text:
'Clear Indications' of Planned Iranian Attack Behind US Carrier Dispatch: Report
© AFP 2020 / US NAVY
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107475/12/1074751268_0:143:3500:2111_1200x675_80_0_0_360d98b1218798dfe0fdfcfd766efa45.jpg
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201905061074751420-alleged-iranian-plans-to-attack-us-forces-behind-carrier-dispatch/
White House National Security Adviser John Bolton has announced that the United States is deploying an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East in a "clear and unmistakable" message to Iran that any attack on Washington's interests or its allies will be met with "unrelenting force".
The US decision to dispatch an aircraft carrier to the Middle East was made amid "clear indications" that Iranian forces were allegedly preparing to attack American forces in the region, an unnamed defence official told the Associated Press.
READ MORE: Price Drop: Iran Pulls Out Stops to Sell Oil to Counter US Sanctions — Minister
The source claimed that the Pentagon had green-lit the deployment and that US forces at sea and on land were suspected to be the potential targets.
© AP Photo / Hassan Ammar, File
US Deploying Carrier Strike Group Near Iran to Send Message to Tehran - Bolton
Both Iranian and US authorities have yet to comment on the claims.
The report comes shortly after White House National Security Adviser John Bolton said in a Sunday statement that Washington was deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the US Central Command region, which includes the Middle East.
Bolton claimed that the decision was made in response to a "number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings" and that Washington wants to send a "clear and unmistakable message" to Tehran that it will unleash "unrelenting force" in the event of any attack on US interests or on those of its allies.
"The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces", he said.
The Trump administration has earlier upped the ante against Iran, having vowed to cut its oil exports to zero, thus prompting the Islamic Republic to warn that it will close the Strait of Hormuz, which is a strategic waterway linking Mideast crude producers to crucial world markets.
READ MORE: US Plans to Announce New Set of Sanctions Against Iran – Reports
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has stressed that Tehran doesn't seek to escalate tensions with Washington, but it will not allow the US to undermine the security of the Persian Gulf.
"We have been very clear that we have no interest in escalation. We have been clear that the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are our lifeline. We depend on them for our livelihood, and we want them safe, secure, and free for navigation of all countries, including Iran. As we have stated before, Iran won't permit the US to threaten the Persian Gulf", the minister warned.
Last month, US President Donald Trump announced his decision not to reissue waivers on Iranian oil once they expire in May in a bid to bring the country's crude exports to zero.
© CC BY 2.0 / U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / USS Essex (LHD 2)_150707-M-SV584-198
Iran Ratifies Retaliatory Bill Designating US CENTCOM as Terrorist Group - Reports
Washington provided temporary waivers to eight economies, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Taiwan, who agreed to reduce their purchases of Iranian crude, allowing them to continue buying it without facing sanctions for six more months.
In addition, the US recently designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group, which caused the Iranian parliament to ratify a bill which labelled the US Central Command a terrorist organisation.
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Iran's oil industry in November after the US unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, which saw anti-Tehran restrictions lifted in exchange for the Islamic Republic maintaining the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme.
Having decided to reinstate all sanctions and slap new ones on Iran's shipping, energy, financial, and other sectors, Trump pledged to introduce secondary restrictions on foreign companies doing business with Tehran, which drew much condemnation from other signatories to the nuclear deal.
forces, sanctions, attack, deployment, aircraft carrier, aircraft, carrier strike group, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), John Bolton, Donald Trump, Iran, US


I'm married, but I still date.
Before you run and tell my husband that I'm cheating on him, let me be clear- I still date my husband.
They know nothing of the woes of date nights after kids. They spend hours in the bathroom getting ready, uninterrupted by little people drawing on the walls with crayon or needing you to wipe their butts or spilling juice on the floor or getting stuck behind the bed. They get all dolled up and waltz out of the house without having to debrief the sitter on what to do if a child climbs over the fence or tries to eat dog food or what TV shows they can watch or how to coax them into going to bed. They hop in their clean cars (because they have no kids to spill cereal or leave weeds that they thought were "flowers" sitting in the floorboards) and drive off to dinner and a movie without constantly checking their phones to make sure there are no texts from the sitter saying that someone threw up or the microwave caught on fire or everyone revolted and is refusing to go to bed. They enjoy their peaceful and romantic evening together, and get to come home to a house that isn't trashed from the evening's activities (because, let's face it, it's hard to find a sitter who cleans up too) where they are able to snuggle in the peace and quiet without having to put kids to bed that refused to sleep without a kiss from mom and dad, pick up leftover food off the counter so the dog doesn't get it and throw up everywhere, and scrub the spill on the carpet that the sitter either "didn't see" or ignored completely. Those couples can have whatever happily-ever-after they choose because no straggler will be climbing in the bed with them at any moment to sleep between mom and dad, thrashing around like a madman while you and the husband wearily look at each other and wonder why you had kids in the first place.
No, they have no idea.
Date night is hard to come by for most of us. In a poll I took on my Facebook page, many moms admitted that they haven't had a date night in over a year. (In which I would be wearing black every day as I mourned the loss of my sanity and love life.) It takes effort and sometimes the effort just almost doesn't seem worth it. But let's be honest, girls, is there anything more precious or valuable on this earth than our marriages? Is there anything else more deserving of the sacrifice and investment than the person that we vowed "to love and to cherish until death do us part"?
That handsome guy in that picture above? He is God's greatest gift to me. And in the times when I may not have all the romantic feel-goods about him, I made a commitment to love him unconditionally for the rest of my life. If my marriage falls apart, everything else unravels with it. So I am determined to do whatever it takes to keep our relationship sacred, healthy and growing.
But it can be hard.
For many of us, it's the money. Because let's be honest, by the time you hire a sitter $$ go to dinner $$$ and see a movie $$$$ you are spending an easy $100 for a few hours away. For some, it's finding the time. Between work schedules and kids activities and church and family, finding a spare night to go out can be next to impossible. For a lot of us, a sitter is hard to come by. Maybe you don't know a teenager that you trust (or that can handle the madness that is your kids). Many people don't have the luxury of having family close by to keep their brood. Or maybe, like me, you're just afraid that no one is quite up for the challenge of being thrown to the wolves… ahem…littles for an evening without being scarred for life and telling the world how out-of-control your kids are.
When the hubs and I first got married, I naïvely expected him to plan date nights. My 10-year married self looks back on my newlywed self and laughs at how comical that thought was. I would sit around and mope, waiting for him to plan some extravagant, romantic evening thatneverhappened. God love him. So a couple years into it I got wise and decided that if we were going to have date nights, it didn't really matter who planned it. It just mattered that it happened.
Three kids and ten years later, date nights are nothing magical or extravagant for us. Sometimes it's a drive thru meal and a movie. Sometimes it's a new restaurant we've been wanting to try. Sometimes it's a late movie after the kids have gone to bed so the sitter doesn't have to wrestle the kids to sleep. But whatever it is, it's always worth it. We talk. We hold hands. We have dinner where we don't spend half the time telling our kids not to run around or taking someone to the bathroom or cutting up someone's food. We get to actually taste what we're eating (hallelujah) and give each other our undivided attention.
Well, I am going to share a couple of ideas with you that just might help put a little fire under your seat to start planning your next date night. These are some practical tips to just make it happen. Because it's important. Because it's needed. Because you deserve it!
1. Schedule it. If you say there is no time, it might be because you haven't made time. Sit down and look at your calendars. Pick a night/day that you both have a slot of time and write that baby down. Schedule it just like you would a meeting or a doctor's appointment. And we all know date night is way better than both of those!
2. Do a childcare swap. If the sitter is the issue, find another couple with kids who you love and trust and swap childcare once a month. You watch their kids for an evening and they watch your kids for an evening. It doesn't cost anything, gives the kids something to look forward to, and blesses your friends as well.
3. Have a date night at home. When our kids were newborns, or when we first brought our adopted son home and couldn't leave him with someone, we had to make the best of it. So we'd pick a night, pick a movie, put the kids to bed early and make date night happen at home. You can order the kids pizza, feed them and put them to bed. Then either order out from your favorite restaurant and one of you pick it up, or cook something yummy together in the kitchen (which is actually a lot of fun and quite romantic), then sit down to a quiet meal just the two of you. Put on a movie or skip the movie all together and… you get the idea. Date night at home can be whatever you want it to be, and can be just as romantic as going out, without all the fuss. And you can do one as often as you want!
4. Make a Date Night Fund. Have a designated drawer or jar where you dump spare change/dollars to save up for a night out. Set an amount that it has to get to before you pull it out. Figure up the cost of the sitter, your favorite restaurant, show or a night at the movies and keep track of how much you're putting in. Make it visible so you're thinking about it often. Chances are, you'll make a greater effort to hang onto that cash so you can make your date night happen!
5. Check the local events in your area. Many times there are festivals, shows and other things going on that are either cheap or free that you can attend if you're looking for an inexpensive date night. Dates don't always have to be dinner and a movie. You can eat dinner at home with the kids and then head out to a free event and the only cost is your sitter (if you have to pay for it). Experience the local flavor and culture of where you live while having a night out at the same time! Groupon and Living Social are also great avenues for finding deals for things going on in your area.
Mamas, your marriage needs you just as much as your kids do. Our littles need to see us having fun in our marriage. They need to see us make our spouses a priority. It may seem impossible, but it's not! Stop the excuses. Get creative. Brainstorm together. Plan and prepare and create a night that is memorable and fun. I promise it is so worth the effort!
There is hope, friends! Date night is possible. Pull out those heels and your favorite dress and start planning! If you have other ideas on how to make date night happen, please share them in the comments!
This is very true, its almost as though we are growing apart. The children take up so much of our time and energy. The sitter and money are big issues to me, and where he is less concerned. We are truly in need of rekindling our bond, because as of now it feels as if we only exists for the kids and not each other. We seriously need to make more time for one another. I definitely agree and understand your post. Thanks!
I totally understand! I have had to remind myself many times, one day the kids will be gone and it will be the two of us again and we will either love each other well or look at each other as strangers. It all depends on what we do with our relationship right now! Thanks for reading, and I sincerely hope you are able to carve out some much-needed time to invest in your relationship. It's worth the effort!!
So true. My husband and I haven't had a date night since last October. Between his work(an hour away) and a baby crawling around, by the time he gets home, I am already in bed.And if we decide to watch a movie at home, I usually fall asleep. I am definitely going to try to schedule in some alone time with Eric.
We raise 4 children while we were in the ministries. My husband also worked during the day. So I was in a sense "a single Mom' raising my children. I thank God that my hubby has always been a big help in so many ways. Playing with the children when he got home from work. Helping me do the dishes and help out in the cooking and housework. That is the most important thing when you get married. You give 100% of yourself to your children & husband and he in return gives 100% back to you & the children. Of course when he is at work…then it's all in Mom hands. If you have a parent or sister ….that could help you out at least once a week …..you can go on that date night. Your'll right…you have to have a date night. Some day your children will grow up and you'll have many date nights to yourself. Thanks for sharing your story.


I know the code above is using C++11 standard headers, but this bug is not a C++11 related bug, the code above is just a known example to me. If you look at this thread (which was opened by me nearly 1.5 years ago) on FreeBSD forums http://forums.freebsd.org/showthread.php?t=23535 you'll see even C code (GCC itself and nearly anything compiled by -march=native on my system) affected by this bug.
What is the instruction it is causing an illegal instruction signal?
Run the resulting program using gdb to find out.
> What is the instruction it is causing an illegal instruction signal?
> Run the resulting program using gdb to find out.
use disassemble from inside gdb and look for the faulting instruction.
I suspect that the BSD kernel in question doesn't support AVX, so CPUID reports AVX but not OSXSAVE.  That would cause any AVX insn to #UD.  If this is the case, then gcc's -march=native is in error for failing to check OSXSAVE.
s/FAM/FMA/ in the ChangeLog entry.
> use disassemble from inside gdb and look for the faulting instruction.
If not then tell me the steps and I'll post what you need.
Now I'm at work. I'll try your patch to build GCC and post later.
Well well, something happened here!! This bug does not affect me anymore; Now with or without your patch the above example code works just fine! I even tried crypto++ which I had problem with in the past but it works fine too.
Two days ago I upgraded my system to 9-STABLE branch (a development branch), looks like the FreeBSD folks implemented AVX support into thier kernel.
Hopefully I kept the old kernel. I rebuilt GCC 4.7 with your patch (GCC 4.6.4 is my system wide GCC and I'll won't mess with that one).
Then I booted to the old kernel and rebuilt the above example code and, hell yeah!! Your patch does the job, the program finished normally with 'Hello, World!' printed out on screen (Note: with old kernel without your patch, it still get killed by SIGILL).
Since this is a development branch and is not out yet I believe your patch is still relevant. Because out there 9.0, 8.3 and 7.4 is being used by people.
And one more thing. Your patch is little different from my 'driver-i386.c' file (gcc-4.7-20120929) and my patch command failed to merge it. I merged your patch manually which is attached.
SSE and YMM states aren't supported.
and YMM states aren't supported.
Sorry, but commited patch does NOT fixes the problem.
It does just reverse -- disables AVX & Co on systems the has OSXSAVE, XSTATE_SSE and XSTATE_YMM bits set, while the intention was to disable if any of these bits are not set.
Proposed followup patch is attached.
The patch looks good to me, but patches should be posted to gcc-patches at gcc.gnu.org mailing list instead.


"Angels Ever Bright and Fair" by George Frideric Handel, Thomas Morell et al.
O worse than Death indeed! lead me, ye guards Lead me, or to the rack, or to the flames, I'll thank your gracious mercy. Angels ever bright and fair. Angels ever bright and fair, Take, O take me Take, O take me to your care; take me, Take, O, take me Angels every bright and fair. Take, O take me to your care; Take, O take me to your care. Speed to your own courts my flight, Clad in robes of Virgin white; Clad in robes of Virgin white, Clad in robes of Virgin white; Take me Angels ever bright and fair, Take, O take me, Take, O take me to your care; Take me Take, O take me Angels ever bright and fair, Take, O take me to your care; Take o take me to your care.
Handel, George Frideric. Angels Bright and Fair. Greer Music Library Historic Sheet Music Collection. Connecticut College.


text:
Le lettere claudiane furono tre nuove lettere che l'imperatore Claudio (41–54 d.C.) tentò di introdurre nell'alfabeto latino alla fine della propria censura (47-48 d.C.). Probabilmente l'imperatore volle emulare la riforma ortografica dell'antenato Appio Claudio Cieco. A differenza della riforma di quest'ultimo, tuttavia, quella imperiale verrà abbandonata subito dopo la morte del suo autore.

Le lettere

Un segno Ⅎ (digamma inversum), usato per trascrivere il suono consonantico /w/, da sempre indistinto dalla vocale /u/ nell'alfabeto latino, entrambe scritte V (più tardi u nelle scritture minuscole onciali). L'uso verrà recuperato in epoca medievale, per trascrivere il suono presente nelle lingue germaniche, dove sarà però indicato con w.
Un segno Ⱶ (littera h dimidia), corrispondente alla metà sinistra della lettera H, usato per trascrivere il cosiddetto sonus medius, cioè un suono intermedio tra I e V/U, come nella parola optimus/optumus.
il segno Ɔ o ↃϹ (antisigma), per sostituire i suoni BS e PS (per esempio in parole come urbs o ipse), di cui non si conoscono attestazioni. Il grafema è frutto infatti di una ricostruzione degli studiosi, con opinioni discordanti.

Unicode

Le lettere sono disponibili a partire dalla versione 5.0.0 di Unicode. In particolare:

Note

Bibliografia

Voci correlate
Epigrafia latina
Nomi delle lettere dell'alfabeto latino
Scrittura e pronuncia del latino
Storia dell'alfabeto
Claudio

Altri progetti

Claudio

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Home Variety Satire Baba on the dance floor, Baba likes to party
VarietySatire
Baba on the dance floor, Baba likes to party
For writers, comedians and people who have figured out the answer to the greatest question facing humanity right now 'Kya aapke toothpaste mein namak aur nimbu hai', India is like a wet dream. A potential goldmine for pure, unadulterated, original and hilarious content. The statements that our politicians make on a daily basis; the kind of debates that erupt on social media between groups of self proclaimed liberals, intellects, pseudo-intellects, atheists, non-atheists, right wingers, left inclined, mid-center-45degreetoeast-vastukehisaabsetheek-crypto-secularists; the kind of news that make it to the headlines, give more sexual titillation to pretentious writers like me than watching Tori Black making out with Lily Carter.
These days, to get my daily dose of 'if you know what i mean', i just browse through India's favourite newspaper, Youporn.com, which is littered with videos like Sakshi Maharaj-BDSM-Sambit Mahapatra, amateur AAPtard hot night out with BJP bhakt, PK supporter interracial or Nasty adventures of Sashi Tharoor. And that's just on a lazy Monday morning.
So, it is obvious that with such eclectic taste, I nearly movie-gasmed when I saw the trailer of Messenger of God aka MSG. It featured Chewbacca (His Bollywood debut), dressed as Mithun in Disco Dancer, playing rugby, driving a Harley (What happened to Millenium Falcon?) bashing up people and crushing trees with his bare hands. Yeah, I know what you guys are thinking. How did Chewbacca manage to speak clear sentences in this movie? I think his speech therapist should have been hired by Yash Chopra, while he was still alive.
I was left heartbroken though when I found out that it is not Chewbacca who stars in the movie. No, it's not even a guy hiding under his suit. Its a human being, the real deal and his name is Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insaan, leader of a 'religious-spiritual' cult Dera Sacha Sauda. Now, I am amused at the choice of the word Insaan that he uses to establish his identity, so as to avoid the imminent confusion between him and Chewbacca and making sure that he is really but a mere mortal. This is the equivalent of Uday Chopra rechristening himself as Uday Wannabe Raj Rahul Chopra Ji Dumbfuck.
Fun fact: This particular cult, Dera Sacha Sauda, was started by a guy named Beparwah Mastana. I wonder how someone with a name like that would have convinced people to join his cult. I can totally imagine his recruitment drive conversation to go something like this:
Mastana: Hey, you guy peeing on the wall. Are you stressed out in life? Let me help you.
Guy: Like how?
Mastana: I have started an organisation called Dera Sacha Sauda. We, like, meditate and stuff. If you have problems like stress, dissatisfaction at your job, complicated love life, jaadutona, patni-sautan vivaad, shighrapatan, etc., come to us. Guaranteed positive results in 10 minutes. We are also handing out freebies like a yearly supply of Shilajit, free of cost, to early-bird registrations.
Guy: Cool!! What's your name, again?
Mastana: Beparwah Mastana.
Guy: And I am Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop. I work with United Nations and help frame economic policies of under-developed nations. I also opine on matters of global crisis like Angelina Jolie and her exotic baby selection.
Mastana: Are you fucking kidding with me right now?
Guy: You started it, sir.
A quick search on the Mr. Insaan revealed that he has close to 40-50 million followers, has released several music albums and has performed in over a hundred 'rock-concerts'. One of his most popular song is called the Love Charger, and has lyrics like "I'm so lucky because you are my love charger…Billion battery when goes down, you charged up with love, so strong your power love, you are the love charger." Just to be clear, this is not an advertisement for a vibrator.
Though the religious Guru believes that he is just a messenger of God and has been sent on earth to deliver HIS message to the people, he elaborates that he chooses to wear such garish, polka-dotted skirts and attaches Diwali light bulbs on his pubic hair infested body to connect to today's youth. Now, unless he is popping hallucinating pills and has been living under a rock with Manishankar Aiyar, I can't fathom which youth is being targeted. But then, the largest chunk of his followers are people from Haryana, where a guy is only allowed to make love to a sonogram. So, I see his point.
But what is the fun in being a religious guru without having some murder and rape case on you, right? True to traditions, he also faces several charges of rape, murder, and extortion. He upped his game by several notches when he forced nearly 400 of his followers for castration, which according to him, is a way to reach God. And guess what, each one of them did. They actually sacrificed their balls in anticipation of a glorious future that involved fairies whispering sweet nothings in your ears and a land where honey nectar flowed because someone said so. So, yeah, never underestimate the power of a marketing guy. Case in point: Elections, 2014.
With all of this background, I had made all the plans to watch the movie, till I heard that the Censor Board aka VHP of Bollywood, has cock-blocked its release, citing reasons that it glories a person who is accused of murder charges. Really now!! They don't seem to be having any objections to the glorification of a similarly accused Bhai-who-cannot-be-named, whose idea of fun involves a Land Rover, some vodka and pavement dwellers. Censor board chief has also said that the film looks like an advertisement and some parts of the movie are not substantiated by logic. In a galaxy far far away, Sajid Khan is snorting stuff, pointing fingers and laughing, while writing the script of his new movie 'Audience waalon, tumhari aisi ki taisi'.
Well, I hope the movie gets released someday so we, the insaans, get to see Bling Baba performing miracles like taking a dump on the audience's intellect. The movie would really be miraculous if no one while watching it, decides to choke himself with that Rs. 300 samosa or stab his own face with Nachos. As for me, I will, for now, get to my daily dose of entertainment. I heard that in today's Newshour debate, Arnab has called in Sambit Mahapatra, Sanjay Jha and Meenakshi Lekhi. That's what I call, Wild Things: Foursome.
(This post first appeared here)
by – Shubhkirti Sinha
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this articles are the personal opinions of the author. OpIndia.com is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability or validity of any information in this article. The information, facts or opinions appearing in this article do not reflect the views of OpIndia.com and OpIndia.com does not assume any liability on the same.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Q: VBA: Read and Write lines to text file I have managed to hack together a function that reads or writes to lines in a text file. I'm using it to save some settings for my application. Just wanting see everyones input and to see if there is a better way to edit a line in the text file. Specifically the part that builds an array to edit lines. This is what I have.
Public ReadOptionsOutput As String
Public FSO As New FileSystemObject
Public TxtFileOutPut As String

Public Function TxtFile(WritetoFile As Boolean, FileDir As String, line As
Variant, What As String)
Dim FileContent() As Variant
Dim Idx As Integer
Dim Txtstream As Object

'////////////////Write to file///////////////
If WritetoFile = True Then
Set Txtstream = FSO.OpenTextFile(FileDir, ForReading, False)
Idx = 0

On Error GoTo Err1 'To catch the last blank line. Dont see another way to
see if .ReadLine is blank
Do 'Build an array to edit lines in Text file
    Idx = Idx + 1
    ReDim Preserve FileContent(1 To Idx)
    FileContent(Idx) = Txtstream.ReadLine
Loop
Err1:
Open FileDir For Output As #1: Close #1 'Delet all text inside of File
Set Txtstream = Nothing
Set Txtstream = FSO.OpenTextFile(FileDir, ForAppending, False)
FileContent(line) = What 'Edit line in the array
    For Idx = 1 To Idx - 1
        Txtstream.WriteLine (FileContent(Idx)) 'Write everything back to
textfile
    Next

'/////////////////////Read file///////////////
ElseIf WritetoFile = False Then 'Reads Line in file only
Set Txtstream = FSO.OpenTextFile(FileDir, ForReading, False)
NextLine = 1

Do 'Loop thru to selected line and read it
    TxtLine = Txtstream.ReadLine
    If NextLine = line Then
        TxtFileOutPut = TxtLine
    End If
    NextLine = NextLine + 1
Loop Until NextLine > line
End If
Txtstream.Close
End Function

A: I would append data to a text file, from the top down, but not overwriting data that already exists in the text file.
'Starting the program and sub procedure to write VBA code to write the data to a text file Append.
Sub VBA_to_append_existing_text_file()

'Declaring the strFile_Path variable as String Data Type to store the text file path.
Dim strFile_Path As String

'Assigning the Existing File path to the variable strFile_Path.
strFile_Path = "C:\your_path_here\test.txt"

'Opening the text file for Append with FileNumber as 1.
Open strFile_Path For Append As #1

'Writing to the sample text to the File using FileNumber and Write Command.
YourValue = Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1").Value
Write #1, YourValue

'Closing the File using FileNumber.
Close #1

End Sub

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Prime Minister for Peace
My Struggle for Serbian Democracy
Milan Panic
Milan Panic tells of his attempt to oust Slobodan Milosevic and his battle with the U.S. State Department in an effort to bring peace to the Balkans during the Yugoslav Wars. A young cycling champion who fought Nazi occupation in Yugoslavia, Panic defected after WWII to start a new life in the United States. But his greatest challenge lay ahead.
The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group


text:
Apple hit all-time Services record in Q2, expects half a billion paid subscribers by 2020
By William Gallagher
Tuesday, April 30, 2019, 02:48 pm PT (05:48 pm ET)
Announcing Apple's second fiscal quarter of 2019 results, CEO Tim Cook has revealed that the company's various services earned it $11.5 billion in the last quarter. The company has over 390 million paid subscriptions and expects to reach half a billion during 2020.
Apple's Services, including Apple Music and Apple Pay, earned $11.5 billion in the last quarter, covering January to March 2019. That's a growth of 16% in the last year and marks over 50% growth since the same quarter five years ago.
Cook began his comments about Apple's earnings with the statement that the company has "set a record for Services" in this quarter.
Later, Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri gave an indication of the size of demand for Apple's various services.
"We have 390 million paid subscriptions, all growing in strong double-digits," he said. "And we expect the number of paid subscriptions to pass half a billion in 2020."
That number of paid subscriptions does not include any for the new Apple News+ service. While that launched within this earnings period, it began with a free month trial for all users.
The next earnings call will be the first to see any impact from Apple News+ and may also see paid subscriptions beginning for those parts of the Apple TV+ and Apple TV Channels services that are due to launch in mid-May.
"Obviously we're always working on new things," said Cook. "But right now we're really focused on getting these four out there. We have Apple News+ in the market today, we'll have Apple Arcade and Apple TV in the Fall, and over the summer we're bringing Apple Card."
He wouldn't respond to analyst's questions about which services Apple expects to do the best, and even sounded a little annoyed at the question.
"We're going to wait to see what happens," Cook said. "What I can tell you right now is that we're taking consumer interest on the Apple Card, there's been significant interest on that and we're excited."
He added that Apple sees these new services as being at "the very beginning of the ramp," emphasizing that this even included Apple News+ which is already available. "We wouldn't do a service if we didn't think it was meaningful," he said. "These aren't hobbies."
Maestri also said that Apple was preparing for these further services. "Our services business has multiple streams," he said. "It's very important for our ecosystem, and we will make all the necessary investments to make the services successful."
Cook suggested that there would be further news at this year's WWDC, concluding his remarks by saying that "you won't want to miss this one."
Apple Pay,
Apple Music,
Apple News+,
Cook says Apple's China performance on the rise, trade war less of a threat
Apple Pay coming to NYC transit in July, NFL in time for regular season
Sales of iPhones down year-on-year despite popularity of iPhone XR in US
Sales of iPhones down year-on-year despite popularity of iPhone XR in US ~13 minutes ago


Park News - (4/25/12) A great new Facebook page has been created with a mission close to my own heart. Take a peek at the Restore Revolution page… who's goal is to have Six Flags Magic Mountain restore the once awesome Revolution coaster back to it's former glory. The effort goes beyond just some TLC… they park needs to remove the unnecessary shoulder restraints that were bolted onto the trains in the 90s and make the ride run as Anton Schwarzkopf intended. In it's current form, it's just far too painful to be enjoyable due to the poorly designed addition of shoulder restraints onto the cars and layout that were never intended to have them. Take a look and join the revolution.
Liked! I hope this is true, if so So Cal may have two of the greatest Schwarzkopf coasters ever made for man!
COVERING MOST OF THE WEST COAST!
Wow....GREAT find! It would be nice to see Magic Mountain restore it back to how it was. They need to learn some lessons off of Hershey and what they're doing to SDL. I "liked" that Facebook page as well, because I'm for them restoring this ride and making it better than it currently is.
According to SFMM's Facebook page, the "Great American Revolution" opened on this date in 1976.


Clean open floor plan with fireplace in family room. RV gate on corner lot. New upgrades including brand new AC ,roof, new paint carpet ,kitchen appliances and cupboards. Master is extra large and can be converted to a 4 bedroom if desired. Buyer to verify room sizes. No HOA low taxes!


This is my first attempt at building a box. I have a limited budget so my choice of wood was whatever I could get cheap. That ended up to being white ash at HD. I learned a lot from this project. One is having a work shop to work in would be nice. Mine consists of a patio table on my porch. This was ok provided it wasn't raining. I also learned that having a nice table saw really matters, mine is ten years old and I bought it new for 100 dollars. The fence moved a lot, so I had to measure and clamp every cut. I also learned that sanding is your friend, learn to love it. It was a lot of fun to build and do the other details like carving the deer head and doing the inlay. I should note that I bought the inlay from Constantine's in Ft. Lauderdale Fl. It came in a circle form but I did not like that, so I cut out what I liked and inlayed it. It was my first attempt at doing inlays. I actually watched someone do it on YOUTUBE and tried it on a piece of scrap frist. The next box I do I will create my own inlay. I would also like to try and hand cut the dovetails instead of using a jig. The white ash seemed to contrast well with the carving, so I choose to finish the box with a clear acrylic lacquer. Added a half mortice lock to the box see last picture. Ended up going with a piano hinge for stregnth. Routered out a notch for the hinge to sit in top and bottom. Thanks for all the comments.
Very nicely done—great job for a first project!
Good job. You look like you will be good at this.
Very, very nice job, especially for what you have for tools!
Here's a picture of a double dovetail. I don't know where the blog is that you mentioned you're looking for. Is this the kind of dovetail you were looking for?
This was made on an Incra fence system.
Nice box for your firearms. Well done.
Your excellent work and beautiful result certainly belies your tool limitations and proves that fancy tools don't make a craftsman.
Nice! Love the fancy dovetails. Keep the guns in a locker or safe so you can enjoy them for years.
So many technics and details in one box,outstanding!


RANGEFINDER CAMERA. 1960. Made in the 1960s, this is well after my period of interest, and it certainly is not wood and brass, but it was made by a British manufacturer, and is included as an example of one of the very few British made high quality 35mm cameras.


Precision Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, & Drain Services is a contractor based in Carol Stream, IL. We don't have any additional information about Precision Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, & Drain Services.
Did a very sloppy job and was not honest about the work he was doing. He also said he was replacing all my pipe with new and did not he left a piece and it leeks water.
I liked the guy who came out. He did a good job.
They sent an unskilled plumber.
They were amazing, really good. I liked that when we thought we were going to have to do our whole bathroom, and they were able to just fix the ceiling and just fixed a pipe. It was actually really inexpensive, and they did a great job. It didn't take very long. They did a really good job, and I would recommend them. I would grade the overall experience with an A.
There was nothing in particular that I liked or disliked. I had no complaints. They did fine.
They had a problem at first, and the guy called for backup. The backup guy was so awesome. He went out his way, he was looking at everything, and made sure that I was very satisfied. If I ever had another problem, I would call this one guy. He was so special. He went way out of his way. I had a clogged sewer line. I would grade the overall experience with an A+.
I had no complaints with the service. They did excellent work.
I like that they explain what's going on, they're very polite, and cover their shoes. They're great. I'd give them an A+ overall. They came right away and everything. Customer service is very good. They even call you. I'm not an expert, but I think they do know what they're doing. I will be recommending them and I'll be using them again.
They were awesome. 100 percent 10's all the way.
Nothing in particular that I liked. It was just a plumbing company. They came and did the work and that was it. I'd give them an A overall. They were clean.
They were good at what they did, and they explained this other thing we had questions about. The last time, they ran the line off to the street and they did the drains on the inside. They cleaned the traps. I'd give them a B+ overall because there's always room for improvement. There wasn't really an issue, it's just hard to be perfect.
I thought they were very thorough and trustworthy. I didn't have any problems. I think at that time they came and had to dig out the piping that goes out of your sewage. I'd give them an A overall.
I had a rocky experience with them. Well, I had all sorts of somewhat good and really awful involvements with them. They've done plumbing work and heating and cooling work. I would give them a C- overall.
They installed a new A/C unit. In particular, I liked their quick work. I'd give them a B+ overall. There was an issue with my credit card being stolen when I paid for it but I got it rectified. Everything was on time. They cleaned up after themselves and they knew what they were doing.
We use them quite a bit. We've never had a problem. I like their promptness. They do what they say they're going to do. I like the fact that you know exactly what everything is going to cost before they start the work. I can't say enough good about them. One, they put in a new heating and air conditioning system. They've also replaced toilets for us. Something went wrong with it and they came out and fixed with no cost. I'd give them an A+ overall. I've already recommended them.
It was fine. It was OK. I think he was OK. He was not that good, but he was OK. They were changing the piping, some kind of plumbing, and then the routing. I'd give them a C overall. Their customer service was good. They were on time. They didn't leave anything behind. He was pretty good. They seemed to know what they were doing.
They're great. We like them. They just always do good work. The last thing they did was checking our air conditioning. I would give them an A overall. They were on time.
They're very good about being on time and setting up appointments. Also, the workmanship is very good and the advice they give you is always spot on. They've done plumbing, and air conditioning. I'd give them an A overall. They were good.
I liked that they did a good job at a fair price. They routed. I would grade the overall experience with an A+. I would be extremely likely to recommend them.
In this particular case, the technician was business-like and friendly. He gave me plenty of options of what I could do to repair it so I could pick one that fit my budget. They did a drain clean out. I'd give them an A overall.
The work was good work. It was fine. I liked that they were quiet, they came in, did the work and finished quickly. They helped me do the plumbing for a new bathroom. I would grade the overall experience with an A. I would very likely recommend them.
They're very good guys. I think they're great. I'd give them an A+ overall, very good.


The agency hasn't been at full capacity for a month, and getting tax refunds out in time will be a heavy lift.
WASHINGTON — The IRS' workforce will return to full strength under the short-term deal to reopen the government struck Friday by President Trump and congressional leaders. But the disruption from the partial shutdown and the recent absence of a large contingent of recalled IRS employees mean the possibility of delayed tax refunds.
The administration had planned to eventually send about 46,000 furloughed IRS employees back to work during the shutdown – nearly 60 percent of the IRS workforce. The recalled employees who hadn't reported for work include staffers in IRS processing centers in Ogden, Utah; Kansas City, Missouri; Fresno, California; and Austin, Texas, according to union officials.
Last year, with the new tax law looming, Congress was more willing to open its wallet for the IRS and blunted the Trump administration's proposed cuts. But it ended up cutting in other areas. The result is that the agency's budget is about the same – $11.4 billion – as in recent years.


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Labour Leadership: Abbott Gets on the Ballot
June 11, 2010 12:00 am Published by Steve Jones Leave your thoughts
Following the withdrawal of John McDonnell as a candidate for election as Labour leader, it has now been confirmed that Diane Abbott has now secured enough nominations to get on the ballot. She will be up against the two Milibands, Ed Balls and Andy Burnham. Although Abbott had only 8 nominations as of last night, her total was boosted both by those who had nominated McDonnell and by the support of a number of other Labour MPs.
The reason for this is clear. It had become quite obvious that the movement was not going to accept a variation on what happened in the last Labour leadership election. After Blair quit, Brown was manoeuvred through to be the only named candidate in a virtual coronation, such was the fear on the party leadership's part of any opposition in a ballot. This time it was increasingly looking like members would be stuck with a selection of identical clones all from the same (right) wing of the party. Party rank and file voices were joined by union conference after union conference in calling for all the candidates to be on the ballot paper. Considerable anger was rightly expressed over the use of a threshold level on MP nominations to keep candidates whose faces didn't fit off the ballot even when – as was the case with John McDonnell – there was sizeable support for such names from the movement at large.
As a result even sections of the bourgeoisie, such as the Guardian, started warning that Labour would need to have a "proper spread" of candidates to ensure that the election had some validity. They warned that Brown was damaged by having avoided any election, although we would add that the real damage to Brown was done by the policies and actions of New Labour in undermining working class support for Labour.
However the pressure started to tell and as a result they have had to make a concession in putting Abbott on the ballot, an act which was achieved by a number of right wing Labour MPs nominating her to ensure that she hit the target.
Undoubtedly they did not wish to be put in the position of having to let John McDonnell onto the ballot. In that sense, the right wing of the party see Abbott as a safer option in the coming contest. She is there to act as a safety valve to offset pressure from the rank and file – pressure that the right wing does not feel confident about ignoring as they have in the past. In the Brown non-election, huge pressure was put on MPs by the party officials to stop others being nominated. This time it has been reported that, over the last few days, MPs came under huge pressure this time to ensure that everybody got on – bar John McDonnell that is!
Much has been made of the fact that Diane Abbott has earned her place on the ballot due to the fact that she is both black and a woman. However, we would argue that the question of having ethnic and gender based diversity on the ballot is nowhere near as important as having a proper political choice. In that sense we regret that John McDonnell was not able to get on the ballot and was clearly pressurised to stand aside in favour of Diane Abbott. Party members clearly want the opportunity to vote for real change in the party, not the continuation of Blair/Brownism under a new logo.
Abbott has been indentified as a candidate of the Left, although she has seemingly done little to promote Left ideas in recent years. Instead, she has based her entire campaign on the sole fact that the ballot paper needed someone on it who was black and/or a woman i.e. her!
In giving critical support to her stand in the election, we now call upon her to raise socialist ideas in her campaign which represent a real break with the old policies of so-called New Labour. If she is serious about standing as a candidate for leader and giving members real choice, rather than just using the campaign to kick start her career in the party hierarchy as some have speculated, then she must bring forward a programme which is clearly differentiated from that of the old leadership. We believe such demands should include a programme based around the next Labour government taking power from big business and the City of London, nationalising the monopolies, getting rid of the anti-trade union laws, establishing real public services, scrapping the House of Lords, getting troops out of Afghanistan and so on. Raising such demands will give members the choice they have been demanding, if they are raised that is.
We have been promised a proper debate over the next few months in the lead up to the Labour conference in September, where the new leader will be unveiled. Fine, let's hold them to their words. Let's have a debate where the ideas of socialism can be clearly raised as part of the struggle to arm the movement to face up to the coming attacks from the Con-Dem coalition government. If this does not take place then the election will end up being pretty pointless.
In the next few weeks we will comment both on the progress of the contest and on the various positions being put by the candidates. Above all we will show why we need the Labour Party to break with the policies of big business and stand instead in defence of the working class by mobilising around a clear socialist programme.
This article first appeared on Socialist Appeal.
This post was written by Steve Jones


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Former AT&T chief Whitacre joins Exxon Mobil board
Edward Whitacre, who was chairman and CEO of AT&T until retiring last June, has joined the Exxon Mobil board of directors. For some conspiracy theorists, it will only confirm that Big Oil and Big Telecom were in cahoots all along (yes, we're kidding). Perhaps, Whitacre's experience leading SBC Communications and later AT&T for 17 years can be valuable to Exxon Mobil as the company deals with the aftermath of a shareholder fight led by the Rockefeller family. Old-school telecom types know a thing or two about how to keep shareholders fat and happy.
- see this story at The San Antonio Business Journal


The coming holiday season is a time of mixed feelings for many. How to enjoy the festivities of the season without the all-too-common weight gain that follows? As with so many aspects of health, the answer boils down to: Have a plan!
First off, let's talk activity. With cooler weather and so much to do, it's easy to lose those healthy habits. Look for ways to make activity fun – is there a family walk to look at decorations in your future? Keep in mind, too, that short bursts of activity can add up – 3 sessions of 10 minutes can be just as helpful as 30 minutes straight if you're getting your heartrate up and working those muscles.
Next, how do we handle those hallmark meals? Especially Thanksgiving dinner, where overindulging is almost expected. Don't fast the whole day of a big holiday bash – you're not likely to make healthy choices when starving! Eat slowly – give yourself time to pay attention to those signals from your body so that you know when you're full. Finally, don't stuff yourself – stop when no longer hungry.
Realistically, I find the biggest danger during this season of excess isn't one or two big sit down meals, but the dozens of opportunities to graze on sweets, nuts, and other treats that seem to spring out of the walls around us. Not to mention, in many cases, the free flowing alcohol at many gatherings. Two meals won't make us gain nearly as much weight as 6 weeks of grazing on empty calories! The key here is, once again, planning. If Aunt May's famous fudge is a stable of your holiday, fine – have a piece or two. Focus when you're eating it, really enjoy it. And stop before you eat the whole box. More importantly, practice saying no thanks to filler treats – things that might make their way into your mouth simply because they're there. And if your friend's party is going to have a buffet of high-fat treats, maybe have a healthy dinner beforehand so you aren't hungry and can more easily stay away.
The key to success at any point of the year is to be realistic about the temptations you'll face and then coming up with a plan to do better. The focus on enjoying family and friends doesn't mean we have to eat everything we are offered – and hopefully, with healthy choices, we will find we have the energy and good health to continue enjoying family and friends for many years to come.


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Author Archives: harringtonbecca
Just don't call it 'climate change'
Take away the charged language, and you can find surprising of consensus in the war against climate change.
October 1, 2017 in Business Insider, Uncategorized.
Finding the iron in your fortified breakfast cereals on Facebook Live
I did a science experiment on the internet for Tech Insider. Check out the full video:
April 20, 2016 in Tech Insider, Uncategorized.
Back in the 1960s, government scientists thought it was a good idea to make artificial hearts powered by the radioactive element plutonium-238. This isotope of plutonium is the same one that NASA has used to power its space instruments — all the way from the experiments for the Apollo missions to Pluto's probe, New Horizons.…
One sentence sums up all the science on how to eat healthy
Diet crazes come and go, but the science of how to eat healthy hasn't actually changed that much in recent years. We hear a lot of conflicting advice on whether the latest diet is better than the last, yet there's at least one sentence that nutrition experts agree on. It's from the scientific report of…
A crazy landslide that ripped up a California road is puzzling geologists
A landslide just outside of Los Angeles caused Vasquez Canyon Road to buckle and break last week. By the time the land stopped shifting, the road looked more like a rollercoaster. READ MORE
First-ever cyborg roses can change color with the flick of a switch
Cyborg roses could become the first "smart" plant. Scientists at Linköping University in Sweden created the first electronic rose in a lab, theyreported Nov. 20 in the journal Science Advances. This technology could create plants that light up to signal what they need, though the researchers admit that's a bit far off. READ MORE
This scientific chart is a gorgeous alternative to a wall calendar
Paper calendars were due for an update. The Hungarian design studio Anagraphic has created a beautiful way to visualize all of the celestial information that the traditional boxes just can't accommodate. Ok, so it's not as simple as your average wall calendar. But this year's version — a new take on the first one made in 2009…


Bollywoodmovies.us is a relatively low-traffic website, according to Alexa, which gave it a poor rank. Moreover, Bollywood Movies has yet to grow their social media reach, as it's relatively low at the moment: 147 StumbleUpon views, 8 Facebook likes and 5 Google+ votes. This website has a positive reputation and thus it's safe for browsing.
Sport News: Cricket, Golf, Tennis - Provide the latest news and headlines about Sport like Cricket, Tennis and Golf.


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Oceania x
New Zealand - Auckland - Tuesday 07 April 2020
7th WVA Global One Health Summit with high-level support of FAO, OIE and WHO
7th WVA Global One Health Summit with high-level support of FAO, OIE and WHO will focus on the topic of Climate change and its future impact on disease burdens, food security, and the economy. Download program: https://www.wvac2020.com/media/1744/20wvac_ghs_prog_a4.pdf
Australia - Geelong, Victoria - Tuesday 03 November 2020
GCEID Geelong One Health Day
Global " One Health Day ", officially celebrated on November 3, highlights the benefits of a One Health transdisciplinary approach towards solving today's critical animal, human and ecological health challenges. Projects focus on worldwide public health issues and the inextricable interactions between animal, environmental and human health. As part of the global movement, we will showcase projects that assess and address planetary health challenges.
Australia - Gatton, Queensland - Wednesday 03 November 2021
Launch of the Queensland Alliance of One Health Sciences
The University of Queensland is pleased to invite you to the launch of the Queensland Alliance for One Health Sciences (QAEHS) aiming to improve zoonotic disease public health policy through integrated health research that addresses local, national and global One Health challenges.
Australia - Cherbourg, Queensland - Monday 24 October 2022 → Friday 11 November 2022
Cherbourg Vet Visit - promoting One Health for people and their pets
The Cherbourg Visiting Vet program began in 2016, in response to community-identified concerns around their pets.
Cherbourg is an Aboriginal community within Wakka Wakka tribal boundaries, Australia. Colonisation has resulted in socio-economic circumstances such that the community seldom have access to veterinary services. Despite this, Cherbourg residents value their companion animals for a wide variety of emotional, utilitarian and cultural reasons.


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[![wercker status](https://app.wercker.com/status/36462973eb9bc9dd7a0f3b9568328af6/s "wercker status")](https://app.wercker.com/project/bykey/36462973eb9bc9dd7a0f3b9568328af6)

go-wercker-api is the official wercker client for the
[wercker API][api-docs].

> Caution: Both the API and this client are under active development. This
> client may introduce breaking changes, so be sure to vendor in this client.

# Usage

To start using this client, import this package and create a new client:

```golang
import "github.com/wercker/go-wercker-api"

client := wercker.NewClient(nil)
```

This will create a new client with the default config. If you want to override
the default config, then you need to create a `wercker.Config` object and
pass this `wercker.NewClient`:

```golang
import "github.com/wercker/go-wercker-api"

options := &wercker.Config{}
client := wercker.NewClient(options)
```

## Authentication

The client uses a `Provider` to get the credentials for the user. By default it
uses the following strategy:

- Retrieve the token from the environment variable`$WERCKER_TOKEN`
- Retrieve the token from file `~/.wercker/credentials`
- Fallback to anonymous user

If you retrieved your wercker token through other means, then you can use the
`credentials.Token` method to create a static `Provider`:

```golang
import "github.com/wercker/go-wercker-api"
import "github.com/wercker/go-wercker-api/credentials"

token := "... your token ..."
options := &wercker.Config{Credentials: credentials.Token(token)}
client := wercker.NewClient(options)
```

[More information][auth-docs]

# FAQ

...

[api-docs]: http://devcenter.wercker.com/api/index.html
[auth-docs]: docs/authentication.md

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


THOUGH it hasn't been true for years, many people believe that government employees receive lavish employment and retirement benefits in order to compensate for their meager paychecks. The reality is that their paychecks aren't meager at all: Government jobs often pay more than those in the private sector, and the difference between the two is growing.
Consider the lucrative lot of the men and women who work for Uncle Sam. In 2008, according to data from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis, the 1.9 million civilian employees of the federal government earned an average salary of $79,197. The average private employee, by contrast, earned just $49,935. The difference between them came to more than $29,000 - a differential that has more than doubled since 2000.
Take account of total compensation - wages plus benefits - and the disparity is even more striking. In 2008, total federal civilian compensation averaged $119,982 - more than twice the $59,908 in wages and benefits earned by the average private-sector employee. Chris Edwards, a scholar at the Cato Institute, has documented the steady widening of the gap: In 1960, federal workers averaged $1.24 for every $1 earned by a private employee. By 1980, the federal advantage was up to $1.51; in 2000 it was $1.66. Now it is $2 - and climbing. When ranked alongside 72 industries that span the US economy, federal employees take home the seventh-highest average compensation. Among the workers they outearn, Edwards shows, are those in such fields as computer systems design, chemical products, and legal services.
It isn't only at the federal level that the political class so handsomely takes care of its own. "State and local government workers get paid an average of $25.30 an hour, which is 33 percent higher that the private sector's $19,'' Forbes magazine reports. "Throw in pensions and other benefits and the gap widens to 42 percent.'' The Tax Foundation calculates that "non-wage compensation'' for the average state and local government employee worked out to $12,362 in 2007. For the average employee in the private sector, the comparable figure was just $8,784.
Americans increasingly fall into one of two camps. Those who work for the government - about 15 percent of the labor force - tend to enjoy sumptuous perks, virtually indestructible job security, and pensions that are guaranteed for life. The rest of us work in the private economy, where millions of jobs can be wiped out by a recession, defined-benefit pensions are disappearing, and competition and downsizing are facts of life.
There is a backlash coming, and it gets closer with each new revelation of public employees enriching themselves at taxpayer expense. Employees like the double-dipping Florida college president who took a lump sum "retirement'' benefit of $893,286 and receives a $14,631/month pension, yet continues to collect an annual salary of $441,538. Or like the former Massachusetts lawmakers who qualified for tens of thousands of dollars in enhanced pensions - many while still in their 40s - merely by resigning from the Legislature. Or like the Buffalo, N.Y., police detective who is serving a 45-year sentence for setting up drug raids in order to steal money and jewelry, but still receives an annual pension of more than $40,000.
The Free Enterprise Nation is headed by James MacDougald, a successful Florida businessman who has invested more than $1 million in the organization. Already he has assembled a staff of 65, including 10 researchers. He foresees the day when the group will be as influential as the AFL-CIO, and when government officials never make a move without considering its impact on the private sector.
"We're going to generate enough noise that government can't ignore us,'' he told me yesterday. "We aren't going away.'' Stay tuned.
© Copyright 2013 Globe Newspaper Company.


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Rapid-fire pharma M&A could stall a bit in 2016: Bloomberg
by Emily Wasserman |
Jan 6, 2016 8:52am
Pharma M&A is starting strong this year, with Baxalta ($BXLT) and Shire ($SHPG) reportedly close to inking a $32 billion-plus deal. But don't expect 2016 to best 2015 in terms of dealmaking, according to some industry watchers who say the rapid-fire pace is likely to slow in the year ahead.
For reference's sake, look back at this time last year. The beginning of 2015 was "almost a perfect M&A environment: a generally stable economy, lack of volatility in the equity markets, low interest rates," not to mention "tons of cash on companies' balance sheets," Jeff Stute, head of healthcare investment banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co., told Bloomberg. Those conditions prompted more than a few deals over the year, including Pfizer's ($PFE) $160 billion tax inversion deal with Allergan ($AGN), AbbVie's ($ABBV) $21 billion Pharmacyclics buy and Teva's ($TEVA) $40.5 billion deal for Allergan's generics business.
Now that pharma has fed its dealmaking appetite, it could shift its attention to digesting its bigger purchases rather than shelling out more for new companies. Pfizer, for one, could stay quiet on the dealmaking front as it moves ahead with its Allergan merger, especially in light of the Treasury Department's stricter policies on tax inversion deals.
John Fraunces
Plus, the ongoing drug price debate could take its toll on M&A. Mounting backlash over skyrocketing drug prices could prompt some companies to shoot less expensive deals to avoid public scrutiny. "You see more people talking about cost-containment--that's another theme that only seems to be growing," co-portfolio manager of the Turner Medical Sciences fund John Fraunces said, as quoted by Bloomberg. "I generally think as we see a more sober environment, we'll see the valuations of the deals come down."
But that doesn't mean that the M&A train will stop altogether. Companies such as Gilead Sciences ($GILD), Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ), Bayer and Shire could all be in the market for a deal this year. Gilead at the end of Q3 had $14 billion in cash, funds that could come in handy if and when the company decides to dabble in some dealmaking. J&J could also afford a big deal, Bloomberg points out, even though it announced a $10 billion share buyback program last year. "I wouldn't interpret the $10 billion share buyback as impacting our appetite for scale of any size in M&A at all," J&J CFO Dominic Caruso said at the time.
In the meantime, all eyes are on Baxalta and Shire's potential deal. The pair are reportedly discussing a price between $46.50 and $48 per share. If all goes to plan, the combined company would have about $20 billion in sales by 2020, creating one of the world's top drugmakers in rare diseases.
- read the Bloomberg story
Special Report: Pharma's top 10 M&A deals of 2014


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Evaluation of a synthetic CArG promoter for nitric oxide synthase gene therapy of cancer
J Worthington, T Robson, S Scott, D Hirst
Nitric oxide synthase gene therapy has been shown to be effective at inducing apoptosis in experimental tumours and sensitizing them to radiotherapy. We have also shown that expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase ( iNOS) can be effectively restricted to the tumour volume by the use of the radiation inducible promoter (WAF1) to drive the transgene in clinically relevant protocols. A synthetic construct (pE9), incorporating nine radiosensitive CArG elements from the Egr1 promoter, has recently been developed for cancer gene therapy. We have now investigated basal gene expression of transgenes driven by this promoter to assess its suitablility for use in iNOS gene therapy protocols in vivo. Transfection of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) with pE9iNOS, using a cationic lipid vector, resulted in progressively increasing (<5-fold) levels of iNOS protein expression up to 8 h after transfection. Transfection of an ex vivo rat artery preparation with pE9iNOS caused 83% inhibition of response to the vasoconstrictor phenylephrine ( PE). CMVi-NOS transfection also reduced response to PE, but by only 52%. A single injection of 25 mu g of pE9iNOS DNA in a lipid vector into the centre of a murine sarcoma (RIF1) induced iNOS protein expression by four-fold and increased nitrite concentration eight-fold. This caused a 7-day delay in tumour growth and was more effective than the constitutive CMV-driven construct. Our data suggest that generation of NO center dot, as a result of iNOS overexpression, is capable of further activating the E9 promoter, through a positive feedback loop, yielding stronger and sustained levels of NO center dot. This pE9iNOS combination may, therefore, be particularly useful in an anticancer gene therapy strategy as its antitumour effect in vivo was clearly superior to that of the strong constitutive promoter, CMV.
https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gt.3302552
10.1038/sj.gt.3302552
Dive into the research topics of 'Evaluation of a synthetic CArG promoter for nitric oxide synthase gene therapy of cancer'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II Medicine & Life Sciences 100%
Nitric Oxide Synthase Medicine & Life Sciences 91%
Genetic Therapy Medicine & Life Sciences 87%
Transfection Medicine & Life Sciences 65%
Phenylephrine Medicine & Life Sciences 41%
Transgenes Medicine & Life Sciences 38%
Lipids Medicine & Life Sciences 24%
Worthington, J., Robson, T., Scott, S., & Hirst, D. (2005). Evaluation of a synthetic CArG promoter for nitric oxide synthase gene therapy of cancer. Gene Therapy, 12(19), 1417-1423. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gt.3302552
Worthington, J ; Robson, T ; Scott, S ; Hirst, D. / Evaluation of a synthetic CArG promoter for nitric oxide synthase gene therapy of cancer. In: Gene Therapy. 2005 ; Vol. 12, No. 19. pp. 1417-1423.
@article{6004692b11a44cd4a49c2678f524ad94,
title = "Evaluation of a synthetic CArG promoter for nitric oxide synthase gene therapy of cancer",
abstract = "Nitric oxide synthase gene therapy has been shown to be effective at inducing apoptosis in experimental tumours and sensitizing them to radiotherapy. We have also shown that expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase ( iNOS) can be effectively restricted to the tumour volume by the use of the radiation inducible promoter (WAF1) to drive the transgene in clinically relevant protocols. A synthetic construct (pE9), incorporating nine radiosensitive CArG elements from the Egr1 promoter, has recently been developed for cancer gene therapy. We have now investigated basal gene expression of transgenes driven by this promoter to assess its suitablility for use in iNOS gene therapy protocols in vivo. Transfection of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) with pE9iNOS, using a cationic lipid vector, resulted in progressively increasing (<5-fold) levels of iNOS protein expression up to 8 h after transfection. Transfection of an ex vivo rat artery preparation with pE9iNOS caused 83% inhibition of response to the vasoconstrictor phenylephrine ( PE). CMVi-NOS transfection also reduced response to PE, but by only 52%. A single injection of 25 mu g of pE9iNOS DNA in a lipid vector into the centre of a murine sarcoma (RIF1) induced iNOS protein expression by four-fold and increased nitrite concentration eight-fold. This caused a 7-day delay in tumour growth and was more effective than the constitutive CMV-driven construct. Our data suggest that generation of NO center dot, as a result of iNOS overexpression, is capable of further activating the E9 promoter, through a positive feedback loop, yielding stronger and sustained levels of NO center dot. This pE9iNOS combination may, therefore, be particularly useful in an anticancer gene therapy strategy as its antitumour effect in vivo was clearly superior to that of the strong constitutive promoter, CMV.",
author = "J Worthington and T Robson and S Scott and D Hirst",
doi = "10.1038/sj.gt.3302552",
journal = "Gene Therapy",
Worthington, J, Robson, T, Scott, S & Hirst, D 2005, 'Evaluation of a synthetic CArG promoter for nitric oxide synthase gene therapy of cancer', Gene Therapy, vol. 12, no. 19, pp. 1417-1423. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gt.3302552
Evaluation of a synthetic CArG promoter for nitric oxide synthase gene therapy of cancer. / Worthington, J; Robson, T; Scott, S; Hirst, D.
In: Gene Therapy, Vol. 12, No. 19, 10.2005, p. 1417-1423.
T1 - Evaluation of a synthetic CArG promoter for nitric oxide synthase gene therapy of cancer
AU - Worthington, J
AU - Robson, T
AU - Scott, S
AU - Hirst, D
N2 - Nitric oxide synthase gene therapy has been shown to be effective at inducing apoptosis in experimental tumours and sensitizing them to radiotherapy. We have also shown that expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase ( iNOS) can be effectively restricted to the tumour volume by the use of the radiation inducible promoter (WAF1) to drive the transgene in clinically relevant protocols. A synthetic construct (pE9), incorporating nine radiosensitive CArG elements from the Egr1 promoter, has recently been developed for cancer gene therapy. We have now investigated basal gene expression of transgenes driven by this promoter to assess its suitablility for use in iNOS gene therapy protocols in vivo. Transfection of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) with pE9iNOS, using a cationic lipid vector, resulted in progressively increasing (<5-fold) levels of iNOS protein expression up to 8 h after transfection. Transfection of an ex vivo rat artery preparation with pE9iNOS caused 83% inhibition of response to the vasoconstrictor phenylephrine ( PE). CMVi-NOS transfection also reduced response to PE, but by only 52%. A single injection of 25 mu g of pE9iNOS DNA in a lipid vector into the centre of a murine sarcoma (RIF1) induced iNOS protein expression by four-fold and increased nitrite concentration eight-fold. This caused a 7-day delay in tumour growth and was more effective than the constitutive CMV-driven construct. Our data suggest that generation of NO center dot, as a result of iNOS overexpression, is capable of further activating the E9 promoter, through a positive feedback loop, yielding stronger and sustained levels of NO center dot. This pE9iNOS combination may, therefore, be particularly useful in an anticancer gene therapy strategy as its antitumour effect in vivo was clearly superior to that of the strong constitutive promoter, CMV.
AB - Nitric oxide synthase gene therapy has been shown to be effective at inducing apoptosis in experimental tumours and sensitizing them to radiotherapy. We have also shown that expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase ( iNOS) can be effectively restricted to the tumour volume by the use of the radiation inducible promoter (WAF1) to drive the transgene in clinically relevant protocols. A synthetic construct (pE9), incorporating nine radiosensitive CArG elements from the Egr1 promoter, has recently been developed for cancer gene therapy. We have now investigated basal gene expression of transgenes driven by this promoter to assess its suitablility for use in iNOS gene therapy protocols in vivo. Transfection of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) with pE9iNOS, using a cationic lipid vector, resulted in progressively increasing (<5-fold) levels of iNOS protein expression up to 8 h after transfection. Transfection of an ex vivo rat artery preparation with pE9iNOS caused 83% inhibition of response to the vasoconstrictor phenylephrine ( PE). CMVi-NOS transfection also reduced response to PE, but by only 52%. A single injection of 25 mu g of pE9iNOS DNA in a lipid vector into the centre of a murine sarcoma (RIF1) induced iNOS protein expression by four-fold and increased nitrite concentration eight-fold. This caused a 7-day delay in tumour growth and was more effective than the constitutive CMV-driven construct. Our data suggest that generation of NO center dot, as a result of iNOS overexpression, is capable of further activating the E9 promoter, through a positive feedback loop, yielding stronger and sustained levels of NO center dot. This pE9iNOS combination may, therefore, be particularly useful in an anticancer gene therapy strategy as its antitumour effect in vivo was clearly superior to that of the strong constitutive promoter, CMV.
U2 - 10.1038/sj.gt.3302552
DO - 10.1038/sj.gt.3302552
JO - Gene Therapy
JF - Gene Therapy
Worthington J, Robson T, Scott S, Hirst D. Evaluation of a synthetic CArG promoter for nitric oxide synthase gene therapy of cancer. Gene Therapy. 2005 Oct;12(19):1417-1423. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gt.3302552


How Many of These Machines Do You Think They Made?
"A mechanical singing bird mechanism. Made around 120 years ago in Paris, probably by Bontems. In the film I hope you can identify all the major parts and see them working together to make the sound. The mechanism was in a rusted and seized state and has been restored. Surpisingly the bellows are in good original condition."


text:
SanDisk Beats Consensus On Revenue, EPS As Removable Storage Sales Rebound
SanDisk Earnings Preview: SSD Sales To Continue To Drive Results
How Has SanDisk's SSD Division Performed Over The Last Few Years?
What Is SanDisk's Fundamental Value Based On Expected 2016 Results?
What Will SanDisk's Revenue And EBITDA Look Like In 5 Years?
SSD, Embedded & Removable Storage: What's SanDisk's Revenue & Earnings Breakdown?
How Has SanDisk's Revenue Composition Changed Over The Last Five Years?
SanDisk Earnings Preview: Can Enterprise SSDs Make Up For Weakness Across Retail Product Line?
SanDisk's Key Growth Areas That Could Benefit Western Digital In The Long Run
SanDisk's Weak Q3 Results Overshadowed By Western Digital Acquisition News
SanDisk Earnings Preview: Can Enterprise Storage Revive Results Or Is An Acquisition Inevitable?
SanDisk Partners With Nexenta To Offer Open Source Software-Defined Storage All-Flash Array
SanDisk Earnings: Enterprise SSD Sales Surprisingly Low
January 29th, 2016 by Trefis Team
SNDK
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) announced its fourth quarter earnings on January 27, reporting a sustained period of weakness in product revenues. In line with the company's expectations, net revenues in Q4 were down by 11% year-over-year to $1.54 billion. [1] Revenues were low throughout the year, with full year revenues falling by 16% y-o-y to $5.6 billion. After a sustained period of weakness, SanDisk announced in late October that hard drive manufacturer Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) will acquire the company for $19 billion. Consequently, the company did not hold its earnings call for Q3 and Q4, with the deal likely to go through by the end of the June quarter. [2]
SanDisk's stock price rose from $49 to about $78 in the weeks following the acquisition news. Subsequently, its stock price fell gradually to under $70 through the quarter. We have a $66 price estimate for SanDisk's stock, which is in line with the current market price.
See our complete analysis of SanDisk here
Results By Division
SanDisk's solid state drive (SSD) division has witnessed explosive growth over the past few years, with revenues growing from around $150 million in 2011 to $1.9 billion in 2014. However, SanDisk's SSD revenues fell by 29% through 2015 to under $1.4 billion. Within the SSD division, client SSD sales fell by almost 50% on a y-o-y basis to $630 million. On the other hand, enterprise SSD sales were up by 10% annually to $723 million. SanDisk's management mentioned that it registered a decline in client SSD revenues due to losing a major customer in the market. It was widely believed that the major customer was Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), which switched to Samsung (PINK:SSNLF) for sourcing SSDs. [3] [4] Moreover, the company attributed the decline to a production issue related to the material used in a new embedded SSD component. The sustained weakness in client SSD sales in the coming quarters could continue to be an issue for the SanDisk-Western Digital combined entity.
On the other hand, enterprise SSD sales drove net revenues in the first half of the year with a 64% y-o-y rise in revenues to $362 million. This was the only division within SanDisk that reported year-over-year growth in revenues for both Q1 and Q2. Subsequently, enterprise SSD sales suffered in the latter half of the year with revenues falling by over 40% y-o-y to $330 million.
Revenues generated by SanDisk's removable storage unit were down by 5% year-on-year to about $2.5 billion in 2014. This was roughly the same as the 6.5% annual decline faced by the company in this division in the previous four years. However, SanDisk reported an 18% decline in revenues to $1.6 billion through the first three quarters of the year. The declining average selling prices limited revenue growth despite growth in sale volumes for USB storage, memory cards for imaging devices and SD and micro SD cards over the years. SanDisk made efforts to revamp its product line over the last few months in order to boost revenues. As new technology gained traction in the retail segment, SanDisk's removable storage revenues picked up in Q4. Resulting revenues in the December quarter stood at $633 million, which was a 10% annual gain.
SanDisk's embedded storage division, which includes non-SSD storage products attached to a host board, has also witnessed a decline in revenues over the last couple of years due to an increasing mix of embedded SSDs used in tablets, smartphones and other portable devices. As a result, the contribution of embedded storage to SanDisk's net revenues has dropped from 27% in 2013 to about 24% in 2015. Moreover, revenues generated by embedded storage through 2015 were down by about 12% y-o-y to $1.3 billion. Although the second half of the year is typically a strong period for SanDisk, the company faced a massive 25% annual fall in revenues to $340 million for embedded storage sales in Q4. The decline in revenues was primarily attributable to tough year-over-year comparisons in addition to weak global IT hardware sales.
View Interactive Institutional Research (Powered by Trefis):
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More Trefis Research
SanDisk Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2015 Results, SanDisk Press Release, January 2016 [↩]
Western Digital Q2 2016 Earnings Call Transcript, Seeking Alpha, January 2016 [↩]
SanDisk cuts revenue outlook, Market Watch, March 2015 [↩]
Samsung seals big SSD chip deal with Apple, Korea Times, March 2015 [↩]
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The folks that run the worlds most popular search engine have officially announced that they are throwing their hats into the operating system arena with the new Google Chrome OS. The new operating system will be a Linux based open source OS that according to Google will be initially targeted at netbooks.
In their announcement Google has already confirmed that the company has been working with netbook and PC manufactures to deliver the Chrome OS to consumers in the second half of 2010.
"Because we're already talking to partners about the project, and we'll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve," said Sundar Pichai, VP of product management.
Google Chrome OS will be designed to run on both x86 as well as ARM chips making it highly adaptable which might eventually led to its transition away from netbooks to PCs and laptops.
The software architecture is simple and highly web based. Google Chrome will be running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. The user interface is said to be minimalistic to create a faster easier interface that should stay out make the OS fairly user friendly. As could be expected from a search giant most of the user experience takes place on the web with most all of your applications being web-based.
So far there are few details and specifics, so we don't yet know if Google plans to offer the new OS free of charge. Nor do we have specifics on which manufactures might be involved in the release. About all we know for sure is that Google will release the code later this year and they expect Chrome OS to makes its first appearance on netbooks by the end of 2010.
I for one can't wait to take it for a spin.


text:
Sweden to Recognise Palestinian State, US Urges Caution
Behrad Nakhai
Oct 4, 2014, 3:19:41 AM10/4/14
to Behrad Nakhai
news.yahoo.com
Sweden's new prime minister announced Friday that the country will recognise a Palestinian state, becoming the first EU member in Western Europe to do so. "We believe international recognition of a Palestinian state is premature," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.
Stockholm (AFP) - Sweden's new prime minister announced Friday that the country will recognise a Palestinian state, becoming the first EU member in Western Europe to do so.
Social Democrat leader Stefan Loefven -- who won last month's general election -- said the Nordic country wanted to bolster a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Washington reacted quickly calling Stockholm's recognition "premature", while Palestinians cheered the decision as "courageous" and urged the rest of the European Union to follow suit.
"A two-state solution requires mutual recognition and the will to co-exist peacefully," Loefven said in his inaugural address to parliament.
This should take place with respect for the "legitimate demands of the Palestinians and the Israelis as regards their right to self-determination and security", he added.
Seven EU members in eastern European and the Mediterranean have already recognised a Palestinian state, namely Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Romania. Non-EU member Iceland is the only other western European nation to have done so.
But the United States cautioned against Sweden joining them.
"We believe international recognition of a Palestinian state is premature," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.
"We certainly support Palestinian statehood, but it can only come through a negotiated outcome, a resolution of final status issues and mutual recognitions by both parties."
Israelis and the Palestinians, Psaki said, must be the ones "to agree on the terms on how they live in the future two states, living side-by-side."
Sweden's new foreign minister Margot Wallstroem told public broadcaster SR that Sweden was "in good company since 130 countries in the world have already done the same".
- 'An important signal' -
At least 112 countries have recognised a Palestinian state, according to an AFP count, although a Palestinian estimate puts the number at 134.
Wallstroem said that a recognition would be "an important signal facilitating... a two-state solution".
Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said the rest of the EU should follow Sweden's example.
"We hope that all countries of the European Union will take the same courageous and remarkable decision... as there is no reason not to recognise the Palestinian state," he said in the West Bank capital of Ramallah.
Loefven's Social Democratic-Green Party coalition -- which formed a minority government on Friday -- is more supportive of demands for a Palestinian state than Sweden's previous centre-right administration.
The Social Democrats, the largest party in the Swedish parliament, wrote in their election manifesto that "Israel's war crimes must be investigated and the occupation of Gaza lifted".
The party added that "Sweden and the rest of the world must actively support its (Palestine's) work towards reconciliation".
The prime minister did not specify whether the policy would be put to a vote in parliament.
Sweden's foreign ministry declined to comment when asked by AFP if parliamentary approval was necessary.
The Palestinian envoy to Sweden, Hala Husni Fariz, said in a statement that the decision "reflects the historical support of the Swedish government for freedom, dignity and human rights".
Sweden voted in favour of Palestinian observer status at the United Nations in 2012, which was granted despite opposition from the United States and other countries.
The Swedish announcement coincided with the start of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the "Day of Atonement", and an Israeli government spokesman was not immediately available for comment.


text:
Molly Shannon Is A Super Star
Posted by Robert Roth | May 23, 2016 | Interviews, Queer Arts
Jesse Plemons and Molly Shannon. Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.
I can't tell you how painful it is to watch Molly Shannon die. I'd like to tell you that you have a 90 minute movie to get used to the idea, but no. It's right there, right at the start. And yet, with such a severely maudlin occurrence bookending it, Chris Kelly's Other People is still heartwarming and funny through and through. Be prepared for your heartstrings to get a severe tugging.
A darling of this year's Sundance, Other People takes what could easily be a dreck-filled indie film dirge and turns it into an intimate portrait of a dysfunctional family dealing with an untimely demise. Shannon, in a strong, yet supporting role, brings life to slowly dying woman. While there's plenty of screaming and vomit, Shannon's strongest moments are the quiet ones–a tragic visit to her character's former workplace, an intimate and tightly framed moment after she's rescued by her character's son following a fall in the shower.
For Shannon, accepting the role was a no brainer.
"Chris Kelly, our amazing writer/director, sent me the script and wrote me a letter," she explains. "I read the script. I read it in my bed, and I remember closing it and I cried. It took my breath away. I just loved it. I called him right away and said I could do it, and then I went running and I listened to a Miley Cyrus song called We Can't Stop and I felt exhilarated! And I still run around, and listen to that song, and think about the movie."
Taking on a role like this is often challenging even for the most accomplished actor. Play it too heavy, or too light, and it's easy to veer off into the realm of the inauthentic. Even Shannon recalls being intimidated at first.
"I remember a neighbor told me: You better hire a coach! I should get a coach," she admits. "I remember she really scared me. I was like, Yes! What would Charlize Theron do? She would hire a coach!"
"I think Laura Dern," she adds, "who I worked with on Enlightened, she's amazing. She's from a family of actors, and she told me the best thing you can do is be in the moment. which is the truth."
Coming away from the movie, one things that's clear is that the powerhouse cast had genuine chemistry. It was easy to believe that they were a real family, flaws and all. According to Shannon, that's primarily due to working with Kelly.
"That's definitely due to Chris Kelly," she confirms, "because he makes the sets so comfortable. He wrote it, so he knows the material inside and out. So it starts with the director just creating that tone and ease. Because he was so calm and prepared and knew exactly what he wanted, it just was fun. It was so creative and the most fun."
Despite the film's small budget, the stars took advantage of the time on set to get to know one another and help create that sense of chemistry. Shannon speaks fondly of working with and getting to know her co-stars, including Jesse Plemons, Bradley Whitford, and Maude Apatow. There wasn't a lot of lead up time to the shoot, though, which showed their skill as actors. One scene in particular stands out for her.
"Jesse and I had only had one coffee before," she recalls, "and then on day one we shot this very intimate mother-son scene in bed, where we're kissing one another, and I remember thinking wow this is so wild. This is crazy. But it's what's so great about acting. We were both just really in the moment, and it's what's so wonderful about immersing yourself into a role."
That's not to say that Other People is all tears from start to finish. Kelly takes full advantage of his actors' comic chops, with many laugh out loud moments featuring Shannon in particular.
While the movie isn't perfect, it's absolutely enjoyable, and will likely leave you dealing with complex feelings when it's over. It certainly did for me.
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Molly Shannon Is A Super Star

by Robert Roth, Queerspace Magazine
May 23, 2016

I can't tell you how painful it is to watch Molly Shannon die. I'd like to tell you that you have a 90 minute movie to get used to the idea, but no. It's right there, right at the start. And yet, with such a severely maudlin occurrence bookending it, Chris Kelly's Other People is still heartwarming and funny through and through. Be prepared for your heartstrings to get a severe tugging.

A darling of this year's Sundance, Other People takes what could easily be a dreck-filled indie film dirge and turns it into an intimate portrait of a dysfunctional family dealing with an untimely demise. Shannon, in a strong, yet supporting role, brings life to slowly dying woman. While there's plenty of screaming and vomit, Shannon's strongest moments are the quiet ones–a tragic visit to her character's former workplace, an intimate and tightly framed moment after she's rescued by her character's son following a fall in the shower.

For Shannon, accepting the role was a no brainer.

"Chris Kelly, our amazing writer/director, sent me the script and wrote me a letter," she explains. "I read the script. I read it in my bed, and I remember closing it and I cried. It took my breath away. I just loved it. I called him right away and said I could do it, and then I went running and I listened to a Miley Cyrus song called We Can't Stop and I felt exhilarated! And I still run around, and listen to that song, and think about the movie."

Taking on a role like this is often challenging even for the most accomplished actor. Play it too heavy, or too light, and it's easy to veer off into the realm of the inauthentic. Even Shannon recalls being intimidated at first.

"I remember a neighbor told me: You better hire a coach! I should get a coach," she admits. "I remember she really scared me. I was like, Yes! What would Charlize Theron do? She would hire a coach!"

"I think Laura Dern," she adds, "who I worked with on Enlightened, she's amazing. She's from a family of actors, and she told me the best thing you can do is be in the moment. which is the truth."

Coming away from the movie, one things that's clear is that the powerhouse cast had genuine chemistry. It was easy to believe that they were a real family, flaws and all. According to Shannon, that's primarily due to working with Kelly.

"That's definitely due to Chris Kelly," she confirms, "because he makes the sets so comfortable. He wrote it, so he knows the material inside and out. So it starts with the director just creating that tone and ease. Because he was so calm and prepared and knew exactly what he wanted, it just was fun. It was so creative and the most fun."

Despite the film's small budget, the stars took advantage of the time on set to get to know one another and help create that sense of chemistry. Shannon speaks fondly of working with and getting to know her co-stars, including Jesse Plemons, Bradley Whitford, and Maude Apatow. There wasn't a lot of lead up time to the shoot, though, which showed their skill as actors. One scene in particular stands out for her.

"Jesse and I had only had one coffee before," she recalls, "and then on day one we shot this very intimate mother-son scene in bed, where we're kissing one another, and I remember thinking wow this is so wild. This is crazy. But it's what's so great about acting. We were both just really in the moment, and it's what's so wonderful about immersing yourself into a role."

That's not to say that Other People is all tears from start to finish. Kelly takes full advantage of his actors' comic chops, with many laugh out loud moments featuring Shannon in particular.

While the movie isn't perfect, it's absolutely enjoyable, and will likely leave you dealing with complex feelings when it's over. It certainly did for me.

This article first appeared on Queerspace Magazine and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.


text:
Cyperdiuk Iwan Mychajłowicz (ukr. Ципердюк Іван Михайлович, ur. 23 sierpnia 1969 w Zagwoździe) – ukraiński poeta, jeden z przedstawicieli tzw. fenomenu stanisławskiego. Profesor nauk filologicznych.

Życiorys
Urodził się 23 sierpnia 1969 roku we wsi Zagwoździe. Skończył Uniwersytet Pedagogiczny im. Wasyla Stefanyka w Iwano-Frankowsku.

Jest autorem dwóch zbiórek prozopoetyckich Chymerii (1992) oraz Pereselenia kwitnia (pol. Przeprowadzka kwietnia) wydanej w 1996 roku. Uczestniczył w antologii Na dobranok, millenium!. Laureat premii wydawnictwa Smołoskyp (pol. pochodnia). W 1997 roku obronił pracę naukową o Jewgenie Madryczewskim. Członek grupy literackiej Nowa degeneracja.

Mieszka w mieście Iwano-Frankiwsk.

Twórczość
Tematyką oraz narzędziami pisarskimi poezja Cyperdiuka podpada pod styl fenomenu Stanisławskiego. W swoich wierszach przeważnie eksperymentuje z formą, dodając metody modernizmu.

Jak powiedział ukraiński eseista i pisarz Wołodymyr Jeszkilew:

"Cyperdiuk prowadzi monolog wiejskiego chłopa, który przepowiada historie własnej rodziny, w której są wszystkie możliwe oznaki: śmierć, cykle roczne, narodzenie oraz wesela. Stąd pochodzi filozofia chęci w dziełach Cyperdiuka jako Filozofia pasywnej syntezy".

W 2010 roku ukazała się drukiem zbiórka jego esejów Podoroż kriz tuman (pol. Podróż przez mgłę); w adnotacji do książki napisał tak:

Główną myślą tej zbiórki-człowiek jak wartość. My często nie uświadamiamy tego w rutynowym pośpiechu, ale wówczas przestajemy być sami sobą. To jest kulturalny, psychologiczny, życiowy klimat miasteczka w Galicji z jego tradycjami, własnym światopoglądem, nawet aurą, ale co najważniejsze niespotykalnie ciekawymi ludźmi.

Dzieła
 Chymerii (1992)
 Pereselenia kwitnia (1996), Kijów: Smołoskyp
 Podróż przez mgłe: artykuły i eseje (2010), Kijów: Grani-T

Dysertacja
 Mała proza Jewgena Madrycewskiego: problema i poetyka: Dys: kadydaty nauk filologicznych, Akademia Nauk Ukrainy, Lwów, 1997

Bibliografia
 Mała encyklopedia aktualnej literatury ukraińskiej, Peleroma, 3, projekt Powernenia demiurgiw – Iwano-Frankiwsk: Lileja-NW, 1998, s. 118, c. 227-228 (wiersze).

Linki zewnętrzne
 Mała encyklopedia aktualnej literatury ukraińskiej, korpus glosaryjny na stronie czasopisma "Ї"-artykuł o Iwanie Cyperdiuku (ukr.)
 Biografia oraz dobiór twórów (ukr.)
 Iwan Cyperdiuk: "Lato. Jesień. Stanisławów" (ukr.)
 Iwan Cyperdiuk: "Literatura przede wszystkim wymaga uczciwości"

Ukraińscy poeci
Urodzeni w 1969


Partiti.on is the winning project in the Maikiibox Design Award 2011 competition. This contest among the students on the Industrial Design Degree course at the Università IUAV di Venezia eventually resulted in over one hundred different projects, among which 10 finalist pen drives were selected, which the company undertook to produce as prototypes (one of the selection criteria was that the proposed designs should be capable of being easily manufactured). The outright winners were announced in May 2011.
Injection-moulded soft PVC outer, electronic internals.