When planning our quick San Francisco getaway, my husband and I realized that we would need to do a little pre-planning since we were to be in San Francisco on New Year's Day, which meant that a lot of the usual places might be closed or booked, and then on a Friday night. Of course, in a city like San Francisco, you can't just expect to waltz into a restaurant on a Friday night and not expect to wait an hour or so for a table, unless you have a reservation in advance. So, my husband had to come up with a plan for a restaurant for our last night in San Francisco. When I was looking at a map of the area surrounding our hotel, I threw out a couple of suggestions for my husband, but none of them really appealed to both of us. All of a sudden, I noticed the name of a restaurant that was located a block from our hotel. I recognized the name because I knew that a branch of this London-based restaurant, lounge and nightclub chain opened a few years ago to much fanfare and celebrity patronage here in Beverly Hills. What I didn't know was that they had a location in San Francisco. After checking the website and the menu, my husband decided that we should give the San Francisco branch a try and see what it was that everyone was raving about.
The Michelin-starred restaurant, lounge and nightclub brand known as Hakkasan was started in London in 2001. Under the direction of Executive Head Chef Tong Chee Hwee and expansion under the guidance of Michelin-starred International Executive Chef Ho Chee Boon, Hakkansan's menu reflects contemporary Chinese cuisine which combines traditional Chinese techniques with fresh local ingredients which combine together to bring forth classic Cantonese creations. From that first location in London, Hakkasan has expanded to include locations in Las Vegas, Mumbai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, New York, Miami, Shanghai and San Francisco among others.
The San Francisco opened in November of 2012 in the iconic One Kearny building in the heart of the Financial District of San Francisco, only a few short blocks from Union Square. With interior design originally created by a renowned interior decorator, the design of the restaurants reflects their philosophy of vibrant, intriguing and inviting. Anchored by a unique V-shaped bar as the restaurant's centerpiece, the restaurant is stunning with intimate blue lighting, modern Chinese decorations and contemporary hand-blown glass pendant lighting, Hakkasan San Francisco is indeed intriguing and inviting.
To celebrate the New Year, my husband and I decided we'd go all out and get the full Hakkasan experience. That starts with some drinks to toast with. After looking over the cocktail menu, I was pleased to see that they actually offered a variety of non-alcoholic creations. I ended up ordering the Virgin Hakka. Made with lychee juice, coconut cream, lime juice and passion fruit and finished off with an actual lychee fruit, this drink was fantastic. In fact, it may be the best non-alcoholic drink I've ever tasted. It was definitely refreshing, and a little sweet, but also a little tangy and 100% fruity. The sweetness came from the lychee juice and the tanginess came from the passion fruit. With a little twist of lime juice to add a bit of citrus flavor and the creaminess and smoothness of the coconut cream to add some complex flavor, this drink felt fizzy, even though it wasn't, and was completely thirst-quenching. I seriously considered ordering another round of the Virgin Hakka, which is something I've never done with any other drink. It really was fantastic.
My husband had to agree on superb quality of the drinks that were being served by the bar. Ever since enjoying an Old Fashioned at the Portland City Grill, he's obviously decided that this is his new go-to drink. As soon as my husband saw the Rum Old Fashioned on the cocktail menu, he knew he had order one. At Hakkasan, their Rum Old Fashioned is made with Ron Zacapa 23 yr, Graham's 20 yr Tawny port syrup, orange peel and Angostura bitters. One sip of his drink and my husband was awed by how good it was. With the addition of the orange peel into the drink along with a cherry, he could really taste the orange flavor, which he really liked. The drink was made with good, high-quality liquor which my husband said was quite tasty. My husband also enjoyed the fact that Hakkasan didn't skimp on the amount of liquor used in the drink, so not only was the drink made with high-quality liquor, there was quite a bit of it too, so it wasn't watered down or diluted. My husband has had a lot of drinks in his life, and he definitely ranks the Rum Old Fashioned as one of the best mixed drinks he's ever had. This was a promising start and a peek into what was to come for the rest of our meal.
We decided to start off our meal with two different appetizers. The first was the jasmine tea smoked pork spare ribs. The dish consisted of 2 large pork spare ribs which had some sort of sweet, sticky glaze on them. The ribs were smoked to the point of being fall off the bone tender. As you can see, they only provided a butter knife to us, but even that wasn't necessary as all the meat just feel right off the bone with the use of a fork. One bite and the first thing I could taste was the jasmine tea smoke. The ribs had a sweet flavor with the essence of tea-flavored smoke lingering over the entire dish. For this much subtle tea flavor to infuse into the smoking process, the ribs must have been smoked low and slow for a long time. The meat was so tender and flavorful. This was a much larger appetizer than I had expected and really was large enough to be an entrée rather than just an appetizer.
As we were at a famous Chinese restaurant, my husband really wanted to try the Hakka steamed dim sum platter which came with a little bit of everything and was perfect for 2 people to share. The dim sum platter, served in a traditional bamboo steamer consisted of 2 pieces of 4 different types of dim sum to provide just a little bit of a hint, a sample really, of the dim sum Hakkasan offered. The different dim sum dumplings consisted of scallop shumai with tobiko egg caviar, har gow, Chinese chive dumpling and black pepper duck dumpling served along side some soy sauce and two different kinds of chili oil dipping sauces. Har gow has always been my favorite dim sum dish and the one I always ask for when I go out for dim sum. Commonly thought to be the quintessential dim sum dish, this shrimp dumpling is so supposed to be a one-bite wonder consisting of shrimp inside a thin, translucent wrapper that traditionally is pleated 7 or more times. This har gow was tasty, with perfectly cooked shrimp and a well steamed wrapper that wasn't too sticky and too thick, as it can sometimes be. The scallop shumai with the tobiko egg caviar was sweet and flavorful and well prepared. It may have been my favorite of the 4 different types of dumplings we were served. The Chinese chive dumpling, which was vegetarian, was my least favorite of the dumplings with a creamy, liquidy texture that I didn't love. The black pepper duck dumpling was good, stuffed with duck meat, which my husband loved. However, the black pepper flavor was so strong in the dumpling that it really gave the dumpling some spice and heat to it, and mind you I love black pepper and I was still reaching for my drink to defuse some of the spice in the pepper.
To enjoy with our entree selections for the evening, we ordered the egg and scallion fried rice. After all, I am Asian and we tend to have rice with every meal. The egg and scallion fried rice sounded so good, and yet so simple. My husband isn't the biggest fan of steamed white rice, so this was our compromise to order a simple fried rice. The yellow color of the rice comes from the egg and it's lightly flavored with nothing more than some sliced scallions for a slight onion flavor. I like that with just two simple ingredients, Hakkasan created a delightful, and light, fried rice without the need of adding all sorts of additives I see often in fried rice at Asian restaurants – diced bell peppers, peas, carrots, etc. – all of which are unnecessary to create something that is pleasing.
While my husband was eyeing the Peking duck, we knew that would be too much duck for just the two of us to enjoy. Our waitress had indicated that the Peking duck would be appropriate for about 4 guests to share. Instead, we chose the Pipa duck. Pipa duck is duck meat with crispy skin, topped with homemade hoisin sauce and pickled ginger. This was actually the perfect size entree for my husband and I to share. The duck was fantastic. I'm not the world's biggest fan of duck, but I thought this duck was out of this world. The skin of the duck was crispy and oily and exactly what you look for when you serve duck with its crispy skin. The duck meat was tender and incredibly flavorful. The homemade hoisin sauce that was served alongside the Pipa duck was fantastic, slightly sweet and a great compliment to cut through the fatty duck meat. This was definitely one of the best duck dishes I've ever enjoyed and my husband thought the same.
For a beef entree, I chose the stir-fry black pepper beef ribeye with merlot. After having had the very peppery black pepper dumpling in the dim sum sampler, I was hoping that I hadn't made a mistake in ordering the black pepper beef dish. It turns out, I didn't make a bad decision as the black pepper stir fried with the beef ribeye, merlot, roasted garlic and onions was incredible. The black pepper added to the flavor of the beef, but wasn't so overpowering to give it too much heat. The roasted garlic cloves was a nice touch as it added a bit of sweetness to counterbalance the pungent garlic flavor. And of course, onions and beef go well together in a stir fry. The beef ribeye was incredibly tender and flavorful. This is exactly the type of dish I had in mind when I ordered it, so Hakkasan didn't disappoint.
Since we ordered a duck dish and a beef dish, we figured we should order a seafood dish. The dish my husband chose was the roasted silver cod with champagne and Chinese honey sauce. I was a bit concerned about the champagne, but my husband told me not to worry about it since it would be like cooking with wine sauce, all the alcohol gets burned off. I noticed that every other table sitting around us also ordered the roasted silver cod, so it must have been quite the popular dish. The fish filet was much larger than I had anticipated it being, and it looked so delectable. A nice golden brown roast on the filet and full of white, flaky meat. The fish itself was perfectly cooked, flaky, delicious and tender. However, the champagne and Chinese honey sauce was just a bit too much for me. The champagne flavor was clear as day in the sauce that covered the entire fish filet that after awhile, I couldn't take it anymore. My husband thought that the fish and the champagne sauce were fantastic, so I let him finish off the dish. This has nothing to do with the restaurant as they delivered exactly what they advertised, it's more my personal preference for not enjoy the champagne flavor of the sauce. But if any of the other tables around us were any indication, this roasted silver cod dish was off the charts.
Normally, I'm not the biggest fan of ordering after dinner drinks, but one drink I have a hard time resisting is iced coffee. So as soon as I saw iced coffee on the after dinner drinks menu, I had to order it. I've never had iced coffee delivered to me in this particular way before, and it made me wonder why iced coffee isn't served like this more often. I was given a cup of ice brewed coffee and then 2 small saucers to go with one, one with creamer and one with liquid sugar. I love the idea that they provided the sweetener in the form of liquid sugar instead of sugar packets or some other form of sweetener. I've never seen liquid sugar before with iced coffee, and to me, it just makes sense. In this way, you can control what goes into your iced coffee and you can adjust it to your tastes.
For dessert, my husband ordered the kalamansi chocolate ganache. Neither my husband nor I knew what kalamansi was, but the description of the dessert itself sounded so interesting, my husband wanted to give it a try. According to the menu, the dessert was served with a eucalyptus sorbet and cocoa nibs. I think it was the eucalyptus sorbet that really caught my husband's attention. It turns out that kalamansi is a hybrid ornamental fruit tree that is a mix of a mandarin orange and a kumquat. First off, the presentation of the dessert was amazing. Beautifully pulled sugar was decoration on a plate with a chocolate ganache rectangular, candy-bar shaped dessert with a light green and dark chocolate tint. Sitting on a bed of coca nibs was a canal of eucalyptus sorbet. The desert looked like a true pice of art. My husband thought that the ganache was fantastic, a bit tangy and sweet at the same time, but not too bitter. The tangy flavor comes from the kalamansi mixed into the chocolate ganache. The blown sugar decoration added some sweetness, but also was a beautiful accompaniment to the dessert. And the eucalyptus sorbet was fantastic, the taste was great, but subtle and really paired well with the cocoa nibs and the more decadent chocolate ganache. The dessert was not only beautiful to look at, but was delicious to devour as well.
I chose the banana pearl pudding with green tea matcha chiffon, caramelized pecans and smoked caramel ice cream for my dessert. I had no idea what in the world green tea matcha chiffon was, or how smoked caramel ice cream would taste, but I didn't care as all I saw was banana pearl pudding. While I thought my husband's dessert was a work of art, my dessert was truly the most unique dessert I've ever seen. Served in a small glass bowl which contained caramelized pecans, a canal of caramel ice cream sitting atop a bed of pearl pudding and surrounded by what looked like small miniature green bushes – which was the green tea matcha chiffon – and caramelized banana slices, the entire bowl as topped with a caramelized sugar crust which sealed the top of the glass bowl. The way it was explained to me is that smoke is pumped into the glass bowl before it is sealed with this caramelized torched sugar crust which seals the smoke inside. The idea is to use a spoon to crack the sugar crust. The longer you let the smoke settle in the glass bowl without breaking the crust, the more the smoke flavor will be imparted onto the items inside the glass bowl.
I told my husband to do the honors and use the spoon to crack open the sugar crust on the glass bowl. Once the sugar crust was broken, you could literally see, and smell, the smoke wafting up and out of the glass bowl. It was the neatest thing I've ever seen with dessert before. I was so excited to give this dessert a try, if it tasted half as good as its unique presentation, I was going to love this dish. First off, you could definitely taste the hickory smoke on everything inside the glass bowl. The caramel ice cream had a nice smoky flavor which really worked well. The pearl pudding on the bottom of the bowl had such good flavor and worked really well with the smoky, caramelized banana. The green tea matcha chiffon was different and unique. It was more like fluffy chunks of green tea sponge cake that had such subtle flavoring to them. And then the caramelized pecans were a great unexpected bonus adding a unique texture and crunch to the dessert. This was truly the most unique dessert I've ever seen with a taste that was so unique and different, but yet delicious and fit with the modern Asian flavors that Hakkasan is known for.
Dining at Hakkasan San Francisco was our little Happy New Year treat to ourselves. A nice, extravagant way for us to celebrate the last great year and look forward to all the amazing things to come in this new year. And the reputation of the restaurant definitely lived up to its hype. The atmosphere was fantastic, intimate, private and inviting, the service was superb, and the food was delectable. My husband and I weren't quite sure what to expect when we made a reservation to dine at Hakkasan, but whatever we were expecting was blown out of the water by what we actually experienced. It's always a treat when such a well-known restaurant exceeds even the expectations you have for it. The dishes were inventive, creative, but yet with a familiar Asian flair. And I've never been so impressed with desserts in my life. If you're looking for a nice, elegant dining experience in the heart of the Financial District of San Francisco, Hakkasan would easily make the top of my list.
Your husband has had a lot of drinks in his life??
I'm not even going to touch this one… 🙂 But since he read the blog post and didn't have any comments on this section, I'm sure he doesn't mind that I described him this way….
lol, I think you described it nicely.


You may have read about the Padding Oracle Attack, risking exposure of sensitive information in millions of ASP.NET sites.
This site is not one of the them in any real sense, and never was.
The ASP.NET Padding Oracle Attack exploits a vulnerability published as early as 2002 by Serge Vaudenay in a paper entitled "Security Flaws Induced by CBC Padding Applications to SSL, IPSEC, WTLS...". As usual it's amazing how long time it takes for these things to come to the attention of the large vendors, such as Microsoft.
This attack is in no way specific to ASP.NET - just about every major web platform is likely to be potentially vulnerable. For the technical details, please read the paper by Vaudenay as well as more recent paper entitled "Practical Padding Oracle Attacks" by Juliano Rizzo and Thai Duong. Here I'll just try to explain the factors that cause the vulnerability, and what the consequences may be as well as to describe why this site never was vulnerable in any real sense.
Padding is used in a block cipher to make clear text about to be encrypted an even multiple of the block length. In other words, if the encryption algorithm is designed such that it encrypts 16 bytes at a time, and your clear text is not a multiple of 16 bytes long, we need to add a few dummy bytes at the end to make it an even multple of 16 in this example. These 'dummy bytes' are called padding.
Most encryption schemes use padding that follows a pattern so that the decryption logic can recognize and remove them. Since such a padding scheme is self-verifying, the decryption program can determine if the padding is correct or not - and also give a specific error if the padding is wrong.
An attack requires access to an application that uses a block encryption cipher and actually knows the decryption key, and which an attacker can 'ask' if a given encrypted text contains a padding error or not.
The idea is to send in encrypted text to the application, and then determine if it specifically has a padding error after decryption or not. Obviously, if an attacker sends in bad encrypted text, an error is likely to occurr, but the attack requires that an attacker can distinguish the very specific error 'padding error' from other errors reported.
There are basically two ways an attacker can determine if a padding error has occurred as the result of the the manipulated encrypted text: The easy way is if the application actually says exactly this. With ASP.NET you can for example get the quite clear message "CryptographicException: Padding is invalid and cannot be removed". It does not get any clearer. The harder way is if the application shows different timing characteristics between reporting this error and other possible errors. This is a much harder attack, and much more likely to take significantly longer time since the timing is determined by many other factors as well that are likely to be unknown and uncontrollable by the attacker.
The way to defend against the attack is then to A) ensure that no specific message or error code is returned when a padding error occurs, and B) ensure that timing cannot be used by an attacker as an indirect distinguisher.
A Padding Oracle is something we can ask a question about a given encrypted text, and receive an answer stating either 'Yes, the padding is correct' or 'No, the padding is incorrect'. The trick is to ensure our application is not a Padding Oracle!
What's the worst that can happen? Well, anything that is protected by the encryption key used to encrypt the data that the attacker is potentially vulnerable to both inspection and undetected modification.
In the case of ASP.NET, this usually means that the 'machine key' is vulnerable. This is the ASP.NET machine key used to encrypted ViewState and cookies etc, it's not the Windows machine key. In the case of this site, we generate a new key every time the site is started, so even a successful attack has very short time of validity.
Gaining access to the ASP.NET machine key typically means being able to impersonate a logged on user, and possibly gain access to files and other information available to that logged on user. In the case of ASP.NET 3.5 SP 1 and later, it means being able to access all files accessible to the web application via a virtual path. In actual practice, the attack is practical with only a few thousand tries on a typical web site.
The problem with ASP.NET is that a security researcher found a pretty much universal 'Padding Oracle' that is almost entirely independent of the application in question. It uses the 'WebResource.axd' handler as an attack vector. This handler seems to have the bad taste to respond 404 Not Found when the coded resource has correct padding, but is wrong - and 500 Server Error when the coded resource has incorrect padding. There's your padding oracle.
This is pretty bad, so we certainly should take this seriously.
The Xecrets on-line password storage has never been vulnerable to this attack for the simple reason that we don't know the encryption key users use, so there's no possibility that our application can be used as a padding oracle for the purpose of breaching the Xecrets password encryption.
However, the Xecrets site as such does use ASP.NET and can theoretically be used as a padding oracle in the sense that it if it should fall to such an attack it would be possible to act as an administrator of the application (not the system). This will still not enable anyone to access stored Xecrets, because the system does not know the encryption key for those files. There is no sensitive information available that is protected by the ASP.NET machine key. It could in theory enable someone to get free access to the Xecrets service though!
Also, becase we create a new machine key every time we restart or recycle the application, even a successful attack would only be valid for a rather short time. Then again, there are rumours that a followup to the attack could lead to code injection.
The Xecrets site uses custom handling of both server errors and not found errors, but it's still probable that it was vulnerable to the WebResource.axd attack. The Xecrets site has from start employed a number of strategies to give aways as little information as possible and reasonable in the face of errors, and has thus always conformed to the first criteria to avoid vulnerability - it returns the same message and page regardless of what kind of error manipulated encrypted text sent to the site causes.
The problem here is that Microsoft has once again failed to follow that maxim, and also failed to follow general good cryptology practices and confused encryption with authentication. Encrypted data should always be verified for authenticity before use, for examle by employing a Message Authentication Code, or a digital signature. All encryption from Axantum uses the well-known 'Encrypt-then-HMAC' or other mechanisms to ensure the authenticity of encrypted data. If ASP.NET had done the same, this would never have happened.
Once again it is shown that following established security and encryption practices will mitigate the situation even in the face of future attacks, impossible to know at the original time of construction. It is also shown that even today, it will take up to 8 years(!) for billion dollar companies to react to a published threat affecting some of the worlds most widely deployed platforms.
As of today, the Xecrets site is also updated to avoid even the ASP.NET Padding Oracle attack via WebResource.axd - or any other similar vector for that matter.


hey twitter: https://www.twitter.com/runthefutmarket twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/runthefutmarket FIFA 19, FUT #FIFA19 #FUT..
I literally opened up the 750 bronze pack for 3 hours straight and made like 400 k lmao. When I logged back on the next day all of the rares had sold and I had 400 k coins. Incredible profit.


text:
Pierce scores 36 as Celtics beat Bobcats 102-95
Mar 26, 2012 at 8:00 PM Mar 26, 2012 at 10:12 PM
Paul Pierce scored a season-high 36 points and the Boston Celtics held on to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 102-95 tonight to move into a first-place tie with Philadelphia 76ers in the Atlantic Division.
Pierce shot 10 of 20 from the field, made 15 of 18 free throws and added 10 rebounds and four assists.
Pierce has scored 20 or more points in five of the past six games and is averaging 22.3 points per game during March.
Kevin Garnett had 24 points for the Celtics.
Gerald Henderson had 21 points for the Bobcats (7-40), who have lost six of their past seven and remain the only team in the NBA with fewer than 10 wins.
Charlotte got 59 points from its bench, including 18 from Byron Mullens and 16 from Derrick Brown.
The Celtics have the same record (27-22) as the 76ers with 17 games remaining in the regular season.
Boston seemed poised to put this game away early.
With the game tied at 13, the Celtics went on a 14-0 run with Pierce, Garnett and Rajon Rondo combining for 12 points — most of those coming inside the paint.
They stretched the lead to 33-15 by the end of the first quarter, taking advantage of the Bobcats inability to score.
Charlotte shot 29 percent from the field and didn't hit a field goal in the final 6:47 of the first quarter.
But Charlotte showed some fight, pulling to within 52-50 at halftime as Mullens and Reggie Williams began to heat up from the outside.
The Bobcats improved in the second quarter, shooting 65 percent to get back in the game.
Boston led by as many as 12 in the second half but the Bobcats stayed close, closing the gap to four late.
However, Pierce scored on a pretty cross-court feed from Rondo and Garnett knocked down a jumper from the top of the key to seal the victory.
Rondo finished with 13 assists, seven points and six rebounds.
NOTES: Bobcats coach Paul Silas picked up his seventh technical foul of the season during the first quarter, giving him seven for the season — one behind league leader Celtics coach Doc Rivers.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: How to make flexbox display like a game inventory My goal is like this:

Rules:

*

*the horizontal gap between items is fixed, called x

*the vertical gap between items is fixed, called y

*the gap between borders of the leftmost item and the flexbox is the same as that between the rightmost item and the flexbox, called z

*x, y, z are set individually. They may be different.

*List items from left to right, and then top to bottom

*keep the bottom padding >= the top padding. If exceeded, hide the overflow part and make it scrollable (not system scrollbar).

I tried some ways, and this is my current code
content #ItemPane {
    height:100%;
    background:#a0d4e5;
    padding:1vh;
    border:1px solid blue;
}

    content #ItemPane .PanelContentWrapper {
        width:100%;
        display:flex;
        flex-direction:row;
        flex-wrap:wrap;
    }

        content #ItemPane .Slot {
            width:6vh;
            height:6vh;
            margin:1vh;
            background:black;
        }

and as a result:
https://jsfiddle.net/h4ww9erj/
The biggest problem is that I can't make the left and right padding the same while the items are listed left-aligned.
My solutions/workarounds:

*

*Dynamically set the gap between items in js

*Table for this layout

Any better ideas?
As for scroll and bottom padding issue, the only way I think of is that I must have a middle wrapper as I already I wrote, and customize my own scroll system (e.g. capture the mouse/touch offset and convert it to scroll offset and move the wrapper to the corresponding position).
Any other advises?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Certain affluent segments are known to take a strange sort of pride in telling themselves that Sivakasi fireworks light up American skies on July 4 and have been used at the opening and closing ceremonies of more than one edition of the Olympics. Perhaps this pride would dim a bit if they were told that Sivakasi is an abomination that India could do without. In Sivakasi, workers, especially children, have died or been scarred for life while making fireworks.
In September 2012, Sivakasi witnessed an explosion that claimed 54 lives. Between January 2011 and September 2012, there were at least eight explosions in or near Sivakasi. But Sivakasi remains where it has been because of the patronage enjoyed by factory-owners from police and politicians. The government and the fireworks industry seem to think that if things are 'handled' properly, they are unlikely to suffer serious damage.
The blight of Sivakasi was docu-memorialized by the late Chalam Bennurkar almost 25 years ago. The film, Kutty Japanin Kuzhandaigal (Children of Mini-Japan), chronicled the stark tragedy of Sivakasi's children without childhood. Seventy per cent of the children, sweating it out in 10-12 hour shifts under hellish working conditions for beggarly wages, are girls in pigtails. Bennurkar focussed on the overworked, underpaid children through a detailed enquiry into situations that had driven them to the factory gates. The century-old industry, founded by two Tamil brothers who had their initial training in Calcutta in matters of money and the manufacture of fireworks, has eager consumers in India and abroad.
The morning is still dark when company buses pick up sleepy children from the villages around Sivakasi. The daily grind begins once the buses deliver their human cargo at the factory gates. There is a short recess in the afternoon when the children wolf down the curd-rice they bring with them from home. It is late in the evening when, exhausted beyond description, they return home. The truth is that every fourth Indian child must go to work for his own survival and that of his family. While official sources maintain that the total number of child workers would be in the region of 20 million, independent sources claim that 50 million, if not more, would be a more accurate figure. There's thus no denying the fact that the Constitution has been betrayed by successive governments at the Centre and in the states in the matter of guaranteeing children's rights.
While complaining of government indifference to the plight of working children, critics often forget that there is no dearth of legislation on the subject of child labour. The problem lies in the failure of the authorities to implement the tall promises and pious resolutions that the masses have been hearing for ages. Legislation in the area of child labour goes back to 1881 when alarmed at the number of children employed in hazardous industries, the British Indian government drafted the first legislation on child labour. Over the years, the number of legislations has gone up; specific constitutional provisions have appeared. Yet, child labour has reached a headcount of millions.
It is said that labour contractors supplying children to fireworks factories examine their fingers closely. The girl child with nimble fingers and supple arms is preferred because these physical attributes enhance output. Pained parents are on record saying that they have no choice but to send their children to earn. These are farming people who are often at their wits' end when the rains fail. While the adults have to go to work in nearby stone quarries, the children supplement the income by going to the factories.
Bennurkar has a shot in his film that shows a statue of Gandhi at a village crossing in the Sivakasi area encircled by a wall and kept locked, presumably to protect it from thieves. In a country where even the Mahatma has to be protected from the evil eye, what hope can there be for thousands of children?
Sivakasi is a nightmare that is unlikely to go away for a long time for there is no dearth of greedy, powerful people to nurse and perpetuate the nightmare.


text:
Starch Pros
Professionals in Starch Processing
Starch Info
Pea Starch Based Alternative To Gelatin
PURIS to debut pea-based alternative to gelatin for gummies.
Addressing a perceived market need, PURIS will debut a plant-derived alternative to gelatin for gummies at the upcoming Supply Side West trade show (https://west.supplysideshow.com/en/home.html).
The new product is a form of pea starch, which is derived from PURIS' core product, a proprietary strain of peas optimized for good taste for the extracted protein.
PURIS has had enough success with the development of that product that it attracted the attention of food giant Cargill. The pair announced a joint venture earlier this year to ramp up production of the company's signature ingredient.
With that increased production came increased opportunity for product offshoots. It's an old story in the ingredients business to find new value in otherwise 'waste' streams from the production of other ingredients, and PURIS is no different in this regard, said Tyler Lorenzen, president of PURIS, which is based in Minneapolis, MN.
"We have been investing in our production capacity. With our second new spray drier installed, we have about four times the capacity we had when we started," Lorenzen told NutraIngredients-USA.
"Pea starch has an interesting functionality. We have shown that it could replace the gelatin in a gummi; we've shown that before. Now we have shown that we can replace the pectin used in gummies as well," he said.
Lorenzen said one of the early bonuses noted in the product development has been a pleasing flavor profile. Gummies are, after all, mostly about taste.
"With pea starch we've noticed you get a nice flavor pop," he said. "Some corn starches can mute or tone down flavors." The basic work on producing a pea starch-based gummi has been done, Lorenzen said. Now the company is working on proving out which bioactives could work best in this delivery mode.
"We are partnering with FutureCeuticals testing some of their bioactives in these gummies," Lorenzen said. "By the time of SupplySide West, we will have a better idea about that."
Another new product that will debut at SupplySide West is a protein derived from fava beans. Lorenzen said this has been on the back burner for a while. But development of this product had to wait while the pea protein supply bottleneck was sorted out.
Research from Cargill has shown that dairy alternatives are making inroads in markets around the world. Demand for PURIS's pea protein has been consistently outstripping supply, especially in its organic offerings.
"One of the big things about our company is the organic story," Lorenzen said. "We have been in an interesting spot in our capacity constraints in recent years. We've fixed that now. "We have been getting asked about fava bean protein for years. But we felt that it would irresponsible to launch a new protein when we were already so capacity constrained," he said.
Lorenzen said the fava bean protein is new enough that the company is still developing the messaging around it. But he said it could offer an interesting alternative to other more established plant proteins.
"We're still learning a lot about it. It's an interesting source; fava beans are as much as 80% protein. In our early work we have found that it will be good for foaming applications," he said.
Source: https://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Article/2018/10/11/PURIS-to-debut-pea-based-alternative-to-gelatin-for-gummies.
« Back to all news
© 2019 Starch Pros
Website by: WP-repair


The Oslo police tweeted on Tuesday that they had apprehended a man wearing only his birthday best, adding that the naked pedestrian was carrying a large box full of drugs.
@oslopolitiops tweeted a clear message on Tuesday, stating "naked man apprehended by police". The information was followed, however, by the rather ambiguous "this time on Sørenga" giving some fellow tweeps the impression that it wasn't the first time that law enforcers in the Norwegian capital had had to get their hands dirty and locked up drug users strolling around in the buff.
Oslo police spokesman Finn Belle declined to comment, however, when daily newspaper Verdens-Gang tried to get to the naked truth of the Twitter innuendo.
"Whether it's systematic, that I can't make a statement about. But we have had a few reports of naked men lately," Belle responded. "It's usually tied to being high or for psychiatric reasons."
The 24-year-old man, with whom the police are acquainted from previous incidents, was walking around with a box in his hands when passers-by alerted the police. Belle confirmed that the police officer who apprehended the pedestrian had found a certain amount of drugs in the box he was carrying, but declined to specify how much.
"We're probably talking about amphetamine."
The Sørenga neighbourhood is a former harbour area being remodelled into an upscale residential area by property developers.


I realised today that there were a few things missing from yesterday's post!
Firstly, here's Sally's take on her Inaugural Pocket Novel Workshop, and a selection of her posts on writing pocket novels can be found here (this link will only display most recent – click on 'older poosts' at the bottom to go back and see her previous posts on the topic). Meanwhile you can find guidelines for My Weekly Pocket novels on Womag's blog here, plus some animated discussion about the fees and new longer length.
If you want to subscribe to pocket novels, you can do so here directly from publishers DCThomson, although it may be worth shopping around the magazine sub sites.
And finally a shout for The Pocketeers, a new blog all about pocket novels (surprise surprise!) – a joint venture by Sally and fellow pocket novelists Cara Cooper, Chrissie Loveday, Noelene Jenkinson, Carol Maclean, Kate Allan, Patricia Keyson and Fenella Miller. Well worth following if the topic interests you.


What Will Online Security Look Like in a Year?
Virtual Private Networking: Do You Want Your Data Cyber Safe?
Stop Avoiding Hacks! Fight Them, And Google Knows How!
Outsourcing Data Storages: a Blissful Relief or Security Nightmare?


November 2017 Update We are under sail at last! I am more than pleased at the way this boat performs. She points high into the wind and stands up well in a stiff breeze. One can easily see that she was well designed. Not only does she sail well, but dang it ----- she looks good doing it! Don't you agree? A final thank you for all your support in building the Glen-L 14 sailboat. My wife and I are getting lots of sailing in and enjoying how well she sails. The local Sydney newspaper may be doing a story on my boat,. the "Blue Wave" and if that happens I will send you a copy of the article. January 2017 I've been busy! I received your plans for the Glen-l 14 ft. sailboat on the 30th of November and this is where I am now in construction on January 12th. The plans were very accurate and therefore had no problems at all. It has been a lot of fun working at it in my basement up here in this cold Nova Scotia. Here we are at 41 days into the project and ready for some varnish and painting before I install the seats and flooring. I covered the deck with marine plywood as per the plans and then recovered it with 3 inch strips of plywood butted together on a 5 degree angle to provide space for filling to give it a ship-like appearance. I think it will look rather nice when it is stained and varnished. I had a lot of fun building this boat made easy with the very accurate and detailed plans provided by Glen-L. Skeptical builders might like to know what can be done in such a short time working solo and still taking your time.
February 2015 Converted to a powered center console. August 29, 2008- These are pictures of our first sail after 2 years plus of a most enjoyable experience. I really liked working out the details as this was my first boat project. We will be sailing in western Michigan.


text:
Blooming Minds Miami
Carolina Merchan-Mendes
Carolina (Caro), is a junior at Palmetto Senior High school, and co-founder of Blooming Minds Miami. She has a strong passion and interest in mental and physical healthcare, taking
on a summer community service program during her freshman year and interacting with both patients and staff at the hospital. Outside of school and volunteering, Carolina is a swimmer and
uses activity as a mental health stabilizer. Caro's future goals involve helping the community
(likely with more mental health, healthcare, or changes to help marginalized and
underrepresented communities.)
Lara Gastelumendi
Lara is a junior at MAST @ Homestead, and the co-founder of Blooming Minds Miami. Her passion for helping create equity and serving her community extends to her work as co-founder of MAST Key Club, the Head of
Instruction for a student-led tutoring organization (Generation Connected), and as a fellow in the School Board Member Luisa Santos Office Fellowship. She is also a gymnast!
In the future, Lara hopes to continue eliciting positive changes in her community by pursuing a
medical degree and providing healthcare for underserved communities; along with continuing to
advocate for increased access to healthcare (and especially mental healthcare!).
Get to know more about our incredible team today.
©2021 by Blooming Minds Miami. Proudly created with Wix.com


In total 2 links were found which refer to Bestnoveltygifts.co.uk. Individual words like Gifts, Novelty and Best are frequently used in text links from other websites. The most important link sources for this website are Experiencedaygifts.co.uk and Giftsfortwo.co.uk. The homepage of Bestnoveltygifts.co.uk and the subsite are most referenced by other websites.
The table shows the most important links to Bestnoveltygifts.co.uk. The table is sorted in descending order by importance.
The table shows websites of Bestnoveltygifts.co.uk, which are often linked by other websites and therefore they are classified as important content.


Becca has been designing sites, web graphics and print pieces for many years. Each of the links below will take you to a lengthy listing of past artwork. Use them as an idea of what she can do, but by no means use them as a limitation. Her talents are endless.


Forex Trading Strategies and Best Practices. randomly buying and selling on every market fluctuation is not a trading strategy. CFD & FOREX TRADING.
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With One on One Forex training,you will learn the best Forex trading strategies. Scalp strategy, Day trading strategy Swing trading and Long Term Strategies.
Succesvol beleggen op de valutamarkt begint met een goede forex strategie. De artikelen in deze rubriek helpen u daarbij.FOREX.com offers forex & metals trading with award winning trading platforms, tight spreads, quality executions, powerful trading tools & 24-hour live support.Forex trading with IG Australia - set up a free account and you could start online FX trading from just 0.6 pips on over 90 currency pairs.Find A Forex Swing Trading Strategy That Fits Your Personality And Use It. Every forex trader is different simply because each trader has a unique trading personality.The Best Forex Strategy Based on. Technical analysis relies on indicators to. channels to create your own profitable Forex trading strategy.Forex brokers nader bekeken - Over Forex trading. Forex broker aanbeveling. NL-talig, €25 welkomstbonus*, zeer gebruiksvriendelijk platform,.
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Forex Strategies Classified. It is also not so easy to develop own forex trading strategy as good trading systems are often born after years of dedicated studying.Forex Trading Strategies Best Forex Trading Strategies Tips. Currently, there are several Forex trading strategies that has been in use for over a decade, with some.Candlestick forex trading strategy uses this candlestick pattern as reversal signal or the correction start. Trading asset: any currency pair. Trading period:.AceTrader is the best signal provider. Strategy: +Target met+:. 20 years of history in providing forex market analysis and trading recommendations to.Forex Algorithmic Trading: A Practical Tale for Engineers. I always thought that would be a good fit for algo trading since the strategy is recursive.A collection of the best forex strategies that work for scalping, day trading and swing trading. Learn and download my winning trading strategies …totally.Get the Forex Trading Strategies & Tools you need to be a consistently profitable trader - You have blown up your last trading account, start trading like a.
At FX Strategy we provide all the necessary forex trading strategies you need to become a successful FX trader.Price Action Trading Strategies Archive. London Breakout Forex Trading Strategy-Capture That Market Move During The First Few Hours Of London Session.Find useful articles about a range of Forex trading strategies at DailyForex.com. Find Forex trading strategies that work here!.HUGE COLLECTION of Free Forex Trading Strategies, Trading Systems, Price Action Strategies, Forex Scalping Systems & News Trading Strategies, Free signals.Forex trading allows you to buy and sell currencies,. FXCM pioneered the No Dealing Desk forex execution model,. Learn To Program a Strategy; Forex Programming.Inside Bar Forex Trading Entry Inside bars are one of my favorite price action setups to trade with; they are a high-probability trading strategy that.Forex Trading Strategies, Forex Trading Strategies That Work, Forex Trading Strategies For Beginners, Simple Forex Trading Strategies, Forex Trading Systems.Forex Strategy & Forex Trading Strategies made by Professionals for Beginners & Experts.What are the Best Gold Forex Trading Strategies? June 13, 2014. SHARE. Facebook. Day trade pullback strategy is great Forex trading strategy for day traders.


We are proud to announce the release of our brand new Online Retirement Account website.
The new website features a fully mobile-responsive user experience. In an increasingly mobile-driven world, we realize how important it is to be able to access your data across many different devices. We also provide you with an updated "Dashboard", which will give you a snap shot of your financial future in retirement.


UTS hosts the annual green hero awards to recognise and celebrate UTS students, staff and alumni making a personal contribution to progress sustainability.
Initiatives undertaken might include work at UTS or in the broader community.
The awards aim to celebrate participation, showcase impressive initiatives and inspire others to get involved. Winners are announced each year on World Environment Day, 5 June.
Winner 1st Angelica Liem is one of the most dedicated and enthusiastic UTS students working on environmental issues on campus. Her passion for climate justice and sustainability has helped revitalise the Fossil Free UTS group as well as co-ordinating the student club EcoSoc.
Winner 2nd Alice McAuliffe helped establish the Waraburra Nura Indigenous plant garden at UTS containing plants native to the Sydney basin with traditional Indigenous uses. An associated website explains the properties of native species with oral recordings of Aunty Fran talking about the plants' beneficial qualities and uses.
Identify - will a wide spectrum of the UTS community identify with and be able to understand the activity.
Influence - does the activity have the potential to inspire and motivate others.
Involve - could the activity potentially involve others.
Impact - is the activity tangible with real sustainability impacts and benefits.
Equal consideration is given to initiatives of any size and scale.
The judges' decision is final and no correspondence is entered into.
For more information see terms and conditions.
© Copyright UTS - CRICOS Provider No: 00099F - 06 June 2018 11:57 AM. The page is authorised by Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Corporate Services).


text:
Guguschia nailiae — викопний вид гусеподібних птахів родини Качкові (Anatidae). Скам'янілі рештки знайдені на території Азербайджану і датуються пізнім олігоценом. Вид вважається найдавнішим видом лебедів.

Див. також
 Список викопних птахів

Посилання
 Guguschia nailiae  на сайті BioLib
 Gerald Mayr Paleogene Fossil Birds

Викопні птахи
Качкові
Птахи олігоцену
Вимерлі тварини, описані 1968

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Deadly train accidents cause delays
December 10, 2009 One happened shortly after 6 p.m. in northwest suburban Bensenville. A man was killed when a Metra train slammed into his SUV that was stopped on tracks.
Officials say a husband and wife were in the vehicle when it was driven around a gate near York Road. As the train approached, the woman was able to safely get out of the SUV.
Passengers were kept on the train until the scene was cleared by investigators. Metra trains on the Milwaukee District West Line had been stopped in both directions but were said Thursday night to be operating between 60 and 180 minutes behind schedule.
The second deadly accident was in Lake Forest. A west-bound Amtrak train hit a pedestrian who was walking on the tracks.
Lake Forest police were not releasing any information about the accident Thursday night.
The Lake County coroner says the victim is a 49 year-old woman from Grayslake, but the victim's name was not being released, pending family notification.
All Metra trains had been stopped in Lake Forest, but ABC7 Chicago is told Metra has restored service to one track north of Deerfield and trains are operating slowly beyond that area.


The Brewers added another arm to their spring camp when they signed veteran lefty Wade Miley to a minor-league deal on Wednesday.
PHOENIX - The Brewers added another arm to the mix of candidates for the back of their rotation Wednesday night by signing veteran left-hander Wade Miley to a minor-league deal with an invitation to their spring camp, which opens Thursday.
The deal, first reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, gives Miley, 31, a $2.5 million salary if he makes the Brewers roster with another $3.2 million incentives, which top out at 190 innings pitched or 55 relief appearances.
Miley was a 16-game winner with Arizona in 2012 but had struggled in recent seasons. Pitching for Baltimore last season, he went 8-15 with a 5.61 earned run average over 32 starts, with a league-high 93 walks and 1.729 WHIP. He did strike out 142 hitters in 157 1/3 innings.
Miley split the 2016 season between Seattle and Baltimore, going 9-13 with a 5.37 ERA and 1.422 WHIP. He was traded by the Mariners to the Orioles on July 31 of that season.
A first-round draft pick by Arizona in 2008, Miley is 66-74 with a 4.38 ERA over seven seasons in the majors, pitching in 200 games (196 starts).


AFC – CHONBURI, Chinese Taipei and Philippines registered their second successive wins in their 2020 Women's Olympic Football Tournament Qualifiers Round 1 campaign while Islamic Republic of Iran and Myanmar opened with wins as India and Nepal played to a draw on Thursday.
Four group winners and the two best runners-up will join Uzbekistan and Vietnam in the second round of the Qualifiers.
IR Iran opened their Group B campaign with an emphatic 7-0 win over Lebanon at the Institute of Physical Education Stadium.
Playing in the neutral venue of Chonburi, Thailand, Iran wasted no time in taking the lead with Samaneh Chahkandi opening the scoring in the ninth minute.
The Central Asians were assured a three-goal lead going into the break when Zahra Ghanbari and Chahkandi scored a goal each in the 38th and 44th minutes respectively.
Lebanon suffered further setback in the second half as Ghanbari and Hajar Dabbaghi continued Iran's goalscoring trend in the 54th and 57th minute respectively.
66 minutes into the game, Ghanbari completed her hat-trick.
On the stroke of full-time, Melika Motevalli made it 6-0, and Dabbaghi secured her second six minutes into added time to record a convincing win.
In the three-team Group B, Lebanon will look to bounce back from their loss when they play their final match against Hong Kong on Saturday, before Iran face the East Asians on Monday.


text:
<!DOCTYPE html>

		<link rel="stylesheet" href="../../../codebase/webix.css" type="text/css" media="screen" charset="utf-8">

		<title>Hotkeys for buttons</title>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Discussion in 'Downhill & Freeride' started by TrueScotsman, Sep 19, 2005.
Hey, anyone know the dimensions for the direct stem mounts on Marzocchi 888s and also the Shiver/Monster/Super T?
All I can find are RockShox direct mount dimensions.


In my previous article, I discussed the mechanics of card counting. In this article, I'll review additional important concepts that card counters need to understand to be successful.
Accurate card counting will give you about a 1 percent long-term edge over the casino in most games. It does not guarantee that you will win every time you play blackjack. In fact, 95 percent of the time, a counter with a 1 percent edge playing 5,000 hands of blackjack with an average bet of $10 most likely will wind up somewhere between a gain of $2,260 and a loss of $1,140 or any amount in between (even though his expectation is to win $500). The point is that card counters experience fluctuations in their bankroll over the short term and sustain losing sessions even though they have the long-term edge. These swings are normal and to be expected. Because they could -- and ultimately will -- go for long periods of time without winning, it is extremely important that they have enough bankroll to sustain them during these inevitable losing streaks. How much is enough? I use the Blackjack Audit software from Deepnet Technologies to determine exactly the amount of session bankroll I need to keep my risk-of-ruin to 5 percent or less (you can download a sample copy of the program at www.handheldblackjack.com). A quick-and-dirty guide is to have about 125 times your maximum bet. That's a $2,500 bankroll for a typical low-rolling counter that spreads from $5 to $20 maximum bet. If you bet more, then your bankroll requirements should be more. Use the program to give you the correct bankroll requirement.
It will take you about 100-150 hours of practice at home to become proficient at counting cards (you must be able to count down a single deck accurately in less than 30 seconds, meaning if you use the popular Hi Lo counting system, your final count should be 0). Then you've got to learn to count in a casino environment, which is not the same thing as at the kitchen table. There are, however, blackjack software programs that will drill you on your card counting skills. These programs can cut down on the time required to learn how to count accurately (I recommend several at www.handheldblackjack.com).
Most casinos use multiple decks of cards rather than a single deck of cards. Card counters must adjust their count to take this under consideration because a running count of, say, +4 off the top of a six-deck shoe in not nearly as important as the same running count in a single-deck game. Counters normalize the running count to arrive at the true count by dividing the running count by the number of decks remaining in the shoe. Computing a true count is not as difficult a task as it first appears, but you've got to learn how to do it quickly and fairly accurately. Alternatively, there are "unbalanced" counting systems that eliminate this conversion to the true count.
You'll need a bigger bet spread in multiple-deck games to get the same edge as in single-deck games. A 1 to 4 bet spread is OK in single-deck games, but when it comes to six-deck games you'll need at least a 1 to 10 bet spread (this, of course, will increase your bankroll fluctuation).
You've got to be selective in deciding where you play blackjack. You must not only play where the rules are good. The most important variable for card counters is the penetration, or how far into the shoe the dealer will deal before shuffling. In fact, blackjack isn't worth playing no matter how good the rules if the penetration is bad. For example, multiple-deck games with 50 percent penetration are not very profitable for counters. At least 75 percent or higher penetration is ideal (that's a blackjack table where the dealer deals out at least 4.5 out of the 6 decks of cards prior to the shuffle). You definitely do NOT want to play on any table where blackjacks pay 6-5 or a continuous shuffling machine is being used.
Once you learn how to use the count for betting purposes you also want to use it to vary your basic strategy. This will require learning what are known as index numbers, which tell the counter when to depart from the basic playing strategy depending upon the value of the count, and whether the count is positive or negative. For example, basic strategy says to hit a hard 12 when the dealer shows a 2 or 3. However, if a card counter has a moderately positive count the better play is to stand. Likewise, the insurance bet is a lousy wager for the average blackjack player but it becomes a profitable bet for a card counter when the count becomes moderately positive.
Since casino bosses are not enthralled with having blackjack players that know how to win playing on their tables (they much rather have players that know how to lose), you must disguise the fact that you are card counting. You obviously can't move your lips while you are counting (that's a dead giveaway), you must not increase your betting level in large increments no matter how high your count goes (big jumps in bet size is another giveaway that a player may be counting), and you need to keep your playing session short (one hour or less otherwise you give the casino folks too much time to analyze your play). Casinos in most gaming jurisdictions can and do bar suspected counters, especially those who bet large amounts of money. At a minimum if they suspect a person is card counting, they will shuffle up for no reason thus eliminating a counter's potential advantage, or simply back you off (i.e., ask you to stop playing blackjack).
Obviously, how much you bet and whether it's a single or multiple-deck game has a great influence on how much scrutiny you get from the casino bosses when you play. But don't let this stop you from becoming a card counter. By following the betting recommendations that you'll find in most blackjack books that cover card counting and casino comportment, it's possible to have longevity as a card counter (for more on this see the suggested reading at the end of this article).
To summarize here's what you got to master if you want to be a successful card counter.
If you're still game and want to become a card counter, I'd suggest you get yourself a deck of playing cards and start practicing. In addition, you need to read these books for starters before you make your first bet.
Blackjack: Take The Money & Run (my book) for a basic book on the High/Low balanced card counting system.
Knock Out Blackjack by Olaf Vancura & Ken Fuchs for a basic book on the unbalanced K-O card counting system.
Blackjack Bluebook II by Fred Renzey. Good book for beginners who want to learn about card counting.
Professional Blackjack by Stanford Wong. The pro's bible on the High/Low card counting system.
Blackjack for Blood by Bruce Carlson, another card counter's bible.
Blackjack Attack by Donald Schlesinger, the book that you must read after you learn how to count cards.
Burning the Tables in Las Vegas by Ian Anderson, a long-time blackjack pro. Will teach you everything you need to know on "how to get away with getting the money."
Blackjack Blueprint by Rick "NightTrain" Blain, a pro who offers sound advice on how to win money playing blackjack part-time.
Play Blackjack Like the Pros by Kevin Blackwood, the title of this book says it all.
Legends of Blackjack by Kevin Blackwood and Larry Barker, contains stories of card counters who beat the casinos at blackjack.
Here's another suggestion for average players who want to get the edge at blackjack: learn Speed Count, which is a revolutionary, new counting system that is easy to learn (as easy as learning the basic playing strategy), and very easy to use in the casinos. You can read about Speed Count in Frank Scoblete's book Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution! (www.rsucasinobooks.com).


text:
Asia Pacific|Closed Afghan-Pakistani Border Is Becoming 'Humanitarian Crisis'
Closed Afghan-Pakistani Border Is Becoming 'Humanitarian Crisis'
Soldiers guarding the Pakistani side of the border with Afghanistan. Pakistan has blocked border crossings between the two countries for nearly two weeks.CreditCreditAkhter Gulfam/European Pressphoto Agency
By Mujib Mashal
KABUL, Afghanistan — Pakistan has kept its border crossings with Afghanistan sealed for more than two weeks, with thousands of Afghan visitors stranded in Pakistan and traders unable to move their vegetables and fruit across.
After a suicide bombing at a shrine in Pakistan's Sindh Province on Feb. 16, which killed more than 80 people, the Pakistani military shut its borders with Afghanistan, saying the terrorists behind the attack had sanctuaries in the country. It also carried out shelling into Afghanistan.
Omar Zakhilwal, Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan, said Sunday that if the border did not open soon, his government would be forced to airlift its stranded citizens, which could be a new low in the relationship between the neighboring countries.
Their 1,600-mile border has long been a contentious issue. Ever since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, Afghan and Western officials have said that the Afghan insurgency's leadership maintains havens in Pakistan, particularly in the city of Quetta. The free movement across the border has helped the militants avoid defeat in a 15-year war led by the United States.
In recent years, the Pakistani authorities have said the leaders of the militant groups waging deadly attacks inside their territory are based across the border in Afghanistan.
Mr. Zakhilwal, the Afghan ambassador, said some leaders of these attacks on Pakistan might be in Afghanistan, but they mostly operate in areas controlled by the Afghan Taliban. He said his government, along with the United States-led coalition, had targeted Pakistani militants in Afghanistan, including the mastermind of a massacre of children in a Pakistani school in 2014.
Imran Khan, an opposition leader in Pakistan, said on Saturday that the border closing was "building into a humanitarian crisis." He called on both governments to resolve the crisis so "those with valid travel documents and perishable goods" could cross.
Afghan officials have protested the closing, saying that Pakistan has used the shrine attack as a pretext to pressure Afghanistan economically.
Mr. Zakhilwal said Pakistan was making a "flawed connection" between the shrine attack and the border. The assault on the shrine was claimed by the Islamic State, whose regional chapter is largely made up of fighters from the Pakistani tribal areas. Afghan forces in the east have been fighting the group, which has also carried out deadly attacks inside Afghanistan, for nearly two years.
If the reason for blocking the border is to stop the flow of terrorists into Pakistan, Mr. Zakhilwal said it made no sense to prevent the return of the thousands of Afghans stranded in Pakistan, many of whom had traveled there for medical reasons. The long border is porous, and Pakistan is focusing only on the formal crossing points.
In Kabul, the toll of the border closing is evident in the markets, with the price of fruit and vegetables imported from Pakistan more than doubling. But the price for many other goods has been unaffected, because Afghanistan also imports from Iran and some Central Asian nations.
Nasir Ahmad, a shopkeeper at Kabul's vegetable market, said a crate of oranges that used to be $4 had increased to $12. A box of bananas, which used to be about $12, is now about $25.
Khanjan Alokozay, the deputy chairman of the Afghan chamber of commerce, estimated that traders from both countries were losing about $4 million a day because of the border closing. Pakistani traders are bearing about 80 percent of those losses, because during the winter Pakistani exports of fruit and vegetables to Afghanistan increase.
Mr. Alokozay said thousands of trucks on both sides of the border had remained stranded, and Afghan businessmen have been urged to find other routes to transport their goods.
Since the closing, Afghan border officials said that Pakistan was allowing only funeral processions to cross over.
Some of those stranded have resorted to paying smugglers and taking dangerous mountain passes to return home.
"Pakistanis are not allowing anyone to cross the border, and they order their forces to shoot anyone who is trying to cross the border," said Haji Iqbal, an Afghan who recently returned from Pakistan with the help of friends who asked Pakistani forces to let him cross through a mountain pass. "I walked for two hours."
Fahim Abed and Zahra Nader contributed reporting from Kabul, and Taimoor Shah from Kandahar, Afghanistan.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 9 of the New York edition with the headline: 'Humanitarian Crisis' at Afghan-Pakistani Border. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe
2 Taliban Bombings Kill 23 People in Kabul
In Taliban Attacks, a Reminder That Winter Offers Afghans No Mercy
Pakistan Police Kill 2 Suicide Bombers, Blunting Attack on Courts


text:
using System.Runtime.Versioning;
using Xunit;

namespace NuGet.Test
{
    public class NetPortableProfileTableTest
    {
        [Fact]
        public void LoadSupportedFrameworkCorrectsTheWP7Framework()
        {
            // Arrange
            string content = @"
<Framework
    Identifier=""Silverlight""
    Profile=""WindowsPhone*""
    MinimumVersion=""4.0""
    DisplayName=""Windows Phone""
    MinimumVersionDisplayName=""7"" />";

            // Act
            FrameworkName fx = NetPortableProfileTable.LoadSupportedFramework(content.AsStream());

            // Assert
            Assert.Equal(new FrameworkName("Silverlight, Version=3.0, Profile=WindowsPhone"), fx);

        }

        [Fact]
        public void LoadSupportedFrameworkCorrectsTheWP71Framework()
        {
            // Arrange
            string content = @"
<Framework
    Identifier=""Silverlight""
    Profile=""WindowsPhone7*""
    MinimumVersion=""4.0""
    DisplayName=""Windows Phone""
    MinimumVersionDisplayName=""7.5"" />";

            // Act
            FrameworkName fx = NetPortableProfileTable.LoadSupportedFramework(content.AsStream());

            // Assert
            Assert.Equal(new FrameworkName("Silverlight, Version=4.0, Profile=WindowsPhone71"), fx);
        }
    }
}


text:
About O\W
About 'Our World'
About the OW IX Illustration
Order 'Our World'
Our World IX Digital Edition
Faith I Digital Edition
Our World IX
Faith I
Nominate a thought leader
Our World: 100 thought leaders shape our common future
Hand of a man reaching to bird in the sky representing the freedom of thought.shutterstock
Freedom of Religion and Belief: Why it matters
Eric Roux
Recently, I was having a chat with the excellent Reverend Bill E. Swing, founder of United Religions Initiatives (URI) and former Episcopal Bishop of California, and I was surprised when he told me: "I'm glad you are doing what you do for religious freedom, as before. I thought that religious freedom was only an issue for the agenda of the far-right wing evangelical Christians." Actually, and indeed, many advocacy groups on religious freedom, or freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) as we say in EU, are only focused on the rights of their own religious community, even when sometimes they pretend to fight for FoRB for all. Or sometimes they focus on the rights of several religious communities, but to the exclusion of others.
I consider that it is normal and sane to defend the right to FoRB of your own community. I'm a Scientologist and I will definitely fight for the rights of Scientologists to practice their religion freely and I expect the same from Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Bahai's and all others to defend their own religions. But it's not enough and if it is done in a way that excludes some other religious communities, it becomes even counterproductive and detrimental to the very basis of FoRB itself.
The strength of the right to FoRB stems from its universality.
We, basically all nations belonging to the United Nations, recognized it as a fundamental and universal right. Universal means everywhere, and for everyone, whatever their faith, belief or conviction is. It goes as far (and actually it's not so far) as applying to non-believers to the same extent it applies to believers. Freedom of belief is also the right of atheists to be atheists, agnostics to be agnostics, and the right to change religion whenever you want and for whatever belief you choose. And with that, your right to FoRB is protected or at least should be.
Now the corollary of this is that the greatest threat to FoRB is to strip it of its universality. And that is what happens when some groups or activists defend only their rights or the rights of a few to the detriment or the exclusion of others. The universality of FoRB declines, and it becomes finally a special interest right or even a vested interest right, and then its power shrinks in value. This is the direction of no FoRB at all. We could even say that when one religion is excluded from FoRB, then there is no FoRB, as this right only exists because it is universal. It's its essence. That means that each of us should defend the right to FoRB of each one of us, without even considering our own affinity or lack of it to take into account.
One day I spoke to a Russian Orthodox Old Believer Bishop in Moscow. He was one of the most conservative Christian Orthodox I ever met in my life. For him, theologically, I was a devil worshipper. Nevertheless, Old Believers have known persecution for centuries. Maybe that is why he told me that whilst he was very opposed to Scientology beliefs, he would fight for our rights to practice freely our religion and would always oppose any interference from the government in this. That is what it takes to be a real advocate for FoRB. A bit of courage, even vis a vis your own beliefs.
Another thing that should not enter into account is the social hostility that a religious community can face in a particular country. It was (and unfortunately is still) such an issue that the UN Human Rights Committee had to tackle it in its General Comment 22 on Freedom of Thought, Conscience or Religion:
"Article 18 protects theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief. The terms "belief" and "religion" are to be broadly construed. Article 18 is not limited in its application to traditional religions or to religions and beliefs with institutional characteristics or practices analogous to those of traditional religions. The Committee, therefore, views with concern any tendency to discriminate against any religion or belief for any reason, including the fact that they are newly established, or represent religious minorities that may be the subject of hostility on the part of a predominant religious community."
Finally, there is also a practical aspect when it comes to advocacy, to focus on defending the right to FoRB of others. This aspect was summarized by a young Muslim lady, participating in the Ministerial for Religious Freedom in Washington this summer, the biggest ever event on this topic, organized by the US State Department but with 80 National delegations participating. She was commenting on the benefits she got from participating in the International Religious Freedom Roundtable in Washington, and she said it this way: "Before, I was always defending the rights of Muslims. And in our society, it was very, very tiring. I was exhausted. When I joined the roundtable, I started to defend the rights of Christians or the ones of Scientologists, and I discovered that it was much more rewarding. Then I stopped exhausting myself defending Islam, as I realized that I could count on Christians and Scientologists to defend them." And that is the way it works. FoRB to be for all, or not to be.
Current Vice-President of the European Office of the Church of Scientology for Public Affairs and Human Rights and a well-known International Activist for Freedom of Religion and Belief. He has authored several books and articles on that topic. He is also currently serving as President of the European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom.
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text:
Parliamentary initiative
The parliamentary initiative of Heinz Siegenthaler (Die Mitte) wants to legally re-regulate cultivation, production, trade and consumption of cannabis containing THC according to the recommendations of the Federal Commission on Narcotic Drugs (EKSF). 1).
Status: After the National Council Commission for Social Security and Health (SGK-N), the Commission for Social Security and Health of the Council of States (SGK-S) has now also approved the initiative on October 18/19, 2021 (press release SGK-N and press release SGK-S). Next, the SGK-N will prepare a draft decree within two years. Details on the parliamentary initiative process.
watson.ch: Parliamentary commissions want to legalize cannabis
Winter 20/21: New proposal in parliament: Will it bring a breakthrough?
Business 20.473 on parlament.ch
Heinz Siegenthaler had already tried in 2018 in business 18.3150 to treat cannabis the same as high-proof alcohol. This business was written off in June 2020 because it was not conclusively dealt with in the Council within two years. Compared to the 2018 business, however, the current business has a much better chance with 40 co-signers.
You can find our articles on the amendment of NarcA from the last years here.
The EKSF has been replaced, among others, by the "Federal Commission on Addiction and Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (EKSN)" as of 2020
en/aktuelles/pi2020.txt · Last modified: 2021/10/22 12:44 by sos