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21 Voice (Music) Tutors Found Near Scranton, PA
Margaret M.
Voice (Music) Tutor
Keyport, NJ 07735
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Master of biomedical science, life long learner, & hopeful tutor!
I was in the school choir from fifth through twelfth grade, as well as the chamber choir in sixth through twelfth grade and select choir in ninth through twelfth grade. I was also a member of the NJ All Shore Choir from tenth through twelfth grade and a member of the NJ All State Choir in twelfth grade. I'm a newly minted master of biomedical science, currently in the process of applying for medical school. While I haven't formally taught or tutored, I have deeply enjoyed leading study groups since high school through college and graduate school. I honestly believe that being able to teach is [more]
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Mara O.
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Passion and Purpose
I am a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory in voice. I also hold a Master's In Music Education from Columbia University. I have been singing professionally for ten years and trenching since I myself was a very young singer. I am a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory in voice. I also hold a Master's In Music Education from Columbia University. I have been singing professionally for ten years and trenching since I myself was a very young singer. I perform and teach all over the tri-state area and beyond. I love to share with and inspire children and adults the transformative power of music. [more]
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Dana N.
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Experienced Voice Teacher Specializing in Pop, Pop/Rock, Theater
I have over 30 years combined experience in music theory, performance, and teaching voice. In 2006 I was awarded acceptance into New Jersey City University?s Music Education program, performing a selection from Mozart?s Le Nozze di Figaro. I am currently under the guidance of Mr. Justin Stoney, founder of New York Vocal Coaching and will receive my certification in vocal pedagogy March 2019. Greetings Singers! I'm Dana, nice to meet you. I have over 30 years combined experience in music theory, performance, and teaching for both voice and flute. I began my musical journey with playing the f [more]
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Natasha B.
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Voice Teacher and Music Theory Tutor
I recently completed my Master's of Music in Vocal Performance at Ithaca College, where I taught Class Voice for Non-Majors and private voice lessons for music minors and non-majors. At Ithaca College, I performed the role of Servilia in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito and covered Semele in Handel's Semele. I have been teaching voice classes and private voice lessons at Ithaca College for the past two years and have enjoyed nothing more than seeing my students grow in their musicianship and confidence. There really is nothing more rewarding than seeing a student finally master that one vocalise t [more]
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Tyneisha M.
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Passionate Voice and Songwriting Teacher
I have a Bachelors of Music from West Chester University, my main instrument was voice. I currently private teach students for voice, sight-singing. I am passionate about music and enjoy watching my students find their passion as well. I am a graduate of West Chester University with a Major in voice and a minor in psychology. My education in Psychology I believe helps me connect more with my students and allows me to create and comfortable and open learning environment. I love teaching my students not only to improve vocally, but to create something from nothing. That is where my love for s [more]
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Darius E.
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Midtown Royal Vocal Academy
I have had the distinctive opportunity to graduate from Duke Ellington School of Arts where I learned the vital interpretation and application of vocal health, projection, breath support, amplification, etc. I have studied and performed with prominent artist such as Denyce Graves, Lisa Hopkins Seegmiller, Edward Jackson, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Take 6, Patti Labelle, and more. I also have the distinguished privilege of being a Teaching Artist and Musical Director at Dixie Arts Conservatory under the Musical Theatre division; inclusive, of a prior apprenticeship at Los Angeles Opera; inclusiv [more]
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Michael C.
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EXPERIENCED MUSIC THEORY, SIGHT SINGING, EAR TRAINING & VOICE TUTOR
I have 50 years of singing experience in the United States and Europe. I have sung throughout the U.S. and four years in Germany. Thus far, I have been very successful in helping students create a successful singing technique for whatever reason they wish to become a better singer. Do you feel lost, as a student, or professional musician, when it comes to music theory/harmony? Would you like to understand how music is structured, how to sight read music so that you don't have to learn by rote? Have you ever been frustrated by having an untrained ear? Well: I can help! I have been reading m [more]
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Tarsha J.
Englishtown, NJ 07726
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Motown recording artist and radio star
I have recorded Motown records. I also have been featured on several gold and platinum selling songs. I have been teaching voice privately for 10 years. I have a degree in Classical music but teach and perform R&B, Pop, and Musical theater show tunes. Miss J. is a former Grammy nominated and gold and platinum selling recording artist from Hot97 radio in NY and Power99 in Philly. Miss J. has a degree in Voice from Syracuse university. She reads , writes, sings and orchestrates music and sings in 5 different languages including Italian, French, German, Latin and English. She has songs with rappe [more]
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Avtar C.
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Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Windows
North Indian Classical Music - I learned Hindustani classical vocal music for 12+ years. I sing Bada Khayal, Chota Khayal, light music such as ghazals, Bollywood songs, Hindi punjabi folk songs. I have given several ghazal concerts as well as classical music concerts. I have been in an accounting/finance career for more than 12 years or so. I had opportunities to work in various industries in my past career. I have developed problem-solving skills after working with people from different groups within the organizations. I have worked with several software packages, such as MS Excel, [more]
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Short Hills, NJ 07078
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Experienced Music Theory & Music Tutor
I have been studying classical voice (opera) since I was 10 years old. I now study with Stephen Lusmann, a renowned tenor, at the University of Michigan, and am currently studying opera voice in Florence, Italy on a study abroad program. My voice has given me acceptance into the University of Michigan's top choir: Chamber Choir. I am a Music Education student at the University of Michigan, excited to graduate next year and become a full time high school choir and music theory teacher. I have experience music directing my a cappella group for two years, assistant directing an undergraduate choi [more]
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Rural land consolidation and management – the Polish dilemmas. Part 1
Jan Siuta 1
Bogusław Żukowski 2
Honorowy Prezes Polskiego Towarzystwa Inżynierii Ekologicznej, Instytut Ochrony Środowiska – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, ul. Krucza 5/11, 05-548 Warszawa
Instytut Ochrony Środowiska – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, ul. Krucza 5/11, 05-548 Warszawa
Jan Siuta
Inż. Ekolog. 2018; 3:1–16
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12912/23920629/91604
chessboard field pattern
land consolidation
modernisation of farmland structure
completion of land consolidation in Poland
The Government of the II Republic of Poland attached a great importance to the elimination of the chessboard field pattern in rural areas. Pursuant to the Act of July 31, 1923 on land consolidation (Journal of Laws No. 92, item 118), 5,422,329 ha were consolidated in the years 1919–1938 (on average 27,116 ha annually), while the major consolidation work (1,144, 482 ha) was performed in the Białystok Province. After Poland's liberation, until 1948, 372,800 ha of land were consolidated within the areas where consolidation was not terminated during the between-war period. Under the Manifesto of the Polish Committee of National Liberation of 6 September 1944, where the implementation of land reform was mentioned (Journal of Laws No. 4, item 17), no individual farmlands were merged. In the years 1969–1982, the geodetic land survey consisted in services for the State and cooperative farms. These services did not cover the improvement (modernisation) of individual farm holdings. Only the Act of 28 March 1982 on land consolidation and exchange (Journal of Laws No. 10, item 80) made some progress, but due to its vagueness and to the agrarian policy at that time, it did not help to modernise individual farms. The Act was the basis for consolidating some 42,529 ha of land in 1983. Starting from 1992, there was a sharp decline in the performance of consolidation works and that trend was progressing over the successive years. The chessboard field pattern is not limited to one village, but often goes beyond its limits and, in extreme cases, even exceeds the borders of the state. Due to the scale of this phenomenon and associated effects, the initiation of a large scale consolidation work is one of the most urgent tasks facing the Polish agriculture. In the first place, these works should cover large farms, whose lands are often scattered within a radius of several dozen kilometers from their farms. The implementation of consolidation works in the years 1983–2017 amounted to 647,774 ha, while the merged and exchanged land reached 818,875 ha.
THE EFFECT OF THE IMPACT OF THE CITY ON THE SIZE OF TO OUT-OF-VILLAGE NON-RESIDENT OWNERS THE EXAMPLE OF THE COMMUNE OF LESKO

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A full house of guests bid for 40 items during the live and silent auction segments of the recent BRTC Foundation Gala, marking the seventh year for the popular event. Auction items alone netted almost $6,000, though total proceeds from the event will increase when all revenues and expenses have been tabulated.
The upbeat Gala is one of the activities of the Foundation to generate funds for scholarships and other needs of the college. As in the past, guests enjoyed an elegant dinner while continuing to bid on items in the Silent Auction. These items ranged from handmade "Sad Shad" Fishing Lures to a beautiful diamond necklace. Following the gourmet dinner, prepared by the Dietetics students, the Gala featured a light-hearted Live Auction with "Colonel" Jack McCord moving the bidding along, assisted by "Ringmen" Mike Dunn and John Jackson of the BRTC Board of Trustees. Guests generously bid and battled each other for items ranging from a Lab puppy package to a cash-filled designer purse.
Held in the Randolph County Development Center, the Gala was made special with a décor of countless colorful Japanese lanterns of all sizes suspended from the ceiling, along with orchid branches in water-filled vases on each table, a setting designed and coordinated by Ann Savage of the Office of Development. Travis Rainbolt provided instrumental and vocal dinner music. Members of the Auto Collision Repair and Automotive Service Tech programs took care of valet parking, while Phi Theta Kappa members provided the coat check service. Members of the President's Leadership Council participated in various ways, including in decorating, venue set-up and take down, and assisting with the serving of the dinner. Felicia Hausman was the event photographer. Also providing invaluable assistance was the BRTC Maintenance Department.
BRTC President Dr. Wayne Hatcher announced the Gala guest whose name had been drawn and was thus awarded a "naming opportunity" for one of the Gala-generated scholarships for next y ear: Alice McHaney of Walnut Ridge.
Brenda Walls of the BRTC Foundation serves as Gala Chair. Other Gala Committee members are Mike Dunn, Lee Ann Rutter, Vickie French, Sharon Watson, Ann Savage, and Dr. Jan Ziegler.


Styled with sage bomber .
Made from airy Yoryu chiffon that's distinctively textured, this jumpsuit is printed with a floral design based on a painting created exclusively for Little Moon by our in-house artist. This jumpsuit has a crossfront bodice tailored with precise knife pleats that gather into the waistband. Its wide-leg silhouette drapes beautifully.
I purchased it for myself, and it will be under the tree from Santa. I purchased the LAST piece, however, I tried on my daughter's which was size 6. I can always alter it myself. And it will look great with a short cropped jacket!


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Little Black Sambo and the Twins (ちびくろのさんぼとふたごのおとうと, 1957)
One of the highlights of the Kawamoto-Norstein event at Forum des Images in Paris was the screening of the rare Tadahito Mochinaga film Little Black Sambo and the Twins (Chibikuro Sanbo to futago no otōto, 1957). During their lecture on the life and career of Kihachirō Kawamoto, animation experts Ilan Nguyen and Serge Éric Ségura showed the opening few minutes of Little Black Sambo (ちびくろさんぼのとらたいじ, 1956) – the film that puppet animation pioneer Mochinaga showed at the first Vancouver International Film Festival and caught the eye of Arthur Rankin, Jr. (learn more).
Little Black Sambo and the Twins was screened in its entirety. It is the sequel to Little Black Sambo and was screened in its entirety (17 minutes) in a programme of short films by Kihachirō Kawamoto. Kawamoto did not animate this film, but he did make the puppets for it.
Both Little Black Sambo and Little Black Sambo and the Twins are adaptations of books written and illustrated by Scottish children's author Helen Bannerman (1862-1946). The Edinburgh-born author lived for much of her life in India where her husband William worked as an officer in the Indian Medical Service. The heroes of many of her books are south Indian and Tamil children. The original books were meant to educate and entertain English speaking children about the indigenous Indian and Tamil cultures. From today's perspective Bannerman's work depicts a colonialist view of these cultures in a similar vein as Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1894).
The Story of Little Black Sambo was immensely popular in the first half of the 20th century, but unfortunately later US editions of the story replaced Bannerman's illustrations with racist African stereotypes. Out of cultural and geographical ignorance, these stories retain the same settings and animals, thus promoting the false notion that tigers, etc. live in Africa. The most notorious of these is Wizard of Oz illustrator John R. Neill's 1908 version of Little Black Sambo, which transformed Sambo into an offensive pickaninny character. This is believed to have contributed to the use of "sambo" as a racist slur. The poet and social activist Langston Hughes condemned Little Black Sambo in 1935 as a "pickaninny variety" of storybook, "amusing undoubtedly to the white child, but like an unkind word to one who has known too many hurts to enjoy the additional pain of being laughed at." (source)
Frank Dobias's illustrations of the 1927 Macmillan edition of Little Black Sambo are equally as offensive as those of Neill and they are the ones that the Japanese publisher Iwanami Shoten used when they published a Japanese edition of the controversial book. As this is the most well known version of the stories in Japan, many mistakenly believe it to be the original illustrations of the story. Other Japanese publishers also created their own editions of the stories. The book was discontinued in 1988 because of the racist nature of the illustrations, but was recently reprinted by a small press called Zuiunsha with Dobias's offensive illustrations (learn more). The quotes from the president of Zuiunsha in this Guardian article demonstrate the publishing company's complete ignorance as to why the books are considered racist.
Knowing this background, I was somewhat trepidatious about seeing Mochinaga's film at Forum des images. It does indeed depict an African child in a non-African /pseudo-African setting full of animals that don't quite fit the locale, but I was relieved that it was nowhere near as offensive as Ub Iwerks's cringe-worthy 1935 adaptation of Little Black Sambo that portrayed the characters in "black face" complete with a Mammy caricature who uses stereotypical language such as "Now run along and play honey child, but watch out for that bad ole tiger. That ole tiger sho' do like dark meat!" The Iwerks version promotes terrible ignorance about black people in the name of comedy. For example, in the opening scene, Mammy washes Sambo and it makes the water turn black.
Ub Iwerks 1935 film poster and screencap of title card.
Mochinaga's version of Little Black Sambo and the Twins is not without ethnic stereotyping – Sambo's mother is a large, round woman who does fit the "Mammy" stereotype. I am not familiar enough with African landscape and cultures to judge the authenticity of the African characters in the film, but in my estimation the approach taken towards the characters is very different from the Ub Iwerks animated short. The Iwerks short has clearly exaggerated the black stereotypes in order to get laughs from the audience, whereas the Mochinaga film has gone for the kawaii approach to depicting the black characters. The ethnicity of the central characters is not exaggerated for the sake of laughs, rather Sambo and his family are depicted in a loving way. The laughs in the film are either of the pratfall variety or at the funny things that children and animals do that we recognize from our own lives.
The Kawamoto-made puppets also do not resemble the Dobias illustrations familiar to Japanese children. The African characters do not have exaggerated lips and eyes. At least, the eyes are not exaggerated in the tradition of the pickaninny caricature. They are large and doe-like – the kind of Bambi eyes that we today associate with anime. In contrast to the mother, the father is tall and slender and wears what appears to be a fez – giving him a very North African look. This suggests that Mochinaga and Kawamoto made an effort to learn about African dress, but did not necessarily stick to one particular African culture. The characters do have large ears, but no more so than white and Asian characters made by Mochinaga and Kawamoto in the 1950s and 1960s. Apart from the darker skin tone and the curly hair, the children look very much like dolls and illustrations of Japanese children from the early to middle 20th century.
The story of Little Black Sambo and the Twins is quite straightforward. Sambo's parents have to run an errand and they leave Sambo at home to babysit his twin brothers. Sambo is a very responsible brother, but when he takes his eyes off the twins for a moment to do a chore, an oversized vulture (at least three times larger than the toddler twins - in fact, it is so big that in the opening credits when it is flying around in the background, I thought it was a dragon) kidnaps the twins and holds them captive at the top of a tall tree. A pair of friendly monkeys offer to help Sambo find his siblings. They are aided by a friendly tropical bird (possibly a parrot?) who leads them to the tree where the twins are being held captive. While the vulture is away checking on his/her own children, Sambo and the monkeys climb the tree to rescue the twins. The vulture returns before the second twin is safely on the ground and Sambo engages in a fight with the bird. As Sambo is fighting the vulture, his parents return to find their children missing and follow the noise of the fight to come to their children's aid. The story ends with the family happily reunited. They hold a celebratory feast and thank their animal friends for their assistance.
In the original story by Helen Bannerman, the twins (unfortunately named "Woof" and "Moof") are kidnapped by evil monkeys and an eagle aids Sambo in rescuing the young boys. I have never read the Japanese edition of this storybook so I do not know whether or not the changes in the story were written by Mochinaga and his screenwriter Haruo Mura or by the translator of the Japanese edition of the storybook. Whatever the case, the Mochinaga puppet animation is presenting a common storyline in children's literature: the family unit is threatened by an outside force, the members of the family join forces to combat this threat, and the story ends with the family intact again. The anamorphic animals add interest for children, and one can imagine children who view this film re-enacting the dramatic scenes with their own toys at home.
The film is shot in black and white – which was quite common in the 1950s due to the cost of colour film stock. It is also possible that the film was made with television in mind, and television was in black and white in those early years. The puppets that Kawamoto made are sweet. The faces are very expressive and the costuming and sets have been beautifully designed – simple and straightforward so as not to distract from the expression of the character movement. It is a first rate puppet film for the 1950s – not as complex and elaborate as the works of Jiri Trnka and other Eastern European animators of the time, but certainly very well planned and executed.
Although it is clear that Little Black Sambo and the Twins was meant for preschool aged children, it is not something I would watch with young children not only because of the inaccurate portrayal of African people but also because it could instil in them an irrational fear of large birds of prey. That being said, it is a shame that this and Mochinaga's other puppet animation films are not more widely available for they are invaluable to the study of animation history and to the study of the portrayal of ethnic minorities in Japanese culture.
Catherine Munroe Hotes 2012
Director: Tadahito Mochinaga (持永只仁)
Producer: Kiichi Inamura (稲村喜一)
Original Story: Helen Bannerman (ヘレン・バンナーマン)
Screenplay: Haruo Mura (村治夫)
Music: Mitsuo Katō (加藤光男)
Cinematographer: Jirō Kishi (岸次郎)
Art director: Junji Eguchi (江口準次)
Puppets: Kihachirō Kawamoto (川本喜八郎)
Labels: early anime, independent animation, Kawamoto, Mochinaga, puppet animation, Rankin/Bass, stop motion


Close-up view of text from affixed bronze plaque.
in different parts of the field throughout the day, retiring with the army at night. Lost in action 20 men. Wilbur F. Goodspeed, Captain commanding.
Location. 34° 55.797′ N, 85° 15.547′ W. Marker is near Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, in Catoosa County. Marker is on LaFayette Road north of Poe Road, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. This marker is located in the national park that preserves the site of the Chickamauga Battlefield, along the park's main north to south roadway, in the Kelly Field. According to the location information provided by the National Park Service, "Monument is located within the Chickamauga Battlefield in Kelly Field north of the Kelly Cabin, map site #64". Marker is in this post office area: Fort Oglethorpe GA 30742, United States of America. Touch for directions.
(within shouting distance of this marker); 19th Illinois Infantry (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); 18th Ohio Infantry (about 500 feet away); 20th Battery, Ohio Light Artillery (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Oglethorpe.
More about this marker. According to the description information provided by the National Park Service, the marker is a, "9' x 6' x 8' high, the monument has a rock-faced slab on a two-step base. Slab has bronze inscription tablet; bronze cannon tube rests on top step. Smooth-faced, lettered pediment caps monument. 300' north of Kelly House."
View of the featured monument along with the nearby accompanying tablet seen in the foreground.
View of the featured monument, along with its accompanying 4 artillery pieces, situated in the Kelly Field.
Another view of the featured monument, and accompanying field pieces, situated in the Kelly Field.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 21, 2018. This page originally submitted on July 23, 2018, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. This page has been viewed 53 times since then and 5 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 23, 2018, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio.


An ingenious Swedish invention and an everyday household product in Scandinavian homes. The lovely sponge-like dishcloths are made of 70% cellulose and 30% cotton.
Printed with a water-based, environmentally friendly print, the dishcloths decompose naturally in 24 weeks. They are a lovely addition to any kitchen as they are super long lasting and much stronger than your average sponge. The dishcloths are dishwasher and machine washable.


text:
Spree::Product.class_eval do
  delegate_belongs_to :master, :subscribable
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Pause thread make it free to do other things and continue after a specific time in java? I want to make a thread to pause in a GUI by pressing a button and the thread can be used or free until the same button is clicked is that possible in java. and any ideas how its done ? I am using Swing GUI

A: There is no easy way to pause a Thread and have it immediately free for other tasks, and then be able to resume that same thread on demand.
You can pause the thread using Thread.sleep(), and then have other threads do work, but the paused thread will be blocked and unable to do additional work until it is unpaused or interrupted.
Since a thread has to keep track of its stack and all of the variables pursuant to its execution, it would be quite difficult to pause it in one flow of execution and have it do other work before unpausing.  Notably, there is no reason to even attempt to do this, since your attempt would simply be duplicating what thread already does (tracking the stack etc).  So what you need to do is make another thread to do what you want when you pause the first thread.
Long story short, pause with Thread.sleep() and create additional threads to do your other work (you cannot use the paused thread for other work while it is paused).

A: You probably do not want to do the accepted answer of Thread.sleep and should probably learn how the Swing Event Queue works.
You want to look at:
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/javax/swing/SwingUtilities.html
Particularly:

*

*http://docs.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/javax/swing/SwingUtilities.html#invokeAndWait(java.lang.Runnable)

*http://docs.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/javax/swing/SwingUtilities.html#invokeLater(java.lang.Runnable)
Also see these stackoverflow posts:

*

*Java Swing -- Asking for User Input (and creating a blocking thread) by popping up a JFrame

*Block entire swing ui except for one component - "dialog style"

A: You can simulate a pause by not doing anything in it.
To simulate, all you need is a boolean that is toggled by the button that the thread has reference to. If it's true, then carry out what you would normally, otherwise just sleep for a bit.
That's the only way I know how.

A: Thread.sleep(4000);
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/essential/concurrency/sleep.html
Or the newer
TimeUnit.SECONDS.sleep(4);
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/java/util/concurrent/TimeUnit.html

A: In multithreading you can't really safely 'force' a thread to stop/pause without cooperation from the thread itself.  (Java has ill-conceived methods to attempt this such Thread.suspend().  You can read about why they're deprecated.).
A common way pause a thread is to set a boolean flag and have that thread poll that state.  That way it can safely pause or shutdown without causing deadlocks etc.
Also, as @Perry states a worker thread may go to sleep simply by having nothing to do.  Ex. a thread to process enqueued requests.  If the queue is empty then it just quietly waits for new requests.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


There were some refreshing twists to the AAF brand of football, which does aim to complement, not compete with, the NFL. Additionally, there will be a sky judge referee who can communicate with the officials on the field in real-time so the refs won't have to go under the hood.
The AAF [Alliance of American Football] is a league created to showcase developing talent and compliment the NFL during its offseason.
Keep an eye on these key differences from the National Football League, as chronicled last week by The Post's Matt Bonesteel. There will be no kickoffs, no extra points after touchdowns; you are forced to attempt a 2-point conversion, in overtime the team gets the ball on their opponents 10-yard line, and the play clock will be cut down to 30 seconds. Retired defensive ends Jared Allen and Justin Tuck will advise on Player Relations, as officiating consultants Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino offer up the experience they both acquired as the NFL's Vice President of Officiating.
"We're disappointed", Legends coach Kevin Coyle said. "Time will tell if we're any good. Secondly, fans have pointed out that kickoffs are the more boring plays in football, so we chose to take that out and keep the players on the field".
"Quality football is important, but football is not the engine", Ebersol said.


The Club Donatello Hotel, San Francisco, California, guest rooms are super-sized (400+ square feet) and designed for your comfort. These hotel/studio suites accommodate up to 4 people but are most comfortable for 2 adults. Most guest rooms include one king bed and one queen sofabed, while on request 2 double beds and a queen sofabed may be available. All guest rooms have one private full bathroom. There are no kitchen facilities.
Excellent Downtown and Union Square location on Post Street.
Club guest rooms are normally on the top 3 floors of the hotel, for great views and less noise.
Compare at $200 to $300 per night, plus taxes, if rented directly from the resort (source: clubdonatello.org).
Other than daily parking fees (varies with lot chosen, but $20 to $30) and a $25 housekeeping fee (collected at check-in), the prices shown are the TOTAL prices. There are no other additional charges (such as sales or lodging taxes, deposits, booking fees, etc.). The price you see is the price you pay!
If you prefer, we also accept debit payments, through Chase Person-to-Person Quick Pay, American Express Serve, or Wells Fargo.
The Club Donatello Hotel is a Four-star, Gold Crown-rated boutique hotel, providing an intimate ambiance in the heart of San Francisco's Union Square. Club Donatello, located just steps from Union Square, is your perfect choice, whether in San Francisco for business or vacation. Club Donatello invites you to experience its gracious hospitality and the myriad social and cultural activities of the Club and the City by the Bay. Club Donatello offers its guests full hotel services. If you are in San Francisco for fine dining, shopping at Union Square, attending the Best of Broadway or the Symphony or Ballet, attending a conference at the Moscone Convention Center, or simply enjoying our beautiful city, let Club Donatello be your pied-a-terre in San Francisco.
All hotel/studio suites include color cable TV, sitting area, coffeemaker with complimentary coffee, hair dryers, private phones with voice mail, and complimentary wireless access.
San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in North America, if not the world. It is certainly high on everyone's list of places to visit. It is also a small city. Its attractions are located in dense concentrations making walking tours very enjoyable and easy to do. While the city is small and its attractions concentrated, San Francisco also has many micro-climates and topographic differences. The city may be enshrouded in fog on the west and north sides and basking in sunshine downtown at the same time. The hills of San Francisco are as legendary in North America as the hills of Rome.
In addition, San Francisco is surrounded by beautiful countryside, vineyards and wineries, coastline and Redwood forests, and islands in the Bay. Plan to spend some time to visit the neighboring counties of the Bay Area.
San Francisco is famous for its great cuisine and world-class restaurants which reflect the cosmopolitan tastes of the Bay Area and California. No matter what your preference in flavors, styles and ethnic cuisines, you'll quite likely find it in San Francisco.
San Francisco is a visitor's dream. And the Club Donatello is the place to start dreaming. Within a small radius you will find many of the City's cultural, and scenic attractions. If you want to explore farther out, public transportation and a car rental company are outside our door, as are San Francisco's iconic cable cars.
San Francisco is the home of the 49ers and the San Francisco Giants. Across the bay in Oakland are the Raiders and the Oakland A's. Fans of hockey will have to travel down the San Francisco peninsula to San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley.
There is more to the Bay Area than San Francisco. Redwood groves, vineyards and wineries, scenic shorelines, amusement parks, art colonies with occasional open studios, organic farms and artisan cheese makers and bakers surround the bay. The technology giants of Silicon Valley are just down the San Francisco peninsula in the southern edge of the bay.
San Francisco has world-class shopping at Union Square and at the San Francisco Shopping Centre – well-known names like Tiffany's, Gucci, Versace, Ralph Lauren, Saks, Macy's, Bloomindales, Gump's, Levi Strauss, Nieman Marcus, Abercrombie & Fitch, Kate Spade, Coach, among many others – are all within a few short blocks of the Club Donatello. For a comprehensive overview of the shopping opportunities in our Union Square neighborhood, visit UnionSquareShop.com.
All photos courtesy of The Club Donatello Hotel.


At Rejuvalife Vitality Institute, we offer a wide range of non invasive cosmetic services and cosmetic surgery to help you look and feel your very best. Throughout his career, Dr. Andre Berger has stayed on top of the newest and most advanced methods, often becoming one of the first doctors in the Beverly Hills area to adopt these innovative trends delivering amazing natural looking results, without the use of general anesthesia, cutting, stitches or IV sedation. This allows for an easier recovery, is much safer and offers less down time. Many of these procedures can be done during your lunch hour. In addition, he regularly refines the techniques he uses in order to improve their effectiveness. With decades of experience, he has the ability to deliver exceptional results that help you achieve your goal of living beautifully.
The best way to determine the right cosmetic treatment for your unique goals is to speak with Dr. Berger in person. Please call 310.856.9173 today to schedule a consultation at our Beverly Hills office.
Dr. Berger takes a holistic approach to cosmetic enhancement and anti-aging medicine. Your customized cosmetic treatment plan may incorporate "the inside" health and wellness therapies such as stress reduction, diet and nutrition, exercise, sleep therapy and hormone replacement therapy in combination with or addition to your desired cosmetic procedure. This approach enables Dr. Berger to achieve beautiful, long lasting results that improve your overall health as well as your enhancing your appearance. This is what makes Dr. Berger unique!
As part of his holistic and integrative philosophy of care, Dr. Berger has chosen to focus on the most advanced and best non-surgical cosmetic treatment options.
Dr. Berger performs all surgeries at Canon Surgery Center, which is his own AAAHC accredited surgical suite located in Suite 202, which is directly below Rejuvalife's practice. We are fully committed to providing each of our patients with the safest, most comfortable, and most ultimately rewarding experience possible. To meet this goal, the surgery center is a new and fresh, state of the art surgical center overlooking Canon Drive's Restaurant Row. DR. Berger performs liposuction, smartlipo. Fat transfer, Buttlift, Cellulaze, Precision, Silhouette LIft and Natural Breast Augmentation in the Center. To learn more about the cosmetic services we offer, please contact Rejuvalife Vitality Institute using the form at the right side of the page or call 310.856.9173 today to schedule a consultation with Dr. Berger. We serve patients in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, California.


When Teena was in Winnipeg last month, she brought me back a selection on beer, one of which was Sternwheeler Scotch Ale from Barkerville Brewery in British Columbia.
The original Barkerville Brewery and Brewery Hotel were built in the 1860s in Barkerville, BC. In 1868, a fire destroyed the entire town in just one hour and twenty minutes. Although the town was rebuilt in just six weeks, the brewery was not.
Russell Ovans resurrected the Barkerville Brewery name in December of 2013, only in Quesnel BC, about 80 miles west of Barkerville, which is located inland in BC. Ovans was busy before that. In 2005, he founded a social gaming company which was bought by a huge technology company in 2010. He then moved to Scotland with his wife, and while she attended the University of Edinburgh, Ovans set a goal for himself. Visit 365 pubs in a year!
After returning to Canada, he bought an old gas station, dug out the gas tanks and worked the soil so it passed the environmental assessment and turned it into a brewery. He hired Troy Rudolph as his brewmaster who had 25 year's experience as a home brewer.
As usual with Scotch ales, this beer falls on the malty side. The hops in this does a good job in balancing the malt to keep this beer from being the sweet beer I thought it would be. This is a well-made beer but just a bit too malty for my liking. It does make me want to try other beers from this brewery.
It's so easy to fall into the trap of buying only the styles of beer that one enjoys, which is why I really enjoy it when Teena travels and brings me back something different.


Meet Ralph, a three year old Miniature Pinscher mix. According to the Humane Society, Ralph was rescued by a local animal control before being scooped up by PAWS. He is described as a fun and energetic dog. He has a lot of energy and needs a family who will have time to play with him on a regular basis.


text:
Q: Kafka message includes control characters (MongoDB Source Connector) I'm have a Kafka Connect MongoDB Source Connector (both via Confluent Platform) working but the messages it creates contain a control character at the start, which makes downstream parsing (to JSON) of this message harder than I imagine it should be.
The Source connector that's running:
{
    "name": "mongo-source-connector",
    "config": {
        "connector.class": "com.mongodb.kafka.connect.MongoSourceConnector",
        "connection.uri": "mongodb://myUsername:myPassword@my-mongodb-host-address:27017",
        "database": "myDatabase",
        "collection": "myCollection",
        "change.stream.full.document": "updateLookup",
        "errors.log.enable": true
    }
}

The message created in the Kafka topic by this Source connector is as follows (notice the leading control character):
�{"_id": {"_data": "82609E8726000000012B022C0100296E5A1004BE208B099BCF4106822DE274B0B9D39A46645F69640064609E87267125D17D12D180620004"}, "operationType": "insert", "clusterTime": {"$timestamp": {"t": 1621002022, "i": 1}}, "fullDocument": {"_id": {"$oid": "609e87267125d17d12d18062"}, "uuid": "23534a5c-ad82-431c-a821-6b4aed4f59a1", "endingNumber": 10}, "ns": {"db": "myDatabase", "coll": "myCollection"}, "documentKey": {"_id": {"$oid": "609e87267125d17d12d18062"}}}

The control character makes downstream parsing to JSON difficult because it makes the otherwise valid JSON invalid.  I don't know why it's there or how to get rid of it.
I could, I guess, parse out junk like this control character prior to treating it like JSON but that seems like a band-aid I'd like to avoid.
The way I'm treating the message now, which I think is irrelevant since I've tested that it works with valid JSON without the control character, is as follows in case it matters:

data class MyChangesetMessageId (
    @JsonProperty("_data")
    val data: String
)

data class MyChangesetMessageTimestamp (
    val t: Long,
    val i: Int
)

data class MyChangesetMessageClusterTime (
    @JsonProperty("\$timestamp")
    val timestamp: MyChangesetMessageTimestamp
)

data class MyChangesetOid (
    @JsonProperty("\$oid")
    val oid: String
)

data class MyChangesetMessageFullDocument (
    @JsonProperty("_id")
    val id: MyChangesetOid,
    val uuid: String,
    val endingNumber: Int
)

data class MyChangesetMessageNS (
    val db: String,
    val coll: String
)

data class MyChangesetDocumentKey (
    @JsonProperty("_id")
    val id: MyChangesetOid
)

data class MyChangesetMessage (
    @JsonProperty("_id")
    val id: MyChangesetMessageId,
    val operationType: String,
    val clusterTime: MyChangesetMessageClusterTime,
    val fullDocument: MyChangesetMessageFullDocument,
    val ns: MyChangesetMessageNS,
    val documentKey: MyChangesetDocumentKey
)

...

val objectMapper = jacksonObjectMapper()
val changesetMessage = objectMapper.readValue(message, MyChangesetMessage::class.java)

Any ideas are appreciated.

A: The character you're referring to is typically common with Avro serialized data that's been decoded into a string.
Check the key/value converter settings in the Connect worker since you've not defined it in the Connector.
If you want to parse to JSON, use the JSONConverter, otherwise Avro would work as well if you want to skip data class definitions and generate that from the Avro schema


I was lucky enough to be one of that lot that the beloved leader of Gorillaz was addressing. It was obvious that the connection he felt was mutual. I have rarely seen a concert that had such a palpable sense of love and appreciation as this one. From start to finish, almost the entire crowd was on their feet, if not full-on dancing. Damon Albarn wandered into the quicksand of fans more than once, grinning and singing and trailing his hands through the loving crowd. The full Gorillaz crew was there, including six super-slick backup singers, and the whole band showed their love for the locals, a couple of them wearing Raptors and Maple Leafs jerseys. It was one big party of strangers, brought together by the unique energy that the band played.
The whole show felt like a taster's choice of the group's greatest hits. The familiar Gorillaz cartoon world played behind them as they perfectly executed classics from Demon Days, highlights from Plastic Beach, and gems from their new album. A few people beelined for the exits at the end of the show, and they should know they missed out. After two straight minutes of cheering and clapping, the crowd was rewarded with "NOW NOW" flashing on the screen on stage, as if comforting a baby you're about to feed. The entire band came back out and treated us to another half hour of their best songs.
I left the Scotiabank Arena that night absolutely buzzing, the epitome of "high on life." I didn't know at the time that it was the first night of the The Now Now Tour, but I know that must have been the perfect way to kick it off. Also the perfect way to end a Thanksgiving weekend – with a body sore from dancing and a heart full of joy.


text:
Board changes to support Pesa restructuring
POLAND: The supervisory board of rolling stock manufacturer Pesa Bydgoszcz announced changes to the management board on January 3, saying this would strengthen the board to support ongoing restructuring.
Krzysztof Sędzikowski was appointed CEO and President of the management board, while Andrzej Juszczyński became Vice-President and CFO. Sławomir Piątek remains Marketing Director, Sebastian Kamecki Production Director and Arkadiusz Sobkowiak head of R&D.
In November 2017 Pesa signed a 200m złoty loan agreement with a consortium of six banks which was intended to alleviate cash flow problems arising from the early termination of a Moscow tram contract owing to the customer's inability to pay, an expected order from PKP Intercity not materialising, and a larger than usual number of repairs being undertaken under warranty. Pesa said it expected to reach an agreement by the end of March with an external investor which would provide a further 200m to 400m złoty.
'Within the next months the key factors for Pesa's future are the implementation of the reorganisation and negotiations with investors', said Chairman of the supervisory board Ireneusz Sitarsk when the management board changes were announced. 'That is why we decided to strengthen the management board with professionals having great experience in the field of reorganisation and stabilisation of large companies.'
Sędzikowski said he knew Pesa very well, having led the team which prepared the reorganisation plan. 'Pesa is a company with a lot of potential, experience and innovative projects', he said. In recent years the company had been 'very successful', and now in 'more difficult times' it needs 'great commitment and co-operation' from board members, employees, financial institutions and investors. 'I am convinced that great successes are still ahead of Pesa Bydgoszcz', he added.
Loan agreement presages Pesa restructuring
POLAND: Rolling stock manufacturer Pesa announced on November 7 that it had signed a 200m złoty loan agreement with a consortium of six banks led by PKO BP and including Bank Pekao, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Raiffeisen Bank, BZ WBK and mBank.


text:
Q: SwiftUI. Preview with CoreData – populating, singleton and weird behaviour I have a small app which can add and save arbitrary Events to CoreData.
And I'm struggling with preparing of preview data.
Correct behaviour
In preview window I see one text with content "Test event"
struct ContentView_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {

        //init coredata
        let container = NSPersistentContainer(name: "Model")
        container.persistentStoreDescriptions.first!.url = URL(fileURLWithPath: "/dev/null")
        container.loadPersistentStores() { description, error in
            if let error = error {
                print("Can't load core data \(error.localizedDescription)")
            }
        }

        //adding event
        let event = Event(context: container.viewContext)
        event.id = UUID()
        event.name = "Test"
        try! container.viewContext.save()

        //getting events
        let request = Event.fetchRequest()
        let events = try! container.viewContext.fetch(request)

        //view
        return VStack {
            ForEach(events, id: \.id) { event in
                Text("\(event.id?.uuidString ?? "") \(event.name ?? "") fs")
            }
        }
}

But if I try to move logic to DataController, I get 7 Text blocks with the same name, but different UUIDs
class DataController {

    static let preview = DataController()

    private(set) var container: NSPersistentContainer

    private init(inMemory: Bool = false) {

        self.container = NSPersistentContainer(name: "Model")
        container.persistentStoreDescriptions.first!.url = URL(fileURLWithPath: "/dev/null")

        container.loadPersistentStores() { description, error in
            if let error = error {
                fatalError("Can't load core data \(error.localizedDescription)")
            }
        }
    }
}

struct ContentView_Previews: PreviewProvider {

    static let dataController = DataController.preview

    static var previews: some View {

        //adding event
        let event = Event(context: dataController.container.viewContext)
        event.id = UUID()
        event.name = "Test event"
        try! dataController.container.viewContext.save()

        //getting events
        let request = Event.fetchRequest()
        let events = try! dataController.container.viewContext.fetch(request)

        //view
        return VStack {
            ForEach(events, id: \.id) { event in
                Text("\(event.id?.uuidString ?? "") \(event.name ?? "")")
            }
        }
   }
}

What can cause such behaviour?
Model for Event was manually generated. The only thing I changed – commenting @objc(Event), because with this statement preview doesn't work at all.


NAGATA Atsumasa March 20, 2011 Nakanishiya Shuppan, 224p.
He was born in 1974. He is currently a research instruction assistant of the Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences at Ritsumeikan University. He is also a part-time lecturer at various institutions including Kobe City University of Foreign Studies. His research themes cover transnational anthropology, sociology, and migration studies.
He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Kyoto Gakuen University in March 1997. He then received his PhD at the Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences of Ritsumeikan University in March 2008. He also received Research Fellowship for Young Scientists of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, which is targeted for doctoral students, from April 2007 to March 2008, and for post-doctoral fellow from April 2008 to March 2009 (Office of Sociology at Kyoto University).
His main publication includes: "The Filipino who Become Transnational between Japan and the Philippines" Ars Vivendi 2:192-206 (2010); "Filipinos Cross the Border Line: Between the Transnational Practice and State Power" Gendai Shiso 35-7 (Special Issue: Neighbor Foreigners) (2007) ; and an essay "Living as a Foreigner: A Family Connecting the 'Philippines' and 'Japan'" Monthly Minpaku vol.30-7 (2006).


Immediately before the turn of the millennium I started playing music as a singer in Berlin rock bands when I was a teenager. 2007-2010 I studied at the Deutsche Pop Akademie (Berlin) and produced many different kinds of music from 2011. I got more intensive experiences in recording, songwriting, arranging and mixing and was allowed to work with some very varied and interesting artists.
Since the summer of 2015 I have specialized in mixing the genres I love the most - Rock/Pop Singer-Songwriter Styles. These genres are a perfect musical mix for me. Also a reason why my service is called "Mix Rocks".
The idea of my own blog had been on my mind for a long time, but it wasn't until the end of 2017 that I was able to take the time to push this project forward. Under the name "GearFader" the blog starts at the beginning of 2018. With the restructuring of the MixRocks-website the audio-blog became part of MixRocks.com.
This blog describes my own experiences from the audio production area and serves as a place for reviews and ideas of products from the music industry, which arouse my own interest. Since I myself am passionate about experiences, reviews and tests on the Internet, I would like to contribute a small part to expand this offer. Also, as far as my time allows, new introductions, discoveries and product deals are listed here.
Joker Drum Tracks - JDT - was not a business idea at the beginning.
Some years ago I worked with a client on one of his songs. He had finished his guitar and vocal tracks and I took over the arrangement with other instruments and the drums, which I had first programmed with a virtual drum plugin that I had known for several years. The virtual drums didn't fully convince the customer. The style and the programmed parts were good for him, but all in all it didn't feel "right" to him. By working with many musicians this is not an abnormal feeling with virtual drummers.
So I hired a session drummer for a drum tracking session in a recording studio. On the recording day the customer could not come to the studio due to a personal situation, so the drummer and I had to do the tracking on our own. With the virtual drum tracks, I knew what the customer was looking for, but I wasn't sure if he'd like the first take when I recorded it. I asked the drummer if he had a different idea and so we recorded up to 3 different versions for each part of the song.
Later in the production process, together with the client, I selected the best versions for his song, changed some hits and fills here and there and at the end of the day he was very happy with his drum track. For me it was a great work experience to have an option, but also to be limited in a way that you have to decide what works best for you and can go on with it.
A few months later I needed some drum tracks for my own songs and started building a small collection.
At that time the idea of a webshop with some tracks came to mind, and a few years later I had enough tracks of different styles together to set them up.
If you (like me) are also interested in audio equipment, you can find my current hardware & software here that I use for mixing. I find analog equipment impressive for its "sound", but still don't want to miss the digital advantages in editing and mixing. Therefore I work with a "hybrid system" in order to take advantage of the advantages and possibilities of the analog as well as the digital area. With this system and workflow I can create the desired sound for each song.
Universal Audio "The OX Box"


Pharmacy undergraduates are now coming under scrutiny from the pharmacy regulator, through Schools of Pharmacy 'fitness to practice' procedures. Students' behaviour, conduct and integrity are being monitored to judge their suitability to become future members of the profession.
Pharmacy Undergraduates need an organisation to protect their reputation.
With the advent of the Code of Conduct for pharmacy undergraduates, the landscape has changed and students are subjected to a level of scrutiny that was only experienced by registered pharmacists previously.
There is no denying that the tentacles of the health care regulators has now reached deep into the university infrastructure. All healthcare learning institutions now have the responsibility thrust upon them to manage the discipline and conduct of students, and in the case of pharmacy, to a similar standard as that imposed on fully practicing registrants (pharmacists) by the General Pharmaceutical Council.
What is more, any brush with the law, any dishonesty, cheating, bullying behaviour, violent acts, recreational drug taking or drug abuse and unsuitable behaviour within or outside the university can leave a student vulnerable to sanctions and fighting for their professional life at an age or a stage when least able to cope with it. Employment problems can be reported to the School of Pharmacy or the regulator even when the work is unrelated to pharmacy.
This is when you need the PDA. We cannot always work miracles, but we can give you the best advice and get you a fair hearing. Early intervention by the PDA has repeatedly been proven to limit potential damage and rescue careers and livelihoods. What is more, we may be able, through our risk management advice programme, to prevent you from getting into a mess in the first place.
It will never happen to me we hear you say. Well we hope not, but one of the first risk management lessons we teach all pharmacists, preregistration graduates and Pharmacy Undergraduates is that the world is getting tougher so don't take any chances and make sure that you do not have to rely upon anyone else for your protection. Take out your own cover. It's a 'no brainer' when it's free for pharmacy undergraduates and pre registration students..
What you get for your Free membership?
To cover any legal bills should we need to provide lawyers or other professional representatives to defend you in a fitness to practice hearing.
To cover claims for compensation as a result of medical negligence (eg dispensing errors) and any liability exposure for damage to property and injury to individuals at work. This type of cover is not only useful for vacation work, but provides the level of cover that some employers insist on if they offer you work experience as part of your course.
We have seen it all before, so you never need to feel alone and we can advise you on legal, professional and ethical matters.
Most students need income and are employees in some capacity. We fight for your statutory rights and ensure that you are not unfairly treated in your employment. When appropriate we can provide representation for employment disputes that could threaten your professional career.
Our new membership benefits package which gives you access to discounts on many life style activities such as gym membership, dining out, holidays and shopping.
The PDA is the only defence association with no allegiance to or conflict with any employer or employer organisation. The only interests we serve are those of our members.
Health Campaigns Together have become the latest organisation to endorse the PDA's Safer Pharmacies Charter.
We strive to improve the working lives of pharmacy students, pre-registration trainees and pharmacists. Last year we were able to deliver 19 workshops to pharmacy students across the country. We also attended the BPSA Annual Conference to support students.


text:
DHEC updates teacher quarantine guidance to align with healthcare workers
US warns Russia as Kremlin talks about war threat in Ukraine
by: VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a ceremony to receive credentials from foreign ambassadors in Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (Grigory Sysoev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin voiced concern Thursday about a possible escalation of fighting in a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine as the U.S. issued a strong warning to Russia to stay away from Ukraine.
Ukrainian and Western officials have worried about a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine, fearing it could herald an invasion. But Moscow has insisted it has no such intention and accused Ukraine and its Western backers of making up the claims to cover up their own allegedly aggressive designs.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at their meeting in Stockholm on Thursday that "if Russia decides to pursue confrontation, there will be serious consequences," adding that "the best way to avert a crisis is through diplomacy."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that "the Ukrainian authorities' aggressive and increasingly intensive provocative action on the line of contact" fueled fears about a possible flare-up of hostilities. He argued that recent statements from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials indicate that "the Ukrainian leadership doesn't exclude a forceful scenario."
"The probability of hostilities in Ukraine still remains high," Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
Denis Pushilin, the head of the self-proclaimed separatist republic in Donetsk, said on Russian state television that he could turn to Moscow for military assistance if the region faces a Ukrainian attack.
Ukrainian officials have denied an intention to reclaim the rebel regions by force.
Russia's top domestic security agency, the FSB, announced Thursday it has arrested three Ukrainian men accused of spying and plotting an explosion.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted after meeting with Blinken in Stockholm that "we are closely working together on developing a comprehensive deterrence package, including severe economic sanctions, to demotivate Russia from further aggressive moves."
Kuleba also spoke to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell about speeding up "work on specific economic restrictions which will be able to hit the Russian economy should Moscow decide to launch a new stage of aggression against Ukraine."
The top Ukrainian diplomat noted that the EU Council has approved €31 million in material and technical assistance for strengthening the Ukrainian armed forces' capability in the spheres of medicine, engineering, demining activities, mobility, logistics and cybersecurity. "We highly appreciate this step which reaffirms the strategic Ukraine-EU relations," he said.
Ex-Soviet neighbors Russia and Ukraine have remained locked in a tense tug-of-war since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 following the ouster of the country's Kremlin-friendly president and threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine which has killed more than 14,000.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned NATO against deploying its troops and weapons to Ukraine, saying it represents a red line for Russia and would trigger a strong response. He said Wednesday that Moscow would seek Western guarantees precluding any further NATO expansion and deployment of its weapons near Russia's borders.
Blinken said "we have deep concerns about Russia's plans for renewed aggression against Ukraine," adding that "it's a concern that is shared by many in Europe." He was speaking during a meeting with Lavrov on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Stockholm.
Blinken reaffirmed that the U.S. has "a strong, ironclad commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."
Referring to a 2015 peace agreement for eastern Ukraine brokered by France and Germany and signed in Minsk, Belarus, Blinken called for a "full implementation of the Minsk agreements with Russia pulling back its forces."
Addressing the OSCE meeting, Blinken urged Russia "to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity to de-escalate, reverse the recent troop buildup, return forces to normal peaceful positions, and to implement the Minsk commitments."
The 2015 Minsk deal included an OSCE-monitored cease-fire, a pullback of heavy weapons and foreign fighters from the line of contact and an exchange of prisoners of war. It also envisaged granting broad autonomy to the separatist regions and a sweeping amnesty for the rebels in a diplomatic coup for Russia. The agreement stipulated that Ukraine could only regain control over the border with Russia in rebel regions after they receive a broad autonomy and hold elections, a provision also resented by many in Ukraine.
The agreement helped end large-scale battles, but frequent skirmishes have continued and a political settlement has failed while Moscow and Kyiv have traded blame.
"It takes two to tango, and if — if our Russian friends are prepared to implement their commitments under Minsk and our Ukrainian friends are as well, we will fully support that, and that is the best way to avert a renewed crisis in Ukraine," Blinken said.
Moscow argues it's not a party to the deal between Ukraine and self-proclaimed separatist regions, and denies Ukrainian and Western assertions of sending its troops and weapons into eastern Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters after the talks, Lavrov welcomed the U.S. offer to join diplomatic efforts to help achieve peace in eastern Ukraine, but pointed out again that Russia isn't a party to the Minsk agreement.
Asked about a threat of new U.S. sanctions against Russia, Lavrov said that would "lead to a deadlock and turn against their organizers," adding that Moscow would respond in kind.
During his meeting with Blinken, the top Russian diplomat warned that "any further NATO expansion eastward undoubtedly compromises our core security interests."
He charged that the West is "playing with fire" when it argues that Russia doesn't have a say in NATO's expansion plans.
"I want to make it crystal clear: turning our neighbors into a bridgehead for confrontation with Russia, the deployment of NATO forces in the regions strategically important for our security is categorically unacceptable," he told the OSCE meeting.
Lavrov followed up on Putin's call for a new security arrangement, stating that reaching an agreement on a set of "long-term and legally binding security guarantees is imperative to prevent sliding into a confrontational scenario."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reaffirmed that Ukraine's admission into NATO is a "red line" for Russia. She warned that attempts by the West to turn the country into a vantage point for confrontation with Russia would cause "destabilization of the military-political situation in Europe."
Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report.
by Dawn Wise / Jan 17, 2022
SOUTH CAROLINA (WJBF) - Sunday, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) announced it was updating its official guidance for the quarantining of teachers and other school staff who have been exposed to COVID-19 but who show no symptoms of the virus, when the school is in a crisis staffing condition.
School teachers and staff who are not up to date on their vaccines and who have been exposed to COVID-19 but have no symptoms do not need to quarantine, as long as they have a negative test on day 5 after their exposure and wear a mask for 10 days after exposure.
Arrest made in drive-by murder of 8-year-old Arbrie Anthony


A year ago Juliet Dale had the realisation that she couldn't keep living the disposable lifestyle that she had; using something once, throwing it away, wheeling the rubbish bin out to the curbside once a week and promptly forgetting about it.
The mum of three and former teacher started making some changes, just one at a time. The first step was using reusable shopping bags, and once she'd had that mastered, she looked for something else.
"I quickly discovered that not only was it easy, but I was also really enjoying myself and saving money. Most of all though, the very small changes that I was making were really adding up. Within three months we had halved the amount of waste that we were producing in our house," Dale says.
She has gone on to create The Great Eco Challenge – 52 Challenges in 52 weeks that are easy, fun, can save you money and most importantly, help you to live more sustainably.
"It's not about going Zero-Waste or being Plastic-Free (I think those terms can be quite overwhelming, and even a bit intimidating), it's just about doing something," says Dale. "Progress, not perfection."
You can follow Dale and join the Challenge here: https://julietdalenz.wixsite.com/greatecochallenge and sign up to have the challenges sent to you too each Sunday.
Jon Reed of Compostic is doing his bit for the planet with his compostable bags and mailers.


"Tonight" by Sibylle Baier was released almost a decade ago and recorded 30 years before that. Colour Green was written and recorded in Germany from 1970-1973 with only the intent to share with her family and friends.
In 2006, the album was finally released. "Tonight" is a haunting and wistful track. With only guitar and vocals, it picks up a melancholy comparable to Nick Drake. "Tonight" is a perfect winter song, something you want to listen to by a fire with a glass of red wine.


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The New York Times just delivered a mortal blow to the Obama administration and its Middle East policy.
Call it fratricide. It was clearly unintentional. Indeed, is far from clear that the paper even realizes what it has done.
Last Saturday the Times published an 8,000 word account by David Kirkpatrick detailing the terrorist strike against the US consulate and the CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012. In it, Kirkpatrick tore to shreds the foundations of President Barack Obama's counter-terrorism strategy and his overall policy in the Middle East.
Obama first enunciated those foundations in his June 4, 2009 speech to the Muslim world at Cairo University. Ever since, they have been the rationale behind US counter-terror strategy and US Middle East policy.
Obama's first assertion is that radical Islam is not inherently hostile to the US. As a consequence, America can appease radical Islamists. Moreover, once radical Muslims are appeased, they will become US allies, (replacing the allies the US abandons to appease the radical Muslims).
Obama's second strategic guidepost is his claim that the only Islamic group that is a bona fide terrorist organization is the faction of al Qaida directly subordinate to Osama bin Laden's successor Ayman al-Zawahiri. Only this group cannot be appeased and must be destroyed through force.
The administration has dubbed the Zawahiri faction of al Qaida "core al Qaida." And anyone who operates in the name of al Qaida, or any other group, that does not have courtroom certified operational links to Zawahiri, is not really al Qaida, and therefore, not really a terrorist group or a US enemy.
These foundations have led the US to negotiate with the Taliban in Afghanistan. They are the rationale for the US's embrace of the Muslim Brotherhood worldwide. They are the basis for Obama's allegiance to Turkey's Islamist government, and his early support for the Muslim Brotherhood dominated Syrian opposition.
They are the basis for the administration's kneejerk support for the PLO against Israel.
Obama's insistent bid to appease Iran, and so enable the mullocracy to complete its nuclear weapons program is similarly a product of his strategic assumptions. So too, the US's current diplomatic engagement of Hezbollah in Lebanon owes to the administration's conviction that any terror group not directly connected to Zawahiri is a potential US ally.
From the outset of the 2011 revolt against the regime of Muammar Qaddafi in Libya, it was clear that a significant part of the opposition was comprised of jihadists aligned if not affiliated with al Qaida. Benghazi was specifically identified by documents seized by US forces in Iraq as a hotbed of al Qaida recruitment.
Obama and his advisors dismissed and ignored the evidence. The core of al Qaida, they claimed was not involved in the anti-Qaddafi revolt. And to the extent jihadists were fighting Qaddafi, they were doing so as allies of the US.
In other words, the two core foundations of Obama's understanding of terrorism and of the Muslim world were central to US support for the overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi.
With Kirkpatrick's report, the Times exposed the utter falsity of both.
Kirkpatrick showed the mindset of the US-supported rebels and through it, the ridiculousness of the administration's belief that you can't be a terrorist if you aren't directly subordinate to Zawahiri.
In the days and weeks following the September 11, 2012 attack on the US installations in Benghazi in which US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and four other Americans were killed, the administration claimed that the attacks were not carried out by terrorists. Rather they were the unfortunate consequence of a spontaneous protest of otherwise innocent Libyans.
According to the administration's version of events, these guileless, otherwise friendly demonstrators, who killed the US ambassador and four other Americans, were simply angered by a YouTube video of a movie trailer which jihadist clerics in Egypt had proclaimed was blasphemous.
In an attempt to appease the mob after the fact, Obama and then secretary of state Hillary Clinton were filmed in commercials run on Pakistani television apologizing for the video and siding with the mob against the movie maker, who to date is the only person the US has imprisoned following the attack. Then ambassador to the UN and current National Security Advisor Susan Rice gave multiple television interviews placing the blame for the attacks on the video.
According to Kirkpatrick's account of the assault against the US installations in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, the administration's description of the assaults was a fabrication. Far from spontaneous political protests spurred by rage at a YouTube video, the attack was premeditated. US officials spotted Libyans conducting surveillance of the consulate nearly 15 hours before the attack began.
Libyan militia warned US officials "of rising threats against Americans from extremists in Benghazi," two days before the attack.
From his account, the initial attack — in which the consulate was first stormed — was carried out not by a mob, but by a few dozen fighters. They were armed with assault rifles. They acted in a coordinated, professional manner with apparent awareness of US security procedures.
During the initial assault, the attackers shot down the lights around the compound, stormed the gates, and then swarmed around the security personnel that ran to get their weapons, making it impossible for them to defend the ambassador and other personnel trapped inside.
According to Kirkpatrick, after the initial attack, the organizers spurred popular rage and incited a mob assault on the consulate by spreading the rumor that the Americans had killed a local. Others members of the secondary mob, Kirkpatrick claimed were motivated by reports of the video.
According to Kirkpatrick, the attack was perpetrated by local terrorist groups that were part of the US-backed anti-Qaddafi coalition. The people who were conducting the surveillance of the consulate 15 hours before the attack were uniformed security forces who escaped in an official car. Members of the militia tasked with defending the compound participated in the attack.
Ambassador Stevens himself, who had served as the administration's emissary to the rebels during the insurrection against Qaddafi knew personally many of the terrorists who orchestrated the attack. And until the very end, he was himself taken in by the administration's core belief that it was possible to appease al Qaida-sympathizing Islamic jihadists who were not directly affiliated with Zawahiri.
The entire US view that local militias, regardless of their anti-American, jihadist ideologies could become US allies was predicated not merely on the belief that they could be appeased, but that they weren't terrorists because they weren't al Qaida proper.
But again, the only reason that the intelligence failed to notice the threats emanating from local US-supported terrorists is because the US counter-terrorist strategy, like its overall Middle East strategy is to seek to appease all US enemies other than the parts of al Qaida directly commanded by Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Distressingly, most of the discussion spurred by Kirkpatrick's article has ignored the devastating blow he visited on the intellectual foundations of Obama's foreign policy. Instead, the discussion has focused on his claim that there is "no evidence that al Qaida or other international terrorist group had any role in the assault," and on his assertion that the YouTube video did spur to action some of the participants in the assault.
Kirkpatrick's claim that al Qaida played no role in the attack was refuted by the Times' own reporting six weeks after the attack. It has also been refuted by Congressional and State Department investigations, by the UN and by a raft of other reporting.
His claim that the YouTube video did spur some of the attackers to action was categorically rejected last spring in sworn Congressional testimony by then deputy chief of the US mission to Libya Gregory Hicks.
The reason the Kirkpatrick's larger message – that the reasoning behind Obama's entire counter-terrorist strategy and his overall Middle East policy is totally wrong, and deeply destructive – has been missed is because his article was written and published to whitewash the administration's deliberate mischaracterization of the events in Benghazi, not to discredit the rationale behind its Middle East policy and counter-terrorism strategy. This is why he claimed that al Qaida wasn't involved in the attack. And this is why he claimed that the YouTube video was a cause for the attack.
So pathetically, in a bid to defend Obama and Clinton and the rest of the Democrats, the Times published a report that showed that Obama's laser like focus on the Zawahiri-controlled faction of al Qaida has endangered the US.
By failing to view as enemies any other terror groups — even if they have participated in attacks against the US – and indeed, in perceiving them as potential allies, Obama has failed to defend against them. Indeed, by wooing them as future allies, Obama has empowered forces as committed as al Qaida to defeating the US.
Again, it is not at all apparent that the Times realized what it was doing. But from Israel to Egypt, to Iran to Libya to Lebanon, it is absolutely clear that Obama and his colleagues continue to implement the same dangerous, destructive agenda that defeated the US in Benghazi and will continue to cause US defeat after US defeat.


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