Roundtable: What is the future for insurance-linked securities?
The insurance-linked securities market continues to evolve and grow but what next and what issues may arise? This roundtable, titled 'What is the future for ILS and is broader participation in new reinsurance areas appetising?', discusses these questions and more.
– Aashh K. Parekh, Managing Director, Global Public Market, TIAA-CREF.
– Isaac Anthony, Chief Executive Officer, Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF).
– Dan Bergman, Head of Investment Research & Insurance-Linked Securities, AP3.
– Dirk Lohmann, Chairman & Managing Partner, Secquaero Advisors.
Steve Evans: Is there a drive towards broader participation in the reinsurance market?
Dirk Lohmann: If you define insurance-linked securities (ILS) as capital markets I would say yes; although the question is around what form that capital market participation will be. There have been recent developments amongst new reinsurers, backed by hedge funds, to focus increasingly on areas such as casualty. That said, I don't know the extent to which they are really involved in reinsurance; I rather feel it is more a method for securing permanent capital for hedge funds. This increased amount of capital includes a lot of sidecar involvement which technically, allows investors to participate in a broader range of reinsurance than would be the case if they were limited to bonds.
In ILS specialist funds where managers have their own transformers, there is an increasing trend of investing in non-catastrophe related risk that may be short-term in nature. One such manager recently announced they also invested in per risk transactions and I see activity likely to continue in that direction.
all of whom have varying degrees of interest in the broader reinsurance market. Essentially it depends on how the ILS market reacts to the current dynamic. We've experienced some spread compression in insurance-linked securities, also known as catastrophe (CAT) bonds.
be met with supply through the traditional securities market; if the supply continues to be constrained, despite the fact that spreads have compressed, ILS will be competitive with reinsurance markets in some places. If that increased demand isn't met with increased supply, then some of our accounts will find it compelling to expand capabilities and branch out beyond traditional CAT bonds.
by equities. Consequently we value asset classes with good risk adjusted returns, not correlated with equities; ILS provides just that, it diversifies and improves the efficiency of our total portfolio.
or perils, rather we focus on finding well priced risks that we can access efficiently. This may differ somewhat from, for example, a hedge fund dedicated to this space (or a traditional reinsurer for that matter) where the entire risk can be insurance or CAT related. I don't see a strong interest from our side to grow this market into new areas; our strategy does not require that.
Isaac Anthony: We definitely believe there is a drive towards broader participation in the reinsurance market through multiple fronts, as ILS investors become more sophisticated and develop their in-house underwriting capabilities.
At CCRIF we are very reliant on the reinsurance market and are actively trying to source the best pricing. This year we are seriously looking at the possibility of getting involved with CAT bonds and potentially, collateralised reinsurance. From our perspective this is very important as we feel this market expansion presents us with some excellent opportunities.
fine and good if you're taking the AP3 approach, for example, where you say we don't need diversification within that asset class because it naturally diversifies against other asset classes and because your allocation is going to be small. Certainly there is an investor base out there allocating to managers like ourselves in order to gain both the diversifying and non-correlating nature, and are equally desirous of limited draw down on their investment.
The reality though is that if you have a bond only strategy the draw down risk on the principle that you commit can be quite severe, simply because of the high concentration of hurricane risk in the bond universe. This has caused a proportion of investors to increase the amount of diversification that they seek.
Aashh: When we compare the characteristics of the ILS market components to the other capital markets that we participate in, one thing we observe is that the ILS market isn't as mature as other markets. Whilst there is a fairly active primary risk pipeline the secondary market is not very well developed and frequently it is the case that there isn't much liquidity.
Secondly, the broader reinsurance market brings other types of risk to the table that aren't observed in the ILS market. Moreover, it's frequently the case that even for the same peril, with some adjustments for risk profiles, documentation and contract language, you can actually be paid more for taking on similar kinds of risk but in a different format. From that standpoint our investors are on a risk adjusted basis looking for the most return and in some instances would find other reinsurance formats, not just ILS, equally compelling.
with different residual markets. Over the past couple of years we have seen how more and more of these risks have found their way to the collateralised reinsurance market and even the 144A CAT bond market. I expect this development to continue and it is certainly beneficial to these coastal communities to obtain coverage for their hurricane risks at competitive price levels. This is one example where the development of the ILS market serves society well.
Isaac: On a standalone basis we are seeing increased interest in energy, marine and agriculture. There is also extremely high demand for the non-peak national capacity perils because they appear to be offering greater diversification and good value for regions such as the Caribbean, Central and South America. This is ultimately driving pricing convergence within traditional markets and additionally, the various buyer are then helping to provide multi-collateral capacity, which further increases market competitiveness.
Steve: What are the present constraints on the key market players, from the asset owner, insurer and ILS provider's perspectives?
Aashh: Spreads are tighter in the current market environment relative to 12, 18 or 24 months ago. From a risk standpoint it is additionally challenging for some markets to achieve the desired amount of diversification just by participating in CAT bonds alone. In terms of diversification, we're talking about perils and peril regions as well as the number and type of cedants.
I would say the ability to diversify in the ILS market is improving but overall investors are still limited in other formats. These are the main constraints from the asset managers' standpoint. From an insurance company's standpoint, some accounts are sensitive to the existence of ratings even though ratings have limited application in this asset class.
Dan: The spread compression in the broader insurance market and in particular in the listed CAT bond space has forced us to work harder and reduce our participation on several programmes. We are increasingly focusing on the traditional market and various types of private transactions in order to find better risks and pricing.
size of the market. It's still tiny and for many larger institutions if they want to make a meaningful allocation it's hard to find enough product to satisfy that. There are huge institutional investors that understand the benefits of this asset class from a portfolio context but to move the needle on their diversification, will need to allocate several hundred million dollars. Even though the total bond market size is worth $22 billion, it's not very big and there's not much liquidity. It's a niche market and therefore this will always be a problem until we are able to develop additional products with meaningful value for the insurance company sponsors and are fungible, in a way that institutional investors or capital market investors can own and trade them.
offs in the terms and conditions of traditional markets. For example, CAT bonds and many of the collateralised reinsurance providers cannot provide reinstatements on a cost competitive basis within the traditional markets. There will be some parts of the reinsurance programme better suited to alternative markets than others and therefore, it's important to understand and optimise how the different markets utilise the specific instruments.
Steve: The ILS marketplace isn't as diversified as the traditional reinsurance market, where do you expect the greatest level of diversification and expansion to occur?
be exposed on the second, third or fourth event rather than first. That said there are limitations because if everyone buys that cover then of course you will have tighter correlation within the portfolio. It's tough to say.
Some people might say that they'll look at terrorism because there's been talk about TRIA not being renewed, when in reality it actually is being renewed. I am not a big fan of terrorism as a product for the capital markets because I don't believe it is non-correlating; in fact terrorist events have a high correlation with capital market movements. I suspect there will be increased movement towards other perils that historically, have not been insured to a great extent, such as flooding. For this to happen there needs to be improved modelling, time and resources; however, we're making some progress with reporting agencies such as PERILS AG, who are increasing their footprint coverage and really moving modelling on.
Isaac: Speaking more from a geographical rather product development perspective, I certainly see the greatest push to be into international emerging market zones. There has been a recent application of transactions in the Caribbean with growing interest in Central America and to a lesser extent in South America, including in Columbia, Chile and Peru. In Asia, the biggest developments have been in China and Taiwan and collectively I see this growth as the driver behind greater levels of diversification.
a soft market for a number of years.
I struggle to see it persist for the long-term. I would rather assume a moderate more gradual growth, largely driven by an increased familiarity with non-traditional capacity within smaller and mid-sized companies, particularly in the U.S. As a consequence, I expect much of the long-term growth to occur in the collateralised private space rather than in the listed 144A securities space.
Steve: There is an increased acceptance of indemnities and subsequently we're seeing more features such as variable resets and expansion of the terms and conditions. Which new ILS instruments are most appealing and why?
of risk that makes it to market, the format of the risk and the nature of the portfolio, documentation, triggers and structural features. We see it moving in a direction that is reflective of the state of the market. In some cases we can find situations where it's acceptable and in other cases they're not acceptable.
Dan: My general reflection is that: cleaner is better. We see relaxed terms, an increasing number of more involved structures and some new securities with perhaps more complex underlying books of business coming to market. We struggle to find value in some of these more complex and creative transactions.
Dirk: I echo many of those comments but add that it's welcoming to see so many new sponsors coming to the market and broadening the number of participants. What does concern me though is that, as Dan mentioned, at times there are quite complex portfolios being put to the markets, priced off a model in which the model risk is very large.
We're returning to a situation that we had in 2005 when a bond was placed on an industrial portfolio with the model defining the expected value as 'x'. However, when the event happened the triggering threshold event was well below the 'x' that the model had predicted and so the risk/return profile was off.
It is because of these situations that we have to be very vigilant regarding what type of portfolio is insured, on what basis and when an indemnity trigger is used for transferring all of that risk into the capital markets. This reflects where the marketplace is today but that said, there may still be corrections needed because who knows what surprises are yet to come. Whilst some extensions might make sense for certain types of perils, the biggest concern remains around the incorporation of portfolios that are priced with a huge model risk.
Isaac: Although we are relatively new to the market, we do see that the collateralised reinsurance and CAT bond markets are very attractive options for sponsors. The main advantage of these, certainly from a collateralised reinsurance market, is in the execution process and the additional coverage that is provided. We also recognise that CAT bonds introduce a multi capacity and a broader range of investors into the marketplace which of course helps influence our decision. These instruments provide strategic benefits in that they broaden the source of capacity over time which in turns helps better manage volatility in the reinsurance market.
Steve: Thank you all for sharing your insights.


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Home LIFESTYLE Celebrity Interviews 'The Pit and The Pendulum' Like You've Never Seen It Before
'The Pit and The Pendulum' Like You've Never Seen It Before
by Joanna Price
Classic Edgar Allan Poe short story The Pit and the Pendulum has been made into a film and a play before, but never anything like this. Joanna Price quizzes director Christopher York about his decision to morph the story into something that "knocks down prejudices"
Venue: Omnibus Theatre, Clapham
Upcoming Shows & Times:
6-24th November at 7.30pm on weekdays,
9 pm on Friday and Saturday and 4 pm on Sunday
Tickets: www.omnibus-clapham.org
First published in 1842 as a short story, The Pit and the Pendulum tells the story of a political prisoner trapped in a dark dungeon alone, experiencing physical and emotional traumas. Typically assumed to be a white male protagonist, Christopher York breaks all the norms and assigns a Middle Eastern woman the lead role, giving the play a dynamic never seen before.
Having directed smaller productions before but nothing on this scale, The Pit and the Pendulum at Omnibus Theatre is Christopher's professional directorial debut, and he is determined to make it interesting.
Christopher says "To me, "white man struggles in prison" – I don't know how interesting that becomes once you get past the two obstacles (the pit and the pendulum) in his way.
"As a 90s kid, the horror I used to watch was tacky. Now it feels like we've linked horror and drama again and made it relevant to the political themes of today. Looking at the protagonists in modern cinematic horrors it seemed that women drove horror most because they are infinitely more empathetic than guys are, due to the play on maternity and the ability to open up emotionally to an audience. And so I decided that our protagonist would be female."
But the controversy doesn't stop there. After watching A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night – an Iranian/American vampire film – a film which he describes as "very Edgar Allan Poe in terms of its aesthetics", Christopher decides to cast his female lead as Middle Eastern.
"I had the idea that if our protagonist is from the Middle East and is a woman, we can give our audience another world to go into – a world that normally might scare them. Hopefully, we can knock down some prejudices by saying, 'Hey, look, this woman is going through some stuff. She's just like you and she feels the same things just like you.' I want to show a part of the world in a more positive light. I want to show all the beautiful mountains and the desert landscape and the beautiful culture and language."
Christopher evidently had an ambitious approach to casting and directing his version of The Pit and the Pendulum, but when it came to casting the right woman, he knew immediately that she was the one. And with presenting such a different culture to his own, he welcomes any input Afsaneh Dehrouyeh gives.
"Obviously I'm a straight white guy telling a Middle Eastern story, and that comes with a certain amount of responsibility. My actress has had to act like a collaborator at times to make sure that I'm doing the culture justice."
Collaborating with Creation Theatre Company allows Christopher some creative freedom with his adaptation, and having worked with them since 2013, they are evidently in no doubt of Christopher's skills, and that the play will be a hit with both the modern audience and with Poe fans alike. Although having changed the text dramatically from the original, Christopher is keen to include the gothic elements of Poe, which he knows fans may expect.
"Two of Poe's more famous works are The Raven and The TellTale Heart, and we do reference those and have taken parts of the stories and implicated them into the play. Even though this is The Pit and The Pendulum, it kind of feels like my 'love letter' to Poe generally."
And in true Poe style, the play will incorporate elements of horror, with the aim of making the audience truly terrified – not something commonly associated with a theatrical production.
Trust us when we say that this is not something you want to miss!
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Home » Album » A Star Is Born
Fever Staff 70 0
Hollywood music and Hollywood melodrama are the two quintessential of the American films, especially in feminine genres. The movie soundtrack of "A Star Is Born" can be on the top list of the albums to fetch away the Oscar this year. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga both are heading towards the awards of the big screens for their outstanding performance in the album. This soundtrack is a collection of songs that are emotionally charged and impressive as well. It will make you feel the tale of doomed romance very heartily.
The album is directed by Bradley Cooper in which he and Lady Gaga are in the main leads. The huge relief for the viewers is that Cooper has done no harm to the popularity of Gaga in this album. They both have taken the lead to write the songs for this album, and their efforts cannot be neglected.
This album contains the songs of love, loss, and strife. The listeners can feel the depth of the words, Gaga's voice and of course the piano. They can actually get the whole feel of the movie through this album alone. "Maybe It's Time" and "Black Eyes" are the songs sung by Cooper while "Defying Gravity", "Is That Alright" ,"Look What I Found", "Why Did You Do That" are in Gaga's voice in a duet with Cooper, Reba McEntire, and Billy Ray Cyrus.
Falling Stars: A Festive and Fun Holiday Story
Last update was on: November 28, 2022 11:57 am


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In the Complete Floss Kit all of the flosses are included for the Show and Tell pattern. If you think you might have leftover flosses from the original floss starter pack then you would only need to add the Partial Floss Kit. The Partial Floss Kit would include the additional colors that were introduced for this pattern.


On Friday, September 5, Venus resumes direct motion at 21° Cancer. Venus' retrograde cycle has transformed her relationship with the Sun from rising after the Sun to rising before the Sun, taking on the role of "morning star."
Venus is an energetic planet that compels us toward enjoyment of life through relationship, creation and entertainment. Through Venus we seek comfort and pleasure, the juice of life that can come through many different channels. This desire to connect with the enjoyable facets of life can be dazzling to the extent that we may renounce other responsibilities, whether to self or others, in the pursuit of feeling good.
We talk so often of Mercury's retrograde cycle, but what are we going through with Venus' retreat? Something that Mercury and Venus share is association with rajas guna, the quality of movement and action. Both Venus and Mercury want to move and act; with retrograde motion of planets, this can make the energy of the planet even stronger, so during these retrograde periods, our desire to move, connect, act and do may rise. Indulging this desire may not always be the most productive thing, but it may be the thing that needs to happen to move things along.
With Venus' status as ruling relationships between people, this retrograde cycle that began in Leo and ends in Cancer may have brought us on the "re" journey with relationships in general: revise, re-establish, review, reject, rewind, retreat.
This new story of Venus will strongly include Mars. During the last week in August, Venus retrogrades into an exact conjunction with Mars. After resuming direct motion on September 5, Venus will travel in tandem with Mars, within 10º of one another through November 24. Venus overtakes Mars in early November, widening the gap by early December and ending the close conjunction that goes on for about three months.
The conjunction of Venus and Mars for an extended period, especially after this retrograde cycle of Venus, could signal some intense desire and action that flourishes in the realm of relationship in the coming months. Before wondering if it will be good or bad, realize that it depends on the individual charts involved and that also Venus and Mars will travel together through three signs: Cancer, Leo and Virgo. This will be a journey involving movement and building. In Leo, the pair will be influenced by Jupiter and in Virgo, by Rahu. Life is never dull!
At any rate, by the beginning of September, early risers should be able to see strong, steady Mars and sparkling, shiny Venus in the eastern sky before sunrise.
Just after midnight on September 13, the Moon conjoins the Sun at 27° Leo, ruled by the Sun himself and in the lunar mansion Purvaphalguni, ruled by the planet Venus.
Leo and the planets in it are supported on one side by the Venus/Mars conjunction in Cancer and on the other by Mercury/Rahu in Virgo. Rahu will be only 11 degrees away from the Sun/Moon combination, close enough to cause a partial solar eclipse.
This hemming in of the new Moon by both benefic (Venus and Mercury) and malefic (Mars and Rahu) planets indicates mixed results with actions initiated during this new Moon. What we create during this time may be inspired by the desire for connection and exchange with others (Venus and Mercury's influence) but could also be affected by conscious or unconscious needs for control that cause manipulative tactics (Mars and Rahu.) The eclipse energy could make it particularly difficult to be aware of how our unconscious fears or desires may be affecting our actions.
Aside from these influences from planets flanking Leo, there is also the planetary aspect of Saturn from Scorpio that continues to hit Leo. This can bring obstacles, difficulty, sorrow or obstruction but also practicality and detachment. Balancing this is the expansive presence of Jupiter with the Sun and Moon in Leo, showing how we can learn and grow from any situation.
After encountering retrograde Venus on August 31, Mars continues to press forward out of the sign of Cancer, where he is debilitated, and into Leo, a friendly and supportive sign. Mars breaks into Cancer on September 15 and moves through Jupiter-occupied Leo through November 2, 2015.
Mars and Jupiter are friendly planets in a friendly sign, so we may feel this combination fuels the growth of projects for the six week period between mid-September and the beginning of November. The pure nature of Jupiter combining with the strength and drive of Mars can propel us in a positive direction.
Mars from Leo will create a mutual planetary aspect with Saturn currently occupying Scorpio. Mars can aspect four signs from himself while Saturn can aspect 10 signs from himself, putting these two planets into an aspect relationship as long as Mars is in Leo. This could create tension between the planet of drive (Mars) and the planet of stability (Saturn.) Tension can be quite a useful state if used in the proper applications. How many situations arise in life where both courage (Mars) and patience (Saturn) are required?
Saturn is currently connected to both Mars and Ketu by his transit through Scorpio, which is co-lorded by Mars and Ketu. From Leo, Mars will be aspecting Saturn's sign Aquarius and also Pisces, currently occupied by Ketu. This brings Mars' intense focus toward Saturn and his position in Scorpio. All three planets involved in this situation, Mars, Ketu and Saturn, are considered to be challenging planets that generally deliver situations that require strength, detachment, fortitude and surrender.
We may be facing some situations during this Mars transit that could be steeped in challenge that is required for us to grow beyond our current borders.
The middle of September is shaping up to be pivotal: New Moon Partial Eclipse on September 13, Mars changing signs September 15, Sun moves to Virgo on September 17, followed quickly by the initiation of Mercury retrograde on the same day.
Just after midnight on September 17, the Sun exits Leo and enters Virgo, joining Rahu and Mercury. As always, the Sun spends about one month in each sign, exiting Virgo for Libra on October 17. The Sun joins the north node, the head of the dragon, Rahu, this year while in Virgo, bringing us an eclipse pair with the new Moon of September 13 and the full Moon of September 27. The Sun's transit through a sign occupied by one of the nodes, Rahu or Ketu, signals an eclipse pair (one at new Moon, one at full Moon), which happens twice per year.
The Sun joins Mercury in Virgo, who is strongly positioned there. It is said that Mercury's conjunction with other planets causes Mercury to join the cause of that planet, as Mercury's energy is flexible and changeable.
Virgo is the sign of the harvest; the Sun will certainly contribute to that job while in Virgo and it is likely that Mercury will appreciate the powerful Sun's help "bringing in the crops." This could also be a good period of time to work on presentations or creative projects requiring word craft and communication: screenplays, musical recordings, lesson plans, etc.
Mercury entered Virgo on August 22, joining a strongly positioned Rahu. Mercury passes through the degree occupied by Rahu during the last few days of August and moves quickly forward until he stops and assumes reverse motion on September 17 at 22° Virgo.
Mercury's retreat through his own sign of Virgo brings him to within one degree of another encounter with Rahu. Mercury will resume direct motion at 7º Virgo while Rahu continues in retrograde motion from 6º Virgo. It is perhaps a blessing that easily-influenced Mercury will encounter Rahu exactly only once.
Mercury is the ruler of Virgo and enjoys enhanced abilities while transiting there. Retrograde motion of Mercury can cause very strong expression, maybe too much of Mercury's qualities, which can include easy exchange, quickness, flexibility and movement. This can be cause for system overload, too much information, crossed lines of communication, haste making waste and unstable thought processes.
Even though the exact encounter with Rahu happens only once for Mercury gone retrograde, before the retrograde cycle even begins, Rahu's presence in Virgo may still be quite influential on Mercury. Rahu's presence can be cloudy, smoky, obscuring and confusing.
This is a clue that one thing we can do is to keep our actions slow and deliberate during this time, while trying to keep our heads above the smoke in the room. Perhaps the image of the giraffe may be good to keep with us during the time that Mercury occupies Virgo. We may be slightly afflicted by having to analyze dirty data. Work hard to regain perspective if you find yourself in a situation where it is difficult to discern what is true. Do not be pushed forward by a sense of urgency that has no basis in reality.
Depending where you are on the planet, the moment of the full Moon and exact time of the total lunar eclipse could be either on September 27 or 28. In US Mountain time zone, the eclipse of the full Moon happens after sunset on September 27, around 8:00 pm, as the Moon rises in the east.
The Sun will be at 11° Virgo, just four degrees from Rahu, while Moon will be at 11° Pisces. The Rahu-Ketu axis will be at 7° Virgo-Pisces for this total lunar eclipse visible for many parts of the world.
It is generally not recommended to do important actions during an eclipse; in this case, the Moon (mind, manas) is being eclipsed by Ketu, the headless one. Perhaps not the best time to require precision in thought! This could be a good time to withdraw from intense or important actions in favor of rest, relaxation or meditative practices.
The eclipse pair of September combined with the Mercury retrograde cycle spanning mid-September to October 9 could point toward the best approach to September coming with patience and steadiness in the face of instability or lack of information. Less is more, this month.


The bible for Monk lovers. For example that all time classic session with Pettiford and Kenny Clarke, one of the most beautiful trio recordings in jazz. This box contains almost all Monk compositions and is almost a biography of the master. Monk is my favorite jazz composer.
This is a brilliant recording of clarity and classicism in European music. The piano sound is almost jazzy; the architecture of this music seems very simple but is in fact extremely effective and at the same time very refined. The poetry of this music is something very dear to me.
Robert Ashley is one of my favorite living composers and on this Cd he is performed by my former group, the Maarten Altena Ensemble (nowadays known under the name of Ensemble MAE).
Especially the way Ashley weaves his words in his music and makes music with words, is unique. "Outcome Inevitable" is an older piece that shows his music without words: transparent, logic and beautiful.
This box contains the "early" Miles Davis who was on his way to his unique trumpet sound. In jazz music I like the process of the development of sound. When the sound of the individual musician is completely "there", the very process of the experiment is often finished: you then have "style". In Miles Davis' case the process has been longer than any other musician. This makes him unique for me, apart from the poetry of his singing trumpet.
A beautiful piece with unconventional use of melodic lines. The melody is the source of the chords that are used. Strange ending and fantastic orchestration.
Tapestry of sound–layers that slowly move into endless variations: music that seems to stand almost still, but in fact is very active by the way the orchestra is used.
Open strings that are all differently tuned (scordatura) than usual. This is a piece that sounds different from everything I know. No hand is used on the strings, every note comes from an open string (and so from bowing only) and the result is magic. Strong idea realized with ultimate precision.
This is music that I must listen to from time to time, just to remember how a lot of things in western music did start. Very good performance.
One of my all time favorite composers performed in a superior way.
A beautiful collection of pieces by one of Holland's strangest composers.
Van Bergeijk is a master of concepts and of non-digital electronics.
Listen to this music and be surprised!


text:
Death Equinox was a series of four conventions held in Denver, Colorado in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Sponsored by CyberPsychos AOD, and organized by Jasmine Sailing, they focused on alternative culture and art. A usual aspect was that they combined both the transgressive aspects of writing and art with the actual practice of things that would appear in such works. Convention events included standards such as readings and panels but also featured live concerts, play piercing demonstrations, torture readings and Cnidarian sermons. Rev. Ivan Stang hosted a Church of the SubGenius devival at the second Death Equinox convention.

Death Equinox '97
 General GoH: John Shirley
 Sado-Magickal GoH: Don Webb
 Horrific Literatist GoH: Brian Hodge
 Master of Toast: Edward Bryant

Death Equinox '98
Specialized Guests of Honour:
 Slack-Magickal GoH: Rev. Ivan Stang
 Master of Toast: Lee Ballentine
Ranchhand Guests of Honour:
 Audial Distortionist GoH: Little Fyodor
 Visual Depictionist GoH: T. Motley
 Veteran Guests: Don Webb, Brian Hodge, and Edward Bryant

Death Equinox '99
 General GoH: Larry McCaffery
 Master of Oration: R. N. Taylor
 Kink-Artist GoH: Gomez
 Mad Scientist GoH: Bill Llewellin
 Veteran Guests: Brian Hodge, Edward Bryant, Lee Ballentine, Little Fyodor, and T. Motley

Death Equinox '01
Guests of Honour:
 Avant-Prof GoH: Lance Olsen
 Visual Depictionist GoH: Andi Olsen
 Horrific Literatist GoH: Brian Evenson
 Master of Crack-Toast: Michael Hemmingson
 Veteran Guests: Larry McCaffery, R. N. Taylor, Edward Bryant, Lee Ballentine, Little Fyodor, T. Motley, and Gomez.

Other known participants (all years)
 Jasmine Sailing
 Bruce Young
 M. Christian (Eros Ex Machina)
 Thomas Roche (Noirotica)
 Paula Guran, (Dark Echo/Wet Bones)
 Julia Solis (Spitting Image)
 Greg Bishop (The Excluded Middle)
 Jeffrey A. Stadt (Bloodrealms)
 Doug Rice
 Rob Hardin
 Loren Rhoads (Morbid Curiosity)
 Schwann
 Trace Reddell
 Gregory R. Hyde
 Trey R. Barker
 Christopher Morris*
 Travis Fendle
 Gene Santagada
 Arkoff Kapacitor
 John Kerper
 Claudius Reich
 Judy Saxe
 Darlene Sexauer
 John Niernberger
 Chris Yardley (Tantric Lobotomy Commission)
 Gordon Klock
 Alex Seminara

References

External links
 DE Home Page
 Cnidarian Home Page
 Wired Article

Defunct multigenre conventions
Conventions in Denver
1990s in Denver
2000s in Denver

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
'require util/checkstringargs';
'require util/polyfill';

$jscomp.polyfill('String.prototype.repeat', function(orig) {
  if (orig) return orig;

  /**
   * Returns a new string repeated the given number of times.
   *
   * <p>Polyfills the instance method String.prototype.repeat().
   *
   * @this {string}
   * @param {number} copies
   * @return {string}
   */
  var polyfill = function(copies) {
    'use strict';
    var string = $jscomp.checkStringArgs(this, null, 'repeat');
    if (copies < 0 || copies > 0x4FFFFFFF) { // impose a 1GB limit
      throw new RangeError('Invalid count value');
    }
    copies = copies | 0; // cast to a signed integer.
    var result = '';
    while (copies) {
      if (copies & 1) result += string;
      if ((copies >>>= 1)) string += string;
    }
    return result;
  };

  return polyfill;
}, 'es6', 'es3');

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
North Hempstead Country Club
291 Port Washington Blvd
Port Washington, NY 11050-4598, United States
www.nhccli.com
The legendary architect A.W. Tillinghast designed this course, which is located along Long Island's Gold Coast and opened in 1916. The club leased some of the original land for a sand-mining operation, so architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr. was brought in to redesign the 11th, 12th, 13th, 16th and 17th holes. Architect Gil Hanse was retained in 1994 to restore Tillinghast's original design; this layout opened in the spring of 1996.
This is a very private club; visitors are permitted only as guests of a member.
General Manager: Dan Rogers
Superintendent: tom Kaplun
Season Start: March
Season End: Nove,ber
Plandome Country Club
Plandome, NY (1 miles)
Harbor Links Golf Course
Port Washington, NY (1 miles)
Village Club of Sands Point
Sands Point, NY (2 miles)
Engineers Country Club
Roslyn Harbor, NY (2 miles)
Christopher Morley Park Golf Course
North Hills, NY (2 miles)
All Port Washington Courses
4/18/19 Thomas Greene 47*
4/14/19 Thomas Greene 98
12/15/18 Thomas Greene 84
12/1/18 Thomas Greene 87
6/2/18 Thomas Greene 86
5/20/18 Thomas Greene 101
All Tees BackMiddleForward	 Include 9-hole scores Best score per golfer to
cousinbrucie - 7/21/13
Private Club. Played as a guest
Quiet-1 - 9/29/14
hjolly - 8/17/14
slinger368 - 9/23/13
Mr. 21 - 7/8/11
rdash9 - 7/5/11
Edwood157 - 9/19/10
bluedevil_1989 - 8/18/10
johnner33 - 7/6/10
MK70 - 4/19/10


text:
Dee Dwyer's Photo Exhibit Issues Call to Action
by Sam P.K. Collins July 17, 2019 December 21, 2021
Dee Dwyer (Courtesy photo)
Four years ago, a hobby saved Dee Dwyer from what she described as a life of unfulfilled potential. Then she became a photographic storyteller, documenting Black people in her city and across the globe while capturing them in their rawest, most authentic way.
Dwyer's newest collection of black-and-white prints, titled "Last Bite of Chocolate City?" is on display at the Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center (CHACC) on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. The exhibition highlights the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Black women, men and children living in Southeast and all the while compelling them to take control of the last frontier of their gentrified city.
"I want people to face the truth and start thinking strategically about saving the culture. We can't shy away from the truth," said Dwyer, a photographer-educator often referred to as the "Visual Voice for the People." "I want people — politicians and people with nonprofits — connecting and getting inspired."
On July 12, Dwyer launched "Last Bite of Chocolate City?" at the Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center (CHACC) on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. The public event and another gathering on Sunday that featured Black Alley as the headline performer, attracted several dozen activists, educators, art enthusiasts and community members.
For three hours, guests made their stroll around the gallery of nearly 30 photos, vibed with one another and feasted on healthy hors d'oeuvres to the sounds of DJ Kryptic and intricate wordplay of Aziyrah the Poet.
Beyond the walls of CHACC, Dwyer said she wants to use her talent to tackle the continued economic activity that has displaced more than 100,000 people since the turn of the century.
Since the opening, last September, of the Entertainment & Sports Arena on St. Elizabeths East Campus, located less than a mile from CHACC, it has numerous concerts and entertainment and sports events. Meanwhile, nearby Black business owners, along Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue corridor in downtown Anacostia, fight to maintain their collective presence. Near the Big Chair, the impending Reunion Square construction project has raised questions about the future of housing affordability.
"I want change in Southeast and other Black communities," Dwyer said in her charge to people with whom her work resonates. "We can get educated and put in work [instead of] complaining."
For nearly a month, CHACC visitors will see photos that convey the trauma of community and police interactions, the rebuke of white supremacy and youthful expressions.
Dwyer is a former art teacher at the recently shuttered Democracy Prep Congress Heights Public Charter School in Southeast. In the exhibit is a photo taken from the third floor of the school that shows a student wearing a school uniform being slammed against a car by a D.C. police officer. In another picture, a youth holds up their middle finger to a police officer as a sign of rebellion.
These photos count among the several thousand that Dwyer, a divorced single mother of two, has taken since jumping into her profession in 2015. Around that time, she joined her colleagues Briana Monet and award-winning filmmaker Falani Afrika on an excursion to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil during the production of Maestrina de Favela, a film about Elem, a young Brazilian percussionist.
More recently, Dwyer has taken her talents to New York and other U.S. cities where she often shows her work to and connects with fellow photographers. One New York-based visual artist by the name of Howard T. Cash took Dwyer under his wing while immersing her in the culture. He also joined onlookers at the launch of "Last Bite of Chocolate City?"
"Dee listens, so I have no problem telling her, discussing [photography] with her and listening to her. It's fun working with her and learning through her," Cash told his fellow guests at CHACC on Friday night. "That's one of the wonderful things about being with her — hanging out with her best friend and her whole posse. Congratulations. It's such a wonderful show: the wonderful turnout and the love of your community."
Cardinals Running Back Charged with Hitting Wife
In "Sports"
National Building Museum Highlights D.C. Culture in 5th Annual Film Festival
In "Lifestyle"
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to Open 2021 Jazz Masters Concert
Tagged: Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center, Dee Dwyer, Howard T. Cash, Last Bite of Chocolate City?, Sam P.K. Collins
Sam P.K. Collins
Sam P.K. Collins has more than a decade of experience as a journalist, columnist and organizer. Sam, a millennial and former editor of WI Bridge, covers education, police brutality, politics, and other... More by Sam P.K. Collins


March is National Nutrition Month, and this year the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is encouraging Americans to "Go Further with Food." It's a great time to take stock of eating habits, encourage healthier habits, and bring employees together in the name of better health. When employees feel healthy and happy, everyone wins!
Smart snacking should be a part of a healthy eating plan.
A USDA study showed that almost 20 percent of daily calorie intake comes from snack food. Making healthy snack choices should be an essential part of every well-balanced diet, especially for busy employees.
Convenience leads to healthier choices.
How can you support employees during National Nutrition Month?
1. Challenge employees to eat healthier this month.
2. Order healthy lunches in for a team building activity.
3. Stock the break room with fresh fruit, vegetables, and healthier versions of favorite office snacks.
4. Encourage employees to take regular breaks.
5. If you don't already have a subscription box service, a one-time purchase is a great option for taking workplace wellness for a test-drive. Every SnackGenius box includes a variety of delicious, totally awesome snacks expertly curated and delivered to your office.
Small changes can make a big difference. Make Nutrition Month the start of healthier habits at work!
Learn more about SnackGenius subscription boxes.


The Foreign Exchange market (FOREX, or FX) is the largest trading market in the world, with a volume of over 4 trillion dollars per day.
It carries out the swapping of currencies from different countries. For example, you could be trading British Pounds for Canadian dollars. Companies worldwide need to convert currencies to settle payments for their import-export transactions in the course of normal business. The amazing fact is that only 5% of the volume traded in the Forex market corresponds to international trade.
Over 95% of all Foreign Exchange (Fx) volume is traded by speculators, large and small, who try to harness the enormous profit potential of the Forex Market. These include Hedge Funds and Banks who trade the Forex market for profit or to hedge their investments.
With the advent of online trading a new breed of speculators has emerged in the Forex market. No longer just for large institutions, traders just like us can open a retail Forex account today, anywhere in the world, and get involved in one of the most exciting markets anywhere.
Trading schedule: The Forex Market is open 5 days a week, 24 hours a day. It starts on Sunday at 21:00 GMT and continues without stop until Friday at 21:00 GMT.
No trading is performed on weekends as brokers and markets are closed. There is no need to turn off the robots during the weekend. They will resume trading as soon as the broker is open again.
I wish that the rest of the companies would be like yours!!!
Note: All brokers work with our Robots.
We stand behind our Forex Trading Robots!
If your account (Demo or Live) fails to make a profit by the end of 60 days, using default settings, we will refund your full purchase price, no questions asked, and let you keep the robot for Free!
Please note that foreign exchange and other leveraged trading carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors and you should make sure you understand the risks involved, seeking independent advice if necessary.
Website Designed by Worldwide Solutions Copyright 2012 Smart FX Technology. All Rights Reserved.


Succulents are varied and beautiful plants and if you're a fan, then you probably want to display these plants in a way that ensures everyone will see them. Our Grand Living Wall Succulent Planter is the perfect way to display succulents, featuring a lightweight zinc frame with an array of succulents surrounded by preserved reindeer moss displayed inside. For the more advanced gardener, consider buying the empty version of our zinc frame so you can plant your own succulents in your own way. For that extra special gift our living walls can be personalised with silver inscription.


Honors Education: Innovation or Conservation?
Over the last ninety years, we have witnessed an explosion of diverse honors programs and colleges throughout the United States, often with the sole common feature of providing differentiated experiences and individualized instruction for an institution's most academically talented students. Concomitant with the tremendous growth in the number of honors programs and colleges in the U.S. has been the growth of honors as a separate and distinct niche in higher education. Indeed, the National Collegiate Honors Council, which publishes two journals and a monograph series, recently held its forty-fifth annual meeting in Kansas City. Additionally, a small yet increasing number of academics are slowly being recognized for their work within honors, not only applying some of their honors contributions towards tenure but also being selected for top administrative posts and prestigious fellowships. Given the proliferation and professionalization of honors, the time is ripe to evaluate the impact of honors on institutions of higher learning in the U.S.
Honors education in the United States can trace its roots in large part to the groundbreaking curricular changes that Frank Aydelotte introduced at Swarthmore upon becoming its president in 1921 (Rinn, 70). Reacting to increased enrollment and influenced by his experience as a Rhodes Scholar, Aydelotte wanted to break the lock-step, homogenizing approach of American higher education that catered to the average students in a group or class, holding back the best and brightest. Using Oxford-style tutorials as inspiration, Aydelotte wanted to create a more individualized educational experience for gifted students that focused on the creation of knowledge more than its mere reproduction.


text:
Software From Big Tech Firms, Start-Ups Takes Page From Facebook
By Cari Tuna
Updated March 29, 2011 12:01 am ET
Borrowing a page from Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc., a growing number of technology giants and software start-ups are trying to make business applications more "social," as business-software vendors and customers look to take advantage of people's growing interest in social networking.
But corporate technology buyers said tapping such software poses some challenges, such as justifying the costs of the software and ensuring that corporate information remains secure.
Over the past few years, software makers such as Microsoft Corp. , International Business Machines Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. have incorporated social features, like status updates and information feeds, into their software. IBM's Lotus Connections application, for instance, offers users recommendations for co-workers, topics and other information to "follow."
Recently, the trend has picked up steam. In January, Tibco Software Inc. launched tibbr, an online tool that allows co-workers to follow each other at work, as well as alerts generated by other business applications.
Employees access tibbr over the Internet. The software costs $12 a user per month and can be offered as a service by Tibco or installed on a company's own server systems. Tibco Executive Vice President Ram Menon said the "social approach" allows tibbr to surface relevant information for users quickly, compared with traditional enterprise applications, in which users must seek out information more proactively.


The EU's foreign policy service has told EUobserver that no records existed of the meetings of the Global Tech Panel, which was set up by foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and discusses, among other things, how to deal with so-called killer robots.
But the panel members have received "summary letters" from Mogherini, which could also be regarded as records.
The secrecy around the panel is likely to irk transparency campaigners, but one of its members said that it also helped open up the discussion.
The 14-member group was set up earlier this year, and met twice: in June in Brussels, and in September in New York.
This website had asked in an access to document request that the European External Action Service (EEAS) release all documents "including but not limited to notes, presentations, minutes, emails, member lists and attendance lists" of the panel.
In its response, the EEAS said that "there are no minutes nor reports of the meetings of the Global Tech Panel since the discussions take place in camera" - referring to jargon for a private meeting.
It said any other documents were available on the EEAS website.
However, the EEAS website referred to meetings only in the broadest of terms.
Tom Fletcher, a member of the panel, confirmed to EUobserver that he had not received any minutes, but did reveal that following each meeting Mogherini sends "one and a half page or so summarising our conclusions and who's doing what".
When asked about these letters, an EEAS spokeswoman repeated that there were no minutes or reports of the meetings.
"There are letters from [Mogherini] inviting members to the meetings and setting out proposed items for discussion, and follow-up letters," said the spokeswoman.
"While these letters are not public, the EEAS makes maximum information available on its dedicated webpage," she added.
"The Global Tech Panel members may produce working discussion documents or presentations to outline their ideas, but these are not the property of the EEAS," said the spokeswoman.
No rules are apparently broken, but a lack of public documents about the meetings does make it difficult for citizens to know what has been discussed.
The EEAS spokeswoman noted that the role of the panel was different from commission expert groups, for which stricter transparency rules exist.
She said the panel "does not aim to produce policy papers or otherwise contribute directly to the preparation or implementation of EU legislation, legislative proposals, policy initiatives or other delegated acts" - therefore exempting it from the expert group rules.
Panel member Fletcher, a former UK ambassador to Lebanon and now visiting professor at New York University Abu Dhabi, said the secrecy had its merits.
"If they were releasing public minutes of the meeting, then I think that would be a very different conversation," he said.
He is one of the few non-corporate voices on the panel, which include high officials from companies like Google's sister company DeepMind, Microsoft, Siemens, and Spotify.
"Imagine if you are there, if you work for Google DeepMind or for Microsoft, and you know it's all effectively on the record, then that is a very different conversation," said Fletcher.
"Everyone would then give their corporate view of whatever was happening. It's less of a problem for me, because I don't really have a corporate view, I'm just a private person on it".
The group is looking into how to regulate lethal autonomous weapons systems in respect of human rights and international law.
Last week, five MEPs from four political groups, who strongly oppose the weaponised use of artificial intelligence, sent a letter to Mogherini.
The letter was signed by Reinhard Buetikhofer (Greens), Bodil Valero (Greens), Norica Nicolai (Liberals), Ana Maria Gomes (Socialists & Democrats), and Fabio Massimo Castaldo (Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy).
They reminded Mogherini that a 566-strong majority of MEPs have recommended her to start global talks on a legal ban on lethal autonomous weapons.
In what can be seen as an indirect criticism of the current composition of the global tech panel, they asked Mogherini to include a representative from a civil society group that is part of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, as well as more academics.
However, Fletcher said that his fellow "non-corporates" had "a pretty strong voice" in the discussions.
"I don't feel that we are being drowned out at all by the corporates," he said.
Fletcher said that no new meeting had been scheduled yet. He expected "two or three more meetings" in the coming 12 to 15 months.
"These are busy, busy people," he noted.
"What you don't want is just something that ends up being something that meets every three months just because it feels it has to, like so much else in the international architecture," said Fletcher.
This is the second in a three-part series of articles on how the EU deals with artificial intelligence.
In August, Jean-Claude Juncker and his EU commissioners held a two-day seminar at a chateau outside Brussels to prepare this week's State of the Union speech. The commission implies there is no written record.


Feyi, Managing Director at Formation Zone client BrighThinking, has been invited to speak at Future Sync on 9 June.
Feyi will be talking about his experience of being an entrepreneur while studying here at Plymouth University. While studying Business Management, Feyi has started his business BrighThinking, based in Formation Zone, and launched two new products.
BrighThinking apply bright and sustainable ideas to products for a brighter future, hoping to begin changing the way that simple gadgets are manufactured and sold. Find out more about their innovative products, the SolarDock and EcoStand, on the BrighThinking website.


On May 29, 2009, the FDIC Board of Directors approved a final rule making certain revisions to the interest rate restrictions applicable to less than well capitalized institutions under Part 337.6 of the FDIC Rules and Regulations. The final rule redefined the "national rate" as a simple average of rates paid by U.S. depository institutions as calculated by the FDIC. The national rates and rate caps for various deposit maturities and sizes are provided below.
1 National rates are calculated based on a simple average of rates paid (uses annual percentage yield) by all insured depository institutions and branches for which data are available. Data used to calculate the national rates are gathered by RateWatch. Savings and interest checking account rates are based on the $2,500 product tier while money market and certificate of deposit are based on the $10,000 and $100,000 product tiers for non-jumbo and jumbo accounts, respectively. Account types and maturities published in these tables are those most commonly offered by the banks and branches for which we have data - no fewer than 45,000 locations and as many as 81,000 locations reported. The deposit rates of credit unions are not included in the calculation.
2 The rate cap is determined by adding 75 basis points to the national rate. To determine conformance with the regulation, compare rates offered by the institution, based on size and maturity of the deposit, to the rate caps. For accounts less than $100,000 use the applicable rate cap under the non-jumbo column, and for accounts $100,000 and over, use the rate caps under the jumbo column. Interpolation should be used for deposits with maturities not listed above.


Statistics show that 1 in 3 women will definitely have birth by cesarean in the United States. While there is much discussion about the rate being extremely high and how best to bring it lower, until that occurs implementing routines for what is becoming known as the Gentle Cesarean method might be a beneficial step to offering women a more holistic approach to a surgical procedure.
Gentle cesarean or family centered cesarean allows the mother to connect more with her birth experience. In gentle cesarean birth the drape is lowered so that mothers are allowed to see their babies being born. Babies are placed upon the mother's chest for skin to skin contact right away.
Minor changes are implemented by the surgical team to facilitate this experience.
– The EKG monitors are placed to the side and not put right on top of chest so baby has space.
– The mother's arms are not tied down.
– The IV is placed in the non dominant hand so that mom can hold her baby.
– An additional nurse is added to the team.
– The neonatal intensive care team is brought into the OR.
Women who have had gentle cesarean share that they feel like they were a part of the experience and not as though something was just done to them. They have said they felt more bonded to their babies.
Although offering the experience changes hospital protocols, more doctors and hospitals are taking steps to offer gentle cesarean, because it makes a big difference in how women feel about their birth experiences.
Do We Still Need a Childbirth Movement?
This entry was posted in Childbirth Concerns and tagged changing cesarean procedures, family centered cesarean, gentle cesarean birth, gentle cesarean info, healing from a cesarean, making cesareans beter experience. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
package uk.co.ticklethepanda.carto.apps.web.heatmap;

import uk.co.ticklethepanda.carto.apps.web.geocoding.GeocodingClient;
import uk.co.ticklethepanda.carto.apps.web.geocoding.GeocodingClientException;
import uk.co.ticklethepanda.carto.apps.web.named.NamedLocations;
import uk.co.ticklethepanda.carto.core.heatmap.HeatmapDescriptor;
import uk.co.ticklethepanda.carto.core.heatmap.HeatmapDimensions;
import uk.co.ticklethepanda.carto.core.projection.LongLat;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.time.LocalDateTime;
import java.util.function.Predicate;

/**
 * Created by czn83431 on 2017-07-25.
 */
@Component
public class HeatmapParamResolver {

    private final GeocodingClient geocodingClient;

    private final NamedLocations namedLocations;

    private final Float maxScale;

    @Autowired
    public HeatmapParamResolver(
            NamedLocations namedLocations,
            @Value("${location.history.heatmap.minScale}") Float maxScale,
            GeocodingClient client
    ) throws IOException {
        this.namedLocations = namedLocations;
        this.maxScale = maxScale;
        this.geocodingClient = client;
    }

    public HeatmapParams resolve(HeatmapRequestDto dto) {
        return resolve(dto, null);
    }

    public HeatmapParams resolve(HeatmapRequestDto dto, Predicate<LocalDateTime> filter) {
        String name = dto.getName();
        if(name == null) {
            name = "default";
        }

        verify(dto);

        HeatmapDimensions dimensions = resolveDimensions(name, dto.getWidth(), dto.getHeight());
        LongLat center = resolveLongLat(name, dto.getSearch(), dto.getLongitude(), dto.getLatitude());
        Float scale = resolveScale(name, dto.getScale());

        HeatmapDescriptor<LocalDateTime> descriptor = new HeatmapDescriptor<>(dimensions, center, scale, filter);

        Float pixelSize = resolvePixelSize(name, dto.getPixelSize());

        return new HeatmapParams(descriptor, pixelSize);
    }

    private void verify(HeatmapRequestDto dto) {
        if (dto.getLongitude() != null ^ dto.getLatitude() != null) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(
                    "Both longitude and latitude must be specified if either is specified"
            );
        }

        if(dto.getWidth() != null ^ dto.getHeight() != null) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Both width and height must be specified if either is specified");
        }

        if(dto.getScale() != null && dto.getScale() < maxScale) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Scale is too low");
        }
    }

    private HeatmapDimensions resolveDimensions(String name, Integer width, Integer height) {
        if (width == null && height == null) {
            return new HeatmapDimensions(
                    namedLocations.getLocations().get(name).getWidth(),
                    namedLocations.getLocations().get(name).getHeight());
        } else {
            return new HeatmapDimensions(width, height);
        }
    }

    private LongLat resolveLongLat(String name, String query, Float longitude, Float latitude) {
        if(longitude == null && latitude == null && query == null) {
            return new LongLat(
                    namedLocations.getLocations().get(name).getCenter().getLongitude(),
                    namedLocations.getLocations().get(name).getCenter().getLatitude());
        } else if (query != null) {
            try {
                return geocodingClient.query(query);
            } catch (GeocodingClientException e) {
                throw new RuntimeException("Unable to fetch geocoding info");
            }
        } else {
            return new LongLat(longitude, latitude);
        }
    }

    private Float resolveScale(String name, Float scale) {
        if(scale == null) {
            return namedLocations.getLocations().get(name).getScale();
        } else {
            return scale;
        }
    }

    private Float resolvePixelSize(String name, Float pixelSize) {
        if(pixelSize == null) {
            return namedLocations.getLocations().get(name).getPixelSize();
        } else {
            return pixelSize;
        }
    }

}


text:
The author of more than forty works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, which have been translated into over twenty-five languages, Barry Gifford writes distinctly American stories for readers around the globe. From screenplays and librettos to his acclaimed Sailor and Lula novels, Gifford's writing is as distinctive as it is difficult to classify. Born in the Seneca Hotel on Chicago's Near North Side, he relocated in his adolescence to New Orleans. The move proved significant: throughout his career, Gifford's fiction—part-noir, part-picaresque, always entertaining—is born of the clash between what he has referred to as his "Northern Side" and "Southern Side." Gifford has been recipient of awards from PEN, the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Library Association, the Writers Guild of America, and the Christopher Isherwood Foundation. His novel Wild at Heart was adapted into the 1990 Palme d'Or-winning film of the same name. Gifford lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Books by Barry Gifford
by Barry Gifford
Black Sun Rising / La Corazonada: A novel / una novela
Roy's World: Stories: 1973-2020
Sailor & Lula, Expanded Edition: The Complete Novels
Southern Nights: Night People, Arise and Walk, Baby Cat Face
The Cuban Club: Stories
The Up-Down: A Novel
Landscape with Traveler
The Roy Stories
Imagining Paradise: New and Selected Poems
Sad Stories of the Death of Kings
Sailor & Lula: The Complete Novels
The Imagination of the Heart: Book Seven of the Story of Sailor and Lula
Memories from a Sinking Ship: A Novel
Port Tropique
Do the Blind Dream?: New Novellas and Stories
The Sinaloa Story: A Novel
The Rooster Trapped in the Reptile Room: A Barry Gifford Reader
He had read that in ancient times, various societies believed there were five directions: North, South, East, West and the Up-Down. He liked the idea of a fifth, mysterious direction.
Barry Gifford, The Up-Down


text:
Software Engineer, PhD University Grad (Systems and Infrastructure – 2020) 787 views
Full TimeLondonLondonLondonLondonUnited KingdomUnited KingdomUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom
Facebook Facebook Full Time Full Time London, United Kingdom November 26, 2019 Computer Software - Data Scientist - Engineering - Information Technology & Services
Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Through their family of apps and services, they're building a different kind of company that connects billions of people around the world, gives them ways to share what matters most to them, and helps bring people closer together. Whether they 're creating new products or helping a small business expand its reach, people at Facebook are builders at heart. Their global teams are constantly iterating, solving problems, and working together to empower people around the world to build community and connect in meaningful ways. Together, they can help people build stronger communities – they're just getting started.
They build systems that allow more than a billion people all over the world to connect and communicate using whatever devices they have available. Their systems need to be scalable, fast, reliable, and efficient in order to provide a great user experience. As they design and build these systems, Facebook engineers encounter grand challenges across all levels of systems—from data center, hardware, storage, mobile, to distributed systems, just to name a few. Moreover, fast evolving social apps and highly dynamic social workloads present them with many unique research opportunities. The entire Facebook platform is their lab for research, development, and innovation. As a Software Engineer or Research Scientist at Facebook, you will help build the next generation of systems behind Facebook's products, create web applications that reach millions of people, build high volume servers and be a part of a team that's working to help connect people around the globe. The ideal candidate will have a keen interest in relevant engineering fields, such as (but not limited to) distributed software systems, storage systems, data warehousing and analytics, database systems, operating systems, networking systems, programming languages, compilers & runtime systems, security & privacy and mobile systems.
Build highly-scalable software systems using primarily C++ and Java.
Design flexible APIs for Facebook product teams developing applications for web and mobile.
Build detailed monitoring to track the health of these systems and quickly triage issues.
Analyze the shortcomings of existing systems.
Design and build next generation systems to constantly be at the cutting edge
Minimum Qualification
PhD in Computer Science, related STEM or quantitative field or relevant experience
Graduating with a PhD by November 2020, or completing a university postdoctoral assignment
Research and/or work experience in Algorithms, Architecture, Programming Languages, Compilers, Database, Data Mining, Distributed Systems, Networking, or Systems
Experience in C++, Java, Perl, PHP or Python
Knowledge of relational databases and SQL
Experience in Computer Science, with knowledge in systems, data structures and software design
Interpersonal skills, cross-group and cross-culture collaboration
Preferred Qualification
Demonstrated software engineer experience via an internship, work experience, coding competitions, or PhD papers
Ai+ Career Services Ai+ Career Services Full Time Full Time London, United Kingdom
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Dataminr Dataminr Full Time Full Time United Kingdom
Senior Software Engineer, Python
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Cognizant Cognizant Full Time Full Time London, United Kingdom
Location Afghanistan


text:
Jimmy Bannos Jr.
Jimmy Bannos Jr. is a James Beard Award-winning chef and fourth-generation restaurateur known for his pork-focused Mediterranean cuisine. Since 2009, he's been chef and partner at The Purple Pig, a Chicago mainstay famous for its "cheese, swine and wine."
The son of chef and restaurateur Jimmy Bannos Sr., Jimmy Bannos Jr. started by bussing tables in his father's restaurant at the age of five. His formal training later began when he attended the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. During that time, he worked locally at the iconic Al Forno restaurant and completed an internship with chef Emeril Lagasse at Emeril's in New Orleans. After graduation, Jimmy worked for Gabriel Viti at his French-Cuban Miramar Bistro in Chicago, and assisted Scott Harris with the opening of a new Mia Francesca location. His ever-growing passion for Mediterranean food took him to Italy for a six-month immersion in its culture and cuisine, followed by a move to New York City. Upon his return to Chicago, he partnered with his father to open The Purple Pig in 2009.
Jimmy attended the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Latest from Jimmy Bannos Jr.
Pork Shank Osso Buco
Pork Saltimbocca with Swiss Chard
Milk-Braised Pork Chops with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Whipped Feta with Cucumbers
Fried-Egg BLTs with Arugula Aioli
Lemon-Garlic-Marinated Flank Steak
Mussels with Pancetta and Crème Fraîche


text:
<?php

/**
 * @author: Bojan Kovacec
 * Class User_ProfilController
 *
 * Class is basis for user profile.
 * It can be used on any personalized website.
 *
 */

class User_ProfilController extends Website_Controller_Plugin {

    /*
	protected function enableLayout() {
		parent::enableLayout();
		Zend_Layout::getMvcInstance()->setLayoutPath(PIMCORE_DOCUMENT_ROOT.'/website/views/layouts');
		$this->view->document = Document_Page::getById(1);
	}
	*/

	public function init() {
		parent::init();

		$action = $this->getRequest()->getActionName();

		if(!Zend_Registry::isRegistered('user') && $action != 'registration' && $action != 'forgotten-password' && $action != 'resend-validation' && $action != 'validate' && $action != 'restore-pass') {

			if($this->getRequest()->getActionName() != 'login')
				$this->view->err = 3;

			$this->_forward('login');
		}
	}

	/**
	 * Login
	 */
	public function loginAction() {
	     $this->enableLayout();
         $request = $this->getRequest();
         $form = new User_Form_Login();

         if($request->isPost() && $form->isValid($request->getParams())) {
         	 // check if user is validated
             $this->getSession()->lastLoginEmail = $this->_getParam('memail');
         	 $users = Object_User::getByEmail($this->_getParam('memail'));

         	 foreach ($users as $user)
         	 	break;

         	 if ($user && $user->getValidation() != 1) {
         	 	$this->view->err = 4;
         	 } else {
    	         if(User_Util::autenticate($this->_getParam('memail'), $this->_getParam('mpassword'), $this->_getParam('remember')) == 1) {
    	         	if($this->getSession()->loginRedirect) {
		         		$this->_redirect($this->getSession()->loginRedirect);
		         		$this->getSession()->loginRedirect = null;
    	         	} else {
    	         		$this->_redirect('/profil');
    	         	}
		         } else {
		         	$this->view->err = 1;
		         }
         	 } // user validated
         }

	     $this->view->form = $form;
	}

	public function indexAction() {
	    $this->enableLayout();

	    $user = $this->view->user;

	    // check if billing module installed
	    // @TODO

	    $orders = new Resource_Order_List();
	    $orders->setCondition("userId=".$user->getId()." AND (paid IS NULL OR status IS NULL OR status = 0)");
	    $orders->load();
	    $this->view->orders = $orders->getOrders();

	}

    /**
     * Registration:
     * Object_User is saved to database.
     * Validation e-mail is send to user. User has to clik on link in the message, to finnish registration.
     */
	public function registrationAction () {
		$this->enableLayout();
		$request = $this->getRequest();

		$options = array();
		if($_GET['deliveryType']) {
			$options['deliveryType'] = $_GET['deliveryType'];
			$this->view->deliveryType = $_GET['delivery_type'];

			switch($_GET['deliveryType']) {
				case 'delivery':
					$this->getSession()->loginRedirect = '/nakup/dostava';
					$this->getSession()->registrationRedirect = '/nakup/dostava';
					break;
				case 'pickup':
					$this->getSession()->loginRedirect = '/nakup/prevzem';
					$this->getSession()->registrationRedirect = '/nakup/prevzem';
					break;
			}

		}

	    $form = new User_Form_Registration($options);
	    if($request->isPost() && $form->isValid($request->getParams())) {

	        $user = User_Util::insert($request);
            $userEMail = new User_EMail();
	        $userEMail->sendValidation($user);

	        $this->view->MSG = 1;
	        $this->view->email = $user->getEmail();

        	// post
        	if($this->getSession()->registrationRedirect) {
        		User_Util::autenticate($request->getParam("email"), $request->getParam("password"));
        		$this->_redirect($this->getSession()->registrationRedirect);
        		$this->getSession()->registrationRedirect = null;
        	}

	    } else {

	    	$this->view->mailErr = $form->getMessages("email");

	    	// check if validated
	    	$users = Object_User::getByEmail($request->getParam("email"));
	    	$messages = $form->getMessages("email");
	    	if($messages['exsists']) {
	    		foreach ($users as $user)
	    			break;

	    		if($user && $user->getValidation() != 1)
	    			$this->view->err = 1;
	    		else if($user && $user->getValidation() == 1)
	    			$this->view->err = 2;

	    	}

	    	$this->view->form = $form;
	    }

	}

	/**
	 * Send validation email
	 */
	public function resendValidationAction() {

	    $email = $this->_getParam("email");
	    // check if user with email inserted

	    if(!$email)
	    	$email = $this->getSession()->lastLoginEmail;

	    if(!$email)
	    	$this->view->err = 1;

	    if($email) {

			$userList = Object_User::getByEmail($email);
		    foreach ($userList as $user)
		        break;

		    if($user)
		        User_Mail::sendValidation($user);
		    else
		    	$this->view->err = 2;

		    $this->view->email = $email;
	    }
	}

	/**
	 * Validate user by key.
	 * Object_User
	 * @param GET key
	 *
	 */
	public function validateAction() {
	    $this->enableLayout();
	    $key = $this->_getParam("key");

	    //
		$userList = Object_User::getByValidation($key);

	    foreach ($userList as $user) {
	        break;
	    }

	    if($user) {
	    	$config = new Zend_Config_Xml(PIMCORE_PLUGINS_PATH.'/User/config.xml');
            $user->setValidation(1);
            $user->setParentId($config->object->registeredFolderId);

            try {
                $user->save();
                $this->view->user = $user;
                Zend_Registry::set("user", $user);
            } catch (Exception $e) {
                error_log("ERROR validation: ");
            }

            $this->view->MSG = 1;
        }  else {
            $this->view->MSG = 0;
        }

	}

	/**
	 * Forgoten password
	 */
	public function forgottenPasswordAction() {
		$this->enableLayout();

		$request = $this->getRequest();
		$form = new User_Form_SendPassword();

		if($request->isPost() && $form->isValid($request->getParams())) {

			$list = Object_User::getByEmail($request->getParam("email"));

			if(count($list) > 0) {
				foreach ($list as $user)
					break;

				$email = $request->getParam("email");

				if($user->getEmail() == $email) {
					$hash = substr(md5(time()), 0,10);
					$user->setRestorePassHash($hash);
					$user->save();

					User_Mail::sendForgottenPassword($user);
					$this->view->MSG = 1;
					$this->view->email = $email;
				} else {
					// this shouldt happen
					$this->view->MSG = 3;
				}
			} else {
				$this->view->MSG = 2;
			}
		} else {
			$this->view->form = $form;
		}

	}

	/**
	 * Change forgotter password
	 */
	public function changePasswordAction() {
		$this->enableLayout();
		$form = new User_Form_ChangePassword();
		$request = $this->getRequest();

		if($request->isPost() && $form->isValid($request->getParams())) {
			$user = Zend_Registry::get("user");
			$user->setPassword($request->getParam("password"));
			$user->save();

			$this->view->msg = 1;
		}

		$this->view->form = $form;
	}

	/**
	 * Logout
	 */
    public function logoutAction()
    {
        Zend_Auth::getInstance()->clearIdentity();
        Zend_Session::forgetMe();
        $this->_redirect('/');
    }

    public function editAction() {
        $this->enableLayout();
        $request = $this->getRequest();
        $user = Zend_Registry::get("user");

        if($request->isPost())
            $form = new User_Form_Profil();
        else {
            $form = new User_Form_Profil(null, $user);
        }

        if($request->isPost() && $form->isValid($request->getParams())) {

            $user->setName($request->getParam("name"));
            $user->setSurname($request->getParam("surname"));

            $user->setAddress($request->getParam("address"));
            $user->setPost($request->getParam("post"));

            // $user->setPhone($request->getParam("phone"));
            // $user->setGsm($request->getParam("gsm"));

            try {
            	$user->save();

            } catch(Exception $e) {
            	error_log("ERROR User_ProfilController/edit: ".$e->getMessage());
            }

            $this->view->msg = 1;
        }

        $this->view->user = $user;
        $this->view->form = $form;
    }

    public function boxAction() {
    	$this->enableLayout();
    	$request = $this->getRequest();

    	if($request->isPost()) {
    		$contract = Resource_Contract::getById($request->getParam("id"));
    		$contract->setPeriod($request->getParam("period"));
    		$contract->setBoxId($request->getParam("boxId"));
    		$contract->setDefaultPayment($request->getParam("defaultPayment"));
    		$contract->setDeliveryType($request->getParam("deliveryType"));
    		$contract->setNote($request->getParam("note"));
    		$contract->save();

    		$this->view->MSG = 1;
    	}

    	$boxList = new Object_Box_List();
    	$this->view->boxList = $boxList;

    	$list = new Resource_Contract_List();
    	$contracts = $list->getContractsByUserId($this->view->user->getId());
    	$bc = array();
    	foreach ($contracts as $contract) {
    		$boxContract = new stdClass();
    		$boxContract->contract = $contract;
    		$boxContract->box = Object_Box::getById($contract->getBoxId());

    		$bc[] = $boxContract;
    	}

    	$this->view->boxContracts = $bc;
    }

    public function ordersAction() {
    	$this->enableLayout();
	    $orders = new Resource_Order_List();
	    $orders->setCondition("userId=".$this->view->user->getId()." AND paid IS NOT NULL AND status > 0");
	    $orders->load();
	    $this->view->orders = $orders->getOrders();
    }

    public function testAction() {
        $this->_helper->viewRenderer->setNoRender(true);
        User_Util::getAuthAdapter();
    }

    public function restorePassAction() {
    	$this->enableLayout();
		$request = $this->getRequest();

    	$hash = $request->getParam("hash");
    	$users = Object_User::getByRestorePassHash($hash);

    	foreach ($users as $user)
    		break;

    	if($user) {
    		$form = new User_Form_RestorePass($user, $hash);

    		if($request->isPost() && $form->isValid($request->getParams())) {
    			$user->setPassword(md5($request->getParam("password")));
    			$user->save();

    			$this->view->MSG = 1;
    		}

    		$this->view->form = $form;

    	} else {
    		$this->view->err = 1;
    	}
    }
}


SGIA has announced that the Industrial Printing Symposium will return to its pre-show educational lineup. Set for September 13-14 in Las Vegas, the symposium is marketed towards professionals across the print industry interested in learning more about the industrial segment. Sessions will cover topics such as single-pass inkjet printing, utilizing UV curing, digital decoration of 3D surfaces, and ceramic tile printing.
The SGIA Expo will take place September 14-16.


Showing results for tags 'flowers'.
So I've got this idea that I'd like to have seasonal item spawns in the world. Using Nolan's awesome Items Spawn of the Ground mod, I want to make a few items that will only appear during certain seasons. For example: In spring months, flowers spawn in meadows. Maybe insects are easier to find. In the deep woods, some seasonal herbs may be easier to find. Etc. In the fall you could have mushrooms to find in the woods, acorns, walnuts and other seasonal produce. And in winter you can't find anything. I think aesthetically it would be cool to see these things, and give more incentive to explore the woods and rural map. The issue is I think I know how to make seasonal item spawns using the code in the hunting mod, which does a season check. I'm trying to brainstorm some ideas, however, to make those items disappear once the season is over. Modders, any ideas?


If, like me, you're accustomed to gardening on dry land, Inle lake in Burma is a bit of an eye-opener. For here the fruits float and the veg ride the ripples of a vast, idyllic lake. The lake itself is situated about 2900ft above sea level, bordered on either side by mountains which bring frequent rain, the lifeblood of the lake. The weather is cool, although not cold unless you're on the water very early in the morning when blankets of mist hover over the smooth surface.
Below, a view of the lush rice fields at the head of the lake, taken from the Red Mountain Winery.
Inle lake is about 14 miles long and 7 miles wide at its most expansive. Roughly 25% of the surface is covered by carefully tended floating gardens. The sight of the long rafts of vegetation bobbing up and down in the wake of the locals' motorised narrowboats is quite disconcerting at first. The farmed strips are nominally protected by an outer barrier of reeds and water hyacinths, which in the villages are planted with colourful annuals such as Cleome and Amaranthus. Farmers here on the lake are relatively wealthy, but due to concerns over silting up, pollution and the impact both could have on the crucial fish population, the villagers are not allowed to expand their "land" any further.
Firstly, naturally occurring clumps of water hyacinth, "seagrass" and other lake debris are captured by the farmer and secured in position using bamboo poles. These are driven into the deep mud at the bottom of the lake, in areas of water between 1 and 5 metres deep.
"seagrass" is heaped on top, with a final layer of fine mud from the bottom of the lake. Eventually the mats become 1m thick with about a third of that above water level. They are very stable, although I declined an invitation to stand on one. What a coward!
Seed is planted in the fertile mud and the young plants are supported by bamboo canes. Depending on the season they are used for tomatoes, cucumbers, gourds and pulses, but are, unsurpringly, not suitable for root vegetables. There's plenty of space to grow onions, garlic and carrots on dry land around the shore of the lake, and rice is also prolific here. Inle's tomatoes are the finest in Burma and are picked green, or just blushing, and transported all over Burma during the 8 month growing season. They are used to make a classic Burmese tomato salad, which includes sliced tomato (no pips), sliced shallots and peanuts, bound in a sesame seed dressing. Follow this link to The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook for a tasty derivation of this dish.
It sounds idyllic, and it is. However modernisation is bringing with it new issues for Inle's famers. Introduction of "better" seed varieties from Thailand and China has meant increased use of pesticides and fertilisers. These in turn have polluted the lake, encouraged non-native water hyacinth growth and reduced the oxygen content of the water, which could damage the fisheries. To combat this, foreign snails were introduced as a biological control to eat the water hyacinth. Unfortunately, as any good gardener knows, snails are not known for being discriminating and have proceeded to eat everything, including indigenous snails and the tomatoes!
Despite this, Inle remains a tranquil, even romantic place for foreign visitors. Hopefully it will retain its unique character and friendliness as Burma reopens to the rest of the world.
My kind of travellers you are….
Thank you Jack. Going to Nepal and Bhutan in spring, which I am very excited about….although I am not sure there will be many of gardens to report on. Main mission is to see lots of interesting plants in the wild.


text:
"Three mistakes we must not make"
January 24, 2019 1890 views	Nigeria, political participation, youths and representational politics
As Nigerians get ready to go to the polls in February, 2019 Olawole Olakunle, 24, a Correspondent from Lagos in Nigeria, has a word of caution for young politicians. He argues that there are three mistakes his generation must not make.
Our generation is blessed with some of the best of talents in all stratums of societal endeavours and I would implore us as young people to look at the blessings and curses of our past leaders, and avoid the mistakes made.
Since the passing of the #Nottooyoungtorun bill, I have seen a host of young people with little or no political experience in any leadership/political field raise their hopes by throwing in their weight into contest for the 2019 elections.
It is as a result of the vast increase in the number of young people throwing their hats in the ring for the coming elections that I am inspired to write this piece, so that alas, we will not fall into the trap of reliving the failures of our past leaders.
The ability to understand politics and society the way it is and not the way it should be is the first and principal step in organizing a society. How then do we organize our society if we do not understand the murky water that lies beyond the rhetoric of #Nottooyoungtorun. Nigeria post 2019 might just be heading towards absolute collapse, if we as a generation, we are not conscious of the mistakes our past leaders make and avoid them.
Of all the mistakes made by our past leaders, making the following 3 mistakes would be disastrous not only for this generation, but for subsequent ones. Hence it's imperative to take a close look at the pitfalls we must avoid..
Do not repeat the mistakes of 1999
Although successive governments tend to solve the problems of past generations, yet it is obvious that every generation has a challenge to deal with that is peculiar to it. The year 1999 was the beginning of our country's return to democracy after many years of being dragged in the murky waters of dictatorship, civil war, coup d'etat, and military suppression. It took the intervention of the student community,labor unions, the press, notable young Nigerians,National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) and most importantly the death of Abacha to help restore our democracy after over 20 years in military chains.
Our hopes were reignited, as high as the Moshood Abiola's manifesto (Hope '93) but unfortunately, after 19 years of return to democratic government, it has become glaring that the democracy we clamoured for is different from our current democratic realities – as some of political realities pre 1999 are still our realities today .
For example it is unfortunate to see the scholars, unionist, writers, activists, businessmen, and other well-meaning Nigerians who clamored for our return to democracy, shying away from the political scene, leaving Nigerians with no option but to adopt the military hierarchies as our political elite and repackaged politicians.
The blatant mistake of 1999, made unconsciously by capable hands shying away from politics, paved the way for a new political elite composed of old military leaders whose definition of democracy is different from the norm.
To avoid a repetition of such bad history in the wake of the #Nottooyoungtorun, it is important that we take note of the young people who are putting themselves up for leadership. We cannot afford to be dragged back to 1999 in 2019.
Do not attain political offices without clear blueprints
If perhaps you've read Abiola's Hope '93, you would see a leader who knows the gravity of the challenges/problems on ground and whose manifesto answers all the problem with a designed blueprint.
Unfortunately, we are at a time where consultants produce manifesto (ready-made) for candidates at the right price.
Over time, we've had leaders campaign with different manifestos and agendas in response to the wailing of the citizens about the matters affecting them, but we have hardly seen a political leader present a detailed blueprint that covers the scope of our problems.
It would be calamitous for us as a generation to repeat the mistake of getting power without the blueprints of what we want as a generation and how we can solve all our problems irrespective of who becomes what. One of the greatest political leaders of all times, Joseph the dreamer (Biblical Joseph) designed a 14 years economic blueprint for Egypt while in prison that helped salvage the nation from the worst economic recession that was looming ahead.How many Joseph do we have in our political space?
Unfortunately, we might just keep running the political rat race, changing political parties like football club with mouth watering manifesto and slogan, without solution to our ever looming challenges.
Do not fail to address foundation issues that shape the lives of Nigerians
Finally, past generations either knowingly or not have shied away from having dialogue on pertinent issues that address the foundation of our nation Nigeria. A good student of Nigerian history would understand that at the root of Nigeria's problems lies unresolved inequalities that affect our co-existence.
In the quest to play to the gallery, we have became like a wife in an an abusive marriage who wouldn't complain about the unbearable situation because, the marriage is dear to her.I am afraid that the greatest mistake our generation might repeat is in our inability to dialogue truthfully to address the issues that affect national cohesion.
Our generation must be able to provide answer to the question "What is Nigeria"? The answer to the above question would inadvertently pave the way for the blueprints of a new Nigeria.
I hope that we realize that the reason why we keep our elders close to us is to learn from the very mistakes that limited them.
Photo credit: The Commonwealth's Asset Bank
I am Nigeria's youngest political party national youth leader, and currently National Youth Leader for KOWA Party Nigeria. A youth organizer and pragmatic leader who believes in the power of down ballot candidates in making any democratic revolution.
I am permanent host for "Morning Rave" a Political discussion that airs on Rave TV. My book "Too broke to run" is expected to be out soon.
To learn more about becoming a Commonwealth Correspondent please visit: http://www.yourcommonwealth.org/submit-articles/
About Yvonne Chin Irving
Yvonne Chin Irving an Editor of YourCommonwealth.org
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