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Craft/Work
Sex Positive: Betty Tompkins' Virgins In New York
Adam Lehrer , April 30th, 2017 10:57
Adam Lehrer explores the explicit pleasures of Betty Tompkins' Virgins show at P Pow Gallery
Innovations in conceptual art often predict progressions in cultural attitudes. When female artists like Marilyn Minter and Judith Bernstein started incorporating raw sexual imagery into their work in the 1970s, they often found themselves shunned – not just by the patriarchal network of collectors and curators, but also by feminists of the time who saw the work as too exploitative of the female form. Minter herself has noted that the support of gay men and women and other artists is the only reason her career has lasted as long as it has. But feminism has been widening its scope ever since, and is now at least partly defined by a sex positive outlook that argues true equality is being able to celebrate female sexuality and pleasure – and if a woman chooses, allow herself to be objectified. Young artists like photographer Sandy Kim, selfie artist Leah Schrager, and photographer Talia Chetrit often invite the male gaze, taking ownership over their bodies and sexuality by giving the viewer a lens into an aspect of their owns sexualities.
Cultural attitudes toward sex have moved forward – more or less – and artists like Minter and Bernstein are at peak cultural influence some four decades in their careers: Minter's Pretty/Dirty career retrospective just enjoyed a six month stay at The Brooklyn Museum and Bernstein's 2016 exhibition at Mary Boone gallery, and its accompanying catalog Dick of Death, was among the finest received bodies of work in her career.
Artist Betty Tompkins' monochromatic photo-realist paintings are probably the most sexually explicit out of all three of them and she too has seen a boost in her public profile. Like Minter and Bernstein, Tompkins had been creating explicit sexual imagery since the late sixties but didn't fully penetrate the art world's critical elite until the early 2000s, when cultural attitudes toward women and sex had moved forward. Her current exhibition at P POW gallery, Virgins, finds the artist with particular conviction in her sexuality, validated by an art world that left her out of the conversation for far too long.
Tompkins' paintings invite the male gaze and reveal the gaze's ultimate impotence, reframing the female body and feminine sexuality as a site of power. The works included in VIRGINS, including the large-scale FUCK PAINTINGS as well as the PUSSY PAINTINGSare explicit in content. But Tompkins doesn't rely on brash confrontation to get her ideas across. The images exude elegance and have a kind of decorative quality to them. This is sex. This is a female body. This is beautiful. This is power.
The FUCK PAINTINGS, elegantly composed as they are, are less concerned with aestheticising sexuality in the ways in which Minter does with her painted photographs. Instead, Tompkins applies a nuanced portrayal of sexuality in her work to place both male and female pleasure on equal plateaux. The work isn't particularly confrontational and as such reveals a viewer's ingrained sexual hangups. Matter of factly, a penis enters a vagina. This is sex, to be enjoyed by women as much as it is to be enjoyed by men.
Tompkins sources most of her imagery from pornography (she initially got the idea by browsing her first husband's porno collection in 1969), and if anything her art work seems de-aestheticise the pornographic images more than it 'elevates pornography' as is the common critical line found in this kind of art-porn balance (Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs could be argued as a kind of elevated porn, for example). Tompkins's large-scale paintings remove the capitalist machinations of the male gaze found in her pornographic source material that seeks to objectify the female body and exploit her sexuality.
One of the least pointedly sexual paintings of the show that is perhaps most indicative of Tompkins' concepts is one in which a man kisses a woman's cheek while the woman's eyes roll into the back of her head and her mouth gapes open. The woman's pleasure is the one that needs attending to and the man attends to it.
Until recently, with female pornographers like Erika Lust bringing female consent into adult entertainment, the close-up of female pleasure rarely existed in pornographic content. Even the depictions of penises in Tompkins' FUCK PAINTINGS purposefully avoid the typical markings of phallic imagery. The penises are not portrayed as something to admire, and definitely not something to fear, they are merely one half of the sexual act. No more important than the vagina in the act of sexual pleasure.
Tompkins' work has an underhanded way of revealing the hypocrisy in demonising an act (sex, in this case) that we all biologically crave as well as censoring the body parts inherent to that act. Censorship itself is an act of demonisation, because to censor is to imply that what is censored is wrong.
When Tompkins was in art school, her professor asked her what she was going to do post-graduation. When she told him she'd be a New York artist, he replied, "You're going to spend a lot of time on your back." But instead of allowing sex to instil fear within her, she rejected the popular feminist 'un-pleasure principle' of the seventies. Instead, she took sex back and celebrated it.
Female artists are more than ever gaining success on the crowded art market, and willingness to put sexuality on display has increasingly become a source of admiration amongst critical circles. Young artists like India Menuez and Alexandra Marzella are rejecting the tenets of anti-porn feminism and have become sources of much media fascination as a result.
Tompkins laid the ground work for this kind of female sexual representation in art work and suffered for it. After all, it wasn't until 2003 when the FUCK PAINTINGS were unearthed by New York magazine art critic Jerry Saltz after Tompkins sent him some slides when she heard he was curating a show about sex. Saltz got them in the hands of dealer Mitchell Algus and finally Tompkins was able to penetrate the cultural paradigm. But now with female reproductive rights under the threat of full-scale assault, particularly due to Trump's nomination of anti-abortion hard liner Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, it's poignant that Tompkins revisits the FUCK PAINTINGS and the PUSSY PAINTINGS.
An attack on a woman's right to choose is an attack on a woman's right to experience pleasure. It is an attack on a woman's right to take ownership over her own sexual desire. While Tompkins' paintings have been accepted by an increasingly progressive art world, the election of Trump reminded us all that a lot of people outside of the art world don't have the same values as those in it. Tompkins still has feathers to ruffle. Someone should invite Sean Hannity to her next exhibition, then we can truly see who the real snowflake is.
Betty Tompkins, Virgins, is at P•P•O•W, New York, until 13 May 2017
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After a year that ended with bitter quarrels, Malaysia and Singapore search for a relationship reset
10-Jan-2019 Intellasia | South China Morning Post | 6:00 AM
Singapore and Malaysia sought to steady their bilateral relationship on Tuesday following an unusually frosty year's end in which the normally friendly neighbours went public with a quarrel over air and sea boundaries.
The two countries' foreign ministers met in the Lion City where they agreed to a number of concessions and lauded the progress they had made, saying in a joint statement that they welcomed "the positive steps that both sides had agreed, to move these matters forward in a calm and constructive manner".
The conciliatory tone struck by Singapore's Vivian Balakrishnan and his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah was a far cry from the acerbic barbs the two sides were trading in December after they abruptly decided to take their disputes public unwinding years of relatively balmy ties.
In the air, Malaysia has griped that Singapore unilaterally decided to carry out a new radar system at its secondary civilian airport of Seletar that required planes to make their landing approach over Malaysia' southern state of Johor thereby inconveniencing residents and limiting industrial development.
Singapore, meanwhile, has complained that its larger neighbour impugned its sovereignty by extending the limits of a seaport well into waters the island republic had long patrolled and deemed its own.
Neither side accepted the other's protestations last year and the two increasingly appeared to be coming to an impasse, but following Tuesday's meeting a way forward seems to have been found.
In regards to the maritime dispute, the foreign ministers said a "working group" had been set up comprising diplomatic officials from both sides who would work to "de-escalate" the situation and produce a report in two months.
On the question of airspace, meanwhile, Singapore has walked back its earlier announcement to push ahead with the implementation of its Instrument Landing System (ILS) radar as soon as possible, agreeing instead to suspend all operations for a month.
Malaysia, which had responded by declaring the affected area a restricted military training zone, has similarly backed down by lifting restrictions for a month.
In the meantime, the foreign ministers said their respective transport ministers will meet soon to discuss the issue.
Tuesday's detente-of-sorts follows overtures from Singapore late last month in a bid to calm tensions.
First, the republic's prime minister Lee Hsien Loong dispatched his deputy Teo Chee Hean and Finance minister Heng Swee Keat to Malaysia to meet prime minister Mahathir Mohamad on New Year's Eve.
Then, in his New Year message to citizens, the Singapore leader said the city state would manage issues with Malaysia "calmly and constructively".
There is a widespread belief among Singapore's pundits and analysts that the current downturn in relations with Malaysia has much to do with Mahathir the 93-year-old second-time prime minister who defeated the scandal-tainted former leader Najib Razak in last year's elections as ties were largely stable during Najib's nine years in power.
Some in Malaysia say this is because the former premier was too soft on Singapore while Mahathir, on the other hand, makes little pretence of his hawkish view of the city state, and often clashed with the republic's leaders over myriad issues during his first stint as prime minister from 1981 to 2003.
In an official visit to the Lion City last year, the elder statesman likened the two countries which split acrimoniously in 1965 to twins.
"Malaysia and Singapore are like twins in a way, except that perhaps the elder twin is a little bit bigger than the younger twin and a little bit older," Mahathir said.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ended-bitter-quarrels-malaysia-singapore-103330263.html
Category: Malaysia
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home / Tumbler
Just a girl who love eeyore tumbler
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In 1781, on the fifth of September, just a girl who love eeyore, it partook in the skirmish of Comte de Grasse, in Chesapeake Bay. In 1794, the French Republic changed its name. On the sixteenth of April, just a girl who love eeyore, around the same time, it joined the unit of Villaret Joyeuse, at Brest, being depended with the escort of a payload of corn originating from America, just a girl who love eeyore, under the order of Admiral Van Stebel. On the eleventh and twelfth Prairal of the subsequent year, just a girl who love eeyore, this unit fell in with an English vessel. Sir, to-day is the thirteenth Prairal, the first of June, 1868. It is presently seventy-four years back, day for day on this very spot, in scope [email protected] 24′, just a girl who love eeyore, longitude [email protected] 28′, that this vessel, in the wake of battling courageously, losing its three poles, with the water in its hold, and the third of its team incapacitated, favored sinking with its 356 mariners to giving up; and, nailing its hues to the crap, vanished under the waves to the call of 'Long live the Republic!'" Just a girl who love eeyore tumbler. The method of depicting this unlooked-for scene, the historical backdrop of the loyalist transport, just a girl who love eeyore, told from the outset so briskly, and the feeling with which this bizarre man articulated the final words, just a girl who love eeyore, the name of the Avenger, the centrality of which couldn't get away from me, just a girl who love eeyore, all dazzled itself profoundly at the forefront of my thoughts. My eyes didn't leave the Captain, who, with his hand loosened up to the ocean, was viewing with a shining eye the superb wreck. Maybe I was never to know what his identity was, from whence he came, or where he was going to, however I saw the man move, and separated from the academic. It was no normal pessimism which had closed Captain Nemo and his buddies inside the Nautilus, just a girl who love eeyore, yet a disdain, either tremendous or eminent, which time would never debilitate. Did this disdain despite everything look for retribution?
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Albuquerque Beer Scene: The Mormons are Coming!
The saints are marching in and setting up camp in Albuquerque liquor stores. Spotted at Kelly liquors on Wyoming was an entire shelf dedicated to Utah beers: Wasatch Devastator Double Bock, Polygamy Porter, and Summerbrau Lager, along with Squatters IPA and Hop Rising DIPA. I have had the 9% ABV Hop Rising a few times and it is a good DIPA, not quite world-class but pleasant and not too pricy at $9.99 a sixer. When I think of the Polygamy Porter, I don't think of the actual beer but rather the t-shirt, which is very popular for men who like to wear sandals and go grocery shopping. I can't explain this phenomenon, but men wearing this shirt in grocery stores outranks men wearing the shirt to beer fests by at least a 4 to 1 ratio. And I usually spot them at our local (John) Smiths stores. Hmmm. Don't wait for latter days; get these Utah beers at their freshest.
Love the comment at the end of the post. Your typical humor at it's best!


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The Royal Stables of Córdoba
The Royal Stables of Córdoba (Caballerizas Reales) are located next to the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos and were founded by Philip II with the aim of creating the purebred Spanish horse. Today, the stables house no less than fifteen carriages from the 19th century. These stables were declared a National Historical Monument in 1929, and became part of the National Heritage. The poet Federico García Lorca himself called them "the cathedral of horses". The Caballerizas Reales de Córdoba are an example of the care, purity and equestrian art typical of Andalusia. If you would like to discover the history, the rooms that make up the stables and how you can visit the Caballerizas Reales de Córdoba, keep on reading!
History of The Royal Stables of Córdoba
The Royal Stables of Córdoba are a group of stables built in 1570 by decree of King Philip II in the city of Córdoba, with the aim of breeding purebred Spanish horses, which is the origin of the so-called Andalusian horse. They were built on a site owned by the church, located between the city's defensive walls and the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, and were built on the site of the old stables of the Caliphate period, which, during the reign of Al-Hakam I, housed more than two thousand horses.
Don Diego López de Haro y Sotomayor, the King's main stableman, was in charge of the construction works. He dedicated his life to a careful work of selection and genetic improvement of the horses in the Royal Stables and pastures of the province of Córdoba. However, in 1734 the stables caught fire and the building was completely destroyed. King Philip V tried to make room for the horses, but it was not until the reign of Ferdinand VI that the rebuilding of the Royal Stables began. The stables remained as royal property until the reign of Fernando VII, later becoming state property. Since 1866, the Spanish Army has been in charge of continuing the tradition of breeding the purebred Spanish horse. Until 1995 the building of the stables was owned by the Ministry of Defence, when the Army Stallion Deposit was moved to Ecija. In 1996, the Defense Sub-delegation in Córdoba moved there, until 2002, when the ownership of the building was transferred to the city council.
Parts of the Royal Stables of Córdoba
The Royal Stable of Córdoba is a rectangular building with spacious vaulted rooms where the pure-bred Andalusian horse, or Spanish horse, was bred for centuries. The central courtyard, the main stable, the riding arena, the Torreón de la Muralla and the gardens are also noteworthy.
The central courtyard
The central courtyard is a large space that distributes the different rooms, including the large vaulted rooms that served as stables. This central courtyard is accessed passing through the main door, in which the coat of arms of the Spanish King Charles III, the first to order the reconstruction of the Stables after the fire of 1734, should be highlighted.
The main stable
The main stable is the largest of the stables located in these stables. It has a magnificent groin-vault roof, supported by sandstone columns which in turn delimit the stables or boxes where the horses sleep, feed and rest when they are not training or exercising. In addition, this stable also houses the fifteen original 19th century horse-drawn carriages that make up the Royal Stables collection.
The Riding Arena
The riding arena is a large covered space surrounded by balconies on different levels where the horses bred in the stables perform exhibitions and shows of equestrian art accompanied by the best Andalusian riders.
The Tower of the Wall
The Tower of the Wall of the Royal Stables forms part of the Wall of the Alcázar Viejo and separates the Stables from the Medina. Although it has had defensive functions since the 16th century, after the creation of the Caballerizas as state property, the tower has exercised administrative and historical functions, being the headquarters of different municipal and institutional bodies such as Cordoba Ecuestre, the Tourism Consortium, Cordoba Convention Bureau or the office of the Montilla Moriles Designation of Origin.
Curiosities about the Caballerizas Reales
During 2002, the Royal Stables served as the setting for the shooting of the film Carmen, by director Vicente Aranda. Thus, the stable area became the interior of the Royal Tobacco Factory of Seville. In the covered riding arena, the prison sets were raised and a grotto where the bandits took refuge. The main courtyard witnessed the degradation of the sergeant in love with the cigarette factory.
In what are now the material warehouses of the Tourism Consortium and the Tourism and World Heritage Department, the upper part facing the garden at the entrance to the Alcazar, they built the troop bedrooms and the Hall where the sergeant was judged. This area was also the workplace of the Artistic Director who received the Goya award for the film Los Otros Benjamín Fernández.
In addition, in order to be the setting for such renowned films, it was necessary to fit out a secret passage in the Royal Stables. On the east side of the main courtyard there is a door that leads to a passageway, through which one reaches the entrance staircase of the Mosaic Room and which facilitated the movement of the people involved in the film project.
Timetable for visiting the Royal Stables
The Royal Stables can be visited on Mondays from 10:00 to 13:30 and from Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 16:30 to 19:30. On Sundays and public holidays it is possible to visit the complex from 10:00 to 13:30. The entrance is free to visit this wonderful building
The equestrian show held in the riding arena of the Royal Stables is called "Pasión y Duende del Caballo Andaluz" and is a combination of flamenco with elements of classical and Andalusian equestrianism: hand-work, cowboy dressage, alta escuela, amazon and garrocha, spun with the history and equestrian tradition of the city of Cordoba. The prices of this show are 16,50 for adults, 11,50 for children between 3 and 12 years old and free entrance for children under 3 years old. The show takes place at 9.30pm from 10 July to 30 July, at 9pm from 1 April to 30 June and from 31 June to 21 September and at 7.30pm from 22 September to 23 April. Tickets can be purchased on the Corte Inglés website or physically at the entrance.
How to get to the Royal Stables
One of the best options to get to the Royal Stables is by using public transport, as lines 3 and 6 of the city buses in Cordoba have a stop in this tourist attraction.
It is also possible to get there on foot. Some of the nearest places of interest are the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos (114 m), the Caliphal Baths (138 m), the Puerta del Puente (213 m) and the Museo Taurino de Córdoba (277 m).
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Rhyme and Punishment Forums • View topic - An unfamiliar feeling.
A cold chill awoke Reathor Abruptly from his sleep, his eyes opened and he looked around. The warmth and comfort of the room he was sleeping in was gone, replaced with a damp, dark cavern. A single flickering light, hanging from the roof of the cave gave some light, and a hazy blue mist swirled about the Paladins feet. Where he had laid on a warm, soft bed, he now lay on a crude slab of stone, night garments replaced with his armour.
Slowly, Reathor rose, looking around the cavern as best he could, his eyes squinting, trying to adjust to the light.
The cavern floor illuminated a small amount, revealing a demoniac circle, the markings resembling almost identically the marking shown in the book he had given Ceruse earlier. He stood, almost transfixed to the spot, examining the runes.
The voice sent shivers down the paladins spine, and he turned on the spot, looking around franticly for the voice, it sounded…ethereal almost, yet familiar, as if he had heard it only days before, but where he could not remember. Wherever it was from, the voice instilled in Reathor a feeling he had almost forgotten, his heart racing as he looked around for the voice.
He turned sharply, feeling a cold breath at the back of his neck, what he saw would have made him yell, but no sound came from his mouth.
Three corpses lay on the ground, their garments mimicking those exactly of the cultists he encountered not a day ago, cautiously, he moved towards the closest, and slowly removed the cowl covering its face. The flesh was gone, and skin, leaving only the skeleton, cracked and damaged, showing signs of where this cultist met his end the previous day.
Again the paladin turned, but this time, instead of seeing nothing, he saw it. A man, standing a few inches taller than Reathor, dressed in armour, looking like that from the forges of Acherus, Long, grey hair ran hung from his head, and his eye sockets were empty, replaced with a deathly blue glow. A glowing Runeblade was gripped tightly in one hand, and the man smirked, his stare seeming to chill Reathor to the bone.
The Death Knight appeared to laugh, walking towards Reathor, each step echoing through the Cavern. Reathor panicked, grabbing for his spear, and trying to take a step back, his movement cut short by chains of ice that wrapped themselves around his feet. He tried to shake them free, but it was no use, they were tight, he was trapped.
The Death Knight continued to step closer, and Reathor's actions became further out of desperation with each passing second, his body refused to work with him, rooting him to the spot, he tried to raises his weapon to defend himself, he could move his arms. He tried to shout out, no sound came. A feeling the paladin had not felt for so long rushed through him, transfixing him to the spot, he felt fear.
The Knight was now before him, and still Reathor couldn't move, the Runeblade was raised above his head.
A voice from elsewhere rung though Reathor's head, and he closed his eyes, feeling the rune blades presence as it swung down at him..
The paladin opened his eyes, his still beating rapidly, and gazed upwards, he felt the warmth of the bed against his back, and heard a familiar, friendly voice next to him.
Reathor's breathing began to slow, he continued to stare up at the ceiling.
He lay, staring upwards as his breathing returned to normal and warmth returned to his body, all of it except one part, which quickly caught his attention. Reathor looked down at his right hand, and his eyes widened, The scars, almost tattooing his entire right hand, a permanent reminder of a past encounter with Cultists, now glew, with a blue, almost ethereal light, matching the mist that had swirled around him in the cave. His heartbeat again quickened, and he clenched his fist, the feeling of fear still hanging over him. Surely it hadn't been real...or had it?


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Muff to get text alert system
Caoimhinn Barr 7 years ago 1 min read
Garda approved system to go live this autumn
Muff is to get a new text alert system, which will act as an extension of the current Neighbourhood Watch scheme.
The new system will see text messages sent out to recipients alerting them to issues the Garda wishes to highlight.
Tommy Doherty, chair of the Muff Neighbourhood Watch scheme, explained: "We have agreed in principle to implement this scheme although there is still a bit of work to be done.
"Everything is controlled by the gardaí and there are several requirements on us that we are currently looking into.
"We have to erect signs in the area and this has to go through council for planning and the like.
"Also we are not sure who funds this, do we have to raise money or what?"
Caoimhinn Barr
Caoimhinn studied at University College Cork, completing a degree in English and sociology in 1998. He worked at the Derry Journal, Donegal Democrat and Donegal On Sunday newspapers before joining the Inishowen Independent editorial team in 2009.
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Nocturnal photographs of New England's famous American neon signs
All images courtesy of the photographer. © Andrew Thomas Shea
Written by Katy Cowan on 16 December 2020
An architect based in Boston by day, Andrew Thomas Shea is a photography hobbyist at night and his latest project, Neon New England, celebrates a beloved common fixture across the Northeastern United States, and that is vintage neon signs.
Advertising everything from roadside motels and popular brands to inviting diners and bowling alleys, it was a phenomenon that ran for more than three decades in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island – with many still standing today and offering a nostalgic, comforting reminder of seemingly happier times.
But many of these signs are at risk of being taken down. Andrew has spent the last two years photographing the relics, documenting them before they disappear forever. "I want to capture the beauty and soft colours of these handmade artefacts of the American landscape," he tells Creative Boom. "As I've been photographing these signs, I've decided to pull the camera back a bit from the detail shots I typically capture to expose in the frame the surrounding context where these items reside. Many of these places are landmarks within their urban fabrics yet many are not, always threatened with removal due to the passage of time."
Andrew has been working as an architect in Boston for the past three years. Photography is his hobby, as is exploring the city and surrounding countryside. "I've always explored photography as a tool to see a different side of the urban environment, elements which most do not register or pay attention to in their daily life. I'm interested in the quality of light and space, the texture and reflections of which it plays off of and how signage and light become waymarkers within the city," he adds.
© Andrew Thomas Shea
Atmospheric photographs of Manchester and Salford at night, inspired by a 'ruined waterway'
Viva la Boobolution with an all female-produced animation about breasts
Uncommon and 3D artist aeforia collaborate on 'audio visual experience' for Chilly's Bottles
Anil Sebastian uses music to bust the binary, and raise big questions around AI, morality, and inclusiveness
Of The Land and Sea: Beautiful photographs of England's Cornish coast
Front of House: Portraits of musicians impacted by the global pandemic
London shot from above reveals a stunning new perspective of its famous landmarks
An 'absurdly joyful' zine by Jack Snelling reminds us of our favourite summer munchies


text:
module RySafe
  class Shell
    def initialize
      Readline.completion_proc = lambda { |string | Autocompletion.new(Readline.line_buffer).call(string) }
    end

    def prompt
      while line = Readline.readline(prompt_string, true) do
        begin
          eval_command(line)
          Readline::HISTORY.pop if line =~ /^\s*$/ || line =~ /^exit$/ || Readline::HISTORY.to_a[-2] == line
        rescue StandardError => e
          Readline::HISTORY.pop
          puts e.message
          puts e.backtrace.inspect
        ensure
          RySafe::Persistence::History.new.save
        end
      end
    end

    def prompt_string
      "#{Safe::Tree.current.presenter.path} > "
    end

    def eval_command line
      Commands::Dispatcher.new(line).call
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Leptotes (orchid)
Gallery [?]
This editable Main Article has an approved citable version (see its Citable Version subpage). While we have done conscientious work, we cannot guarantee that this Main Article, or its citable version, is wholly free of mistakes. By helping to improve this editable Main Article, you will help the process of generating a new, improved citable version.
Leptotes bicolor
Order: Asparagales
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Epidendreae
Subtribe: Laeliinae
Genus: Leptotes
Lindl. 1833
L. bicolor Lindl. 1833
L. bohnkiana Campacci 2004
L. harryphillipsii Christenson 2004
L. mogyensis Krackow. ex Christenson 2004
L. pauloensis Hoehne 1934
L. pohlitinocoi V.P.Castro & Chiron 2004
L. tenuis Rchb.f. 1865
L. unicolor Barb.Rodr. 1877
L. vellozicola Van den Berg, E.C.Smidt & Marçal 2006
Leptotes is a genus of orchids formed by nine small species that grow in the dry jungles of south and southeast Brazil, and also in Paraguay or Argentina. They are small epiphytic plants of caespitous growth that sometimes resemble little Brassavola, as they share the same type of thin terete leaves, though they are more closely related to Loefgrenianthus.
Some species of Leptotes are widely cultivated and form showy displays when completely in bloom although they are not among the easiest to grow. The majority of the species are not cultivated and some are so rare to be almost unknown; five of the nine species have been described since 2000. Besides being cultivated for their ornamental value, there are records of the flowers and fruits of Leptotes bicolor being used as a substitute for vanilla in milk, ice cream, tea and candies.[1]
3 Taxonomic notes
(CC) Photo: Dalton Holland Baptista
Sandstone cliffs covered by some remaining patches of forest close to Analândia, São Paulo State, Brazil. This is the habitat of Leptotes pauloensis.
The species of Leptotes were originally discovered in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil and are always seen living epiphytically. Two species have since been found in other countries, L. unicolor in Argentina, and L. bicolor in Paraguay. Three species show a high degree of endemism in the south of Bahia State. The states of southeastern Brazil can be considered the center of its distribution since they host the highest number of species and the Leptotes are most abundant there, however, the range is from the Serra da Jibóia chain of mountains, in Bahia, to the North of Rio Grande do Sul State.[2]
The species in the group that are characterized by wide open flowers, such as Leptotes tenuis and L. pauloensis, are more frequently found in montane cloud forests. L. bicolor has the broadest range and can survive in both the cloud forests and the dryer woods on the plateaus of the Serra do Mar chain of mountains. Leptotes unicolor grows optimally in cooler areas, above 700 meters of altitude, and is frequently found growing on Araucaria and Podocarpus trees in the southern areas of Brazil.[2]
(CC) Image: Dalton Holland Baptista
Leptotes distribution map.
Species assigned to the genus Leptotes have a short cylindrical rhizome. They have small pseudobulbs that almost imperceptibly prolongate in one, rarely two, terete fleshy leaves. They have variable characteristics and can be short or long, erect or hanging, dark green or purple, and often have a wrinkly surface and a deeper ridge in the face. The inflorescence is apical, generally short, and grows from the apex of the pseudobulb without a protecting spathe and bears up to seven flowers, although fewer are more common. The flowers are relatively large when compared to the overall plant dimensions, normally partially bent and in some species forming groups with a very showy aspect.[2] They are fragrant and this perfume can last from ten to twenty days.[3]
Floral diagram for Leptotes.
The appearance of the petals and sepals is similar, both are elongated although the petals are slightly more narrow. Flower colors are generally greenish, white or variable shades of pink and the labellum (a special petal attractive to pollinators) can be spotted in pale yellow, light purple or lilac. The labellum is located along the column and trilobed (three lobes). The lateral lobes are small and raised beside the column, although never involving it. The intermediate lobe is much bigger and quite variable between species. They can have either lanceolate or obovate shape, occasionally be fleshy, flat or bending backwards; in some species they have denticulated edges but are smooth in others. Rarely, calli are present, with claws holding them attached to the sides of the column. The column is short, thick and erect, normally greenish, biauriculated, and bears six pollinia of different sizes, two larger in the center and four smaller in two pairs held by a short caudicle in an arrangement that is unique among orchids. Their fruits are rounded, succulent and have a perfume reminiscent of Vanilla.[4]
The agent for the pollination of Leptotes has never been observed. Cássio van den Berg postulates, judging from the colors and morphology of the flowers, that bees are the primary agent[2], while other orchidologists suspect pollination by hummingbirds is more important.[3]
As the roots of Leptotes rot easily with excessive humidity, the best results for their culture are achieved when they are mounted on plaques of vegetal fiber or tree cork. Watering and fertilizer must be more frequent during active growth periods and less during dormant periods. Ideal growth conditions require an intermediate temperature and exposure to filtered sunlight.[5]
Taxonomic notes
Original illustration published by John Lindley when he described the genus Leptotes, in 1833.
In April of 1833, an unknown species from the Serra dos Órgãos mountains of Brazil blossomed in the greenhouse of Mrs. Arnold Harrison, an English collector of orchids homaged in diverse descriptions of noted species such as Bifrenaria harrisoniae and Cattleya harrisoniana. A short time later, Mrs. Harrison sent a drawing and cutting of this plant to the botanist John Lindley, who verified it to be not only a new species but a new genus. In its description, dated the same year, Lindley suggests the name of Leptotes, from the Greek λεπτότητα for mild, delicate, in reference to the appearance of the plant's flowers. He affirmed that Leptotes was similar to Tetramicra, from which it is distinguished by the structures of the pollinarium and by the smaller lateral lobes of the lip petal; and because they have no calcar attached to the ovarium. He also differentiated it from Brassavola by the pollinia and trilobed lip. Lindley then described its type-species, Leptotes bicolor.[6]
In 1838, Lindley received two similar but distinct plants, collected in Macaé de Cima and Ilha Grande, in Rio de Janeiro. He considered them different to the previously described species, because the lateral lobes of the lip were slightly serrated, their flowers were bigger and they occasionally had a second leaf by the pseudobulb; he proposed a new species with the name of Leptotes serrulata.[7] Five years later, the German Count Johann Centurius von Hoffmannsegg noticed that one plant he cultivated had a different green-bluish tone to its leaves and he described the plant calling it L. glaucophylla.[8] When reviewing all the known species of Leptotes at the time, in 1990, Carl Withner revisited the drawings published by Lindley and identified additional differences between L. bicolor and L. serrulata, describing how the latter always bears more flowers, with up to seven per inflorescence, which is also much longer.[9] Today it is accepted, however, that both descriptions are variations of L. bicolor that coexist due to its wide dispersion and multiplicity of populations.[10]
In 1865, Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach received, from an unknown locality in Brazil, the second described species to be accepted today. The plant was quite different from Leptotes bicolor, because of its fewer and smaller rounded flowers, with wide open pale yellowish segments and he published it as L. tenuis.[11] Twelve years later, the third species, Leptotes unicolor, was described by Brazilian botanist João Barbosa Rodrigues. His account described a highly fragrant little species of orchid and he found some colonies with hundreds of plants living epiphyticaly along the banks of the Dourado and Sapucai rivers, nearby the city of Alfenas, in Minas Gerais.[12] In 1881, Barbosa Rodrigues found another species, this one with longer leaves and slight differences in floral structure, and named it as L. paranaensis after Paraná State where he first found the plant, although today the location near Joinville is located in Santa Catarina.[13] Today this species is considered to be just a variation of L. unicolor, the species he had described four years earlier.[14]
Robert Allen Rolfe received from Brazil, also without information of locality, a plant similar to the Leptotes tenuis species described by Reichenbach over 20 years earlier. Rolfe described it as L. minuta and noted it had much thicker and shorter leaves.[15] This new species was included in Célestin Alfred Cogniaux's revision of Brazilian orchid species, published 1903, but in doing so he was unaware of the variability within the Leptotes species. At the time Cogniaux published his book he had not had the opportunity to check the types of all the other species then described, therefore, he accepted most of them with this remark.[16] In retrospect, it is now more clear that the variation in leaves was due to both the isolation of various populations and because of the different growth conditions in each habitat, and today L. minuta is known as a variation of L. tenuis.
Loefgrenianthus blanche-amesiae, first described under the genus Leptotes, is its closest related species.
While living in Brazil, the Danish Botanist Johan Albert Constantin Loefgren received an Orchid from Itatiaia, Rio de Janeiro, with flowers reminiscent of the Leptotes, although its lip petal formed a pouch. He described it as Leptotes blanche-amesiae, also noting it had a pending habit and thin flat leaves.[17] Later work on the genus by Frederico Carlos Hoehne led him to conclude that this species, despite being closely related to the Leptotes, would be better placed in another genus. He proposed the genus Loefgrenianthus, in hommage to Loefgren.[18] In 1934, Hoehne also described a new species, Leptotes pauloensis, naming it so because it was found in São Paulo State. This species is closely related to Leptotes tenuis but its flowers have different colors. For decades taxonomists were divided on whether this should be considered a new species, partly due to the fact it was so rare, indeed, Guido Pabst considered it a synonym of L. tenuis.[14] Recently many new colonies have been discovered and Withner now proposes that L. pauloensis should be accepted as a separate species.[9]
Consequently, as of 2004, four species of Leptotes were known, three sufficiently different to be well established species, L. bicolor, L. unicolor and L. tenuis, and one, L. pauloensis, that was becoming more frequently accepted by taxonomists.
A recent explosion of descriptions has more than doubled the size of this genus, however, the history of these discoveries starts much earlier. In 1954, one of the associates of Círculo Paulista de Orquidófilos, an orchid society in São Paulo, presented a lecture where he talked informally about the innumerable varieties of Leptotes that he had collected throughout the years. This lecture was printed and distributed in the bulletin of the association.[19] In 2004, Eric Christenson identified at least two of the several varieties mentioned in the lecture to be existing in collections throughout the United States and decided to describe them formally as independent species. One of these plants, Leptotes harryphillipsii, is very similar to L. pauloensis already a problematic species by itself.[20] The other one, L. mogyensis, is unknown to Brazilian scholars and collectors. The sole example is the plant Christenson found in the US, supposedly originated from Mogi das Cruzes, a city nearby São Paulo.[21]
Two other new species described in 2004 belong to the affinity of Leptotes bicolor and were both found by the same surveyor in the region of Buerarema, south of Bahia. Leptotes bohnkiana, named after its finder, can be differentiated because it has a significantly smaller stature,[22] the other, L. pohlitinocoi, mostly by color.[23]
Finally, in 2006 Sidney Marçal de Oliveira discovered the last species to be described, also from Bahia, although an inhabitant of Chapada Diamantina too. This new species, Leptotes vellozicola, is quite distinct from the other species.[24]
According to Cássio van den Berg et al., who studied their phylogeny, Leptotes is very closely related to Loefgrenianthus and both situated between Pseudolaelia and the genus which once used to be classified as Schomburgkia, by some now considered part of Laelia.[25]
Leptotes bicolor belongs to the group of species with long smooth leaves and bent elongated flowers that do not open well.
The three main characteristics that differentiate between the species of Leptotes are the general proportions of the leaves, the shape of the flowers, and the way the flowers open. From these, the species can be classified into two main groups.
One group is formed by the four species with flowers of elongated segments, which generally are not widely open. These species present malleable inflorescences that leave the flowers slightly or very overthrown, frequently facing down. Almost all the species of this group have long leaves, of comparatively lighter tones, generally with smooth surfaces, that are longer than the inflorescences.
Leptotes unicolor is the exception in this group, as it has short, wrinkly and dark leaves. Its flowers, of generally uniform pale pink, always face down. The other species of this group have flowers of stronger colors.[26]
Leptotes bicolor is the species with more flowers per inflorescence and with a wider distribution. It is a variable species, even though it is easily identified because of its bicolored flowers, white sepals and petals and purple lip; occasionally it will bear two leaves per pseudobulb. There are some records of this species living as a lithophyte.[3]
Leptotes bohnkiana has some similarities to L. bicolor, however, its flowers are one third of the size, with petals and sepals that are proportionally wider, and the adult plant is about half the size. It bares a single flower per inflorescence and has only been found in Bahia.[22]
Leptotes pohlitinocoi is closer to L. bicolor but has slightly smaller flowers with all segments completely pink. It only exists in Bahia.[27]
The other group is formed by five smaller species that have more rounded flowers with petals and sepals that are wide open and flatter. The leaves are shorter wrinkly leaves, generally very dark green or purple colored. The species of this group often have only one or two flowers on each inflorescence. Four of them are very similar and sometimes difficult to distinguish.
Leptotes harryphillipsii is a member of the Leptotes group of species with short wrinkled leaves and few wide open flowers.
Leptotes vellozicola is the only easily recognizeable species in this group as it has a thick central callus next to the apex of the lip petal. It is the only species of this group endemic to Bahia, the other species are from southeast and south Brazil. This species, among all Leptotes, takes the most sunlight in the wild because it is epiphytic on Vellozia, a species with very few leaves. The region where it lives is much dryer compared to the areas inhabited by the other species.[24]
Leptotes tenuis is the only Leptotes species with pale green, yellowish or white flowers and lilac colored lip. It is a very small and uncommon species from southeastern Brazil.[28]
Leptotes pauloensis is a species very similar to L. tenuis and can be separated from it mainly by the opposite distribution of color between the lip and the other sepals and petals, namely, pale lilac petals and sepals and white lip with a yellowish cream mark in the middle. Its distribution overlaps L. tenuis but extends much more into the south.[29]
Leptotes harryphillipsii, another species similar to L. tenuis, but with a slightly longer lip and discrete pink stripes on the other petals and sepals, which typically have more vibrant colors. It seems this species has been known for long time but had always been confused with L. pauloensis.[20]
Leptotes mogyensis, yet another species related to the L. tenuis group and also resembles L. unicolor except it has white flowers with a deep purple central mark on the lip. There is no record of this plant in the wild. All information comes from a plant found under cultivation in a nursery in California, USA. It might be a rare natural hybrid of the two mentioned species.[21]
↑ Lawler, L.J.: Ethnobotany of the Orchidaceae in Orchid biology: reviews and perspectives, Vol.3. J. Arditti Ed., Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 1984.
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Van den Berg, Cássio: Leptotes in Genera Orchidacearum Vol.4, pp. 271-3. Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 9780198507123.
↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Miller, David; Richard Warren; Izabel Moura Miller & Helmut Seehawer: Serra dos Órgãos sua história e suas orquídeas, p. 240. Rio de Janeiro, 2006.
↑ Withner, Carl Leslie: The Cattleyas and Their Relatives, Vol. 3, pp.94-95. Timber Press, Oregon. ISBN 0881922692
↑ Pridgeon, Alex: Leptotes in Genera Orchidacearum Vol.4, p. 274. Oxford Unity Press, 2006. ISBN 9780198507123.
↑ Lindley, John: Leptotes bicolor in Edward's Botanical Register Vol.19, t.1625. James Ridgway & Sons Ed. London, 1833. Published on internet.
↑ Lindley, John: Leptotes serrulata in Sertum orchidaceum, t.11. James Ridgway & Sons Ed. London, 1838. Published on internet.
↑ Hoffmannsegg, Johann Centurius von: Leptotes glaucophylla in Botanische Zeitung Vol.1, p. 833. Berlin, 1843.
↑ 9.0 9.1 Withner, Carl Leslie: The Cattleyas and Their Relatives, Vol. 3, p.96. Timber Press, Oregon. ISBN 0881922692
↑ Govaerts, Rafaël et al: World Checklist of Orchidaceae. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on Internet (Access in January 2009).
↑ Reichenbach, Heinrich Gustav: Leptotes tenuis in Hamburger Garten Blumenzeitung Vol.21, pp. 296. Hamburg, 1865.
↑ Barbosa Rodrigues, João: Leptotes unicolor in Genera et species orchidacearum novarum Vol.1, p.74. 1877. Published on Internet, in French and Latin.
↑ Barbosa Rodrigues, João: Leptotes paranaensis in Genera et species orchidacearum novarum Vol.2, pp.163. 1881. Published on Internet, in French and Latin.
↑ 14.0 14.1 Pabst, Guido & Dungs, Fritz : Orchidaceae Brasilienses vol. 1 p. 148, Brucke-Verlag Kurt Schmersow, Hildesheim, 1975. ISBN 3871050106
↑ Rolfe, Robert Allen: Leptotes minuta in Gardeners' Chronicle Vol.1889-2: p. 323. London, 1889.
↑ Cogniaux, Célestin Alfred: Leptotes in Flora Brasiliensis Vol.3 Part.6: pp. 254-259. K.F.P. von Martius Ed., 1903. Published on Internet, in Latin.
↑ Loefgren, Johan Albert Constantin: Leptotes blanche-amesiae in Arquivos do Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro Vol.2: p. 58. Rio de Janeiro, 1918.
↑ Hoehne, Frederico Carlos: Loefgrenianthus in Arquivos de Botânica do Estado de São Paulo Vol.1: p. 593. São Paulo, Julho de 1927.
↑ Krackowizer, F. J.: Monografia do gênero Leptotes in Revista do Círculo Paulista de Orquidófilos Vol.11, pp. 53-63 e 64-72. São Paulo, 1954.
↑ 20.0 20.1 Christenson, Eric A.: Leptotes harryphillipsii in Orchids South Africa Vol.35, pp. 53. Cape Town, 2004.
↑ 21.0 21.1 Christenson, Eric A.: Leptotes mogyensis in Orchids South Africa Vol.35, pp. 54. Cape Town, 2004.
↑ 22.0 22.1 Campacci, Marcos Antonio: Leptotes bohnkiana in Boletim CAOB Vol.53, p.17. São Paulo, 2004. ISSN 14194590.
↑ Vitorino P. Castro Neto & Chiron, Guy: Leptotes pohlitinocoi in Richardiana Vol.4: p.78. Paris, 2004.
↑ 24.0 24.1 Van den Berg, Cássio et al: Leptotes vellozicola em Neodiversity Vol.1, pp. 2, 2006. Published on internet.
↑ Van den Berg, Cássio et al: A Phylogenetic analysis of Laellinae based on sequence data from internal transcribed spacers of nuclear ribosomal DNA in Lindleyana vol.15-2, pp. 96–114, 2000. Published on Internet.
↑ Johnson, Andrés E.: Leptotes unicolor in Las orquídeas del Parque Nacional Iguazú, pp. 110. Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina, Buenos Aires, 2001. ISBN 9509725412
↑ Vitorino P. Castro Neto: Leptotes pohlitinocoi in Icones Orchidacearum Brasilienses Vol.2: pl.163. São Paulo, March 2006. ISBN 8590149447
↑ Vitorino P. Castro Neto: Leptotes tenuis in Icones Orchidacearum Brasilienses Vol.2: pl.164. São Paulo, March 2006. ISBN 8590149447
↑ Vitorino P. Castro Neto: Leptotes pauloensis in Icones Orchidacearum Brasilienses Vol.2: pl.162. São Paulo, March 2006. ISBN 8590149447
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New procedural rules are coming into force next month for civil court cases in England and Wales. You'll find them in the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2019 SI 2019/342 and practice directions made under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998. Chapter and verse of the practice directions can be found at https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil or, if you prefer a quiet life and are not averse to a bit of cheek here and an insult there, stick around and allow me to guide you through the more important changes, especially if you are without a lawyer, in the coming weeks.
Hearings - including those by telephone and video - are opening up. As from 6 April 2019, cases which are currently now heard in private at court - so no media, no members of the public resting their feet between Primark and Tesco, no nosey neighbours - will be open to all and sundry. This will include claims for repossession of homes by mortgage lenders, claims for repossession of homes by landlords on account of rent arrears and enforcement applications for such things as charging orders and third party debt orders, all of which now start off and almost invariably continue as being in private. But a party to the proceedings can ask for the hearing to be in private although it will initially be listed to be in public. The court must allow privacy if, for example, the court decides this to be necessary in the interests of justice or the hearing involves confidential information and publicity would damage it. The court is also given power to order that the identity of a party to the case or a witness should not be disclosed if that is necessary in order to secure the proper administration of justice (sounds very grand) and protect their interests. Where the court orders that a hearing should become private or a party or witness should not be identified, then its order must be published at www,judiciary.uk and someone who is not a party to the proceedings (perhaps the editor of the Daily Mail!) can apply to attend the hearing and make submissions or apply to cancel the order.
An important scheme is introduced about communications to the court. They're trying to put an end to one party writing to the court slagging off the other party but without supplying a copy of the communication to that other party. It happens a lot. It's going to stop. As from 6 April 2019, any communication which contains reference to some matter of substance or procedure must be disclosed to the other side and the court told this has been done. Otherwise, the communication will be bounced back by the court and where there is a serious breach of the scheme or there are repetitive breaches, the court could impose a severe sanction against the sender like striking out their claim or defence. But this will not apply to communications that are routine, uncontentious and administrative (like 'Here's my court fee.') And it will also not apply if there is a compelling reason for withholding a copy of the communication from the other side and that reason is explained to the court in the communication. The court won't be lightly satisfied that a compelling reason really does exist.


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Internet Explorer Security Flaw Warning..
A serious Microsoft Internet Explorer Security Flaw has been discovered..
Microsoft has warned that the 900 million users of its Internet Explorer browser are at risk of having their computers hijacked and their personal information stolen by hackers. Microsoft has yet to develop a permanent fix for the security hole, but all Internet Explorer users are being told to apply a temporary fix (see instructions below) that will prevent hackers from exploiting a hole to install malicious scripts if you happen to click on a link at a rogue website.
Any user could be targeted simply by visiting an infected website.
In a security bulletin (Microsoft Security Advisory (2501696), Microsoft has confirmed that the discovered flaw affects ALL versions of Windows and although it had yet to encounter "indications of active exploitation of the vulnerability", the flaw was serious and it was aware of proof-of-concept code exploiting the issue.
Microsoft is working to develop a permanent fix to deal with this exploit. In the meantime however, I would strongly suggest that the fix titled "How to protect yourself" below, is applied on ALL computers in your office(s) that use Internet Explorer as their main web browser.. Don't forget your home computers too!
Click the "Microsoft Fix it" box on the LEFT hand side (Under Enable) – you should then be prompted to Save or Run the file.Note: You may also get another prompt to confirm you want the action to complete if you are using the Windows 7 or Windows Vista operating systems with User Access Control enabled.
Click on "Run" and then "Run" again if prompted.
Tick the "I Agree" box and then click the "Next >" button – Windows will now create a restore point and apply the Microsoft Fix it 50602 temporary patch to protect your computer from being vulnerable to this exploit.
Click the "Close" button and you're all done.
In the unlikely event that this fix causes you problems, simply follow the above steps again only this time, click on the "Microsoft Fix it" box on the RIGHT hand side, under the "Disable" label.. This will remove the patch from your computer.
Should you get an error when trying to apply the above fix, contact Microsoft Support for help or alternatively, contact us for assistance.


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text:
EU Ends Embargo On Arms To Syria Rebels
May 28, 2013 02:24 GMT
British Foreign Secretary William Hague helped lead the campaign to end the EU's arms embargo on Syrian rebels.
The European Union is ending its embargo on supplying arms to Syria's rebels.
However, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said no decision has been made yet to begin actually providing weapons to fighters trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
The EU embargo officially expires at the end of May.
While the arms embargo is being allowed to lapse, diplomats said the EU has agreed to extend for one year all financial and economic sanctions targeting the Assad regime.
Britain, along with France, had led the effort to ease the arms embargo.
The announcement was made after more than 12 hours of talks among foreign ministers May 27 at EU headquarters in Brussels.
Hague said the lifting of the arms embargo should send a "strong signal" to the Assad regime to start negotiations to settle the two-year-old conflict.
Hague added Britain has "no immediate plans to send arms to Syria," but now has the "flexibility to respond in the future" if necessary.
Austria and other EU members were opposed to allowing the embargo to expire, saying such a step could lead to more bloodshed.
There are also concerns about weapons falling into the hands of extremists in Syria who may have an anti-Western agenda.
Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger told reporters he was worried about an "arms race" that could impede efforts to end a conflict that has already claimed an estimated 80,000 lives.
An EU statement said the bloc would review the weapons question again before August 1. Officials said it is unlikely that any EU weapons would be provided to rebels before this time.
Officials said the delay was aimed at giving the opposition leverage during potential peace negotiations with the government cosponsored by the United States and Russia.
Those talks have been proposed to take place next month, but no date has been set.
The U.S. and Russian foreign ministers, John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov, held talks on the planned peace conference on Monday in Paris.
Lavrov said organizing the conference to bring together Syria's warring parties has been a "tall order," or difficult challenge.
Based on reports from Reuters, AP, AFP and dpa


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It seems as if the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna(SLPP) which is seeking to govern, after setting up the new Party, doesn't have any plan at all. As a young Parliamentarian, how do you view this situation?
A: We asked to govern with a plan in mind. Actually, all along we had a plan on how we were to run the government. We had a plan based on the Mahinda Chinthanaya on raising the economy and developing the country. What this government should have done was to continue with the plans that Mahinda Rajapaksa had put in place. If that had been done, all the problems that exist would have been solved, by now. The current situation regarding the dollar is also due to not implementing those programmes.
The people said they did not want those programmes. So, how could you solve problems by moving forward with plans which the people had rejected?
A: Had they continued, the 'Port City' work would have been completed by now. Then the most number of investments in the history of Sri Lanka would have already come into the country. Then, there would have been no problem at all in connection with the dollar.
The rest of the Southern Expressway would have been completed as well as the railway lines, and by now generated millions of Rupees in income. It was because these projects were delayed by one and a half years that the country was dragged into economic ruin.
This government didn't need new programmes; if they had carried forward the work done by Mahinda Rajapaksa everything would have worked out well. That is what we will do after taking over power.
We do not have one policy like in other countries. The development policies in the country change from Party to Party and Leader to Leader. Then, Mahinda Rajapaksa's plans were not followed by Good Governance? That is the truth.
A: It has to be said very clearly, that when any government comes in, the policies of the Party change. That is correct. Just because that happens, it is not a solution for that to halt investments that came into the country and development projects. Today, no country in the world stops the development projects of the country just because the government changed.
You say that if Mahinda Rajapaksa's programmes had been followed, investors would have come and the country would have received income. But in 2015, the people rejected the policies of Mahinda Rajapaksa. The people didn't approve of those programmes. What Mahinda Rajapaksa attempted to do, by holding an election 2 ½ years ahead of time was, in the face of the economic crisis, it was felt that he would be unable to take over power for the third time. Finally, those sins have been shouldered by the Government of Good Governance. That is the allegation?
A: The election was not because of an economic crisis or other problem. Mahinda Rajapaksa is someone who always held elections for the people of this country. He knew that he would be defeated at elections in the North and East, but he accepted that challenge and held the election. The then government did not have any of these economic crises or problems.
We properly settled the loans that were obtained for the Hambantota Port and other development work. It is this government which has not paid the instalments properly. Mahinda Rajapaksa was not defeated because of that problem. The reason being, there is a big conspiracy in the country today, and the people have understood the result of that conspiracy.
What the people are saying is, at that time, they were deceived. What the people are saying, today, is that they want Mahinda Rajapaksa's programmes for the country. It was based on this that we gained victory on 10 February. The people corrected the mistake they made in 2015.
However, now the government is scared, because of that, and is not holding elections.
The government's own Parliamentarian J. C. Alawathuwala says the Government has Treasury Bonds to the value of more than USD 4,000 billion. Even if the Rupee depreciates, goods needed for the country, for another six months, can be purchased and that the country will not collapse. The government says that the Dollar fell because of an international issue and as a result the Rupee depreciated. Not that the Rupee depreciation impacted that. So, what you are saying and this are two different things?
A: What these people said that it was due to an international financial crisis is a lie. The biggest economic crisis was in 2007, then in 2008 and 2009. When there was such a crisis, and the Indian Rupee depreciated by 25 per cent, Mahinda Rajapaksa managed to keep the Sri Lanka Rupee at two per cent. During the time of Mahinda Rajapaksa the Dollar fell by 21 per cent.
Annually, it was 2.1 per cent. In India, it was 4.5 per cent. However, during the past three months it has been 12 per cent in India and in Sri Lanka it was 24 per cent. The Rupee collapsed against the dollar not because of an international issue.
It is to look for solutions for these issues that the Central Bank is there and there are three Finance Ministers. Those things should be inquired into and analyzed. The main reason for the collapse of the Rupee is the halt in investments coming in.
If the Port City Project had been completed, there would not have been any of these problems, in the country. The world got scared to invest in Sri Lanka, when the Project that the Chinese President came and commenced was brought to a halt. It is as a result of those actions that the people have to suffer today.
The Government is saying that these problems are because, during the time of Mahinda Rajapaksa the country was turned into a Chinese colony and lands were sold, that these problem have occurred?
A: I am not saying that handing over lands and selling them is justified. But after winning the war, in 2009, there was no way we could bring in investments to the country.
In 2009, China came with investments. We gave Shangri-La 6 acres then and got, approximately, two billion Rupees which we invested. It was by bringing in an investment like Shangri-La that we showed the world that Sri Lanka was now ready for investments.
After that, Mahinda Rajapaksa said through an Act that no further land will be given. When the six acres was given to Shangri-La, the UNP said it would cause a crisis to the security of the country.
But, this government gave away more than 5,000 acres including the Port and the Airport and created a threat to the country's national security. A threat to national security occurred because of giving land to two countries on two sides of the world. It was not because six acres were given.
What do you say to the allegation, that, it was Mahinda Rajapaksa who created the path that enabled China and India to interfere in this country?
A: Then, Mahinda Rajapaksa did not allow any crisis. China was working very closely with us, during that time. However, there were minor conflicts with India, then.
So, he went to India later to win them over?
A: Now, India has built up a friendship with Mahinda Rajapaksa. At the same time, other countries too have built up good relations with him. All of those countries have already accepted the fact that it would be a Podujana Peramuna Government that will be next in power.
If the Sri Lanka Podujana Permuna is to come to power, they have to get six to seven million votes of the approximately 18 million votes. The Podujana Peramuna has only four to four and a half million votes. So, how could you take over ruling power?
A: We need not have seven million votes. With the percentage that uses their votes, we have to obtain more than six million. However, within two months of establishing the Podujana Peramuna, we got 4.4 million votes. As of today, the economic crisis in the country has aggravated. Taxes have been increased and the people have more problems. So the people will join our policies. During this period, the remaining one and a half to two million voters have joined us, now.
It is an over estimation?
A: No. That is the truth.
The Flower Bud cannot establish a government on its own, you will have to obtain support from the minorities. If not you will not be able to establish a government with a majority. As you say, the Flower Bud increasing their votes by two million during this period is a joke, isn't it?
A: We have already got those votes. The minority votes are for us. Good Governance cannot escape from having deceived the Muslim people. The Beruwala incident was the work of several former ministers who were within our Opposition. Muslim people have accepted that the Podujana Peramuna were not responsible for that.
Now, it has been proved that it was the government which was behind the Digana incident. With these things, Muslims have already joined us. Businesses have collapsed due to the taxes that were imposed.
In the North and East, the TNA is divided. Today the people of the North want jobs. What they are asking is to build an economy where they can have three meals a day. Today people in the North are not asking for Eelam. They do not receive relief from either the TNA or this government. All these people are now with the Flower Bud. Today, we have no problem regarding elections; the problem we have is the government is not holding elections.
Whatever you say, the minority votes are with the government. That is the true story. If there is no Eelam in the North, why is it that your Party members are saying that there are Tiger activities going on in the North and that Tigers have strengthened? If so, are these things being said to gain political advantage?
A: On the issue of the LTTE raising its head, and it is apparent that there is a problem regarding the national security of the country. In a country where they are attempting to assassinate the President, the former Defence Secretary and the former President, there is a problem regarding national security.
It is not the majority of Tamil people who are in it. This conspiracy is by certain groups in the North and the Tamil diaspora.
Such conspiracies happen due to weaknesses within government. If the government is providing the necessary security, the Tamil people will not ask for Eelam. They are asking for jobs and development.
It was during the time of Mahinda Rajapaksa that the North was developed. We did have some shortcomings, and we have already rectified those. Therefore, already the Tamil and Muslim people have joined us.
What portion of the minority votes do you believe you can garner? About 20 to 30 per cent?
A: We are expecting about 50 per cent. The reason is as we won in Beruwala, where the clashes happened. We conveyed a message to the entire nation that the Muslim people are not angry with us, and large numbers of Muslim people joined the Janabala Operation.
Will the SLFP join you all on this journey?
A: If the SLFP wants to, they can join the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. However, we will not join the SLFP, as the people of the country are with us.
You are a young Parliamentarian. You came to Parliament through the UPFA led SLFP, so how can you now say that you do not want the SLFP?
A: This is not my view. It is the view of the people of the country.
We come to Parliament to fulfil the people's views and not to follow my own personal viewpoint. Whatever the opinion of the people of the country, we bow our head to that opinion. The people are asking only for the Flower Bud and Mahinda Rajapaksa. We are also of the same opinion.
The Group of 16 is holding covert discussions with the President, to make the Flower Bud and the SLFP friends and towards making Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Prime Minister. But you are saying that you do not want the SLFP?
A: It is not that we do not want the SLFP; it is that Podujana Peramuna is our Party now. If he wants to, he can become a member of the Podujana Peramuna.
Before asking those from the SLFP to become members of the Podujana Peramuna, you should become members of the Party and show them? Is it correct to challenge others, without you even becoming a member of the Podujana Peramuna?
A: We will systematically and gradually become members of the Podujana Peramuna. When there is an election in the future, we will be ready for that. We attended Podujana Peramuna meetings at the Pradeshiya Sabha elections. We, in the Joint Opposition do only what the people of the country ask us to do. The people of the country have, by now, rejected the SLFP and said they do not want the SLFP.
Then why are you holding discussions, with the same SLFP that you are rejecting, asking for Mahinda Rajapaksa to be made the Prime Minister?
A: At this moment, the best thing would be to hand over the country to Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The Prime Minister himself has asked Mahinda Rajapaksa to tell him how to build the economy, as he says this economy cannot be developed. So, what he has to do is to hand over the country to Mahinda Rajapaksa.
You have not answered my question. The Group of 16 is going to the leader of the SLFP, which you are rejecting, seeking to appoint as the Prime Minister the Leader who says he does not want the SLFP, is this ethical?
A: We have no trust at all, in the discussions carried out with Maithripala Sirisena, so far. We do not trust President Maithripala Sirisena. This is not the first instance. He has deceived us on several occasions. However, if he will give the Premiership to Mahinda Rajapaksa, we will ask him to accept it.
That is with all the problems that exist in the country and to get rid of the Constitution that will divide the country. The only person who can find solutions to these as well as the economic crisis is Mahinda Rajapaksa.
At this time, the country needs a leader. So, we are asking him to accept the Premiership. But we do not in any way trust the words of President Maithripala Sirisena.
So, what you are saying is that you have no trust in the Group of 16 either?
A: A majority of the 16 hold our same views. However, a minority is swaying from side to side. What we are telling them is to take on our views and those of the country. If they go outside of the views of the country and those of Mahinda Rajapaksa and holds views that are harmful to the country we will not be with them, any further. However, the Group of 16 have understood that this is the country's view.
There are various stories about the 20th Amendment. Deals are also being mentioned. Political theorists say that if the 20th Amendment is adopted, quite apart from the presidential election, Mahinda Rajapaksa can become the executive Prime Minister. What is actually happening?
A: When the JVP brought in 20A, we had a concern. It is the PM who says, suddenly, that the 20A should be brought in. By bringing in19A, powers of President Maithripala Sirisena were reduced and powers of the PM were increased. That is what is being brought through the 20A. This is the game that the government is playing, to postpone Pradeshiya Sabha elections, Provincial Council elections and the parliamentary elections, as well.
However, the presidential election cannot be postponed. So, by the 20 A the presidential election will be removed and Parliament's power will be acquired. After that they are trying to maintain this government until 2025, without holding a parliamentary election.
Will it be Mahinda Rajapaksa who will contest the presidential election?
A: Mahinda Rajapaksa will consider the legal situation and then contest. He is the only solution to save the country. If he cannot contest, someone else who is suitable will be put forward.
Will it be another Rajapaksa?
A: It is something that will happen according to the will of the people. It is the people of this country who are asking for a Rajapaksa, and it is not our opinion.
Everyone in the Party is against it?
A: There are various opinions in the Joint Opposition. They come out at different times. But, finally, everyone will come to the same view point and will work together at a special moment like an election.


text:
Q: How to concat a sparse tensor of type  When concatting a constant tensor with a spare tensor from the op of tf.sets.set_intersection in tensorflow, it failed.
import tensorflow as tf
sess = tf.Session()

a = tf.add(tf.range(10), tf.cast(tf.ones([10]), dtype=tf.int32))
b = tf.constant([0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1])

# This set appears to be sorted, but that is not documented behavior.
s = tf.sets.set_intersection(a[None,:], b[None, :])
s = tf.concat([a, tf.convert_to_tensor(s)], axis=0)
fsort = tf.contrib.framework.sort(s.values)

with tf.Session() as sess:
    print(type(s))
    print(sess.run(s).values)
    print(sess.run(fsort))

The error is as below:
TypeError                                 Traceback (most recent call last)
/data00/tiger/jupyterhub_deploy/venv/lib/python3.6/site-packages/tensorflow/python/framework/tensor_util.py in make_tensor_proto(values, dtype, shape, verify_shape)
    526     try:
--> 527       str_values = [compat.as_bytes(x) for x in proto_values]
    528     except TypeError:

/data00/tiger/jupyterhub_deploy/venv/lib/python3.6/site-packages/tensorflow/python/framework/tensor_util.py in <listcomp>(.0)
    526     try:
--> 527       str_values = [compat.as_bytes(x) for x in proto_values]
    528     except TypeError:

/data00/tiger/jupyterhub_deploy/venv/lib/python3.6/site-packages/tensorflow/python/util/compat.py in as_bytes(bytes_or_text, encoding)
     60     raise TypeError('Expected binary or unicode string, got %r' %
---> 61                     (bytes_or_text,))
     62

TypeError: Expected binary or unicode string, got <tensorflow.python.framework.sparse_tensor.SparseTensor object at 0x7f9da1a8bc88>

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

TypeError                                 Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-107-a3e76f2038b5> in <module>
      7 # This set appears to be sorted, but that is not documented behavior.
      8 s = tf.sets.set_intersection(a[None,:], b[None, :])
----> 9 s = tf.concat([a, tf.convert_to_tensor(s)], axis=0)
     10 fsort = tf.contrib.framework.sort(s.values)
     11

/data00/tiger/jupyterhub_deploy/venv/lib/python3.6/site-packages/tensorflow/python/framework/ops.py in convert_to_tensor(value, dtype, name, preferred_dtype)
   1048       name=name,
   1049       preferred_dtype=preferred_dtype,
-> 1050       as_ref=False)
   1051
   1052

/data00/tiger/jupyterhub_deploy/venv/lib/python3.6/site-packages/tensorflow/python/framework/ops.py in internal_convert_to_tensor(value, dtype, name, as_ref, preferred_dtype, ctx)
   1144
   1145     if ret is None:
-> 1146       ret = conversion_func(value, dtype=dtype, name=name, as_ref=as_ref)
   1147
   1148     if ret is NotImplemented:

/data00/tiger/jupyterhub_deploy/venv/lib/python3.6/site-packages/tensorflow/python/framework/constant_op.py in _constant_tensor_conversion_function(v, dtype, name, as_ref)
    227                                          as_ref=False):
    228   _ = as_ref
--> 229   return constant(v, dtype=dtype, name=name)
    230
    231

/data00/tiger/jupyterhub_deploy/venv/lib/python3.6/site-packages/tensorflow/python/framework/constant_op.py in constant(value, dtype, shape, name, verify_shape)
    206   tensor_value.tensor.CopyFrom(
    207       tensor_util.make_tensor_proto(
--> 208           value, dtype=dtype, shape=shape, verify_shape=verify_shape))
    209   dtype_value = attr_value_pb2.AttrValue(type=tensor_value.tensor.dtype)
    210   const_tensor = g.create_op(

/data00/tiger/jupyterhub_deploy/venv/lib/python3.6/site-packages/tensorflow/python/framework/tensor_util.py in make_tensor_proto(values, dtype, shape, verify_shape)
    529       raise TypeError("Failed to convert object of type %s to Tensor. "
    530                       "Contents: %s. Consider casting elements to a "
--> 531                       "supported type." % (type(values), values))
    532     tensor_proto.string_val.extend(str_values)
    533     return tensor_proto

TypeError: Failed to convert object of type <class 'tensorflow.python.framework.sparse_tensor.SparseTensor'> to Tensor. Contents: SparseTensor(indices=Tensor("DenseToDenseSetOperation_17:0", shape=(?, 2), dtype=int64), values=Tensor("DenseToDenseSetOperation_17:1", shape=(?,), dtype=int32), dense_shape=Tensor("DenseToDenseSetOperation_17:2", shape=(2,), dtype=int64)). Consider casting elements to a supported type.

A: Instead of using tf.convert_to_tensor(s) use tf.sparse.to_dense(s). Also, I would rewrite the whole code as:
tf.reset_default_graph()
a = tf.add(tf.range(10), tf.cast(tf.ones([10]), dtype=tf.int32))
b = tf.constant([0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1])

# This set appears to be sorted, but that is not documented behavior.
s_sparse = tf.sets.set_intersection(a[None,:], b[None, :])
s_dense = tf.squeeze(tf.sparse.to_dense(s_sparse), axis=0)
s = tf.concat([a, s_dense], axis=0)
fsort = tf.contrib.framework.sort(s)

with tf.Session() as sess:
    print(type(s))
    print(sess.run(s))
    print(sess.run(fsort))

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Berlin, Sept 21 (CTK correspondent) – The Czech Republic is interested in trading with Iran, and it would be therefore good to abolish the sanctions against Iran, President Milos Zeman told journalists in Berlin at the close of his three-day official visit today.
Zeman also criticised US President Donald Trump's policy of raising customs duties.
Students are taught at their first university lectures that protectionism is a scourge and that customs duties are harmful for both sides, he said.
"As you know, the USA has decided to sanction those European companies that will trade with Iran," Zeman recalled.
"The Czech Republic and Czech companies are interested in trading with Iran, and I am here to defend Czech national interests," Zeman said, explaining the position he held during his talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other German politicians.
Zeman and Merkel also discussed the risk of a trade war between the USA and China. According to Zeman, this war might grow into another global economic crisis.


Abstract : We present a new taxonomy for describing the conditions and implementation of interactions. Current mechanisms for embedding interaction in software promote a hard separation between the programmers who produce the software, and the communities who go on to use it. In order to support open ecologies of function and fabrication, where this separation is negotiated by communities of users and designers, we need to reconceive those mechanisms. We describe interaction in two phases: Co-occurrence, the prerequisite conditions for an interaction to take place; and entanglement, the temporary coupling and interplay between elements participating in the interaction. We then sketch a blueprint of a system where those phases and their adjacent mechanisms enable communities of users to build and use interactive software. There are many ways of conceiving this new design space, and we present three dominant metaphors which we have employed so far, based on chemical reactions , quantum physics and cooking. We exhibit different systems which we have implemented based on these metaphors, and sketch how future systems will further empower citizens to design and inhabit their own interactions, express ownership over them and share them with communities of interest.