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Report From El Salvador Part I
Posted by JP Bone | Mar 14, 2007 | General, National Politics, Story | 0 |
Stepping outside of the air-conditioned airport at San Salvador one enters another world — a sultry land of tropical forests and volcanoes where thunderheads billow toward the heavens. The atmosphere itself seems to rise up from the verdant landscape of rolling coffee fields, banana trees, mangos and coconut palms, moisture steaming off la tierra, rolling all around you.
Once you catch your breath there is an unusual aroma, a virtual potpourri of tropical fruits, flowers and jungle. But there is something else in the air as well, vaguely suggestive of marijuana. No matter where one goes in El Salvador, one is engulfed by that fragrance: It is the scent of a smoldering fire.
My family and I spent nine days in El Salvador in 1997, staying with relatives in the working class barrios of Santa Ana and San Salvador. My wife, a Salvadorean, left her family in 1977, immigrating "illegally" to the United States where she hoped to earn enough money to support her mother and three brothers. When she arrived at the airport in San Salvador it was an emotional reunion: She had not seen one of her brothers for twenty years, and met many of her nieces and nephews for the first time. Her family had suffered incredible hardships in El Salvador during her absence, as had the entire nation.
During the civil war –which began in 1980 and did not end until December 31, 1992 — members of the National Guard roamed the working class neighborhoods and countryside in their fatigues and battle helmets, murdering entire families suspected of supporting the guerrillas of the Farabundo Martí Liberación Nacional — the FMLN (also known as El Frente). There was a curfew at night back then, and the songs of crickets were often drowned out by the screams of men and women who were tortured and mutilated by death squads who did their work with impunity. Children walking the dusty streets of their barrios on their way to school would often encounter the bodies of those they had heard screaming in the dark of night.
But things have changed since the peace treaty was signed five years ago. The National Guard has been disbanded, replaced by a National Police made up of former soldiers and men who had fought with the FMLN. The death squads have, with a few exceptions, disappeared as well, though many of those who organized them, including the man who murdered Archbishop Oscar Romero, remain free men. Policemen patrol the streets now, dressed in starched-white shirts and blue pants and caps, armed with pistols instead of M-16's. Though there are still some officers who are corrupt (as there are in all nations) for the most part the only people who fear the National Police are criminals, which include members of gangs, many of whom were raised in the United States.
Gangs are a growing problem in the cities of El Salvador: Graffiti is often scrawled on walls in English, and members pledge allegiance to groups with names like the 18th Street Gang. Though there is no longer a curfew, most people dare not venture into the streets after dark, frightened by the activities of these criminal groups as well as others that are homegrown, composed of former soldiers and disgruntled guerrillas.
What Has Changed Since The End of the War?
Yet if you ask most Salvadoreans, many things have changed for the better since the end of the war. People can now say what they think without fear of reprisal. In fact, in the municipal elections of March 16, the FMLN — now a legal political party — won stunning victories across the nation, including the mayoral positions in the countries two largest cities, San Salvador and Santa Ana. In 1980, at the beginning of the civil war, the FMLN was characterized an evil agent of international communism. Now, seventeen years later, the most popular politician in the country is Hector Silva, the young, handsome and charismatic mayor of San Salvador elected as the candidate of the former guerrillas. If the national elections were held today, Mr. Silva, a doctor born in the United States, would very likely be elected president.
But despite such political changes, some things remain the same as they have for a century. Women still carry large, heavy baskets full of fruits and vegetables on their heads, walking calmly down the street, their arms at their sides. They pause in the dusty barrios and struggle to lower the baskets to the ground where neighbors buy tomatoes and chiles, celery and parsley, jocotes, lemons, papayas, and green mangos, all in plentiful supply. And in the countryside — even in a city like Santa Ana — it is not unusual to see men leading a pair of oxen down the street as they haul hand-made carts full of corn, sugar cane, wood, and other goods.
Even The Parrots Have Disappeared
Then there are the changes. Before the war, flocks of parrots babbled madly across the sky in huge, green clouds. They are gone now, having fled the country during the war to havens in nearby countries like Costa Rica. Iguanas, once a common sight, are rarely seen now, as are armadillos. No one knows if they were captured and sold in foreign countries or if they were simply the main course at dinnertime for one too many poor families. Dormilona, a fragile magical plant that appears to fall asleep when touched, is also difficult to find these days, though before the war it was as common as weeds.
Deforestation has become major problem facing El Salvador and is blamed for changes in the climate, including diminishing rainfall. Many mountains and hillsides that were once covered by pristine forests have been clear cut, thousands of acres leveled by the government during the war in an effort to deny guerrillas cover. Much of what remains of the forests is gradually being leveled to clear the way for cultivation, while other tracts of land are cleared by industry, especially foreign corporations building new factories in "special economic zones." Cotton, once one of El Salvador's leading cash crops, is another casualty of the changes that have affected the country.
Another thing that has changed since the war is the virtual disappearance of the Pipiles — descendants of the Mayan people who built pyramids and great cities long before the Spanish Conquest. Prior to 1980, in towns and villages like Sosonate and Panchimalco, descendants of the Pipiles sold their wares in the town squares and on the streets. They wore brightly colored clothing and spoke the same tongues as their ancestors — indigenous languages with names like Nahuatl. The Pipiles were one of the main targets of the Matanza of 1932, a massacre of 32,000 peasants by General Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez, one of El Salvador's many dictators. General Martinez murdered peasants in the tens of thousands in order to crush a planned revolt organized by Farabundo Martí, the Salvadorean revolutionary from whom the FMLN derived their name.
Despite the Matanza of 1932 and other acts of repression, the Pipiles still managed to survive. But during the 1980's, many were finally forced to conceal their backgrounds once and for all, fearful of the brutal persecution exacted against suspected enemies by the government and its soldiers. Rather than risk extermination, many Pipiles learned to speak Spanish and to dress as other Salvadoreans do, the men wearing button-down shirts and slacks, or cotton pants and tee shirts, the women simple blouses and skirts. With the exception of certain areas in the countryside controlled by the guerrillas during the war, the only visible remains of the once great Pipil people are the pyramids, ruins, and digs visited by tourists and studied by archaeologists.
During the war, a broad spectrum of people opposed to the dictatorship supported the FMLN. One of them was Marvin Galea, who broadcast from Radio Venceremos (We Shall Win), the clandestine radio of the guerrillas. Mr. Galea lived in the mountains in close proximity to the high command of the Frente. Today he works in San Salvador, still broadcasting from Radio Venceremos, which like the FMLN is legal now. However, Radio Venceremos is no longer affiliated with the former guerrillas, and Mr. Galea, an independent journalist, is critical of some of his former comrades. While in San Salvador, my wife and I interviewed him.
Mr. Galea and the station where he works is yet another example of the changes in El Salvador. Though one might expect revolutionary portraits of Che Guevara in the lobby of a station that broadcasts Radio Venceremos, there are none. Instead, there are album covers and pictures of Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and many popular salsa groups.
Though critical of what he referred to as "some corrupt members" of the FMLN, Mr. Galea is hardly a supporter of ARENA, the right-wing party whose leaders — in particular, the late Roberto D'Abuison — were the architects and directors of The Repression. Once a target of the National Guard and death squads himself, Mr. Galea can now broadcast his thoughts freely throughout the country — not an insignificant change for a man who once was forced to seek sanctuary with the guerrillas in the mountains.
The Twelve Apostles of Santa Elena
Mr. Galea points to the recent arrest of Roberto Mathies Hill, one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the country, as further evidence that things have changed. Mr. Hill was arrested for bilking at least $155 million from depositors who participated in what has been described as a savings and loan scam. Mr. Galea reminded me that for a century, his country was ruled by an oligarchy commonly referred to as the "fourteen families." Up until the elections in March of this year, it was inconceivable that a rich man would ever be charged, much less arrested, for a crime, especially if it involved corruption. Mr. Galea suggested that the arrest of Mr. Hill and others implicated is not simply the result of political changes that have occurred. In our interview, he said the unfolding scandal reveals a growing split between what was the ruling oligarchy and a "new elite" commonly referred to as "The Twelve Apostles of Santa Elena," a name coined from an elegant neighborhood in San Salvador where many members of the new rich live.
According to Mr. Galea, investment bankers created new financial institutions when the formerly state-run banks were privatized during the administration of Alfredo Cristiani. They made their fortunes from investments which were the result of millions of US dollars sent to El Salvador by ex-patriots living in the United States, and by personally appropriating US tax dollars sent as aid to the right wing government during the war. Mr. Galea also speculated that these financial institutions may have profited by the laundering of hundreds of millions of narco dollars.
As these new financial institutions grew, interest rates soared. According to Mr. Galea, if a small businessman was to go to a Salvadorean bank and apply for a loan today, the interest rate could reach levels as high as 25%, though banks pay only 7% interest to those with savings accounts. Credit card holders are charged as much as 60% interest, an amount that Mr. Galea pointed out would be illegal in the United States. Such extraordinary rates are do, in part, to the fact that there are interlocking board of directors in El Salvador, meaning that a banker can sit on the boards of two or more different banks. Another reason Salvadorean banks are virtually free to do business as they choose is that there are no foreign banks in that nation.
The first case of massive fraud involved a company named Fumi Export, according to Mr. Galea. He alleged that 40 million Colones, or roughly 4 1/2 million dollars, "disappeared." Many people who had invested their life savings were devastated by the scam, and some committed suicide. But it wasn't until a financial institution called Finsepro/Insepro went broke that the banks and other establishments began to be investigated. Apparently, in the Finsepro scam, many of El Salvador's most illustrious families lost millions. Mr. Galea believes that the growing investigation of fraud reveals a rift between what remains of the so-called "fourteen families," and the "Twelve Apostles of Santa Elena." This breach is also reflected in the ARENA party.
In any event, many working people and the poor credit the FMLN for the investigations and can barely contain their joy at the prospect of wealthy men going to jail. Visiting the working class barrios and slums, one can understand why.
A Smoldering Fire
Across the nation there is a fire burning at a very low flame, smoldering like the piles of leaves swept up by women in the dusty barrios and set ablaze. Despite the end of the war and the political freedoms that have resulted from the Peace Accords, it is as difficult as ever for a worker or a peasant to make a living. In many ways, life is more difficult than it was before the conflict. In that sense, many of the social and economic conditions that gave rise to war still remain.
Wherever one goes one is stunned by the contrast between rich and poor. Along the highways families build huts of bamboo and cardboard, pieces of corrugated metal laid on top the shacks as roofs, held down by rocks and boulders. Inside, fires burn in pits built of stones and clay bricks. Pots of beans boil on blackened grills balanced precariously over makeshift stoves while tortillas made from scratch toast over the open flames. Men stagger home down the roads and highways, their backs bent by enormous bundles of wood they carry that will be used to cook their meals.
Los Mesones
Many of the nation's urbanized poor live in mesones, small one-room apartments that line the streets of San Salvador, Santa Ana, and most urbanized towns. A typical meson has a courtyard where flowers and jocotes, oranges and mangos grow. Usually in the courtyards there are toilets and showers as well, shared by all the tenants. While in Santa Ana, we visited the meson where my wife spent her childhood.
The courtyard of the meson, once alive with fruit trees and flowers, is covered in concrete now. The only thing that remains unchanged in the yard are the toilets — stalls erected where a middle class North American might build a barbecue or a swimming pool. The commodes are much like one might find in a public restroom except they are terribly dilapidated and empty into deep pits that drain into a huge sewer down the street. Showers are built alongside the stalls, providing a minimum of privacy, swinging half doors secured with a latch. At the other end of the courtyard is the pila, a double cement sink. One side is a deep basin filled with water from a faucet (running water is not always available). Just adjacent is a slanting sink where clothes are washed by hand, bowls of water dipped from the pila and poured on clothing or pots and pans.
Doña Bertha
While visiting my wife's childhood home, we met doña Bertha, a woman who after all these years still lives there. Bertha was nearly blind, milky cataracts covering her pupils. Dressed in a tattered blouse and skirt, she was incontinent and smelled of urine. My wife embraced the frail old woman and asked her if she remembered her. But Bertha was nearly deaf and could not answer. She complained that she was very sick and that the only food she could hold down was milk. Bertha talked about all the people who used to live in the meson and how they had all left for the United States, including Lolita, a little girl she had not seen in oh so many years. My wife tried to tell Bertha that she was Lolita and that she had returned to visit. But the old woman did not understand and continued to tell us about how lonely and difficult her life is now. There was little we could do for the old woman but give her fifty colones, which would buy her the powdered milk she needed and a few other things.
As I gazed into the darkness of her one room apartment, I was stunned by doña Bertha's poverty. She had virtually nothing. What she did have appeared to be things she had carefully preserved for many years — a battered old table, a chair that had been mended, pots and pans and plastic bowls.
After saying goodbye to my wife's old friend, we went to visit another meson nearby where other members of the family once lived. The roof was low enough that an averaged-sized North American male could easily reach up and touch it. These are apartments built for small people — folks whose diet consists almost exclusively of beans and tortillas, fried platanos, fresh fruit and coffee, (though there are many families who cannot afford to buy coffee despite the fact that it is the largest export from El Salvador). Powdered milk is another luxury for many working people: those who can afford it often prepare atol de elote, a milky pudding made from corn, sugar, milk and cinnamon. The dry milk is stored in large covered cans to protect it from mice and the almost ever-present roach — insects that are often as large as four inches across. (Though most North Americans are astonished by the size of the pest, what many find even more disturbing is that many species of Central American roaches have wings and can fly.)
A Typical Workday
During the weekday, everyone in the cities is in a hurry. Those who are not going to work or coming home are selling something — blue bags of fresh water, peanuts, fresh cut fruit, hats, toys, or the culinary specialty of El Salvador, pupusas. Along the highway are shacks where women and children peddle fresh coconuts, lopping off the end so one can drink the milk with a straw. Men roam the streets selling cloth, or pushing white carts full of paletas — popsicles made from oranges, pineapple or coconut.
Brightly painted buses hurtle down the narrow streets of the cities, their windshields and dashboards decorated with tassels and pictures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Men walk up and down the aisles, collecting fares from the passengers, notifying the driver with a loud whistle when they spot potential fares waiting at the curbs up ahead. Many of the busier buses employ another man who stands to the rear, often leaning out the open back door. When the bus stops, his job is to help women and children down once they have reached their destination.
Another common mode of transportation in El Salvador, especially on the highways that connect towns and cities, are Honda pick-up trucks with racks welded to the beds. As many as twenty passengers stand in the beds and hold on to the racks for dear life as the truck speeds down the highway, the driver racing with the bus drivers as they take turns passing each other. Along the highway are small huts built of bamboo and palm fronds where people stand in the shade or to escape the rain as they wait for their rides.
El Salvador's Maquiladoras
Though it would appear on the surface that everyone in El Salvador is working, unemployment is widespread and as bad as it was before and even during the war. The only new jobs are those that have been created by foreign companies that have been awarded special contracts to build in industrial areas called "Zonas Francas" or "French zones," apparently taking their name from the one of the first nations to create such industry.
Enjoying special tax benefits and paying low wages, companies from the United States, France, Germany, England, Japan, China and Korea do business in these special zones much like the maquiladoras on the U.S.- Mexican border. Workers are paid the minimum wage to assemble products made from raw materials that are generally imported. The commodities they manufacture are then exported. Many of the maquiladoras pay workers a monthly salary, generally equal to what they would make earning the minimum wage. (The minimum wage for factory workers is around 1000 Colones a month — the equivalent of about 29 US dollars a week. This is in a nation where a Coke costs 5 colones, a scarf costs 30 Colones, and a small single room in a meson runs 250 Colones a month.) Many workers have complained that they have been forced to work overtime without overtime compensation.
There have been disputes arising from such conflicts, some involving Salvadorean labor unions, many of whom are heavily influenced by the FMLN. In one such case, it was reported in the Salvadorean press that one foreign company left the country rather than pay workers overtime. Members of the ARENA Party claimed that the FMLN was interfering, and that their actions resulted in people losing jobs. The FMLN maintained their position despite such protests and insisted that workers should be paid for overtime even in the so-called "special economic zones."
Another bone of contention between ARENA and the FMLN is the proposed privatization of the national phone company ANTEL (Asociación Nacional de Telecomunicaciones) now owned by the state. There are many areas in El Salvador where telephone service is simply not available. It is said that even the mayor of San Salvador does not have a home phone. ARENA claims that by privatizing ANTEL, more and better phone service will be available.However, the FMLN opposes such a move. It claims that the phone company has been poorly managed, just like the municipalities that were until recently controlled by ARENA. The FMLN contends that privatization will result in a windfall of profits for the wealthy, much as the privatization of the banks did. They also worry that privatization will mean the demise of the ANTEL union, one of the strongest in the nation.
The Manufacturer
Such rivalry reveals the bitter resentment that still exists between the FMLN and the rich, most of whom belong to ARENA. When I spoke to a manufacturer at his beach house in San Diego, his eyes burned at the very mention of the Frente. He did not trust those who he still considered to be communists bent on establishing a socialist government.
Asking that he not be mentioned by name, the capitalist had criticisms of the way leading members of the ARENA Party conduct business. He seemed particularly angry by the manner the banks operate and what he considers their generally backward business practices. He decried the lack of computers and other modern systems of communication at Salvadorean banks, and the fact that they (the banks) do not even have an internet connection with North American financial institutions.
I told the manufacturer of the difficulty we experienced trying to cash American Express travelers checks at the Bank of Cuscatlán, one of El Salvador's largest. He appeared to grow angry and suggested that such problems have a negative impact on tourism. He explained that a tremendous amount of money is sent to Salvadoreans by family members living in the United States. As a consequence, he said, there is a growing problem of fraud, one which he emphasized could be easily solved if the banks modernized, installed computers, and joined "the rest of the business world."
When I asked the capitalist about the political changes that have occurred in the country in the past five years, he said he was glad the war was over and that people could express themselves freely. However, he expressed concern about the economy and blamed its sluggish state on the FMLN, though they had only recently won seats in the municipal elections and had yet to play a major role in the government.
A Beach House at San Diego
The manufacturer, who resembled Yule Brynner, invited many of his plant managers in San Salvador to spend the weekend at his beach house, just a short walk from the sea at San Diego, Sonsonate. His vacation home was a complex of rooms that surrounded a large pool. The grounds were immaculate, with well-tended lawns, coconut palms, banana trees, fuscias, and roses. My family and I owed our presence there to my wife's nephew, an employee of the industrialist.
Though self-assured and confident when among family and friends, my wife's nephew underwent an instant metamorphosis when in the presence of his boss. Even his body language changed, his posture and facial expressions meek in deference to the man for whom he worked.
The manufacturer had the mannerisms of a man who wielded great power. He sat at a table and chain-smoked cigarettes as we spoke, his wife waiting on him hand and foot though he employed a servant. When he stood suddenly and placed his hands on his hips, the nephew seemed to recoil. He glanced at us as if to plead that we, too, should stand.
In El Salvador (as in most Third World nations) workers and peasants are expected to kowtow to a rich man. There are few demands he can make that they are not expected to satisfy. This caste-like system is a legacy of the Spanish Conquest which still makes its presence felt today. The extent of this dominance and old world influence is apparent even in the faces of the wealthy: throughout Latin America, the rich and famous are generally European in appearance, many direct descendants of the Spanish conquistadors.
All Salvadoreans Are Class Conscious
There is not a man or woman in El Salvador that is not class conscious. The peasantry and working class are acutely aware of their class and social position and generally have nothing but contempt for the rich. The rich are likewise cognizant of their privileged status and, as mentioned, generally expect to be treated like royalty by others not from their station.
You will rarely hear a wealthy man say a good word about working people. The manufacturer was a case in point. When I asked him why he thought so many people were poor, he replied angrily "Because they are lazy and don't know what they're doing!"
Then there are those who are the most poverty stricken people in the nation — the families who live in casas de carton. I stopped one day to ask two men who lived in a shantytown if they would mind if I took their picture. My brother-in-law, who is a good-hearted man from a working class background, did not give me the chance: He took the men by their arms and led them to the place where we could take a good photograph. There were no questions to be asked: they would pose and that was that. Still, the men were not the least bit ashamed, and I even detected a certain pride that they felt, a foreigner taking their picture. It seemed to me that the men were simply being courteous and could not imagine denying a favor asked of them. Yet I was ashamed that my brother-in-law would treat them so thoughtlessly.
No Bad Karma
Throughout Latin America, the poor, peasants, and most working people will quite literally give you the shirt off their backs if you ask them. From birth they have been raised to follow The Golden Rule, and, for the most part, truly love their neighbors — even foreigners from the United States. Still, once you talk to a poor man or woman it is clear that they do not accept their condition as a given: They don't believe their poverty is the result of bad karma.
El Salvador has a history of bitter class struggles, and poor people have a memory that goes back a hundred years. They can recite to you when their families lost their land, which among them were murdered for standing up for their rights, and exactly who was guilty for the crime. Invariably they point the finger of blame at a rich man. In the wake of the March 16 municipal elections, many expect the FMLN will do something to change their condition. And if the Frente does not deliver, leading members of the Frente can expect some bad vibes from working people and the poor.
Militancy In The Working Class
Those who tend to be the most class-conscious workers are individuals who were adults during the civil war. Their disdain of the rich is at least as strong as the wealthy's scorn for the laboring classes. However, most working people don't tend to show their anger. Years of repression have taught people to be careful what they say, despite the new political freedoms they enjoy. Yet once they begin to express themselves, many will talk for hours on end, telling stories about atrocities committed by the National Guard and the death squads during the war. Since it is widely understood that the rich rule the nation and that the death squads were Special Forces organized by the wealthy, the bitter stories told by many workers and peasants are vivid reminders that though the war is over, they have not forgotten what happened, nor have they forgiven those who committed crimes against them.
A Former Soldier
While staying in Santa Ana, I spoke for an hour with a man who served as a soldier in the Salvadorean Army for eight years. He pushes a white ice cream cart now, walking down the dusty streets ringing a bell and crying "Paletas!" Like many others who enlisted, he joined the army because he considered it "the best way to make a living." During the war, he spent a short time in North Carolina, trained by the U.S. Army in counter-insurgency tactics. When I tried to get details about what he learned there, he shrugged his shoulders and answered "Just how to kill communists…." The former soldier showed me where he was shot by guerrillas of the Frente, a scar just below his left shoulder, an exit wound above his shoulder blade. During the war, he believed that if the FMLN won, there would have been a dictatorship, and that all the soldiers in the army and many civilians would have been exterminated. He sighted as proof of his fears one battle during in the eighties where one entire company was slain by the guerrillas.
While a soldier, the ice cream man was promised that if he fought, he would receive land in compensation. He said that he never received a thing: The "jefes" in the army were the ones who received the land promised by the government, he explained. Though the ex-soldier did not appear to be bitter, he complained how difficult it was to make a living selling paletas for another man who paid him a commission on sales. I asked him if he had it to do over again, would he join the army and fight? Showing little emotion, he calmly answered that no, he would not.
The ice cream man told me that during the war, a missionary befriended him and offered to help him to get to the United States and, once there, to find a job. But he was afraid to go. He was afraid that he might be caught and deported by la migra. If that would have happened, and if he had returned to El Salvador, he would have been shot as a deserter. The former soldier told me since the war ended, he has made many friends who fought with the FMLN, and now they get along just fine. They have a lot in common, he explained: Men from both sides are having a difficult time making a living.
Before the former soldier left, I asked him one final question: Is there a political party in El Salvador that you support? He smiled and said yes, the Democratic Party. I asked him which party was the democratic one. He answered "The FMLN."
I bought a paleta from the ice cream man and we shook hands and said goodbye. Then he pushed his cart down the dusty street of the barrio, ringing a bell with one hand and crying to people as they walked home from work, "Tengo Paletas! I have ice cream!"
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China-based JN Fibers Invests $45 Million To Establish Manufacturing Plant In Richburg, South Carolina
South Carolina Basic Business Taxes 2012
South Carolina Direct Financial Incentives 2012
China-based JN Fibers Inc., a manufacturer of recycled polyester staple fiber products, will invest $45 million to establish a manufacturing facility in an existing building at 1247 Frederick Drive in Richburg, South Carolina, with plans to generate 318 jobs in Chester County.
The company plans to upfit the existing building, as well as add building space on the facility's campus, for a total of 600,000 square feet. The JN Fibers plant is expected to begin operations in the third quarter of 2014.
JN Fibers Inc. will operate its factory and market products under their subsidiary Sun Fibers LLC. The new plant will recycle discarded soda and water bottles and transform them into recycled polyester staple fibers for use in home textiles, furniture, upholstery and automotive industries.
"We are pleased by the opportunity to establish new operations in Chester County. South Carolina is the perfect fit for our business' needs. With an excellent business environment and access to markets, as well as top-notch workforce talent, we look forward to getting our operations in Richburg up and running. We appreciate all the support we've received from state and local officials," said, Mark Bachner, senior vice president of operations for JN Fibers Inc.
"Today's announcement is another big win for one of our state's rural areas. We celebrate JN Fibers' decision to invest $45 million and create 318 new jobs in Richburg. This announcement shows that South Carolina has done the right things to be competitive on the global stage," said Gov. Nikki Haley. The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved a rural infrastructure grant of $800,000 and approved job development credits.
"South Carolina's manufacturing renaissance is getting a big boost from today's announcement by JN Fibers. Every one of these new jobs will have an impact in Chester County and throughout the state. We welcome JN Fibers to South Carolina, and look forward to the company's success here," said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt.
"We are delighted and very proud JN Fibers made the decision to 'Choose Chester' County for their new location," said Mike Enoch, chairman of the Chester Development Association. "Their decision to locate here is a testament to the quality of our community and the determination of the team that worked to make this investment possible."
"The South Carolina Ports Authority welcomes JN Fibers to the state as a valued customer and user of Charleston Harbor," said Jim Newsome, President and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority. "We wish them much success as they locate in Chester County and we look forward to facilitating the growth of their business."

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In two posts, I answered some common rules questions about fifth-edition Dungeons & Dragons from dungeon masters and players. I added some extra comments on the answers because that's what I do here.
Since posting my answers, more game play has sparked some new observations.
What spells can I cast? As I introduced players to the game, the what-spells-can-I-cast question was asked a lot. I struggled to find a concise explanation until I arrived at this metaphor: The spells you prepare become the menu of spells that you can order from through the day. Your spell slots tell how many items you can order from the menu. If you really like Magic Missile, and you have it on your menu of prepared spells, order as many as you like until you reach your limit of slots.
How do opportunity attacks work? You only provoke opportunity attacks when you move out of an enemy's melee reach. This change seems minor, but it alters tactics. Your front line becomes less sticky than in earlier editions. Concentrating attacks becomes easier as characters in a party's middle ranks grow more vulnerable. An attacker can circle your tank and potentially attack the wizard in the next row without provoking any opportunity attacks.
Can I delay? No. Back in my year-old post of D&D next questions and answers, I commented on the lack of a delay action in the rules. I even asked Mike Mearls about the absence and he thought the lack might even be an oversight—the product of playtest rules in flux. I predicted that the delay action would return to the final rules. I was wrong; delay is gone. For a while, I puzzled over the omission, but then a player at my table got paralyzed by a Hold Person spell, and the designers' motives became obvious.
Delay may seem trivial, but the ability to delay forces the game to add rules for how delay interacts with effects that end during a player's turn. On several occasions, I've seen fourth-edition players try to salvage their turn by asking if they can delay until, say, a stunned condition lifts. Fourth prohibited such shenanigans by including rules for how delay interacts with conditions that continue to end of turn.
Fifth edition potentially added another layer of complexity by adding concentration. For example, Hold Person requires concentration. This means that someone held can potentially delay, saving their turn and hoping that their allies can break the caster's concentration. By removing delay, 5E prevents such tricks and eliminates some complicated rules.
This entry was posted in D&D fifth edition, Rules and tagged delay, Mike Mearls, opportunity attacks, questions & answers, spells. Bookmark the permalink.
Good choice about delay. But why not eliminate turn order and make play simultaneous?


text:
Q: How to use Publishing date filter in Youtube Analytics API? I'm using Youtube channel analytics report to get the metric estimatedRevenue for date range.
Ex:
https://youtubeanalytics.googleapis.com/v2/reports?ids=channel==XXX&startDate=2022-05-01&endDate=2022-05-31&metrics=estimatedRevenue&access_token=XXX
Above API gives me month May estimatedRevenue but which includes revenue generated by videos which are published before month may.Now how to get the revenue for videos which are published only in May month ie filter by publishing date (which is possible in youtube studio) ?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Cambodia arrests top Khmer Rouge leader
Cambodian police arrested the top surviving Khmer Rouge leader Wednesday. Nuon Chea appears before a U.N-backed genocide tribunal for his role in the 1970s Cambodian regime blamed for the deaths of 1.7 million people.
Police surrounded his home in Pailin in northwestern Cambodia near the Thai border and served him with an arrest warrant on charges of crimes against humanity, police Capt. Sem Sophal said.
Officers later took the 82-year-old Nuon Chea - who denies any wrongdoing - into custody and put him into a car and then a helicopter for the capital, Phnom Penh, as his son and dozens of onlookers gathered to watch the historic scene in silence, witnesses said.
"My father is happy to shed light on the Khmer Rouge regime for the world and people to understand," Nuon Say said afterward.
Nuon Say said his mother fainted after seeing her husband taken away by police. He said Nuon Chea rolled down the window of the car and took one last look at his son, and said nothing.
In Phnom Penh, a convoy transported Nuon Chea from a military airport in the capital to the offices of the tribunal, officially known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
"An initial appearance will be held today during which he will informed of the charges which have been brought against him," the tribunal said in a statement.
Nuon Chea helped Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot seize control of Cambodia's underground communist movement in the 1950s and '60s.
He later became the group's chief political ideologue during its murderous rule in the 1970s, when its radical policies caused the deaths of 1.7 million people through hunger, illnesses, overwork and execution.
Prosecutors for the U.N.-backed genocide tribunal have said there are five senior Khmer Rouge figures they have recommended for trial. Nuon Chea is the second, and highest-ranking, Khmer Rouge leader detained to appear before the panel.
Kaing Guek Eav, commonly known as Duch who headed the former Khmer Rouge S-21 prison, was the first suspect detained by the tribunal on charges of crimes against humanity. He was charged last month. The other suspects have not been publicly named.
Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said the co-investigating judges were expected to question Nuon Chea later Wednesday.


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text:
{template 'common/header'}

自定义菜单

默认菜单

 MENU_CONDITIONAL)}">个性化菜单

	{if $do == 'display'}

			{if $type != MENU_CONDITIONAL}

				当前默认菜单
				历史菜单列表

			{/if}

				{if $type == MENU_CURRENTSELF}
				 MENU_CURRENTSELF));}" class="btn btn-primary we7-padding-horizontal">+添加新菜单
				{elseif $type == MENU_CONDITIONAL}
				 MENU_CONDITIONAL));}" class="btn btn-primary we7-padding-horizontal">+添加个性化菜单
				{/if}

			<form action="./index.php" method="get" class="form-horizontal col-sm-4 pull-right" role="form">

					<input type="hidden" name="c" value="platform">
					<input type="hidden" name="a" value="menu">
					<input type="hidden" name="type" value="{$_GPC['type']}">
					<input type="hidden" name="token" value="{$_W['token']}"/>
					<input type="text" name="keyword" id="" value="{$_GPC['keyword']}" class="form-control" placeholder="搜索关键字"/>
					<button class="btn btn-default"></button>

			</form>

			<col width="200px"/>
			<col />
			<col width="180px"/>
			<col width="220px"/>

				菜单组名
				显示对象

					是否在微信生效
					{if $type == MENU_CURRENTSELF}
(只能生效一个默认菜单)
{/if}

				操作

			{loop $data $da}
			{if $da['type'] == MENU_CURRENTSELF && $da['status'] == STATUS_ON}{php continue;}{/if}

					{if empty($da['title'])}
					{if $da['type'] == MENU_CURRENTSELF}
					默认菜单
					{elseif $da['type'] == MENU_HISTORY}
					默认菜单(历史记录)
					{else}
					个性化菜单
					{/if}
					{else}
					{$da['title']}
					{/if}

					{if $da['type'] == MENU_CONDITIONAL}
					{if $da['sex'] > 0}性别:{$names['sex'][$da['sex']]} ;{/if}
					{if $da['group_id'] != -1}粉丝分组:{if $da['group_id'] == -1}不限{else}{$groups[$da['group_id']]['name']}{/if} ;{/if}
					{if $da['client_platform_type'] > 0}客户端:{$names['client_platform_type'][$da['client_platform_type']]} ;{/if}
					{if !empty($da['area'])}地区:{$da['area']}{/if}
					{else}
					所有粉丝
					{/if}

					{if $da['type'] == MENU_CURRENTSELF}
					{if $da['status'] == STATUS_OFF}
					点击生效
					{/if}
					{else}

						<input name="js-checkbox-{$da['id']}" id="" class="form-control" type="checkbox"  style="display: none;" data-id="{$da['id']}" data-status="{$da['status']}" ng-click="changeStatus({$da['id']}, {$da['status']}, {$da['type']})">

					{/if}

						{if $da['type'] == MENU_CURRENTSELF}
						 $da['id'], 'type'=> 1));}">编辑
						{else}
						 $da['id'], 'type'=> $da['type']));}">查看
						{/if}
						{if $da['type'] == MENU_CONDITIONAL}
						{if $_GPC['status'] != 'history'}
						 $da['id']));}" onclick="if(!confirm('确定复制吗')) return false;">复制
						{/if}
						{/if}
						{if $da['type'] != MENU_CURRENTSELF || ($da['type'] == MENU_CURRENTSELF && $da['status'] == STATUS_OFF)}
						 $da['id']));}" class="del" onclick="if(!confirm('{if $da['type'] == MENU_CURRENTSELF}删除默认菜单会清空所有菜单记录,确定吗?{else}确定删除菜单?{/if}')) return false;">删除
						{/if}

			{/loop}

			{$pager}

	{/if}

	{if $do == 'post'}
	{if $type != MENU_CONDITIONAL && !empty($default_menu)}

		当前默认菜单
		历史菜单列表

	 MENU_CURRENTSELF));}" class="btn btn-primary pull-right">+添加新菜单
	{/if}

			{if empty($default_menu)}

				 $_GPC['type']))}">

					 $_GPC['type']))}">自定义菜单

					{if !empty($id)}
					编辑菜单
					{else}
					新建菜单
					{/if}

			{/if}

					菜单组名称

						<input type="text" style="width: 600px" class="form-control" ng-model="context.group.title" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled">
						给菜单组起个名字吧!以便查找

				{if $type != 1}

					菜单显示对象

						<select class="we7-select" ng-model="context.group.matchrule.sex" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" {if $params['matchrule']['sex'] == 0}ng-init="context.group.matchrule.sex = '0'"{/if}>
						<option value="0" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" ng-selected="context.group.matchrule.sex == 0">性别不限</option>
						<option value="1" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" ng-selected="context.group.matchrule.sex == 1">男</option>
						<option value="2" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" ng-selected="context.group.matchrule.sex == 2">女</option>
						</select>
						<select class="we7-select" ng-model="context.group.matchrule.group_id" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" {if $params['matchrule']['group_id'] == -1 || empty($params)}ng-init="context.group.matchrule.group_id = '-1'"{/if}>
						<option value="-1" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" ng-selected="context.group.matchrule.group_id == -1">粉丝分组不限</option>
						{loop $groups $group}
						<option value="{$group['id']}" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" ng-selected="context.group.matchrule.group_id == {$group['id']}">{$group['name']}</option>
						{/loop}
						</select>
						<select class="we7-select" ng-model="context.group.matchrule.client_platform_type" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" {if $params['matchrule']['client_platform_type'] == 0}ng-init="context.group.matchrule.client_platform_type = '0'"{/if}>
						<option value="0" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" ng-selected="context.group.matchrule.client_platform_type == 0" >手机系统不限</option>
						<option value="1" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" ng-selected="context.group.matchrule.client_platform_type == 1">IOS(苹果)</option>
						<option value="2" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" ng-selected="context.group.matchrule.client_platform_type == 2">Android(安卓)</option>
						<option value="3" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" ng-selected="context.group.matchrule.client_platform_type == 3">Others(其他)</option>
						</select>

						<select class="we7-select" ng-model="context.group.matchrule.language" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled">
							<option value="" ng-selected="context.group.matchrule.language == ''">语言不限</option>
							{loop $languages $language}
							<option value="{$language['en']}" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" ng-selected="context.group.matchrule.language == '{$language['en']}'">{$language['ch']}</option>
							{/loop}
						</select>

						<select data-value="{$menu['data']['matchrule']['province']}" ng-model="context.group.matchrule.province" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" class="tpl-province we7-select">
						</select>
						<select data-value="{$menu['data']['matchrule']['city']}" ng-model="context.group.matchrule.city" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" class="tpl-city we7-select">
						</select>

						 根据条件对显示对象进行筛选

				{/if}

{{context.group.type == 3 ? "个性化菜单" : "默认菜单"}}

											<input type="hidden" data-role="parent" data-hash="{{but.$$hashKey}}"/>

												 0">
												{{but.name}}

														<input type="hidden" data-role="sub" data-hash="{{subBut.$$hashKey}}"/>

														{{subBut.name}}

													<li ng-if="but.sub_button.length < 5" ng-click="context.addSubBut(but);" class="sub-js-not-sortable">

										<li class="pre-menu-item grid-item js-not-sortable" ng-if="context.group.button.length < 3" ng-hide="context.group.disabled">

												添加菜单

点击左侧菜单进行编辑操作

									当前菜单

										删除菜单

已添加子菜单,仅可设置菜单名称。

										菜单名称

												<input type="text" name="" class="form-control" placeholder=""  id="title" ng-model="context.activeItem.name" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled">
												添加表情

											字数不超过4个汉字或8个字母

										菜单内容

											<input id="radio-1" type="radio" name="ipt" ng-checked="context.activeItem.type == 'media_id' || context.activeItem.type == 'click'" ng-model="context.activeItem.type" value="click" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled">
											发送消息
											<input id="radio-2" type="radio" name="ipt" ng-model="context.activeItem.type" value="view" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled">
											{if $_W['account']['level'] != ACCOUNT_SUBSCRIPTION}
											跳转网页
											<input id="radio-3" type="radio" name="ipt" ng-model="context.activeItem.type" value="scancode_push" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled">
											{/if}
											扫码
											<input id="radio-4" type="radio" name="ipt" ng-model="context.activeItem.type" value="scancode_waitmsg" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled">
											扫码(等待信息)
											<input id="radio-5" type="radio" name="ipt" ng-model="context.activeItem.type" value="location_select" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled">
											地理位置
											<input id="radio-6" type="radio" name="ipt" ng-model="context.activeItem.type" value="pic_sysphoto" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled">
											拍照发图
											<input id="radio-7" type="radio" name="ipt" ng-model="context.activeItem.type" value="pic_photo_or_album" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled">
											拍照相册
											<input id="radio-8" type="radio" name="ipt" ng-model="context.activeItem.type" value="pic_weixin" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled">
											相册发图
											<input id="radio-9" type="radio" name="ipt" ng-model="context.activeItem.type" value="miniprogram" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled">
											关联小程序

订阅者点击该子菜单会跳转到以下链接

点击该菜单跳转到关联的小程序

											页面地址

												<input type="text" class="form-control" id="ipt-url" type="text" ng-model="context.activeItem.url" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled">
												选择地址
												指定点击此菜单时要跳转的链接(注:链接需加http://)

												APPID

													<input type="text" class="form-control" id="ipt-url-appid" ng-model="context.activeItem.appid" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" placeholder="请确保小程序与公众号已关联,填写小程序的APPID">

														如何获取

												页面

													<input type="text" class="form-control" id="ipt-url-pagepath" ng-model="context.activeItem.pagepath" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" placeholder="请填写跳转页面的小程序访问路径">
													填写指引

												备用网页

													<input type="text" class="form-control" id="ipt-url-url" ng-model="context.activeItem.url" ng-disabled="context.group.disabled" placeholder="写入要跳转的链接">
													旧版微信客户端不支持小程序,用户点击菜单时会打开该网页

											回复内容

菜单内容为地理位置,那么点击这个菜单是,系统发送当前地理位置

菜单内容为系统拍照发图/拍照或者相册发图,那么点击这个菜单是,系统拍照

菜单内容为微信相册发图,那么点击这个菜单是,选择图片发送

菜单内容为扫码,那么点击这个菜单是,手机扫描二维码

																	[关键字]{{context.activeItem.material[0].name}}

{{context.activeItem.material[0].content}}

																		[模块]{{context.activeItem.material[0].title}}

{{context.activeItem.material[0].name}}

														 模块

														 触发关键字

											回复内容

																	[关键字]{{context.activeItem.material[0].content ? context.activeItem.material[0].content : context.activeItem.key}}

																		[图文消息]{{context.activeItem.material[0].items[0].title}}

{{context.activeItem.material[0].items[0].digest}}

																		[图片]

[语音]{{context.activeItem.material[0].filename}}

																		[视频]{{context.activeItem.material[0].tag.title}}

{{context.activeItem.material[0].tag.description}}

														 图文

														 图片

														 语音

														 视频

														 触发关键字

					{if empty($default_menu) && $type == 1}
					<input type="submit" name="" value="仅   保   存" class="btn btn-primary" style="padding: 6px 50px;" ng-if="{php echo ($type == 1 || empty($id) || $copy == 1)}" ng-click="context.submit('save');"/>
					{/if}
					<input type="submit" name="" value="发      布" class="btn btn-primary" style="padding: 6px 50px;" ng-if="{php echo ($type == 1 || empty($id) || $copy == 1)}" ng-click="context.submit('publish');"/>
					<input type="button" name="" value="预      览" class="btn btn-primary" style="padding: 6px 50px;" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#mobileDiv"/>

							{{context.group.type == 3 ? "个性化菜单" : "默认菜单"}}

										{{but.name}}

												{{subBut.name}}

						退出预览

	{/if}

{template 'common/footer'}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


As most vacations do, our time in Glacier National Park went by too fast. This morning we found ourselves packing up camp, though none of us really wanted to. We had such a wonderful time with Rob's sister and her husband, and leaving was hard since we knew it would be some time before we would see them again. Our camp looked so lonely as we were driving away, but I am grateful for the wonderful memories we made and the time we were able to spend together.
This entry was posted in Crazy Kids, Daily Life, Family Adventures, Random Thoughts and tagged camping, Glacier National Park, leaving, summer vacation, travel, vacation. Bookmark the permalink.


The 2017-2018 school year is drawing to a close. About a year ago, I was preparing for the next school year at Lawrence High: a completely different place from what I was used to.
Being a freshman for the past year has been an interesting experience. My first day was a mix of new faces, new classes, and a new place. It seemed kind of overwhelming at first, but I got used to it pretty fast.
Some things I wish I would've known before I started at Lawrence High.
How did lunch periods work? Where was the yearbook room? These were only a couple of the questions I didn't know the answer to as I stepped in the doors for the first time as an LHS student.
A new experience was having mixed-grade classes. I had just come from middle school, where all the grades were divided into their own classes, their own lunch, and basically never interacted. It was really different having seniors in my classes. This posed a new social opportunity, because I made tons of friends who were in different grades than me. This wouldn't have been so easy if classes were split up by grade.
I also loved the array of classes you could take. I filled my elective options with art classes, which was one of the best decisions I've made. Who knew I'd like making jewelry that much?
Another thing I'm glad I did was join the journalism staff. I've loved learning new things about and honing my writing skills over the past year.
My freshman year was interesting and engaging. I've made many new friends, and had so many experiences. I'm enthusiastic to see what my next three years at LHS will be like, and what things they will bring.


text:
Drummer Joey Kramer Returns to Aerosmith Following Dispute
Joe DiVita Published: February 11, 2020
John Lamparski, Getty Image
After a legal spat and some public statements issued by both sides, longtime Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer is back in the saddle, rejoining the band behind the kit at their Las Vegas residency performance last night (Feb. 10).
An injury forced Kramer to miss some dates with Aerosmith in the spring of last year and issues persisted to the point where his drum tech, John Douglas, wound up filling in for longer than expected. Kramer was notably absent from the band late last year as the rockers remained committed to their Las Vegas residency shows.
Prior to Aerosmith's 2020 performance at the Grammys, the drummer filed a lawsuit against Aerosmith, who had voted not to let him back into the band after first making him audition to reclaim his spot. The group deemed he was not "able to play at an appropriate level" and opted to continue with Douglas for the time being.
In turn, Aerosmith issued an official statement, outlining the situation. It claimed they had worked with Kramer to get him back into the band, though the drummer himself did not feel he was back at the level of playing he should be at. Kramer then is said to have notified Aerosmith of his desired return at the "last moment" before the Grammys gig, noting the complications this brought on in regard to their rehearsal schedule.
A judge ruled Aerosmith had the right to perform without Kramer and video even surfaced, from the drummer, of him being denied entry to rehearsal by two security guards posted outside the building.
It appears that the issues between the band and Kramer have been sorted out and hopefully the drummer is here to stay.
Watch footage of Kramer's return to the band at the MGM Park Theater in Las Vegas.
Aerosmith Live — Feb. 10, 2020
Top 66 Hard Rock + Metal Drummers of All Time
Filed Under: Aerosmith, Joey Kramer
Categories: News, Rock


Ever since they were just This Is My Next, I've found the team behind The Verge - Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Ross Miller, Dieter Bohn and more - just extraordinarily compelling writers on technology (and technology culture, as they'd doubtless point out). It's taken me an age to process precisely 'why'.
Once upon a time, I did some work with The Guardian. I feel incredibly privileged to have done so, and the undoubted highlight was getting, every so often, to sit in on its editorial conference. It was such an insight into how the people who made up the paper were thinking and how the news was unfolding that you felt you gained a perspective you just couldn't get from the final printed paper itself.
And I think this is it. The Verge lays bare its thinking and its editorial process in a way that very few media organisations do. The leading writers are also podcast presenters, are also front-of-camera reporters. They are, ahem, channel agnostic and all the better for it.
The latest Vergecast (the weekly podcast The Verge produces), is in some ways the best yet. Normally produced in a well-lit professional studio, this bare-bones Google Hangout feels like an editorial conference, raw and unedited. And in there, you'll find some really frank and upfront analysis on a messy Playstation 4 launch, the weirdness of the Chromebook Pixel and - of particular interest to me - the launch of htc's One phone. The analysis, particularly of what Samsung and htc are up to, and the experiential difference between iOS and Android is sophisticated, intelligent and absolutely on the mark. It's not much to look at, but you should watch it.
Also worth reading Topolsky's excellent piece on Google Glass, and The Verge being The Verge, a similarly excellent film contained within. This is what the future of Proper Journalism looks like.


text:
Aerotek Named to Houston's Top Workplaces 2014 List
Aerotek announced today that it was recently named to the Houston Chronicle's Top Workplaces 2014 list for the first time.
Aerotek® Inc., a leading provider of recruiting and staffing services, today announced that it was recently named to the Houston Chronicle's Top Workplaces 2014 list for the first time. The Top Workplaces list is determined by an employee workplace satisfaction survey and recognizes organizations in the greater Houston area.
The list is divided into three categories: large companies with more than 500 local employees; midsize companies with between 150 and 499 local employees; and small companies with fewer than 150 local employees, such as Aerotek's staffing offices in Houston.
"Aerotek has a positive impact on the community. Also, I enjoy being constantly challenged. I believe this allows me to grow personally and professionally," said one survey respondent.
"I get to make a difference in people's lives every single day," said another survey respondent.
The employee survey is managed by WorkplaceDynamics, LLP, a leading research firm on organizational health and employee engagement. The survey contained questions regarding values, leadership, management, benefits, pay, growth potential, appreciation, work-life balance and retention.
Aerotek operates more than 200 offices throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, including staffing offices in North Houston, West Houston and Houston, employing more than 72 internal employees in the region. Aerotek operates many other staffing offices in Texas.
For more information about careers at Aerotek, visit AerotekCareers.com or call 1-888-AEROTEK to be routed to the closest Aerotek office.
Aerotek, headquartered in Hanover, Md., is a leading provider of technical, professional and industrial staffing services. Established in 1983, Aerotek is an operating company of Allegis Group, the largest provider of staffing services in the U.S. Aerotek operates a network of more than 200 non-franchised offices throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. For more information, visit Aerotek.com.


The "Basic Anatomy of the Dog" PetMassage™ Home Study Course was specially formulated to meet the practical needs of the beginning dog massage / canine massage practitioner.
While administering a canine massage, it is imperative that you know enough about canine anatomy that you are able to visualize the anatomical structures beneath your hands. You need to know their shapes, how they move, and what they do.
When you complete this course, you will have a good fundamental understanding and working knowledge of dog / canine anatomy.
You will be able to reference the structures of the body, how they function, and learn the correct terminology necessary to communicate clearly and professionally with clients and colleagues.
You will use this information in your practice with every dog.
In this course, we focus on the Skeleton: structure and function. Joints: structure and function of ligaments, tendons and the joint capsule. Skin, coat, hair, Fascia, and superficial muscles.
Learn contours and boney landmarks on the dog's body.
Learn basic terminology for movements, positions, directions and anatomical shapes and functions.
Learn pairing of body systems, such as cardio-vascular, neuro-muscular and myo-fascial systems to understand how systems enable each other to create balance and function.


> +        * hrtimer's time base reading.
the clock down in random fashion making the timer fire early.
Compensating that is going to be both fun and expensive.
> +        * start the timer in the past!
/me reminds himself to make __hrtimer_start_range_ns() return -ETIME.


text:
On August 21, 2011, NBL Canada held its draft at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.  The first round was a free agent draft with no limits, while the second and third rounds required Canadian players be selected. The Halifax Rainmen's third round draft pick has since been voided due to the paperwork of Jerrell Thompson being mixed up to appear as that of a Canadian, he will be entered as a free agent in the next draft picks.

Draft

References

National Basketball League of Canada Draft
Draft
NL Canada draft
NBL Canada draft
Basketball in Toronto
Events in Toronto

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
Q: In Puma, how do I calculate DB connections? I'm trying to figure out how many database connections my app will use.
It's Rails 5 hosted on Heroku.
Here is my Puma config
workers Integer(ENV['WEB_CONCURRENCY'] || 2)
threads_count = Integer(ENV['RAILS_MAX_THREADS'] || 5)
threads threads_count, threads_count

preload_app!

rackup      DefaultRackup
port        ENV['PORT']     || 3000
environment ENV['RACK_ENV'] || 'development'

on_worker_boot do
  ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection
end

And the first part of my DB config:
default: &default
  adapter: postgresql
  encoding: unicode
  pool: <%= ENV['RAILS_MAX_THREADS'] || 5 %>

The part that seems strange to me is # of connections, and also my pool setting in database.yml are all using RAILS_MAX_THREADS... but shouldn't it be using RAILS_MAX_THREADS multiplied by the number of workers (WEB_CONCURRENCY?

A: Actually I found the answer explained well here... https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/deploying-rails-applications-with-the-puma-web-server#database-connections

As you add more concurrency to your application, it will need more connections to your database. A good formula for determining the number of connections each application will require is to multiply the RAILS_MAX_THREADS by the WEB_CONCURRENCY. This combination will determine the number of connections each dyno will consume.
Rails maintains its database connection pool, with a new pool created for each worker process. Threads within a worker will operate on the same pool. Make sure there are enough connections inside of your Rails database connection pool so that RAILS_MAX_THREADS number of connections can be used. If you see this error:
ActiveRecord::ConnectionTimeoutError - could not obtain a database connection within 5 seconds

This error is an indication that your Rails connection pool is too low. For an in-depth look at these topics, please read the Dev Center article Concurrency and Database Connections.


YRS will give the platform to present a school or private projects done by an individual or a group in the field of Science/ Technology/ Social Sciences/ Humanities/ Management or Commerce.
All applicants should be in the age of 15-20 years on 25 March 2019. The projects will be evaluated by an eminent panel of judges. The selected projects will be published in an Abstract Book in par with 660th-anniversary celebrations of the university and all the participants will get a certificate.


In the Northernmost point of the Eurasian continent, in a peninsula called the Taymirsky Dolgano-Nenetsky Autonomous District of Siberia, lives a dwindling population of ice nomads, composed of the Dolgans and the Nenets.
Photographer Francis Latreille an expert of polar expeditions since 1996, discovered the Dolgans for the first time in 1997, and started a twelve-year friendship with the Jarkov family. Under the tundra's extreme climate conditions with temperature from minus 30 to minus 60 in harshest winters, the Dolgans live off hunting, fishing, fur trapping, reindeer breeding and some still practice shamanism.


text:
Interview with Sid Rittenberg and James DiEugenio
Sid Rittenberg
Sid Rittenberg's Website
James DiEugenio
James DiEugenio's Website
Sid Rittenberg,
Sidney Rittenberg, Sr. is one of very few living men who has personally known Chinese leaders, including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, the notorious "Gang of Four," Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Zhu Rongji. (As well as the last Emperor, Pu Yi.)
Mr. Rittenberg went to China in World War II as an idealistic young GI, after training by the US Army in China Area and Language Studies at Stanford. After his honorable discharge, he spent many years helping to train Chinese journalists in English, and working on the translations of major documents, including the "Collected Works of Mao Zedong." He was the only American citizen to be admitted to the Chinese Communist Party, until his withdrawal after the Cultural Revolution. Of his 35 years in China, 16 were spent in solitary confinement in Chinese prisons, wrongfully accused of being an American spy.
Today, Sidney Rittenberg is president of Rittenberg Associates, Inc. He and his wife and partner, Yulin Wang Rittenberg, currently help companies such as Prudential Financial, Colgate/Palmolive, Warner Music Group, MASCO, and Blue Marble in China. Among their leading clients have been Intel, Hughes Aircraft, Korean Air, ClearWire, Microsoft, AIG, Prudential UK, Nextel, Levi Strauss, ARCO, PricewaterhouseCoopers, InFocus, and many others. In addition, he has been a consultant in China to his close friends, Mike Wallace, and the Reverend Billy Graham.
Mr. Rittenberg has spoken to The Aspen Institute; the Brookings Institution, John Thornton China Initiative; CLSA (French Asian investment banking group, with Credit Agricole); Worlds Presidents Organization; Young Presidents; annually to Goldman Sachs Chief Investment Officers Conferences; the Templeton Group; and numerous universities and business clubs, etc.
Sidney Rittenberg has held the Frey Distinguished Professorship and Bernstein Professorship of Chinese History at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), where an endowed chair in Asian Studies has been announced in his name. He is now Visiting Professor of Asian Studies at Pacific Lutheran University, where he teaches Chinese Philosophy.
Sidney Rittenberg is well known as the co-author with Amanda Bennett, of The Man Who Stayed Behind, the highly acclaimed account of his 35 years in China. He has written for, or been interviewed by, virtually every major American publication and TV network, and is also a noted lecturer in China.
James DiEugenio,
James DiEugenio is cofounder of two organizations, the Citizens for Truth about the Kennedy Assassination and the Coalition on Political Assassinations. He was coeditor of The Assassinations, a book on the deaths of JFK, MLK, Robert Kennedy, and Malcolm X.