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Catholics march for life in Chicago, D.C.
A group from the Iowa City area pose for a picture during the March for Life in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 18.
Adults and youths from throughout the Diocese of Davenport traveled to March for Life events in Chicago on Jan. 12 or Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18.
Tom Crider, Joan Crider, Ed Droste and Gail Devereaux all traveled from Prince of Peace Parish in Clinton to Chicago. Tom Crider said he has participated in marches in Des Moines and Chicago and other pro-life events. He and his wife participated in the "peaceful and cheerful march" to support a culture of life. "We are living in a culture of death. More than 60 million babies have been murdered (through abortion) in this country alone," Tom said. "Our world is in big trouble."
He chooses to attend marches and other life events "to give a voice for those who cannot speak."
The Chicago march drew an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 pro-lifers, he said. "There were some pro-choice people yelling, so it made it hard to hear the speakers." But the nine- block march drew everyone from families with little children in strollers to the elderly.
Devereaux has now participated in three Chicago marches and in previous marches in Des Moines and Washington, D.C. The march in Chicago was a wonderful experience and showed that every life is valued, she said. "It was uplifting to be with nearly 8,000 people. There was a drum line playing, which really pumped me up."
In the future, she'd like to see more participants from the Davenport Diocese. "It would be great to see a charter bus start in Iowa City and go to Davenport, then to Chicago. There are affordable rooms, a youth rally, Mass at the cathedral and more."
Iowans for Life and Dubuque County Right to Life sponsored buses to the Washington, D.C., march.
Magnolia Graber, 16, a high school sophomore from St. Wenceslaus Parish in Iowa City, made her third trip. "I'm not always surrounded by people who share the same viewpoint as me when it comes to abortion, and it can be easy to think that there are very few pro-life youth in America. But when I go to the March for Life, I see just how powerful the pro-life movement really is. I'm always so encouraged by the tens of thousands of people gathered in one place, all fighting for the right to life."
Nathaniel Lamansky, a homeschooled high school senior from St. Wenceslaus Parish, made his fifth march. "It's profoundly peaceful and spiritual in spite of the enormity of the crowd. Every participant is there as a witness to the sanctity of human life, and the solemnity and conviction of their behavior reflects this fact."
High school freshman Karen Mawanda of St. Wenceslaus Parish participated "to support the lives of the unborn children." It was her first big march and she described the experience as amazing. "At first I was scared that there would be many people going against the march or that there would be people trying to shoot at other people during the march. I relaxed and started to enjoy myself when that negativity was not going to be a huge problem."
Amanda Herrington, a sophomore at Assumption High School in Davenport, said, "What was so impactful for me was seeing how many young teens are in D.C. standing for life and there were even people coming from different countries to help us end abortion."
Herrington continued, "I wanted to come to the March for Life because I wanted to end the killing of innocent babies that can easily be adopted by couples who can't conceive or families who want to be bigger." A member of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Davenport, she said the march is "always awe-inspiring and hope-filling when that many people gather, united, for a common good."
Deacon Chris Kabat of St. Wenceslaus Parish served as one of the chaperones for the group of 14 youths and three adults. The bus ride back to Iowa was long because the buses were trying to avoid the snowstorm, he said. "We took a southern route to avoid the storm. We stopped for Mass at St. Meinrad (in Indiana) on Saturday evening. Thank you, Benedictine hospitality! It was a little treacherous from that point on." The return trip home took 26-28 hours for the various buses.
Chaperone Mary Kendall of St. Paul the Apostle said, "The March for Life was an amazing trip truly led by the Holy Spirit." The rally, reconciliation, Mass, speakers before the march and the march "were truly all powerful and touched many hearts. There were countless times that I could feel Christ walking right next to me."
She said she felt blessed that her 13-year-old daughter attended the march with her. Kendall added, "There were many different reasons people attended, but for me – having been adopted as an infant — it was something I knew I needed to do. It is something near and dear to my heart. I am thankful for the choice my natural mother made for life. Though I will never meet her, it was a way of showing my love to her and Christ."
'Pro life generation' marches in Chicago, D.C.
Catholics forgo sleep, showers to make March for Life in D.C.
Snow doesn't stop these pro-lifers!
◀ Reformed gangster will speak at parishes, school
Ottumwa grotto honors Mary, past parishioners ▶


This was one of my very first pieces that I painted for my own home. I love modern trendy art so it has been hard to part with this one but I've decided it is time to let someone else enjoy its beauty and intrigue and put it up for sale.
This large contemporary painting was initially supposed to be strokes of random bright colour, however as it ends up with most of my paintings, I start to see images or outlines unfold that I then tend to work with. This painting was no different with beautiful sweeps of background colour I overlayed large strokes of white paint that turned into the impression of a woman kneeling but reaching upwards. From there I had my concept following the natural pattern of nature and that nuturing side of woman it seemed obvious to then paint a man in grey next to her reaching down, as if the two had experienced something during life that was causing them to collude together with support and love. Hence the title, Reaching Out was born.
Although this painting has all the colours of the rainbow present surrounding the image of the couple, the use of a mixture of more pastel colours within the bolder bright colours helps to balance each other and ultimately give this modern abstract painting a vibrant, yet soft, calming energy.
I will be sad to see this trendy artwork leave my home given its sentimental value in kick starting my career as an Emerging Artist in Australia, but it is time for this 185 x 122cm painting that has been framed in Oak and stained white to be appreciated by a new art collector.
This painting has now been sold but we have many other beautiful modern paintings that you may also love. Otherwise you can still purchase a Glass Print of Reaching Out I.


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The `request` function executes a http request.

## Usage

mvcc.http.request(options).then(success, [failure]);

### Arguments

| Parameter    | Type       | Details                            |
| ------------ | ---------- | ---------------------------------- |
| options      | `Object`   | The options to pass.               |
| success      | `Function` | The success callback.              |
| failure      | `Function` | The failure callback.              |

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


2017 was a crazy year of ups and down for me, running my ethical fashion brand, Encircled.
Encircled hit a new revenue high, up about 125% over last year on average. Huge growth for a product-based business!
We tripled our team, moved offices and tripled our space, and doubled down on a few key strategies. Some things worked, some didn't.
Have a listen to the podcast to hear the full story around the ten things I learned this year.
In summary, here are the 10 things I learned running Encircled, my eCommerce clothing brand in 2017.


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Singapore's Gardens By The Bay Is Among The World's Best Garden
Singapore's "Gardens By The Bay" are unique and innovative are are rated among the best gardens/parks in the world.
The Flower Dome, Cloud Forest and Supertrees at "Gardens By The Bay" have become landmarks in downtown Singapore.
"Gardens By The Bay" are spread over 101 hectares and have 380,000 plants.
Things to see and do at Singapore's "Gardens By The Bay" are Super trees, OCBC Skyway, Flower Dome, Cloud Forest with the Cloud Mountain, Children's Garden, Heritage Garden, Flower Market, Sun Pavilion, Tree house, Adventure Trail, long waterfront promenades, OCBC Garden Rhapsody, Dragonfly Lake and Kingfisher Lakes.
Please visit this article for more information on the Top 10 Best Gardens, Parks, Nature Reserves in Singapore.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Abstract: This paper addresses two basic issues related to technological innovation and climate stabilization objectives: can innovation policies be effective in stabilizing climate? To what extent can innovation policies complement carbon pricing (taxes or permit trading) and improve the economic efficiency of a mitigation policy package? To answer these questions, we use an integrated assessment model with multiple externalities and an endogenous representation of the technical progress in the energy sector. We evaluate a range of innovation policies, both as stand-alone and in combination with other mitigation policies. Our analysis indicates that innovation policies alone are unlikely to stabilize global concentration and temperature. As for the benefits of combining climate and innovation policies, we find efficiency gains of 10% (6 USD Trillions in net present value terms) for a stringent climate policy, and 30% (3 USD Trillions) for a milder one. However, such gains are reduced when more plausible (sub-optimal) global innovation policy arrangements are considered.


Most of the institutions preparing journals face problems in management of the whole preparation process. Most of the journal preparation is communicated via email, files are stored locally on the administrators' computers and they have to be carefully systematized and taken care of. Institutions rarely have systems for tracking the journal preparation progress; higher management bodies do not have insight into the process. All this makes the journal preparation slower, non reliable and less transparent.
In this regard, the Macedonian software development company introduces an innovative and competitive software solution for preparation and publishing of online journals. The solution is web based and it includes the complete journal preparation process consisted of several consecutive phases which are managed and monitored by the system administrator. Currently the system incorporates the following phases: opening a "Call for papers", registration of authors and submission of papers, approval, review, correction and proofreading of papers, creation and final approval of the journal and its online publishing. Access is granted to registered users only. Every user of the system belongs to one of several user roles: administrator, author, editorial board member, reviewer and proof-reader, having specific permissions and allowed actions in the system. The system enables transparency of the whole preparation process: registered authors, submissions, process progress and details of a current phase. All this is available to specific user roles through a user friendly dashboard.
It is important to be mentioned that this system is fully customizable according to client's needs, the processes and user roles the client utilize. The software solution incorporates real-time notifications with system notifications and emails. The system also has an option for internal sending of messages.
The company is looking for new clients, end-users of the solution or partners that would help introducing the solution at new markets. Desired types of cooperation with international partners should be in the form of providing support for marketing the solution to the potential clients and joint further development or adaptation according to specific needs. The company is interested to cooperate with companies or universities under commercial agreement with technical assistance or licensing agreement. The Macedonian partner is expected to benefit from increased revenue sales whereas the international partner(s) would benefit from introducing the solution into their existing portfolio, increased market share, improved customer satisfaction and higher financial gains.
•Seamless access to the application via web browser, no need for installing additional software •No need for investing in hardware, suitable for use on all sorts of devices (PC, tablet, mobile phone) •Software solution rarely present on the market •Fully customizable according to client's needs, processes and user roles the client utilizes. •Complete real-time notification system with system notifications and emails. Internal sending of messages.


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Home » Gross Abuse » National
'Catching up' - Ray Jackson, Indigenous Social Justice Association
'Catching up' on some items that Indigenous Social Justice Association (ISJA) has been involved in over the last few weeks.
Waiting on Attorney-General regarding Eddie Murray's death
2014 Sydney Rally (Image: Tim Anderson - Facebook)
We are still awaiting word from the NSW Attorney-General, Brad Hazzard, as to his decision on the 33 year old death in custody of Eddie Murray who was murdered by 4 police officers in a Wee Waa cell back in 1981. The children of Arthur and Leila Murray, or at least those present, were able to put their long-held concerns to the Attorney-General after Ms. Anna Murray asked Brad Hazzard to read aloud her statement. That heart-felt statement allowed for some of the 33 year frustrations of never being interviewed by the police, or others, to be made known. Tears flowed and, I believe, there was a familial closeness reached that had not been there before.
Brad raised what he saw as three possible barriers to the case being re-opened and they were: one of the police officers has since died but it was raised that three still remain alive and must face justice; The case was 33 years old and it would be very difficult to find any evidence to assist in reaching a just conclusion but it was told that 'Cold Cases' that have reached satisfactory legal conclusions were sometimes 50 or even a hundred years old; Two of the witnesses had deceased but again it was replied that other witnesses to the crime of a savage racist murder were still very much alive and willing to testify to the events of that day. The Attorney-General is waiting for family reports to be made available to him.
The Murray family and ISJA look forward to justice being finally done soon.
your call, Brad.
Brutal assault by Redfern police to Ms Kathryne Fisher
A police officer unleashed a series of savage blows to the head of a teenager bleeding from a bullet wound to the neck during a brutal arrest early yesterday. Moments after he was pulled from a mangled car wreck in Kings Cross, shocking footage shows police repeatedly striking one of the youths.
The brutal assault by Redfern police to Ms. Kathryne Fisher when they forced their way into her home continues, albeit at a slow place. Kathryne is now suffering further injuries as a direct result of that police assault. An official complaint by a statutory declaration accompanied by dedicated medical evidence was presented to the redfern police and a police investigator, Detective Inspector Adam Barwick, was appointed to study the merits of the complaints made.
After a few months Kathryne received a letter, signed by Commander Luke Freudenstien, that the police investigation into the Redfern police actions complained of had no merit and the matter was now closed. Well, it may be closed by Commander Freudenstien but it is far from closed by Kathryne who is currently in discussion with an eminent legal friend to allow the matter to be taken to court.
The assault by Det. Sgt. Solah arose from the police interest in apprehending Duane Captain who is living in Kathryne's house. Solah and other police officers arrived at her home and in their haste to enter her home Solah shoved Kathryne against the door jamb that not only injured her spine but also severely exacerbated the damage to her knees when she fell upon them. No warrant was produced but under NSW law currently none is required. The police only need to have a suspicion that a person of interest is in the residence. The current terror laws will only exacerbate the thuggery of police entry.
Duane Captain was involved in the Kings Cross incident when the Kings Cross police had wilfully and recklessly fired six shots into the car of which he was a passenger.
The wounding and thuggish assault against the 14 year old driver and the front seat passenger, both of whom had been wounded, forced the police into a softly, softly approach when charging the six youth in the stolen car. In fact it is my strong belief that the 14 year old driver actually died twice and he is very, very lucky to be alive today. Both of the wounded youth have ongoing medical, physical and emotional problems arising from their wounds.
It seems that the police are now on a mission to locate the six youth involved in some form of a vigilante payback. the story continues.
Un-gagged Lex Wotten, and more to the Palm Island cover-up
Lex Wotton
On Tuesday, 16th I was invited to Macquarie University to hear, and participate in, a presentation from the now un-gagged Lex Wotten on the events surrounding the killing of Mulrunji Doomadgee by then Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley in November, 2004. joining Rex was the French Anthropologist Professor Barbara Glowczewski who had worked with Lex on a book telling Lex's story. the book is called 'Warriors for Peace' and you can download it for free at http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/7286/
It came as no great surprise to the audience when Lex explained that the police evidence used in court to convict him and send him to gaol was a complete fabrication and totally based on lies. Police lies on oath. As usual. The truth of the matter was that Lex was attempting to bring some calm to the situation. The police media beat-up, repeated in court, was that the officers feared for their very lives. This was just another blatant lie as Lex explained the true circumstances of the events of that night the civil unrest occurred. No police officer, no nurse, no one was in threat for their life at any stage. Lex and Barbara will be travelling to get the truth out and I strongly urge those with a passion for truth to attend.
I did ask Lex one question and it is a question that has been troubling me for too many years.
There were four deaths on palm island arising from the brutality of Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley towards Mulrunji Doomadgee when in an effort to gain total compliance from Mulrunji, Hurley knee-dropped onto his abdomen that then broke 4 ribs, ruptured his spleen and nearly cleaved his liver in two. Hurley was a giant of a man whilst Mulrunji was of a much smaller stature. He was dragged into a cell and died in agony, ignored by Hurley and the other police on duty at the time. Not too long after this event Mulrunji's mother died in grief. This was an unnatural natural causes death. two more deaths, however, were to follow and neither could be termed a natural death.
Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley still free after Qld Justice system cover-up
Eric, the teenage son of Mulrunji was found hanging from a tree outside the family house. It was stated that upon the death of his father he had gone into a deep depression as both father and son had been very close. Another suggestion was that he had taken his own life to escape the tortuous saga of the qld police union, the Qld DPP and the Qld government attempting to shut the investigation down and exonerate Hurley. There was a further report, however, that linked young Eric as being seen in deep conversation with a police officer who described himself as 'Hurley's good mate' earlier that afternoon. We put this aside for one moment.
The fourth death was that of Patrick Bramble who had been in the Palm Island police station the night that Mulrunji was brought in by Hurley. He was very drunk and was sitting on a chair at the far end of one of the offices. He could not see directly into the hallway where Mulrunji and Hurley were struggling. The only thing he directly was able to see was the pumping action of Hurley's arm moving up and down and Hurley's voice saying over and over, "Have you had enough, Mr Doomadgee, have you had enough." The arm movement was proved in court to be Hurley punching Mulrunji as he laid senseless on the floor. That is all Patrick spoke of in the first inquest. But, in fact, Patrick, though drunk had observed much more than he was saying.
At the hallway end of the office where Patrick was sitting there was a large round convex mirror on the wall that allowed the hall to be visible within the office and the office from the hallway. Patrick had seen what had happened between Hurley and Mulrunji. Patrick was far too in fear of the police to tell of what he had witnessed. That convex mirror was later removed from the wall and some 20+ police swore that it had never been there on the night Mulrunji died. The fight for justice and for Hurley to face a court of law then reached an interesting stage. Community and public pressure had forced the Qld government and the DPP to back down and for an eminent interstate justice to come in and review the case and decide if Hurley should go to court or not.
And so it was that Sir Lawrence Street arrived on the Island to look at the evidence and interview witnesses. Tragically it was found that Patrick had committed suicide the previous night. Witnesses reported that the last time they had seen Patrick was the early evening prior when he was seen in a police car being driven out of the township. And the driver of this police car was none other than Hurley's good mate!
I fully expected that the Qld State Coroner would have immediately called for both these alleged suicides to come before him for a full investigation as to the true circumstances of those deaths. In NSW, all suicides are automatically put before the coroner to be able to ascertain if, perhaps, foul play had been involved but to the best of my knowledge, and this was confirmed by Lex, no coronial inquest has ever been held into either death. Why? and why not?
Somebody on Palm Island needs to raise this issue of seeking the truth of what happened on the nights both died and, further, what was the involvement, if any, of Hurley's good mate as he had been witnessed talking to both prior to their suicide?
Justice is still a commodity in very short supply on Palm Island!
For those who may wish to read more on these events I direct you to the www.isja.org site where the five isja newsletters, djadi-dugarang, on this issue are available for your perusal.
2nd Aboriginal Passport Ceremony
Ray Jackson and Mamdouh Habib at the 2013 Passport Ceremony
(South Sydney Herald - Photo: Lyn Turnbull)
The last catch-up relates to the success of the 2nd Aboriginal Passport Ceremony that was held, as was the first, at the settlement and we much appreciate their support in allowing us to use their event-friendly spaces.
Some 75 supporters came and a goodly number of Passports were issued.
Speakers included myself and Raul as well as representatives from asylum and refugee groups who I will not name.
Refugees from a large range of asylum seeker countries joined in, some acquainting us with their sorry tales of bastardisation by Australia's federal governments.
The solemn part of the event was in presenting the family of Hamid Kersai a passport in memory and respect of his death arising from a complete lack of medical care on Manus Island. Morrison and his henchmen in the Department of Un-Immigration will never wash off the stain of death that they collectively caused to hamid. We held a minutes silence for his death and also for the murder of the Iranian asylum seeker on Manus Island recently. May they walk their lands in peace.
A further APC may be held 2016.
Ray Jackson
Indigenous Social Justice Association
Prix de l'Homme de Francais
(French Human Rights Medal 2013)
isja01@internode.on.net
(m) 0450 651 063
(p) 02 9318 0947
1303/200 Pitt Street Waterloo 2017
www.isja.org.au
We live and work on the stolen lands of the Gadigal people
Sovereignty - Treaty - Social Justice


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More instant replay the right move for MLB
6yDavid Schoenfield
Real or Not? Freddy Peralta thrills family with dazzling debut
Real or Not? Red Sox bullpen's tightrope act will wear thin
Real or not? Gerrit Cole's approach bringing Cy Young results
Mookie Betts vs. Bryce Harper -- and other pressing baseball debates
Real or not? No-hitter the latest feat in James Paxton's rise
Deal ends Matt Harvey's roller-coaster ride with Mets
Sizing up potential trade fits for Manny Machado
Real or Not? The AL East is setting up as a race for the ages
Albert Pujols' push for 3,000 powered by dominant decade
'Ich-i-ro! Ich-i-ro!' Farewell to a Mariners legend
Could Mike Trout outproduce a tanking team's entire lineup?
Real or Not? Mookie Betts is playing like an MVP again
Real or Not? The Baby Braves might be ready ahead of schedule
Real or Not? Diamondbacks primed to bury Dodgers
Losing Corey Seager leaves Dodgers' season on the brink
2yBradford Doolittle
David SchoenfieldESPN Senior Writer
Senior writer of SweetSpot baseball blog
Former deputy editor of Page 2
Been with ESPN.com since 1995
Instant replay is finally here, in all its glorious, expanded capability. This is a good thing for baseball and a long time coming. Home runs were just a start, but now managers will have the ability to challenge one play per game -- plus a second one if the first challenge is successfully overturned. Just don't expect Don Mattingly to be throwing a red flag, however; it will simply be a verbal challenge to the umpiring crew.
The types of plays that can now be challenged:
Ground-rule double
Fan interference (especially in Yankee Stadium!)
Stadium boundary calls (especially at Tropicana Field!)
Force play ... although a fielder touching second base on a double play will NOT be subject to instant replay
Tag play, including steals and pickoffs
Fair or foul in outfield only
A trapped ball in the outfield
Hit by pitch (this one could still end up being controversial, considering how difficult some are to see, even on instant replay)
Timing play -- such as whether a run scored before the third out was recorded
Touching a base (which also requires an appeal)
Passing a runner
Record-keeping (such as ball-strike count, outs, subs, score -- let's hope the score of a game never has to be challenged)
OK, got that? One interesting note is that the phantom double play -- a.k.a. "the neighborhood play" -- is not being subject to review. Why would that be excluded? It could be an issue of player safety; you don't want a second baseman standing in there too long to make sure his foot is on the bag and then getting steamrolled by Bryce Harper. Also: It's a tough play to call, since so many of those are bang-bang plays, with the ball reaching a player's glove and the foot leaving the bag almost simultaneously.
You can read how the review process works here. As with the NHL replay system, there will be a central Replay Command Center located in New York that the umpires will call into. Other umpires will staff the Replay Command Center. This process has worked very well for checking goals in the NHL.
Seems like a good resolution to me. Everyone will be worried about delays, but for the most part we'll be looking at two replays per game, four at the most (plus any reviews of home runs, which don't happen that often). If it takes 90 seconds to review a play, that's three-to-five minutes of added time per game. That's worth it to me. It is possible that we'll see players delaying the action after a close play in order for videos to be checked, and I predict at some point in the future there will be a time limit on how long you have to challenge a play.
There will be pressure on the Command Center for a quick resolution. There will also be pressure on managers on when to use their challenge. Do you use it in the first inning of a 0-0 game or hold back for a more crucial moment? If the manager absolutely knows the umps got it wrong, I think you have to use it early in the game; if you're right, you'll get another challenge anyway.
Both teams will have access to a standardized video feed in the clubhouse. This makes sense; you have to ensure both teams have equal access to the same replays. Man, suddenly that job is pretty important. It will be interesting to see who teams have monitoring the video. A coach? A player not in the game? The video guy? That person will have to relay advice to the manager ... and he better be right. Doesn't sound like a fun job to me. Can you imagine giving the wrong advice to Tony La Russa back in the day?


Tampa Bay Rays – professional baseball club, who plays in Major League Baseball (MLB). The club was founded in 1998. The team became known as the "Flight" in 2008.
The formation of the team began in 1995, after the former assistant general manager of "Atlanta Braves" Chuck Lamar was appointed senior vice president of baseball operations and general manager of the "Devil Reysminornyh.
Here you can free download Tampa Bay Rays wallpapers in 1080p high definition pictures, it is free and easy.


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Billie Eilish leaves fans upset after star announces tour refunds instead of being able to use passes later
Leave a Comment	/ Entertainment / By ekiensnews
Billie Eilish recently announced to her fans that any tickets they're currently holding onto for her 2020 "Where Do We Go?" world tour will be refunded since she is unable to perform due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic."Hi guys, i wish that I could have seen you on tour this year. i've missed performing for you and being onstage so much i can't even tell you," the 18-year-old began in a lengthy note shared to Twitter on Thursday."We've tried as many different scenarios as possible for the tour but none are possible and, although i know so many of you want to hold onto your tickets and vip passes, the best thing we can do for everyone is to get the money back into your hands as soon as we can," Eilish continued, adding that fans should keep an eye out for emails from their respective points of purchase "and when we're ready and it's safe we'll let you know when everyone will be able to purchase tickets again for the next tour."The "Bad Guy" songstress concluded: "i love you so much," and urged her fans to "stay safe, drink lots of water and wear a mask."BILLIE EILISH SHUTS DOWN BODY-SHAMERS WHO PREVIOUSLY CALLED HER 'FAT': 'THIS IS HOW I LOOK'The 42-stop arena tour, which would have been Eilish's biggest yet, sold more than 500,000 tickets in North America, South America and Europe in the first hour of being on sale, according to Pollstar.Although Eilish's message was given with the best intention for her fans and their pocketbooks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has decimated various industries and has impacted the livelihoods of millions, many weren't exactly happy with the singer's decision to refund the ticket amount and instead voiced their desires to hang onto their coveted tickets for use at a later date.BILLIE EILISH SAYS SHE HAS A TATTOO THAT FANS 'WON'T EVER SEE'"Please god no, it was so so hard to even get a ticket for my partner and they've been waiting years to see you. is there any way we can just hold on to our ticket at all?" inquired one devastated fan. Another fan responded to the above and echoed the sentiment, adding, "i feel you 🙁 i worked my a– off to get tickets and i didn't even make half of what i paid for my tickets at the time, you're not alone here. i'm so sorry this happened :(."
Fans of Billie Eilish are saddened after the pop star announced on Thursday that those who bought tickets to her tour will not be able to use them at a later date and instead will be refunded their money. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)
An additional fan responded that they had "tried so hard" and managed to snag front-row seats to one of Eilish's performances. They footnoted their tweets with multiple crying emoji."uhh no??" retorted one dejected fan. "Can we just keep our tickets if we want lol i have pit :/," while another lamented that their mother had purchased the tour seats last December as a Christmas gift, writing, "billies team, my mom waited 3 hrs to get that for my christmas present last year is there any way we can keep it til next time or save a seat?"BILLIE EILISH DEBUTS NEW SINGLE 'THEREFORE I AM' AND MUSIC VIDEOSome users even called Eilish a scammer for not allowing fans the opportunity to hold onto their prized passes and were quickly met with fans who leaped to the defense of Eilish.
Billie Eilish announced on Thursday that 'Where Do We Go' world tour ticket-holders will be refunded their money. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
"Like [I know] this isn't directly Billie's fault but I'm not gonna be able to get tickets the second time," wrote one user. "Like I've waited years to see her and now I have to refund the one chance I had…? It's just kinda disappointing."CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER"I mean we are in a pandemic. there are worse things," responded an Eilish apologist, another adding, "what do you want her to do about it its not her fault theres a pandemic."Meanwhile, other ticket-holders were upset at the fact they had purchased theirs second-hand, which means that the original purchaser would receive the refund instead of them.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP"We got our tickets from someone else so they're gonna be refunded. not us. and i know many others are in the same situation as me:/," wrote a disappointed Eilish fan in the same boat.A rep for Eilish did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.


>I want to have a snort box send alerts to a MySQL database on another box. Do I still need to compile it usisng "--with-mysql=/usr/local/mysql"? If so, does this mean that I have to install MySQL on the Snort box even though it will be sending alerts to another box?


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La première édition de la norme ISO 5807 date du , elle concerne le traitement de l'information grâce à des symboles de documentation et conventions, elle reprend et remplace les éléments figurant dans l'ISO 1028 ainsi que l'ISO 2636.

La norme ISO 5807 (ISO 5807:1985) vise à normaliser les symboles utilisable dans les logigrammes afin qu'ils puissent être compris internationalement.

Cette norme délimite entre autres le périmètre d'utilisation des symboles et leurs signification.

Le guide complet concernant l'ISO 5807 est disponible sur le site internet de l'Organisation Internationale de la Normalisation pour la somme de 114 Francs Suisse.

Références

5807

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Kentucky Wesleyan College launched a Marketing and Social Media Internship Program in the Marketing Department this semester, under the direction of Vice President of Admissions and Financial Aid Jeremy Pittman and Director of Marketing and Communications April Ray. The internship provides an excellent opportunity for students to learn and engage in all aspects of marketing and social media management: researching stories, collecting photos and videos, and publishing content to drive recruitment.
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Image Title: What To Consider In Bathroom Ceiling Fans Ideas 13. Filename: what-to-consider-in-bathroom-ceiling-fans-ideas-13.jpg. Image Dimension: 1024 x 682 pixels. Images Format: jpg/jpeg. Publisher/Author: Owen Schuppe. Uploaded Date: Wednesday - February 21st. 2018 16:32:15 PM. Category: Architecture. Image Source: wayfair.com.


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text:
Q: How to edit property in JavaScript function class? I have this class based on pure javascript:
var DrawFeatureP = /*@__PURE__*/(function (Draw) {
    function DrawFeatureP() {
        debugger
        Draw.call(this, {
            source: new ol.layer.Vector({ source: new ol.source.Vector() }),
            type: 'change this property from function in pottom'
        });

        document.getElementById('lineToggle').onclick = this.handleDrawFeature.bind(this);
     }

    if (Draw) DrawFeatureP.__proto__ = Draw;
    DrawFeatureP.prototype = Object.create(Draw && Draw.prototype);
    DrawFeatureP.prototype.constructor = DrawFeatureP;

    DrawFeatureP.prototype.handleDrawFeature = function handleDraw(evt) {
        //when is function is fired how ca i set 'type' property?
    };

    return DrawFeatureP;
}(ol.interaction.Draw));

When this function is fired:
   DrawFeatureP.prototype.handleDrawFeature = function handleDraw(evt) {
            //when is function is fired how ca I set 'type' property?
        };

I need to change the 'type' property :
type: 'change this property from function in the bottom'

My question is how to edit type property from handleDraw function?

A: Since you bind this when assigning the onclick handler, you can use this.type in the handler function.
    DrawFeatureP.prototype.handleDrawFeature = function handleDraw(evt) {
        this.type = "new type";
    };

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
By the fact itself. A blog by a Harvard Extension School alumnus.
HomePosts tagged 'Legal'
What did the Fessenden School know about "Howie" Leung?
November 14, 2019 November 22, 2019 Harvard Extension School	Fessenden, Legal
There is a deeply disturbing report in the Concord Monitor, a New Hampshire newspaper, about how school administrators in Concord had failed to act upon red flags relating to the behavior of teacher Primo "Howie" Leung around students at a middle school there starting in 2015. Leung, who was concurrently a teacher at a summer program operated by Fessenden School in Newton, Mass., was arrested earlier this year and charged with two counts of aggravated rape of a child, one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child over 14. Some of these alleged assaults took place at a summer program operated by the Fessenden School.
To date, Leung has been the only teacher ever charged with abusing children at the Fessenden School, despite decades of reports and the arrest of two teachers in the 1970s for assaults that took place outside of Fessenden. At the time, Fessenden administrators lied to the media and to investigators about abuse on campus by teachers there, and at other times never reported claims of abuse to authorities. Since 2011, even though myself and many others have called for an independent investigation about abuse at the Fessenden School, the school and its administrators (including former Headmaster David B. Stettler) and lawyers have striven to cover up reports, downplay allegations, and deflect responsibility for the horrors inflicted upon students.
However, where Fessenden failed, investigators in New Hamsphire persevered and published what they learned. The reporters at the Concord Monitor, Alyssa Dandrea and Jonathan van Fleet, summarized what happened. We now have a better idea of Leung's alleged M.O., even while the Fessenden School claimed it had cleaned up its act. Here are some excerpts:
The girl, a former Concord student who is now 17, told police she was sexually assaulted by Leung multiple times in 2015 and 2016 at the Fessenden School in West Newton, Mass., which provides an overnight English Language Learning summer program.
In 2015, the girl would have been 13 years old. Think about that for a moment. This is during the tenure of David Stettler, the same administrator who pledged that the safety of students was the school's "highest priority."
Concord school officials were alerted Dec. 10 [2018] that Leung had "engaged in inappropriate conduct" with an 18-year-old female student, who is a different student than the victim Leung is accused of sexually assaulting. Leung was reportedly seen by other students kissing the senior girl in a car in Concord.
District officials said they did not report the incident with the 18-year-old to Concord police because of the student's age. However, they did forward the results of their investigation to the Department of Education, which ultimately notified authorities.
Leung remained on the job for 3½ months before he was put on paid administrative leave.
Here, we see that this school took the Fessy path, avoiding notifying authorities and even keeping the teacher on the payroll — and around students — after serious red flags were raised. The difference between Fessenden and Concord, though: Concord at least notified somebody, who eventually dropped a dime.
At school board meetings in recent months, community members said there were many red flags before Leung's arrest that should have caught the attention of administrators. Parents said he had close relationships with several female students he taught and would bring them coffee or buy them lunch.
Perkins said students should not be permitted to spend "significant time" with teachers whom they don't have for class, and that students should not be permitted to change their schedules without written permission from their parents. She also encouraged the development of a policy that discourages staff from socializing with students outside of school.
Some Fessenden alumni will remember similar tales from the dark days of Fessenden in the 60s and 70s, when teachers like Arthur Clarridge groomed young boys with offers of car rides and special attention.
In 2014, a Rundlett Middle School student told her friends the way Leung treated some female students made her feel uncomfortable.
The girl, who was in seventh grade at the time, was called into the office the day before Christmas break, accused of spreading "malicious and slanderous gossip" and suspended for three days by principal Sica.
"A sexual predator will use any tools at his or her disposal, including ambiguity of rules, a lack of enforcement of rules, or a charismatic personality to accomplish it," the report continued.
Sound familiar? Look at the comments by students who were abused at Fessenden and tried to report what had happened. Adults ignored them, and in some cases Fessenden victims were expelled.
District communications obtained by the Monitor in a right-to-know request this summer show that officials were aware of interactions between Leung and the 18-year-old student that included "friendly emails," the "frequent" presence of the student in Leung's classroom, Leung's recruitment of the student to the Fessenden School summer program, and Leung giving rides home to the student and a $200 gift to the student that he said was for her mother.
So the Fessenden program was allegedly used by Leung in cases involving two students. The question I have: How old was the second student when this started?
More importantly, what did Fessenden do when it came to training and monitoring this teacher? Remember, Leung was only charged for alleged abuse at Fessenden after New Hampshire educational officials reported him. The Fessenden School (led by Headmaster Steven J. Armstrong since July 2018) either failed to monitor him, or if they had suspicions, never reported them to authorities.
Two reports about Leung were made to the Concord School District. The longer 100-page report which probably contains additional details about Leung, has not been made public. The shorter 10-page report consists of recommendations for schools to detect predators while improving student safety.
But at least the reports were made. Fessenden has not attempted any sort of independent report. Indeed, of the six points I highlighted at the end of "Headmaster David Stettler's latest (and probably last) letter to Fessenden alumni", five still remain true:
David Stettler only told alumni about some of the earlier cases in 2011, and only because the Boston Globe had just reported some of the cases. In other words, it was damage control, not an effort to promote transparency or justice.
No Fessenden administrator, board member, or legal counsel has ever been cited for negligence in failing to report abuse of children at the Fessenden School.
The child predators were able to get away with their crimes for years at Fessenden, and possibly continue their activities after they left. They got away with these sickening crimes, scot-free.
The victims were left without support, ashamed of what had happened to them and traumatized by the abuse. Many have been unable to come to terms with what they experienced, and as adults became addicted to drugs or suffered problems relating to people. Some committed suicide.
There has never been any independent investigation into what happened from the 1940s through the 1980s and how the school handled those episodes (the "comprehensive, detailed, and impartial investigation" he refers to below relates to a current member of the Fessenden faculty).
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: There needs to be an independent investigation of what happened at the Fessenden School over many decades and why administrators, Fessenden's lawyers, and Fessenden trustees failed to monitor staff and report predators to authorities even after reports of abuse surfaced.
Since Leung's arrest, the Fessenden Summer ESL program has apparently been shut down. The director of that program (who oversaw Leung) is still employed by Fessenden, according to the staff directory.
Why Amazon's "Buy Box" policy attracts counterfeit books and cheaters
October 16, 2019 October 17, 2019 Business	Amazon, Legal, small business, startups
If you follow publishing news like I do (I own a small publishing company that specializes in how-to guides) you have probably heard about Amazon's misguided policy change from a few years ago that allowed third-party sellers of books to "own the buy box" on publishers' book listings. I predicted at that time that it would attract a wave of counterfeit books, which has proven to be true. But I didn't anticipate another kind of cheater: Third-party book sellers passing off used books as new.
Amazon opened the buy box to booksellers in 2017. It said that it was following the same policy that was used in other parts of its marketplace, which allows third-party sellers to control the buy box on product listings if they offer the product at a lower price than the official source, which is usually the manufacturer or distributor.
Publishers immediately cried foul. This statement from the Independent Book Publishers Association outlines the concerns of independent publishers (disclosure: I was an IBPA board member at the time and gave feedback on early drafts).
The types of books most likely to be pirated
As an Amazon FBA seller of other types of goods (namely, genealogy charts and forms) I knew very well the threat posed by counterfeits. It's a long-standing problem that has attracted lots of negative press ("Amazon May Have a Counterfeit Problem", "Leveeing a Flood of Counterfeits on Amazon", "How counterfeits benefit Amazon") and impacted my company, which was forced to invest in Amazon's anti-counterfeit service Transparency.
For an example, one publisher, Bill Pollock of No Starch Press, reported repeated incidents of counterfeit books being sold by Amazon. The first reports surfaced in 2017, and earlier this month it happened again.
I have been impacted by another problem that IBPA predicted: Third-party sellers flogging used books as new. It's actually a far bigger problem for me than counterfeit books, and I now pay an independent contractor to help me monitor my own listings.
Here's what I think is happening:
Publishers or Amazon sellers who have products that are easy or cheap to copy and have high list prices have the most to lose with the Amazon buy box policy. There is a real risk of pirates taking over listings with counterfeit, low-quality copies. Potentially, they will have to deal with third-party sellers passing off used goods as new.
My company publishes IN 30 MINUTE guides and cheat sheets. They are relatively low-margin and have a low retail price – $11.99 to $12.99 for most books, $6.99-$7.99 for the cheat sheets. Yes, they could copy the books, and do some cheap digital short runs to get bogus inventory into the system, but because my list prices are already so low I don't think they could make much. The pirates know this, and tend to go for higher-priced titles (including textbooks) from other publishers. No Starch Press was a repeat victim of this, and I have heard of other cases, too.
Third-party sellers flogging used books as new
As mentioned earlier, I do have issues with other sellers listing used items as new. They are almost always third-party sellers concentrating on the book market, and offer the books as "new" with amazingly low prices to win the buy box or push my listing out of it. They have not purchased the book new through wholesale channels in which I operate (such as Baker & Taylor or Ingram), because the discount is below my wholesale prices — in some cases, below the cost of printing and shipping the book from the printer!
In all cases in which I have ordered one of these "new" books to determine the source, they have turned out to be used. This seller even sent a shrink-wrapped book with a USED sticker on it:
This book was sold as "new" on Amazon, winning the buy box, yet was a used copy by the seller's own admission!
Third-party book sellers playing games with shipping prices
Here's another trick third-party sellers use to take publishers out of the buy box: Offering a new book for a ridiculously low price and then charging a ridiculously high shipping fee.
Check out the example below for C. Diff In 30 Minutes. The paperback retails for $14.99, but my listing is no longer am shown in the buy box because a third-party seller from Missouri is offering the book for $3.99. Sounds like a great deal, right?
But clicking "4 new from $3.99" takes people to a page that shows the seller charging an additional $27.99 for non-expedited shipping from Missouri to the Boston area, even though USPS Media Mail costs $2.75 for book that size, USPS First Class around $5, and a two-day Priority Mail flat-rate envelope $7.95.
It's also not clear if the book being sold is actually new. At least one customer of the third-party seller reported that a book sold as new was actually used and "looks stolen":
When I notified Amazon of this problem, they restored my publisher's listing to the Buy Box … but the "3.99" version is still listed for sale, even though the actual cost to the customer is more than $30.
Used sales are an important option
Don't get me wrong — it's fine for sellers who resell used copies listed as used for a profit, and think it's a good option for students and others who can't afford a new copy. I also have no issue with a customer or library which received a copy of one our new books not wanting or needing it, and turning around to sell it as new (or returning it).
That said, every time a third-party seller lists a used book as new on Amazon and underprices the publisher, it's taking money that the real publisher would otherwise get from the sale of an actual new book. It deceives buyers, and it cheats authors and publishers out of revenue and royalties.
What they are doing violates Amazon TOS, too. Despite repeatedly reporting the bogus "new" cases to Amazon, I have not received any indication that Amazon took any action. The seller of the shrink-wrapped example with the "USED" sticker mentioned earlier is still selling books as a third party seller, and has lots of negative reviews:
After observing the mess caused by the Buy Box policy, and the apparent inaction on the part of Amazon to proactively stop the cheaters or punish wrongdoers, it's clear that publishers are on the losing end of this fight. Pirates and sellers know it, too. Amazon's message to them:
Win the buy box however you can. We don't care if the original publisher/creator gets nothing. We won't police your listings. We probably won't punish you if you get caught, or we will only give you a light slap on the wrist. Even if many of Amazon's customers are complaining, you can still stay in business on Amazon.
In terms of sellers of other types of goods winning or losing the buy box, Amazon makes available special services to brand owners (trademark owners with items in the Amazon Brand Registry) to fight counterfeits, including expedited take-down requests and access to paid services such as Amazon Transparency. The number-one point on the Amazon Transparency "learn more" page is "Proactive counterfeit protection."
Sounds great in theory, but brands have to pay for it! For me, it works out to about 15 cents per item to use this service, not including additional manufacturing and design fees.
In other words, I'm paying for Amazon's failure to police their own marketplace and prevent pirates and cheats. I've told them I won't be proactively signing up brand SKUs for this service unless Amazon greatly reduces or eliminates the cost.
What has your experience been with Amazon counterfeit books or other goods?
Riverside and Newton's draft zoning plans for Washington Street reveal "visioning" for what it really is
February 27, 2019 May 29, 2019 Other	Legal, Newton
Recently, the Newton Tab published an article about the massive new development proposed for the MBTA Riverside T stop. The Tab article, titled "Crowd offers feedback about Newton's Riverside site," quoted Mayor Ruthanne Fuller describing the visioning process for Riverside:
"'This process, in part, is trying to figure out what is the right size,' said Fuller."
I have news for Mayor Fuller: The "right size" of the Riverside development is already known.
The last time local residents were asked for input to right-size development at Riverside, discussions took more than five years. The resulting agreement, finalized in 2013, determined that the right size for Riverside was 580,000 square feet, including nearly 300 hundred new housing units.
It's not local residents who want to go through this process all over again. It's being driven by developer Robert Korff and his business partner BH Normandy (who negotiated the 2013 agreement). Instead of the agreed-upon 580,000 square feet, they are demanding 1.5 million square feet, including two 200+ foot tall towers, and many hundreds of additional units of luxury housing. They stand to add hundreds of millions of dollars in additional value to their project, while residents of Auburndale, Newton Lower Falls, Waban, West Newton, and other parts of Newton are saddled with massive costs related to traffic, schools, infrastructure, planning, and more.
And despite the mayor's insistence that she is listening to local residents, the evidence that we see in the actions and policies of her administration is that while we may be heard, the preferences of Newton Voters are largely ignored.
For example, the Newtonville Area Council's recent survey of Newton residents found that only 12% (Per NAC email: "Actually, it was 4% of all respondents, and 5% of those with a height preference") were receptive to buildings five or more storeys tall along Washington Street. Of those who expressed an opinion about the number of housing units, 86% supported 500 or less.
Similar opinions were articulated during the long "Hello Washington Street" visioning process. The following comments were left by citizens on one of the "pop-up" centers in West Newton to collect feedback about Washington Street:
The comments include:
"Too tall"
"Bad shadows"
"Big buildings ugly"
"Too urban"
"Air rights over pike"
"This doesn't look like a suburb. Where are the trees?"
"No trees. Towers destroy neighborhood feel"
"Too tall. Too many people for the space. Too many cars. Overshadows existing homes. Overcrowding of the school system."
"Seniors have few school age children and many no longer drive."
"This is bogus. So unappealing I;m sure it's only offered to make the other scenarios look better by comparison. West Newton resident."
"No. This is not Boston. We do not have to agree to make Korff rich."
"Never. We don't wan't Manhattan. "
"Have you been to Manhattan?"
"I love Manhattan and Tokyo."
"No high rises in Newton!"
"Be careful. You will drive away all of the [] who make Newton a magnet."
"No one who wants to make Newton a magnet can afford to live here now."
"Underground parking is good. But these cars will still be driving around the city."
"Way too tall. Big shadows on small houses."
"Large number of affordable units"
"Build this over the pike"
"What about the existing residents who cannot unfortunately [] this monstrosity"
"Boston? MGH?"
Now that the second draft of the vision and zoning plans for Washington Street have been published, it's clear that there is a huge gap in what residents asked for and what we will be getting. Huge tracts of land from West Newton Square to the Armory/Trader Joes, parts of Newtonville on either side of the Pike, the lots where Marty's and Whole Foods now stand, and the commercial parcels diagonally opposite Our Lady's church in the Lake, will fall under the new "Village Gateway" (W-VY), "Station Area Central" (W-SC), and "Station Area Commercial" (W-SM) zoning designations:
According to the draft, the maximum height by right for all of these designations will be 5 stories. If developers successfully apply for special permits at any of those sites (a requirement to maximize the value of their investments) they will be able to place gigantic buildings between 6 and 10 stories tall.
This represents thousands of new units of housing (most of it market rate/luxury), and millions of new square feet of office and lab space. That's not what residents asked for, but that's what we'll be getting if city councilors approve the plans for Washington Street. Similar zoning designations will likely be applied in other neighborhoods all over the city — a handout to developers worth billions of dollars, and a nightmare of traffic, massive infrastructure and school costs, and lost quality of life for the residents of Newton for decades to come.
Nobody cares about preserving an MBTA parking lot (or, for that matter, run-down commercial properties along Washington Street). But when it comes to replacing what's there now, the people of Newton are tired of negotiating deals that are later ripped up because developers insist on getting more, and participating in acts of political theater in which their opinions are solicited and subsequently ignored. Any new vision for Riverside should align with what we asked for — and the city, the MBTA, and developers agreed to — six years ago.
If you are a Newton resident, please contact ALL Newton City councilors TODAY (easy way: EMAIL THEM ALL AT ONCE via citycouncil@newtonma.gov) and let them know what you think about the Riverside development. Even if you don't live in Auburndale or Newton Lower Falls, your taxes will end up paying for developers' profits through increased road, school, infrastructure, and other costs. The developers' tactics to rip up a signed agreement also sets a precedent for similar tricks in the future all over Newton, including Washington Street, Newton Upper Falls, Newtonville, and elsewhere.
Riverside MBTA developers Robert Korff and BH Normandy negotiating in bad faith?
January 14, 2019 May 29, 2019 Business	Legal, Newton
Developer Robert Korff and his company Mark Development couldn't have asked for a more helpful boost from the Newton Tab in the article titled, "Some concerned over short timeframe of Riverside visioning process," published online on December 28.
In addition to publishing verbatim developer Korff's Riverside PR spin points, the Tab failed to question some extremely dubious claims. "The Riverside development could be the economic engine for the city of Newton, but it's going to require the density that we're proposing," he told the paper.
Economic engine of the city? What he's proposing sounds more like a profit engine for Korff, with no additional benefits for Newton — in fact, it comes with significant costs, as I will shortly explain. And why were there no questions about his intention to rip up a signed deal he and his partners already have to develop the parking lot area at the Riverside MBTA station?
Let's be clear about what's happening here, since the Newton Tab wasn't. In 2013, Korff's business partner BH Normandy was granted approval to build a 580,000 square foot development at Riverside that includes more than two hundred new housing units. This deal came after six years of negotiations and lobbying with neighbors, local politicians, and city planning officials.
Now developer Korff and partner Normandy want to rip up the 2013 agreement, and force through approval for a far larger development that's 1.5 million square feet in size, contains two 200+ foot tall towers with mostly "market rate"/luxury housing, and is only reachable by Grove Street, a narrow road connecting Auburndale and Newton Lower Falls.
Why are the developers trying to ram its new proposal through now? It apparently relates to the fact that Newton city council elections are taking place in November 2019, which would require them to start the application and lobbying processes all over again — possibly with a new slate of councilors voted into office based on their stances on the waves of oversized luxury development taking place in Auburndale, West Newton, Newtonville, Newton Upper Falls, and other parts of the city.
Developer Korff is orchestrating a PR campaign in the pages of local media, in "fireside chats" with neighbors, and PR street teams going door-to-door in Auburndale and Lower Falls that aims to grant himself and his business partners hundreds of millions of dollars in additional property rights. We don't know what the exact figure will be, as this is surely a starting point that will be 'reluctantly' scaled back to something that still grants him a huge payout. He's done it before — check out his tactics with the Orr block in Newtonville, which included using the threat of 40B and having the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce criticize skeptical councilors and community groups on his behalf.
His new plans for the MBTA Riverside development represent an aggressive land grab that would come at the expense of Newton residents, who would be forced to shoulder massive costs relating to schools, traffic, infrastructure, and parking. Meanwhile, there's nothing in developer Korff's PR points about affordable housing, housing for seniors, or housing for middle class families, as shown in the flyer his PR team dropped off at my house last month (see below).
The impact would be especially hard on residents of Newton Lower Falls and Auburndale, who thought the Riverside deal was settled five years ago but have since learned the negotiation was merely a preamble to yet more aggressive demands from developers. No one cares about preserving an MBTA parking lot, but there's already a signed deal that developers, residents, and politicians agreed to. Developer Korff's attempt to renege on it should be shot down not only on principle, but also to avoid setting a precedent for other real estate deals signed by Korff and other developers throughout Newton.
If you are a Newton resident, please contact all ward councilors TODAY (EASY WAY: Email everyone at once by using this email address: citycouncil@newtonma.gov) and let them know what you think about the Riverside development. Even if you don't live in Auburndale or Newton Lower Falls, your taxes will end up paying for developers' profits through increased road, school, infrastructure, and other costs. The developers' tactics to rip up a signed agreement also sets a precedent for similar tricks in the future all over Newton, including Washington Street, Newton Upper Falls, Newtonville, and elsewhere.
The misleading flyer handed out by MBTA Riverside developers. The actual size of the proposed development is 1.5 million square feet, not 547,000 square feet. The "new neighborhood" phrase suggests this is intended as a luxury enclave, distinct from the existing village structure of Newton.
All about Amazon Transparency
October 27, 2018 May 28, 2019 Business, technology	Amazon, Legal
Amazon has rolled out a new program for brand owners, manufacturers, and Amazon Sellers called Amazon Transparency. I've explained what Amazon Transparency is and the requirements for getting started over on the Lean Media blog.
In a nutshell, Amazon Transparency is the answer to a very vexing problem: How to crack down on counterfeiters who are using the Amazon Seller program to flood Amazon with counterfeit goods.
My Amazon Transparency blog post touches upon some of the legal aspects involved (First-Sale Doctrine and U.S. trademarks) but also gets into some of the practical requirements for Amazon Transparency, including production, packaging, UPC/GTIN registration, and more.
You may also be interested in my Amazon Deep Dive for Publishers.
The Supreme Court shifts and businesses suffer
June 23, 2018 Harvard Extension School	Amazon, Corporations, Legal, small business
For more than 25 years, Internet businesses in the United States have enjoyed a big break: If a customer in another state buys something online, the company doesn't need to collect state sales tax or file taxes in that state unless they have operations in that state such as a warehouse or branch office.
That is about to change, thanks to the recent South Dakota v. Wayfair ruling from the Supreme Court. This essay by a tax expert explains the situation and the impact pretty clearly. I draw your attention to the concluding paragraph (note: nexus is the ability of a state to require businesses to be responsible for taxes):
Many states have enacted economic nexus rules for income taxes that create a filing responsibility based on the amount of sales in a state. These amounts have generally been set at $500,000 and above. Now, states may seek to lower those thresholds to impact more sellers, and states that have not sought income tax nexus may move forward with new legislation.
I own a small business and use the Internet to sell goods to customers all over the country. The Supreme Court ruling is going to be a big headache. I don't have a problem with paying taxes, but I do have a problem with dealing with 50+ entities (including states and territories) that have different filing requirements that will likely entail a lot of red tape. I don't have a full-time accountant or staff that can deal with this stuff, so it falls on me to implement systems and processes to handle state taxes outside of Massachusetts.
I blogged my thoughts on this topic in As a small business owner, this is what I fear post-South Dakota vs. Wayfair, but the end result may mean not selling to customers in states whose red tape is too much of a pain … which hands even more power to big Internet businesses like Amazon.
Newton Mayor Setti Warren's dangerous Planning Department report
July 14, 2016 September 19, 2016 Other	Legal, Local, Newton, Rights, Society
The following ~725-word essay about a Planning Department report sponsored by the office of Newton Mayor Setti Warren was originally submitted to the Newton Tab as an op-ed column. The Tab asked that it be shortened to a 400-word letter, which appeared in the printed paper earlier this week. Here is the original column. You are welcome to leave comments below.
Last month, the city released the "Management and Organizational Analysis" of Newton's Planning Department. The report was commissioned by the Mayor's Office and co-authored by Sasaki Associates, the same consultancy that helped organize a housing strategy workshop last November that had residents and developers placing LEGO blocks on a map to indicate where they preferred high-density housing to be built. The LEGO exercise was rightly called out as a fait accompli and dismissed by many councilors and residents. Similarly, I would like to call out the new Planning Department report as a flawed document whose recommendations threaten to undermine our elected representatives while giving Mayor Warren's administration—and its successors—unfettered control over special permits and related processes.
The Planning Department report purports to provide a "clear and honest" accounting of the problems facing the department. While it presents a list of legitimate concerns (e.g., a lack of documented processes, project management inefficiencies, high turnover, no long-term IT plan, etc.) it proceeds to assign much of the blame to a group of stakeholders who happen to represent Newton's citizens—the City Council. The report basically throws Councilors under the bus, blaming them for being too numerous, taking up too much staff time, and generally getting in the way of the special permitting process.
The report states, "The City should strongly consider removing the special permit granting authority from the City Council and placing it with an independent, less political body comprised of knowledgeable professionals, citizens, and business owners." Practically speaking, this would mean that if a special permit were required for a large condo development or a new commercial project that exceeds the zoning limits of the parcel, our elected representatives would have no say in the matter. Instead, the approval would be up to city staff as well as unelected appointees who represent the interests of commercial developers, not citizens.
This and other oversight recommendations in the report are dangerous and unwarranted. I think many others will agree. The recommendations, if implemented, remove an important channel for residents and their elected representatives to influence specific proposals. As citizens and taxpayers, we have a right to be heard, which includes appealing to our councilors to ask hard questions and request changes that the Mayor, developers, and other parties would rather ignore. You may like the mayor's development plans, or you may object to them, but regardless more citizen input is needed to guide development going forward, not less. Elected representatives play a critical role in bringing neighborhood concerns in front of the staff responsible for implementing housing policies.
The Planning Department report also points to a problem with a "lack of leadership." However, the report confines the leadership problems to the department. It goes no higher than that. It fails to mention the Mayor even once, despite the fact he has led the city government since January 2010 and could have addressed legitimate concerns with the Planning Department's organization, turnover, technology, and processes years ago.
So, why is this report coming out now, instead of during Mayor Warren's first term? In my opinion, it's because the Mayor needs to overcome local opposition to his new development vision, and he needs to do it soon. As reported in the Tab, the Mayor and developers hope to build thousands of new housing units across the city and transform the villages into small urban centers. We have seen the responses in the pages of this paper, in letters from residents who say they won't be able to afford "market rate" apartments and condos in the new developments, as well as those who object to the scale of the giant buildings and the impact of large-scale development upon Newtonville, Newton Center, West Newton, Oak Hill, Auburndale, and other neighborhoods. This strong grassroots opposition suggests that developers won't be able to build thousands of units of new housing and commercial space unless Mayor Warren and his administration are given free rein over zoning, permitting, and other development approvals. Removing elected councilors from the picture is crucial to achieving the Mayor's goals.
In summary, I believe the new Planning Department report was created to justify changes that would reduce the power of councilors and make it easier for the current Mayor—and future mayors—to force their strategic visions for development upon the citizens of Newton with limited oversight. It's unfair, unwarranted, and undemocratic.
Spotlight: More abuse at Fessenden and other schools. But why no official investigation?
May 9, 2016 May 12, 2016 Other	Fessenden, Legal
The Boston Globe Spotlight team — the same group of investigative journalists who opened up the decades of abuse and coverups involving the Catholic Church — published a story in this morning's Boston Sunday Globe that details the horrors and sickness that pervaded the Fessenden School in West Newton as well as many other prep schools across New England.
The response from the prep schools was not surprising: Only 10% responded to a Globe survey about their experiences handling reports of sexual abuse. The schools clearly want this story to go away. They don't want to deal with the negative publicity, the lawsuits, or the questions about policies relating to screening teachers, reporting abuse to authorities, or helping former students who have been victimized.
Readers of this blog know that 5 years ago the Fessenden school admitted a pattern of "inappropriate sexual behavior" involving faculty and staff that started in the 1960s and extended right through to the 2000s. The 2011 letter named one faculty member, Arthur Clarridge, who along with another named James Dallmann, were arrested in 1977 for crimes against children that took place outside of campus, and suggested that Clarridge may have abused a student. No other names of abusers were revealed in the 2011 letter by current headmaster David Stettler. The comments at the end of my 2011 blog post detailed not only names, but claims that inappropriate sexual behavior took place over a much longer period of time (one former student indicated it started as early as the 1940s) and involved many more staff and faculty members.
Several victims of the abuse at Fessy were brave enough to step forward and tell the painful and explicit details of the sexual assaults. The Spotlight article added two more faculty names to the roster:
Of the 17 total alleged [Fessenden] victims, four settled claims, nine continue to pursue them, and four filed no claims, according to a school spokesman. The accused former employees include assistant headmaster Arthur Clarridge, teachers James Dallmann and Claude Hasbrouck, and school psychologist Mickey Clampit.
Clarridge made no secret of his preferences. This is the update he sent his Harvard classmates sometime in the 1960s or 1970s, when he was at Fessenden:
The Globe Spotlight report included one former student's descriptions of Hasbrouck's Nazi paraphernalia and sexual abuse. Hasbrouck died in 1997.
As for Clampit:
Two other former Fessenden students told the Globe that Clampit abused them, too. One, who said Clampit fondled him at school and on a trip to Arkansas and Mexico, sent the school a letter demanding compensation for the abuse through attorney Mitchell Garabedian in 2015. The other man, who settled a claim against Fessenden in the 1990s, said Clampit was among four people there who abused him.
Clampit, who left Fessenden in 1976 and whose license to practice psychology in Massachusetts expired in 1996, could not be reached for comment at any of his known addresses or through his family. But his niece, Michelle Clampit of Los Angeles, said she never heard such accusations about him and was puzzled why they were surfacing now.
Note that Clampit was responsible for screening incoming students in private and counseling existing students if they reported abuse or other problems. Think about that for a moment. Fessenden's gatekeeper and guidance counselor — the trusted adult a confused or abused student might turn to after encountering Clarridge, Dallmann, or Hasbrouck — was himself a child predator, according to several former students.
I would like to add a correction here to the Spotlight Team: Clampit did not leave in 1976. He was still at the school in the early 1980s. I know this because he screened me in 1979 or 1980 at his office in one of the upper-story dormers in the administration building and one of the commenters on the other blog post who worked at Fessenden from 1979 to 1986 said she and her colleagues knew of Clampit his behavior:
Does anyone out there remember Mr. Mickey Clampitt? He was the school psychologist/test administrator, and lived in an apartment on campus next to the "learning center." He would hand out "creepie crawlies" (!) , little plastic bugs, to boys and would proceed to "tickle" the boys with them. The boys would squirm and giggle as Mickey, obviously enjoying the whole affair, held the boys close to his body. Well, you get the picture. Not exactly rape, but clearly NOT OK., and possibly the tip of the proverbial iceberg…as is obvious from reading this blog.
The 2016 Fessenden Letter
Just before the Spotlight article came out, Stettler sent another letter to alumni, dated May 5, 2016 (see below). Like the 2011 letter, it was timed to blunt the shock of the negative news coming from the media (although the headmaster claims in his latest letter that the 2011 information was "proactively shared"). The 2016 letter says "the School has received reports of sexual abuse involving at least 16 former students and one non-student by at least 5 individuals who were members of our community."
Note that the 2016 Fessenden letter acknowledges "at least" 5 individuals, but the Spotlight report only names 4. Who is that fifth person?
The letter goes on to say that instances of abuse were reported to the school's administration in the 1960s and 1970s but the school "according to these alumni, failed to take appropriate action."
The school's latest response? A symbolic one. "The school has removed the name of Robert F. Coffin, headmaster from 1967 to 1980, from the Fessenden ice rink," Stettler wrote.
If you're shaking your head in disbelief, I don't blame you. Fessenden's headmaster has tacitly admitted there was a nest of pedophiles at the school, and the school's response is to remove a long-dead headmaster's name from the hockey rink.
It's absolutely pathetic and infuriating.
Why hasn't Fessenden been investigated?
As you digest this information, there are several important facts to keep in mind:
Not one Fessenden faculty member or staffer has ever been charged with abuse of a Fessenden student.
Not one Fessenden administrator or trustee — from the 1960s to the current timeframe — has been fined or charged for failing to notify local or state authorities of abuse, as required by law.
Because the people who reportedly committed abuse against Fessenden students were never charged with a crime, they were potentially able to move on to other schools or professions or neighborhoods and commit more vile acts against other innocent children.
I raised this question in my original blog post in 2011, and I will raise it again here:
Why hasn't Fessenden reported incidents involving sexual abuse or assault of children to the police and DAs office, not just to satisfy the minimum "required documentation" rules, but to help authorities prosecute anyone who has broken the law?
I welcome your comments below.
A note about comments: Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the author of this blog and the hosting service are not liable for comments left by readers. Per the Digital Media Law Project, "Immunity covers defamation and privacy claims, as well as negligence and other tort claims associated with publication."
About: My name is Ian Lamont. To contact me, please email ianlamont -at- yahoo dot com
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University of Georgia Book Store, Athens GA | Southeastern Commercial Flooring, Inc.
No job too big or small for SCF!
The Southeastern Commercial Flooring maintenance team recently cleaned the book store on the University of Georgia campus.
Before SCF began cleaning the carpet.
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Before the SCF team began cleaning the carpet.
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CHASKA, Minn. -- The final major of the season has just one round to go. Who flourished on Saturday? Who faltered? Let's take a closer look with another PGA Championship edition of birdies and bogeys.
Birdie: Drama -- Just when you feared the weekend here was going to lull you into a trance, an array of players have set the stage for the most intriguing Sunday of the season. Now if only you can wiggle your way out of that family picnic.
Bogey: Vijay Singh -- Paired with Tiger Woods in the third round, Singh's hopes of challenging his one-time sparring partner were betrayed by an almost laughably bad day with the putter. Well, laughable to everyone else, at least. Singh missed a three-footer for birdie on the fifth hole and from there, never recovered.
Birdie: Padraig Harrington -- Four shots back to start the day, Harrington clawed his way back into the mix with his 69, setting up another possible showdown with Tiger Woods Sunday.
Bogey: Padraig Harrington -- Of course, if the two do go head-to-head, it will have to be in a playoff, all thanks to Harrington's bogey on 18. That leaves Y.E Yang in the final pairing with Woods, and Harrington forced to catch the world No. 1 from in front. We know you're disappointed, Paddy. So are we.
Birdie: Getting the round in -- Dark skies, thunder and light rain for the last hour of play made the likelihood of some early morning play on Sunday a real possibility. But the bad weather held off and 54 holes were completed. If only Harrington could have finished as strong.
Birdie: Zach Johnson -- Well done young man, you had the only bogey-free round of the day. Nine pars to start, a birdie on 10, then seven more pars followed by a closing birdie. A lot of guys would have liked to have had that today.
Bogey: Readers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press -- Saturday's edition included the results to a poll question as to which player would you most like to spend a week with: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, John Daly, Anthony Kim or Sergio Garcia. Hard as it is to believe, Daly won with 42.32 percent of the vote. Woods was second at 32.35 and Garcia, dead last at 3.25 percent. Daly over Woods? Come on, people!
Birdie: Members of the Winnipeg Railcats -- Five members of the amateur hockey team from Canada were wearing Team Canada jerseys and hockey helmets in the searing 90-plus-degree heat. They made the six-hour drive to Minnesota to watch Mike Weir, but with the 2003 Masters champ missing the cut, the object of their affection is now Stephen Ames. "Are you going to follow me all day?" asks Ames on the seventh tee. The boys acknowledge they are. Nicely done, eh?
Bogey: Fans who blatantly disregard the rules -- Amidst the mass of people who were following Tiger Woods, a woman could be seen flouting the rules by scrolling through her iPhone. OK, so what if that woman was Elin Woods? Rules are rules, right?
Birdie: Y.E. Yang -- Who? Get used to the name folks because this guy is no joke. The 37-year-old won at Honda, was T-8 at the Canadian Open and fifth at the Buick. And anyone who shot 67 at Hazeltine is no fluke. Only one other guy has done it all week. Yes, that would be Woods.
Bogey: Ernie Els -- For God's sake, man, just stop teasing us. Six under par for the tournament after 15 holes had us dreaming of a Woods-Els final pairing, but the Big Easy became the Big Teasy with a bogey-bogey-bogey finish. Next time just get it out of the way earlier, OK?
Bogey: Tiger on the par 5s -- OK, a little rough to throw a bogey on a guy who makes pars, but when you're Tiger Woods you're supposed to eat up the three-shotters, not make pars -- the first time Woods has done that on a par-72 course since the last round of the 2008 Masters. Want to know why his lead is no more than two? Here it is.
Bogey: ProBagAds.com -- Sorry, this is taking the endorsement thing just too far. Billed as "patented HD Sunreadable multi-media billboard systems located on the large storage compartment on the front of participating golf tour bags for one event or for an entire season," the company's first foray on tour is with Senior PGA Champ Michael Allen. Seeing Allen's bag rotate about 10 ads on a small screen on his bag was disconcerting at best. Fellas, this isn't NASCAR, it's not Yankee Stadium. Let's stick to embroidery when it comes to logos.


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