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16 January 2022 jarmattablog Anti-Slavery, Blog, Immigration and Race (0)
In 1898, Wilmington, North Carolina was a majority black town. Three of the city's 10 aldermen and 10 of its policemen were black; there were black postmasters and magistrates, a black county jailer and treasurer, a black federal customs agent, a black state senator and U.S. representative. Two banks were black-owned, as was a newspaper. Blacks owned property and some were quite wealthy. Black professionals included lawyers and doctors. 1898 was about 12 years after Reconstruction had collapsed in other states of the former Confederacy. For a group of influential white men, this was intolerable. They formed a conspiracy to reverse gains achieved by black citizens – through whatever means necessary, including violence.
They planned and organized for months before the 1898 election. A massive propaganda campaign raised the (false) specter of the black man as the rapist of white women. White-owned newspapers published blatant lies, provoking hatred, anger, and violence against black people. White supremacists organized vigilante groups who armed themselves, while businesses refused to sell firearms to black citizens. Whites intimidated and threatened black people and their allies – if they voted, their property would be burned and they and their families would end up dead.
In the event, 60 black men were murdered; 50 blacks and white allies were banished from Wilmington forever; their businesses and homes were burned; a majority black city (56%) became majority white, as people fled to safety elsewhere. The black population eroded to 18.3% in 2018, black voters in North Carolina plummeted from 126,000 in 1896 to 6,100 in 1902. In 1899, only 21 of Wilmington's black citizens registered to vote; only five went to the polls.
"The killings and coup in Wilmington inspired white supremacists across the South. No one had ever seen anything like it. Wilmington's whites had mounted a rare armed overthrow of a legally elected government. They had murdered black men with impunity. They had robbed black citizens of their right to vote and hold public office. They had forcibly removed elected officials from office then banished them forever. They had driven hundreds of black citizens from their jobs and their homes. They had turned a black-majority city into a white citadel."[*]
Though the coup organizers were perfectly comfortable calling themselves "white supremacists," they disguised the nature and cause of the 1898 events, characterizing them as a race riot instigated by blacks. They must have known that what they did would not be well-received by everyone, particularly in the North (though anti-black sentiment was also widespread there, evidenced by how quickly Northerners accepted the white supremacists' lie). The myth of the Wilmington 'race riot' was accepted throughout the country until 2006 when an investigation initiated by two black state legislators published a 480-page report describing what really happened.[†]
"It concluded that the coup was a 'documented conspiracy' by Wilmington's white elite to overthrow a legitimately elected government 'Through violence and intimidation.' White supremacists statewide were incited to violence by Josephus Daniels and his News and Observer [newspaper], the report said. Federal and state authorities failed 'at all levels' to respond to the violence or punish the perpetrators. The report concluded that the coup and killings led directly to strict residential segregation in Wilmington, decades of Jim Crow discrimination, and the disenfranchisement of the state's black citizens."[‡]
This is the history that today's white supremacists (many would deny the label) don't want taught in our schools. It wasn't taught in my elementary or high school, university or law school. It wasn't even known until 2006! This hidden history and the myths created to disguise it have assured that racism lives on, allowing dominant white society to deny it, arguing that we are a post-racial society and, in fact, white people are the disfavored group whose rights are jeopardized.
The fear that lies at the heart of MAGA is the same fear that motivated the white citizens of Wilmington in 1898 -- the fear of being a minority, ruled by black people, the fear of losing white privilege, the fear of being treated the way 'we' have treated 'them.' Today it's known as "The Replacement Theory." The one commonality among the January 6, 2021 insurgents was their residence in a county where the white share of the population was in decline.[§]
Though white rage is more obvious today, it has been a major force since emancipation. While the South was defeated in the Civil War, that defeat was not accepted by a broad swath of citizens of the Confederacy and it has haunted this country ever since. Among the most obvious examples are the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, the Aryan Brotherhood, The Order, and the Posse Comitatus. Militias formed throughout the country. The media presented them as separate, isolated, and aberrant groups, whose leaders were mentally unstable. Just so, Timothy McVeigh, who bombed the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, was treated as a disturbed individual acting on his own with a couple co-conspirators. In fact, he was a member of the KKK, connected to the "white power movement's war-on-government leadership . . . ."[**] According to Kathleen Belew, author and history professor, supposedly disparate groups were all part of the White Power Movement.
Those who organized the January 6, 2021 insurrection don't need to reinvent a strategy for a coup. Wilmington provides it. Whether they are even aware of it, their efforts are eerily similar. Widespread propaganda (i.e. lies – Trump won the 2020 election); fear-mongering; stripping power from election officials who can't be controlled; destroying ballots; stuffing ballot boxes; gerrymandering; passing voting laws and regulations aimed at eliminating black votes; using threats, intimidation, and violence. As Gellman writes, "[T]he chaos wrought on that day was integral to a coherent plan. In retrospect, the insurrection takes on the aspect of a rehearsal."[††]
[*] Zucchino, David, Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy, New York: Grove Press (2020), p. 329.
[†] In 1951, Helen Edmonds, a black scholar, debunked the white myth in a meticulously researched doctoral thesis. White supremacists were still dominant and were able to bury it.
[‡] Zucchino, 341.
[§] Pape, Robert A., "The Jan. 6 Insurrectionists Aren't Who You Think They Are," Foreign Policy (January 6, 2022).
[**] Belew, Kathleen, Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America, Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts (2018), p. 213
[††] Gellman, Barton, "Trump's Next Coup Has Already Begun," The Atlantic, December 6, 2021.
02 June 2017 jarmattablog Immigration and Race (0)
Portland, Oregon is the whitest city of its size in the United States. I want to deny living there. It feels shameful even though I did not choose it because of its whiteness. I am third generation Oregonian. My friends and family are here. I love the giant firs, the rivers that bisect the city, the easy access to the ocean and mountains, Powell's Books. I hate its lack of diversity and the racism that lies at its root: Oregon's original sin.
When Oregon was on the verge of statehood, granted in 1859, it was divided between those who wanted to allow slavery and those who did not. The compromise was to prohibit slavery (and thus competition from people using free labor), but also to prohibit African Americans from residing in the state. While this was not enforced, it sent a powerful message: "If you are African American, you are not wanted here."
"Delegates to Oregon's constitutional convention submitted an exclusion clause to voters on November 7, 1857, along with a proposal to legalize slavery. Voters disapproved of slavery by a wide margin, ensuring that Oregon would be a free state, and approved the exclusion clause by a wide margin. Incorporated into the Bill of Rights, the clause prohibited blacks from being in the state, owning property, and making contracts. Oregon thus became the only free state admitted to the Union with an exclusion clause in its constitution." [emphasis added] Gregory Nokes.
The constitutional exclusion remained until 1926. Other racist language in the constitution was not removed until 2002. Oregon originally ratified the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but within a few years rescinded its ratification and did not correct it until 1973. The state resisted ratifying the 15th Amendment (Voting Rights) until 1959.
The reverse side of racial exclusion is that white people were drawn to Oregon because of its whiteness. I don't know, but I pray that my ancestors weren't part of this diaspora. It's quite possible they were. This is our shameful legacy. It is why white supremacists feel more at home here than African Americans. It is why black people make up only 2% of Oregon's population and 9.3% of its prison population.
"In 1850, the U.S. Congress passed the Oregon Donation Land Act, a piece of legislation designed to promote White settlement in the Oregon Territory by expropriating Native American land and giving it to Whites for free, causing a population boom of White settlers of 300 percent. The move to Oregon for many White settlers was motivated by a desire to create an all-White society free from the racial tensions brewing before the start of the American Civil War. The first steps taken to create this all-White society involved bloody battles against Native American peoples and their eventual compulsory removal from their land." [citations omitted]
Oregon in the 1920's had the highest population of Ku Klux Klan members in the U.S. They can be seen posing for photographs with Portland's officials. Another photo shows the KKK with members of the Royal Riders of the Red Robe, a Klan auxiliary of foreign born Protestants. The Klan's philosophy is evident in its motto: "'100 percent Americanism,' an ideology that developed during World War I as a reaction to the perceived threat to national unity posed by the influx of non-Protestant, non-English-speaking immigrants." Sound familiar?
In 1988, three men associated with White Aryan Resistance (WAR) beat Mulegeta Seraw, an Ethiopian student, to death on a Portland street. The Southern Poverty Law Center sued Tom Metzger, head of WAR, his son, and WAR for incitement of murder. An Oregon jury returned a $12.5 million verdict in favor of the estate of Mr. Seraw, despite Metzger's defense that he was merely exercising his First Amendment Rights. The verdict bankrupted WAR.
In more recent years (with the election of a black president, followed by the hate-filled rhetoric of a bigoted president), we've seen the rise of white militias (such as the Oath Keepers, active in Oregon), white supremacist, and white separatist groups. The number of anti-Muslim organizations in the U.S. grew from 34 in 2015 to 101 in 2016, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. A report by the Council for American-Islamic Relations found that hate crimes targeting Muslims surged 584 percent from 2014 to 2016.
Once on the fringe, these hate groups now march in Portland streets and propagandize and proselytize on the internet. Prisons, too, are a breeding ground for white supremacist gangs, and Oregon, like the rest of the country, has grotesquely expanded the number of people we lock up. Jeremy Christian spent eight years in Oregon prisons. According to one person who knew him before he was sent up, it was there he connected with white hate groups and became radicalized. We gave up on prison as rehabilitative long ago.
On May 27, 2017, Jeremy Christian verbally assaulted two young women, one black, the other Muslim on a MAX train. Christian is a self-proclaimed white separatist. He reportedly yelled at the women "Get off the bus and get out of the country." When three men intervened, he killed two (Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche and Ricky John Best) and seriously injured the third (Micah David-Cole Fletcher). The three men were white Portlanders, one was Jewish. Will this send a message to white supremacists seeking to move here? They are planning to rally in downtown Portland on June 4. While they are free to speak, we do not welcome those who promote hate.
We honor Taliesin, Rick, and Micah and embrace the two young women who were vilified. This kind of courage is also Oregon's legacy. We can't change Oregon's history or increase Portland's diversity overnight. But we can make it welcoming to all those who seek a community striving for inclusion and the enrichment it brings. As civil rights attorney Arjun Singh Sethi wrote in The Washington Post: "Attacks like Portland's will keep happening unless we all fight racism, simply being sorry isn't enough."
Portland is also enriched by numerous groups promoting diversity and fighting against hate (links to a few are given below). One of them, the Asian and Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), provides suggestions for how we can grow a better community:
"We continue to affirm our support for those who have been terrorized and traumatized, and seek community-driven solutions to address the root causes of oppression. We uplift local efforts including; 1) ending racial profiling and establishing strong community centered police accountability; 2) ensuring all students have access to quality ethnic studies education; 3) creating safe cultural spaces for communities to gather, and; 4) educating to counter hate ideologies and indoctrinations especially amongst our youth."
We can also support those who are working against racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, homophobia, misogyny, and xenophobia – with our time and/or money. And we can look to them for guidance and information to help us move forward. I will end with another thought from APANO:
"These times of fear and violence require us to reflect deeply on root causes, and is not an excuse to over-police our communities. May more Oregonians take action to interrupt hate and stand for love. In these terrible moments, we are reminded of our fragile humanity and the need to build institutions that function as systems of care and are focused on the inherent worth and dignity of all people."
Links (not exhaustive by any means): Oregon Coalition Against Hate Crimes: https://oregoncahc.org/
Unite Oregon: www.uniteoregon.org
Change Lab, Race File: www.racefiles.com
APANO: www.apano.org
Coalition of Communities of Color: www.coalitioncommunitiescolor.org
Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO): https://irco.org
NAACP Portland Chapter: www.portlandnaacp1120.org
Urban League of Portland: https://ulpdx.org
Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA): https://nayapdx.org
Western States Center: www.westernstatescenter.org
Rural Organizing Project: www.rop.org
Partnership for Safety and Justice: www.safetyandjustice.org
Black Lives Matter Portland: https://blackpdx.com
Basic Rights Oregon: www.basicrights.org
Southern Poverty Law Center: www.splcenter.org
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR): www.cair.org
I AM AFRAID . . . I AM NOT AFRAID . . . I AM ENCOURAGED . . . .
05 February 2017 jarmattablog Immigration and Race (0)
I AM NOT AFRAID of the Iranian student who has been studying in the U.S., but cannot return from a visit home.
I AM NOT AFRAID of the Sudanese doctor working in Cleveland who was forced to leave the U.S.
I AM NOT AFRAID of the MIT professor's Iranian parents who hold green cards, but were prevented from returning to celebrate their grandchildren's birthdays.
I AM NOT AFRAID of the Syrian medical student's two uncles, two aunts, and two teenage cousins who had immigrant visas but were turned back after arriving in Philadelphia.
I AM NOT AFRAID of the young Iranian scientist and his wife who were planning to take up residence in Boston where he had a fellowship to study cardiovascular medicine at Harvard before their visas were canceled.
I AM NOT AFRAID of the Iraqi man who worked for a U.S. contractor in Iraq but was denied entry to visit his wife and son in the U.S.
I AM NOT AFRAID of the Kurdish family of five seeking refuge from Iraq who were returned there despite having valid visas.
I AM NOT AFRAID of the three Somali brothers who have been vetted and approved to enter the United States. They've been living in a Nairobi refugee camp for 25 years.
I AM NOT AFRAID of the 10-year-old refugee from Iraq where his father was an interpreter for the U.S. Army.
I AM NOT AFRAID of Hajira and her six daughters, all Somali refugees, who have been staying in a Nairobi refugee camp awaiting emigration to the U.S.
I AM NOT AFRAID of the 50 Syrian families fleeing death and the loss of their homes and livelihoods every hour.
I AM NOT AFRAID of refugees from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, seeking asylum from murderous gangs.
I AM AFRAID OF STEVE BANNON who devised the immigration ban that has disrupted so many lives, and, at least in one case, caused the death of a 75-year-old Iraqi woman with a green card, who was seeking medical care in the U.S.
I AM AFRAID OF STEVE BANNON because he is a white nationalist, who led a media empire into becoming what a former Breitbart editor called a "a cesspool for white supremacist mememakers."
I AM AFRAID OF STEVE BANNON because he promotes the "alt-right," a haven of white nationalists.
I AM AFRAID OF JEFF SESSIONS because he praised the 1924 Immigration Act that imposed a racist quota system favoring Northern Europeans and said that between 1924 and 1965 it had "created really the solid middle class of America, with assimilated immigrants, and it was good for America," The Atlantic reported.
I AM AFRAID OF JEFF SESSIONS because he has been the key bridge between anti-immigrant groups and Congress since 1997. (Southern Poverty Law Center)
I AM AFRAID OF DONALD TRUMP because he has chosen white supremacists as his close advisors, directed a massive immigration halt, closing U.S. borders to 60,000 to 100,000 people who have been approved for entry, ordered a wall to be built on the U.S. border with Mexico, tweeted racist, misogynist, xenophobic rants, creating space in normal discourse for white supremacists.
I AM AFRAID OF DONALD TRUMP because he is commander in chief of the largest military in the world and has the ability to start a nuclear war.
I AM AFRAID OF DONALD TRUMP because he has no respect for the U.S. constitution or international law.
I AM AFRAID OF DONALD TRUMP because he does not believe in an independent judiciary.
I AM AFRAID OF DONALD TRUMP because he has no respect for the rule of law.
I AM AFRAID . . . .
I AM ENCOURAGED by the federal judges who have stayed the order prohibiting refugees and asylum seekers and people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S.
I AM ENCOURAGED by the State Department employees who have expressed their opposition to his unconstitutional order and those who immediately implemented Judge Robart's stay of that order, allowing tens of thousands with legitimate visas to enter the U.S.
I AM ENCOURAGED by the thousands of fellow citizens, immigrants, and visitors who rushed to airports across the country to protest Trump's unconstitutional immigration order.
I AM ENCOURAGED by millions of fellow citizens, immigrants, and visitors who have taken to the streets and social networks to protest this fascist-leaning president.
01 December 2016 jarmattablog Immigration and Race (0)
A letter left at several homes in McKinney, Texas: "Our new president Donald J. Trump is God's gift to white nation. We want to get our country back on the right track. We need to get rid of Muslims, Indians, Blacks and Jews."
Letter sent to a mosque in Northern California: "Trump is going to cleanse America. And he's going to start with you Muslims. He's going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews."
"Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on," Trump said in a news release posted to his website on Dec. 7, 2015.
"Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who helped write tough immigration laws in Arizona and elsewhere, said in an interview that Trump's policy advisers had also discussed drafting a proposal for his consideration to reinstate a registry for immigrants from Muslim countries.
"Kobach leaves little doubt that they're coming for the Muslims. First." Mark Sumner, "The Precedent for Trump's Muslim Registry is Japanese Internment Camps," Daily Kos, November 17, 2016.
"You're going to have a deportation force and you're going to do it humanely." Donald J. Trump, December 2015. While Trump now says he will focus first on the "two to three million" undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes, it is unclear whether he will stand by his promise to deport the 8 to 9 million who have not violated the law (other than remaining in the country without necessary documents, which includes people brought here as children).
"President-elect Donald J. Trump's promise to deport two million to three million immigrants who have committed crimes suggested that he would dramatically step up removals of both people in the United States illegally and those with legal status. If carried out, the plan potentially would require raids by a vastly larger federal immigration force to hunt down these immigrants and send them out of the country." By Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Julia Preston, "What Donald Trump's Vow to Deport Up to 3 Million Immigrants Would Mean," The New York Times, November 14, 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/us/politics/donald-trump-deport-immigrants.html
"Earlier this year, Mr. Gingrich called for a new House Un-American Activities Committee to deal with 'Islamic supremacists.' That notorious committee's hearings and the investigations by Senator Joseph McCarthy into suspected Communists represented some of the most severe political repression in American history and destroyed lives. Today, as falsehoods are spread quickly on the internet and accepted as true, this risk may be even more acute." Faiza Patel, A "'Commission on Radical Islam' Could Lead to a New McCarthy Era," November 18, 2016, https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/commission-radical-islam-could-lead-new-mccarthy-era
Maybe I'm slow, but it took me until a few days ago to realize that opposition to immigration and support for deportation of immigrants with or without documents is not solely based on fear of losing jobs. The majority of those targeted for exclusion are Latinos and Middle Easterners. That is not economic based. That is xenophobic based. The fear is of a non-white non-Christian majority, loss of power, and loss of a European and Christian culture. The goal is ethnically cleansing the U.S. of as many "others" as possible to maintain white dominance.
A state can accomplish ethnic cleansing in several ways: by "voluntary" exodus or exchange of populations (unlikely); by forced removal assisted by threats, burning homes, attacking and killing people; by mass murder of a large segment of the hated group. That is called Genocide. I've seen it before when I lived in the former Yugoslavia, the violent breakdown and separation of a multiethnic, multi-religious society into ethnic and religious groups: Orthodox Christian Serbs, Catholic Croats, Muslim Bosniaks, Kosovar Albanians (though a large percentage are Muslim, the attempted cleansing of Kosovo was based on ethnicity). Ethnic cleansing begun as a forced movement of people ended in mass murder and the genocide of Bosniak Muslims. It nearly ended in genocide for the Kosovar Albanians. And the once multinational Bosnia-Herzegovina is now split in two: the predominantly Bosniak and Croat republic and Republika Srpska, the predominantly Serb republic. After massive loss of life, genocide, and the destruction of cities and homes, the U.S. brokered a deal to end the war in Bosnia (the Dayton Accords), a deal that rewarded the aggressor Bosnian Serbs with the land they'd taken by force.
Before I left for the Balkans, I was chatting with a clerk in a small Grants Pass shop. By then, the Bosnian war had ended and the war in Kosovo was two years away. The clerk decried the fighting among citizens of the same country, neighbor against neighbor. "It could never happen here," he assured himself. Apparently, his high school history class did not teach about the Civil War . . .
• Or the U.S. government's genocide and removal of Native Americans from their tribal lands onto reservations.
• Or our second original sin, the kidnapping, rape, and enslavement of millions of Africans who created a big chunk of American wealth.
• Or state constitutional amendments, passed on the eve of the Civil War, prohibiting African-Americans from residing or remaining after dark (including in Oregon). Thousands of towns and cities, called sundown towns, followed suit.
• Or Jim Crow segregation, forced labor on chain gangs, and lynching that eviscerated the emancipation of black people.
• Or the internment of 100,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry during WWII.
• Or the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, prohibiting the immigration of Chinese, not repealed until 1943.
• Or the American Eugenics Movement that sterilized 70,000 people, mostly women, and confined in mental institutions a long list of undesirables (including among many others paupers, blind and hearing impaired people, promiscuous women), a movement brought to its ultimate conclusion by the Nazis, at which point it lost favor in the U.S.
• Or F.B.I. director J. Edgar Hoover's and Senator Joe McCarthy's Communist witch hunt of the forties and fifties that ruined people's lives for mere association with Communists.
• Or President Dwight Eisenhower's 1953 executive order banning gays and lesbians from federal employment.
• Or today's imprisonment of one out of three young black men, denying millions of them participation in civil society as voters, candidates, and jurors. Think how that might change election results. Forty percent of the 2.2 million people locked up in U.S. prisons are African American. Their percentage in the U.S. population is 6.5%.
Guantanamo Bay lay in the future. As did the Draconian local and state laws banishing anyone convicted of a sex offense (including consensual sex between youth, streaking, public urination, all lumped together with serial rapists) to the outskirts of towns, placing them on a "sex offender" registry, and stamping sex offender into their passports.
Throughout U.S. history, we have isolated and demonized an ever-changing group of people to scapegoat as "the other," placing them outside constitutional protections. The template was created at the formation of the United States. It's handy because it can be reused and applied to any disliked group.
Will we ever learn?
To end on a more positive note, I will quote a letter from my senator:
"Like you, I'm stunned.
"This is a dark and disturbing moment for our country, and you have every right to feel the way that you do right now.
"This election result is troubling in what it says about American values and what it means for our future. But that's not a reason to despair. It's a reason to work even harder.
"It's going to be more important than ever in the wake of this election that we stand up for equality, diversity, and justice. That we love and support our fellow citizens, immigrants, refugees, and anyone fearing a surge of hate, discrimination, and exclusion. It's up to us to fight for the values we cherish and the progressive vision we hold dear." Sen. Jeff Merkeley
MOTHER OF EXILES
09 August 2016 jarmattablog Immigration and Race (0)
In 1875 or thereabouts, my great grandpa left the Ukraine where he'd been sent into military service by the Russian Tsar. He was hungry. The soldiers barely survived on paltry rations. So he ran away. Deserted. And came to America. He was an economic immigrant.
Today, some in the U.S. disparage economic immigrants and want to keep them out. How are they different from my great grandfather? Should he, I wonder, have been denied entry? And, if him, what of the young man, the teenager fleeing drug cartels that will force him to kill or be killed? He seeks safety more than food. What of the young girl fleeing a gang who raped and killed her friend when she declined to be a "girlfriend?" There are treaties that require us to accept asylum seekers. Yet we return them to near certain death or torture.
America, the land of immigrants. Somewhere, along our way, we have forgotten, what is inscribed on a tablet in the pedestal of Lady Liberty:
By Emma Lazarus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
THE COMING DARK AGE
21 July 2016 jarmattablog Immigration and Race (0)
I stare out my office window with a blank mind. Panic attacks me. At least I know this feeling and know it will pass. Please. It exhausts me. I feel sick. Lie on the couch and stare some more. Police are killing black people. They argue that we should wait until an investigation tells us what we see with our own eyes through on-site video. Cops shooting black men up close. Are we to ignore the context and our history? A country birthed in racism. Decades of brutal slavery. Gains from a civil war lost with the assassination of a president and a cowardly, racist Congress. Jim Crow segregating, dehumanizing black people. Black men returned to slavery, forced to work on chain gangs. White defiance of federal law. Imprisonment of black people hides continued segregation. One million black people reside in America's prisons and jails, nearly half of all prisoners. Two million two hundred thousand (2,200,000) black people cannot vote because of a felony conviction, even after serving their sentences. Why do white (Republicans) need more voting restrictions?
A black man, former soldier, kills five white cops in Dallas. Another black man, former soldier, kills three cops, two white, one black in Baton Rouge. Paralysis. Sadness. Fear for what happens next. Gratitude for President Obama. Who is still hated and blamed.
A proto-fascist running for president of the United States. The choice of the angry, disaffected, racist white (largely) men. Our demons have been loosed. The worst elements of our nature. Sanctified, legitimized at the highest levels. White supremacists are no longer marginal. Trump retweets them. They support him.
Hatred for Hillary grows. She is not allowed to make mistakes. Misogyny is always hidden, even from ourselves. Polls say she and Trump are running neck and neck. Citizens dislike her as much as they dislike him. Few will vote with enthusiasm. Most say they will vote against. I remember an election stolen. I remember Joe McCarthy. I fear a coming Dark Age.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Dan Weseman of Sport Performance Aviation. My Panther will be the tri-gear version powered by a 120 HP Corvair engine. To view more detailed information on the Panther please go to http://www.flywithspa.com.
The Panther will be my third build. I previously plans built a Sonex powered by a 3300 Jabiru engine. A couple of years later I got the bug to build again and ended up rescuing a Sonex kit from a builder in South Carolina.
I co-built this with the assistance of my good friend Dale Williams who now is the proud owner. A 120 HP Corvair engine powered this Sonex.


text:
package com.jtbdevelopment.core.spring.security.crypto.encrypt;

import java.security.Key;
import javax.crypto.Cipher;
import javax.crypto.spec.SecretKeySpec;
import org.springframework.security.crypto.encrypt.BytesEncryptor;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

/**
 * Date: 12/29/14 Time: 11:37 AM
 *
 * Implements Strong Encryption using base JRE http://www.software-architect.net/articles/using-strong-encryption-in-java/introduction.html
 */
@Component
public class StrongBytesEncryptor implements BytesEncryptor {

  private static final int PASSWORD_LENGTH = 16;
  private final Cipher encrypt;
  private final Cipher decrypt;
  private final byte[] saltBytes;

  public StrongBytesEncryptor(final TextEncryptionProperties textEncryptionProperties) {
    if (textEncryptionProperties.getPassword().length() > PASSWORD_LENGTH) {
      throw new IllegalStateException("textEncryption password is too long");
    }

    saltBytes = textEncryptionProperties.getSalt().getBytes();
    try {
      Key aesKey = new SecretKeySpec(
          padPassword(textEncryptionProperties.getPassword(), PASSWORD_LENGTH).getBytes(),
          "AES");
      encrypt = Cipher.getInstance("AES");
      encrypt.init(Cipher.ENCRYPT_MODE, aesKey);
      decrypt = Cipher.getInstance("AES");
      decrypt.init(Cipher.DECRYPT_MODE, aesKey);
    } catch (Exception e) {
      throw new RuntimeException(e);
    }
  }

  private String padPassword(final String password, final int minLength) {
    String newPassword = password;
    while (newPassword.length() < minLength) {
      newPassword = " " + newPassword;
    }
    return newPassword;
  }

  @Override
  public byte[] encrypt(final byte[] byteArray) {
    try {
      byte[] salted = new byte[byteArray.length + (saltBytes.length * 2)];
      System.arraycopy(saltBytes, 0, salted, 0, saltBytes.length);
      System.arraycopy(byteArray, 0, salted, saltBytes.length, byteArray.length);
      System
          .arraycopy(saltBytes, 0, salted, (saltBytes.length + byteArray.length), saltBytes.length);
      return encrypt.doFinal(salted);
    } catch (Exception e) {
      throw new RuntimeException(e);
    }
  }

  @Override
  public byte[] decrypt(final byte[] encryptedByteArray) {
    try {
      byte[] salted = decrypt.doFinal(encryptedByteArray);
      byte[] result = new byte[salted.length - (saltBytes.length * 2)];
      System.arraycopy(salted, saltBytes.length, result, 0, result.length);
      return result;
    } catch (Exception e) {
      throw new RuntimeException(e);
    }
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Spacing of text in align environment I have a problem, when i type the following code the 'From Equation 1' appears in the middle of the line but I want it at the edge to line up with (2). I have tried h spacing it but it did not work. Any other suggestions?
In the case of the dot product we then have
    \begin{align}\label{eq:2}
    \left\lVert\begin{pmatrix}a\\b\end{pmatrix}\right\rVert
    & = \sqrt{\begin{pmatrix}a\\b\end{pmatrix}\cdot\begin{pmatrix}a\\b\end{pmatrix}}
    && \text{(from Equation \eqref{eq:1})}\nonumber\\[0.2em]
    & = \sqrt{a^{2}+b^{2}}
 \end{align}

A: The \tag macro may be what you're looking for.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath} % for '\tag' macro and 'align' env.
\begin{document}
In the case of the dot product we then have
\begin{align}\label{eq:2}
    \left\lVert\begin{pmatrix}a\\b\end{pmatrix}\right\rVert
    &= \sqrt{\begin{pmatrix}a\\b\end{pmatrix} \cdot
             \begin{pmatrix}a\\b\end{pmatrix}}
       \tag{from Equation \eqref{eq:1}}\\[1ex]
    &= \sqrt{a^{2}+b^{2}}
\end{align}
\end{document}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The Western New York Regional Sustainability Plan (2013) was developed by the Regional Planning Consortium with input from key stakeholders and the public. The Plan was developed with a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) under the Cleaner, Greener, Communities (CGC) program established by Governor Cuomo in 2011. The plan is intended as a guide for integrated, sustainable solutions to improve our quality of life. These solutions include ideas for regional decision-making on land use, housing, transportation, infrastructure, energy, and environmental practices. The WNY Regional Sustainability Plan functions as two phases. The first phase uses grants to create new sustainability plans or to expand the scope of existing sustainability plans. In its second function, the plan consists of a competitive $90 million dollars of state funding to use toward regional projects that support and implement the regional sustainability goals identified during the planning process.
GHG Emissions Reduction A successful regional sustainability plan should result in an overall reduction in GHG emissions.
Enhancement of the Regional Economy Sustainability should be achieved in coordination with the support and enhancement of the regional economy.
Government Policy and Programs Local government policy and programs can support regional sustainability initiatives.
Consideration of Diverse Land Uses Sustainable practices should meet the diverse needs or urban, suburban, and rural communities.
Conservation of Natural Resources Conserving, enhancing, and protecting the region's abundant natural resources, including air, water and land, is vital to regional sustainability.
Education Promoting and improving public awareness of sustainability issues is essential in realizing the region's sustainability goals.
Revitalization of Main Streets Revitalization of the region's cities, main streets, and community centers will create more livable communities and support local economies.
Economic Viability of Agriculture Supporting the economic viability of the agricultural industry in WNY and protecting the region's agricultural and forestry resources will serve to maintain their viability for continued sustainable uses.
Sustainable Energy Use and Production Building energy efficiency programs while increasing infrastructure for the public and private use of alternative fuels will help build diverse energy production within the region.
Improve and Enhance Air Quality The reduction of fossil fuel energy generation and fuel use throughout the region will work to reduce harmful air emissions being emitted throughout the region. Additionally, strategies to focus development within existing corridors resulting in the conservation of open space.
The Western New York Regional Sustainability Plan fully embraces the principles of Smart Growth (even referencing them in the document) as well as the HUD Livability Principles. The intent of the document is to establish a framework for measuring progress toward a more sustainable region. This is done through sustainability indicators and targets that allow for quantifiable benchmarks to measure results over time, which will help gauge success.


MINNESOTA LAW REQUIRES that early in any relationship, real estate brokers or salespersons discuss with consumers what type of agency representation or relationship they desire. The available options are listed below. This is NOT a contract. This is an agency disclosure only. If you desire representation you must enter into a written contract, according to state law.
Until such time as you choose to enter into a written contract for representation, you will be treated as a customer and will not receive any representation from the broker or salesperson. The broker or salesperson will be acting as a Facilitator (see below), unless the broker or salesperson is representing another party, as described below.
I. Seller's/Landlord's Broker: A broker who lists a property, or a salesperson who is licensed to the listing broker, represents the Seller/Landlord and acts on behalf of the Seller/Landlord. A Seller's/Landlord's broker owes to the Seller/Landlord the fiduciary duties described below. The broker must also disclose to the Buyer material facts as defined in MN Statute 82.68, Subd. 3, of which the broker is aware that could adversely and significantly affect the Buyer's use or enjoyment of the property. (MN Statute 82.68 does not apply to rental/lease transactions.) If a broker or salesperson working with a Buyer/Tenant as a customer is representing the Seller/Landlord, he or she must act in the Seller's/Landlord's best interest and must tell the Seller/Landlord any information disclosed to him or her, except confidential information acquired in a facilitator relationship. In that case, the Buyer/Tenant will not be represented and will not receive advice and counsel from the broker or salesperson.
II. Subagent: A broker or salesperson who is working with a Buyer/Tenant but represents the Seller/Landlord. In this case, the Buyer/Tenant is the broker's customer and is not represented by that broker. If a broker or salesperson working with a Buyer/Tenant as a customer is representing the Seller/Landlord, he or she must act in the Seller's/Landlord's best interest and must tell the Seller/Landlord any information that is disclosed to him or her. In that case, the Buyer/Tenant will not be represented and will not receive advice and counsel from the broker or salesperson.
III. Buyer's/Tenant's Broker: A Buyer/Tenant may enter into an agreement for the broker or salesperson to represent and act on behalf of the Buyer/Tenant. The broker may represent the Buyer/Tenant only, and not the Seller/Landlord, even if he or she is being paid in whole or in part by the Seller/Landlord. A Buyer's/Tenant's broker owes to the Buyer/Tenant the fiduciary duties described below. The broker must disclose to the Buyer material facts as defined in MN Statute 82.68, Subd. 3, of which the broker is aware that could adversely and significantly affect the Buyer's use or enjoyment of the property. (MN Statue 82.68, Subd. 3 does not apply to rental/lease transactions.) If a broker or salesperson working with a Seller/Landlord as a customer is representing the Buyer/Tenant, he or she must act in the Buyer's/Tenant's best interest and must tell the Buyer/Tenant any information disclosed to him or her, except confidential information acquired in a facilitator relationship. In that case, the Seller/Landlord will not be represented and will not receive advice and counsel from the broker or salesperson.
IV. Dual Agency - Broker Representing both Seller/Landlord and Buyer/Tenant: Dual agency occurs when one broker or salesperson represents both parties to a transaction, or when two salespersons licensed to the same broker each represent a party to the transaction. Dual agency requires the informed consent of all parties, and means that the broker and salesperson owe the same duties to the Seller/Landlord and the Buyer/Tenant. This role limits the level of representation the broker and salesperson can provide, and prohibits them from acting exclusively for either party. In a dual agency, confidential information about price, terms and motivation for pursuing a transaction will be kept confidential unless one party instructs the broker or salesperson in writing to disclose specific information about him or her. Other information will be shared. Dual agents may not advocate for one party to the detriment of the other.
V. Facilitator: A broker or salesperson who performs services for a Buyer/Tenant, a Seller/Landlord or both but does not represent either in a fiduciary capacity as a Buyer's/Tenant's Broker, Seller's/Landlord's Broker or Dual Agent. THE FACILITATOR BROKER OR SALESPERSON DOES NOT OWE ANY PARTY ANY OF THE FIDUCIARY DUTIES LISTED BELOW, EXCEPT CONFIDENTIALITY, UNLESS THOSE DUTIES ARE INCLUDED IN A WRITTEN FACILITATOR SERVICES AGREEMENT. The facilitator broker or salesperson owes the duty of confidentiality to the party but owes no other duty to the party except those duties required by law or contained in a written facilitator services agreement, if any. In the event a facilitator broker or salesperson working with a Buyer/Tenant shows a property listed by the facilitator broker or salesperson, then the facilitator broker or salesperson must act as a Seller's/Landlord's Broker. In the event a facilitator broker or salesperson, working with a Seller/Landlord, accepts a showing of the property by a buyer/Tenant being represented by the facilitator broker or salesperson, then the facilitator broker or salesperson must act as a Buyer's/Tenant's Broker.
This disclosure is required by law in any transaction involving property occupied or intended to be occupied by one to four families as their residence.
Loyalty - broker/salesperson will act only in client(s)' best interest.
Obedience - broker/salesperson will carry out all client(s)' lawful instructions.
Disclosure - broker/salesperson will disclose to client(s) all material facts of which broker/salesperson has knowledge which might reasonably affect the client(s)' use and enjoyment of the property.
Confidentiality - broker/salesperson will keep client(s)' confidences unless required by law to disclose specific information (such as disclosure of material facts to Buyers).
Reasonable Care - broker/salesperson will use reasonable care in performing duties as an agent.
Accounting - broker/salesperson will account to client(s)' for all client(s)' money and property received as agent.
If Seller(s)/Landlord(s) decide(s) not to agree to a dual agency relationship, Seller(s)/Landlord(s) may give up the opportunity to sell/lease the property to Buyer(s)/Tenant(s) represented by the broker/salesperson. If Buyer(s)/Tenant(s) decide(s) not to agree to a dual agency relationship, Buyer(s)/Tenant(s) may give up the opportunity to purchase/lease properties listed by broker.
NOTICE REGARDING PREDATORY OFFENDER INFORMATION: Information regarding the predatory offender registry and persons registered with the predatory offender registry under MN Statute 243.166 may be obtained by contacting the local law enforcement offices in the community where the property is located, or the Minnesota Department of Corrections at (651) 361-7200, or from the Department of Corrections Web site at www.corr.state.mn.us.
From blinkety-blink to color flow, Sputnik lights up the front page of the Hibbing Daily Tribune on Sunday, December 4, 2011.
Article taken from Hibbing Daily Tribune, written by Kelly Grinsteinner.
It's the season of lights. And many homes and business offices are adding illuminations to celebrate the season.
However, one local business has put a long-desired glow back into its iconic symbol for more than just the holiday season.
"This one is permanent," Laurio Brown said. "Yup, we're talking all year long."
Owners of 1st Realty Rangewide have breathed new life into "Sputnik" - the lighted portion of their office sign located at 2832 First Ave.
Sputnik was a main street fixture signaling people to Jim Dandy's, which many recall as the best burger place in town. The joint was in its heyday in the late 1960s and early '70s, according to Brown and business partners Joan Cotton and Ron Lockhart.
First ever offering of this magnificent 6,000+ sq ft home on 22 acres in the majestic surroundings of Island Lake, only minutes from Hibbing.
What are those goofy looking black and white squares everywhere?
That's a great question! They're called "QR barcodes", and they're becoming more and more popular!
QR stands for "Quick Response", and these square barcodes are able to pack a lot of interactive content into a flat, printed format. At 1st Realty, we've taken this cutting edge technology by the reigns, and become the first company in the area to use it. We've put "Mobile Listing" signs at our properties, with these QR barcodes right there.
What does this mean for you? This means that you'll be able to access heaps of information about our properties, right from the front yard of a property, using your mobile device or smartphone!
It also means we've added a valuable tool, to better serve our property owners and market their properties.
How do I use these barcodes? If you've got a smartphone or other mobile device with a camera, it's easy!


This exhibition features over 100 artists in the circular 20000 Sq ft multi storey car park beneath Cavendish Square. It is always is one of the better collateral events of the Autumn season. Whilst unusual in terms of location this annual event likes to question and poke, challenge and inspire, entice and entertain all art lovers and visitors. Open to public for three days and two nights non-stop, it features selection of purely monochromatic works in the medium of sculpture, photography, painting, drawing and site- specific installation. Both emerging and established artists are present throughout the event and will take part in series of talks taking place at the venue during the intense FRIEZE Art weekend. This years event follows up on the collective and democratic idea of previous exhibitions hosted at Cavendish Square with guest curators from Israel, Iceland, Holland, Belgium, South Korea, Switzerland and Italy selecting participating artists and completing a trilogy of shows which started with highly acclaimed "Big Deal No5" in 2013 and followed by equally controversial "We Could Not Agree" in 2014.


Champagne Henriot's Souverain Brut is initially on the nose precise, expressive and refreshing, with notes of citrus and yellow fruit; floral fragrances (vine flowers, elderflowers) and pastry aromas (brioche, toast, grilled almond) follow.
A lively, fresh and balanced attack, with pastry, spice (vanilla) and fruity (morello cherry, candied plum) notes. The full texture precedes a clean, refreshing finish marked by citrus fruit aromas.
Lovely as an aperitif or as an accompaniment to dishes such as goat cheese salad, fried calamari, smoked trout or skate wing in brown butter. It is a very versatile cuvée that can take you from hors d'oeuvres straight through to a fruit based dessert.


Piaro, a former colleague of Asmophel, has committed a terrible betrayal. Asmophel was wounded and vowed to take revenge on Piaro.
However, Asmophel has become seriously ill afterward.
In the end, Asmophel was forced to give up on his own revenge and asked you to get revenge for him.
Quest Clear Conditions: Defeat Piaro who is hiding in Kesan Canyon.
* Agent of Revenge: The 'Cruelty' stat will be opened. Attack Power +100. Skill 'Murderous Impulse' will be generated.
Quest Failure: Level -2. Asmophel's confidence will decline.
Euphemina, who was currently level 190, had one experience with clearing an S-grade quest once in the past. Therefore, she knew the terrible difficulty of an S-grade quest more than anyone else.
Asmophel had already explained how powerful Piaro was. His swordsmanship had reached the peak and when he used his ultimate technique 'Fated to Perish', death was inevitable. Euphemina couldn't overcome her tension and nervously gulped. She had taken 63 days to prepare for this quest, but she was still afraid.
Euphemina basically only possessed nine skills. It was an unbelievably poor skill tree for a level 190 user. However, her skill window now had a total of 50 skills listed. In addition, they were all top class skills.
These were the skills that Euphemina prepared to clear the quest. She traveled all over the continent during the past 62 days, searching for top-ranked players. Then she duplicated their skills.
Euphemina cleared her mind and entered the cave. She was going to face Piaro, who was more powerful than a boss monster, alone. Pride? No it was proper confidence.
She was the first epic class in Satisfy. A fraudulent class that could duplicate other people's skills, the Duplicator. This was the identity of the first epic class that appeared in Satisfy.
A voice in the darkness was heard from the depths of the cave. Then a notification window popped up.
From the land where Euphemina was standing, sharp spikes reminiscent of shark teeth rose and arrows flew from the walls on both sides. At the same time, Piaro appeared in front of them. Euphemina hastily used one of the skills that she had prepared.
Tartan was currently the strongest defensive skill known to be available only to 'Bump', the first ranked guardian knight.
A huge steel giant appeared out of thin air and then embraced Euphemina's small, delicate body. All the arrows and spears didn't reach Euphemina's body as they were obstructed by the giant. But Piaro's flashy blow was enough to pierce the giant. Immediately before the sword was about to reach Euphemina's heart!
The strongest assault knight, Miared's skill was reproduced by Euphemina.
As soon as Piaro's sword came into contact with Euphemina, Piaro coughed up blood and flew backward in the air. The damage that Euphemina should've received was reflected back on Piaro due to Counter Barrier.
The brilliant Piaro turned in the air, not caring about his wound. However, Euphemina didn't stay still.
Before Piaro could reach the ground, a fierce storm covered him. Piaro had no place to lean on, so his body couldn't resist being swept away by the storm. However, Euphemina was well aware that he wouldn't die. She didn't miss this opportunity.
Euphemina had dozens of top-level skills that she had prepared for 63 days. The strong attacks of different properties shattered the cave, burying Piaro in the debris.
Euphemina's intelligence stat was very high. She even prepared advanced mana potions. But nonetheless, she had a shortage of mana due to using so many top-level skills in succession.
Piaro was still alive. She didn't know when a strong counterattack would come from the pile of stones. Until then, she had to make up for her low mana. Euphemina decided to use 'flying' magic to maintain as much distance as possible from Piaro.
As she rose into the sky, Piaro crawled out from the remnants of the cave. He was relatively unscathed, despite the skill bombardment that would've killed an army of hundreds.
Piaro jumped into the air in bursts, as if he was stepping on an invisible staircase. He instantly narrowed the distance towards Euphemina.
A red light emerged from Piaro's sword. It was the forerunner to the skill that Asmophel mentioned, Fated to Perish. Once the skill was activated, Euphemia wouldn't be able to avoid death. It meant that her 63 days of hardship would be for nothing.
The distance between Piaro and Euphemina was so close that they could hear each other's breathing. The reuse time for Euphemia's potions was almost over. Euphemina drank a mana potion and used the spells she prepared to stop Fated to Perish.
The sword rushing towards Euphemina stopped. Euphemina gazed at Piaro and gulped.
The red sword, which should've sliced Euphemina, cut the empty space dozens of times. It showed he had properly fallen into a hallucination. Now Piaro was fighting against the most fearful nightmare in the world.
The flaming sword continued to swing without stopping. Thanks to him, the sky was as red as the sunset. Euphemina tried to use a bombardment of skills again while Piaro was preoccupied.
But there was a variable.
It seemed that she had used too many top-level skills in a short amount of time, causing her physical and mental stress. It was her first experience and she couldn't deal with it because she never thought this could happen.
As she was confused, Piaro was slowly escaping from his hallucinatory state.
The physical abilities of a Duplicator were minimal. Once her skills were blocked, she had no way to fight against Piaro. There was only one choice remaining. Give up the quest.
Her 63 days of effort ended in vain. The quest had already failed and the situation would be worse if she died here. Euphemina swallowed back her tears and left this place. Shortly afterward, Piaro woke up from his hallucination and realized that Euphemina was gone.
Euphemina was frustrated at the notification windows that emerged after she barely escaped from Piaro. She tried her best for more than two months, but all her efforts returned such a horrible outcome, so her disappointment was undeniably huge.
The more titles, the better. It was because the effects overlapped. But gaining titles wasn't easy. Most titles were obtained through quests, but quests which gave titles were rare. Despite being a top ranker, Euphemina only had two titles.
Euphemina couldn't suppress her disappointment. As she was filled with anger, a messenger from the Mero Company came to her.
Due to the nature of a Duplicator, Euphemina had multiple identities. Among them, Erina was the name she used when she copied an advanced NPC blacksmith and crafted an epic rated item.
The world doesn't know your true identity.
The Mero Company has approached you after hearing about your good blacksmith skills.
They want you to participate in an item making game held in Winston.
The opponent is the successor of the reputable blacksmith, Khan, who was once famous in the north. The successor is a variable who can't be measured.
Quest Clear Conditions: Win the item production game.
* Competitor: Fighting spirit stat will be opened. Good luck stat will be opened. Skill 'Rolling Dice' will be generated.
Quest Failure: Your relationship with the Mero Company will become the worst.
She had been frustrated at missing the chance to get a new title, only to receive a quest with a title reward. It was also a title that opened the good luck stat.
The good luck stat was very famous. The higher the good luck, the higher the probability of receiving beneficial effects in Satisfy. It started with finding money on the road, to finding hidden quests and treasures.
As the name suggested, it gave good luck to the user so many people really wanted it. Naturally, this included Euphemina.
The biggest disadvantage of being a Duplicator was that there were fewer types of skills available. Therefore, Euphemia had a huge desire to possess skills.
The rewards were excellent. For Euphemina, this quest was an inevitable temptation. She had just failed a quest, so she felt like earning some profits back with this quest. But she shouldn't be in a hurry to accept the quest.
No blacksmith skills existed that Euphemina couldn't duplicate. If she participated in the production game, she could copy the opponent's blacksmith skill and play with the same skill level. In other words, it was a game where she would compete with luck.
When competing with the same skill level, the luckier person would create a higher rated item and victory would be decided accordingly.
It was a quest where she couldn't be certain of success. The risk was big. However, she coveted the rewards. Euphemina decided to accept the quest.
The game was established to be between Grid and Euphemina. If the world knew the identities of Grid and Euphemina, their competition would be the hottest issue in the world. A confrontation between an epic class and a legendary class, the attention would've been enormous.
Unfortunately, the world still didn't know the identities of the two people. Such a significant battle spread secretly.


text:
Parafia pw. Świętego Mikołaja w Bielsku-Białej – parafia rzymskokatolicka znajdująca się w Bielsku-Białej. Należy do Dekanatu Bielsko-Biała I – Centrum diecezji bielsko-żywieckiej. Jest prowadzona przez księży diecezjalnych.

Historia

Najstarszą parafią w okolicy była parafia w Starym Bielsku. W latach 1443–1447 książę cieszyński Wacław I wybudował nowy murowany kościół w stylu gotyckim na miejscu, przypuszczalnie stojącego tu od czasu założenia miasta, drewnianego kościółka otoczonego cmentarzem, stanowiącego filię parafii w Starym Bielsku. Budowa murowanej świątyni wiąże się z przeniesieniem parafii z kościoła w Starym Bielsku do miasta Bielska. Wtedy też jej patron – św. Mikołaj – stał się patronem miasta.

Parafia ta po raz pierwszy wzmiankowana została w sprawozdaniu z poboru świętopietrza sporządzonego przez archidiakona opolskiego Mikołaja Wolffa w 1447 jako jedna z 51 w archiprezbiteracie cieszyńskim (pod nazwą Belicz). Na podstawie wysokości opłaty w owym sprawozdaniu liczbę ówczesnych parafian oszacowano na 750.

W latach 1559–1630 kościół był zamieniony na zbór luterański, którego ostatnim pastorem był Jerzy Trzanowski – kaznodzieja i pisarz religijny. Potem przywrócono go siłą katolikom, ale spalił się doszczętnie w 1659. Po pożarze został przebudowany sumptem bielskiego barona Juliusza Gotlieba Sunnegha, który ufundował także nowe, barokowe wyposażenie. Kościół stał się miejscem pochówków tej luterańskiej węgierskiej rodziny.

W 2016 roku proboszczem został mianowany ks. Antoni Młoczek.

Przypisy

Mikołaja
Parafie pod wezwaniem św. Mikołaja

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
New Dark Fantasy Series "Requiem of the Rose King" Debuts
Inspired by an early draft of William Shakespeare's Richard III, REQUIEM OF THE ROSE KING was created by Aya Kanno, who is widely known for her previous manga series BLANK SLATE and OTOMEN. This new manga is about to release under the publisher Viz Media, who has released a full press review detailing it. You can find the full press release after the jump below.
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga (graphic novels) and anime in North America, delivers an engrossing new series from one of the most exciting voices in contemporary manga with the launch of REQUIEM OF THE ROSE KING on March 10th.
Inspired by an early draft of William Shakespeare's Richard III, one of literature's most famous and polarizing political dramas, REQUIEM OF THE ROSE KING was created by Aya Kanno, widely known for her previous manga series BLANK SLATE and OTOMEN (both published by VIZ Media). REQUIEM OF THE ROSE KING is rated 'T' for Teens and will carry a print MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN. Future volumes of the continuing series are scheduled to be published domestically twice a year.
In the series, Richard, the ambitious third son of the House of York, is a tortured soul who believes he is damned from birth to eternal darkness. But is it truly fate that sets him on the path to personal destruction? Or his own tormented longings? Aya Kanno's dark fantasy finds the man who could be king standing between worlds, between classes, between good and evil.
In the opening volume, set in medieval England during the age of the Wars of the Roses, a fierce battle rages between the House of York and the House of Lancaster. Young Richard of the House of York is determined that his family will ascend the throne…but he's hiding a secret that could destroy everything he desires.
"Aya Kanno's unique take on the era of the Wars of the Roses, REQUIEM OF THE ROSE KING, will resonate with her current fans and hopefully bring even more awareness to her lush, masterful work," says Joel Enos, Editor. "Aya Kanno returns to a darker, gothic inspired aesthetic, reworking Shakespeare's classic tragedy about poisonous Machiavellian ambition into a ruthless and beautiful new series. Her Richard is a cunning, flawed prince determined to secure the throne for his family!"
Aya Kanno is the creator of manga series including Soul Rescue, BLANK SLATE (published by VIZ Media), and the New York Times bestselling series, OTOMEN (published by VIZ Media), which was recognized as a Great Graphic Novel for Teens by the Young Adult Library Services Association.
For more information on REQUIEM OF THE ROSE KING and other manga titles published by VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.
Manga, Manga News, News, Requiem of the Rose King, VIZ Media
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Meaco Wins 2 Which? Awards
ByeMould February 5, 2015 Blog No Comments
I am delighted to see that Meaco recently won two Which? awards for their Meaco 20L low energy dehumidifier.
Which? is comprised of a number of different entities whom together provide positive change, and reviews, for many types of consumer goods. Which? magazine was established in 1957 in a converted garage. Currently the magazine boasts 617,000 subscribers and Which? online subscription numbers have reached 254,000.
What is remarkable is that Meaco beat stiff competition from the likes of Delonghi, Argos, B&Q and Dimplex. For a small company like Meaco these awards are justification for the hard work that they have put in from research and development through to distribution.
The key for Meaco is that their sole focus is on the development of the best dehumidifiers. Other companies such as Delonghi and Dimplex manufacture a large range of other appliances thereby spreading themselves thinner in dehumidifier production.
It is no secret that at byemould.com we really like the Meaco DD8L Desiccant Dehumidifier as this dehumidifier contains all the features that a UK domestic situation would need.
Meaco founder, Chris Michael, said that the awards were a massive surprise and that 'for now it is a case of dealing with the upsurge in demand and maintaining and improving the quality standards that helped us to win the award in the first place'
Meaco was founded in 1991 to monitor and control air quality in museums and art galeries. In 1999 Meaco became the sole distributor of Mitsubishi dehumidifiers in the UK, an arrangement that is ongoing. In 2005 the museum segment of the business was sold and Meaco concentrated wholly on the development and sales of dehumidifiers.
Byemould.com is hoping to secure an interview with Chris where he will, hopefully, let us know about new products and upgrades to the current range of Meaco Dehumidifiers.
To see Chris explain about Meaco dehumidifiers simply watch the video below:
How Does a Dehumidifier Work
What Does A Dehumidifier Do? (7 Practical Uses)
EcoAir DD122MK5 and Meaco DD8L Differences
Meaco 10L Small Home Dehumidifier Review Simple But Effective
7 Top Hay Fever and Allergy Remedies For an Awesome Life
5 Best Dehumidifiers For Under £100
EcoAir DC202 Hybrid Dehumidifier/Air Purifier Review


Legendary Teacher Day is Thursday, September 26, 2019.
School Districts – Please consider declaring the Legendary Teacher Day proclamation at a governing board meeting just prior to September 26.
Municipalities – Please consider declaring the Legendary Teacher Day proclamation for a city / town council meeting just prior to September 26.
Business / Corporations - Please consider declaring the Legendary Teacher Day proclamation for your business / employer just prior to September 26.


As all minds, as the world, as the breath, as a smile.
Never leaving the causeless peace that it is.
The background of everything is pure presence.
The foreground of everything is pure presence.
The substance of everything is pure presence.
Like the oak tree is the acorn, like water is the ocean, like heat is fire and like happiness is our true nature …. everything and everyone is pure presence.


Error is one of the 7 reoccurring patterns associated with innovation, as detailed in Steven Johnson's book: Where Good Ideas Come From. However, it takes an enlightened mind to see error as one of the smoothest path to innovation.
When you win, you will probably throw a party, I'd guess. However, when you lose, it triggers totally different sets of action – you ponder, you question, you explore, and challenge assumptions. Indeed, nothing births innovation than the aforementioned. William James. Quoted: "The error is needed to set off the truth, as much as a dark background is required for exhibiting the brightness of a picture".
According to legend, Thomas Edison carried out 1000 experiments before he invented the light bulb. In other words he failed 999 times! That's an hell of a trial for an experiment. Think about this; an error means a deviation from the truth, so if there is probably one – or very few ways – to make the bulb light up, and say, there are two thousand hypothesis to try out. How the hell will he get to the correct 1 without 'getting drenched' in errors? Well, math tells us it's possible – with a probability of 0.0005.
Edison knew he had to tolerate failure because the path to correctness is riddled with errors.
The message should not be misconstrued, errors are to be avoided when possible, but the nature of most problems make error inevitable.
This type of thinking is rather intuitive for scientists, but not readily to a lay man.
Here is an (ugly) graph with an inverted U curve, Here, I plot success on the y axis and error on the x axis. You don't want to be at the two extremes – bottom left or right. The bottom le ft spot rarely exist (that's the pith of this article) and for the bottom right: run from that. That occurs when you don't plan and make degenerative mistakes as opposed to generative errors.
Friends, it's pretty obvious – the middle top is the sweet spot.


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For bilingual assistance, click here / Para asistencia bilingüe, haga clic aquí
Google Classroom Codes (access only with @aguafria.org account)
3:30 PM - 6:30 PM Picture day for grades 9-11
3:30 PM - 6:30 PM Picture day for SENIORS
8:10 AM - 3:05 PM No Late Start
8:10 AM - 11:10 AM No Late Start, Early Release Day
The AFUHSD is committed to the safety of our staff, students, families, and guests we serve. Although buildings will be open, we request that business occur electronically, virtually, or through phone communication. Visitor Policy / Política de visitante
Please call (623) 932-7500 for assistance or to set up an appointment.
UPDATED Information regarding Picture Days on January 19 and 20:
Scorpion Families;
We would first like to thank everyone that has signed up for an appointment for Picture Day on January 19 and 20. After an overwhelming request, we have now added the opportunity for our Class of 2021 to also have their picture taken on campus. Understandably, this year has been overwhelming and caused for changes along the way, and we do appreciate the flexibility and understanding of our families during this unprecedented time. With that being said, we do have to make some changes to our Picture Day schedule as outlined below:
1. Picture day for grades 9-11 will still be held on January 19 and 20, however, time times have been changed. Pictures will now be taken from 3:30 – 6:30 PM both days in the Performing Arts Center. ALL APPOINTMENTS WILL NEED TO BE RESCHEDULED THROUGH THE NEW LINK: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054ea5ae2da20-desert5
2. Anyone wishing to preorder photos for grades 9-11 ONLY may do so by following the link: https://vando.imagequix.com/g1000805251#login
3. Picture day for SENIORS ONLY will be held on January 19 from 3:30 – 6:30 PM in the Performing Arts Center as well. Seniors will have two photos taken – one for the yearbook, and one in a Cap and Gown. APPOINTMENTS FOR SENIORS ONLY CAN BE SCHEDULED THROUGH THE LINK: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054ea5ae2da20-desert6
4. SENIORS will also have the opportunity to preorder their photos. Preordering will select your Cap and Gown Photo automatically. After Grads takes your photo, you will have both the cap and gown and regular clothes photo to choose from in your gallery. Please follow the link below to preorder photos: https://vando.imagequix.com/g1000837676#login
5. We do hope to have a makeup day for pictures later in the Spring, however, this has not been determined at this time.
6. The deadline for senior yearbook photos has been extended as well. The new deadline for seniors to have their picture taken either on-campus 1/19/21 or by making an appointment directly with Grads Photography is April 3, 2021. If you would like to make an appointment to have your picture taken at the studio, please contact Grads Photography directly at: 623-566-1082.
We do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and do appreciate your flexibility during this unique time.
Colleen B. Koblinski
Desert Edge High School Parent Involvement and Community Relations Specialist
ckoblinski@aguafria.org
Seniors, complete the FAFSA ASAP:
FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid
Log in and complete the FAFSA at www.fafsa.gov
This determines your eligiblity for federal grants, work-study, and loan programs. The FAFSA is often used to determine state and institutional aid as well.
More information can be found at the Couseling & Career Center site, Financial Aid page.
Save the date for STEM Con X:
Food Service during Remote Learning:
Meals during Remote Learning
Open Enrollment for 2021-2022 school year:
For enrollment for the 2021-2022 school year, open enrollment applications submitted on or before January 18, 2021, are subject to the final determination of capacity established by the Governing Board in December 2020, and will be processed in accordance with Board Policy JFB, "Open Enrollment." Applications submitted after January 18, 2021 will be processed subject to the capacity at each school site.
View the District's Parent Hub:
The Parent Hub is a platform to explore and ask questions. Topics include Educational Technology, School Safety Procedures, Social/Emotional Health Program, Standards-Based Grading, School and Community Resources, and much more.
Link to Parent Hub
2021 Yearbooks on sale for $65:
PURCHASE A YEARBOOK Order online
Yearbook prices for the 2020 - 2021 school year are as follows:
August 4, 2020 - October 2, 2020 = $55.00
October 3, 2020 - December 31, 2020 = $60.00
January 1, 2021 until sold out = $65.00
Senior Dedication Page information
dehsyearbook
@DehsYearbook
Remind will be our main source for communication with parents and students:
Remind accounts are automatically created for students using their student email account. Parents will be auto-enrolled in their student's classes. Additional resources:
Here is a video for parents to help get started HERE
For parents and former students:
How to opt. our of messages link HERE
For parents and students:
How to change notifications HERE
More information regarding Remind available on the ParentHub
CTE Department earns highest overall score in the District
Receipent of A+ School of Excellence Award, 2016 and 2020
We did it AGAIN...more
Desert Edge Art students shine at the Fall 2020 Goodyear Mayor Select Exhibition
DE Helps Spread "Nothing but Love"
After sending letters to New York City first responders, Desert Edge students received a heartfelt response...more
First Diploma Seal Recipients
of Arts Proficiency and Conservatory of Arts & Design graduates...more
Stock Market team earned 1st place
Congratulations to Braxton Matteson and Josh Newkirk...more
The Governor's Office of Education and The Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education
awarded Desert Edge High School with the October 2019 Most Innovative Player Award! ...more
U.S. News & World Report has recognized Desert Edge as "Best High School in America 2019"
as well as placed Desert Edge in the Top 100 (out of 522) of all Arizona high schools.


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'Progress is Taylor-made' Stage 13A – Donatti Land Release
As published in the West Australian on 11 March 2017.
Proximity to a range of community facilities has been key to the success of the Donatti Retreat land release at Taylor Private Estate in Caversham.
Most of the home sites in the quiet Donatti Retreat cul-de-sac are already sold, and titles are now available.
The lots in Stage 13A of the estate are close to the Caversham Village Shopping Centre which opened in April 2016 as the first stage of a wider village centre precinct.
Taylor Private Estate Development Manager Taylor Conway said the Village Centre would expand to include medical facilities, a gym, a child-care centre and community and sporting facilities.
"One of the challenges for any homebuyer looking at a new residential estate is understanding that key facilities and infrastructure may not be available straight away," Mr Conway said.
"At Taylor Private Estate, new buyers are recognising that the community has matured to a stage where facilities, such as the Caversham Village Shopping Centre, are already open.
"Many key roads have been upgraded so that access to Reid Highway and the wider road network is easily available, with improved convenience for drivers.
"The local child-care centre is nearing completion and will be open in a few months."
Mr Conway said work was also advanced on the multi-million dollar, architect-designed Caversham Community Centre, which would include club rooms, a kiosk, meeting spaces and other facilities. The centre would open to a major playing field – the William Henry Oval – which is due to be completed in early May.
"The William Henry Oval will provide active sport and informal play areas, while retaining and landscaping a linear stream that runs through the area," he said.
Selling agent Darren Meakins said the new lots were the closest to the amenities offered for sale to date, and had proven popular with buyers and builders.
"The land release is just across from where residents will be able to take in the landscaped setting while watching their children's sport," Mr Meakins said.
"The area is maturing into one of the best-serviced in the north-east corridor and, with the range of affordable sites suited to a variety of home designs, Stage 13A is expected to continue selling quickly."
Homes at Taylor Private Estate must comply with design guidelines addressing aesthetic and sustainable design criteria.
"In conjunction with the focus on amenity, the design guidelines have helped to create well-presented homes and streetscapes that are impressive when you drive around – and this sets the estate apart from others," Mr Meakins said.
Home sites in Donatti Retreat Stage 13A range from 290-455sqm and are priced from $250,000.
The Taylor Private Estate land sales office, at the corner of Arthur Street and Castella Drive, Caversham, is open weekends and Wednesdays from 1-5pm.
← Last Remaining Lots in Stage 7B & 8B
SALES STRONG IN STAGE 9 AS NEW FACILITIES OPEN →
Past News Items
Exclusive Completed Townhouses For Sale
The Advantages of Narrow Style Lot Living
The Advantages of Living in Smaller Homes
Swan Valley House and Land Packages Tailored to You
The Perks of Building in Swan Valley
5 Things to Consider When Choosing the Right Block of Land
New Land Release – Stage 9B – Starting From $279k
Construction to commence on the Caversham South Primary School in 2018!
Luxury New York inspired living has arrived!
SALES STRONG IN STAGE 9 AS NEW FACILITIES OPEN
Be genuinely surprised by the stunning fit out, generous internal space and open feeling to these large townhouses….
Before you panic and think that this is going to cramp your style though, consider the advantages of…
Advantages Of Living In Smaller Homes 1. Simplified Living Families that live in massive homes hardly ever require…
For more information please contact
Darren Meakins
Email: darren@taylorprivateestate.com.au
2 Martinich Drive Drive, Caversham WA 6055
1pm-5pm Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday
2020 Copyright Taylor Private Estate
Website by PWD
Project brought to you by


Playmate is a guitar manufacturing company. It manufactures Acoustic guitars, Electric guitars, Bass guitar, Thomas etc. Worldwide customers are using playmate products. The sound of these instruments is fantastic. Playmate provides the excellent product quality. Devmusical sells playmate instruments online at the lowest price.


"NERDS NOT ALLOWED -- ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK|" He goes in and sits down.
The bartender comes over to him, sniffs, says he smells kind of nerdy, asks him what he does for a living. The truck driver says he drives a truck, and the smell is just from the computers he is hauling. The bartender says OK, truck drivers are not nerds, and serves him a beer.
As he is sipping his beer, a skinny guy walks in with tape around his glasses, a pocket protector with twelve kinds of pens and pencils stashed in his pocket protector, and a belt at least a foot too long. The bartender, without saying a word, pulls out a shotgun and blows the guy away. The truck driver asks him why he did that.
The bartender said not to worry, the nerds are overpopulating the Silicon Valley, and are in season now. You don't even need a license, he said.
So the truck driver finishes his beer, gets back in his truck, and heads back onto the freeway. Suddenly he veers to avoid an accident, and the load shifts. The back door breaks open and computers spill out all over the freeway. He jumps out and sees a crowd already forming, grabbing up the computers. They are all engineers, accountants and programmers wearing the nerdiest clothes he has ever seen. He can't let them steal his whole load. So remembering what happened in the bar, he pulls out his gun and starts blasting away, felling several of them instantly.
A highway patrol officer comes zooming up and jumps out of the car screaming at him to stop. The truck driver said, "What's wrong? I thought nerds were in season."
"Well, sure," said the patrolman, "But you can't bait 'em."
787802 hits for this section SingleSignOn Copyright 2004-2009 Kevin and Erin Metcalf. All rights reserved.


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Cops Knock Woman Out – Try To Delete Video Evidence
In May of last year, 20-year-old Thomas Demint witnessed police involved in a violent arrest, so he pulled out his camera and began recording. For practicing his first Amendment right, Demint was then arrested, and his cell phone confiscated after he captured unjustified acts of police brutality.
Demint's video showed two brothers who were being arrested after one of them allegedly attempted suicide. The video shows police officers punching one of the brothers in the face and then waylaying on their mother, sending her slamming into the ground which knocked her unconscious.
After the incident was over, Demint turned off his camera and walked away. At this point, according to his attorney, Demint was attacked by three officers who threw him to the ground, arrested him and attempted to delete his footage. Luckily, they deleted the wrong videos.
Demint was charged with Obstruction of Justice and Resisting Arrest.
For over a year, Demint refused to release the video out of fear of being targeted by police. However, according to Demint, the cops continued harassing him. Since that day, Demint says he's been stopped by police several times.
"When I was pulled over the cop said 'You will see me again and you can count on that,' so I've been afraid that I would be targeted and pulled over every day and harassed because they knew I have the video on my phone," recounts Demint.
After more than a year of harassment, Demint is finally releasing the video in an effort to quash the ordeal.
"This is clearly evidence of police brutality," said Demint's attorney Ken Mollins.
In a statement released by the Suffolk County police, they claimed Demint was yelling profanities at the officers.
"Thomas Demint interfered with officers by shouting obscenities toward police officers and paramedics as well as entering the scene several times after he was told not to," read the statement.
However, according to his attorney, he wasn't arrested for his words, he was arrested for the video.
"At that point the videotape stopped, my client was walking away, three police officers jumped him on the back, threw him down to the floor and cuffed him, cuffed him and they arrested him and charged with obstruction of justice," said Mollins. "My client was not aggressive, my client was standing there videotaping."
In the video below, we can see why the police would not want this to be public. While it's unclear whether or not the punches to the man's face were justified, the woman being knocked unconscious by a Suffolk County cop, clearly was not.
Demint is not alone in his troubles, as cops in New York have a history of harassing those who film their brutality. 22-year-old Ramsey Orta, the man who became famous for filming NYPD cops murdering Eric Garner, was imprisoned and fed rat poison after he said police targeted him for his video.
source:thefreethoughtproject.com
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Why we should all be skeptical of Mark Zuckerberg's new commitment to privacy
Mark Zuckerberg just revealed plans to bring about what could be one of the most significant changes in Facebook's history.
By Karissa Bell March 7, 2019
In an over 3,000 word post on his Facebook page, the CEO laid out his vision for Facebook's future: one that would transform the social network into a "privacy-focused" platform that emphasizes encryption and disappearing content.
It's a philosophical shift that would have significant implications for how Facebook's billions of users use its services. But if the last 15 years of Facebook have taught us anything, it's that we shouldn't take Zuckerberg's words at face value.
SEE ALSO: Mark Zuckerberg explains why he wants to merge Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram
Yes, big changes are coming. And yes, some of those changes — like making end-to-end encryption more widespread — have long been requested by privacy advocates. But that doesn't mean Zuckerberg isn't motivated by the same ideals.
For one, the timing of Zuckerberg's sudden change of heart is extraordinarily convenient. Facebook is currently staring down the barrel of a massive FTC fine for privacy violations in the wake of Cambridge Analytica. The Washington Post has reported the fine will be a "record-setting" amount that could end up costing Facebook billions of dollars.
And, sure, Zuckerberg's promises to remake Facebook into some kind of Facebook Coin-fueled privacy haven likely won't matter much when the FTC comes knocking, but it will almost certainly help the company navigate the inevitable PR crisis when "Facebook" and "record FTC fine" are splashed across front pages.
The FTC fine isn't the only government action Facebook has to worry about. The company is also dealing with the very real prospect of increased regulation from officials in the United States and Europe. One area of concern to lawmakers is Facebook's control over several of the most popular messaging apps in the world make it a monopoly.
Zuckerberg faced some uncomfortable questions from Congress over exactly this issue last year. (unsurprisingly, he didn't have a very good answer when asked directly if Facebook was a monopoly). By blurring the lines between WhatsApp and Instagram and Messenger, Facebook can claim that it's all really just one service, not independent entities that can be easily separated.
Finally, we don't even need to look that far to find examples of Zuckerberg promising to clean up Facebook's data privacy issues as a way of trying to eke out a PR win. It's hardly been a year since Zuck took the stage at F8 and promised a "clear history" tool, which would prevent Facebook from tracking your activity and targeting you with ads.
Ten months later, not only is there no sign of "clear history," but recent reporting from BuzzFeed proves what many had long suspected: the tool was simply a way for Zuckerberg to save face during the company's worst public relations crisis in recent memory. The proposed tool was "barely an idea" at the time. (Facebook told Recode it expects to start testing the feature this spring.)
And that's just one feature. Who knows how long it will take to retool Facebook's infrastructure —something Zuckerberg has said will be a years-long effort — and what kind of tradeoffs will be made between now and then?
But, hey, this new "privacy-focused" narrative is, at least, a lot more convenient until then.
WATCH: Feel like your phone's spying on you? You're not alone
Topics: Tech, Tech, Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook, UAE


Explore NYC museums on your own. The bus will drop you off at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 5th Avenue. You are on your own to discover any museum you wish. The Guggenheim Museum, NEuE Gallery,the Frick Collection are all open.
Dining options: All of the museums have cafes, a hot dog on the steps of the MET, food vendors in Central Park or any restaurant.
Cost $50pp for the bus. Admission to the museum is separate.


Bright and friendly accommodation in the fashionable Bergmann quarter. For years, the centrally situated Kreuzberg 61 district has been a multicultural stomping ground for creatives, young families and party people. With just a few steps you will find diverse bars, cafés and restaurants. The nearby Bergmann Str. is perfect for a stroll.
Visit the colossal recreation area at the site of the former Tempelhof Airport or enjoy the view over the city from the Kreuzberg memorial in Viktoria Park. The underground lines U6 and U7 along with several bus routes will bring you swiftly to the sights of the capital city.
Hotel Transit, with its uncomplicated atmosphere and the charm of its bright, high ceilinged rooms, has been captivating guests since 1987.
Our 53 rooms are friendly, functionally furnished and are all en-suite (shower/WC).


My little boy regularly points out things I would not have noticed on my own. As I mentioned before he regularly points out people wearing hats. He notices airplanes, balloons, birds, trees, flags and especially babies. He will start signing baby if he even glances a stroller or baby carier.
He also notices and can express more complex thoughts. The other day we were playing at the little playground in our neighborhood which is close by the community swimming pool where a family was swimming and playing together. He stopped what he was doing to look over there and watch them several times.
Then he popped up, toddled over to me and signed PLAY + WATER and pointed in the direction of the pool! "Hey! They are playing in the water over there!" I was able to respond and we talked about the swimming pool and how fun it is to play with water. A brief conversation initiated by my one year old that would not be possible without sign language.
His signs have started evolving a little bit. When he first started signing PLAY and ALL DONE the signs pretty much looked the same, open hands moving up and down at the elbow with his wrists locked, and I would have to tell which it was based on context.
Slowly he started to sign PLAY a little differently, with his ring and middle finger locked with his thumbs and pinky and index fingers slightly raised, a good approximation. Recently he has started twisting his hands at the wrist with both of these signs instead of keeping them locked and moving his whole arm.
This is pretty amazing for such a young child. Wanting to communicate clearly and be understood is excellent motivation for him to work on his motor coordination and I am seeing improvements all the time!
Recently I pulled out some of my pots and pans and wooden spoons for us to play with. My son was banging a spoon around in one of the pots and then he looked to me and signed COOK. He was pretending to cook just like Mommy!
If he did not have this sign I would has assumed he was just making noise. I probably would have starting clanging things around and talked about how fun it is to make noise taking the play in a completely different direction.
Because he has this sign I knew he was playing pretend. We got some play food to put in the pan and talked about getting ready to eat and how the pan was getting hot. This has become one of his favorite games to play and I have seen him do it on his own sitting and stiring and signing COOK, EAT and HOT to himself.
It makes me so happy that he is able to communicate things like this to me. I am just so glad I was able to recognize, encourage and help him extend his imaginative play. It is such an important way for young children to learn.
Sleep has been a major challenge for us in the past. It's actually still an on going thing. My 14 month old still does not sleep through the night and naps can still be a challenge. I have more or less let my stress about it go, follow his lead and do my best to take it day by day. It's not always easy though.
I still feel like I can't really read him well or depend on his ques. He might be acting exhausted but absolutely refuse a nap. He might seem bright and awake and happy as can be but pass out in the car or easily fall asleep if I try to offer a nap. He is mostly regular schedule wise, but I never know when the schedule is going to go completely out the window for a few days or weeks even. It's hard sometimes.
Signing has helped some. When he starts looking tired and I start thinking about putting him to bed I start talking to him about it and signing SLEEP and BED saying things like "Are you getting SLEEPy? Is it time for BED? Maybe we should go upstairs and get ready for BED." I really think this helps him know what to expect and transition to sleep more easily.
Sometimes when I start talking to him about it he will sign BED in response and then I know I'm on the right track and he's not going to fight it. Once or twice he has toddled over to the stairs and signed UPSTAIRS + BED all on his own without me bringing it up. That's the best!
Recently my husband and I took our little boy out for lunch. When we were getting him out of his car seat in the parking lot and saying to him "Are you ready for lunch?" he got very excited and started signing EAT.
This is so good for his little brain to be able to make those kind of associations and for us to be able to confirm them for him. We of course enthusiastically responded "Yes! It's time to go EAT some lunch!". It's fun for us as well to know that he really does understand a lot of what we say to him even if he doesn't have the exact sign or word, he understands whats going on.
I think my son's favorite sign these days is SWITCH. I started signing this to him when we switch sides during breastfeeding. He now will stop during a feeding maybe after only a few moments and signs SWITCH. He might do it a couple times during a feeding.
At first I was worried that maybe my supply was starting to drop and he was getting frustrated. But I have decided that what is really going on is that he is using his signing to exercise some control. It's part of growing up and the toddler years are infamous for tantrums and stubbornness for this very reason. They want and need to have some control over what happens to them.
Signing empowers my son. It gives him some control over things. He can make decisions and communicate those decisions to me. This is wonderful and developmentally appropriate for his age. He obviously can't have everything he wants but he does get to make some decisions for himself and that is wonderful!
Signing has become such a big part of how I interact with my little boy. I feel like I almost take it for granted. I honestly can not imagine how others parent a toddler without it! I can not even begin to imagine how our relationship and his behavior might be different if we didn't have this wonderful tool! It really is just so wonderful and I am I so glad that I decided to commit to teaching this to him. It is such a joy to be able to communicate with my baby.