text:
Vintage Columns
Annual Gift Guides
Political Conventions
A note from the staff (2014): The contact info listed here is updated and correct; even though Dave doesn't write a weekly column for the Miami Herald any more, he does still work there and we are still in the Herald office.
COLUMN REPRINTS
I want to run Dave's weekly column in my newspaper and/or magazine. Our circulation is huge and/or almost non-existent. How much will it cost?
We have no idea. Dave retired in 2005 and we are no longer offering a weekly "Classic" column, so a regular syndication deal is not possible. For individual column reprints, skip to the 3rd question. For publication of any current pieces such as political or Olympics coverage, the Holiday Gift Guide or Dave's annual "Year in Review," please contact Tribune Media Services at 800-245-6536 (main switchboard) or the TMS Sales Dept. at 800-637-4082, fax 312-222-2581.
I want to run Dave's weekly column in my newspaper and/or magazine in New Zealand. Can I do that?
Same as above (the part about Dave retiring). For current pieces or individual column reprints in foreign markets, contact Tribune Media Services International, Triton Court, 14 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1BR, UK (tel +44-20-7588 7588; fax +44-20-7638 3011; web: www.tmsinternational.com)
I want to reprint one of Dave's columns in my company newsletter. Do I need permission to do that? Who can give me permission?
Yes, you need permission to reprint any of Dave's columns (and pretty much anybody else's columns, if you want to know the truth). We wish we could do something really bad to copyright violators, but so far, everything we've come up with is (also) illegal. But for wonderful, law-abiding persons like yourselves, here's how to get permission:
If you want to reprint a column, reprint any column in a book, use an excerpt only, or if you have any other special requests (no, I won't send you the photos of Dave and the goats), please contact Judi Smith at jsmith@herald.com for further information.
No internet or web site "reprinting" is allowed. Period. Links to the Miami Herald's web site are fine as long as you're not a wackjob.
COLUMNS - PERSONAL USE
PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE SECTION BEFORE YOU SEND US A COLUMN REQUEST
I am in urgent need of a copy of the column Dave wrote about guys, but it's not on the Miami Herald's web site any more. I can't find it in the archives at herald.com. How can I get a copy?
To get a copy of a specific column (for personal use only) (and we mean that in the nicest possible way), visit the Herald at http://www.miamiherald.com/reprints/. Unfortunately (for you, anyway), there is a charge for this service, and it will probably take a while.
But I have to have it by Thursday!
And we would really like to know why.
You should try to go through proper channels. But this will help us locate the column you're looking for:
Try to give a specific scenario or an unusual key word that you are sure is in the article. Were there weasels involved? How about chainsaws? Ok, so those aren't exactly unusual terms for Dave, but each term may help. We are searching the computer, so every piece of specific information helps us to locate the column you actually want.
"I saw it in my newspaper awhile back" doesn't narrow it down much. Was it published within the last year, or 10 years ago? Again, be as specific as possible.
Most newspapers make up their own headlines for the columns. So unless it was "Weasels use chainsaws to cut a hole in Dave's boat in January 2001," the headline alone probably won't get you the right column.
We are not kidding about specific words. "I'm looking for a column Dave wrote about girls and sports" was an actual recent request. Could you find that one? And if you really need to have it by Thursday, you can email us at jsmith@herald.com and we'll see what we can do.
Can you email it to me?
No. Sorry. It has to be snailmail. We don't send out any of Dave's columns in email.
This should answer your question:
Did Dave really write that piece floating around the internet, "16 Things I've Learned in 50 Years?"
Well, he wrote something like it. But it's been changed during its travels around the world in email, and you can no longer count on anything in it being Dave's actual work.
Why would anyone do such a thing?
We don't know. Dropped on their heads at birth, perhaps? The original list, as he wrote it, is called "25 Things I Have Learned in 50 Years" and can be found in the book Dave Barry Turns 50.
And we said this up there ^ but since you didn't read it, we are going to say it again:
Please note that we do not give permission to post Dave's columns on your website, period. (You are welcome to post links from the Miami Herald on your website, just don't copy and paste the column itself.) We do not give permission to send columns out in email (including email newsletters). We are happy to have you contact us regarding newsletters, photocopies, and reprinting, as long as it's in print form. We really do appreciate it when you ask permission, and will do our best to accommodate your requests as quickly as possible.
COLUMNS - WRITTEN BY YOU
I've written a funny/smart/fabulous/wacky book/column/article/Christmas letter that I know Dave would love. I want him to critique it/use it in his column/tell me who will publish it/send me a blurb/write a foreword for it. Where can I send it to him?
Well... to be honest, Dave 1) claims he is no good at critiquing 2) doesn't use things written by other writers 3) doesn't have a clue who might publish your work and 4) no longer does blurbs, endorsements or forewords. Also, his evil step-assistant won't even let him see your work, because she is an overprotective b... seems somewhat insane doesn't want anyone to be upset if Dave writes about something similar in an upcoming column or book. So she will send back your work and tell you that Dave suggests Writer's Market (an annual book of available markets) or Writer's Digest magazine for beginning writers, and for people trying to market their work or find an agent. (Dave also reminds everyone that editors are the ones who can get you published, and you should send your work to them; other writers really can't help you.)
But I write a great column that many readers love, published regularly in my local paper or online. Can Dave tell me how to get syndicated? And fast?
Not really. The way Dave did it is: He got information about various syndicates from Editor & Publisher's annual syndicate directory, and sent them samples of his published columns. Fact: After five years, he'd been picked up by one small syndicate and his column was running in five papers. So you probably don't want to quit your day job just yet.
Okay, but all I want is for Dave to read my manuscript and/or column and tell me if it's any good. But you keep saying no. In a variety of entertaining ways, but still, the answer seems to be no. Why do you keep saying that? It's short, it's good, and all my friends love it. It doesn't have to be an in-depth critique; just a quick read-through and a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Really. I'm looking for honest criticism here.
You are not.
No, REALLY, I am.
Okay, maybe you are. But probably not. At any rate, the answer is still no. If you want to know why, and you can handle some bad language (yes, he uses the F-word) (a lot), please read this blog post by Josh Olson: I Will Not Read Your F***ing Script.
Gee, thanks. I may never write again.
We are sorry. Honestly. Now read it again.
COLUMN TOPIC REQUESTS
Can Dave please write about my book/product/project/fundraising event/good cause/grandmother's birthday in his column?
No, I'm afraid not. If he did, pretty soon his column would be nothing but "Shout-outs" and book reviews. And nobody wants that. Do we?
UPDATE: Dave's not writing his weekly column any more. He writes occasional columns for The Miami Herald, most of which are syndicated nationally, but he still can't write about your cause, however good it is, or your book or product or grandmother. We're sorry.
Where can I buy Dave's books? (We're not kidding, this is a frequently asked question!)
At a bookstore.
Dave never comes to Dubuque on book tour! What's wrong with Dubuque? HUH?!? And how can I get my book signed?
Don't blame us! Dave's publicist decides which cities he'll visit on book tour. She's the one that hates Dubuque.
If you want to get your book signed, you can send it to Dave at the Miami Herald, 3511 NW 91st Ave., Miami FL 33172. (Yes, even though he's not writing a weekly column for the Herald, the office still exists.) Please include a self-addressed, postage-paid mailer for its return. Please do NOT send checks or cash to pay for postage. Seriously. We need a self-addressed, stamped return mailer to return the book to you. That's the only way. We're not joking. (We were joking about Dave's publicist hating Dubuque. But not about the SASE.)
Please contact us at nolowflow@davebarry.com BEFORE sending in your book, especially if you need a timely response; we may have additional instructions for you as we are sometimes away from the Miami office for extended periods.
A note from the staff:
Dave is happy to sign a book for you, but we're aware of the existence of eBay, if you know what we mean. So please don't send a box of books with a note that says "I love your work. It would mean so much to me if you could sign these seven copies of the same book. Signature only, please, because I want to pass them on to my seven children when I die." (This really happened. Now I ask you, do I look that stupid? Be honest.)
Another note from the staff:
We are strong, but we are not beavers. Wrapping your package in a 2-inch-thick layer of packing tape will almost guarantee a damaged book (and sometimes it's even an accident!). It will be in much better shape upon its return to you if we are able to open your package in less than 20 minutes, without power tools. It's a book. A precious book, yes, but not a condor egg.
Yet another note from the staff, to be read in the voice of your fourth grade teacher when she's letting you go to the bathroom for the third time since lunch:
We are serious about sending in boxes of books for signature only. Just Don't Do It. Please.
Also, photos:
Dave will be happy to sign an 8 x 10 photo for you, but only one, and only personalized, and only if you send in a large stamped self-addressed envelope to Dave Barry, 3511 NW 91st Ave., Miami FL 33172.
(You: My God, you are snotty. And suspicious.
Snotty Suspicious Assistant: You and what army?)
What about the colonoscopy certificates?
Yes, we still have them and will still send them out. Same address as above, but please be sure to include a SASE. Sadly, we no longer have Paris Hilton toilet paper squares to include with the certificates, but it's the thought that counts.
How do I book Dave to speak at a corporate event?
If the event isn't next week, or next month, please contact Xeno Management at JWDiLaw@aol.com. They'll talk with you about Dave's availability and give you the booking details.
If it is next week or next month, Dave's probably already booked, but you can email his assistant using the contact info below.
How do I book Dave to speak at a charity event?
If it's a local (South Florida) charity event, please email us at nolowflow@davebarry.com and give us the details; we'll let you know if he's available.
Sorry, but we can't participate in every celebrity auction from here to Qo'noS. If you have a particular interest in Dave, please make it known when you contact us. We do not do any auctions via email, but require letterhead sent snailmail c/o Dave Barry, Miami Herald, 3511 NW 91st Ave., Miami FL 33172.
Can I email Dave?
No, no, a thousand times (the number of times he received the Nigerian money-laundering scam before he decided not to get email any more) no. But there is an email address on the front page of this site that will reach his assistant. Ok, ok, we'll make it easy for you and just tell you what it is: nolowflow@davebarry.com. Also, you can email stuff for the blog to daveblog@herald.com.
Another snotty helpful note from the staff:
Please consider the amount of spam we get when you send an email. Sending email with nothing in the subject line is just stupid likely to get your email deleted immediately. We also don't read emails with subject lines such as "humor" and "hello" and "weird" and "quirky" and "help," as a rule. So if you want someone to read your email, please consider that we are wading through 50 spam emails for every legitimate email, and make it easier for us. Use a brief but descriptive subject line. This is not bad advice for any email you send, but especially for emails you are sending to complete strangers. Also, if you are using aol, figure out how to reply with the previous email's text in your email, for Pete's sake. (This has nothing to do with whether or not we read your email, but it's really annoying to get emails that say, for instance, "Did you find the column yet?" with no reference emails below it. Come on, people. It's 2014.)
We are sorry we are so cranky. But it's fun to vent. Thank you for this opportunity.
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MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines matched China's expansion in the second quarter, becoming the two fastest growing economies in Asia, as strong fundamentals, domestic spending and investments buttressed the Southeast Asian nation from regional fund outflows.
Its solid growth performance lifted the peso from nearly 3-year lows and the stock market <.PSI> from 9-month lows, and better positions the Philippines to keep its favored status among investors amid market volatility.
The country has overtaken Southeast Asian neighbors such as Indonesia as a safer investment bet due to prudent management of fiscal and monetary policy. It secured investment grade from two ratings agencies this year.
But analysts warned that delays in public infrastructure projects could create uncertainty that might stall investments going forward as it seeks investors to bankroll construction of pivotal roads to railways.
Recent fund outflows from emerging markets due to Fed tapering fears may also lead to destabilizing capital flows in the economy, said Bernard Aw, analyst at Forecast PTE Ltd in Singapore. But most analysts say the country's strong current account, adequate forex reserves and lower export dependence differentiates it from its regional peers.
The economy grew an annual 7.5 percent in the second quarter, above a 7.3 percent market estimate, and compared with a revised 7.7 percent growth in the first quarter.
From the previous three months, GDP rose 1.4 percent in the second quarter, higher than the 0.8 percent forecast in a Reuters poll. It was the slowest pace in a year and below the upwardly revised growth of 2.3 percent in the March quarter.
Analysts expect the central bank to keep the policy rate on hold at a record low level of 3.5 percent after the data.
The Philippines has managed to sustain annual growth of above 7 percent for four quarters in a row, defying a slowdown in the region as it presses on with reforms.
"The composition of our growth shows signs of an economy that is in the process of rebalancing, moving from being largely consumption-driven to becoming investment-led and industrialized, with the ability to provide higher quality jobs for Filipinos," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told a media briefing.
"This internal dynamism indicates greater consumer and business confidence in the domestic economy, as we have continued to keep our macroeconomic fundamentals in check."
The Philippines is on course to outperform its GDP growth target this year of 6-7 percent and its strong fundamentals will allow it to manage risks coming from market volatilities and global headwinds, he added.
Capital formation and public spending, up 13.2 percent and 17 percent from a year ago, have been growing faster than household consumption, up 5.2 percent, in the last three quarters. Growth in household spending has remained at single-digit levels since at least the first quarter of 2011.
The government is hopeful continued strong growth will substantially lower poverty levels. The number of poor are estimated at more than a fourth of its 97 million population.
Like many of its regional neighbors, the Philippines has not been immune to the global downturn or fund outflows as the U.S. Federal Reserve starts winding down monetary stimulus.
The peso is down nearly 8 percent this year. Exports and imports fell more than 4 percent in the first half of the year.
But with a tenth of the Philippine population abroad and sending an average $1.7 billion in remittances every month, domestic demand in the country has remained solid, helping cushion the economy from slumping trade.
Higher state spending related to the mid-year elections in May also boosted domestic consumption, economists said, while manageable inflation allowed policymakers to keep interest rates at record low levels, supporting growth.
Public construction jumped 31 percent in the second quarter, lower than the previous quarter's 45.6 percent annual gain, but faster than private construction growth at 9 percent.
A challenge for one of Asia's top performers is to keep policy sufficiently supportive to protect the domestic economy from weak external demand in the second half.
"Government spending may slow post-election, with some concerns that the ongoing case on the abuse of a discretionary fund may curb state expenditure," said Aw of Forecast.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco said the latest data should help boost investor confidence, and support the peso and the local stock market. He added that the authorities will ensure monetary policy supports non-inflationary robust growth.


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International Research Training Event I
Programme Registration Venue Readings
Paratextual Framing: Theory and Methodology
Dr Sameh Hanna, University of Leeds, UK
Professor Mona Baker, Director of the Jiao Tong Baker Centre for Translation & Intercultural Studies
A growing number of studies are now acknowledging the role that paratexts play in mediating the interpretation and reception of translations. These studies draw primarily on Gerard Genette's seminal publication Seuils (1987, translated into English in 1997 as Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation), which remains highly influential. Genette's study, however, is limited by its exclusive focus on books, as opposed to other types of publication, as well as its neglect of paratextual framing in non-print media. Even within the narrow confines of the printed word in book format, vital elements (such as the choice of script) that have been shown to frame the interpretation of translated text in certain contexts receive no attention in Genette's work. Traditional paratext theory is also unable to address the diversity and complexity of settings within which translations are increasingly mediated and framed. New environments in which diverse types of translation are undertaken now offer scholars richer material and a wider range of paratexts to study – including blogs, hyper links, film trailers and DVD covers.
This two-day workshop will offer a robust, critical introduction to the theory of paratext and its application in translation studies to date. It will examine methodological principles and challenges involved in studying various types of paratext that frame translations in a wide range of contexts, from the traditional world of book publishing to the world of audiovisual translation and digital culture. In addition, the workshop will feature sessions on how early career researchers may best position themselves in the academy, including sessions on publishing in international journals, applying for research grants, and negotiating the tension between an increased emphasis on interdisciplinarity and the restrictive reality of being based within a specific discipline in the academy.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Welsh racing driver Tom Pryce died on the tracks during the South African Grand Prix in Kyalami on 5 March 1977. The horrific accident left two people dead; a marshal Frederick Jansen Van Vuuren, who was running across the tracks to help another driver whose car had caught fire and Pryce himself.... Lewis Hamilton, a British Formula One racing driver, admits some drivers can't contain themselves during a race. "You're supposed to go in your suit, but I can't do it. I've never done it.
Welsh racing driver Tom Pryce died on the tracks during the South African Grand Prix in Kyalami on 5 March 1977. The horrific accident left two people dead; a marshal Frederick Jansen Van Vuuren, who was running across the tracks to help another driver whose car had caught fire and Pryce himself. how to buy big size tuxido in toronto Johannesburg - Motorsport South Africa has confirmed that 18 young South African race drivers will participate in the inaugural MSA Motorsport Development Academy July 3-5.
The 2009 Formula 1 world championship-winning Brawn GP BGP 001 will be a new addition to the classic car roster in the F1 2018 video game. Classic F1 cars returned to the series in 2017, ranging how to become a healthcare advocate Each year a new group of young drivers enter South Carolina's roadways. At the age of 15, these new drivers have permission to operate an automobile with a beginner's permit.
How to drive with Uber in South Africa Uber is a great way to be your own boss and make money. Most people are eligible to drive with Uber, even if you don't have a car.
Atlas F1 Presents: all the milestones, all the names, all the changes, all the headlines - the complete Formula One timeline. 1960. Stirling Moss scores first ever win for Lotus when he wins the Monaco Grand Prix driving Rob Walker's Lotus 18.


The risk of developing cancer can increase after menopause. Lifestyle choices can be a strong contributing factor. Making lifestyle changes are essential in preventing postmenopausal cancer.
Many stories appear in the media about products, foods, or habits that will cause or cure cancer, and these scare tactics can often give conflicting information about the disease. One story might suggest that a glass of wine a day will prevent cancer, whereas another might suggest that it will cause cancer.
It can be nightmare trying to decide which advice to follow, but genuine and trustworthy advice is out there. Read on for a list of ways to prevent cancer during postmenopause.
A major cause of postmenopausal cancer is smoking. Some women take up smoking during perimenopause and menopause to help deal with anxiety and mood swings. However, when the symptoms of these disorders disappear, the addiction remains and it can be very difficult to shake the habit. Cutting back on smoking, however, is highly recommended if you want to prevent cancer in your postmenopausal years. Quitting smoking can often be difficult to do alone, but there are support groups available to help motivate you to ditch the cigarettes.
Living a healthy lifestyle is the best way to prevent cancer at any age, but it is not necessarily a guarantee. As well as the genetic factor in developing postmenopausal cancer, there are certain environmental factors that may increase the risk of developing the disease. One of these is breathing in polluted air. If you live in a smoggy city or near a polluted area, consider wearing a mask, which can help filter out carcinogens and lower your risk of developing cancer.
A great way to prevent cancer during postmenopause is to keep to a regular exercise regime. Exercise can help to prevent postmenopausal cancer by keeping your body fit and healthy, in turn boosting blood flow and improving the immune system. Although exercise can seem grueling at times, 30 minutes of exercise five times a week is all it takes to significantly reduce your risk of cancer.
Click in the following link to learn more about postmenopause causes.
Menopause. New York: Warner Books Inc., 1996.


Crowdcube are an equity crowdfunding platform - we have a genuine impact on start-up companies. But why take our word for it? Watch this!
So what could you be doing if you joined us? Well this team are currently improving the experience of entrepreneurs like Giles by building a dashboard that provides advice on their pitch and updates on their raise with a bit of data analytics thrown in for good measure!
Our stack is PHP, with a Laravel powered API for our service code and MySQL database, with React + Redux on the Frontend & AWS/Ansible/Terraform to package and run our services.
So if your knowledge of the single responsibility principal puts you in a Class of your own, then you could be the PHP engineer we're looking for.
...yes, we did just make a development joke!


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Q: How to call these kind of webservice in android I am working on an app that consuming the below type of Web Service,can anybody help me how to call this Web Service and get the data from it? Please check the below base url for the webservice,
url
http://www.fansplay.com/wsfptb20/FBS.svc/GetContestants

request format:

{"APIUserName" : "admin" , "Password" : "######"}

I want to consuming this web service but having no idea regarding this kind of web service, So can anybody help me to call this webservice?
Please.

A: Take a look at this and try it out

A: There is many ways to retrieve data from a web service using Higher-Level Client Libraries example OKhttp,Volley or Retrofit , for your case i think that you can parse XML File or JSON File and get data to your app.

A: maybe a method like this should work :)
public void postData(String un, String pw) {
    //Create request
    String mynamespace = "http://www.fansplay.com/wsfptb20/FBS.svc";
    String methodName = "GetContestants";

    SoapObject request = new SoapObject(mynamespace, methodName);
    //Property which holds input parameters
    PropertyInfo username = new PropertyInfo();
    //Set Name
    username.setName("APIUserName");
    //Set Value
    username.setValue(un);
    //Set dataType
    username.setType(String.class);
    //Add the property to request object
    request.addProperty(username);

    //Property which holds input parameters
    PropertyInfo password = new PropertyInfo();
    //Set Name
    password.setName("Password");
    //Set Value
    password.setValue(pw);
    //Set dataType
    password.setType(String.class);
    //Add the property to request object
    request.addProperty(password);

    //Create envelope
    SoapSerializationEnvelope envelope = new SoapSerializationEnvelope(
        SoapEnvelope.VER11);
    envelope.dotNet = true; //if .NET server
    //Set output SOAP object
    envelope.setOutputSoapObject(request);
    //Create HTTP call object
    String url = "http://www.fansplay.com/wsfptb20/FBS.svc/GetContestants";
    HttpTransportSE androidHttpTransport = new HttpTransportSE(url);

    try {
        //Invoke web service
        String soapAction = "http://www.fansplay.com/wsfptb20/FBS.svc/GetContestants";
        androidHttpTransport.call(soapAction, envelope);
        //Get the response
        SoapPrimitive response = (SoapPrimitive) envelope.getResponse();
        //log result to console
        Log.d("myapp", response.toString());

    } catch (Exception e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
}

disclaimer: more at this link: http://programmerguru.com/android-tutorial/android-webservice-example/

A: Here is an example of json parsing....
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
    sendRequest();
}

public void sendRequest() {
    String url=getString(R.string.str_url_json);
    RequestQueue requestQueue= Volley.newRequestQueue(this);
    StringRequest stringRequest=new StringRequest(Request.Method.GET,url,this,this);
    requestQueue.add(stringRequest);
}

@Override
public void onErrorResponse(VolleyError error) {
    textView.setText(error.toString());
}

@Override
public void onResponse(String response) {
    int userId,id;
    String title;
    String body;
    Gson gson=new Gson();
    GsonObjects gsonObjects[]=gson.fromJson(response, GsonObjects[].class);
    for(int i=0;i<gsonObjects.length;i++) {
        id = gsonObjects[i].getId();
        userId = gsonObjects[i].getUserId();
        title = gsonObjects[i].getTitle();
        body = gsonObjects[i].getBody();
        listUserId.add(String.valueOf(userId));
        listId.add(String.valueOf(id));
        listTitle.add(title);
        listBody.add(body);
    }

}

There is an model class:
public class GsonObjects implements Serializable {
@SerializedName(Constant.JSON_USER_ID)
private int userId;
@SerializedName(Constant.JSON_ID)
private int id;
@SerializedName(Constant.JSON_TITLE)
private String title;
@SerializedName(Constant.JSON_BODY)
private String body;

public int getUserId() {
    return userId;
}

public String getTitle() {
    return title;
}

public int getId() {
    return id;
}

public String getBody() {
    return body;
}

public void setUserId(int userId) {
    this.userId = userId;
}

public void setId(int id) {
    this.id = id;
}

public void setTitle(String title) {
    this.title = title;
}

public void setBody(String body) {
    this.body = body;
}

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Tag Archives: jewish legion
Jews of the Week: the Genius of Rogatchov and Joseph Trumpeldor
An Unparalleled Genius and a Zionist Icon
Joseph Trumpeldor
Joseph Volfovich Trumpeldor (1880-1920) was born in Russia, the son of a cantonist (young Jews forcefully conscripted into the Russian army). He became a dentist, but in 1902 enlisted in the Russian army. Trumpeldor lost his left arm in one battle of the Russo-Japanese War, yet wanted to continue serving, reportedly saying "I still have another arm to give to the motherland." He returned to the battlefield and was captured by the Japanese. Trumpeldor spent most of his captivity studying, learning more about Judaism, Jewish history, and the Zionist cause. He even started writing on Jewish topics and found fellow Jewish prisoners who dreamed of settling in the Promised Land. Upon his release, he received four medals, and was later made an officer, making him the most decorated Jew in the Russian army, and its first Jewish officer. Unable to return to the military, he became a lawyer. In 1911, Trumpeldor made aliyah and settled in Kibbutz Degania. With the outbreak of World War I, he went to Egypt to establish the Jewish Legion (which fought for Britain) alongside Ze'ev Jabotinsky. The legion, also known as the Zion Mule Corps, is considered the first entirely Jewish military unit in two thousand years, and a precursor to the IDF. It helped the British conquer the land of Israel from the Ottoman Turks. Trumpeldor was a key soldier in that effort, and was wounded in the Battle of Gallipoli. After the war, he returned to Russia to gather more young Jews to settle in Israel. In 1920, while working to build the new town of Tel Hai, a band of Arabs attacked the Jewish community. Trumpeldor was shot twice, and succumbed to his injuries. According to legend, his last words were "Never mind, it is good to die for our country." Trumpeldor immediately became a symbol of Jewish strength, self-defense, and resilience, and an inspiration for a new generation of Zionists. The day of his death, the 11th of Adar (this coming Monday), is a minor holiday in Israel.
Rabbi Yosef Rosen, the Rogatchover Gaon
That same date is also the yahrzeit of Rabbi Yosef Rosen (1858-1936). He was born in the town of Rogatchov (in modern Belarus) to a Chabad family. By the age of 13, he was recognized as a genius and was sent to study with some of the great rabbis of the day in the town of Slutzk. At 31, he was appointed one of two chief rabbis of Dvinsk (in modern Latvia), and served in that role for nearly five decades, until his last days. Rabbi Rosen ensured the survival and flourishing of Jewish life under Russian Imperial, and then Communist, rule, often with great sacrifice to himself. Meanwhile, he published several important works of Jewish commentary and Jewish law. Some of his best writings were published only after his death, under the title Tzafnat Paneach, "Decipherer of Secrets". Rabbi Rosen was known as the Rogatchover Gaon, the "Genius of Rogatchov", and was famous for his unbelievable breadth of knowledge on just about any subject. After once meeting him for a lengthy discussion, the renowned poet Bialik said that "from the mind of the Rogatchover could be carved out two Einsteins" and that he is "a great spiritual national treasure." Rabbi Rosen had many students, including Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who also received his rabbinic ordination from the Gaon. The Rebbe once said that Rabbi Rosen was able to simplify all of Judaism into ten ideas, and quoted him as saying: "Were I a little bit smarter, it would be only one idea!"
Did You Know These Famous People Converted to Judaism?
Love and work are the two things you have to do in life.
– Sigmund Freud
This entry was posted in Extraordinary Individuals, Law, Politics & Military, Religious Leaders and tagged Belarussian Jews, Chabad, Dvinsk, jewish legion, Kibbutz, Rabbi, Rogatchov, Russian Army, Russian Jews, Russo-Japanese War, Slutzk, Trumpeldor, Zionist, Zionist Mule Corps on March 13, 2019 by Jew of the Week.
Jew of the Week: David Ben-Gurion
David Grün (1886-1973) was born in Poland and at just 14, already started a Zionist youth club with friends to promote immigration to Israel and study of Hebrew. While a student at the University of Warsaw in 1905, he was arrested twice as a member of the socialist Poalei Tzion party. The following year he made his way to the Holy Land and settled there. Just 20 years old, he became the chairman of Poalei Tzion in Yafo. Due to various disputes, Grün left politics and focused on farming in Petah-Tikva and the Galilee. He joined an armed defence group in 1908 to protect Jewish settlements increasingly under attack. In 1912 he temporarily relocated to Istanbul to study law, and it was there that he Hebraized his name to Ben-Gurion (and would convince countless others to do the same over the course of his life, wanting them to drop their old "diaspora" names for a fresh start in a newly resurrected Jewish Homeland). He returned to Jerusalem, only to be deported to Egypt due to World War I, then made his way to the U.S. where he toured for 3 years raising support for the Jewish cause. In 1918 he enlisted in the Jewish Legion of the British Army. After the war, Ben-Gurion resettled in Israel and established the Histadrut, Israel's first labour union (which is 650,000 members strong today). By 1935, he became the chairman of the Jewish Agency – the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world – overseeing the immigration and settlement of Jews in Israel. He served in this role until 1948, when he became the new State of Israel's first Prime Minister. One of his first acts in the ensuing War of Independence was the fusion of all militias into one unified army: the IDF. After the war, he worked tirelessly to establish the state and its institutions, overseeing massive construction projects and mass immigration of Jews from around the world, not to mention an international hunt for Nazi war criminals. Although he worked to create a free, modern, non-theocratic state of Israel, he ensured that the Jewish essence would remain, setting Shabbat as an official rest day, kosher food in all state institutions, and autonomy in religious education. He also focused on Israel's military might, ordering the creation of special operations units while pushing heavily for attaining nuclear capability. He would serve as prime minister in two stints lasting nearly 14 years, in addition to being minister of defence. After retiring in 1970, he wrote an 11-volume history of Israel's beginnings, adding to two previous tomes he had written. He passed away shortly after, and is commemorated as the central founder of the modern State of Israel.
Oil, which saturates everything it comes in contact with, represents innerness. Wine, which causes the heart to spill out its deepest secrets, represents outwardness. Chanukah is oil, Purim is wine.
– The Lubavitcher Rebbe
This entry was posted in Law, Politics & Military and tagged Ben Gurion, British Army, Egypt, Galilee, Hebrew, Histadrut, Holy Land, IDF, Israel, Israeli Army, Istanbul, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Jewish Agency, jewish legion, Kosher, Minister of Defence, Petah-Tikva, Poalei Tzion, Poland, Polish Jews, Prime Minister, Shabbat, University of Warsaw, War of Independence, Yafo, Zionism, Zionist on November 27, 2013 by Jew of the Week.


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Podzielone wyspy
Borneo – trudna przeszłość, poplątane tożsamości. Indonezyjsko-malajska konfrontacja 1963–1966
Andrzej Połosak
Borneo, the largest of the Sunda Islands, was already divided during the colonial period. Its southern part belonged to the Dutch East Indies. To the north, there were the territories of North Kalimantan, part of the British Federation of Malaya. The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Ahmed Sukarno, supported anti-colonial movements around the world. Moreover, in 1962, Indonesia launched a military operation that attached West Irian, a Dutch overseas territory in the eastern tip of New Guinea. This operation gained international support.
When Great Britain revised its Far East policy in the late 1950s, London gave independence to the Federation of Malaya, known as Malaysia since that time. From then on, the country was part of the Commonwealth of Nations. President Sukarno, remembering the success of the 1962 operation, considered newly established Malaysia to be only a new incarnation of English colonial politics. In April 1963, Jakarta began invading northern Borneo to annex these lands to Indonesia. The invasion met with strong resistance from the Commonwealth of Nations. After three years of struggle, the territorial status quo from before the conflict was re-established. The invasion and its high costs shook President Sukarno's position. As a result, he was overthrown by General Suharto and the previously pursued policy of supporting anti-colonialism ended, although Indonesia remained a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, one of whose spiritual fathers was Ahmed Sukarno.
Carver M., Conventional Warfare in the Nuclear Age, Princeton University Press, Princeton 1986.
Coates J., An Atlas of Australia's Wars, Oxford University Press, Melbourne 2006.
Comboy K., Kompassus. Inside Indonesia's Special Forces, Equinox Publishing, Jakarta 2003.
Crouch H., The Army and Politics in Indonesia, Equinox Publishing, Sheffield 2007.
Edwards P., Crises and Commitments. The Politics and Diplomacy in Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1965. The Official History of Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975, vol. One, St. Leonards, Allen and Unwin, Sydney 1992.
Easter D., Britain and the Confrontation with Indonesia 1960–1966, London 2004.
Gregorian R., CLARET Operations and Confrontation 1964–1966, University of New Brunswick 1991.
Horner D., SAS: Phantoms of War. A History of the Australian Special Air Service, St. Leonards, Allen and Unwin, New South Wales 2002.
Mackie J.A.C., Konfrontasi: The Indonesia–Malaysia Dispute 1963–1966, Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur 1974.
Majid H.A., Rebellion in Brunei. The 1962 Revolt, Imperialism, Confrontation and Oil, London 2007.
Omar T.H., Merdeka and Malaysia Day, "The Star", 8 April 2007.
Pimlott J., British Military Operations 1945–1985, London 1984.
Pocock T., Fighting General – The Public and Private Campaigns of General Sir Walter Walker, Collins, London 1973.
Pugsley Ch., From Emergency to Confrontation: The New Zealand Armed Forces in Malaya and Borneo 1949–1966, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Victoria 2003.
Roszkowski W., Półwiecze. Historia polityczna świata po 1945 roku, wyd. 4, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2003.
Połosak, A. (2020). Borneo – trudna przeszłość, poplątane tożsamości. Indonezyjsko-malajska konfrontacja 1963–1966. Studia Polityczne, 48(2), 285-296. https://doi.org/10.35757/STP.2020.48.2.11
Andrzej Połosak aspolosak@gmail.com


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Well, I finally found a summer job. My last substitute job is Monday, and on Tuesday I start as a data entry clerk for a lab. I know, data entry sounds thrilling, and you're all jealous. No, seriously, I am very thankful; it's a job that will last all summer, with regular (read: no weekend) hours.
Today I'm continuing the copycat theme from Tuesday; I just can't help myself, I've seen so many great outfits I want to make my own! Today I stole this look from J's Everyday Fashion, a blog I found recently and absolutely love! She has a way of mixing bold colors in a way that is very put together and professional, and her budget-friendly takes on inspiration photos are spot-on.
I realize this post is very random today, but I also wanted to thank you all for all your tips from Tuesday. Thanks to you, I'll be buying Downy Wrinkle Release now but saving up for a steamer for later. Also, as soon as the sun decides to come back to Kansas, I'll be putting lemon juice on my tomato juice stained white pants and setting them out to dry. You guys are such a well of knowledge!


J Intern Med. 2002 Nov;252(5):398-404.
Impact of smokeless tobacco use on smoking in northern Sweden.
Rodu B1, Stegmayr B, Nasic S, Asplund K.
For many years Swedish men have had the world's lowest rates of smoking and smoking-related mortality. Despite these facts, a thorough analysis of tobacco use patterns in Sweden has not been performed. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and interaction of cigarette smoking and use of Swedish moist snuff (snus) in the population of northern Sweden.
The study cohort of 2998 men and 3092 women aged 25-64 was derived from the northern Sweden MONICA study, consisting of population-based surveys in 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1999. Detailed information on tobacco use was used to develop prevalence data, and the prevalence ratio was used to compare rates amongst various subgroups.
Amongst men ever-tobacco use was stable in all survey years at about 65%, but the prevalence of smoking declined from 23% in 1986 to 14% in 1999, whilst snus use increased from 22% to 30%. In women the prevalence of smoking was more stable in the first three surveys (approximately 27%) but was 22% in 1999, when snus use was 6%. In all years men showed higher prevalence of ex-smoking than women. A dominant factor was a history of snus (PR = 6.18, CI = 4.96-7.70), which was more prevalent at younger ages.
The recent transition from smoking to snus use amongst men, and incipiently amongst women, in northern Sweden is remarkable and relevant to the global discussion on strategies to reduce smoking.


Time to Lower America's War Ceiling?
Exploring the war crisis that lurks behind the debt-ceiling crisis.
And yet, among the dramatis personae we've been watching, there are clearly missing actors. They happen to be out of town, part of a traveling roadshow. When it comes to their production, however, there has, of late, been little publicity, few reviewers and only the most modest media attention. Moreover, unlike the scenery-chewing divas in Washington, these actors have simply been going about their business as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening.
If, in Washington, people were rushing for those exits, no chance of that in Kabul almost a decade into America's second Afghan War. There, the airstrikes, night raids, assassinations, roadside bombs and soldier and civilian deaths, we are assured, will continue to 2014 and beyond. In a war in which every gallon of gas used by a fuel-guzzling US military costs $400 to $800 to import, time is no object and—despite the panic in Washington over debt payments—neither evidently is cost.
In Iraq, meanwhile, in year eight of America's armed involvement, US officials are still wangling to keep significant numbers of American troops stationed there beyond an agreed end-of-2011 withdrawal date. And the State Department is preparing to hire a small army of 5,000-odd armed mercenaries (with their own mini–air force) to keep the American "mission" in that country humming along to the tune of billions of dollars.
In Libya, the American/NATO war effort, once imagined as a brief spasm of shock-'n'-awe firepower that would oust autocrat Muammar Gaddafi in a nanosecond, is now in its fifth month with neither an end nor a serious reassessment in sight, and no mention of costs there either. In Yemen and Somalia, the drones, CIA and military, are being sent in, and special operations forces built up, while in the region a new base is being constructed and older ones expanded in the never-ending war against Al Qaeda, its affiliates, wannabes, and any other nasties around. (At the same time, the Obama administration is leaking information that the original Al Qaeda teeters at the edge of defeat, even as it intensifies the CIA's drone war in the Pakistani tribal borderlands.) And further expansion of the war on terror—watch out, Al Qaeda in North Africa!—seems to be a given.
Meanwhile back in Washington—not, mind you, the Washington of the debt-ceiling crisis but the war capital on the banks of the Potomac—national security spending still seems to be on an upward trajectory. At $526 billion (without the costs of the Afghan and Iraq wars added in), the 2011 Pentagon budget is, as Lawrence Korb, former assistant secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan, has written, "in real or inflation adjusted dollars…higher than at any time since World War II, including the Korean and Vietnam Wars and the height of the Reagan buildup." The 2012 Pentagon budget is presently slated to go even higher.
Senator John McCain recently raised the question of Pentagon spending in tight times with Gen. Martin Dempsey, the newly nominated chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He asked about a plan proposed by President Obama to cut $400 billion in Pentagon funds over twelve years, as well as proposals kicking around Congress for cutting up to $800 billion over the same period.
So here's a question at a moment when financial mania has Washington by the throat: How would you define the state of mind of our war-makers, who are carrying on as if trillion-dollar wars were an American birthright, as if the only sensible role for the United States was to eternally police the planet, and as if garrisoning US troops, corporate mercenaries and special operations forces in scores and scores of countries was the essence of life as it should be lived on this planet?
So imagine two worlds, both centered in Washington. In one, they're heading for the exits, America's credit rating is in danger of being downgraded, jobs are disappearing, infrastructure is eroding, homeownership levels are falling rapidly, foreclosures are sky-high, times are bad and even the president admits that the political system designated to make things better is "dysfunctional"; in the other, the exits are there, but there's no rush to use them, not with those global ramparts to be guarded, those wars to be fought, and a massive national security complex—larger than anything ever imagined when the US still faced a nuclear-armed superpower enemy—to feed and cultivate.


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B.J.T. v J.D.: Considerations for Determining the Best Interests of the Child
by Joey Jang · October 28, 2022
B.J.T. v J.D., 2022 SCC 24 [B.J.T.] is a case concerning a custody dispute over a child in relation to the Child Protection Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. C-5.1 [CPA], Prince Edward Island's child protection legislation.
The story of the parties is long, complicated, and distressing, with the battle for custody of W.D., the child, between his biological father and his maternal grandmother at the center. Also essential to the story is the involvement and conduct of the Director of Child Protection in Prince Edward Island ("Director") and how their decisions and actions shaped the context of this case. At the disposition hearing to settle permanent custody, the hearing judge awarded custody to the grandmother. The father appealed to the Court of Appeal for Prince Edward Island ("PECA"), and the majority of the PECA allowed his appeal and awarded custody to the father. The grandmother subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC"), and the SCC unanimously allowed her appeal from the bench and restored the order of the hearing judge.
Past contributor Grace Shin published an article on this case after the SCC rendered its judgment from the bench but before the SCC released its reasons for judgment. That article gives a thorough summary of the facts and the procedural history and anticipates the SCC's reasons for judgment. This article will exclusively explore the SCC's reasons, with a focus on the principles and standards that the SCC set in its judgment and the implications of those principles and standards for determining future custody cases.
The SCC's Decision
In its decision, the SCC considered three issues arising from the parties' arguments:
When can an appellate court intervene in determining the best interests of a child — i.e. what is the standard of review for disposition decisions pursuant to child protection legislation?
Did the hearing judge err in her determination of the child's best interests in the case at bar?
How does the natural or biological parent factor weigh in determining the best interests of a child in a child protection matter? (B.J.T., para 50)
Appellate Intervention and the Applicable Standard of Review
In deciding most custody matters, including custody matters under the CPA, the primary consideration is the best interests of the child (B.J.T., para 53). To determine the best interests of the child, courts apply multiple factors found in the applicable legislation and exercise a high level of judicial discretion, which allows them to make decisions driven by facts and context (B.J.T., para 53). Most pieces of legislation, including the CPA, do not give priority to any single factor over another; courts rely on judicial discretion to determine what weight to assign to each factor based on the available evidence (B.J.T., para 55).
Given the "polymorphous, fact-based, and highly discretionary nature" of a decision made by a judge at first instance, an appellate court is "not in a position to determine what it considers to be the correct conclusions from the evidence" (B.J.T., paras 57, citing Van de Perre v Edwards, 2001 SCC 60 [Van de Perre] at para 12, and 58). The SCC held that the standard from Van de Perre should govern appellate decisions concerning custody in a child welfare context: an appellate court is not entitled to intervene unless there has been "a material error, a serious misapprehension of the evidence, or an error in law" (B.J.T., paras 52 and 56). This standard requires appellate courts to give significant deference to the decisions of judges at first instance and avoid "[redoing] a lower court's analysis to achieve a result that it believes is preferable in the best interests of the child" (B.J.T., para 57).
Before moving on to determine the second and third issues in its reasons, the SCC firmly established the significant deference that appellate courts need to give to judges of first instance in child welfare custody cases. It was appropriate for the SCC to do so because the Van de Perre standard best serves decision-making concerning the best interests of the child.
As noted by the SCC, the judge at first instance is "in the best position to assess evidence pertaining to the best interests of the child" (B.J.T., para 55, citing P. (D.) v S. (C.), [1993] 4 S.C.R. 141 at para 192). Furthermore, significant deference encourages finality in family law litigation and "avoids giving parties an incentive to appeal judgments in the hope that the appeal court will have a different appreciation of the relevant factors and evidence" (B.J.T., para 59, citing Van de Perre at para 11). By confirming the Van de Perre standard as the applicable standard of review, the SCC set up the expectation that it would only uphold the PECA's decision if it found that the PECA correctly identified that the hearing judge made a material error, a serious misapprehension of the evidence, or an error in law. In other words, the SCC would not allow the PECA to overturn the hearing judge's decision simply because it disagreed with the hearing judge's assessment of the evidence and her conclusion.
The Hearing Judge's Determination of Child's Best Interests
One of the main points of contention in determining whether the hearing judge erred in her determination of W.D.'s best interests was whether the hearing judge ought to have considered the Director's decisions and actions to make her decision.
In addition to pointing out the courts' power to supervise child protection agencies, the SCC noted that "a child protection agency's conduct can provide crucial context for understanding the status quo" (B.J.T., para 68). In this case, because the Director had directed every aspect of W.D.'s life for a significant period, the SCC held that it was not a legal error for the hearing judge to consider the Director's conduct to gain an understanding of "how a certain status quo was created" (B.J.T., para 69). Understanding what created the status quo can be a crucial component of the best interests of the child analysis; the events that shaped the status quo could show that the status quo is not in the best interests of the child (B.J.T., para 73).
Considering the conduct of a child protection agency can also be critical for examining the parties' arguments and evidence. The SCC held that if a child protection agency makes representations regarding the fitness of the parents, as the Director did in this case, a court should be allowed to assess the agency's prior relevant decisions and actions (B.J.T., para 75). By doing so, a court can decide how much weight to place on the evidence or arguments of the agency (B.J.T., para 75). In addition, the SCC noted that the hearing judge considered the Director's conduct to properly assess claims made by the father and grandmother and the impartiality of the expert witness in the case (B.J.T., para 77).
Given the influence of the Director's decisions and actions over the state of affairs between the parties and the legal positions of the father and grandmother, it is difficult to see how the PECA considered the Director's conduct as "an irrelevant factor" that the hearing judge should not have applied (B.J.T., para 43). The hearing judge's analysis would not have been complete without consideration of the Director's conduct. The SCC gave a useful example to illustrate this point:
"In a different context, the fact that a parent only saw a child once, for a three-day period, in six months may support a finding of a limited desire to have a close connection with the child. When that fact is attributable to the Director's decisions, the implications and available inferences change dramatically" (B.J.T., para 72).
The SCC rightly observed that after taking the Director's decisions and actions into account, the hearing judge was able to understand the context and make informed decisions on claims and evidence advanced by the parties. Therefore, in this case, the significant weight given to the Director's conduct was appropriate. As deciding custody is a highly contextual matter, a child protection agency's conduct will not always be as relevant in every case. But courts have to consider it as a potential factor, as omitting it could result in an incomplete analysis of the best interests of the child.
The Natural or Biological Parent Factor
The natural or biological parent factor is a presumption which favours granting custody to the parent that is biologically related to the child. On this issue, the SCC disagreed with the PECA and held that courts are not obligated to consider biological ties as a "decisive tie-breaker" in cases where a biological parent and a non-biological parent are equally suitable parents for the child (B.J.T., para 87). For the SCC, biology is simply one factor among other factors that may be relevant to a child's best interests (B.J.T., para 87). The SCC also noted that there is no explicit direction in the CPA for courts to consider the child's biological relationship with a party seeking custody (B.J.T., para 94).
While courts can nevertheless consider biology, as statutory factors are non-exhaustive, the SCC suggested that courts should generally give limited weight to biological ties for several reasons. First, courts may tend to give effect to the parent's claims to the detriment of the child's best interests by focusing too much on biology (B.J.T., para 102). Second, the SCC cited King v Low, [1985] 1 S.C.R. 87 [King], where the SCC held that a "child's bond is a consideration that should prevail over the "empty formula" of a biological tie" (B.J.T., para 103, citing King at para 104). Since biological ties are merely a "presumed proxy" for a parent's bond with the child, any factors that favour the biological parent will "usually be captured and subsumed within the broader inquiry into a child's best interests" (B.J.T., para 105). Third, the benefit of a biological tie could be "intangible and difficult to articulate" (B.J.T., para 106). Fourth, with changing social conditions, biological ties may become less important "as children are increasingly raised in families where those ties do not define a child's family relationships" (B.J.T., para 107). Last, courts must be cautious in preferring one biological tie over another without concrete evidence supporting their preferences (B.J.T., para 108).
In this case, because both parties were "parents" under the CPA, and because each had a biological tie to W.D., the SCC held that the hearing judge was entitled to make her decision based on another factor she considered more significant to the case (B.J.T., para 112).
As evident in the SCC's listed reasons, courts need to tread carefully when considering biological ties. In my opinion, the overarching problem with the biological parent factor is that its utility does not justify its negative aspects. The purpose of considering biological ties is limited: as noted by the SCC, any factors that favour the biological parents will be considered through other statutory factors. For example, in child protection cases, if the biological parent and the child share a close bond, that bond will be considered under the "love, affection and ties" factor listed in the CPA.
In addition to its limited utility, considering biology as a factor presents numerous dangers. As explained by the SCC, the supposed benefit of a biological tie is not only difficult to capture and fairly apply but also may now be outdated. Given the continuing progressive evolution of the family unit, i.e., the definition and expectation of what constitutes a family, the significance of biological ties will likely diminish further. If courts apply the biological parent factor, they must be aware of its limited purpose, shortcomings, and dangers.
In B.J.T., the SCC clarified three key issues in deciding the best interests of the child in child protection cases. Going forward, appellate courts may only overturn decisions of judges of first instance if they can meet the Van de Perre standard – namely, if the judge of first instance made a material error, a serious misapprehension of the evidence, or an error in law. Courts will also be able to consider the conduct of child protection agencies and assign the necessary weight to that factor to decide the best interests of the child. Regarding the biological parent factor, courts are not confined to enforcing biological ties as a decisive tie-breaker in situations where opposing parties are equally capable as parents.
Through its reasons, the SCC freed courts from the PECA's restrictive guidelines for determining the best interests of the child. The guidelines affirmed by the SCC will allow judges of first instance to fairly and effectively decide child welfare custody cases based on evidence and context and ensure that appellate courts respect the high judicial discretion involved in such decisions.
Tags: Best Interests of the Childchild protectioncustodyFamily Law
Joey Jang
Joey Jang is a third-year JD student at Osgoode Hall Law School. He previously completed a Bachelor of Music at the University of Toronto. At Osgoode, Joey has volunteered for Law in Action Within Schools (LAWS) as a tutor and mentor to high school students facing barriers to success. He is currently an executive team member of Mock Trial, Osgoode's annual student-run variety show. Joey has worked at two Legal Aid Ontario legal clinics, including as a caseworker at Parkdale Community Legal Services in the Housing Rights division. Joey's legal interests include contract law, administrative law, civil litigation, and poverty law. Outside of law, Joey is active as a part-time professional musician.
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Home Solar News Industry Sri Lanka Says No to Thermal Power Plant, Opts for Solar Energy...
Christian Church by the Beach in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. By flickr@Dhammika Heenpella
Sri Lanka Says No to Thermal Power Plant, Opts for Solar Energy Instead
Solar Mag.
An island nation in South Asia, Sri Lanka is primarily dependent on its 900 MW coal-based power plant in Norocholai, located 90 miles to the north of Colombo. However, a series of technical breakdowns at the $1.4 billion worth Chinese-made plant, resulted in nationwide power outages and forced the country to look at other options. India offered to build a thermal power plant at Sampur in Trincomalee, but the Ministry of Power and Energy turned down the offer, citing environmental concerns.
Sri Lanka's commitment to the Paris Agreement
Sri Lanka is a signatory to the Paris Agreement, and has promised to bring down 0.05% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Maithripala Sirisena, the President of Sri Lanka, launched the Soorya Bala Sangramaya (translated as 'Battle for Solar Energy') initiative in September 2016, hoping to add 220 MW by 2020. About 1,000 MW is expected to be added to the grid by 2025. This involves PV solar panels on rooftops, and millions of homes are expected to become net producers of electricity. The country's Ceylon Electricity Board is offering fixed-price purchase contracts of 22 Lankan rupees for every kilowatt-hour produced for the first seven years and 15.5 Lankan rupees for the same unit of electricity for the next thirteen years.
These figures are too small to be expressed in U.S. dollars. But roughly, it works out to $150 for every MWh (this is for the first seven years) and $105 after that; more or less in tune with the global average of $125. This shows how truly affordable this source of energy can be for them when generated effectively.
Shri Lanka does receive a large degree of insulation as the country lies only a few degrees north of the equator. It's total energy production generally works out to 4,000 MW. Of this, the majority is from hydroelectric power plants. But owing to climate change, a drought-like situation has affected the island, forcing it to rely on the Norocholai power plant for its energy needs. As of now, renewable energy sources add up to 152 MW of the country's total output.
It has only one solar power plant (this is PV-based) at Hambantota, and its output is a meager 1.2 MW. The rest are from wind energy, but there are often difficulties with transmission owing to the grid being incapable of handling such loads. Because of the lack of renewable energy sources bwing utilized to the optimum, the country subsequently has to face 90 minutes of power blackout every day at present. A 600 MW nuclear power plant is under consideration by the Ceylon Electricity Board, which also manages the Norocholai power station and the country's dams that generate hydroelectricity. If approved, the nuclear plant will be ready by 2031.
To embrace solar energy
After they said no to an other coal-powered plant, Narendra Modi , the Prime Minister of India, reached out to Sirisena, this time, offering to build a solar power plant at the proposed site of the thermal power plant. Trincomalee is a coastal city, and its solar power generation potential has been estimated to be 2,100 kWh per square meter. For its part, Sri Lanka is keen on a photovoltaic power plant, as opposed to concentrated solar power, which generates energy at an average of $240 per MWh worldwide. comment
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Sri Lanka Says No to Thermal Power Plant, Opts for Solar Energy Insteadby Solar Mag.


Bragi is part of my recent collection The Theatre of Tales.
He is a melancholic Clown creature who cries tears made of pearls when the moon is full and blue.
He does not utter a word to humans, only mumbles to the moon.
Bragi is made of textiles, with pointy harlequins hat and lovely blue velvet diamonds on his sleeves.
Pearl beads fall from his clown cheeks onto his white ruff and arms.
painted blue and with pearl beads added.
Love this beautiful piece of art! Anouk does fabulous work and ships quickly!


Our client based in Aldershot who are a leading independent provider of specialist transport solutions and IT relocation services are seeking an experienced HGV Driver (Class 2) to join their expanding successful team.
This position provides a lot of variety with no two days the same, you will be responsible for delivery and positioning of high value, business critical items of technology, for example medical systems and IT hardware. You will typically form part of a minimum 2-person team and will assist in the transportation, handling, and installation of customer owned equipment. Previous experience of handling high value equipment is preferred but not essential as full training will be provided.
Work will take place predominately at locations throughout the UK, however trips to Europe will be required from time to time so a suitable passport to facilitate travel is required.
Willing to listen, learn and follow instructions.
Totally committed to customer service.
Flexible, adaptable and willing to react positively to last minute changes.
Polite, punctual and well presented.
Possess a Class II Driving Licence.
Reliable with a can-do attitude and willing to help others.
Prepared to stay away from home when required.


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The City of Sale was a local government area located about  east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1863 until 1994.

History

Sale was first incorporated as a borough on 10 August 1863, and was extended on 24 December 1873. It became a town on 17 September 1924, and was proclaimed a city on 31 May 1950. In 1966-1967, it annexed a small area to its east and north-east from the Shire of Avon.

On 2 December 1994, the City of Sale was abolished, and along with the Shires of Alberton, Avon and Maffra, and parts of the Shire of Rosedale, was merged into the newly created Shire of Wellington.

Wards

The City of Sale was divided into three wards, each of which elected three councillors:
 South Ward
 North Ward
 East Ward

Towns and localities
 Pearsondale
 Sale*
 Wurruk

* Council seat.

Population

* Estimate in the 1958 Victorian Year Book.

References

External links
 Victorian Places - Sale

Sale

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Infecting Mosquitoes With Genetically Altered Fungus Curbs Malaria Parasite
By Rebecca Boyle
Fluorescent Mosquito
This image shows an Anopheles mosquito infected with a strain of the Metarhizium anisopliae fungus that has been labeled with a gene for fluorescence.Weiguo Fang, University of Maryland
To combat malaria, why not skip the step of genetically altering mosquitoes and try some transgenic fungus instead? In a new study, researchers sprayed mosquitoes with a fungus that had been modified to deliver compounds that target the malaria parasite. They found the treatment could reduce disease transmission to humans by at least five-fold.
Researchers at the University of Maryland, who were funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, say the method could be an effective treatment against malaria, especially as mosquitoes increasingly evolve to resist insecticides. Even better, the fungus modification can be targeted to almost any disease-carrying insect, potentially allowing fungus-based prevention for maladies like Lyme disease or dengue fever. The study was reported today in the journal Science.
The Metarhizium anisopliae fungus naturally attacks mosquitoes, and it has already been used to reduce disease transmission — but it only works if the bugs are sprayed with fungus soon after they picked up the malaria-causing Plasmodium falciparum parasite. What's more, the mosquitoes often die before reproducing, leaving fungus-resistant mosquitoes to take over and render the spray useless. So rather than enhance fungi to better kill mosquitoes, entomology professor Raymond St. Leger and colleagues modified the fungi to block the development of Plasmodium in the mosquito.
They used genes for a human antibody and a scorpion toxin, both of which specifically target Plasmodium, and inserted them into the fungus. They fed some mosquitoes a Plasmodium-infected blood meal, and separated them into three groups. One group got a dose of the transgenic fungus, another got a natural fungus and the third was not sprayed at all. Two weeks after the bugs were exposed to the malaria parasite, the researchers checked for its presence in their salivary glands (this is how it's transmitted to humans).
Spraying mosquitoes with the transgenic fungus significantly reduced parasite development, the team found.
Stink Bug
This stink bug has been infected with a fungus. Researchers at the University of Maryland are creating transgenic fungi designed to control stink bugs, bed bugs, locusts and other pests.Weiguo Fang, University of Maryland
Malaria is found in 106 countries and there are an estimated 225 million malaria cases every year, including 781,000 deaths, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. Prevention usually involves spraying bed nets and interior walls with pyrethroid insecticide to kill the mosquitoes, but the bugs are evolving to resist it, and there are no promising prospects for a chemical replacement.
Other teams have genetically altered mosquitoes to resist Plasmodium, and modified other mosquitoes to be sterile in order to reduce their populations. But transgenic mosquitoes could pose some ecological problems. A fungal treatment can be modified to keep up with mosquitoes' natural adaptations, St. Leger said.
"Mosquitoes have an incredible ability to evolve and adapt, so there may be no permanent fix. However, our current transgenic combination could translate into additional decades of effective use of fungi as an anti-malarial biopesticide," he said.


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Home » Committee Member Content » TVBoy's Designer Diaries: Steering Committee Internal Playtesting Process
Committee Member Content Designer Diaries Featured Post
TVBoy's Designer Diaries: Steering Committee Internal Playtesting Process
by Noa Pestana|Published May 15, 2020
Hi everyone, today I'm going to talk about how the Steering Committee has been playtesting cards at the end of season 3 and going into Season 4 (more on that next week!). This is based on my own personal experience with the committee, so it's important to keep in mind that all of this is a reflection of what has been going on since I joined in late February, and I don't really know how things were done for seasons 1 and 2 and leading up to the release of season 3.
This is not what we want the logo for IACP to be.
When I was first brought onto the committee, our main focus at the time was getting the cards in Season 3 into fighting shape. At first we made small changes leading up to the Vassal Regional at the end of March so as not to be too disruptive, but then we decided that more drastic changes were needed. You can read about a lot of this process in my Designer Diaries articles on the Season 3.2 updates.
We realized we needed to be a bit more aggressive with our card designs in terms of how powerful they were, but in order to make sure our designs were strong but not completely "broken", we needed to actually put those cards into action and see what they could do on the table. It's very difficult, especially in a game like Imperial Assault, to get a good feel of how powerful a card is going to be just by looking at it and running "head sims", or mental simulations of how that card will play out, because games of Imperial Assault have a lot of moving pieces and variables that impact each game and change from game to game and between different lists.
Some players can perfectly visualize multiple IA games like this without actually putting any pieces or cards on the table, but most of us can't. The picture above is Chris every time I submit a new card for Season 4 and he explains to me why it's horribly broken (he's right more than I'd like to admit).
It started with Derek and I playtesting our Yoda designs on Vassal with the idea that Yoda was a special figure that needed extra attention and care to get it right for the 3.2 update. I think we realized how valuable even 1 or 2 playtest games were for identifying and correcting problems for a brand-new card. Abilities that we thought looked okay on paper quickly became obvious within just a turn or two as being either brokenly powerful or completely useless, and we were able to make adjustments that were much more grounded in actual gameplay experience. I think the previous mindset had been that playtesting was something that we couldn't do effectively without involving the community, which may have been the case when there were a lot fewer members on the committee, but I realized that this was something that the committee could and should do internally for all of our new designs to help us get our cards closer to the final product before they go out to the public for open playtesting, especially now that the committee had expanded its numbers.
Before I played Imperial Assault, I was a Magic: the Gathering and X-Wing tournament player, and to me, this kind of small-scale small-group playtesting felt a lot like the kind of playtesting I used to do with my friends to prepare for a Magic or X-Wing tournament, and I had read a lot of great articles from the past 10 years about how to maximize playtesting data coming out of a small group of players playing a relatively small number of games. I had also read a lot of articles from Magic's lead designer about how they conduct their in-house playtesting and what kind of feedback they look for from in-house playtesters. To help promote more playtesting of new cards within the Steering Committee as a regular part of our design process, I put together a guide on qualitative playtesting based on those articles and shared it with the committee, along with links to the original articles for reference. You can check out a public version of that document with committee comments removed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Rj82BxJZITI5lzc-L6RtAW3o5b7rSeGCyjPOMhbaWsQ/edit
Now the IACP Steering Committee has a dedicated channel on our Committee Slack (which is separate from the Zions Finest Slack) for setting up playtest games, similar to the #lfgvassal channel on the Zions Finest slack, and committee members who have time are eager to playtest their designs as well as the designs of other members. I would say that for the 6 weeks we've had about 1-3 playtest games played each week for Season 4 cards, and most of the cards in Season 4 have been playtested at least twice, if not 3 or 4 times. That might sound low, but when you're dealing with cards that are very very raw design-wise, every playtest yields a ton of information about how that card plays on the table and things that need to be fixed or adjusted. Most of the cards we've designed for season 4 have had some adjustments made after a playtest or two, and we always make sure to do another playtest after a card has been adjusted.
When we do our playtest games, the vast majority of the time they are happening in Vassal, though some committee members also playtest with friends and family at home. If you ever see any of the committee members in a locked room on Vassal, we're probably playtesting content from the new season. Because we can't easily load custom content into the vassal module ourselves, we have to reference the playtest cards externally, and use proxy cards in Vassal to represent them, usually cards from a different faction with the same deployment cost and maybe traits, and we change the name on the card and on the figure to the name of the card we're testing. Even though Tabletop Simulator does make it super easy to load in custom content, it just hasn't caught on with the committee, mostly just because of how much faster games are on Vassal when you're familiar with the system.
We use Bitterman's Imperial Assault Tools Suite to generate our playtest card images, and in the early days of Season 4 testing we would PM the card images to each other in the Committee Slack for easy reference before a game, but as we narrowed down which cards were going to be featured in Season 4, we created a shared Google Drive folder and work together to keep it updated with the latest versions of all the new cards for easy reference. This also made it a lot easier to test other people's designs without having to dig through old Slack threads and guess which of the many many different versions of the same card was the most current version.
The Kensei IA Tools Suite is such a valuable tool for the design work the committee does. It allows us to quickly and easily visualize what our cards would look like on an actual Imperial Assault card released by FFG. My goal with every card we make is that the text would fit onto a real card with FFG's templating, and ideally without the card editor having to automatically shrink the font size like it has with this Darth Vader card.
We try to do our playtest games on maps that we know are balanced and are familiar to us. This helps us to be less distracted with playing the map and focus more on the figures we're testing. For me, Renovation on Endor Defense Station and To Your Stations on ISB Headquarters are favorites of mine, since they are fairly balanced mid-sized maps with simple layouts, unlocked doors on each side, and feature the most common objective types in IA which are pick-up and deliver and hold-and-control. Though it would be great to be able to play every card on every map and mission, that's just not an efficient use of our limited playtesting time, so I like to focus mainly on the missions that offer a more generalized skirmish experience. We do sometimes throw in new maps that we are considering for rotation every now and then.
For listbuilding, we all kind of take responsibility for building our own lists to test, but for me personally, I try to find a balance between a list that's strong and a list that has multiple new cards in it so I can get multiple cards tested in one game. I also try to always include 1 or 2 high tier figures in my lists that are at a similar points cost so that I can compare the figures I'm testing and my opponent is testing to what we already know is strong but not broken, and I try not to go too overboard with new cards in my list. I also try to build my lists to keep the figures that I'm testing alive, and I play more defensively with those figures as well. It's not much of a test if the figure you're testing with dies before it gets to do anything. Chewbacca often makes it into my testing lists with Rebels since he's so punishing if you kill anything other than Chewbacca first. Sabine and Onar also tend to make it into my testing lists, since they are some of the strongest mid-cost figures and a lot of the figures we are developing for Season 4 are in the 6-8 point cost range.
After we finish a playtest game, both players go back to the Committee slack channel and post their thoughts from the game either in the playtesting channel or in the individual threads for the cards themselves. We share our thoughts on how the cards performed in the specific situation and matchup, and what changes we might suggest, or if we thought no changes were needed.
So what are we looking for when we playtest these cards? For me, there are two main things I'm testing for in a playtest. Balance and Fun.
Playtesting for Balance
Gamers are notoriously bad at judging the power level of a card after just one game, and that includes Committee members. People are quick to label things as broken or weak before they've actually figured out how they work or how to play against them. That is why we have our public playtest leagues to help us figure that out over many games played by the community. But it's usually not difficult to tell if a card is utterly broken after 1 or 2 playtests, but it can be surprisingly tricky by just looking at the card without playing it. When we actually put the card into action, it's easier to tell if it's doing something that makes it obviously too powerful for its point cost. Usually this happens when an ability is too spammable in the same round, or when we don't properly account for force multipliers on a card or from support figures in a list. We also try to identify when it feels like a card isn't pulling its weight, is dying too easily or is punching below its points weight class compared to other similar figures with the same resources.
Did you know that Spectre Cell was changed to its broken printed version, with +1 damage and +1 block, just 1 day before playtesting for Tyrants of Lothal ended, and the card as shipped did not get playtested even once? Had the card been playtested even once, I doubt it would have been printed in this state.
I've also personally noticed a tendency to grade an attack's accuracy based on its minimum range (the lowest range that can be rolled on the dice) rather than it's average, median and maximum range, because as players we are often looking for attacks that are "range safe", that we know are not going to miss, but this causes trouble when we make an attack's minimum accuracy too high with accuracy bonuses and that pushes up the average and max accuracy of the attack, especially when you start adding in things like Focus and rerolls and external accuracy buffs from things like Hera. Suddenly a figure that we intended to be good at attacking at range 5 is able to make attacks at range 10. Instead of giving a figure with a Blue/Green/Yellow attack pool an innate +2 Accuracy bonus or +2 accuracy surge to allow it to attack at range 5, we are okay with it just being 80% to hit without the accuracy bonus and accepting that things like Focus and accuracy bonuses are available as resources that the player can expend if they want to have more reliable accuracy.
The ability to tell from one or two games whether a card is over or underperforming is all based on subjective observation based on our experience as competitive players. We have played so many competitive games in tournaments with the best figures in the game, we have developed a good sense for how much damage a figure should be able to deal or take each round based on its points cost, or how much a support figure is contributing to a game with its abilities. We make sure to pay extra attention to how much non-attack abilities are contributing to the game. What we aren't doing is tallying up wins and losses for the cards. At this point in development, cards are being freely adjusted and can change rapidly from one game to the next, which makes tracking results for different versions of a card less useful. More importantly, a card could be totally overpowered and still lose a game based on a host of other circumstances, and similarly for a game won with a card that is underpowered. The outcome of a game is decided by much more than just the power level of a single figure, dice variance and player skill are also big factors (sometimes I can only playtest right after work and my game's not at its sharpest), so while we do sometimes take note of a game's outcome when it's relevant, it's certainly not the most important metric for this level of playtesting.
Playtesting for Fun…ness
Equally as important as balance is whether a card is fun. It turns out that a card can be perfectly balanced, and not be any fun to play with or against. People often equate balanced with fun, since a game can become very unfun when it's unbalanced, but being balanced is not enough to make a game fun. Since fun can be a very idiosyncratic word for a lot of people, meaning multiple things, I'll be more specific and say that we're making sure that the cards are creating new and interesting play patterns that lead to fun and interesting gameplay, and in a way that synergizes with things that are already in the game without breaking them. Does the card create new and interesting problems for players and their opponent's to solve in multiple ways? Does the card create meaningful choices for players to make? I have found playtesting is really important for figuring this out as well. Sometimes we'll come up with a card that seems really interesting to look at and read in a vacuum, but then in gameplay it doesn't play out as fun or interesting as it was to read. And equally important, does the card create lose-lose scenarios for players or create too many non-choices, aka negative play experiences? Even cards that are not that strong can have this problem, and we want to avoid boring gameplay where there is one optimal play pattern that is too easy and too safe.
Does the card feel too similar to an existing card without adding anything new to the game? A card might be perfectly balanced, but if it's not offering new experiences or new play patterns from what is already in the game, we're not really accomplishing anything. Another thing to think about is that when you start adding more things into the game that are already there, you might be creating an imbalance by removing the uniqueness of the original cards and making them too spammable. This has happened to FFG multiple times with things like the Royal Guards, Ugnaught Tinkerers, and Riot Troopers, and to IACP with Stun in Season 3, and in Season 4 when we tried to make a new Trooper unit that ended up being too similar to elite Stormtroopers, it turns out that being able to run 3 groups of elite Stormtroopers in a list is just too much for a lot of lists to deal with in terms of attrition. But we still keep existing cards in our minds, especially underplayed cards, and we like to tailor our designs when we can so that they interact with existing cards to create new avenues for play.
I think for some of us more competitive players, this is the harder of the two things that we have to pay attention to. When we play games competitively for a long time, our senses get tuned to finding the most powerful and broken things as well as weeding out the weak stuff, because that's what we need to do in order to figure out the best list to take to a tournament. But as competitive players, the competition is intrinsically fun to us, and so we're rarely asking ourselves "am I having fun right now from this gameplay?" But for players that are less focused on competition, and to create the motivation to even want to play the game competitively, there needs to be something else that the cards are adding to the game other than just another way to deal damage to your opponent's figures faster than they deal damage back to you, to keep the game fresh and interesting.
Well, that ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be, but I hope you enjoyed this deeper dive into how the Steering Committee is handling internal playtesting for Season 4. We've got some big announcements coming up regarding Season 4, the playtesting league, and organized play, so stay tuned!
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Cool greenhouse idea, great recycle of gutters. Could also just stack these gutters on a vertical frame and put them next to your house or behind your raised garden beds.
Raspberry trellis using hog fencing. Would this work as a living fence between the rental house and the neighbor?
Garden layout – if we had the room!


Critical study, however, which rightfully means self-critical study requires scholars to try to avoid their own personal faith and commitments from influencing unduly their conclusions.
. . . But surely a moment's reflection should indicate that there is no really neutral ground, and that those in negative reacion against their own faith are in danger of being unduly influenced (skewed?) in their work as any apologist for a given religious stance.
Have a look at the rest of the post.


Combine oil, vinegar, jam and pepper in a jar, shake well. In salad bowl gently combine spinach, 1 cup of raspberries, 2 tbsp almonds and onion. Top with kiwi, croutons and remaining berries and almonds. Drizzle with dressing, serve immediately. Yields 7 servings.


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Trail Blazers News: Carmelo Anthony Gets Madison Square Garden Return Standing Ovation
in NBA
A cool moment for an aging superstar
by Clint Evans January 2, 2020, 8:00 am
On Wednesday night, the past returned in New York at Madison Square Garden. Moreover, the Portland Trail Blazers squared off with the New York Knicks. Once that happened, listen to the ovation the Knicks' crowed gave Anthony.
Melo announced as a Blazer at MSG 👀 pic.twitter.com/al4v2XhSaZ
— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 2, 2020
And who is to say you can't go home again? Heck, Rickey Henderson did it so many times in Oakland. Now, Anthony returns home in what is a cool moment for The Association. In fact that ovation was so good, allow us to play it from another angle. Here's Jamie Hudson from NBC Sports' view of it.
Knicks fans showing Melo a lot of love as he is introduced #RipCity #TheReturn pic.twitter.com/RMeFzLPyfu
— Jamie Hudson (@JamieHudsonNBCS) January 2, 2020
Remember, Anthony came back from the depths of the unknown to win NBA Player of the Week honors just a month ago. All of this after saying that he considered retiring for good.
Currently, Anthony is averaging 15.7 points per game and is playing his best basketball in years. In a league full of young guns, he's found a way to be a compelling storyline in the 2019-2020 season. This ovation confirms it – because let's face it – no one gets this ovation at MSG if they're flopping.
The Anthony storyline has been a cool one, and if this is the last ride; he's going about it the right way. It's hard to believe he's 35 years old and still never won a title. But he's determined to go out on a high note. I'm happy to see Carmelo having success, and so are the fans who knew him first in the NBA.
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Written by Clint Evans
Cowboys News: Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett To Hold Third Meeting
Wild News: Minnesota To Host 2021 NHL Winter Classic