospitalized in connection to the coronavirus in Tennessee. The state reported 828,499 people have recovered so far.
Approximately 7.73 million total tests for COVID-19 have been administered.
TDH noted that hospitalization data may be subject to a 24 hour delay.
Nashville reports 47 new cases, no new deaths
The Nashville Metro Public Health Department reported 47 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours Thursday, including both probable and confirmed cases.
No new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. So far, 906 people in Davidson County have died of COVID-19, including both confirmed and probable cases.
Tennessee reports 907 new cases, 11 new deaths
The Tennessee Department of Health announced 907 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours on Wednesday. To date, there have been 850,885 coronavirus cases reported as confirmed or probable in the state.
The Nashville Metro Public Health Department reported 11 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours Wednesday, including both probable and confirmed cases.
One new confirmed death was reported in the last 24 hours: a 73-year-old woman with underlying health conditions.
So far, 906 people in Davidson County have died of COVID-19, including both confirmed and probable cases.
The Tennessee Department of Health announced 542 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours on Tuesday. To date, there have been 849,978 coronavirus cases reported as confirmed or probable in the state.
Approximately 7.7 million total tests for COVID-19 have been administered, including 8,522 new tests reported in the last 24 hours.
The Nashville Metro Public Health Department reported 31 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours Tuesday, including both probable and confirmed cases.
Nashville COVID-19 drive-thru vaccine, testing centers closed due to weather
Nashville's two drive-thru COVID-19 testing centers will be closed due to inclement weather on Tuesday, the Office of Emergency Management announced. The drive-thru vaccination clinic also sustained damage during severe storms and is closed Tuesday.
Tennessee reports 436 new cases, two new deaths
The Tennessee Department of Health announced 436 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours on Monday. To date, there have been 849,436 coronavirus cases reported as confirmed or probable in the state.
Tennessee reported two new deaths in the last 24 hours. In all, 12,205 people have died in the state as a result of the virus.
Approximately 7.7 million total tests for COVID-19 have been administered.
Nashville reports 195 new cases, no new deaths in last 72 hours
The Nashville Metro Public Health Department reported 195 new coronavirus cases in the past 72 hours Monday, including both probable and confirmed cases.
Music City Center vaccination clinic to start phasing out this week
Nashville will begin phasing out its Music City Center coronavirus vaccination site on Friday. The move comes as demand drops off for vaccinations, the Metro Public Health Department said.
The site will offer the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine through May 7, then solely offer second doses of the Pfizer vaccine through May 28, officials said. This will assure that everyone who starts their vaccination process at Music City Center can complete it there.
Up to 1,000 walk-in slots are open each day, along with reserved appointments. Those who wish to reserve an appointment at Music City Center can visit covid19.nashville.gov or call the city's COVID-19 hotline at 615-862-7777.
COVID-19 vaccines are also increasingly available at doctor's offices, pharmacies and retail locations like CVS, Walmart and others. More options can be found at vaccinefinder.org.
From the weekend
Tennessee reports 958 new cases, nine new deaths
The Tennessee Department of Health announced 958 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours on Friday. To date, there have been 847,430 coronavirus cases reported as confirmed or probable in the state.
Tennessee reported nine new deaths in the last 24 hours. In all, 12,197 people have died in the state as a result of the virus.
Approximately 7.66 million tests for COVID-19 have been administered, including 15,450 new tests reported in the last 24 hours.
Nashville reports 62 new cases, two new deaths


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Media Hour Ltd is a Vermont based nonprofit founded in 2020 by artist Chelsea Knight and developed in conversation with fellow artist Zacry Spears. Media Hour seeks to foster media literacy and support the production of video and media works by artists and community members interested in video production.
Media Hour currently invites artists to reside at the Media Hour studio in Sunderland VT each summer, to produce a television program that airs on local cable access television. Each resident creates one television show, with the technical and educational support of our facility, equipment and production planning. The programs become part of a TV series and Media Hour archive that will air around the state, be exhibited in an art context, and also will be hosted at Media Hour for yearly public screening series. We want to bring increased artistic content to public television around the state, and to engage residents - some of whom will not have prior video experience - in media production. Starting spring 20223 residents will be chosen through a juried application process.
Media Hour received generous grants from The Vermont Women's Fund and the Vermont Arts Council in 2022. We are launching a new education initiative this winter, sponsored by Bennington College.
FEMMETECH
Support for Media Hour provided by:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


London Symphony is a brand new silent film – a city symphony – which offers a poetic journey through the capital. It is an artistic snapshot of London as it stands today, and a celebration of its rich diversity of culture, architecture and religion.
Director Alex Barrett presents his silent paean to London. A poetic journey shot in black and white which takes in around 300 locations across every borough in the capital, quietly celebrating its culture and diversity in the 21st Century.
It also features a specially written score by James McWilliam.
We will screen a short film beforehand similarly called "A London Symphony" from 1955 which we feel is a fantastic companion piece to the main feature.
Nominated for Best British Film at the International Edinburgh Festival in 2017 and winner of four awards in Silent London 2017 poll.
Q&A after the film with director Alex Barrett in conversation with broadcaster John Flannery.


Using Smead 3-in-1 SuperTab section folders gives your business space an easy way to stay organized. The folders feature pockets with Lockit technology, so you can securely subdivide multiple documents within a single file folder.
3 interior pockets safely hold documents, photos and certificates for secure transport while keeping the materials readily accessible.
2 pockets hold letter-size documents and 1 pocket holds smaller items.
Pockets are closed on 2 sides for easy document insertion. A Lockit flap folds over to prevent documents from falling out.
Folders are made of 11 point stock.


Shropshire is home to a broad range of still and flowing aquatic habitats many of which support breeding populations of Dragonflies. Some local habitats support endangered or near threatened species and are therefore of national importance.
The varied aquatic habitats found within our borders are listed below along with those dragonfly species most typically associated with them. Each species list is not exhaustive as many common and widespread species could be listed almost everywhere! Where possible good examples of the different habitat types with public access are also recommended. Further details of these and many other excellent dragonfly sites to visit are found on the sites page.
Numerous ponds across Shropshire attract a good number of species many of which are common and widespread. The term 'pond' encompasses a huge number of variables such as size, depth, vegetation level, tree shading and altitude to name a few! These will all to some degree affect those species present. Some species for example are found only in acidic waters and a few species with rapidly developing larvae such as Emerald Damselfly and Black Darter are able to exploit shallow pools that are temporary in nature and dry out over summer. These waterbodies have the advantage of being free of predatory fish.
Species: Hairy Dragonfly, Migrant Hawker, Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly, Black-tailed Skimmer, Broad-bodied Chaser, Four-spotted Chaser, Common Darter, Ruddy Darter, Emerald Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Red-eyed Damselfly.
A number of rivers flow through the county which are largely divided into two catchment areas; the River Severn (the longest river in Britain) and the River Teme. The River Severn is one of only a few river systems in the UK in which the 'Near Threatened' Common Clubtail successfully breeds. The underlying geology, speed of flow and subsequent nature of the river/stream bed will affect those species present. Please note many of the rivers below are categorised as fast and slow flowing due to variations in different parts of the river.
Sites: Wildmoor Pool (streams above pool), Carding Mill Valley, Wyre Forest. Following sites recommended for Beautiful Demoiselle only; River Onny, Cound Brook, River Perry, River Roden, River Clun.
Sites: River Tern at Attingham Park, River Severn at Hampton Loade (SO7486), Rea Brook at Shrewsbury, River Teme, River Clun, River Roden, River Perry, Cound Brook, River Onny.
These important areas are few and far between and support a good number of species including some specialists found in few other habitats in Shropshire.
A number of canals both used and unused branch across Shropshire. Working canal systems tend to have fewer dragonflies as there is little aquatic vegetation and the water is constantly being churned up by tourist traffic.
Sites: Montgomery Canal at Aston Locks, around Maesbury Marsh (SJ310249) and the short length at Llanymynech (SJ267211). Prees Branch Canal (Shropshire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve), Llangollen Canal at Whixall Moss and between Blakemere and Colemere (SJ413340). Stretches of the Ellesmere Canal in the Lower Frankton area (SJ371318) are very good especially the remaining piece of the Weston Lullingfields branch (SJ370311). Parts of the old canal bed running out of Shrewsbury contain water and several species of dragonfly have been recorded here (SJ510146).
In parts of Shropshire there are clusters of meres and mosses which are water and peat filled hollows in the glacial drift which covers the Shropshire-Cheshire plain. These are habitats of international importance with regard not only to their geology, but ecology and wildlife too.
Many of the meres are now privately owned, but a number remain accessible including the largest The Mere on the eastern side of Ellesmere.
Sites: Cole Mere and The Mere at Ellesmere (SJ4034).
Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve is one of the most important and best preserved bogs in Britain and is situated in North Shropshire. This site is home to the 'Endangered' White-faced Darter and is also the most species rich dragonfly site in Shropshire with 29 recorded species. Other mosses in the area are Wem Moss and Brown Moss which are also both nature reserves.
Species: Common Hawker, (Hairy Dragonfly), Four-spotted Chaser, (Keeled Skimmer), Black Darter, White-faced Darter, (Yellow-winged Darter), Large Red Damselfly, Emerald Damselfly and many more common and widespread species!
A range of quarries are found in Shropshire including sand and gravel, limestone and roadstone. In the south of the county historically some areas such as Titterstone Clee Hill were quite industrialised with coal mines and blast furnaces producing iron and then in subsequent year, quarrying of the local dhustone took over. Once a quarry falls into disuse it soon fills with water and as a result we have some excellent sites where dragonflies have become established in this new habitat. As with ponds, a huge number of variables affect the species found at a particular quarry, not least how far succession has proceeded following closure. Below are listed typical pioneer species (those first to colonise a new site) along with some unusual species found at Shropshire quarry sites.
Species: Emperor Dragonfly, Broad-bodied Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, Red-veined Darter, Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly.


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'Legion' Gets Third Season Order At FX
FX has ordered a third season of Legion, the acclaimed drama series from creator and executive producer Noah Hawley.
The announcement was made today by Eric Schrier and Nick Grad, Presidents of Original Programming for FX Networks and FX Productions.
Two episodes remain in Legion's stunning second season, including an additional 11th episode that was recently announced.
"Legion has redefined the superhero drama and exceeded all expectations as the intensity and revelation build through the second season," Schrier said. "We are incredibly proud of Noah Hawley's achievement and are honored to continue the series as it pushes the boundaries of conventional television storytelling. We are also grateful for the contributions of our executive producers, John Cameron, Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg, and Jeph Loeb with Marvel Television, as well as our outstanding cast and crew of this groundbreaking show."
Based on the Marvel Comics by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz, Legion is the story of "David Haller" (Dan Stevens), a man who believed himself to be schizophrenic only to discover that he may actually be the most powerful mutant the world has ever seen.
Legion next airs on Tuesday, June 5th at 10 pm e/p with "Chapter 18" – Reunion, ruination and rage. Written by Noah Hawley & Nathaniel Halpern; directed by Dana Gonzales.
**Photo courtesy of FX**
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By Troy L. Foreman June 1, 2018 NewsLeave a Comment on 'Legion' Gets Third Season Order At FX
Interview: Emily Berrington
Amazon Greenlights 'Underground Railroad' Limited Series; Barry Jenkins Directing All 11 Episodes


"A recent WPA poll of Nevada voters shows strong support for Attorney General Adam Laxalt's decision to join the twenty-five other Attorney Generals in a lawsuit against President Barack Obama that would block his executive action on immigration," WPA Opinion Research announced in a memorandum on Tuesday.
Among the one in five who oppose Laxalt's decision: Nevada Gov. Brian "America's Worst Governor" Sandoval.


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Opinion | Service in Philly: A Chance to Engage and Reflect
By Abe Baker-Butler
Earlier this fall, turkey, stuffing, family and gratitude filled our homes and hearts. As we sat around the table, we caught up with relatives, perhaps navigated fraught discussions of politics and likely thought about the blessings for which we are thankful.
That time of year — after Thanksgiving and as Chanukah and Christmas are celebrated — makes me reflect on how our community can be a better, more generous, forgiving and welcoming place. Such thoughts were jump-started earlier in December when I traveled to Philadelphia on a service trip with J-Teen Leadership, a teen service organization in Westchester, N.Y., to collaborate with Repair the World Philadelphia, a local organization that works with partners to reduce inequality in the city.
Our first stop was Cradles to Crayons, where we sorted jackets for children in need. There, an employee told us the following story: Two sisters in elementary school were star students. But as winter began, their attendance and grades faltered. When teachers inquired, it turned out the two sisters had to walk to school each morning but had only one winter jacket to share between them. Each night, the sisters would discuss who had more important commitments at school the following day to decide which one of them would get to wear the winter jacket — and therefore be the one who attended school.
This story is heartbreaking: How could a jacket make the difference between truancy and academic success? In just one hour, we were able to pack more than 1,000 donated jackets. That's 1,000 children for whom a lack of proper outerwear will no longer be an obstacle that prevents them from succeeding in school.
The next day, we took a tour with MuralArts, a nonprofit that employs ex-felons to create art on buildings. The murals were beautiful, but what was most stunning was this: although the rate of ex-felon recidivism in the U.S. is about 80 percent, for ex-felons who joined MuralArts, the rate was only 20 percent.
We also worked with the Jewish Relief Agency, alongside many religious, interfaith and school groups, to pack and deliver more than 2,600 pounds of food. I worked with a Philadelphia high schooler to deliver food boxes and had the opportunity to get to know someone with a different background and bond through our shared service in pursuit of a mutual goal.
On the third day of our trip, we volunteered at a community garden. At first, the place appeared to be an abandoned lot. Only after weeding and cleaning with the garden's stewards was I able to understand its significance as a memorial to the victims of a gas pipe explosion in the 1980s and a community gathering place.
As my experiences in Philly illustrated, helping those in need doesn't only help to better the lives of others, but it can also be an educational, social, and all-around rewarding experience. And we don't have to look far to see similar socioeconomic problems — they exist around the corner in many communities, including my own. Throughout Westchester, obstacles to success including food insecurity, drug addiction, child poverty and unemployment afflict many residents.
The opportunity to serve alongside marginalized communities and those in need is a powerful one. As much as community service work physically improves communities, the relationships built through this work are just as, if not more, meaningful. I had the chance to serve, and by doing so I was able to better understand the perspectives of those different from me, who hailed from various communities, in ways that would never have occurred otherwise.
I had an amazing experience serving in Philadelphia — and now I want to do even more.
Abe Baker-Butler is a high school junior who lives with his family in Rye Brook, N.Y. A version of this article was originally published in the Westmore News.
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Yang: Of Course Out-Of-State College Students Want to Vote in New Hampshire
Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang understands that out-of-state college students have used New Hampshire's lax voter residency laws to cast ballots in the Granite State. He just doesn't understand why some people think that's a bad thing.
"If you're here in New Hampshire, you know this is the center of the political world, right? And so it'd be very natural for our college students here to say, 'Hey, I'd like to have my voice heard,'" Yang told NHJournal. "And if you make it harder for them, then you're sending the wrong message."
Yang says he opposes New Hampshire's recently passed voting regulations that require people to be legal residents — as opposed to merely temporarily domiciled here — if they want to vote in the state's elections. "New Hampshire should be making it easier and not harder for [out-of-state] college students to vote."
New Hampshire has the highest percentage of college students per capita in the country, and progressive campus groups have publicly bragged about their ability to mobilize these students — many legal residents of other states — to sway elections in the past. For example, the campus group NextGen America (founded by 2020 contender Tom Steyer) says they increased turnout in their targeted college precincts in 2016 by more than the margin of victory for Democrat Maggie Hassan over incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte.
Given that Trump lost New Hampshire that year by less than 3,000 votes, some New Hampshire residents don't want the state's Electoral College votes to be controlled by temporary residents of the Granite State. There are also complaints by long-term residents about the impact of these out-of-state student voters on local elections, too.
Yang rejects these criticisms. "I would argue that the local New Hampshire voters are helped, not hurt, by having more people participate in the process here. It doesn't dilute their votes. It's the opposite. If you have young people in the state excited about the candidates, then they'll spread the word through social media and other means. These are all very positive things."
Presidential candidate Andrew Yang shoots hoops with students at Concord (N.H.) High School on January 2, 2020.
Yang made his comments at a campaign stop in Concord, NH, on Thursday, after shooting hoops with Concord High students as part of a campaign tour across the Granite State. In addition to lower residency standards in New Hampshire, Yang touted his support for allowing 16-year-olds to vote.
"We have 16-year-olds paying taxes," Yang said. "And it's only fair that they should know where their taxes are going. And studies have shown that when you vote young, you're more likely to become a lifelong voter, which we should be encouraging. Right now, high school students look at our politics and don't feel that it's relevant to them in part because they can't participate.
"So if you had the voting age at 16, you would have every high school in the country actually engage with our democracy. And that'd be positive," Yang said.
Yang isn't the only Democrat who feels this way. "I myself have always been for lowering the voting age to 16…I think it's really important to capture kids when they're in high school," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last year.
Appealing to young voters has paid off for the once-unknown tech entrepreneur. Though he continues to poll in single digits, he's received enough support to make the Democratic debate stage in December — something experienced politicians like Sens. Cory Booker and Michael Bennet were unable to do. And Yang still has a shot at qualifying for the January debate in Iowa.
Yang's managed to pull ahead of these pols thanks in large part to his support from younger voters, particularly those 18-29-year-olds. According to a Morning Consult poll in December, Yang is in fourth place among these voters at 9 percent. And he's getting a larger share of his support from voters under 45 than anyone else in the field.
So catering to college students and teenagers may be a smart, short-term strategy for Yang, but it presents challenges in the long run.
For example, his plan to let 16-year-olds pick a future president is wildly unpopular with voters overall, with multiple polls showing 75 percent — or more — of Americans oppose the idea. It's also out of step with moves across country to restrict the choices people under 21 can legally make, such as smoking cigarettes or vaping. When asked about this dichotomy, Yang insisted that 16-year-olds are adult enough to vote.
"You could argue that 16-year-olds don't understand enough to vote. But that argument rings false to me when I actually interact with them, many of whom are very savvy and understand what's going on around them," Yang said. "And the fact is we're not springing pop quizzes on voters when they show up to vote.
"We need to trust our people. And that includes our young people," Yang said.


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Q: Passing value in IEnumerable method net mvc c#. I have created model for view. I can receive all rows from the table but when I try to pass value in method which is return list is not working
  Here is my code
Controller class
public ActionResult Index()
{
    TechnicianDBO db = new TechnicianDBO();
    List<Technician> technicians = db.technicians.ToList();
    return View(technicians);
}

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Index(int Postcode)
{
    TechnicianDBO db = new TechnicianDBO();
    List<Technician> technicians = db.Jobtechnicians(Postcode).ToList();
    return View(technicians);
}

Db class
public IEnumerable<Technician> Jobtechnicians(int postcode)
{
    string connectionString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["testConnect"].ConnectionString;
    List<Technician> Jobtechnicians = new List<Technician>();
    using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(connectionString))
    {
        SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("spGetTechnicianByPostcode", con);
        con.Open();
        SqlParameter paramId = new SqlParameter();
        paramId.ParameterName = "@postcode";
        paramId.Value = postcode;
        cmd.Parameters.Add(paramId);
        SqlDataReader dr = cmd.ExecuteReader();
        while (dr.Read())
        {
            Technician technician = new Technician();
            technician.Id = Convert.ToInt32(dr["techId"]);
            // technician.Username = dr["techUsername"].ToString();
            technician.Firstname = dr["techFirstname"].ToString();
            technician.Lastname = dr["techLastname"].ToString();
            technician.LandlineNo = dr["landlineNo"].ToString();
            technician.MobileNo = dr["mobileNo"].ToString();
            technician.Address1 = dr["address1"].ToString();
            technician.Address2 = dr["address2"].ToString();
            technician.Postcode = Convert.ToInt32(dr["postcode"]);
            technician.Email = dr["email"].ToString();
            technician.Fax = dr["fax"].ToString();
            technician.Profession = Convert.ToInt32(dr["ProfessionId"]);
            Jobtechnicians.Add(technician);
        }

        return Jobtechnicians;
    }
}

A: you need to give CommandType
SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("spGetTechnicianByPostcode", con);
cmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;

and also when you call .ToString() you better check whether that column value null or not if that column allow null in your table

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Kyiv Security Forum
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Arseniy Yatsenyuk: We stand today at the outpost of the democratic world
Kyiv Security Forum Discussion "What should we expect from the 2018 NATO Summit?" was held on July 10th. The discussion, organized by the Open Ukraine Foundation, was attended by Prime Minister of Ukraine (2014-2016) Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ukraine Roman Waschuk, Head of the NATO Representation to Ukraine Alexander Vinnikov.
Ukraine, fighting against Russian aggression, "protects not only Ukrainian borders, but also the borders of Europe", the founder of the Open Ukraine Foundation Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed during the meeting.
"Today we stand on the outpost of the democratic world", – Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed.
"Ukraine has very capable Armed forces, and we see how they have changed over the past four years. We expect to see the same evolution over the next four years. Ukrainian troops set a very high standard for themselves – to achieve NATO standards. And we want to do our best in order to support Ukraine on this path", – said the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
Head of the NATO Representation to Ukraine, Alexander Vinnikov, noted that at the upcoming summit, NATO will once again reaffirm further support for reforms in Ukraine and "strengthening Ukraine's defense and security capabilities".
Roman Washchuk, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ukraine, expressed his position on the NATO Summit: "At the Alliance Summit, the confirmation of the unity of NATO member states will be an important issue". "We need to demonstrate the cohesion and unity within the Alliance, and it will be necessary to work on this during the next two days", – said Roman Vashchuk.
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Sir Malcolm Rifkind: Democracy is not Western, it's universal
Discussion club "Open World" with Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Judith Gough
Morning meeting "Open Morning" with member of Ukrainian Parliament, Andriy Teteruk
Video of the 12th Kyiv Security Forum
© Arseniy Yatsenyk Foundation Open Ukraine
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At Kindus, we want to share our passion for IT security and improvement with a wider audience. We work with over 25 clients and in more than 10 countries and believe that bringing knowledge together in one place will benefit everyone. Please find a selection of our latest White Papers and Data Sheets below, or get in touch to find out more.


Evergreen, creeping manzanita less than 1 ft. tall with small, deep green leaves. Dark red branches tend to root and increase its spread to 8 ft. or so wide. Small clusters of white flowers appear in late winter to early spring. Prefers a little shade inland. Drought tolerant but enjoys occasional irrigation in inland sites. Perfect under deciduous oaks or tall pines. Works well in spots where the creeping branches can spill over an edge, creating a cascade effect.


text:
Mercedes keeping options open on Vettel, says Wolff
By Alan Baldwin
FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix
LONDON (Reuters) – Formula One champions Mercedes will not rule out Sebastian Vettel's chances of driving for them next year because they may need a replacement for Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas, team principal Toto Wolff said on Wednesday.
Vettel, a four times world champion with Red Bull, is leaving Ferrari at the end of the season with his next move uncertain.
Both Hamilton, 35, and Finnish team mate Bottas are out of contract at the end of the season, which is due to start in July after being delayed by COVID-19 and could see the Briton equal Michael Schumacher's record seven championships.
Wolff told reporters on a Zoom call that Mercedes would look first at their own contracted drivers but needed to be prepared for anything.
"It's not lip service," the Austrian said when asked how serious the interest in Vettel really was. "But I think we owe it to a four times world champion not to come out and say straight away 'no'.
"You need to think about it… we have a fantastic line-up and I'm very happy with both our pilots and George (Russell at Williams). But you never know.
"One of them may decide that he doesn't want to go racing any more and suddenly you have a vacant spot and this is why I don't want to come out in June and say 'no chance, Sebastian is not racing for us'."
Williams last week announced they were considering selling the family-run team and Wolff said Mercedes were looking with interest at that situation and Russell's future.
"Beyond that you need to not discount any driver," he added. "This is why I said I don't want to discount Sebastian as a four times world champion because who knows what happens in the next months?
"If I would have told you in January that we would not have any racing in the first half of the year nobody would have believed it. So in that respect we are just keeping our options open."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)


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Els Premis Nacionals de Literatura d'Espanya són concedits pel Ministeri de Cultura espanyol en els diferents àmbits de les lletres:

 Premi Nacional de les Lletres Espanyoles (reconeixement del conjunt de l'obra literària d'un escriptor espanyol)
 Premi Nacional d'Assaig
 Premi Nacional de Literatura Dramàtica
 Premi Nacional de Literatura Infantil i Juvenil
 Premi Nacional de Narrativa
 Premi Nacional de Poesia

A més, el Ministeri de Cultura espanyol, a proposta de les Acadèmies de la Llengua dels països de parla hispana, també concedeix des de 1976 el Premi Miguel de Cervantes i que és considerat com el guardó literari més important en castellà.

Enllaços externs
 Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte

Premis literaris d'Espanya

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Behind Bumper - 32" Light Bar Mounting Brackets for 2016 Toyota Tacoma.
These brackets allow you to mount a 32" light bar in the lower bumper for clean hidden look. The design and material thickness has been engineered to be as strong as possible without increasing the cost of the LED bracket. Every bracket is CAD designed, CNC cut out of 1/8 inch cold rolled steel with a tinsel strength of 35-55,000 KSI and made in the USA. In addition, we have strategically placed bends to allow the bracket to be free from deflection and vibration.They are sandblasted then powder coated black to sustain harsh weather conditions.
Very simple install that typically takes about 45 minutes from start to finish.


Gary S Becker; Kevin Murphy; Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2000. captain cart; 2001-2018 psychology.
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This section will explain how user roles and unit hierarchy within Interfolio Faculty Search allow institutions to facilitate their committee's decision-making process.
Units - Different tiers within the hierarchy – Schools, Departments, or Divisions. Each unit is made up of Administrators, Committee Managers, and Committee Members.
Within the Interfolio Faculty Search and Review, Promotion, and Tenure, a user's role define's their capabilities. All users are added as an evaluator, by default, and then have to be assigned to specific positions in order to view and access applicant materials.
In this section, we will dive deeper into these concepts.
Institutional Administrators - Can control settings and view positions, applications, and reports (including EEO if enabled).
Administrators - Govern and manage an assigned unit within the institutional hierarchy. There can be multiple administrators assigned to a specific unit (college, school, department). Administrators can create, manage, and report on searches at their unit or any unit nested below.
EEO Officers - Can monitor and run EEO reports. They can also flag positions that do not meet diversity requirements.
Committee Managers - Can create and manage searches within a given unit in which they have been assigned to. They can communicate with applicants, control search settings, apply statuses, add applicants and applicant documents and create search reports.
Evaluators - Are assigned to search committees. Once assigned to a committee, Evaluators can review applications including all documentation and custom form responses. When reviewing applicants, evaluators can apply tags and evaluate applicants using a five-star rating system.
In addition to being able to replicate the organization of your institution for user management, it is important to have an accurate organizational hierarchy, because hierarchy is directly related to system settings within Interfolio Faculty Search, in addition to determining report groupings.
Interfolio Faculty Search can be set up to exactly mirror the organizational hierarchy of your institution. The users that are available to be added to a search as a committee manager, or that have control of administrative settings for a given search, are maintained through the unit hierarchy. Administrators and committee managers are assigned to units to manage the search. As an Administrator, you will have control of the settings for units at or below your level of access.
For example, a university might contain colleges or schools, which in turn contain departments or programs. Any organizational structure is possible, and Administrators can add a unit at any point in the hierarchy.
The image below is taken from the Administration page, and shows how an institution may build out their organizational structure.
It is possible to push down settings, default forms, statuses, and more to the units beneath it, or allow them to set their own for a more decentralized institution.
Some institutions build the hierarchy exactly as their organization is structured, which can be very complicated and detailed, but others design it more simply to fit their needs.
Department of Critical and Comparative Studies in Music.
During implementation, Interfolio will assist by bulk uploading users to the system.
Alternatively, users can be added through the system by way of the API.
Last, users can be manually added to the system. Administrators can add sub-administrators and they then can continue or can add committee managers, and then either user can add the other potential committee members or 'evaluators'. For example, Administrator-A can add an administrator beneath them, Administrator-B. Administrator-B can add Administrator-C. An all of them can add the relevant users and committee managers for their own unit.
Setting Up Units - Ensure that your institution's hierarchy is up to date and matches your institution's workflow.
User Roles in Faculty Search - Keep user roles up-to-date and accurate to ensure efficiency and efficacy at the institution.
Editing a User's Role - On the same page as manually adding users, you can quickly and easily edit and manage a user's role, assuming you have a higher permission set them.
Resend Invitation Email to Faculty Search User - On the same page as you edit a user's role, you can quickly resend a user's invitation to access and set up their account within Interfolio Faculty Search.
Customize Branding and Logos of Interfolio Faculty Search - On the Administration Page in Interfolio Faculty Search, you can customize the branding and logo of the related institution.


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Written by philsoperaworld June 5, 2018
Charles Gounod: Romeo et Juliette (1867)
Opera en cinq actes. Running Time: 3 hours.
I started writing this review in mid-April, got up to the fourth act love duet, and stopped. Figuring that I only had about an hour left to review, I just came back to it and decided to finish it. It is one of four or five reviews that I have in partial draft and since I am very busy lately I've been either working in instalments or otherwise reviewing short (less than 2 hours) operas. Although I personally find the story of Romeo and Juliet to be one of the most sentimental pieces of dreck this is one of the fifty most famous operas ever written, albeit probably forty-ninth on said list. This opera is yet another glaring omission from Sir Denis Forman's Good Opera Guide. That said and given Forman's near hatred of French music (his reviews of Massenet's Werther and Delibes' Lakme are bloodless) perhaps the fact that he never reviewed it was not such a loss. I can not imagine him giving it a gamma, but he might have done so out of spite because Gounod's opera is a send up to one of England's most respected tragedies. I will forego a synopsis as the story is probably the most famous in Shakespeare. The recording under review here is the 1998 recording conducted by Michel Plasson with Angela Gheorghiu as Juliette and Roberto Alagna as her Romeo.
0: The Overture ** starts off on the same chord as Die fliegende Hollander and is just about as menacing and frankly terrifying. After some seventy seconds of music depicting a brawl between the Capulets and the Montagues, we get some almost Gluck sounding string music and the idea pops in one's head that we are out of the scary music but no, it was all a trick to catch us off guard and we get a second dose of that music which probably best depicts something akin to epilepsy . Then a sotto voce SATB chorus sings (in French of course) Shakepeare's Prologue. Gounod finishes us off with his love theme music which, melodramatically romano-tragic as it is, will pop up a lot over the following five acts, get used to it now.
ACT 1: The ballroom of Capulet's home, a birthday celebration for Juliette in progress.
7: One of the most viral party choruses ever *. Not really one of the best (although the repeated galop is relentlessly irresistible and will return over and over throughout the act like a leitmotif for gaiety or a court jester on a controlled substance). Like "Under the Sea!" from Disney's The Little Mermaid, it will literally stay in your head until you die. Tybault and Paris interact amid tuneful if typical recitative with Capulet.
12: The chorus in which everyone remarks idiotically on how beautiful Juliette is, (seriously?) is followed by the first of her many, many coloratura soprano airs * although this one lasts all of sixty seconds. Capulet follows this up with the first outing of his own waltz tune *, the chorus and the galop come back for good measure.
18: Mercutio's Ballad of Queen Mab **, after a ditty chorus from Romeo, Benvolio, and the boys, this is albeit a very lightly accompanied piece but easy to remember. It is also, incidentally, the only attempt Gounod makes to take on Mercutio's personality; he is far better served by Shakespeare. Romeo needs to get off of Rosalie, she is obviously two-timing him.
22: The moment Romeo first beholds Juliette * he brings in the love motif.
24: Juliette's return (doesn't this second entrance undue her first?) sounds like something Mozart would have written while having a headache, but her aria here is too bouncy (and famous) to be anything less than **.
29: The first of four love duets *, in which our pair fall in love at first meeting but foolishly do not exchange names (would that not have saved us a lot of pain?). It starts off with an aged tune that seems more appropriate to bel canto than grand opera and although very pretty, it lacks any sense of dramatic conviction.
33: This lack is somewhat made up for in the act finale which starts off with Romeo finding out that Juliette is Tybault's cousin, thus she is Capulet's daughter, and Tybault tells Juliette who Romeo is which leads to one of the most dramatically understated moments in opera as she contemplates with an almost mystical horror that the grave will be their bridal bed ***. Romeo gets dragged back in by her unforgiving cousins but Capulet decides to pardon his enemy for crashing the party (although neither Tybault nor Paris are so willing). Capulet has the guests recommence their celebrating and the galop gets one more whirlwind go.
ACT 2: Capulet's garden, under Juliette's balcony.
0, 4: Two and a half minutes of better stated love theme music *. Romeo then comes on escaping a sotto voce off-stage chorus of his friends before embarking on a lovely and lilting aria addressing the sun, which he does not want to rise **, possibly the most adult number in the entire piece.
8, 17, 21: The rest of the act (about nineteen minutes), in spite of a three and a half minute long comically inane interruption from the off-stagers looking for Romeo and Nurse Gertrude and servant Gregorio, consists of a much better love duet than the first. The highlights of which are the initial encounter **, the second inning in which they make wedding plans before Gertrude starts calling Juliette to warn that Capulet is coming *. Romeo's pleading with her not to go yet but she bids him adieu ***. She then goes into a somewhat ornery patch about being a caged bird among other things.
25: Definitely the last good-byes for that night **, the love theme returns. Romeo finishes off the scene alone contemplating in the dark stillness of the night.
Scene 1: Friar Laurence's cell.
0: Gounod starts off doing what he does best: engage in a bit of religious atmosphere *. Very effective and lovely, if a little conceited.
3: Romeo's interview with the Friar as he requests the rapid nuptial ceremony with Juliette (at first Laurence thinks the bride-to-be is Rosalie). To come extent this scene sounds the most like Meyerbeer, and the chromatic moments (particularly watch out for the woodwinds *) only reenforces my suspicions.
7, 12: The wedding ceremony itself is divided into two halves of unequal length. The first * (and longer) mostly consists of Friar Laurence expounding about matrimony as a sacrament with the lovers responding at the appropriate moments. The scene ends with a wonderful quartet for the newly weds, their priest, and the nurse ***.
Scene 2: A street in Verona.
15, 22, 27: Romeo's mezzo-soprano page (previously neither seen nor heard of) comes on to what might be mistaken as Beethoven's Pastoral. He (she?, oh trouser roles!) Although you think this may end up rather disastrous, musically the song is rather catchy * even if it ticks off the Capulets, at first in the form of Gregorio con coro. Romeo, Mercutio, and the gang come to the rescue of the boy and the rest of the scene consists of fighting and dramatic recitative to some rather classical sounding dramatic music resulting in the deaths Mercutio (by Tybault), Tybault (by Romeo), and the sentence of banishment under penalty of death for Romeo (by the Duke). This is all well and good as far as plot forwarding goes, but nothing really stands out musically until the chorus at long last gets a chance to emote for a really long time * just before the Duke arrives. Romeo tries to explain but gets banished leading to an okay if somewhat dim air. The finale * is serviceable, but little more than that. At least it gets the job done, but for a scene of such dramatic importance I would expect more than the final minute of trumpet fanfare and a good high note from our tenor lead amid choral projections of terror, shame, and horror at the state of affairs.
ACT 4:
Scene 1: Juliette's bedchamber during and after she has consummated her marriage with Romeo.
3: More loverly music in the post-coital sense, more ardent and tragic although one would not guess just from the music that anyone has been having it off much less the most famous lovers in English literature. Juliette tells Romeo to get out (don't worry she loves him: the dawn is approaching and she doesn't want to Duke to lop off his pretty head). The best of the love duets ***. After four minutes they debate for six and a half minutes if it is the lark or the nightingale they hear: it is the lark, obviously, but a musically lovely moment just the same. He decides to stay anyway because she is the just the tops apparently but eventually they bid each other a bittersweet but tender goodbye.
13: If act 3 was Romeo's, act 4 is Juliet's. A bit of one of the ballet dances from later in the act follows Gertrude into her mistress's chambers *. Capulet comes in and tells Juliet, oddly to something half-way to a minuet, that she is going to marry Paris that day (isn't that bigamy given that Romeo and she were playing a very marital game of hide the rabbit a moment ago?). Gertrude and Paris join in to make it a quartet, although if you listen to a recording rather than watch the opera you will barely notice this.
17: Juliette has her mind blown *, what is she going to do?!?
19: Friar Laurence comes on and gives her this little sleeping potion that will make everything think she is dead. A new motive shows up representing this vial **, something vaguely resembling a Wagnerian leitmotif with one of the most placid bass arias in opera. If it were not telling us that the Friar is a really decent man we would find this entire situation rather disturbing.
25: Juliette's lovely song before she drinks to Romeo, a bizarrely feminist number as it is the first time she is taking matters into her own hands **. It falls apart in the middle but the beginning and end are both very good.
Scene 2: The Capulet wedding chapel.
30: And now the opera is stopped dead by a seven part ballet *, this time only a merciful 19 minutes long. It is serviceable symphonic music.
Introduction *.
La fiancee et le fleurs.
Valse des fleurs.
Danse de la fiancee *.
L'invitation.
La jeune fille au voile.
Danse bohémienne *, this last is the best of the dances even though it is the longest and most fragmentary.
49: Still more orchestral music, this time a bridal procession for Juliette, mildly interesting and probably skippable frankly if not for a modified variant of a theme from the third act prelude.
52: The Epithalamium *, a mild ensemble to organ accompaniment with Juliette soaring above it all before the drugs take effect.
56: The bridal chorus *, a spirited outing for the chorus to a mild tune. Jovial and upbeat, thus welcomed amid all the sobriety that has marked the opera after act one.
60: Juliette is brought to the altar by her father Capulet. Organ music, daddy has a bit of arioso and then POW! the drugs start taking effect, the tomb theme returns from when Juliette realized that her marriage to Romeo would result in death for them both. A premonition of sorts **, she faints away into sleep, her father and everyone else thinks her dead. The orchestra plays well before fading out.
ACT 5: The Capulet crypt.
0, 3: A brief entr'acte * (less than 2 minutes) depicts the entombment of Juliette by her family. It is sad and not much else can be said about it other than that it sounds vaguely renaissance in style. After a brief recite in which Friar Laurence finds out from a fellow monk that Romeo has failed to receive his letter of explanation there is another orchestral passage, much better than the first ** called <<La sommeil de Juliette>> the "sleep of Juliette".
5, 7, 9: From this point on, totally over a quarter of an hour, we have nothing but the final love duet ***. At first Romeo comes on in recitative (a), and it is somewhat ornery but there are some good patches of harp music that come out. Then Romeo regards the beauty of his supposedly dead bride (b) ** in a tender arioso with traces of the earlier love music. He finishes with a rather Meyerbeerian tune welling up from the strings as he takes poison. Juliette wakes up (c) just too late to stop him **, at first Romeo totally forgets he has already killed himself because he is so happy Juliette is alive. Gounod rehashes all six or seven of the love themes here in rapid succession. He remembers the poison to some ornery brass chords. The news of the suicide attempt is greeted with some flying strings and then, the orchestra just gives out.
15: The last part (d) of the duet begins with a rather sobering farewell to his soul from Romeo as the poison takes effect ***. It is not the day, it is not the lark, it is the nightingale, we get as Romeo dies, Juliette grabs his dagger and stabs herself. Dying they declare their mutual love one last time accompanied by harps as they pray to God to forgive them. Very effecting. Curtain.
This is possibly the most contested opera in the standard repertoire not written by Wagner. Some people think it is an exquisite monument to romantic and sexual love and one of the best operatic adaptations of Shakespeare along with Verdi's Otello or Macbeth; others that it is nothing more than the precursor of belle epoque French fluff opera music in the same vein as Massenet's Werther and Manon or Delibes' Lakme. I steer between these two parties rather than agree with either, since unlike the haters, I happen to like French opera.
That is not to say that the opera does not have problems: Gounod has bits of the amazingly good and bits of terrible ennui here. The good consists of his subject matter, Shakespeare; even someone with as inane a (non)-sense of the dramatic as Gounod general demonstrated (La nonne sanglante, Cinq-Mars, Polyeucte) couldn't mess this up and he musically captures the chemistry between the two young lovers better than any other composer ever did before or since. Tying in to that, there is also an orchestral richness throughout the score which makes Faust at times seem primitive by comparison. The touches of chromaticism in act three are a rather nice treat and an interesting contrast to the heavy usage of 18th century-style musical ideas (the overture and the ballet among other moments which seem to anticipate Massenet's Manon). Gounod's homage to Wagner in the first chord of the overture should not go unnoticed, is he trying to answer Tristan und Isolde? The best thing here is the love music: soft, gentle, refined, like Wagner's Parsifal only sexy although some claim this also makes the opera saccharine, melodramatic, even tawdry. I am not personally convinced of this although the recent production at the Metropolitan Opera tempted me into believing that this was the case. Saddled to some good music, however, is Gounod's inability (or perhaps unwillingness?), in portraying any of the other characters with any sense of depth (Friar Laurence being to some extent an exception). Mercutio and Gertrude are the most striking as both here are almost walk on characters with little to no personality. The opera taken as a whole is dramatically inept, episodic, and fragmentary with even more minor characters (Stephano, Capulet, Paris, the Duke) generally making a much larger impact on the direction of the plot than either of the two lovers. So we have in essence two operas going on at once: one has some of the most ardently romantic music ever written but not much of a plot (Romeo and Juliet meet, marry, have sex, and kill themselves) while the other is plot heavy (two families too many for one city, parties, brawls, sword fights ending in mass carnage and banishments, forced and secretly bigamous weddings, sleeping-death potions) but musically overall not all that interesting and at times (act 3 scene 2) somewhat bordering on embarrassment. How has this opera survived for over 150 years? Sex appeal mostly would be my guess because in spite of my better nature, I have to concede that the score has it-factor. Although I do not hate this opera, I must admit that I am hardly in love with it. I'll put it down as a B+ just to be on the safe side although I am certain that there are those whose opinion on it range from gamma to alpha.
4 thoughts on "Charles Gounod: Romeo et Juliette (1867)"
Like you, I have mixed feelings about Roméo et Juliette. There are some lovely numbers – particularly "Ah! lève-toi, soleil!" – but it rarely catches fire.
Gounod, as you recognise, had little dramatic sense. That made listening to all his operas a year or so back for an article depressing; often beautiful music, boring operas.
I have always wondered about Gounod. He could write a good tune, even a stunning one, but when working with Shakespeare and Goethe (both generally bullet-proof) he somehow managed to blow it structurally. With lesser material like La nonne sanglante or Sapho, the result was sudden death. Have any other suggestions for good French operas other than Massenet?
Although Sapho does have "O ma lyre immortelle"!
Good French operas other than Massenet? Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini. don't think you've looked at Gluck, Grétry, Auber, Offenbach, Hervé, or Messager? Boieldieu's Dame blanche. Cherubini's Médée, Sacchini's Oedipe à Colone, Salieri's Danaides, Méhul's Uthal. Thomas's Hamlet and Mignon. Dupont's Antar. Février's Monna Vanna. Darius Milhaud. Poniatowski's Pierre de Médicis. Rousseau's Devin du village, and Roussel's Padmâvati.
I have done Messager's Fortunio, but you are right, he wrote 30 operas. Mignon is a favourite which I have not reviewed, possibly because of the different versions that exist, I can't make up my mind. I started La muette de Portici months ago but stopped it for some reason. I wished that the video of Dupont's Antar had not been taken down from YouTube. I knew about it and failed to write it. Benvenuto Cellini is a favourite, I especially love the mad-cap act 1 finale. I've heard Mehul's Joseph years ago. I will look in to some of these you mentioned. It is easier for me to review English or French works because I understand the language better than Russian or even Italian. Maybe Iphigenie en Aulide would be good? I might do the Wagner orchestration perhaps, although that is in German. Perhaps both versions at once. Thank you for the advice and your encouraging comments, I wish more people would write to me. Are there any other operas, in other languages, that you would like to see on the blog? I wish readers would tell me what they would like to see, otherwise I'm just going to review what I randomly find and complete as the mood hits me.
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text:
In contract bridge, the principle of restricted choice states that "The play of a card which may have been selected as a choice of equal plays increases the chance that the player started with a holding in which his choice was restricted." Crucially, it helps play "in situations which used to be thought of as guesswork."

For example, South leads a low spade, West plays a low one, North plays the queen, East wins with the king. The ace and king are equivalent cards; East's play of the king decreases the probability East holds the ace – and increases the probability West holds the ace. The principle helps other players infer the locations of unobserved equivalent cards such as that spade ace after observing the king. The increase or decrease in probability is an example of Bayesian updating as evidence accumulates and particular applications of restricted choice are similar to the Monty Hall problem.

In many of those situations the rule derived from the principle is to play for split honors. After observing one equivalent card, that is, one should continue play as if two equivalents were split between the opposing players, so that there was no choice about which one to play. Whoever played the first one doesn't have the other one.

When the number of equivalent cards is greater than two, the principle is complicated because their equivalence may not be manifest. When one partner holds Q and 10, say, and the other holds J, it is usually true that those three cards are equivalent but the one who holds two of them does not know it. Restricted choice is always introduced in terms of two touching cards – consecutive ranks in the same suit, such as QJ or KQ – where equivalence is manifest.

If there is no reason to prefer a specific card (for example to signal to partner), a player holding two or more equivalent cards should sometimes randomize their order of play (see the note on Nash equilibrium). The probability calculations in coverage of restricted choice often take uniform randomization for granted but that is problematic.

The principle of restricted choice even applies to an opponent's choice of an opening lead from equivalent suits. See Kelsey & Glauert (1980).

Example

 Consider the suit combination represented at left. There are four spade cards 8754 in the South (closed hand) and five AJ1096 in the North (dummy, visible to all players). West and East hold the remaining four spades KQ32 in their two closed hands.

Prior to play, 16 different West and East spade holdings or "lies" are possible from the perspective of South. These are listed in Table 1, ordered first by "split" from equal to unequal numbers of cards, then by West's holding from strongest to weakest.

South leads a small spade, West plays the 2 (or 3), dummy North plays the J, and East wins with the K. Later, after winning a side-suit trick, South leads another small spade and West follows low with the 3 (or 2). At this point, with North and East yet to play, the location of only the Q has not been established. South is at a decision point and knows that only two of the original 16 lies remain possible (bolded in Table 1), for West has played both low cards and East the king. At first glance, it may seem that the odds are now even, 1:1, so that South should expect to do equally well with either of the two possible continuations. However, the principle of restricted choice tells us that while both lies of the cards are possible, the probabilities are 2:1 in favour of assuming West holds Q32 and to therefore play the ten.

If East had KQ, he could equally well have played the queen instead of the king. Thus some deals with original lie 32 and KQ would not reach this stage; some would instead reach the parallel stage with K alone missing, South having observed 32 and Q. In contrast, every deal with original lie Q32 and K would reach this stage, for East played the king perforce (without choice, or by "restricted choice").

If East would win the first trick with the king or queen uniformly at random from KQ, then that original lie 32 and KQ would reach this stage half the time and would take the other fork in the road half the time. Thus on the actual sequence of play, the odds are not even but one-half to one, or 1:2. East would retain queen from original KQ about one-third of the time and retain no spades from original K about two-thirds of the time. The principle of restricted posits that to finesse by playing the 10 is nearly twice as likely to succeed.

Importantly, this assumes that the defenders have no signaling system, so that the play by west of (say) the 3 followed by the 2 does not signal a doubleton. During the course of many equivalent deals, East with KQ should in theory win the first trick with the king or queen uniformly at random; that is, half each without any pattern.

Further accuracy

A priori, four outstanding cards "split" as shown in the first two columns of Table 2 below. For example, three cards are together and the fourth is alone, a "3-1 split" with probability 49.74%. To understand the "number of specific lies" refer to the preceding list of all lies in Table 1.

 The last column gives the a priori probability of any specific original holding such as 32 and KQ; that one is represented by row one covering the 2–2 split. The other lie featured in our example play of the spade suit, Q32 and K, is represented by row two covering the 3–1 split.

Thus the table shows that the a priori odds on these two specific lies were not even but slightly in favor of the former, about 6.78 to 6.22 for KQ against K.

What are the odds a posteriori, at the moment of truth in our example play of the spade suit? If East does with KQ win the first trick uniformly at random with the king or the queen – and with K win the first trick with the king, having no choice – the posterior odds are 3.39 to 6.22, a little more than 1:2, in percentage terms a little more than 35% for KQ. To play the ace A from North on the second round should win about 35% while to finesse again with the ten 10 wins about 65%.

The principle of restricted choice is general but this specific probability calculation does suppose East would win with the king from KQ precisely half the time (which is best). If East would win with the king from KQ more or less than half the time, then South wins more or less than 35% by playing the ace. Indeed, if East would win with the king 92% of the time (=6.22/6.78), then South wins 50% by playing the ace and 50% by repeating the finesse. If that is true, however, South wins almost 100% by repeating the finesse after East wins with the queen – for the queen from that East player almost denies the king.

Mathematical theory
The principle of restricted choice is an application of Bayes' theorem on conditional probability. In the following:  represents the condition that the King is played by East in the first trick;  represents the condition that East holds KQ and;  represents the condition that East holds K.

The two conditions are as follows:

We assume that when East holds KQ, he plays each 50% of the time and when he holds the K alone, he must play the K. This is represented by the following:

Further, based on the play to trick 1, only two of the original 16 (i.e., a priori) possible holdings shown in Table 1 above remain available for East, each equally possible.

Solving, we find (posteriori) that...

In conclusion, we can say that "after East has played the K on the first round, the probability that East started with the singleton K is twice as probable as that he started with the KQ."

The first two equations are Bayes' theorem, the rest is simple algebra.

Increases and decreases in the probabilities of original lies of the opposing cards, as the play of the hand proceeds, are examples of Bayesian updating as evidence accumulates.

See also
 Monty Hall problem

Notes

Further reading

  The article on Restricted Choice was originated by Jeff Rubens in the first Encyclopedia (1964 edition). In it and subsequent editions (e.g. on page 381 of the 6th edition), Rubens states that Reese in his book Master Play "unified" the "underlying principles ... first discussed by Alan Truscott in the Contract Bridge Journal"; he does not give a date  for the Truscott article.
  Republished in the USA as

External links
 "Monty Hall problem and the principle of restricted choice"
 "Bridge paradoxes" by Richard Pavlicek

Contract bridge card play
Contract bridge probabilities


text:
✎ About Walter Mair
Who is it?: Music Department, Composer, Producer
Birth Day: December 19, 2017
Birth Place: Vienna, Austria, Austria
Birth Sign: Capricorn
Walter Mair Net Worth
Walter Mair was born on December 19, 2017 in Vienna, Austria, Austria, is Music Department, Composer, Producer. Ivor Novello nominated and Telly award winning composer Walter Mair has created dramatic original scores for feature films, television drama, and narrative-driven interactive entertainment. His latest projects include Oliver Hirschbiegel's 6-part cold war drama, The Same Sky, Universal's documentary feature, Ronaldo, from the producers of Amy and Senna and directed by BAFTA winning director Anthony Wonke; Toby Tobias' thriller Blood Orange starring Ben Lamb and Iggy Pop; and edgy television drama series such as BBC 1's Cuffs from the producers of Ripper Street and E4's teen drama mini-series Glue written by Jack Thorne (Skins) and directed by Daniel Nettheim (Doctor Who, The Hunter). His music can also be heard in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto video games, Sony's sci-fi franchise Killzone, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction and The Creative Assembly's Total War series.Studying in his native Austria, Mair graduated in music composition for orchestra at Vienna University with a major in music composition for motion pictures from Salzburg University. His diverse repertoire ranges from epic full orchestral scores recorded with 80-piece choirs to intimate, small ensembles and hybrid electronic scores featuring an eclectic mix of live recorded solo instruments and found sounds. To create unique sounds for each score, Mair employs his extensive collection of analog digital synths and effect processors, blending live orchestral arrangements with experimental post-recording techniques.Mair maintains a personal state-of-the-art recording studio in Soho, London, the heart of Europe's post-production community, recording with A-list orchestras at major studios including Abbey Road Studios and Air Studios, and works with filmmakers in Los Angeles and commercial clients worldwide. Mair is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA).
Walter Mair is a member of Music Department
💰 Net worth: Under Review
Some Walter Mair images
Biography/Timeline
He has written the music for the Universal Pictures documentary feature Ronaldo, directed by BAFTA winning Director Anthony Wonke. In 2016, Walter Mair scored the music for Toby Tobias' thriller Blood Orange starring Ben Lamb and Iggy Pop. In television, he has written music for BBC 1's Cuffs and E4's teen drama mini-series Glue. His music can be heard in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto video games, Sony's sci-fi franchise Killzone, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction and The Creative Assembly's Total War series.
Austrian composers
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text:
Tesserae are the small pieces that make up a mosaic.
A Comres survey commissioned by the BBC for Palm Sunday** does not look good for the Church of England despite a predictable effort to spin the findings.
In the survey, 51% of people surveyed identified as Christian. Half of the people surveyed said they didn't believe in the resurrection, while only 31% of people identifying as Christian said they did. Only 17% of people thought the Bible version was literally true while 26% believed but thought the Bible shouldn't be taken literally.
Although Christmas is now far more celebrated, the resurrection is the core tenet of Christianity and Easter is its most important festival. No resurrection, no Christianity. To quote the Bible: Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. (John 11:25) And yet more than two thirds of Christians don't believe that.
Sidebar: I wrote about how Jesus is not the only one claiming to be resurrected here.
Belief and church attendance have been falling for quite some time. The figures for belief in this survey are slightly better than those in a YouGov survey from last year which found that only 46% of people identify as Christian. This was a much bigger survey and so is more likely to represent the population as a whole (nearly 12,000 as opposed to around 2,000 people). The YouGov survey also found that more people believe in ghosts than in a Creator.
According to the current survey, 37% of people identifying as Christian never go to Church. Another survey by the Church of England itself found that only 2% of the population go to the Church of England at Easter. The flock really has strayed far from the Good Shepherd (probably because they know he's going to herd them off to the slaughterhouse so we can all eat our traditional Easter roast lamb and rosemary).
The survey also looked at belief in life after death. It found that only 46% of people said they believed in it and the same number said they didn't. If you don't believe in an afterlife then the Church's carrot and stick tactics are not going to work on you.
Sidebar: of those who do believe in an afterlife, 56% were women and 36% were men. I looked at why women may believe more than men in many kinds of supernatural phenomena (and non-evidence based medicines) here.
The Church is fighting a rearguard action and trying to spin the findings that 20% of the non-religious believe in some sort of life after death and that 9% of non-believers do believe that the resurrection happened.
The Bishop of Manchester, the Right Reverend David Walker,said: "This important and welcome survey proves that many British people, despite not being regular churchgoers, hold core Christian beliefs". He describes the results as "surprisingly high levels of religious belief among those who follow no specific religion, often erroneously referred to as secularists or atheists".
Let's unpack this a bit. Firstly, the Church doesn't have a monopoly in life after death belief. About a third of the people (32%) who believed in some sort of life after death believe in reincarnation, hardly a Christian doctrine.
Secondly, 9% believing in the resurrection is not a 'surprisingly high level' when you look more closely and see that these are people who 'do not belong to a religious group' according to the survey. They are not identified as non-believers or claiming to be atheist or secular, he's just grasping at straws because any kind of belief, however small or tenuous is better than nothing. He does deserve credit for his top skills at ignoring all the stats that don't reflect well on the Church though. That's quite an impressive mental contortionist act.
Thirdly, he is conflating atheists and secularists. Atheism means no belief in God whereas secularism is a political belief in the need for separation of Church and State. You can be religious and secular, as many people are.
Like a lot of Easter eggs, the Bishop's claims are hollow and crack under the slightest pressure.
There is also dissension in the Christian ranks. Reverend Dr Lorraine Cavenagh is the acting general secretary for Modern Church, which promotes liberal Christian theology. She said "Science, but also intellectual and philosophical thought has progressed. It has a trickle-down effect on just about everybody's lives.
"So to ask an adult to believe in the resurrection the way they did when they were at Sunday school simply won't do and that's true of much of the key elements of the Christian faith."
A cynical person might say that the Church wants us all to believe like children at Sunday School do. Many of these children also believe in Santa.
Would it be mean to point out that in 2002 a survey found that a third of Church of England clergy don't believe in the physical resurrection? That's a bit of an own goal. It's also unfair to people who do believe if they're being led by people who don't.
These findings follow the Cadbury Easter egg fiasco where self-proclaimed vicar's daughter Theresa May and Archbishop Sentamu got very hot under the dog collar about Cadbury's and the National Trust dropping the word Easter from their eggs and egg hunt. I wrote about that here (short version – it's not true).
Does any of this really matter to most of us who are more interested in hot cross buns, chocolate eggs and maybe some roast lamb next Sunday?
The Bishop of Manchester also said: "This demonstrates how important beliefs remain across our society and hence the importance both of religious literacy and of religion having a prominent place in public discourse."
This is the crux of the matter. The Church will not give up its power and influence. It will not give up unelected bishops in the House of Lords or its tax-free benefits or state-funded Church schools and hospital chaplains or its general right to meddle in people's lives. It wants the right to cherry-pick who gets to go to its schools, to mislead children in sex education classes and to discriminate against women and non-hetero cis men.
Church leaders are deluding themselves about the relevance of their beliefs and their jobs in a multi-cultural society. Yes, this country has a Christian heritage, religion has shaped society and history but it is not the sole influence. Societies evolve and the Church is looking increasingly like a dinosaur just before the meteors hit. Or, to add another simile, the Church is like a ferret that will not let go once its jaws have locked on.
However, this survey is no reason for celebration. Politicians won't do anything to secularise the country because they're afraid of losing votes. Anglicans (Church of England) are more likely to vote Tory, for a start. This government is very good at ignoring research it doesn't like in any area and at dismissing 'experts' as irrelevant.
So the Church of England has the last laugh. Whatever surveys show, there is no prospect of change any time soon. It's much easier to hold onto power than to gain it. Inertia, cowardice and the status quo prevail.
** Palm Sunday is the one before Easter where the Bible says Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and people waved palm leaves at him.
Posted by TK at 11:03 2 comments: Links to this post
Labels: belief, chocolate, Church of England, Easter, religion, resurrection, superstition
The E Word
As if Theresa May didn't have enough to deceive the British public about at the moment, now she decides to wade into the Great Easter Egg Debate. This is basically the Winterval, 'they're cancelling Christmas' non-story with added chocolate.
Cadbury's and the National Trust have been running a joint egg hunt for 10 years. This year they're calling it the Cadbury's Great British Egg Hunt instead of the Easter Egg Trail.
According to May, dropping the Easter is 'ridiculous'. According to Archbishop Sentamu, this is 'spitting on the grave' of the company founder, John Cadbury, who was a Quaker.
May said: "I think the stance they have taken is absolutely ridiculous. I don't know what they are thinking about frankly. Easter's very important... It's a very important festival for the Christian faith for millions across the world." She also reminds us that she's a vicar's daughter.
Firstly, Cadbury is not dropping Easter from its promotions. As a spokesman point out: "A casual glance at our website will see dozens of references to Easter throughout." A ten second look at their website shows 'Enjoy Easter fun at the National Trust'. Yes, the E Word is right there. They also have a section called Easter Products that says 'Our eggstensive range is packed with perfect treats for the Easter season!'. Yes, it's a terrible pun, but, again, the E Word is right there.
The National Trust website says Join the Cadbury Egg Hunts this Easter. In fact, the page mentions the E Word five times.
Secondly, dear Archbishop, stop being a drama queen for one minute and you may remember that Quakers don't even celebrate Easter because they believe every day is holy.
Thirdly, both the Archbishop and the vicar's daughter seem to have forgotten that there is nothing in Christian doctrine about the mass consumption of poor quality chocolate at Easter, whether it is shaped like an egg or a rabbit. These are wholly pagan relics. I wrote about the pagan originsof Easter here .
Fourthly, calling it the Great British Egg Hunt should make all the Brexiteers happy. We'll have none of that Middle Eastern religion that was imposed on traditional British beliefs around 1500 years ago. Keep Britain's Spring Festival British.
Fifthly, if Easter is as important as the two of them are trying to make out, how come only about 2% of people bother going to Church to celebrate what is the fundamental basis of Christianity? And that's according the Church of England's own statistics.
All of those armchair Christians really should stop their advance towards diabetes for an hour and go to their nearest church – if they even know where it is. They may be able to sing some carols but how many Easter hymns do they know? How many gave something up for Lent? It's not as if Cadbury and the National Trust are barricading church doors to keep people out.
Sixthly, the real story here is that Brexit could mean more expensive or smaller chocolate bars. Cadbury's have already reduced a pack of six Creme Eggs to five with only a slight decrease in the price. A spokesman for thecompany has said that it may well have to pass on higher costs to customers by raising prices or selling smaller products for the same price. And it's not even a British company any more, it's owned by US company Mondelēz International. I suspect the ghost of Mr Cadbury would be far more bothered about that.
Cadbury's are probably far less worried about what Theresa May thinks than about the fact that six out of ten of our favourite chocolate products are made by their rival Mars, including the top slot, which is taken by Maltesers.
Finally, a vicar's daughter and an Archbishop really should know that it's a sin to tell a lie. They won't be getting any eggs this year because the Easter Bunny knows if you've been naughty or nice. Santa sold the Bunny his list – customer data sharing gets everywhere.
It looks like Cadbury's and The National Trust are avoiding the wrath of May and the Archbish this year by plastering the word Easter all over their joint egg hunt site.
But this isn't enough for some people. Yes, the War on Easter brigade are back. The Sun has come up with the shock horror headline that nine in ten eggs won't have the word 'Easter' on them. One of the people they spoke to said 'Eggs signify Jesus is risen and help tell the story. Why not put Easter on the front of eggs?' Kind of missing the point there. Eggs, as we know, predate Christianity as part of Spring celebrations across many cultures.
If they don't like the eggs, perhaps they'd be happier with this:
It's so much easier to whine about eggs than to deal with the fact that so few people go to Church on Easter Sunday even though it is the core festival of this religion - not Christmas. Only 1.3 million attended in 2015 according to the Church of England's own data. That's only 2.3% of the population (of England - the Churches of Wales and Scotland have separate data). Too busy stuffing themselves with chocolate, probably.
I'm sticking to hot cross buns. After all, the best part of any religion is its carbs.
Labels: Cadbury, chocolate, Christianity, Easter, religion, Theresa May
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