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The Mediterranean will be at the heart of Malta's EU presidency—for all the wrong reasons
EuropeJan 14th 2017 edition
"ALL that concerns the Mediterranean is of the deepest interest to civilised man," wrote Edward Forbes, a 19th-century naturalist. Europe's great sea will loom large as Malta, the European Union's smallest member, takes up the rotating presidency of its Council of Ministers for the first half of 2017. That is fitting, for the Mediterranean has defined the destiny of this speck south of Sicily. The Great Siege Road, which runs along the northern edge of Valletta, Malta's handsome capital, recalls the island's repulsion of Ottoman invaders in 1565, an act of defiance that resonated across Christian Europe. A covetous Napoleon said conquering the strategically located island was "worth any price". Centuries later a bull-headed Maltese prime minister shoehorned a chapter on Mediterranean security into the Helsinki Accords, a cold-war compact between the West and the Soviet bloc.
Yet Malta's fellow Europeans have not always been so interested in the Mediterranean. The accession of Malta and Cyprus to the EU in 2004 marked the end of the club's expansion in the region. An ill-fated "European Neighbourhood Policy" failed to draw the littoral states to the east and the south closer to the EU. In 2008 Nicolas Sarkozy, then France's president, launched a 43-country "Union for the Mediterranean" to much fanfare but zero effect. Since then the menace of Russia and the plight of Ukraine have drawn European attention eastwards. To the south, the EU has merely watched helplessly as the promises of the 2011 Arab uprisings were swallowed by counter-revolution and civil war.
Today the Mediterranean may be back, but not for happy reasons. If, in the words of David Abulafia, a historian, the sea was once "the most vigorous place of interaction between different societies on the face of the planet", for Europe it now represents only danger and instability. Malta's presidency plan draws attention to the Mediterranean's "ongoing conflict, socioeconomic challenges, terrorism, radicalisation and human-rights violations". Analysts warn of a "wall of poverty" to Europe's south.
Chief among the concerns, of course, is migration. This is nothing new for Malta; between 2002 and 2012 thousands of refugees fleeing war-torn African states like Somalia and Eritrea threatened to overwhelm the tiny island. Utterly unprepared for the arrivals, the Maltese shoved them into grim detention centres, which remain open today. Malta's bid for solidarity from its EU partners went nowhere. Its relationship with Italy soured in rows over responsibility for migrants picked up at sea.
How things have changed. Thanks, say some, to a mysterious deal between Italy and Malta not acknowledged by either side, few irregular migrants now disembark in Malta; the Central Mediterranean route runs almost exclusively between Libya and Italy. More importantly, a separate crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean jerked migration to the top of Europeans' concerns. The refugee crisis of 2015-16, when over 1m migrants hopped from Turkey to Greece and thence towards Europe's heart, so traumatised Europe's leaders that they have turned to the Central Mediterranean route with renewed vigour. Here the numbers have edged rather than rocketed up: 181,000 reached Italy in 2016. The difference is that they now have Europe's attention.
Perhaps the trickiest task of Malta's presidency will be an internal one: brokering agreement among the EU's governments on how to share the burden of irregular migration. But Joseph Muscat, the prime minister, has bigger ideas. He wants the EU to strike deals with African countries similar to that agreed with Turkey in March 2016, which drastically slowed the flow of migrants to Greece. Details are unclear, but Mr Muscat mentions joint naval patrols of North African waters. Others have revived an old notion of offshore asylum-processing centres in Egypt and Tunisia. "I'm aware these are controversial ideas," says Mr Muscat. "But there is no other option." He will advance his arguments at an EU summit in Malta next month.
The prime minister says most EU leaders agree with him. But the Turkey deal offers few lessons for Africa. Almost half of the migrants in Greece last year fled the civil war in Syria. But most of the migrants in the Central Mediterranean are seeking better wages, not fleeing war, which means their asylum bids are likely to fail. Failed asylum-seekers are devilishly difficult to deport, as countries like Germany have been learning. And where Turkey is well governed (if increasingly despotic), Libya is in chaos. This week Italy reopened its embassy in Tripoli and signed a migration and security agreement with one of Libya's two governments. But such is the volatility in Libya, says Mark Micallef, a Maltese Libya-watcher, that there is no guarantee Italy will have any partner at all in a few months.
The thick blue line
The Mediterranean is not without hope. Against the odds Tunisia, just 300 miles from Malta, is consolidating its post-revolutionary democracy. The EU seems determined to buttress Libya's notional government, if only to have a partner to help it stem the migrant flows. To Malta's east, hopes are high that 2017 may finally bring an end to the decades-long division of Cyprus (reunification talks were being held as The Economist went to press). A Cypriot deal could improve the EU's relations with Turkey, unlock oil and gas supplies in the eastern Mediterranean and smooth the burgeoning relationship between the EU and NATO.
But the EU has cleaved the sea in two. "Club Med" may have struggled inside the euro, but EU membership has consolidated democracy in Portugal, Spain and Greece. Malta itself is economically thriving and a far more relaxed place than the hidebound country that joined the EU in 2004. Outside the union, to the south and east, the Mediterranean is a sea of troubles. Malta's politicians have often warned that if the EU fails to export stability to its southern neighbourhood it will find itself importing instability instead. So far, they have been proved right.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline "The cruel sea"
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Even though the size of your audience might range from dozens to thousands, think of just one person in your mind's eye, someone who fits the key characteristics of your audience.
I gave this advice to a non-pro not long ago. The young woman had the daunting task of writing an appeal letter to raise her own financial support for a new ministry. A recent college grad, she is an extremely bright person and talented writer, but the prospect of writing a letter asking for money shook her up.
Let me give you one bit of advice, I said, a small secret. Write to one person. Immediately, her face looked a little more relaxed, and she thanked me.
I was reminded of this strategy today when I saw a post at copyblogger, Five Ways to Bulletproof Your Copy.
The five ways? Depending on the circumstances, Sean Platt notes that he writes to his (1) mother, (2) father, (3) sister, (4) wife and (5) his friend Marco.
By doing so, he's writing to just one person. The result is more personal, compelling copy that can influence and motivate the dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people who will read it.


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Q: What does adding equation of two higher degree curve signify geometrically While researching about geometrical significance of addition of two curves, I started off with family of lines,
I came across this question: Concepts involved in "Family of Lines". The accepted answer explains it well, that we create a new coordinate system with the two lines as coordinate axes, and these "family members" pass through origin in new system.
Multiplying the equation of two curves yields the graph of both the curves, since  $C_1\times C_2=0$ is satisfied when either one of $C_1$ or $C_2$ are zero. Hence we get graph of both. In case of lines, it is simple, the coordinate axes.
What does it mean, geometrically, to multiple or add higher degree curves?
Wouldn't it be a coordinate system with non-linear axes? I'm not able to imagine it.
P.S. I'm a high schooler.

A: You have it right, that if two curves are given by the equations $C_1(x,y)=0$ and $C_2(x,y)=0$, then their union (join) can be described by the single equation $C_1(x,y)C_2(x,y)=0$.
I think you realize that if the curves are graphs of functions, $y=f_1(x)$ and $y=f_2(x)$, then taking the product of the two functions, $y=f_1(x)f_2(x)$, will give you a picture totally different from either of the original two. In this setting, multiplying two things is not as useful or meaningful as the way you presented multiplication.
For plain, straightforward addition, I don't think that there's any reasonable picture that comes out, either from $C_1(x,y)+C_2(x,y)=0$, or $y=f_1(x)+f_2(x)$, though performing the latter operation is something we do all the time.
If you'd like a trick that gives you the intersection (common part) of two curves, you can use $C_1(x,y)^2+C_2(x,y)^2=0$, as I'm sure you see. This is good only for the real picture though: if you should venture out into complex curves, as we do in the field of algebraic geometry, the trick will be no good.
I hope this has been of some help.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Colbert Mocks Hannity's 'Question Of The Day' Segment Bragging About His New Workout
Stephen Colbert was so "inspired" by Sean Hannity's new "Question of the Day" segment he came up with one of his own.
By Heather — October 15, 2014
Stephen Colbert was so "inspired" by Sean Hannity's new "Question of the Day" segment he came up with one of his own: Everything I Wanted You to Know About ME But Was Afraid You Wouldn't Ask.
COLBERT: Folks, I'm a huge fan of Fox News anchor Sean Hannity. Sean is such a good journalist, he can break down the news into simple terms that even he can understand, and recently, my main manity Hannity introduced a new segment on his show called Question of the Day, where he answers the most pressing questions of our time.
As Stephen noted, Hannity saved "the best for the most recent, because last night he answered the question that was on all of his mind." After showing Hannity bragging about his new workout and getting his digs in on President Obama in the process, Colbert elaborated.
COLBERT: Yeah, President Obama delicately jogs, while Hannity forcefully rams President Obama into this segment for no reason. So.... not even any lubricant. So, what's your exercise segment Sean?
After showing Hannity bragging about his mixed martial arts, blade and firearms training, Colbert said "seeing Sean take time out from covering Ebola and ISIS to let us know his bod is rock hard has inspired me to introduce my own segment where I ask myself flattering questions about myself."
Just go watch the rest where Hannity gets the treatment he deserves for the latest addition to his already godawful show.
Barack Obama, Comedy Central, Fox News, Sean Hannity, Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, workout
Colbert Mocks College Republicans' 'Say Yes To The Dress' Ad
Heather — Oct 14th, 2014
Stephen Colbert Mocks Sean Hannity's Bizarre Defense Of Adrian Peterson
Heather — Sep 18th, 2014
Paul Krugman Calls Out Misinformation On CBO Report
Heather — Feb 7th, 2014
Stephen Colbert Keeps His Auction War Going With 'Papa Bear' O'Reilly
Heather — Feb 20th, 2014
Colbert Not Happy With 'Socialist, Poor-Coddling, Gay-Not-Judging, Foot-Washing, Atheists-Hugging Audacity Of Pope'
Heather — Jan 20th, 2014
Colbert Lampoons Huckabee's '12 Days Of Obamacare' Satire
Heather — Dec 12th, 2013

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Amazon knew seller data was used to boost company sales
Internal report flagged lack of controls over access to seller data.
The revelations come as trustbusters worldwide are increasingly targeting Amazon | Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images
By Simon Van Dorpe and Vincent Manancourt
April 30, 2021 4:49 pm CET
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos told U.S. lawmakers last year that the company has a policy prohibiting employees from using data on specific sellers to help boost its own sales.
"I can't guarantee you that that policy has never been violated," he added.
Now it's clear why he chose his words so carefully.
An internal audit seen by POLITICO warned Amazon's senior leadership in 2015 that 4,700 of its workforce working on its own sales had unauthorized access to sensitive third-party seller data on the platform — even identifying one case in which an employee used the access to improve sales.
FBI searches Biden's Delaware home
By Christopher Cadelago
By Barbara Moens and Suzanne Lynch
Since then, reports of employees using third-party seller information to bolster Amazon's own sales and evidence of lax IT access controls at the company suggest that efforts to fix the issue have been lackluster.
The revelations come as trustbusters worldwide are increasingly targeting Amazon, including over how it uses third-party seller data to boost its own offerings. The European Commission opened an investigation into precisely this issue in November 2020, with preliminary findings suggesting Amazon had breached EU competition law.
"This is fuel for the suspicions I had," Dutch internet entrepreneur Peter Sorber said when told about the audit. Sorber sold children's clothes on Amazon, but 18 months after setting up his "Brandkids" store on the platform and entering the required sales data, his products disappeared from the search rankings.
"You cannot ask a retailer to show his entire story with all sales statistics and then show that to your own purchasers. This is worse than not done. This is simply unfair competition," Sorber said.
An Amazon spokesperson said that like all companies, it audits its policies for compliance and makes improvements based on its findings. "This includes Amazon's internal seller data protection policy, which limits the use of seller data."
Amazon has long denied reports that employees access data on individual sellers to develop competing products. Instead, it says it uses aggregated data in a way that is common across retail.
But according to the internal audit document, Amazon bigwigs including Jeff Wilke, the company's number two until he left in March this year, and current General Counsel David Zapolsky knew that insufficiently robust access restrictions meant scores of insiders could inappropriately access seller-specific data.
"Permissions are not adequately restricted, making it possible for unauthorized users to view Seller-specific information such as performance history and authentication keys, edit inventory levels and pricing, and manage returns," reads the report, which noted that an earlier internal audit had identified similar failings in 2010.
"We identified one Vendor Manager who inappropriately reviewed a Seller's on-hand inventory to improve the likelihood and timing of the Vendor Manager winning buy-box," the 2015 report said, in reference to a much coveted listing that sellers on the platform compete fiercely over since it drives 80 percent of sales.
Lax controls
Amazon said it would not comment on any action taken against the vendor manager in question for reasons of privacy. It said its employees are only permitted to use seller-specific data to support that seller, to protect Amazon's customers or to run Amazon's store by, for example, deciding how to allocate inventory space among sellers within a warehouse.
A former employee cast doubt on Amazon's internal controls.
"There was an access control system that allowed people who had the motivation to be good at their job to take data they weren't supposed to have," said a person who worked in information security at Amazon after the report came out and spoke on a condition of anonymity because of fear of retaliation.
Despite knowing about insufficient access restrictions as far back as 2010, court cases, media reports and accounts of employees since then suggest that Amazon has done too little to prevent its retail staff from inappropriately using seller information to boost its own sales.
In the 2015 audit, Amazon middle management acknowledged and set out a plan to remedy the problems raised in the report. But the former information security insider called the follow-up "murky" and said problems related to the digital tool used to access accounts lasted at least until 2018.
"Compliance for the sake of compliance was not well-received [by Amazon leadership]. Compliance that could meet business goals could have some success," said the information security professional, who had raised the issue of access restrictions internally.
Regulators have been circling around Amazon's dual role as a platform and seller for some time.
The European Commission in November 2020 pressed charges against the tech giant for "systematically relying on non-public business data of independent sellers who sell on its marketplace, to the benefit of Amazon's own retail business, which directly competes with those third-party sellers."
While acknowledging that data on individual sellers is part of the investigation, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, when issuing the charges, said her case against Amazon "is more on big data" — or the e-commerce platform's analysis of large data sets to drive decision-making.
Asked if the EU executive had reviewed the audit report as part of its Amazon data probe, the Commission said it "cannot comment on leaked documents" and that its "investigation is ongoing."
Two people familiar with the matter said the Commission has seen the report.
EU competition experts argue that going after the use of individual data would be the easier way for the Commission to take on Amazon.
"The use of aggregate data is more difficult because the average supermarket does it too," said a lawyer who reviewed POLITICO's findings on a condition of anonymity because his firm represents a complainant in the case.
'Spoofing' issue
While Amazon's dual role as a platform and seller has become a high-profile concern of antitrust watchdogs on both sides of the Atlantic, the digital tool that made abuse possible has so far received little public attention.
The vendor manager singled out in the audit report used this tool — internally referred to as "spoofer access" — to conceal their identity and access the account as the seller, to view and edit the account profile, the inventory and the pricing of the products and to cancel orders.
According to industry standards, account access should be limited to certain people within the company. But the audit report said that Amazon left its spoofer access wide open to unauthorized access by employees across the world — including in China — to access and modify sensitive information.
It's not the first time the way Amazon controls access to its systems internally has faced heat.
In a POLITICO investigation published in February, former information security insiders accused Amazon of exposing millions of people's data to breaches because it fails to properly police access.
In that report, a second former high-level information security insider described the quality of access controls that Amazon has in place as "appalling," and that they "would not have passed muster with most auditors." A third insider confirmed that reams of personal information were accessible to people who did not have the appropriate role or responsibility. Amazon rejected those allegations.
"All Amazon's tools are built in such a way that you can use them for whatever purpose you want them to. That is the basic principle of how Amazon grew that quickly," the first insider said.
Not only did spoofing leave few digital traces for sellers, it also hampered Amazon's ability to monitor abuse, with the 2015 audit detailing how activity logs were "only retained for 30 days, and do not provide sufficient data to investigate Spoofer activity." This could imply that actual abuse was much more widespread than the single case identified in the report, which would correspond to many third-party sellers' suspicions. The company declined to comment on whether the spoofer tool is still used internally.
Occasionally, stories of Amazon's internal access woes have reached the outside world, with several cases of fraud and pranks from angry employees making headlines.
As recently as September 2020, U.S. authorities accused Amazon insiders of leaking reams of data, shutting down third-party seller accounts and manipulating product reviews in return for bribes in a scheme that lasted three years and resulted in around $100 million in losses for the sellers and the company.
In January 2016, a story went viral of an Amazon customer in Ireland who complained about the service and later discovered a giant dildo was added to his shopping cart, probably by the employee who felt offended.
Amazon's system of spoofer access seems to have been publicly name-checked only once, after an FBI agent discovered Amazon employee Vu Anh Nguyen used the access to "falsely and fraudulently issue $96,508.13 in refunds to himself and others."
When Amazon itself fell victim to spoofing in 2003, because fraudsters had used its identity to send huge amounts of spam emails, Amazon's current head of legal David Zapolsky said: "Spoofers lie about who's really sending these emails. Spoofing is forgery, and we're going after spoofers to the full extent of the law."
Want more analysis from POLITICO? POLITICO Pro is our premium intelligence service for professionals. From financial services to trade, technology, cybersecurity and more, Pro delivers real time intelligence, deep insight and breaking scoops you need to keep one step ahead. Email [email protected] to request a complimentary trial.
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Nintendo Switch paid online service to finally launch in September
By:Merima Dzakic - Convolaria
Published: 10:57, 01 February 2018
After delaying the paid online service for their Switch console, Nintendo is finally going through with the launch. The paid service will become available in September 2018. The exact prices for the UK are still to be announced.
Nintendo will start charging you for Switch's online multiplayer in September. A yearly subscription for the service will set you back around £17.50. If you prefer to pay for your subscription in smaller chunks, there are three and one month options as well.
The tree month deal will cost you around £6.99 and you'll get 30 days of Nintendo Switch Online for around £3.49. The exact prices for the UK are still to be announced.
Nintendo Nintendo Switch
Nintendo has the Switch online service quite a few times now, but you could say that they had a pretty solid reason for it. Their has had a rocky launch, but most of its issues have now been resolved.
Some have also deemed their "one free NES game per month" offer underwhelming to say the least. Nintendo's official website says that the "subscribers will get to download a compilation of classic titles with added online play, such as Super Mario Bros. 3, Balloon Fight and Dr. Mario." But retains the right to change the product names.
Nintendo Super Mario Bros. 3
The Nintendo Switch Online app will initially be compatible with the Splatoon 2 game. The app will grant its users access to SplatNet 2, where they can see their online battle stats, gear, and more. App users can also send online play invitations to players on their Nintendo Switch friend list. The invites can also be sent via social networks as well as messaging services.
Once players are connected, they will be able to use voice chat with friends while in the online lobby and during online play. The latter option will depend on the game.
The Nintendo Switch Online app can be downloaded on and devices.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated coming to mobile
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom- Rehydrated is on its way to iOS and Android devices. The mobile version of the game is currently available for pre-order.
Brawlhallidays 2020 - Brawl of the week for December 23, 2020
Bawlhallidays is continuing the festivities this week with a brand new mode. This week's brawl is Double Frost - a 2v2 three-minute matchup with 150% damage.
Civ VI getting City State picker and balance changes in December update
Firaxis have announced the features of Civilization VI's free December update, which includes the City State picker, and a bunch of balancing changes.
Fortnite's new in-game currency - Bars
Fortnite's Season 5 was just introduced and with it came a lot of changes. Bars is the new in-game currency the players will be able to earn in several different ways.
Jake the Dog joins Brawlhalla's free-to-play Legend Rotation
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Fortnite gets Terminator T-800 and Sarah Connor skins
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Pokemon GO welcomes Mega Ampharos to Mega Raids
Pokemon GO's Mega Raids now feature Mega Ampharos. Upcoming Incense Day event set to attract more Mareep. Trainers who evolve Flaaffy to get an Ampharos that knows Dragon Pulse.
Fortnite's Marvel superheroes take a step back for Predator
Epic Games have unveiled Fortnite's next Battle Pass character unlock, and after a string of Marvel's superheroes comes the hunter of hunters - Predator.
Civilization VI fifth DLC is Vietnam & Kublai Kahn Pack
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Studying for finals is one task many Salt Lake Community College students dread.
Some students tend to cram just two or three days before exams, and go days without adequate sleep. The late-night studying rituals and sleep deprivation can create misery in every student's life.
According to the Academic Skills Center at Dartmouth University, students should study in chunks, use daylight hours and find the right place to study to make studying more worthwhile.
Communication major Helen Lima shares study techniques that are effective for her.
SLCC student Lacie Brown explains why students should avoid studying too much material at one time.
"I allow plenty of time for studying and sleep. I find that budgeting your time becomes incredibly important during midterms and finals. I try not to spend more than two hours studying at a time. It's too over-whelming. This is why time management is so crucial.
According to Stanford University, students should set goals during study time and use an appointment book to be organized with time and other outside activities.
Stanford also recommends that students find out what type of learner they are, which will improve their ability to retain the material.
Brown emphasizes that carving out a regular time to study will pay dividends when finals week rolls around.
when you come home from work, even if it's only for an hour. We don't realize how much time we waste during the day when we could be studying.
Knowing when to take a break is also important.
Brown and Lima find time to relax and unload from studying. While Lima watches a mindless TV show or the Food Network for stress relief, Brown has a more orthodox approach.
Allow an hour everyday to study, that way you don't have to cram later.
Finals week is a stressful time, but finding a balance in studying and a stress reliever is crucial in remaining sane during the college years.
I think these are excellent tips that us students should use before finals. Most students that have been to college for more then a semester or two know most of these things. But reading this article is a good refresher like getting enough sleep and so on.
Also for me, I learned not to overwhelm myself and to give myself plenty of time, and to take breaks in between studying – but not too long.
This article is a good read before finals.
I love that you mentioned that these are tips to use before finals. I thought it was really interesting that two articles popped up the week before finals that I felt would have been such a great benefit to students to have at the beginning of the semester rather than at the end.
Hopefully those that read this one, as well as the other, will be attending Summer Semester and can implement the tips this article includes if they, unlike yourself, didn't already know them.


The winter season is a great time of year to stay in your comfort zone and create an inviting warm nest in your home. Banish the winter blues with a shopping spree to transform your abode into an oasis that says 'hibernation'. Snuggly blankets, bright cushions, romantic candles and woolly rugs are all a hit in winter.
Brighten up your mood in the living room with a new throw rug and a few comfy cushions. Find a vibrant colour or pattern that compliments your couch and suits the surroundings in the room. When selecting these items, keep an eye out for those with a bold pattern or texture. We love woolly throw rugs as they look inviting and they're great to snuggle up in on those lazy Sunday mornings. Make sure you don't overdo it though; know when you have enough for comfort and colour.
Tip: if you're daring, go for a bold bright colour that contrasts with your couch and embrace clashing colours!
The kitchen can feel like the room where you spend majority of your time – timeless family moments and memorable cooking creations come to life in the kitchen. Bring some colour into your space with bright feature pieces – choose a bright fruit bowl, or accessorise with colourful appliances. A few indoor plants or flowers will instantly give your kitchen the cheerful lift it needs in winter. Add life to your cooking surrounds with a herb garden, which will grow all year round and provide you with fresh delicious herbs to add to your family meals!
Add a bit of warmth to the bedroom with a welcoming rug, they are a great way to introduce playfulness and fun into a room. Don't skimp on size though, the biggest mistake made when purchasing a rug is selecting a style that either boxes in your room or makes it look too sparse.
Tip: To centre your room, ensure you leave the same amount of floor space on all sides of the rug.
Candles are also a great addition to the bedroom, adding a sense of warmth, atmosphere and winter cosiness. And just like that, winter is already a little brighter!


MA number of times I've been asked, "What must a precision rifle shooter know? What specific skills does he need to master?"
Properly mount and zero your scope, and refocus your reticle at least annually.
Properly Mount, Focus and Zero Your Scope: This is the foundation for accurate shooting. Incorrect eye relief precludes holding your rifle naturally with a proper cheek weld, while canting adds a degree of error that grows with distance. Zero your scope at exactly your intended distance -- usually 100 yards -- and at least yearly re-focus your reticle so it's crisp.
Determine Your Most Accurate Load: Before I zero, I typically fire four or five different loads to find the most accurate one for that rifle. Accuracy differences can be profound, even among various match loads. If you're a handloader, try a variety of powders, bullets and muzzle velocities.
Focus on Fundamentals: Practice Trigger Control by "educating" your finger to that specific trigger, especially through dry firing. (Use a Snap-Cap to preclude damaging your firing pin!) Perfect your Sight Picture -- the scope's entire field-of-view should be clear, with the crosshair centered. As your shot breaks, your eye is focused on the crosshair, not the target. For Breathing take a couple of deep breaths to oxygenate your blood, exhale normally, then, on a half-breath, during your natural respiratory pause, break your shot -- that's when your body is calmest. After firing, pause for a second and Follow-Through by continuing to look through your scope and breathe, then immediately run your bolt -- this helps maintain your mental focus right through the shot, while the habit of running the bolt ensures that you always have a round ready for a follow-on shot.
Record Each Shot: Carefully record each shot in a Marksmanship Record Book. (A free Record Book form is posted on my website, ultimatesniper.com) This teaches you to focus on each shot as a one-time event, and enables you to analyze any inaccuracy. Fire no more than ten rounds per paper target, and "call" each shot -- that is, immediately after firing a shot, before eyeing the target, jot down where you THINK it impacted, then see exactly where it did impact and record it. Calling your shot will sensitize you to tiny errors as you break each shot.
Laser rangefinders are great -- but first estimate distances the old-fashioned way.
Master Range Estimation: The greatest cause of long-range misses is incorrect range estimation, which has a cumulative impact when compensating for distance, wind, target movement and uphill/downhill angle. Fight the temptation to round-off or snap-judge a distance such as 350 yards -- instead, narrow it to the closest five yards. I have several lasers and use them often, but mostly as a "de-liar" -- that is, FIRST I estimate the range using a technique such as the appearance of objects, or estimating half that distance and doubling it, or using football-field 100-yard increments. Only after that do I use a laser to determine how close my estimate was -- and if it was wrong, analyze how I went wrong.
Learn to Estimate and Compensate for the Wind: So-called "doping the wind" is a long-range shooter's greatest challenge because it's part skill and part art. The best way to learn it is to do it. Electronic wind gauges are helpful, but they only measure the wind at your location -- I consider these devices a "yardstick" for comparing the wind around me to the wind downrange. Equally, know how the wind affects your projectile and (as a starting point) memorize the amount of wind drift at various distances and from various angles.
Understand and Employ Minute-of-Angle Measurements: The basic increment of most American riflescopes is a fraction of a Minute-of-Angle, usually one-quarter of a Minute, which means one-quarter inch at 100 yards. Learn exactly what your scope's increments (or "clicks") equal, and how this increases with distance. (See my earlier column, "Mastering Your Target Knobs") Understanding MOAs is absolutely essential for using target knobs.
Shooting off a bench at known distances is OK for zeroing, but practice fire requires unknown distances in field conditions -- prone, sitting, standing and kneeling.
Practice-Fire on Shooting Ranges AND in Field Conditions: Divide your live-fire practice between "Known Distance" firing from a bench or prone, and "Unknown Distance" firing in field conditions, which employs all body positions. I consider Known Distance firing only zero verification -- that is, it only confirms that my zero is correct and prepares me for realistic practice. Get off the shooting bench and practice the sitting, kneeling, squatting, prone and offhand positions. Firing at Unknown Distances integrates target detection, range estimation, body positions and marksmanship. I advocate shooting in inclement weather -- recall that Carlos Hathcock used to say, "It never rains on a rifle range." Keep it fun, using reactive targets such as clay pigeons, balloons and steel plates. And finally, I recommend focusing on "quality shots," rarely firing more than 20 rounds during a single practice session -- that way, each shot matters.
Strive for Consistency: Accuracy follows consistency: Be consistent in everything you do, from how you hold your rifle to how you see the scope sight picture, break the shot, breathe -- everything. Develop the consciousness to diagnose the source of any error, then consistently apply the correction. The more consistently you operate, the more accurately you will shoot.
Develop and hone these ten components and you will be a precision rifleman.


I am a PhD student at PUC-Rio (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro), Brazil.
In 2013 I was a visiting phd student at West group since my research interests include Semantic Web, Databases and Provenance. My thesis is about a process for publishing relational databases as RDF datasets - this process supports the record of how this transformation was done (it is called Design Rationale).
The group is very strong in many aspects and quite open for foreigners. I really felt part of the group during this short period there. Especially, Professor Staab and Matthias Thimm kindly received me and colaborated a lot with the improving of my academic experience and also with my personal growing.
I intend to continue my academic career combining research and trips because these both are my passion.


Multibox Comfort for loose gestant sows allows easy and unhindred access for stimulation and insemination of sows. A farm manager can easily enter the box when the front door and high posts are combined at the front of the box. It is possible to fasten the box on existing crate sides.


text:
Humans of St. Thomas - Halle Mason
Academic News, College of Arts and Sciences, English, Homepage, Humans of St. Thomas, News, Top News
Please Remember in Your Prayers Paula Sorenson
Author Jordan Osterman '11
Schulze School of Entrepreneurship Ranked by Princeton Review
Academic News, Front Page, News, Opus College of Business, Schulze School of Entrepreneurship
For what is believed to be the first time, St. Thomas' Schulze School of Entrepreneurship has been ranked No. 35 by the Princeton Review in its Top 50 Entrepreneurship Undergraduate programs ranking.
Tutor-Mentor Program Students Lead the Way
Casey Gordon, Center for Common Good Program Manager
Academic News, Center for the Common Good, Changemaking for the Common Good, Common Good, Current Students, Front Page, News, Our Community
The Tutor-Mentor program in the Center for Common Good has continued to grow, increasing its volunteerism by more than 500 percent in the past three years.
St. Thomas Law Ranked Among Best Law Schools by The Princeton Review
Carrie Hilger
Academic News, School of Law, School of Law Current Students, School of Law News Feed
The University of St. Thomas School of Law is #3 for Best State and Local Clerkships and #7 for Best Quality of Life in The Princeton Review's 2020 Best Law Schools rankings released on Nov. 5.
Monthly Musings: It's Really November Already?
Front Page, News, Our Community, President's Office
President Julie Sullivan writes about some of the many highlights from the past two months and looks ahead to the planning process for the St. Thomas 2025 strategic plan.
'Pathways to Inclusion: Our DEI Journey' Panel Brings Valuable Discussion
Academic News, Admissions, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Health, Common Good, Current Students, Dougherty Family College, Faculty, News, Opus College of Business, Our Community, President's Office, School of Education, School of Engineering, School of Law, School of Social Work, Staff, Top News
Nearly 150 community members gathered Tuesday in O'Shaughnessy Educational Center auditorium for "Pathways to Inclusion: Our DEI Journey," a 12-person panel discussion hosted by Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence Kha Yang and the Office for Diversity and Inclusion.
TommieMedia Wins National Pacemaker Award
Academic News, College of Arts and Sciences, Communication and Journalism, Front Page, News
TommieMedia, the student-run news publication at St. Thomas, has been awarded an Online Pacemaker Award in the four-year schools category from the Associated Collegiate Press.
Eden Fere: Advocate for International Human Rights
Academic News, Front Page, News, School of Law, School of Law Current Students, School of Law News Feed
This past summer School of Law 2L Eden Fere investigated and exposed human rights violations around the globe as an international justice intern.
St. Thomas Announces Morrison Family College of Health
Academic News, College of Health, Common Good, Current Students, Faculty, News, Our Community, President's Office, Staff, Top News, Trustees, Uncategorized
Following a landmark eight-figure gift from John M. Morrison and Susan Schmid Morrison, the University of St. Thomas today announced the naming of the Morrison Family College of Health.
Professional Notes: Oct. 31
Academic News, College of Arts and Sciences, Faculty, Front Page, News, Our Community, School of Social Work
Professional notes for faculty and staff from the University of St. Thomas from September-October 2019.
Student Documentary Explores Sustainability at St. Thomas
Academic News, College of Arts and Sciences, Communication and Journalism, News, Our Community, Sustainability, Top News
Guided by the university's first sustainability strategic plan, St. Thomas is working toward becoming a more sustainable community in a huge number of ways. Students in the College of Arts and Sciences' Communication Journalism program recently produced a documentary exploring some of the may ways sustainability has taken shape at St. Thomas.
Taking Data Global: School of Engineering Student, Faculty Bring Data Science to Ivory Coast
Academic News, Current Students, Faculty, News, Our Community, School of Engineering, Top News
School of Engineering data science master's student Souleyman Kone earned a $2 million grant and teamed up with assistant professor Manjeet Rege to build up data capabilities in Kone's home country, Ivory Coast.
Second Straight Year: Princeton Review Names St. Thomas to List of Green Colleges
Front Page, News, Our Community, Sustainability
For a second year in a row, St. Thomas was named a Green College by The Princeton Review.
Early Gifts for Faculty and Staff: Extra Days Off Over 2019 Holiday Break
For Faculty/Staff, Front Page, News, Notices, Our Community, President's Office
St. Thomas is granting employees four gift days in 2019 over the holiday break, meaning a 12-day stretch of time off.
Academic News, American Culture and Difference, College of Arts and Sciences, Environmental Science, Humans of St. Thomas, Justice and Peace Studies, News, Sustainability, Top News
Meet Emma Smith, a senior who has made a huge impact on the future of sustainability.
Please Remember in Your Prayers Al Tischler
Front Page, In Our Prayers, News, Our Community
Please remember in your prayers Al Tischler, husband of Kathy Tischler, Executive Assistant in Development and Alumni Relations. He died Oct. 17.
Mentor-Mentee: Tamu Lajebo and Aura Wharton-Beck Get Sustainable
Academic News, Current Students, Dougherty Family College, Faculty, News, Our Community, School of Education, Sustainability, Top News
For Dougherty Family College and Excel! Research Scholars Program student Tamu Lajebo, sustainability research and faculty mentoring unlocked a whole new way of learning.
Sights and Sounds: Tommie-Johnnie 2019 at Allianz Field
Alumni, Athletics, Current Students, Multimedia, News, Our Community, Tommie Traditions, Top News, Uncategorized
Nearly 20,000 purple- and red-clad St. Thomas and St. John's fans descended on Allianz Field on Saturday for the 2019 edition of the Tommie-Johnnie football rivalry.
Please Remember in Your Prayers Matthew Chamberlain
Please remember in your prayers Matthew Chamberlain, a graduate student in the Opus College of Business. He died Oct. 8.
President Sullivan, College of Health Dean Hang Speak at Manova Summit
Academic News, College of Health, News, Our Community, President's Office, Top News, Uncategorized
President Julie Sullivan and College of Health dean MayKao Hang spoke Wednesday at the Manova Summit, a three-day summit of innovation, inspiration and provocative stories of discovery from leaders on the frontier of health and wellness.
Please Remember in Your Prayers Adolf Scheurer
Please remember in your prayers Adolf Scheurer, father of Erika Scheurer, English associate professor and director of Writing Across the Curriculum. He died on Monday.
St. Thomas Announces 2019 Athletics Hall of Fame Class
Gene McGivern, Sports Information Director
Alumni, Front Page, News, Our Community
St. Thomas will induct 16 new members to its Athletics Hall of Fame in on-campus ceremonies on Nov. 16.
Full Rides to Med School: Three AFROTC Cadets Earn Prestigious Scholarships
Academic News, Aerospace Studies, Biology, Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, Current Students, News, Our Community, Top News
Seniors Sam Gentle, Henry Larson and David Linn were all selected last month for the Air Force Health Professions Scholarship Program, an extremely selective, nationwide program that fully funds students' four years of attending medical school.
CAS SOLV Initiative Team Creates Midway Neighborhood Guide Ahead of Tommie-Johnnie Game
Urban Art, Landscapes and St. Paul Communities Stories Project
Academic News, College of Arts and Sciences, Current Students, Front Page, News, Our Community
To help you decide where to go before and after the 2019 St. Thomas-St. John's football game, the Urban Art, Landscapes, and St. Paul Communities Stories Project team has prepared a helpful graphic as a guide.
Please Remember in Your Prayers William Silverman
Front Page, In Our Prayers, News, Notices, Our Community
Please remember in your prayers William Silverman, professor emeritus of biology.
Sights and Sounds: Homecoming 2019
Alumni, Current Students, News, Our Community, Tommie Traditions, Top News
The St. Thomas community was out in full force Saturday to celebrate the 2019 edition of homecoming.


text:
/*
 * vmmalloc_realloc -- unit test for libvmmalloc realloc
 *
 * usage: vmmalloc_realloc
 */

#include "unittest.h"

int
main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
	const int test_value = 123456;

	START(argc, argv, "vmmalloc_realloc");

	int *test = realloc(NULL, sizeof (int));
	ASSERTne(test, NULL);

	test[0] = test_value;
	ASSERTeq(test[0], test_value);

	test = realloc(test, sizeof (int) * 10);
	ASSERTne(test, NULL);
	ASSERTeq(test[0], test_value);
	test[1] = test_value;
	test[9] = test_value;

	free(test);

	DONE(NULL);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Electrolytic boilers | Destila s.r.o.
Electrolytic boiler for brewer fully replaces the steam boiler and is used for brewers with the production capacity of 10hl/batch. Because the entire heating system is unpressurised, it can be used where the steam generator and pressure steam boiler deployments are incompatible with standards or can not be met by the requirements of these standards for objective reasons. Electrolytic boiler has a capacity of 38 or 75 kW and uses 150 ° C heat oil.
An oil pump which ensures pumping into a container duplicator and the hot water heat exchanger is a part of a systém. Boiler operation is controlled automatically.


text:
Open Press TiU is the academic Open Access publishing house for Tilburg University and beyond. As part of the Open Science Action Plan of Tilburg University, Open Press TiU aims to accelerate Open Access in scholarly book publishing.
The Open Press TiU produces quality academic Open Access books for affordable book processing charges (or BPC's). In accordance with the specific nature of a book (whether a monograph, a textbook, PhD thesis, a critical text edition or an essay), a matching editorial assessment will take place. We propagate initial peer review, but only to strengthen the text, not to block off publications for dubious reasons. We believe academic output should be out there as soon as possible. True quality can only be assigned in an open and democratic discussion among researchers, students and other readers.
The digital version of a book by Open Press TiU will be made available openly and freely findable on online repositories such as Google Scholar.
Additionally, a printed version can be bought online. Open Press TiU distributes the book widely among university libraries, academic communities, media and other retailers.
Our licensed books and journals are under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
You are free to use the work, but you have to attribute (refer to) the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
ACADEMIC PUBLISHER
Open Press TiU is an alliance between the Library of Tilburg University and the academic publisher Wolf Publishers. The editorial team consists of managing editor Daan Rutten (Open Science Coordinator Tilburg University / Library Tilburg University) and senior publisher Willem-Jan van der Wolf (Wolf Publishers). The Open Press TiU has an editorial advisory board.
Academic authors are cordially invited to submit book proposals. You can contact Daan Rutten: d.rutten@tilburguniversity or info@openpresstiu.org
COPYRIGHTS AND PUBLISHING RIGHTS
Open Press TiU publishes Open Access and allows the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions.
Open Press TiU grants you the right to publish the metadata of the series, it's issues and articles under the terms of the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0).


text:
<?php namespace Anomaly\PostsModule\Http\Controller;

use Anomaly\PostsModule\Post\Command\AddPostsBreadcrumb;
use Anomaly\PostsModule\Post\Contract\PostRepositoryInterface;
use Anomaly\PostsModule\Tag\Command\AddTagBreadcrumb;
use Anomaly\PostsModule\Tag\Command\AddTagMetaTitle;
use Anomaly\Streams\Platform\Http\Controller\PublicController;

/**
 * Class TagsController
 *
 * @link          http://pyrocms.com/
 * @author        PyroCMS, Inc. <support@pyrocms.com>
 * @author        Ryan Thompson <ryan@pyrocms.com>
 */
class TagsController extends PublicController
{

    /**
     * Return an index of tag posts.
     *
     * @param  PostRepositoryInterface $posts
     * @return \Illuminate\View\View
     */
    public function index($tag)
    {
        $this->dispatch(new AddPostsBreadcrumb());
        $this->dispatch(new AddTagBreadcrumb($tag));
        $this->dispatch(new AddTagMetaTitle($tag));

        return $this->view->make('anomaly.module.posts::tags/index', compact('tag'));
    }
}


06 Premier Wins the Jingle Bell Tournament!
Located in the back of the Haverhill High School Campus.
GPS, Google Maps, and Waze users: Please use the Haverhill High School address: 137 Monument St, Haverhill, MA.
For more information regarding the NEP Program, please contact President/Owner: Scott Crowther.
The New England Predators are based out of Haverhill, MA. We have teams at the Mite level through the U-16. The Premier, Elite & Select teams play in the Premier Hockey League (PHL) of New England.