A Professional Development Day for teachers in July 2013 at The Bundanon Trust.
The iPad is a potent and experimental tool for creation of artworks. Artist in Residence Simon Spain has developed the use of the iPad to create a new take on portraiture and uses app technologies to push the boundaries of the touch screen. Discover some of the digital dilemmas to be encountered during an immersive weekend at Bundanon Trust's Riversdale property.
During the weekend you will create and consider: Is the physicality of the touch screen based art work fully realised whilst still on the screen? What varied outputs can be produced from screen based work?


text:
Q: Encrypting %userprofile% using EFS? Is it safe to encrypt my Windows 7 %userprofile% folder using EFS ? i.e. are applications or system logon going to be affected?

A: If you'll encrypt your whole profile you'd also encrypt the key to decrypt it...
So, no you can't encrypt your profile - you must choose specific folders.

A: If you are logged into your account in a Windows 7 machine, you can encrypt just about all your files by encrypting your user account directory while you are logged into it. While windows' is encrypting the files it won't be able to encrypt files in use, including the key itself. Ignoring all files in use will provide almost all files in your user directory to be encrypted. I've done it and so far have not had any problems.
And as always, be sure to backup your encryption key and password protect the backup.

A: According to this article, files marked as System will not be encrypted, including the keys.
However when I tried to encrypt my user profile folder, it broke the profile. Explorer hung at various stages after login and I could not repair it even after decrypting all the files and had to create a new account.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
package agent

import (
	"fmt"
	"github.com/golang/glog"
	. "github.com/infradash/dash/pkg/dash"
	"github.com/qorio/maestro/pkg/docker"
	"strings"
)

func (this *Agent) DiscoverSelfInDocker() error {

	docker_name := this.Name

	if docker_name == "" {
		return ErrNoDockerName
	}

	glog.Infoln("Discovering container in Docker with name=", docker_name)

	dc, err := this.docker.FindContainersByName(docker_name)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	if len(dc) > 1 {
		// This is unlikely, since Docker itself will prevent containers with
		// the same assigned name from starting.  However, it's possible that
		// the name provided isn't a complete name, so we have partial match.
		// In this case, it's programming error.
		return ErrMoreThanOneAgent
	}

	if len(dc) == 1 {
		this.self_container = dc[0]

		this.self_container.Inspect()
		glog.Infoln("Found self as container:", this.self_container)

		if len(dc[0].Ports) > 0 {
			this.Port = dc[0].Ports[0]
		}
	}

	return nil
}

type ContainerMatchRule struct {
	MatchContainerRule

	Domain      string
	Service     ServiceKey
	PortMatched bool
}

func (this *MatchContainerRule) GetMatchContainerPort() int {
	if this.MatchContainerPort != nil {
		return *this.MatchContainerPort
	} else {
		return 0
	}
}

func (this *ContainerMatchRule) GetMatchContainerPort() int {
	return this.MatchContainerRule.GetMatchContainerPort()
}

func (this *ContainerMatchRule) match_by_running_port(c *docker.Container) bool {
	if this.MatchContainerPort == nil {
		return false // Don't care
	}
	port := *this.MatchContainerPort
	if port > 0 {
		for _, p := range c.Ports {
			if port == int(p.ContainerPort) {
				this.PortMatched = true
				return true
			}
		}
	}
	return false
}

func (this *ContainerMatchRule) match(c *docker.Container) bool {
	if c.DockerData == nil {
		return false
	}

	// We first try by matching image. Then by name, environment variable.
	if !ImageMatch(c.Image, &this.Image) {
		return false
	}

	// When the container isn't running, the port information is erased.
	// So we count on other conditions to match -- we at least eliminate the negative case
	// where it's running and the port doesn't match
	if c.DockerData.State.Running && this.MatchContainerPort != nil && !this.match_by_running_port(c) {
		return false
	}

	// If we have no other criteria by now, just match
	if len(this.MatchAll) == 0 && len(this.MatchFirst) == 0 {
		return true
	}

	match := true
	for _, r := range this.MatchAll {
		match = match && r.Match(c)
	}
	if !match {
		return false
	}

	match = false // reset
	for _, r := range this.MatchFirst {
		if r.Match(c) {
			match = true
			break
		}
	}
	return match
}

type CheckContainer func(*docker.Container) map[ServiceKey]*ContainerMatchRule
type OnMatch func(*docker.Container, *ContainerMatchRule)

func (this *Agent) DiscoverRunningContainers(check CheckContainer, do OnMatch) error {

	glog.Infoln("Querying docker for all containers")
	all_containers, err := this.docker.FindContainers(nil) //map[string][]string{"status": []string{"running"}})
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	glog.Infoln("Found", len(all_containers), "containers")

	for _, container := range all_containers {
		glog.Infoln("Checking", "Name=", container.Name, "Image=", container.Image, "Id=", container.Id[0:12])
		match_rules := check(container)

		glog.Infoln("For container=", container, "matched_rules=", match_rules)

		for serviceKey, rule := range match_rules {
			glog.Infoln("==========================>>>>  Matched",
				"ServiceKey=", serviceKey,
				"Rule=", rule,
				"Name=", container.Name,
				"Id=", container.Id[0:12],
				"Image=", container.Image)
			do(container, rule)
		}
	}
	return nil
}

type DiscoveryContainerMatcher struct {
	rulesByDomainService map[string]map[ServiceKey]*ContainerMatchRule
}

func (this *DiscoveryContainerMatcher) Init() *DiscoveryContainerMatcher {
	this.rulesByDomainService = make(map[string]map[ServiceKey]*ContainerMatchRule)
	return this
}

func (this *DiscoveryContainerMatcher) C(domain string, service ServiceKey, spec *MatchContainerRule) *DiscoveryContainerMatcher {
	match_rule := &ContainerMatchRule{
		MatchContainerRule: *spec,
		Domain:             domain,
		Service:            service,
	}
	if _, has := this.rulesByDomainService[domain]; !has {
		this.rulesByDomainService[domain] = map[ServiceKey]*ContainerMatchRule{}
	}

	this.rulesByDomainService[domain][service] = match_rule
	return this
}

// This is critical for the discovery to know how to locate the rule for matching.  This is because rules are
// organized by domain and service.  We look for hints in the container's metadata to determine which domain
// this container may belong to.
func findContainerDomain(c *docker.Container) *string {
	if c.DockerData == nil || c.DockerData.Config == nil {
		return nil
	}
	v := ""
	// Find by label or environment variables
	if c.DockerData != nil && c.DockerData.Config != nil {
		if len(c.DockerData.Config.Labels) > 0 {
			v = find_container_domain_by_label(c)
		}
		if v == "" && len(c.DockerData.Config.Env) > 0 {
			v = find_container_domain_by_env(c)
		}
	}
	return &v
}

func find_container_domain_by_label(c *docker.Container) string {
	if l, exists := c.DockerData.Config.Labels[EnvDomain]; exists {
		return l
	}
	return ""
}

func find_container_domain_by_env(c *docker.Container) string {
	search := fmt.Sprintf("%s=", EnvDomain)
	for _, env := range c.DockerData.Config.Env {
		index := strings.Index(env, search)
		if index == 0 {
			return env[len(search):]
		}
	}
	return ""
}

func (this *DiscoveryContainerMatcher) MatcherForDomain(domain string, service ServiceKey) func(docker.Action, *docker.Container) bool {
	// get the rule
	if service_rule_map, has_domain := this.rulesByDomainService[domain]; has_domain {
		if rule, has_map := service_rule_map[service]; has_map {
			return func(a docker.Action, c *docker.Container) bool {
				if a == docker.Remove {
					return ImageMatch(c.Image, &rule.Image)
				}

				if env := findContainerDomain(c); env != nil {
					return *env == domain && rule.match(c)
				} else {
					return rule.match(c)
				}
			}
		}
	}
	glog.Warningln("No matcher for Domain=", domain, "Service=", service)
	return func(docker.Action, *docker.Container) bool {
		return false
	}
}

func (this *DiscoveryContainerMatcher) Match(c *docker.Container) map[ServiceKey]*ContainerMatchRule {
	return this.match(findContainerDomain(c), c)
}

func (this *DiscoveryContainerMatcher) match(domain *string, c *docker.Container) map[ServiceKey]*ContainerMatchRule {
	if domain != nil {
		matches := map[ServiceKey]*ContainerMatchRule{}

		rules_by_service := this.rulesByDomainService[*domain]
		// Now we have matched by the domain of the container.  Let's see if it's running an image we care about:
		for serviceKey, match_rule := range rules_by_service {
			glog.Infoln("Checking domain=", domain, "service=", serviceKey, "rule=", match_rule)

			matched := false
			if env := findContainerDomain(c); env != nil {
				matched = *env == *domain && match_rule.match(c)
			} else {
				matched = match_rule.match(c)
			}

			glog.Infoln(">>>>>> matched=", matched)
			if matched {
				matches[serviceKey] = match_rule
			}
		}
		glog.Infoln("==> Matched Rules:", matches)
		return matches
	} else {
		matches := map[ServiceKey]*ContainerMatchRule{}
		// if we don't know the domain, then search through all the images...
		for _, rules := range this.rulesByDomainService {
			for serviceKey, match_rule := range rules {
				if match_rule.match(c) {
					glog.Infoln("Matched service=", serviceKey, "rule=", match_rule)
					matches[serviceKey] = match_rule
				}
			}
		}
		return matches
	}

}

func ImageMatch(image string, spec *docker.Image) bool {
	glog.V(100).Infoln("Matching image", image, "vs", spec)
	if spec.Tag != "" {
		return image == fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", spec.Repository, spec.Tag)
	} else {
		return strings.Index(image, spec.Repository) == 0
	}
}

func BuildRegistryEntry(container *docker.Container, match_port int) (*RegistryContainerEntry, error) {
	_, version, _, err := ParseVersion(container.Image)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	entry := &RegistryContainerEntry{
		RegistryReleaseEntry: RegistryReleaseEntry{
			RegistryEntryBase: RegistryEntryBase{
				Version: version,
			},
			Image: container.Image,
		},
		ContainerId: container.Id,
	}

	// Interactive sessions don't have ports... So we add an entry only if we don't care
	// to match ports (match_container_port == 0)
	for _, p := range container.Ports {
		if match_port == int(p.ContainerPort) || match_port == 0 {
			entry.Port = p
			return entry, nil
		}
	}

	if match_port == 0 {
		return entry, nil
	} else {
		return nil, nil
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Sort lines by the number inside brakets Initial Data:
bla bla [200] bla bla
bla [100] bla bla
bla bla bla bla [400]
bla bla [150] bla bla

Desired Data:
bla bla bla bla [400]
bla bla [200] bla bla
bla bla [150] bla bla
bla [100] bla bla

Either via javascript, shell script or applescript.
Thank you.

A: Use a regular expression to extract the number in brackets from the line, and use that in sort().
var lines = [
    'bla bla [200] bla bla',
    'bla [100] bla bla',
    'bla bla bla bla [400]',
    'bla bla [150] bla bla'
];

function getNumber(line) {
    return parseInt(line.match(/\[(\d+)\]/)[1], 10);
}
lines = lines.sort(function(a, b) {
    return getNumber(b) - getNumber(a);
});

A: You can use shell's sort with the options -r for "reverse" and -g for "general numeric", e.g.
$ echo "bla bla [200] bla bla
  bla [100] bla bla
  bla bla bla bla [400]
  bla bla [150] bla bla" | sort -rg

returns
bla bla bla bla [400]
bla bla [200] bla bla
bla bla [150] bla bla
bla [100] bla bla

A: I thought rthbound's solution was neat so I tried it on my 10.6.8 and it did work. But when I changed the text a bit it breaks down.
echo "bla bla [200] bla bla
bla [100] bla bla asdf asdf asdf
sdblyya bla bla bla [400] asdf sadf wer
blasa bla [150] bla bla" | sort -g

Gives,
bla [100] bla bla asdf asdf asdf
bla bla [200] bla bla
blasa bla [150] bla bla
sdblyya bla bla bla [400] asdf sadf wer

So I am not sure what is going on there. Instead I tried a different approach, like this.
echo "bla bla [200] bla bla
bla [100] bla bla asdf asdf asdf
sdblyya bla bla bla [400] asdf sadf wer
blasa bla [150] bla bla" | perl -ne 'print "$1:$_" if /(\d+)/' | sort -n | cut -d':' -f2

It pulls the numbers out and puts them in front of the sentence with a colon as a separator. Then sorts them numerically and finally removes the leading number and colon.
Hope that helped.

A: 2 options:
sort -t'[' -k2nr file

gawk -F'[][]' '
    {x[$2] = $0}
    END {PROCINFO["sorted_in"] = "@ind_num_desc"; for (y in x) print x[y]}
' file


On the corner of 1300 South and 1100 East in Salt Lake City, you'll find a quaint building that was once a gas station in the 1920s, but now houses Liberty Heights Fresh. When you buy your groceries at the once-gas station, you won't be getting the typical gas station fare of fat, sugar and salt. Instead, you'll find fresh local produce, locally-made honey, jam, pasta, breads and cheeses and tons of great imported food. I spoke to the owner and CEO (Chief Eating Officer), Steven Rosenberg, who shared with me his passion for good food and told me about the importance of buying local.
The food has to make you smile when you eat it.
It has to be made with basic ingredients that would be easily recognized by your great-grandparents.
No junk—no synthesized corn or soy. Just real food ingredients.
Good food should be made with 3-5 ingredients.
The staff at Liberty Heights Fresh knows their stuff. They can tell you where every product came from, what's in it, what to pair with it and how to prepare it. They can recommend something special. Planning a dinner party and have no idea what to serve? Find out what's new or in season. You can also get recipes for seasonal treats. Try asking the bag boy at your big grocery store where those apples originated and if they were sprayed with pesticide, let alone ask for a baking tip…. you'll most likely get a blank stare.
The list of charities that Liberty Heights Foods contributes to every year is lengthy and includes everything from local youth sports to shelters for the homeless. Steven told me that the shop donates tens of thousands of dollars and food every year because he believes in supporting the community that supports his store.
Why Shop at Liberty Heights Fresh?
Well, once you walk in the store, you'll fall in love. If the baskets of gorgeous, fresh produce doesn't seduce you, the fresh breads behind the counter will. Ask one of the friendly staff to make you a sandwich made from all the wonderful breads, cheeses and meats on hand—if the weather is accommodating, you can eat your lunch at the picnic table. Bite into a variety of an apple that you can't find in the large chain grocery store. Discover a new olive oil. Taste a sample of locally-crafted jam that has only two ingredients: fruit and sugar. Re-discover what real food tastes like. Those are just a few of my reasons for shopping at Liberty Heights Fresh.


text:
#ArtWars: Turning the Dark Side onto the Art Side
The 'Art Wars 9' exhibition presents new and existing star wars inspired art by artists including Mr Brainwash, Alison Jackson, Hayden Kays, UnSilled Worker, Nettie Wakefield, Ben Eine, Philip Colbert, Bran Symondson, Joe Rush, Stuart Semple and Schoony.
Artists have been provided with a Star Wars Stormtrooper helmet, with the brief of transforming it into a piece of art: 'Turning the Dark Side onto the Art Side'. The exhibiton also includes Star Wars inspired paintings and drawings.
'Art Wars 9' opens at London's Old Brompton Gallery, Kensington on Thursday 12th December with a Private View 6 – 9pm followed up with another celebratory event a week later to coincide with the cinema release of Star Wars 9 on 19th December.
Art Wars is curated by Ben Moore and will raise funds for the Missing Tom Fund which Moore set up to support the search for his brother Tom who has been missing since 2003. Ben Moore says, 'The announcement of Art Wars 9 comes in the wake of Tom's 48th birthday on 5th December… This time of year is always tough for the family who would love to be re-united with Tom for his birthday and the Christmas season, but I remain optimistic about the future and very keen that 2020 be the year that I find my brother … I hope this exhibition gives me the wind in my sails in terms of strength and funding to make it happen… I am deeply thankful to all the artists who have taken part.'
Since launching Art Wars at Saatchi Gallery in 2013, the initiative has garnered support from major artists worldwide including Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Alison Jackson, Joana Vasconcelos, David Bailey, D*Face and Retna. Art Wars has travelled to Sweden, Dubai, Miami and Los Angeles and been the headline feature in numerous art fairs including The Other Art Fair, Moniker Art Fair, and Red Dot Art Fair.
Damien Hirst says of Art Wars: "I saw a cartoon where a stormtrooper is sat in a chair with his head in his hands looking depressed with a thought bubble coming out if his head saying "those were the droids we were looking for". So many people today can find that funny and it really shows you how massively all encompassing and ubiquitous Star Wars is."
New works in the exhibition include a 'dark side' depiction of the Royal Family by Trust.ICON, a stormtrooper helmet as a cheeseburger by Philip Colbert and a nude female stormtrooper by Ben Moore.
Mundane items to new, Kristián Mensa's illustrations
Danielle Zoellner 20/01/2020
The New Single "Everything" By Pavel Khvaleev & Avis Vox
Elephant herd carved in lead, wood sculptures by Cindy Chinn
James Blunt Unveils Super Emotional 'Monsters' Video
Hoxton Hall to create live episode of soap opera inspired by the people and stories of Hoxton Street
'London Calling' will showcase diversity of the city and its artists at the 'Connect' Art Fair

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Hiram Poetry Review - Spring 2014
Issue Number: Issue 75
Published Date: Spring 2014
Publication Cycle: Annual
Review by: Brian McKenna
Whether written in traditional free verse or veering off into experimental territory, the poems in the latest issue of theHiram Poetry Review are frank, high-spirited, and self-assured. Featuring twenty-one poems from nineteen different poets, this slim volume benefits from a clear editorial vision favoring "poems that exhibit excellence with flaws rather than general competence." Even if a certain amount of brashness preempts nuance in several of the issue's poems, the urgency of the speakers and their subject matter never fail to command attention. However, the best poems from the issue manage to be both urgent and nuanced, gathering self-assuredness from the poets' careful attention to how syntax and diction compliment the scope and ambition of their subject matter.
Perhaps the most evocative pairing of language and subject matter was Matthew Dulany's poem "Yes," in which the indelible roadside scenes that have always marked a son's way home take on added significance as he returns to visit his dying father. Fixtures of the landscape which formerly reassured the speaker become a disarming metaphor for the physical decline that occurs in our absence. The breezy music of Dulany's lines nicely captures the swift, insular feeling of highway travel and creates an odd tension with the fixity of the sober scene awaiting him:
Always there's a station where the gas
is pennies cheaper, where the air is free,
where tractor trailers whirring past
appeal to thoughts of temporality.
Always the pike led to the turnpike,
always that abandoned ferry's rusting shell lay off to the right,
beached on the Raritan's unclean bank—
the ghost ferry, I called it.
Hello, Ghost Ferry.
Polly Buckingham's "Your Big Toe" was another of the issue's well-executed poems. To paraphrase Shakespeare, repressed sexual energy will out, and it does so in entertainingly askew fashion in Buckingham's poem, as her speaker considers the meaning of a dream and its unshakeable image of a prospective mate's "ridged and uneven" big toe nail seen by campfire light. The combination of the sexualized image and the description of the action it provokes is played for just the right amount of melodrama before the poem's speaker interjects with a frank admission:
After four days of frantic hiking
my big toenail turns black—
smashing against the boot uphill and down
driven by visions
of your toe
and the darkness outside the fire
where I search for you and come up empty.
I stumble down a rocky trail. Let's be honest:
Your big toe turns me on.
Several of the more avant-garde poems in the issue offer experiments in form. Jonathan Greenhause's poem "Edward's Indecisiveness" appropriates the form of a multiple-choice test to playfully chronicle the biographical roots of Edward's titular flaw. Stephen Brown creates a subheading style all his own in his rhythmic, self-cannibalizing poems about alienation and city life.
For his part, Richard Kostelanetz uses what looks to be an amalgam of computer code, obscure symbols, and mathematics in the excerpt from his work AN EPIC POEM FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. Though I can't feign authority regarding what the hell is going on in the poem, I can say that I enjoyed speculating about it. Is Kostelanetz making a statement about the status of science and mathematics in contemporary culture by suggesting a comparison with the great epic poems of the past? Is he celebrating or lamenting the cultural artifacts that have been replaced by technological innovation? Is this just a concrete poem? Is my brain made of concrete? All fair enough questions to bandy about. Whatever your interpretation, the enigmatic formal experiments of these three poets nicely extend the poetic range of the journal while providing the bold individuality that's such a hallmark of the issue's poetry as a whole.
While a good deal of the poems in this issue of Hiram Poetry Review were polished and propulsive, the two book reviews lacked focus, failing to properly frame or illuminate the works under consideration. In the review of Marjorie Maddox's new poetry collection Local News from Someplace Else, excerpts from Maddox's poetry seemed to function as garnish for the reviewer's own sermonizing, while an argument about accessibility versus triviality and the critical bias against the publishing house McSweeney's drags on for roughly two and a half pages in the review of Dan Chelotti's debut poetry collection x, which causes the context in which the book was released to feel like it received more thorough consideration than the contents of the book. For reviews of this length, the discussions of structure, themes, and craftsmanship were scattershot, leaving the reader with a rather vague impression of each poet's work.
Minor reservations aside, the Hiram Poetry Review still manages to cut a distinctive figure in the poetry world after nearly a half century in publication because of its charismatic blend of the accessible and avant-garde. Rather than attempting to be encyclopedic and ending up uneven, the Hiram Poetry Reviewmakes a virtue of its brevity, selecting experiments worth lingering over and voices worth listening to.
[hirampoetryreview.wordpress.com]
Review Posted on July 21, 2014


text:
British Court Rules That Parliament Must Approve Brexit Plans
Tim Ireland
Media gather outside the High Court in London on Thursday for the decision on the challenge to plans for Brexit.
A British court has ruled that the U.K. government must get approval from Parliament in order to initiate the country's departure from the European Union.
The High Court's decision is a blow to the government's plans for how to trigger a "Brexit."
But it's been good news for the pound, which swiftly rose to a three-week high. That's because the ruling suggests to some investors that a "hard exit," in which the U.K. severs most of its ties to the continent, is now less likely, Reuters reports. A hard exit is expected to be more of an economic shock than a more partial Brexit would be.
The court's decision could delay the Brexit — whatever form it ultimately takes — by months, the BBC says.
You may remember that in June, people in the U.K. narrowly voted in favor of leaving the European Union, much to the shock of many observers and government figures. The result led to the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron, who had called the referendum but strongly opposed the Brexit.
After the public called for the departure, it was up to the government to determine how the separation would actually happen. No country had ever withdrawn from the EU like this before.
Prime Minister Theresa May had been planning to define the terms of the Brexit by herself and launch negotiations with the EU early next year.
"Now, all that is up in the air," NPR's Frank Langfitt reports from London. The court's ruling means that Parliament must first pass legislation approving Brexit to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which formally begins the process for negotiating Britain's withdrawal.
"This could vastly complicate the government's already fraught plans to leave the world's largest collective economy," Frank says. "Before the June 23 Brexit vote, members of Parliament were overwhelmingly against leaving the EU. The court's ruling could put members in the awkward position of opposing the will of the voters in last summer's referendum."
The Associated Press has more on the issues brought before the High Court:
"May ... is relying on a power called the royal prerogative that lets the government withdraw from international treaties.
"Claimants argue that leaving the EU will remove rights, including free movement within the bloc, and say that can't be done without Parliament's approval.
"Three senior judges ruled that 'the government does not have the power under the Crown's prerogative' to start EU exit talks."
The government has said it plans to appeal, Frank reports.


Quality Book Press, Joseph Haimowitz, 600 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville MD 21208; 443-386-3836. Email: sales@quality-book-press.net. Book printing from 25 to 10,000 copies. They offer to beat any competitor's quote by 10%.
R and R Images, Michael Peters, Strategic Sales, 3602 E La Salle Street, Phoenix AZ 85040; 602-437-4545; Cell: 480-577-5925. Email: michael.peters@randrimages.com. 4 HP Indigo presses with full bindery capabilities including UV coating, soft and hardcover binding, laser die cutting, and more. In business since 1988.
Rapid POD Printing, Ken Whitman, President; 502-212-6258. Email: ken@rapidpod.com. POD printer that offers 5 standard sizes and a 5-7 day turnaround on print-ready PDF files. Print high quality books, comics, and art prints in quantities from 1 to 1,000 in B&W and color.
Rebirth BioScience, Dr. Josh Ken Davidberg, P O Box 94, Largo FL 33779. Email: curricula@rebirthtech.org. A self-publishing house for biotechnology and bioscience textbooks.
Renaissance Alliance Publishing — Publishes POD books. Also edits and publicizes them.
Replica Books, Marin Foster, Baker & Taylor, 1120 Route 22 East, Bridgewater NJ 08807; 908-541-7392; Fax: 908-541-7875. Email: Fosterm@btol.com. The on-demand printing arm of Baker & Taylor sells only to wholesalers, but booksellers can order through their favorite wholesaler or direct from Baker & Taylor. They work on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis.
RoseDog Books, Melissa Rohm, Coordinator, 701 Smithfield Street, Pittsburgh PA 15222-3906; 866-380-0923; Fax: 412-338-0427. Email: rosedog@stargate.net. A full service print-on-demand publisher, from manuscript to print or digital format. Finished books are available online, via a toll-free number, or through retail bookstores. RoseDog is a subsidiary of Dorrance Publishing Company, a vanity press.
RPI Print, Ted Reischling, President, 507 Westlake Avenue N, Seattle WA 98109; 206-371-0680. Email: ted@rpiprint.com. Produces digitally printed products from consumer-generated content, including one-off photo books, cards, calendars, and stationery products.


Patients from the Charlottesville area are generally seen in their regular animal clinic or hospital. We work as a resource for pet owners and local veterinarians, in their own facility. Advanced veterinary dentistry is now just around the corner, in your neighborhood! Ask your veterinarian to contact us at 434-823-1671.
Patients from south central Virginia are seen in Lynchburg at the Animal Emergency and Critical Care facility on Odd Fellows Road just off the Route 29 bypass. The schedule varies, so please phone 434-823-1671 for an initial consultation.
Patients from the Shenandoah Valley are seen at Augusta/Valley Animal Hospital just off Interstate 81. Appointments are generally scheduled on Wednesdays but the schedule does vary. Please phone 434-823-1671 for an initial phone consultation then the appointment can be scheduled by calling the animal hospital at 540-851-1500.
Patients from Richmond or eastern Virginia are seen In Richmond at Carey Street Veterinary Hospital just off Interstate 195. Appointments are generally scheduled on Fridays but the schedule does vary. Please phone 434-823-1671 for an initial phone consultation then the appointment can be scheduled by calling the animal hospital at 804-355-9144.


text:
Home Community Libraries to reopen and welcome customers to drop-in and browse
Libraries to reopen and welcome customers to drop-in and browse
South Gloucestershire Council Libraries are set to reopen to visiting customers and are looking forward to welcoming people back from Monday 7 September.
Since July, our libraries have been providing click and collect and bookable IT services in addition to delivering books to vulnerable adults during the Covid-19 lockdown period.
From Monday, customers will be able to drop-in and browse the books on offer for the first time since March. Opening times will be shorter than normal hours with all libraries closing at 4pm. Filton Library will not be open due to essential building work being carried out but Patchway Library will be open on Mondays, in addition to its normal open days.
The number of people using a library at one time will be limited and IT users are encouraged to book in advance to ensure a PC is free at the time they want to visit.
Safety checks have taken place at all of our buildings in line with Government guidance and all customers will be required to wear face coverings.
Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Rachael Hunt said: "I am delighted that our libraries are now able to welcome customers to browse and borrow again after what has been an extremely tough few months for everyone.
"Throughout the lockdown period our libraries have continued to support people by delivering books, providing a click and collect service, extending our ebook and eaudio collections; even adding daily newspapers to our online services so people didn't need to leave home as often.
"We have carefully planned the re-opening and have taken into account the safety of both the public and our staff, and it's fantastic news that we can invite members of the public to drop-in and explore their local library once again."
Our click and collect service – which has received some fantastic feedback, will continue to operate for people who prefer not to choose their own books but have them selected by the staff.
For further information on the reopening of our libraries and details of the measures being put in place, including the click and collect service and booking of PCs, visit www.southglos.gov.uk/librarychanges or call 01454 865022.
Previous articleNew 'School Streets' in Kingswood and Yate to help clear the air for pupils
Next articleBristol landlord fined thousands for failing to make repairs to Kingswood building


How lovely! I didn't know about the quails, roes (as in deer, I presume) and larks.
Larks come in exaltations, too, of course, which is also lovely, especially when they're singing.
I will definitely be doing 'exaltation' when I get to E ... and yes ... I wondered the same about roes, but I don't think it could be anything else, could it?
If somebody wanted to punish me, there wouldn't be a better way than throwing me into a bevy of loud ladies.
I'm afraid I may be a bit prejudiced in the matter of venery. One of my (now largely discarded) hobbies is trivia games, and I found few subjects more annoying than this one, which required the memorization of large numbers of otherwise-useless collective nouns.
For this irritation, I blame James Lipton. Long before hosting Inside the Actors Studio, he wrote a book named An Exaltation of Larks in which he itemized these so-called terms of venery, many of which were outright inventions of his own.
I realize that a lot of people find these things cute, but they seem markedly less so when you've just lost a game because you couldn't remember whether pheasants congregate in parliaments or bouquets.
I should warn you, Nick, that I will be covering virtually every term of venery I find with an absurd level of childish enthusiasm.
Did you see my post on the word badling, which is a small group of ducks? Awww ... a badling ... come on!
Hmm, perhaps you are my bête noire after all. You and that Lipton guy both.
What's the word for a group of more than one bête noire?
It can only be a bevy of bête noire, surely?
Right, bêvy noire it is.


02. Information collected by RaceFacer?
For some of its services, RaceFacer uses trusted partners who can transfer and process data to users in countries outside the European Union, and in this connection FaceRacer Ltd. takes care that any user information is transferred in accordance with the applicable law and the safest possible way.
• Cookie data used by RaceFacer.
• Links that you create to other content stored on our platform or other sites.
To create a RaceFacer account, you need to enter a minimum personal information that includes: name and surname, email, date of birth, country, city, photo, preferred karting track. The provision of other personal information is entirely at your discretion. If you wish, you can supplement your account with data such as: mobile phone and personal kilograms.
- Participation in rankings by age group and kilograms.
The content of RaceFacer.com is accessible to any Internet user and access is not dependent on any consent to the processing of personal data. In case you decide not to provide the minimum required registration data, you will not be able to create an account, but you will be able to access the platform and use some of our services.
3.1. The personal information you provide serves for the correct formation of different rankings and charts.
3.2.1. Receive notifications at the specified email address about promotions and discounts, Event Calendar newsletter, new features, instructions and clarifications to improve your driving style.
3.2.2. Receive text messages based on your phone number on behalf of RaceFacer or on behalf of the karting tracks you have visited.
3.2.3. To show your picture on the monitors of the karting tracks You are driving at.
When registering through the website RaceFacer.com or the mobile app and accepting the consents, the same agreements apply to the "Preferred track" at registration. You can withdraw your consent through your preferences in your account settings menu.
- we regularly monitor our systems of probable vulnerabilities and attacks.
We introduce various security measures for the security of the user's personal data. In the event of an established risk or unauthorized access to data or a signal from a user (for security risk / unauthorized access), we will take all possible measures to limit the risk and conduct an investigation, to correct security weaknesses/breakthroughs and to inform state institutions of protection of personal data in accordance with the law.
We do not provide "hidden" data access to our users or to servers that store their data to government institutions, but we may give them access to, retain and share your information in response to a legal request (such as a court order or others) if the law obliges us to do so.
Your right to control your personal information is very important to us. Therefore we give you full access to modify or delete any information you provide us.
When you share information in your account, you have full control over changing or deleting it by logging in and edit information or delete your account.
We try to give you as much control over privacy as we can. You can manage to what extent you give us your consent, we use your information to provide you with interesting content and information from the platform. You can manage the confidentiality of your information through your account settings.
Please refrain from sharing sensitive personal information about yourself and always remember that others can identify aspects of your life through the personal information you share on the RaceFacer platform.
We use data and content for invitations and communication, promoting our services or our partners services in one or more of the following ways: advertising emails; internal messaging system; desktop computer notifications and notifications on a mobile device.
We give you the opportunity to opt out of these marketing messages at any time.
7.2. You may request a correction of your personal data.
7.3. You may request a copy of all personal data stored in RaceFacer.
7.4. You can limit your consent partially or completely through the settings in your account.
7.5. You may request the deletion of each individual or all collected personal information about you (the right to be forgotten).
7.6. You may decide not to be part of automated profiling and/or automated solutions to you when decisions are based solely on automated processing, including profiling, causing legal consequences affecting you or other consequences that affect you equally.
7.7. You may request to have access to the information you use, edit it, use human intervention, express your opinion, to argue and dispute resolutions about you when the decision is based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal consequences , affecting you or other consequences that affect you equally.
7.8. You can want not to be targeted with marketing communication.
7.9. You can want to know where your personal data is stored.
7.10. You can request that your personal data would not be sent or shared with third countries outside the European Union unless there are adequate safeguards to protect your personal data.
7.11. You can request that your personal information could be transferred to a third party in a standard format.
7.12. You can request information and assistance from us in connection with the use of your personal data and your rights.
7.13. You can submit a complaint about your rights to State institutions for the protection of personal data.
If you do not agree with these changes, you should stop using the platform and terminate your membership in accordance with paragraph. 9 of the General Terms and Conditions.
If necessary, we will again request your consent to process your personal information.
We are Faceracer Limited (company number: 202926835) ("RaceFacer") and our registered address is 84, Tintyava street, Sofia 1113, Bulgaria. RaceFacer is the "data controller" of any personal data it may collect, process and hold about you, unless we inform you otherwise.
When a user connects to the RaceFacer Customer Service Department for better service quality, they may be asked to access his account. Additional information may also be requested in order to be assisted properly.
Copyright © FaceRacer. Todos los derechos reservados. Web Design and Development by Faceracer Ltd.


Yes, June 21 is on a Thursday, and yes, the date is correct! The Suwanee Summer Porch Jam is part of Make Music Day an international celebration of music. Launched in 1982 in France, it is held on the summer solstice every year in more than 750 cities in 120 countries. The first Make Music Day event in Georgia, Summer Porch Jam will have the feel of an old-fashioned summer block party. Featuring food trucks, beer, and wine, musicians will be playing outdoors at multiple venues throughout Old Town Suwanee.
Held in the historic Main Street district, Summer Porch Jam will feature quite a few unique venues, including the front porch of Mayor Jimmy Burnette! Southern soul band ThunderGypsy will serve as the event headliner, opening and closing the inaugural party at Burnette Rogers Pavilion on Main Street. Other local musicians include Shopkeep, Common Ground, Andy & Amanda, and a student showcase from Town Center Music. Everetts Music Barn will host national bluegrass touring acts Taylor Sosebee, Appalachian Travelers, and Bluegrass Alliance.
Huthmaker Violins will host bluegrass band Uncle Johnnys Pickers and feature a violin petting zoo, for those interested in learning to play the strings. Children can make their own shakers with Suwanee Academy of the Arts, then join Up/Down Percussion in a drum circle/jam session in the heart of Main Street at 8:00 pm.
The event kicks off at 6:00 pm and closes at 10:00 pm. Parking will be available at Town Center; from there, it is a short ten-minute walk to the shuttle stop at the library, or 15-minutes for the full walk to Old Town. A full schedule of venues and musicians can be found at Suwanee.com. For more information regarding the City of Suwanees Summer Porch Jam event, please contact Events Coordinator Kim Towne at 770-945-8996.


text:
Addicted (film), een Zuid-Koreaanse film
Addicted (2014), een Amerikaanse film
Addicted (single), een single van de Amerikaanse band Simple Plan
ADDICTED, de naam van een Nederlandse band

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Fabulous Pasadena apartments in the heart of historic Old Pasadena Avalon Del Mar Station brings the best of Pasadena to you. Walk to trendy Paseo Colorado, boutique shops, popular restaurants and entertainment venues ? or enjoy the on-site restaurants and shops right outside these stunning apartment rentals in Pasadena. And, with the Metro Gold Line station right at our community, you can easily zip to downtown L.A. or Hollywood in minutes and kiss your commute goodbye. Great apartment rentals in Pasadena, great service and the amenities you deserve. All at a location that's exactly right, exactly where you want to be.


text:
How Many And Which Species Of Spider Are Known For Entering Homes In Maine? And How Many Prefer Indoor Habitats?
Just about everyone has found spiders within their home, and most people have found spiders that are particularly large, fast and altogether frightening to look at. The most commonly feared spiders exist within hot tropical or desert regions. For example, the largest spider in the world, commonly known as the Goliath bird-eater, is abundant in central and northern South America, and other excessively large tarantulas are by no means rare in southern regions of the United States. However, even residents of relatively cold northern regions are not exempt from occasional indoor spider sightings. Although highly venomous spider species, such as black widow species and the brown recluse are not native to Maine, other large and unsettling spiders like wolf, parson, fisher, jumping and house spiders are found frequently within homes in the state. Not long ago, researchers searched every region of Maine, including seashores, salt marshes, gravel surfaces, schools and homes for spider species. The results turned up hundreds of species, many of which are often found within homes, buildings and other manmade structures.
The Researchers searched the surroundings of Milbridge Elementary School and found a total of 17 invasive spider species, several of which were likely to inhabit the school. A total of 98 invasive spider species were found in domestic habitats, which included interiors and exteriors of houses, garages, sheds, barns, screened houses, seashore cottages, and both public and private professional buildings, such as businesses and schools. Other domestic habitats included boats, canoes, patios, hot tubs, lawn furniture, ornamental shrubs, trees, compost bins, and vegetable and flower gardens. Of these 98 species, 15 were unique to domestic habitats. One of these indoor-dwelling spider species was the Asagenea americana, formerly known as the Steatoda americana. This species is more commonly known as the "two-spotted cobweb weaver," and they are one of the most commonly collected indoor spider species in most homes in the US and up into Canada. Most of the other 15 species that dwell within domestic habitats in Maine were cobweb spinners, such as S. borealis, or cellar spiders, like Pholcus manueli. Most wolf spider species are somewhat large and they travel constantly in search of prey, which brings them into homes on occasion, but only temporarily. However, one wolf spider species, pardosa saxatilis, also known as the "small wolf spider," maintains a largely domestic presence. While most domestic spider species were small in size, some larger species included A. cavitacus (barn spider), and Philodromus vulgaris as females from both of these species grow to be nearly three fourths of an inch in length. Two other large domestic species include the running crab spider and the eastern parson spider. The geographical origin of some of these species is under dispute.
Have you ever found a wolf spider within your home?


In 1962, with a dream and a Double Bourbon Manhattan, Gisèle Masson sent a wire to her husband, Charles: "Congratulations! You are the owner of 3 East 52nd Street! Find a name!" On December 19th,1962, during a blizzard and newspaper strike, La Grenouille was born. From that day on, a loving following began with an array of stars bringing their glamour to La Grenouille. Who could forget the eyes of Sir Laurence Olivier, Paul Newman and Edward G. Robinson; the voices of Richard Burton, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Placido Domingo and Sean Connery; the superb and legendary Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren; the incomparable Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Prince, Madonna, Elton John and Iman, the comedic genius of Alan King, Woody Allen, Johnny Carson, the superb and elegant Galanos, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix and Ungaro,the extravagant Salvador Dali and famed French painter Bernard Lamotte who lived on the 2nd floor above La Grenouille entertaining Greta Garbo, Charlie Chaplin and Antoine de St Exupery who wrote parts of the little prince in the upstairs room of La Grenouille.


text:
Q: How to read from multiple RepositoryItemReaders and write into one RepositoryItemWriter I am trying to read from around 7-8 different database tables, thereon combine all of those data into one which is then to be written into a single JSON file. Since Reader and Writer seems to be tightly coupled and serve one read and one write, I was wondering is there a way to read multiple datasources and combine those within the processor into one output using RepositoryItemReader and RepositoryItemWriter.

A: Well you can use composition pattern by implementing a custom ItemReader which internally contains those 7-8 RepositoryItemReaders . In your custom ItemReader , you use these RepositoryItemReaders to collect all the data into a kind of container or tuple object and pass it to the ItemProcessor to process.
Code wise it looks like:
public class MyItemReader implements ItemReader<Tuple> {

    private RepositoryItemReader r1;
    private RepositoryItemReader r2;
    private RepositoryItemReader r3;
    ......
    private RepositoryItemReader r6;
    private RepositoryItemReader r7;

    public Tuple read(){
        return new Tuple(r1.read(),r2.read() ....., r6.read() , r7.read());
    }

}

public class Tuple {
    private Table1 t1;
    private Table2 t2;
    private Table3 t3;
    .....
    private Table6 t6;
    private Table7 t7;
}


Kowhaiwhai (Maori rafter panel design): Patiki/flounder – which represents hospitality. (The fish Maui is said to have caught was either a flounder or a stingray).
The North Island being the fish of Maui, where place names refer to fish. The South Island was his canoe and has the stern, prow and seat marked.


text:
Jurgen Klopp to think of the bigger picture when considering summer transfers
Reds boss will look to bigger picture in deciding who to keep on
Jurgen Klopp will try to look at the big picture as he decides which members of his current squad will remain part of his plans beyond the summer.
The Reds boss has already promised to spend in the summer transfer window as he seeks to add consistency to some of the high quality performances his team have delivered during this season.
Another of those arrived at Anfield on Saturday night as Arsenal were soundly beaten 3-1, a display which arrived just five days after a bafflingly bad 3-1 mauling at Leicester.
Computing which is the real Liverpool – what is the correct information – will be a key part of the analysis Klopp must complete before deciding how radical the summer overhaul must be.
But the Reds boss is determined that he will focus just as much on the positive messages as the negative, despite recognising there is a tendency to fixate on the latter.
Want more expert Reds coverage and extra LFC podcasts? Sign up for Anfield Extra
Asked if displays like Saturday made it more difficult to be "ruthless" in the summer, Klopp said: "I understand the question, and it's a good question, because after the last game I was low, angry whatever, and I am not angry in this moment.
"It is not that we are not serious in the things we are doing. The important thing in a development is that you take the information you get, work with it. Most of the info, you don't like. When everything is perfect already, then you think, 'yeah, well, ok, c'mon, done, now we can deliver'.
Wijnaldum: Liverpool can't afford any more slip-ups
"And we can already very often deliver…. but I said in life, we are all a little bit like this, that we let the bad things influence us more than the good things, otherwise we would celebrate our birthday maybe longer than one day.
"We are like this, but especially in this moment, the club is completely together. Usually it is not that hard, but only because it is Liverpool and everybody expects we already should be somewhere else - I understand this 100%, it is our aim, it is where we want to be.
"We are completely fine, the owners are fine, they are completely with us, the players we have a wonderful relationship...but that doesn't mean we say every day what they want to hear. It means we work together on the things we are not as good as - I'm not sure if we could already be or not."
Manager Jurgen Klopp with Simon Mignolet at the end of the match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Klopp believes his team have been affected by injuries and some bad luck this year which cost his team "power and confidence" at a crucial period.
He feels the impact of each disappointing result was felt more than any boost from a positive one.
"Look at one of the best games we played, say Man City, they are really strong, we won 1-0 - if this victory had given us as much confidence as the draw at Sunderland had given us a knock, then everything would be fine, but it was not like this. Man City was: 'we can do it sometimes', Sunderland was, 'yeah. That is the usual face'.
"So we have to keep on going in these parts and then finally, probably everything will be good. I don't like inconsistency, I made it pretty clear, but at the end, until now, it was part of the deal obviously."
Those inconsistencies have led many to question the mental attitude among his players, to doubt their 'character' to choose a word more familiar from previous Anfield era.
Their manager though continues to insist that attitude is not a problem and instead believes a lack of quality at times is the main reason for the Jekyyl and Hyde nature of displays and indeed results.
Klopp added: "I don't want to make it too philosophical, it is obviously the case we are inconsistent. I know we don't have to doubt their attitude in the way we usually think about it – 'do they really want it? Are they really motivated?' We cannot play as we did (against Arsenal) if we have any issues like this.
"But we struggled in other games. So ok, you say it is about quality, and yeah probably sometimes it is quality. But we have potential and you make quality of it, with work and all that stuff.
"If we judge the players after the best game of the season, then we sign a contract for another six seasons, if we do it after Leicester then you change the whole squad. But the truth is always in between.
"That is what we are working on, really working on. There will be moments when we play like this and win again - and it is what we did this season already in fact - and it will be against a team not in the top six. But we have to work on it, first of all we have to feel like it is possible.
"The whole week is different. When the week starts after Leicester everybody was angry, then we produce this performance against Arsenal. But then the question is immediately about Burnley and it starts already 'oh f** k, how can we do this". The legs feel already very heavy for the next game.
"My job is to produce the right mood, and I feel especially responsible after not so good performances - we work on it."
Jurgen Klopp


text:
Amber Riley leads Glee stars paying tribute to Naya Rivera on her birthday
Amber Riley paid tribute to Naya Rivera. Photo: PA Archive/PA Images
By Keiran Southern, PA Los Angeles Correspondent
Naya Rivera's Glee co-stars paid tribute to the late actor on what would have been her 34th birthday.
Rivera died in July after drowning during a boating trip at a Southern California lake with her five-year-old son. He was later found safe and well.
Rivera, who played cheerleader Santana Lopez on Glee, would have celebrated her birthday on Tuesday.
Amber Riley portrayed Mercedes Jones on the musical drama. She posted a lengthy message, addressing Rivera with "a little update" and informing her "earth is REALLY ghetto now!!!".
Riley added: "Still, I miss you so very much and I wish you were here. There hasn't been a day where you don't cross my mind, and when you do, I take a moment of silence to remember all the beautiful moments we got to spend together.
"I'm listening to Amy Winehouse, sippin wine, and eating a very fancy charcuterie in your honour today (don't worry, I'm checking on mom). HAPPY HEAVENLY BIRTHDAY ANGEL."
Heather Morris starred as Rivera's on-screen girlfriend, Brittany Pierce. She posted a black-and-white picture of them together and wrote: "Happy Birthday my angel. I can't write a sappy monologue because it's just too hard…but I love you and I can't describe how much I miss you."
Chris Colfer, who starred as Kurt Hummel, also posted a picture of himself with Rivera. He wrote in the caption: "Happy birthday, babe. Miss you."
Amber Riley performs touching tribute to her late...
And Kevin McHale, who played Artie Abrams, posted a throwback picture of the Glee cast looking worse for wear while huddled around a birthday cake bearing the message "happy birthday Naya".
He wrote in the caption: "No one else could get us to be this messy in public."
Rivera went missing at Lake Piru on July 8th and her body was found on July 13th following an intense search. The Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office said her death was as a result of accidental drowning.
Naya Rivera,
Glee,
Rivera,
Artie Abrams,
Brittany Pierce,
Chris Colfer,
Heather Morris,
Kevin McHale,
Kurt Hummel,
Mercedes Jones
Naya Rivera's Glee co-stars launch Christmas fundraising drive in her memory
New report reveals details of Glee actress Naya Rivera's final moments
Naya Rivera to make posthumous appearance on Netflix's Sugar Rush
Big Sean breaks silence on death of former fiancee Naya Rivera


text:
PONARS Eurasia
List of Policy Memos
Address 1957 E St NW, Washington, DC 20052 adminponars@gwu.edu 202.994.5915
Select LanguageEnglishNederlandsFrançaisDeutschРусскийУкраїнська
Bookstore 📚
Point & Counterpoint
Policy Perspectives
Relevant Past PONARS Eurasia Policy Memos on Kazakhstan
Riots in Kazakhstan
Black Earth, White Bread: A Technopolitical History of Russian Agriculture and Food
Capital Cities of Russia | PONARS Eurasia Online Academy
Engaging with Muslim Civil Society in Central Asia: Components, Approaches, and Opportunities
PONARS Eurasia Podcast
Exploring the Russian Courts' Ruling to Liquidate the Memorial Society January 28, 2022
In this week's PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with scholars Kelly Smith and Benjamin Nathans about the history, achievements, and impending shutdown of the Memorial Society, Russia's oldest and most venerable civic organization, and what its imminent liquidation portends for the Russian civil society.
Russia's 2021 census and the Kremlin's nationalities policy [Lipman Series 2021] December 9, 2021
In this week's PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with social scientist Andrey Shcherbak about the quality of the data collected in the recent population census and the goals of Vladimir Putin's government's nationalities policy
Active citizens of any kind are under threat [Lipman Series 2021] November 5, 2021
In this week's PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Alexander Verkhovsky about the Kremlin's ever expanding toolkit against political and civic activists, journalists, and other dissidents.
Russia's Legislative Elections followup [Lipman Series 2021] October 4, 2021
In this week's PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Tanya Lokot and Nikolay Petrov about the results of Russia's legislative elections and about what comes next.
Why Is the Kremlin Nervous? [Lipman Series 2021] September 14, 2021
In this week's PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Ben Noble and Nikolay Petrov about Russia's September 17-19 legislative elections, repressive measures against electoral challengers, and whether to expect anything other than preordained results.
Vaccine Hesitancy in Russia, France, and the United States [Lipman Series 2021] August 31, 2021
In this week's PONARS Eurasia Podcast episode, Maria Lipman chats with Denis Volkov, Naira Davlashyan, and Peter Slevin about why COVID-19 vaccination rates are still so low across the globe, comparing vaccine hesitant constituencies across Russia, France, and the United States.
Is Russia Becoming More Soviet? [Lipman Series 2021] July 26, 2021
In a new PONARS Eurasia Podcast episode, Maria Lipman chats with Maxim Trudolyubov about the current tightening of the Russian political sphere, asking whether or not it's helpful to draw comparisons to the late Soviet period.
The Evolution of Russia's Political Regime [Lipman Series 2021] June 21, 2021
In this week's episode of the PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Grigory Golosov and Henry Hale about the evolution of Russia's political regime, and what to expect in the lead-up to September's Duma elections.
Volodymyr Zelensky: Year Two [Lipman Series 2021] May 24, 2021
In this week's episode of the PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Sergiy Kudelia and Georgiy Kasianov about Ukrainian President Zelensky's second year in office, and how he has handled the political turbulence of the past year.
Constructing the Myth of Russia's "Wild" Nineties [Lipman Series 2021] May 10, 2021
In today's episode of the PONARS Eurasia Podcast, Maria Lipman chats with Olga Malinova about the myth of the "wild nineties" and the political actors involved in its construction.
Policy Memos | Аналитика
Washington's Security Assistance to Kyiv: Improving Long-Term Returns on Military Investments in Ukraine
Mariya Omelicheva
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) Since Russia's annexation of Crimea and invasion of the Donbas in 2014, the United States has committed over $1.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine. This past summer, the White House took special interest in the effectiveness of U.S. assistance to Kyiv, ordering a hold on a $391 million assistance package to Ukraine. Concerns with corruption and insufficient matching of funds by European allies were the expressed motivation for the hold. The aid was released on September 12 under Congressional pressure. President Donald Trump's decision to withhold the aid is now the subject of a growing political scandal and has added to the ignition of a formal impeachment inquiry by the House of Representatives. Questions remain, however, about whether U.S. dollars have been well spent in Ukraine and how the U.S. government can improve returns on its military investments.
The largest issue with Washington's assistance to Ukraine has been the lack of earnest engagement with the strategic questions involving Ukrainian defense reform, rather than corruption or matching contributions from European partners. A related problem is that the United States has not carried out a bona fide assessment of Ukraine's progress in terms of the defense reform requirements. If history is any guide, the United States can only succeed in reforming a country's foreign military when it becomes deeply involved in many aspects of the country's military affairs, including its military doctrine, structure, professional military education (PME), procurement, and training. In addition, U.S. security assistance can be used as a leverage to push for systemic anti-corruption reforms.
Overview of U.S. Security Assistance to Ukraine
The United States has long supported Ukraine's reforms and pro-Western orientation and has disbursed over $446 million in military and economic assistance since 2001. This makes Kyiv the largest recipient of U.S. aid in Europe and Eurasia. Until 2014, most of this assistance was channeled toward a wide range of governance reform efforts. Since 2014, security assistance funded and administered by the U.S. Department of Defense has constituted nearly 60 percent of total aid disbursed to Ukraine.
Figure 1. U.S. Foreign Aid to Ukraine (US$ million)
Note: Disbursements are the actual amounts of aid transferred by the U.S. government to Ukraine. Obligations, or binding agreements to disburse aid in the future, are typically higher. Source: USAID: Foreign Aid Explorer: The Official Record of U.S. Foreign Aid.
In a rare show of bipartisanship in 2014, the U.S. Congress approved the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, which affirmed U.S. support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea and military intervention in the Donbas region. The law directed the U.S. president to impose sanctions on several Russian entities and authorized him to provide Ukraine with defense articles, services, and training for countering Moscow's offensive actions. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2016 established the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) for providing Kyiv with a range of defensive equipment and training. For both 2017 and 2018, the NDAA authorized funding to Ukraine in the amount of $350 million each year (although, not all of this aid has been disbursed at the time of writing), placing the country among the top ten recipients of U.S. security assistance in the world.
Most of the U.S. security assistance to Ukraine has been used for purchasing modern technology and much-needed defensive and medical articles and equipment (e.g., night vision goggles, radios, Humvees, body armor, and unmanned aerial vehicles). The second pillar of assistance has been military training. The United States and its allies established the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine (JMTG-U) for providing training to Ukraine's conventional and special operations forces at the Yavoriv training center in western Ukraine. U.S. personnel also advised their Ukrainian counterparts on various aspects of defense reform through the Defense Reform Advisory Board, the Doctrine Education Advisory Group, and the Defense Institution Building initiative, in addition to conducting the annual joint multinational land and sea exercises Rapid Trident and Sea Breeze.
Figure 2. U.S. Security Assistance to Ukraine (US$ million)
Note: USAI=Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative; ERI=European Reassurance Initiative; IMET=International Military Education and Training; Other=Combating Terrorism Fellowship Program, Cooperative Threat Reduction, International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement, Regional Centers for Security Studies, and other security assistance programs. Source: Security Assistance Monitor.
In December 2017, Washington approved the sale of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Kyiv. Although U.S.-made and other countries' lethal weapons have been on the Ukrainian battlefield since 2015, the sale of Javelins marked a new era of the U.S. government supplying lethal aid to Kyiv directly. The NDAA of 2019 has codified this change into law by authorizing $50 million above the 2019 budget request of $200 million for USAI provided that the additional funds are used for lethal defensive equipment.
Ukraine and international observers concur that the state of the Ukrainian armed forces has considerably improved. The battle-hardened Ukrainian army is larger, better equipped and trained, and more capable of containing the advances of Moscow-backed separatists in the Donbas. It bears little resemblance to the poorly trained, under-equipped, demoralized, and divided army that suffered severe losses at the onset of conflict. Even though combat operations in the Donbas have unquestionably affected the army's condition, the security assistance and training provided by the United States and foreign partners have contributed to the professionalization of Ukrainian officers and troops.
The Limits of U.S. Security Assistance to Kyiv
Despite the remarkable changes in Ukraine's military forces since 2014, major problems in its defense sector remain. What has limited U.S. efforts at building Ukraine's military capabilities is the lack of a long-term comprehensive strategy for American security assistance coupled with the Ukrainian leadership's reluctance to engage in discussions of strategic questions regarding Ukraine's defense reform. In the absence of a strategy and an implementation plan for developing its future military force, Ukraine has resorted to haphazard requests of short-term training programs by Western personnel and the provision of defensive and lethal aid to fight the war in the Donbas. The United States, in return, has focused on providing such training and equipment at the expense of developing a long-term strategic vision and implementation of meaningful defense reform. While the military hardware and training are important elements of Ukrainian defense, they are not enough to secure a retake of the Donbas or repel possible future Russian advances.
A related problem is that Washington has not been candid in assessing Kyiv's progress with the defense reform requirements. The United States has put in place a certification process that makes the provision of appropriated security assistance conditional on meaningful actions in various sectors of Ukraine's defense reform. Washington and its multinational partners have developed reasonable milestones and measures of success, but their application has become a matter of political expediency rather than a meaningful condition for aid disbursement.
The Ukrainian side has exploited this attitude by substituting mostly cosmetic changes for serious reforms. Thus, Ukraine's strategic documents and the rhetoric of its leaders profess the country's commitment to adopting NATO's standards in every area of military performance by 2020. Building an army in NATO's image may be an impractical option for Ukraine, but the activities have been supported with nominal substantive actions in furtherance of structural, institutional, and cultural reforms. For example, Stepan Poltorak, who had been the Minister of Defense of Ukraine in the rank of the General since 2014, retired in October 2018 to continue leading the agency (until May 2019) as a civilian in lieu of establishing de jure civilian control of the military. Further, the General Staff changed its designation to Joint Staff, leaving the structure and functions of the agency unchanged. Despite being the largest consumer of assistance under NATO's Defense Education Enhancement Program (DEEP), Ukrainian PME remains a stronghold of old Soviet thinking and cadres reluctant to change curriculum, teaching approaches, and culture.
Even the system of tactical training prioritized in U.S. security aid has not been reformed. Hundreds of U.S. and foreign military personnel were discharged to the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine (JMTG-U) for training Ukrainian forces and developing a cadre of Ukrainian trainers to assist the Ukrainian army in improving its institutional training capabilities. The Ukrainian leadership agreed to assuming the primary responsibility for training by 2022 in principle, but has not dedicated the necessary resources for taking over the program in practice. And, while the Ukrainian battalions that pass through the Yavoriv training center receive NATO interoperability certification, their proficiency in Western military standards is often short-lived. Ukrainian military personnel who receive training based on Western standards tend to get plugged back into their old units and sent to the frontlines of war, where they resume the old ways of conducting warfighting operations. These and other examples regarding military reform, PME, and tactical training transformation cast doubt on Ukraine's seriousness about adopting NATO's standards in a significant way. This is also a missed opportunity for the United States, which has allowed Kyiv to renege on commitments.
The United States is not the only partner assisting in reforming the Ukrainian armed forces. Kyiv has received significant assistance from at least eighteen other European and North American partners such as the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Norway, the Netherlands, Lithuania, and Poland. In addition, Ukraine has been the main recipient of funds under NATO's Science for Peace and Security Program and the largest participant in the Alliance's Defense Education Enhancement Program (DEEP). Yet, sufficient coordination of efforts among international partners has been lacking. In order to ensure that security assistance provided by the United States and other donors is effective in building a capable Ukrainian military force, they must consider doctrine development, institutional reform, and training and equipment integration.
To build a Ukrainian military with enduring and self-sustaining capacity for defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the United States needs to work closely with Ukrainian policymakers on developing a vision and strategy for sincerely reorganizing the Ukrainian military's structure and institutions. If Ukraine is serious about adopting NATO standards for its military, it must work with the United States and similar international advisers in developing a realistic implementation plan that includes fundamental changes to Ukrainian PME, training, and procurement systems—under civilian oversight.
To put limited resources to effective use, the United States has to have a solid framework for assessment, monitoring, and evaluation of its security assistance program and hold their Ukrainian counterparts accountable for delivering meaningful results. The long-term comprehensive military education and training programs, which constitute less than one percent of American security assistance to Ukraine, need to be expanded because they carry the greater promise of long-term enduring changes to the values and mentality of the officer cadres studying at U.S. PME institutions. If the United States has the short-term, narrower goal of equipping Ukraine for success in the war in the Donbas, it needs to assist the Ukrainian military-industrial complex in modernizing its mechanized infantry combat vehicles (tanks) to adapt them for urban warfare. Supplies of counter-battery radars would be cheaper and more effective in reducing the damage from separatist artillery attacks than the largely symbolic and very expensive Javelin anti-tank missile systems.
Mariya Y. Omelicheva is Professor of National Security Strategy at the National War College of the National Defense University.
The views expressed in this memo are solely the author's and do not represent an official position of the U.S. government or the National Defense University.
Homepage image (credit): "US delivers two AN/TPQ-36 radar systems to Ukraine, Nov. 14, 2015."
Memo #: 614
Series: 2
PDF: Pepm614_Omelicheva_Sept2019.pdf
Professor of National Security Strategy
National War College, National Defense University
National War College (Bio), University of Kansas (Bio)
Russia, Central Asia, Georgia, Foreign Policy, Critical Geopolitics, Counter Terrorism, Human Rights, Democracy Promotion
https://www.ponarseurasia.org/members/mariya-omelicheva/
COVID-19 "Humanitarianism": The Geopolitics of Russia's Coronavirus Assistance
Russia in Central Asia | PONARS Eurasia Online Academy
Military/Defense
Omelicheva
Recommended | Рекомендуем
A Migrant in the Common European House: Pavel Baev Interviewed
Russian TV has enthusiastically covered the Trump-Ukraine scandal
Mikhail Alexseev
Securitizing Culture in Russia: Pros and Cons for Regime Legitimacy
Katie Stewart
Transnistria Writ Large for Donbas? Several Battlefields Mark Ukraine's Challenges
Tetyana Malyarenko
Bringing about Democracy without Increasing Corruption: Lessons from Post-Soviet States
Kelly McMann
What Drives Border Conflicts in Central Asia? Roots of the Deadly Violence on the Kyrgyz-Tajik Border
Shairbek Juraev and Eric McGlinchey
The Time Is Right for Ukraine to Revisit the Lessons of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War
Olena Lennon
US-Russia Relations: The Year of Living Dangerously
Peter Rutland
Trading Personal Freedom for Public Safety: The Russian Perspective
Kirill Chmel, Israel Marques II, Michael G. Mironyuk, Dina Rosenberg and Aleksei Turobov
Changing Perceptions of State Capacity Delivery in Estonia, Georgia, and Ukraine During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Ralph Clem and Erik Herron
Powered by narva.io
Permissions & Citation Guidelines


text:
Omphaletis petrodora is een vlinder uit de familie van de uilen (Noctuidae). De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1902 door Lower.

petrodora


Contact us - Txarli Factory - Miniatures & Board Games.
If you need to contact us, you can fill out the following form.
Please keep in mind that we can take a little time to answer.
If you are experiencing problems with any of our products we will try to help you to solve it as soon as possible.


This bold, adjustable light will get your brand's future looking brighter than ever.
With a super-bright beam and a magnetic bottom for hands-free use, this utility light is sure to please. Hand it out at trade shows and client meetings, and your brand will bask in the glow.


COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republican Gov. Nikki Haley signed legislation Wednesday that immediately outlaws most abortions in South Carolina at 20 weeks beyond fertilization.
The only exceptions are if the mother's life is in jeopardy or a doctor determines the fetus can't survive outside the womb.
Doctors face up to $10,000 in fines and three years in prison for each violation; prison time is mandatory on a third conviction.
These bans are now in effect in at least 13 states and blocked by court challenges in three others. South Dakota's ban takes effect July 1.
Women nationwide have the right to obtain abortions under the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which said states could restrict abortions after viability — the point when a fetus has a reasonable chance of surviving outside the uterus.
"Viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks," the ruling said.
As in other states, South Carolina's law ties the fetus' age to conception, rather than a women's monthly cycle. But since this date cannot be scientifically pinpointed, the ban actually refers to what doctors consider a gestational age of 22 weeks.
"The reality is that abortion later in pregnancy is extremely rare and often takes place in complex and difficult situations where a woman and her doctor need every medical option available," said Alyssa Miller, a Planned Parenthood spokeswoman for South Carolina.
South Carolina's definition of "fetal anomaly" makes it illegal to abort a fetus with a severe disability if the child could live. Such anomalies are generally detected around 20 weeks.
Advocates for abortion rights contend these measures are aimed at restricting women's access to a safe, legal abortion.
The sponsor of South Carolina's law, state Rep. Wendy Nanney, said the killing needs to stop, and sees this law as a step to eventually "get rid of abortion altogether."
Haley's signature comes only days after Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin vetoed legislation to outlaw the procedure at any stage, by making it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion. Fallin, a Republican who opposes abortion, said the measure would not withstand a legal challenge.
Abortion-rights supporters rallied Tuesday at the Statehouse to ask Haley to veto the measure. But Haley's signature was no surprise.
"I'm strongly pro-life, very pro-life and not because my party tells me to be, but my husband was adopted, and so every day I know the blessings of having him there," Haley said during her 2010 campaign for governor.
On average, fewer than 30 abortions yearly are performed at 20 weeks gestation or beyond in South Carolina, according to data since 1990 from the state's public health agency. Most of these women have been white, married and older than 24, according to the agency.


How do I get my Expert Advisor?
The procedure depends on whether you are a new Alpari user or you have already been registered on the Alpari website.
Register in Alpari with our partnership code. To do this, follow the link https://alpari.com/en/?partner_id=1245702 and open a real trading account MT5. During the registration, please specify the partnership code 1245702.
and the number of your trading account opened with our partnership code.
b. Send us the Account Name of your trading account; the EA will be activated for this Account Name.
You will receive from us the EasyWalkerFx EA authorized for this account, the manual and preset setting for different pairs.
In the example above, the AccountName is Ivan Grozny.
If you do not have any active trading accounts with Alpari, you can ask the Alpari support (e.g., in their online chat) to delete your Alpari registration. After that, register as a new Alpari user with our partnership code 1245702, as described in the first section.
If you are already trading with Alpari and have active trading accounts, you can ask the Alpari support (e.g., in their online chat) to move your registration to the partnership group 1245702. After it is accomplished, send us (support@easywalkerfx.com) your full name (as registered with Alpari) and the number of your trading account. You will receive from us the EasyWalkerFx EA authorized for this account, the manual and preset setting for different pairs.
If your Alpari registration cannot be moved to the partnership group 1245702, you can create a new Alpari registration for one of your friends or colleagues, as described in the first section.


Taxi cab service app Uber has opened a research center in the U.S. to explore new mapping and driving technology – a move analysts believe could eventually mean driverless cars.
Uber will set up an Advanced Technologies Center in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh.
"The center will focus on the development of key long-term technologies that advance Uber's mission of bringing safe, reliable transportation to everyone, everywhere," the company said in a blog post on Monday.
Uber is joining an increasingly frenetic race, with major automakers and technology companies already heavily investing and testing products. Google, which invested $258 million in Uber in 2013, could be on a collision course with Uber following a Bloomberg report that it is working a cab hailing app of its own. Bloomberg said that Uber employees had seen screenshots of the app currently being used by employees.
But a follow-up report in the Wall Street Journal said the story was "blown out of proportion", citing sources, and it was only testing an internal carpool app that helps Google employees get to work.
Google followed up with a cryptic tweet to Bloomberg which read: "We think you'll find Uber and Lyft work quite well. We use them all the time."
Uber uses Google's mapping technology and the Mountain View, CA-based company worked with Lyft, another car hailing app, to allow users to order a taxi on Android Wear – Google's smartwatch operating system.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has hinted that the company would adopt driverless cars as a way to reduce the cost to consumers.
"This is the way the world is going," Kalanick said at the Code Conference last year.
The new research center will have Uber's name on it, but will leverage expertise from CMU, the institution that developed software for NASA's Mars rovers.
But experts say driverless cars are still a long way off given the high cost of producing the vehicles and a lack of regulation.


text:
Favorite Crime Fiction of 2017,
Part I: Kevin Burton Smith
Kevin Burton Smith is the Montreal-born founder and editor of the almost 20-year-old resource, The Thrilling Detective Web Site, as well as the Web monkey for The Private Eye Writers of America and a contributing editor of Mystery Scene. He lives in Southern California's High Desert region, where he's working on a non-fiction book about married detective couples with his wife, mystery author D.L. Browne (aka Diana Killian and Josh Lanyon).
• The Driver, by Hart Hanson (Dutton):
As if he's living in some fever-dream Sixth Sense, former Special Forces sergeant-turned-Los Angeles limousine driver Michael Skelling sees dead people, and has learned to heed their warnings. So when the ghost of a Chechen jihadist he killed in Yemen a decade ago pops up, alerting Michael to impending danger while he's waiting for his passenger, Bismarck Avila, a millionaire hip-hop/skateboard asshole, to emerge from yet another trendy L.A. hotspot, Michael doesn't hesitate, but springs into action. He is just in time to stop two "sk8r boi" gunmen from blowing away Bismarck, who then decides he wants Michael to be his personal driver. Or else. Yeah, I know—it sounds like the typical pulp-fiction meet-cute setup you've seen a zillion times. Avila even has a drop dead gorgeous trophy girlfriend to whom Michael is instantly attracted. And sure enough, Michael soon finds himself up to his neck in "shitloads of trouble and desperation." But this violent and suitably grim book—a first novel from the creator of the TV series Bones and The Finder—rises above expectations over and over again, thanks to colorful storytelling and Michael's surprisingly affable and darkly humorous narration. But mostly it's the unexpected heart he displays that sets this one apart from the prefab set-up. Seems Michael brought back more than a cockeyed sixth sense from Afghanistan—he also brought back friends. His small limo service (just three cars) employs a messed-up hat trick of extremely loyal misfits: Tinkertoy, his mechanic, a pin-up girl for skittery paranoia; Ripple, a ticked-off, barely 19 double-amputee dispatcher; and Lucky, a chatterbox Afghan translator Michael smuggled into the United States. It's this bracing loyalty between the four war-ravaged comrades that is The Driver's saving grace, rooting the overused ex-vet trope in some much-needed humanity, and making me want to see them all again. Given the copious amounts of writing mojo, hard-boiled grit, and even harder-boiled heart Hanson serves up in these pages, you can deal me in for whatever he writes next.
• The Ghosts of Galway, by Ken Bruen (Mysterious Press):
Irishman Bruen is arguably crime fiction's greatest and most distinctive stylist since Raymond Chandler. The books in his long-running series featuring cheerfully profane, woebegone private investigator Jack Taylor are instantly recognizable, marked by Bruen's ballsy, lyrical prose: a sort of staccato stream-of-consciousness free fall that soars. Bruen doesn't so much craft sentences as throw groups of words at the page in a tumble of lists, dialogue, snippets of exposition, digressions, dream fragments, and snatches of poetry and song lyrics that somehow always hit their mark. Only Jack's black humor, fueled by a brooding swirl of sadness, regret, and profuse quantities of whiskey, holds it all miraculously together. Bruen's books aren't long, but they cut deep. You don't so much read them as feel them. And now Taylor, down but never quite out, is back. In the series' 13th outing, The Ghosts of Galway, we find him having just survived terminal cancer (a fucked-up diagnosis) and a suicide attempt (also fucked). Desperate, he's working nighttime security at a factory owned by a wealthy Ukrainian with the unlikely name of Alexander Knox-Keaton, who throws Jack an under-the-table bone: the assignment to find The Red Book, a notorious work of heresy, allegedly written around A.D. 800, and currently in the possession of Frank Miller, a fugitive priest hiding out from the Vatican in the western Ireland city of Galway. It's an offer Bruen's P.I. can't refuse; however, things are rarely simple in Jack's world. Sure, he's no fan of the clergy, but he is an ace manhunter, and he soon tracks down Miller. Not long afterward, though, the holy man turns up dead, with pages of a book jammed down his throat. Then the remains of slaughtered animals start to appear in the Galway streets—courtesy, apparently, of an ultraconservative religious group. Jack's former friend on the Guards, Sergeant Ridge (a "real cold cunt"), warns him off the developing case, while his charming but deadly goth pal Em (a "punk psycho storm of murderous intent") seems to be involved somehow. Before long the ghosts of Jack's personal dead begin to appear, though Jack isn't quite sure whether they're authentic or manifestations born of too much Jameson. Bruen is in top form with Ghosts, and as expected, everything his man Taylor touches turns to shite. Still, the P.I. faces it all with such a dogged humanity and Everyman defiance (and the conclusion is so cathartic), that you can't help but cheer for the miserable old bastard.
• Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz (Harper):
Traditional British mysteries? Meh. Sure, I can enjoy an occasional cuppa, but only if there's absolutely nothing else to drink in the house. So it's embarrassing to admit that Anthony Horowitz's decidedly non-hard-boiled Magpie Murders may be my favorite crime-fic read of 2017. It's certainly the most fun. Partly it's because of the sheer cheekiness of this mystery-within-a-mystery; and partly it's Horowitz's clever insider-skewering of the British Industrial Crime Fiction Complex. Horowitz is an ideal candidate to deliver such a skewering. He rose through the trenches, composing children's books (The Falcon's Malteser), young adult novels (the Alex Rider series), and finally adult thrillers (including works featuring such English icons as Sherlock Holmes and James Bond), while also working steadily in television on everything from Robin Hood to Agatha Christie, before going on to write for such beloved (and PBS-approved) TV fare as Midsomer Murders and Foyle's War. So when Horowitz pens a yarn set in the industry itself, it's time to pay attention. Pining for the Golden Age? Rest assured that Horowitz "writes them the way they used to." Well, sort of. He's not afraid to shakes things up. Call it Murder on the Disorient Express. We are told in this novel that author Alan Conway's long-running series featuring Poirot-like sleuth Atticus Pünd is so successful that, despite her personal dislike for him, editor Susan Ryeland keeps her trap shut. The truth is, his stories are all that's keeping her employer, tiny Cloverleaf Books, afloat. But Susan's not the only one bored with Pünd—so is Conway, who's been threatening to bump off Pünd for years. But this time he means it. Much to Susan's dismay, the final chapters of Conway's latest, just-delivered manuscript are missing. And the author has jumped from the tower of his stately country estate. Or was he pushed? As Susan searches for the final pages, this reluctant amateur sleuth finds herself caught up in the very sort of mystery the obnoxious Conway himself might have penned, complete with a slew of suspects (a gay lover, an ex-wife, an unpleasant neighbor, a wronged student, an abandoned son, an unscrupulous TV producer, etc.) and a manuscript full of word games, anagrams, hidden codes, secret messages, and shout-outs that suggest Conway may have been having a bit of fun with all of them. As does Horowitz. I mean, Agatha Christie's real-life grandson even drops by. How meta can you get?
• Roughneck, by Jeff Lemire (Gallery 13):
Canadian comic artist and writer Jeff Lemire (Old Man Logan, All-New Hawkeye, Extraordinary X-Men, etc.) brings it all back home with this one-off graphic novel about former pro hockey player Derek Ouelette, who's a long way from his glory days as a celebrated "enforcer." Now he's eking out what remains of his time in a dead-end town in northern Ontario, getting pissed, and pissing off the few friends he has left. Then his estranged sister, Beth, shows up, fleeing an abusive boyfriend, hoping to reconnect with her big brother. And suddenly the unpleasant son of a bitch is off the bench and back in the game. Old family wounds are revealed, and new ones are inflicted, and it's all set against the backdrop of a cold, barren, snow-filled wilderness that is as unforgiving as life itself. Lemire, who's rapidly becoming one of my favorite writers, taps into something universal and recognizable here, picking at the familial wounds that never heal. He's at the top of his game in not only words but art, capturing a stark, hostile world of hurt that draws the reader in—bleak in its deliberate minimalism, with Lemire employing a scratchy, raw-edged drawing style and using a palette of mostly drab, watery shades of gray (color being reserved, mostly, for flashbacks). It's all as rough and raw and non-pretty as the lives this author-artist depicts, but like Derek in his big-league days, he gets the job done. The story here doesn't so much unfold as unravel, in slow-burn detail—nothing seems to happen for entire pages, only to be punctuated by sudden explosions of brutality, both physical and emotional. The hardcore lives of people caught up in endless cycles of alcohol and substance abuse, violence and pain they can't even understand, is as wrenching as almost any crime fiction I've read this year, but Lemire is just a primo storyteller, burrowing into his characters with a sensitivity and empathy that slams you hard against the boards. Call it gloves-off, bench-clearing noir, tempered by a true love of the game.
Last but not least, one choice from the crime non-fiction shelves ...
• Anatomy of Innocence: Testimonies of the Wrongfully Convicted, edited by Laura Caldwell and Leslie Klinger (Liverwright/W.W. Norton):
Anyone who writes or reads crime fiction—no, scratch that, anyone who claims to give a damn about crime and punishment (which, one would hope, includes everyone) should read this book. In a year when the very idea of truth has been polluted and perverted, twisted beyond recognition, and the very concept of doing the right thing (or even what the right thing is) has been publicly crapped on by those in power, this work is a fierce reminder that justice can not only be blind, but vicious, petty, and stupid as well. As if we need another reminder. You think everyone in jail belongs there? Think again. This book is crammed with example after example of innocent men and women sent to prison for not days or weeks, but years and even decades, only to ultimately be released, due to the biggest motherfucking technicality of them all: they were innocent and should never have been there in the first place. Blame it on systemic corruption, racism, incompetence, cowardice, ambition, politics, dishonesty—blame it on whatever you want—but nobody, from "average" citizens and "helpful witnesses" to the police, lawyers, judges, and politicians, gets away unscathed. Each chapter in Anatomy of Innocence follows a different victim of injustice, focusing on a different aspect of what went wrong, from arrest to (eventual) release and beyond. And every story is penned by one of this genre's finest storytellers, including Sara Paretsky, Lee Child, Laurie R. King, S.J. Rozan, Brad Parks, Jan Burke, Gary Phillips, Jamie Freveletti, Michael Harvey, and Sarah Weinman. There's even a never-before-published essay by the late playwright Arthur Miller. Axes are well ground here, and considerable literary weight is brought to bear. Each tale tears off another little piece of your heart; each story of wrongful accusation is another nail in the coffin of smug complacency and naïve belief that The System always works. There may be better books released in this scorched-earth year of partisan "truths" and rampant lies, but there won't be a more important one.
Labels: Best Books 2017, Kevin Burton Smith, Rap Sheet Favorites 2017
Peter Collinson said...
Thanks for this. Smith makes it vividly clear why a book works for him. Which is strangely uncommon in the world of book reviews.


Join the Deschutes Land Trust and Daniele McKay for a geology hike at Aspen Hollow Preserve. We'll start at the top of the canyon with views of the Three Sisters and learn about the volcanic forces that formed Central Oregon. Then, we'll hike down into the canyon formed by Whychus Creek and check out some amazing columnar basalt cliffs that are also home to nesting golden eagles. Explore mixed pine and juniper forest and a meadow next to Whychus Creek while you learn about the geologic history of the Preserve and our region. Registration is required and opens 1 month prior to the event.
Route: This hike will start at the canyon rim and follow a gravel road into the canyon and a trail as you walk along the creek. Terrain will be uneven at times.


There are some interesting comments highlighted in a story on Legal Futures this month by the president of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) regarding a BSB consultation. 'The SDT will remain the master of its own destiny in this debate. Its membership will do what it believes to be right in a rational, informed, evidence-based manner.
A casual tweet of mine about the Oxford stabbing story gained unusual prominence (for a tweet of mine) and most of the people I have bumped into have wanted to talk about it.
Guest post: Automation – the end of low-qualified lawyers?
Lord Neuberger (pictured), in a recent short speech, provides some interesting insights in to the problematic world of legal advice privilege (LAP), but he does so with one eye closed. Let me explain.
This response to the Solicitors Regulation Authority's (SRA) Consultation on training tomorrow's solicitors is a personal one. I am afraid this will not make a great deal of sense to those of you not familiar with the proposals, my apologies in advance.
Those of you who follow my work closely (*hello mum and dad*) will observe that I am a cautious proponent of innovation but – because the day job demands it and because it is interesting – I also spend some time talking and writing about the ethics of innovation.
Guest post: Privilege Games – In advisers we trust?
Two quotes on legal professional privilege caught my eye this week. First this from two lawyers at Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) about the decision in Property Alliance Group Limited v The Royal Bank of Scotland.
Guest post: Out of the shadows: are institutional clients influencing lawyers to the detriment of others?
Steven Vaughan and Claire Coe have conducted a study of senior commercial lawyers for – but independent of – the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The study concentrated on 'high impact' [i.e. high risk in SRA terms] commercial firms working.


text:
Neznakomka () is the fourteenth studio album by Russian pop-singer Philipp Kirkorov, released in 2003 by Sony Russia.

Track listing

Songwriters
Track 1 written by Vladimir Stepanov and Kai Metov.  Track 2 written by Oleg Popkov.  Track 3 written by Andrei Morsin and Ivan Peev.  Track 4 written by Andrei Morsin, Leopoldo Mendez, Pablo Cepeda, Patrik Henzel, Rasmus Lindwall and Robert Watz. Track 5 written by Igor Nikolaev.  Track 6 written by Andrei Morsin and Ron Malo.  Track 7 written by Andrei Morsin, Ingrid Alberini and Marco Soncini.  Track 8 written by Evgeny Muravyov and Arkady Ukupnik.  Track 9 written by Mirit Shem Or and Zvika Pick.

Singles
 "Roza Chainaya" (duet with Masha Rasputina)
 "Zestokaya Lubov`"
 "Nemnogo Zal`"
 "Radio-baby"

2003 albums
Philipp Kirkorov albums


* 1. Which report are you interested in purchasing?
Summary Report – A basic breakdown report providing you with the most significant geographic and demographic information used to locate your Look-Alike customers. No data analytics and graphic information is provided in the Summary Report.
Look-Alike Report – A detailed report providing detailed information that can be used when purchasing a mailing list of prospective new customers who look like your current best customers.
* 2. Do you use Direct Mail to market to your current customers?
* 3. Have you purchased a mailing list in the past?
* 4. Do you plan to use these reports to help you purchase a mailing list in the future?
* 5. How large is your current house list?
* 6. What industry do you serve?
* 7. How do you prefer we contact you?
* 8. Please enter your contact information.
* 9. Would you like to receive Click2Mail News, Special Offers and Coupons?