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The Sundry Motivations of Caucasians in Ukraine
By Emil Souleimanov (10/15/2014 issue of the CACI Analyst)
One attribute of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine's Donbas area has been numerous speculations on the involvement of foreign fighters on both sides to conflict. Amid the diverse body of volunteers and mercenaries involved in the war, Chechens and other North Caucasians have received particular attention due to their fame as fierce warriors, and because their involvement in the conflict on the side of pro-Russian forces has constituted solid evidence of Moscow's military engagement in the war. Yet the fact that Caucasian volunteers participate also on the Ukrainian side, and the ambivalence toward the conflict locally in the North Caucasus, demonstrate the diversity of motives and incentives inducing Caucasians to fight in Ukraine.
BACKGROUND: News that Chechens were involved in the Ukraine crisis spread already in March, when a range of news agencies and locals reported of "Caucasian-looking" units deployed in some areas of the Crimean peninsula. Some sources in Crimea spotted Chechens in the eastern Crimean city of Feodosia, identified by their fatigues, equipment, and behavior as members of kadyrovtsy units. Since then, local sources have reported of Chechens in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on various occasions throughout mid-summer. Video footage from a Donetsk street was released displaying individuals speaking Russian with a heavy Chechen accent.
Soon thereafter, it was speculated that dozens belonging to Chechen-manned units were killed during a failed siege of the local airport. Sources in Chechnya and Dagestan reported that bodies of local men were transported to their homeland for burial. Throughout the conflict, Chechnya's president Ramzan Kadyrov has made controversial statements. On the one hand, he refused to acknowledge the involvement of Chechens in the clashes, boasting on one occasion that if Chechens had been involved, they would have long taken Kyiv. He has also admitted that he is in no position to make sure there were no Chechen volunteers whatsoever in the eastern Ukraine clashes. On the other hand, Kadyrov has on various occasions explicitly stated his readiness to order the intervention of Chechen units in the Ukraine war against "fascists" should Putin call upon them (see the 06/04/2014 issue of the CACI Analyst.
IMPLICATIONS: Journalists in Chechnya and Dagestan have reported on local men being forced to "volunteer" in the Donbas war. According to a local source, Dagestani soldiers in the Buynaksk garrison of the Russian army have been compelled to join pro-Russian units in eastern Ukraine; those refusing were routinely accused of treason and cowardice and often discharged. Similar situations allegedly took place in other areas of Dagestan, usually confined to the military garrisons stationed in the republic. In the patriarchal Dagestani society, implications of such refusal would put immense social pressure on Dagestani conscripts and officers, many of whom chose to follow the informal instructions and deploy to battlefields in eastern Ukraine. Yet others have withstood the pressure and refused to "volunteer" to a distant war.
According to Paul Goble, similar mechanisms have been at work in Chechnya, where recruitment offices were set in some areas of the republic. In the Chechen context, a member of the Chechen law enforcement in general and a kadyrovets in particular would, if discarded from military service for whatever reason, become excluded from the protection of his comrades-in-arms. In turn, this would dramatically increase the risk of becoming a target for his or his family's enemies in blood feud. Given that many kadyrovtsy have been involved in extrajudicial killings, humiliation, and injuring of their fellow countrymen suspected of providing support to insurgents or because they were relatives of insurgents, this has raised the pressure on would-be volunteers to obey instructions.
A range of sources indicate that dozens of South and North Ossetians have also volunteered to the war. While many North Ossetians appear to have joined due to their feeling of loyalty toward Moscow, South Ossetians may have volunteered in order repay Russia's support during the 2008 Russo-Georgian war. Some North Caucasian fighters have revealed in interviews their incentive to become recognized as true Russian patriots in Russian public opinion. Data is scarce regarding the natives of the Northwest Caucasian republics in the Donbas war. We also lack information regarding the extent to which the "forced" volunteers have been promised soldier's pay for their participation in the hostilities in eastern Ukraine.
Nonetheless, North Caucasians have not only figured in the service of pro-Russian forces. Some have joined to the ranks of Ukrainian forces, and given the lack of leverage on the Ukrainian side, this has taken place on voluntary grounds. Kyiv's lack of financial resources also suggest that it could not afford to pay mercenaries, and the North Caucasians fighting on behalf of the Ukrainian military are indeed volunteers. Perhaps the most well-known case is the so-called Jokhar Dudayev International Peacekeeping Battalion, a force manned by dozens of predominantly North Caucasian volunteers that was formed shortly before the active clashes in the Donbas area waned. This unit is commanded by Isa Munayev, a nearly 50-year old brigadier general of the Chechen Army and the military commandant of Grozny, who following the seizure of the Chechen capital city by Russian troops in 2000 migrated to Europe.
According to some reports, this battalion is manned by a relatively large number of Chechens, mostly from émigré communities based in Austria, France, Germany and some other EU countries. In contrast to those with a strong Islamic background who have travelled to Syria, the Chechen youngsters in Munayev's unit are loyal to the idea of a Chechen nation-state, as suggested by the Ichkerian flags waved over the battalion's camps featuring a wolf, the Chechens' totem animal and Ichkeria's national emblem. Munayev and his comrades-in-arms have often referred to the North Caucasian peoples' fight for independence from Moscow, reminding of the UNA-UNSO units, manned by Ukrainian nationalists, which took part in the First Chechen War of 1994-1996 as an incentive for them to aid Ukrainian patriots by voluntarily involvement in the war effort. Aside from Chechens, according to some sources, Dagestanis, Crimean Tatars, Ukrainians, Circassians, Azerbaijanis, Georgians, and others form the backbone of this battalion.
Aside from this unit, a number of Caucasians have formed part of the Donbas battalion, one of the Ukrainian military's volunteer units that took intense part in the fighting and suffered most casualties. In this unit, around a dozen Georgians participated, followed by Azerbaijanis, Crimean Tatars, Belarusians, and even a few Russians. Yet no Chechens or North Caucasians whatsoever appear to have taken part in this unit.
CONCLUSIONS: Nearly every past military conflict has attracted foreign fighters who sought to join belligerents on the ground due to noble ideals or financial incentives. The Donbas war is no different. Still, the participation of North Caucasians in the war has a number of important implications. First, if the war continues after the current break, more North Caucasians would likely be ordered to join the ranks of pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, and consequent casualties among them would likely spark widespread public discontent and possibly also anti-regime protests among North Caucasians back home. When it became known that dozens, if not hundreds of Russian soldiers had secretly died in Ukraine, this caused public outrage across Russia and most likely contributed to curbing Moscow's expansionist appetite in eastern Ukraine.
Second, even though some North Caucasians might be fascinated by the current turn of Russian nationalism and xenophobia away from them in the direction of Ukrainians, their involvement in the Ukraine war will hardly alleviate the deep anti-Caucasian sentiments embedded in the Russian society for decades. The refusal of many North Caucasians to participate in Donbas hostilities has demonstrated that their sympathies in the military confrontation are not necessarily on the Russian side. Sporadic interviews with Chechens, Dagestanis and others reveal that – perhaps with the exception of Ossetians – the majority do not consider the Russo-Ukrainian confrontation to be their war.
Third, notwithstanding immense pressure exerted upon Chechens within Chechnya, the Donbas war has remained deeply unpopular among the Chechen youth. Importantly, even though the Chechen resistance has weakened somewhat in the recent years and Kadyrov has used the Russo-Ukrainian crisis to manifest his unlimited personal loyalty to Vladimir Putin and Russia's interests, Kadyrov still needs the fighting-fit Chechen units, particularly kadyrovtsy troops, to be stationed within Chechnya to hedge against the permanent threat of Chechen insurgents who may strike virtually any time.
AUTHORS' BIO: Emil Aslan Souleimanov is Associate Professor with the Department of Russian and East European Studies, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. He is the author of Understanding Ethnopolitical Conflict: Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia Wars Reconsidered (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and An Endless War: The Russian-Chechen Conflict in Perspective (Peter Lang, 2007). He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
(Image Attribution: Wikimedia Commons)
Georgian Politics: Awaiting Revitalization
Georgia's Last Direct Presidential Elections
Land Swap With Chechnya Causes Mass Protests in Ingushetia
Bolton's Caucasian Tour and Russia's Reaction
More in this category: « Wary of Protests, Tajik Government Displays Coercive Power	Moscow's Divide and Rule Policy in Dagestan Results in Much Divide but Little Rule »


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Five Ways to Generate Leads on YouTube
Billions of people browse YouTube each month.
Any business can launch a YouTube channel, you don't have to be a film or entertainment company to do that. Video is a form of content that's continuing to rise in popularity. It can be a great addition to your content strategy -- especially since it drives a younger and more diverse audience. According to YouTube, about one billion unique users visit YouTube each month. "Thousands of channels are making six figures a year," YouTube says. Neilsen also reports that YouTube reaches more people between the ages 18-34 than any cable network. Business owners would be foolish to not take advantage of this huge market. Getting people to view your YouTube videos isn't enough though, you need to convert a substantial amount of viewers to paying clients. Keep reading for five lead-generating strategies.
See also: Why You Should Consider Buyer Personas in Content Marketing
1. Use Annotations
YouTube allows you to add annotations to uploaded videos. Annotations are links embedded into the video that take users to another site. This is one of the best ways to convert prospects into customers. You can use annotations to embed your call to action into your video. For example, place an annotation in the video stating, "Click here to sign up for a free trial."
Annotations are a good conversion strategy because they add variety to your videos and provide links without making viewers feel like you're trying to market to them. Experiment with placing annotations in various spaces in your video or varying your annotations throughout. Make some annotations contain outbound links and others contain info blurbs to see what viewers resonate with most.
2. Create Personalized Videos
Creating a personalized version of your video for a specific prospect demonstrates that you are thinking of him or her. For example, you could create a video that directly answers a prospect's question and share it with that prospect. This makes the prospect feel special and increases the chance that he or she will buy from you. As an added bonus, the prospect may share the video with his or her friends, giving you a bigger customer base to work with.
See also: How to Grow an Audience on Facebook That Will Convert
3. Brand Your Videos
Make sure people know your videos are part of your company's offerings. At the very least, you should have an intro card at the beginning of your video and a card with your logo at the end. That way, when people run across your videos online, they can associate the content with your company. Make sure to have your website in your video or video description as well as in your YouTube page, so that people can locate you online. After all, people have to know who you are before their interest in your videos can translate into sales.
See also: Six Ways to Gain Your Audience's Trust Through Content
4. Use the Social Aspects of the Medium
YouTube isn't like advertising on television. Viewers don't usually have the ability to discuss TV ads with the producer; YouTube allows them to participate. Make it easy for them by enabling comments and responding to them right away. You can also devote future videos to popular comments. If your viewers feel their voice is being heard, they will become devoted to your company.
5. Partner With Influential People
Don't try to build an audience and convert everybody all on your own. Instead, find out who the most influential YouTube users are in your field. Approach these people about doing a collaborative video on a topic of mutual interest. Make your topic as interactive as possible to raise interest. If you succeed, you'll have the benefit of accessing a much bigger audience. Your credibility will also rise as a result of partnering with an expert, which will help increase your conversion rates.
To Read More About Content Marketing & Social Media, See Below:
How Small Businesses Can Use LinkedIn's Publishing Platform
How have you leveraged YouTube to find your audience? Share your stories with us below.
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Published by Nicole Karlis on Thursday, November 14, 2013 in Content Marketing, Social Media, You Tube.

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IBM and Tennis Go Green at 2008 US Open
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IBM, the official technology partner of the US Open, and the United States Tennis Association (USTA) have teamed to offer exciting ways to help more fans than ever experience the action of the 2008 US Open. The event runs through Sept. 7.
With a new array of personalized features including customized content and mobile alerts, the http://www.USOpen.org
site is helping fans get closer to the action of the US Open in ways not before possible. In addition, this year IBM is helping the USTA run a more environmentally-friendly US Open by helping reduce the energy consumption required to power the tournament's Web site and scoring operations. The IT solution continues to allow the USTA to concentrate on its goals of building value for the US Open brand around the world, meeting revenue objectives, and promoting tennis in the United States.
Robust Efficient Infrastructure
IBM has provided the USTA with a robust infrastructure to handle the unpredictable nature of running a sporting event. Even as visits to the USOpen.org site have grown steadily over the past two years, power consumption continues to decrease due to new innovative technologies from IBM. New solutions for the 2008 US Open that IBM is putting into place include implementing Power 550 servers running Linux with new POWER6, the world's fastest microprocessor technology. IBM is taking further advantage of Virtualization and Systems Management Technologies to ensure an Optimized Infrastructure with integrated solutions for both monitoring and managing the infrastructure as well as a fully virtualized environment. These include a variety of IBM Tivoli systems management and security products, applications support from Rational, database management from DB2, and Web management from Lotus and WebSphere.
The results of these solutions are significant:
· Consolidating from nine servers to six (since 2006, consolidation has gone from 60 servers to six servers).
· Since 2006, reduction of energy consumption by 23 percent and cooling demand reduced by 25 percent.
· With the POWER6 implementation it is expected that energy consumption will be reduced by 40 percent and cooling demand reduced by 48 percent.
· Since 2006, visits to events infrastructure have grown by 26 percent while the cost per visit has been reduced by 38 percent during the same period.
· Users have increased by over 20 percent while the cost/user has been reduced by over 27 percent during the same period.
"The USTA requires a solution that helps extend the global reach of the tournament, but is also energy and cost-efficient," said Rick Singer, director Worldwide Sponsorship Marketing, IBM. "This is an example of how IBM takes a more holistic approach to helping our clients solve the problems that matter most to them. USOpen.org must be scalable, highly available, highly secure as well as interactive, entertaining and user-friendly to ensure that fans have the best fan experience, no matter where they're sitting. That's what IBM delivers."
Real-Time Scoring
IBM's real-time scoring system collects court-side data from each umpire's chair and then stores and distributes the statistics to broadcast TV, USOpen.org, the intranet used by more than 1,500 international journalists at the event, closed circuit TV, electronic displays, and automated voice applications for players. On the broadcast courts, IBM statisticians enter winners, unforced errors, and net approaches.
The scoring system ensures spectators both at the stadium and online, can view details on the current schedule, matches in progress, and results for every match by court. IBM WebSphere software, leveraging a flexible Service Oriented Architecture, streamlines the timely and accurate distribution of more than 200 million score updates to fans around the world.
In 2008, IBM and the USTA are expanding their initiative to create an even more engaging, more immersive and more personalized user experience, including the following online features:
· My USOpen--Personalized section of the home page to track your favorite players; users can track up to five (5) of their favorite players and customize their experience by following the players' statistics, related news and interviews, match results and scores. Users can also customize three homepage sections from a list of 11 content options with their preferred choice.
· SlamTracker application--Interactive Draw feature that allows your to track you favorite player through the Draw as well as switch to follow a specific match in real-time, with exclusive point-by-point scoring. There is also an Interactive Venue Map -- with a simple roll of the mouse over locations on the map, fans can see who is playing on a given court and the online scoreboard changes to reflect the chosen match.
· USOpen FANBOOK--fans from around the world can share their thoughts, comments and perspective on the tournament in real-time.
· Widget--Scoring, Schedule, News and other tournament content. Widget is shareable via Facebook, iGoogle and downloadable via Yahoo! Widgets.
· Mobile.usopen.org--US Open "on the go" at http://usopen.org/Mobile -- action all in one; receive real-time scores, stats, schedule for the day, news, photos and more.
· Text Alerts--fans can stay close to the action with text alerts for breaking news, match updates and more. There are more than 47 different alerts a user can select from including TV tune-in updates, breaking news and match updated (by player).
"Our 17-year partnership with IBM has allowed the USTA to continually deliver a unique and cutting-edge experience to all tennis fans," said Phil Green, director, Advanced Media, USTA. "This year we're taking steps to make this Open not only more fan-friendly, but environmentally-friendly as well. Reducing energy consumption while being able to increase services, is an important statement for our growing fan base. USOpen.org has evolved into the premiere destination for innovative and interactive web experiences, including significant multi-media content, personalized features and real-time solutions."
IBM Provides Match Analysis for Players
IBM is providing men's and women's players on the five broadcast courts with DVD copies of their performances following their matches. The DVD is expected to help these players and their coaches view and analyze their matches from a variety of angles, see their strengths, weaknesses, etc. IBM automatically indexes the video with the match statistics. Players can choose to view the video of just their aces, or forehand winners, or backhand unforced errors, or even go back to specific critical points in the match like watching the breakpoints. IBM integrates the data collected from multiple sources and formats.
IBM Named a Leader in Security Analytics By Independent Research Firm
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Security today announced that it was recognized as a leader in The Forrester Wave: Security Analytic...
IBM Cloud Delivers Quantum-Safe Cryptography and Hyper Protect Crypto Services to Help Protect Data ...
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IBM brings hybrid cloud leadership together with quantum and security research expertise to stay at ...


Well established Tree Farm and Storage Units priced well below market value. Foote drive storage offers storage for Rv's, Boats, Campers, and much more. Property has space for additional buildings to expand and have individual storage units available. Holly Tree Farm specializes in cold-hardy trees. Standard and landscape grades. Varieties are Colorado Spruce, Narrow Leaf Poplar, Rocky Mountain Juniper, Canadian Red Cherry, Amur Maple, Quaking Aspen, Red Twig Dogwood, and Cotton-less Cottonwood. Business has repeat clientele and long term established relationships. Seller may carry. Seller willing to stay on to train new owner. Price includes shop and compound, equipment, irrigation, nursery trees in holding area, and trees in ground. Possible owner carry with acceptable down. 2019 leases paid through 2020. Currently 13 years left on leases.


Mental mathematics is the ability to make calculations solely in the mind without the use of a calculator, abacus or any other aid – not even a pencil and paper!
Can mental mathematics be taught? Of course! At Shichida, we spend the first three years providing a strong foundation for our students' ability to do mental mathematics, then as they get older and start attending school, we teach them how to apply their mental mathematics ability.
At every level of Shichida, there is always a numeracy component. This is also included for the babies first joining the program at 6 months old!
The purpose of the numeracy component is to develop basic mathematical sense, calculation skills and reasoning abilities and is complemented by other whole-brain abilities taught at Shichida such as imaging, intuition, critical thinking, creativity and eidetic imaging abilities.
From 6 months to 3 years old we focus primarily on input for the children, meaning that we don't expect them to know or understand how to get to the answers by themselves yet, the children simply observe and participate in playing the games with their parents.
By demonstrating to the children what numbers are visually, aurally and kinesthetically, they gain a deeper understanding of maths and numerals regardless of their dominant learning style.
From 4 to 9 years old, we gradually encourage output from the children and teach them how to apply their mental mathematics ability and further strengthen and deepen their understanding of maths.
Our numeracy activities range from flashcards, songs, abacus, hands-on play with toys and materials to writing numbers, learning about money, time, measurements, flash computation and exploring quantities.
The Shichida program is a whole brain training method. The curriculum exercises and bridges both the left and right hemisphere in its function and abilities. A study conducted in 2012 by researchers at University of Texas, Dallas' Center for Vital Longevity, Duke University, and the University of Michigan has found that the strength of communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain predicts performance on basic arithmetic problems.


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Jackson man suffers internal injury after Brick crash
Katie Park
BRICK - A Jackson man was found unconscious behind the wheel of his car Friday afternoon after police said his car swerved between lanes on a bridge before crashing into a median around Herbertsville Road.
Thomas Plaska, 28, suffered internal injury after his tan-colored 2000 Lincoln Town Car crashed, Brick police said Friday – the day a nor'easter bore down on New Jersey, bringing a steady flow of rain and snow.
The Town Car was driving west on Route 70 around 1:50 p.m. Friday, crossing the Liberty Bridge from Brielle, when it began to swerve between lanes before it hit the "outside retaining wall" of the bridge, Brick police said.
Police said the reason the car swerved on the bridge is unclear.
After hitting the bridge, the car kept driving west on Route 70, but as it came to the intersection with Herbertsville Road, it veered to the left and collided with "the center median attenuator," police said.
An attenuator, as it applies to road structures, is a type of crash cushion that lessens impact to a car during a collision, according to the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Online.
Other drivers on the road stopped to give aid to Plaska and to report the crash, police said.
Brick police patrol units responded to the crash, as did the police department's Emergency Medical Services and MONOC paramedics, police said. Patrolmen Gerard Lampiasi and Scott Dierking are investigating the crash.
Plaska was treated at the scene and taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, police said.
Nor'easter update: Shore temperatures up, major tidal flooding risk down
Man found with cocaine, AK-47 will stay in Ocean County jail for now
Katie Park: @kathspark; 908-801-4853; kpark@gannettnj.com


Biotage AB (Biotage), (NASDAQ OMX Stockholm: BIOT.ST) today announces the closing of the acquisition of all outstanding shares in the privately held company Horizon Technology, Inc. (Horizon) based in New Hampshire, US, in accordance with contract and public announcement of December 6th, 2017. The purchase price adjusted for actual net cash at the closing date is approx. USD 17.9 million, corresponding to approx. SEK 143.4 million, based on an enterprise value of approx. USD 16.4 million and cash of approx. USD 1.5 million.
This information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 17.00 CET on January 16, 2018.
 Based on an exchange rate USD/SEK of 0.1247. This exchange rate has been used throughout this press release for the conversion of USD/SEK.


Harptallica began in early 2006 when Ashley Toman, a grad student at the Eastman School of Music, decided to arrange one Metallica song, "Fade to Black," for two harps. Somehow this turned into 10 Metallica Songs and a CD which they recorded in November, 2006. The CD, titled "Harptallica," will contain songs from "Ride the Lightning," "Master of Puppets," "...And Justice for All," and "Metallica." Right now the album layout and graphics are being designed by the lovely Patricia Kline.


Savoy Village is located at a short distance from the main market area and bus stand.
Savoy Village is an ideal retreat that gives a perfect opportunity for the visitors to experience the exquisiteness of Mahabaleshwar without spending a lot on lodging. Located at a walking distance from the main market, the hotel boasts of peaceful atmosphere with its lush green setting. Simple and soothing interior of the hotel creates an ambiance that makes it appear more like a home. It features clean, comfy and spacious accommodation units with all basic amenities to offer the guests a relaxed stay with utmost privacy. Apart from affable and dedicated hotel staff, the in-house restaurant is another important feature of the hotel that lures the guests to stay here. Savoy Village promises a great time to the travellers by providing them friendly atmosphere and warm traditional hospitality.
The hotel has total 9 well-appointed rooms, which are categorized into Suite Room, Couple Room and Family Room. All rooms are clean, spacious and equipped with essential conveniences to offer a pleasurable stay to the guests.
The Restaurant: An open-air restaurant offering various delectable dishes.


Hello Tractor offers technology for smarter, better maintained, and more profitable tractors now powered by artificial intelligence for better and faster decision making.
We are saving money and are now able to invest more into agriculture while limiting our risk.
It's exciting to see the innovation that Hello Tractor is bringing to the contractor segment in Africa. John Deere's success comes through how we and our dealers make sure our products are as productive as possible and always up and running. The Hello Tractor solution fits right into that.


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Action / Animation / Comedy / Family / Fantasy / Music
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In this update of Disney's masterpiece film mixture of animation and music, new interpretations of great works of music are presented. It begins with an abstract battle of light and darkness set to the music of Beethoveen's Fifth Symphony. Then we see the adventures of a humpback whale calf and his pod set to "The Pines of Rome." Next is the humorous story of several lives in 1930's New York City, scored with "Rhapsody in Blue." Following is a musical telling of the fairy tale, "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" set to Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2. Then a goofy flamingo causes havoc in his flock with his yo-yo to the tune of the finale of "Carnival of the Animals." This is followed by the classic sequence from the original film, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" starring Mickey Mouse and followed by "Pomp and Circumstance" starring Donald Duck as a harried assistant to Noah on his Ark. Finally, we see the awesome tale of the life, death, and renewal of a forest in a sequence featuring the composition, "The Firebird." —Kenneth Chisholm
James Algar
Phil Proctor as Various
Mona Marshall as Various
Sherry Lynn as Various
Teller as Himself - Host
Reviewed by MartinHafer 7 / 10
I liked this more than the original...seriously.
When my friends hear that I didn't like "Fantasia", they assume I am a stupid Neanderthal. This might be true, but I never have been a fan of this Disney film. Why? Because although the music and animation are great, so much of the film is tremendously boring and stuffy. I still remember back when I was a child, as the only part of the film I liked was "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" portion...the rest didn't do much for me. Because of this, I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed "Fantasia 2000" much more--because it seemed to have a lighter and less stuffy air about it. And, at times, it was quite fun...plus, they included the original "Sorcerer's Apprentice" section!
As for the film, unlike the original, it was pieced together over a five year period. In other words, when the artists were between feature-length films, Disney had them work on these various segments--and then finally assembled them into the feature.
So why do I give the film a 7? Well, most of the positives I mentioned above. But, on the negative side, the film suffers a bit when it comes to the animation. I am pretty sure that the staff at Disney used this film to learn to use CGI--but several times the quality of the CGI looked old and unrealistic--particularly the first segment set to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Additionally, while the film had some funny moments, it could have used a few more--mostly because I STILL think most kids would not enjoy the film.
Reviewed by SnoopyStyle 7 / 10
I love the Gershwin section
It's a reworking and remaking of the classic Disney Fantasia. The first superior aspect of this one compared to the original is the shorter length. Not all of it works but it works well enough to be compelling throughout. I love the George Gershwin section. It is obviously NYC but I also love the 1930s era. I love the animation style. I couldn't stop smiling and it has some great laughs. There is the redo of Mickey Mouse in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It looks a little brighter without taking away the animation style. Donald Duck in Noah's Ark is funny. Overall, there are some slower sections but I just love the Gershwin section so much.
Very good, but not as good as the original!
The first problem was that there was too much introduction between the pieces. Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones were the best, but the one with Steve Martin was unnecessary, as well as Penn and Teller. The film itself was a little short, but I enjoyed it anyway. It is beautifully animated, with good choices of music, but if anything, I wish there was more of it. I love the original, but I thoroughly recommend this as well. The animation was spot on, especially in the Pines of Rome segment. This was my personal favourite, as i thought that baby whale was so sweet. Donald Duck's version of Noah's Ark set to the music of Elgar was hilarious, as was the Carnival of the animals. The most beautifully animated was the Firebird sequence,reminding me of FernGully, telling the story of "Life, death and renewal." I am not a huge fan of Stravinsky, but the Firebird I have always considered his best work. There was also the abstract images in the Beethoven. They were ambiguous but very well done, but I didn't like the chopping of the piece itself. The section they missed out is essential to the movement's development in my opinion. The Pines of Rome sequence was outstanding I thought, I showed it to my year 4 peers 8 years ago, and they all clapped at the end of that segment but were unenthuasiastic about the rest of the film. Then Gershwin treated us with Rhapsody in Blue, telling the story of a typical day in New York. The Shostakovich was very good, but marred by the interesting but overlong introduction. Great animation and music though. The Saint Saens was funny, but the Magic Trick was pointless. Unfortunately Sorceror's Apprentice was one of the highlights in the original, but was for me the weakest segment here. The Elgar was absolutely hilarious, and the Firebird very heartfelt also I had early memories of thinking the Sprite was absolutely gorgeous. The music was very well performed by James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. All in all, 8/10 Bethany Cox.


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Home World News BREAKING NEWS – Car plows in pedestrians in New York Times Square
BREAKING NEWS – Car plows in pedestrians in New York Times Square
Car plows in pedestrians in New York Times Square one person killed and 13 others injured – WATCH LIVE FROM NEW YORK:
New York City Police have declared a "mass casualty incident" after a speeding car drove onto the sidewalk in Times Square, killing one and injuring at least a dozen people. The incident does not seem to be a terrorist attack, police said.
Car plows in pedestrians
Car plows in pedestrians in New York
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TRACK OF THE DAY: Sleepovers – 'I Wanna Be In LA'
July 13, 2016 April 19, 2017 Charlotte HolroydComment(0)
Sleepovers arrive at a time when Brit-pop is making a comeback, with bands like DMA's and Peace renewing the genre for a new generation. The London band's sophomore release 'I Wanna Be In LA' is a four-minute-long indie stomp, complete with Stone Roses' slacker swagger and the quintessentially British charm of Blur.
The new cut provides a continuation of the storyline that started on debut 'I Am Me & You Are You', which saw the break up of a relationship. Now we see the situation escalate with his ex running off to LA, leaving him left stranded in London, and resistant to let her go, he desperately desires to follow suit: "I wanna wake up to palm tree's…I wanna be in LA."
It is still early days for Sleepovers but with two impressive songs to date, they're showing great promise and skill in their output. Only time will tell if that same proficiency will take them beyond Dalston, here's hoping.
Photo Credit: Charlotte Patmore
Find Sleepovers on Facebook and Twitter.
Tagged Introducing, Music, New Music
LISTEN: Piano Club – 'Comets'
LISTEN: Softer Still – 'New Age'


Lionel 671-90 E-Unit - Above you will find a single-view stock picture of a Lionel 671-90 E-Unit that is in true LN condition. Tired of reversing units that don't work? Ours are guaranteed. All of our E-Units have been checked, and if need be rebuilt as necessary. The 671-90 E-Unit is used in the following engines: 671, 671RR and 2020.


text:
Transforming clinical trials during COVID-19
We all know that most life sciences companies are working and collaborating tirelessly to develop tests and treatments for COVID-19. The importance and scope of that work cannot be overstated – it must take precedence as this crisis unfolds.
At the same time, though, life sciences companies must also advance the treatments in their pipelines that are essential for so many other human health issues. This is critical to navigate the immediate crisis and emerge stronger in a new normal.
Continuing to progress treatments across clinical phases, while taking care of patients who are currently in clinical trials and depend on the therapy, is vital to world health and scientific progress.
Now more than ever, the industry needs to leverage the power of data, analytics and remote engagement at scale to improve how the clinical trials are run.
At Accenture, we have been talking to our clients about what to do now, in the near-term and then what to do next to transform their clinical trial processes.
Right now, life sciences companies need to engage, empower and enable patient access to clinical trials. That means leverage call centers and virtual methods to empower patients and provide information or access to clinical trials, care and investigational therapies.
Life sciences companies should also assess other areas that are experiencing disruption including getting the necessary clinical supplies to patients and alternative ways to deliver treatments that don't require in-person meetings. Obviously, it is imperative to balance compassionate use for non-trial eligible patients and those who have stopped a trial with safety considerations. It is also important to apply Health Authority guidance to maintain consistency in running clinical trials to assure safety, good clinical practice (GCP) compliance and trial integrity.
In the near term, it is essential to rationalise clinical trial priorities and "lean on" virtual. This means redefining clinical trial prioritization based on unmet patient need, study progress, supplies availability, and business objectives. Rationalise portfolios and reallocate resources, respecting the balance of trial sites' bandwidth against portfolio demands.
At the same time, it's equally important to assess the protocols for remote-patient monitoring, making sure they are both useful and feasible.
The next, longer-term step is for life sciences companies to rethink the clinical trial experience, how to humanise this experience and then build it across multiple trial sites.
To do this, they need to reimagine the clinical trial experience by proactively co-creating the trial design with patients and taking a 360-degree view of the dimensions of their lives…as people.
Must-haves for life sciences companies include digital capabilities for remote-enabled trials to build resiliency into operations and care continuity. They should also prioritise creating full-scale digital capabilities that can speed time-to-insights for decision making and drastically reduce onsite burden. Finally, they should re-examine where to hold clinical trials and the selection of alliance sites and service providers.
COVID-19 has shed light on the need to ensure that clinical trials continue, no matter what the circumstances. Continuing to progress treatments across clinical phases is a need that can be met with careful planning and the courage to embrace a new, more digital, more human way of serving patients in clinical trials.
Stuart Henderson is a senior managing director leading Accenture's Life Sciences business
Source: Pharma Times
Sun Pharma to buy Concert Pharmaceuticals for $576m
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has signed a definitive agreement to buy all outstanding shares of Concert Pharmaceuticals in a deal valued at $576m. Under the deal, the company will buy all shares of Concert common stock through a tender offer for $8.00 per share in cash upfront payment.
Novo Nordisk diabetes pill wins FDA approval for first-line use
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Novo Nordisk's diabetes pill Rybelsus as an initial treatment to lower blood sugar levels, a label expansion that will allow it to compete more directly with other oral drugs from Merck & Co. and Eli Lilly.
Bayer feeling more heat from activist investors, this time from Bluebell
Since making an ill-advised $63 billion buy of Monsanto in 2018, Bayer has faced heaps of pressure from investors that have called for the company to oust its leadership and to restructure. Now comes new pressure from a familiar source. Bluebell Capital Partners has bought an undisclosed stake in the company and is agitating for a breakup, sources told Reuters.


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Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra (getauft 3. Juni 1743 in Lima (Peru); † 26. März 1794 in Mexiko-Stadt) war ein spanischer Marine-Offizier, Entdecker und Seefahrer.

Er segelte von 1774 bis 1788 für die spanische Marine von San Blas (im mexikanischen Staat Nayarit), erforschte den Pazifischen Nordwesten Nordamerikas bis nach Alaska. Er nahm an zwei Expeditionen teil (1775 und 1779) und kam in einer kriegerischen Auseinandersetzung in Mexiko ums Leben.

Leben

Frühe Karriere
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra war der Sohn von Tomás de la Bodega y de las Llanas, einem Spanier, der in Staatsdiensten in Cuzco tätig war, und von Francisca de Mollinedo y Losada, die einer einflussreichen peruanischen Adelsfamilie entstammte. Er trat im Alter von 19 Jahren in die Marineakademie der Armada Española in Cádiz ein und wurde vier Jahre später Offizier. 1774 kam er nach San Blas, dem spanischen Hauptort für die Westküste Amerikas.

Zwischen San Blas und Alaska
Als Kapitän auf dem Schoner Sonora segelte er ab dem 16. März 1775 zusammen mit Juan José Pérez Hernández in der von Bruno de Heceta geführten Expedition, wobei Heceta die Santiago kommandierte. Dabei erkundete er die Küste des heutigen Kaliforniens und entdeckte rund 85 km nördlich der Bucht von San Francisco die Bodega Bay, die mitsamt der dort ab 1809 entstehenden Siedlung nach ihm benannt ist. Am 29. Juli, etwa auf Höhe des 49. Grad nördlicher Breite (49º N), trennte sich die Expedition und Heceta kehrte nach Süden zurück, während Quadra und sein Steuermann Francisco Mourelle weiter nach Norden gingen und 58º30'N erreichten.  Weiterhin entdeckte er in Alaska den Bucareli Sound im Alexanderarchipel, den er nach Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa benannte. Hezeta hatte sich für eine Umkehr entschieden, weil Krankheiten und ein tödlicher Zwischenfall mit Einheimischen bei einem Landgang am 14. Juli 1775, zu zahlreichen menschlichen Verlusten geführt hatten. Sie erreichten am 7. Oktober in Monterey, Kalifornien, und am 20. November 1775 San Blas. Das von Mourelle während dieser Reise geführte Tagebuch kam auf unbekannten Wegen nach London, wo Daines Barrington es erwarb und es übersetzt und veröffentlicht wurde. James Cook nutzte Informationen während seiner Reisen im pazifischen Nordwesten.

1776 wurde er nach Peru geschickt, um ein Schiff an die Nordwestküste zu begleiten. 1777 kehrte er mit der Fregatte Favorita nach San Blas zurück, ein Schiff, auf dem er unter dem Kommando von Ignacio de Arteaga 1779 wiederum nach Alaska fuhr. Sie sollten feststellen, wie weit der russische Einfluss in der Region bereits reichte und die Schiffe von James Cook aufbringen – der zu dieser Zeit allerdings bereits auf Hawaii umgebracht worden war. Erneut diente auch Mourelle unter Quadra.

Die beiden Fregatten segelten direkt von San Blas nach Bucareli Bay in Alaska. Die Reise, die 81 Tagen dauerte und damit relativ schnell war, ließ Zeit für weitere Erkundungen. Arteaga und Bodega untersuchten Bucareli Bay und fuhren dann nach Norden zum heutigen Port Etches auf Hinchinbrook Island, nahe dem Eingang zum Prinz-William-Sund. Während die Schiffe vor Anker lagen, ging Arteaga mit einer Gruppe Seeleuten an Land, um eine formelle Besitzergreifung des Gebietes durchzuführen. Die Offiziere und Kapläne gingen in einer Prozession an Land und  errichteten ein Kreuz, während Kanonen und Musketen Salutschüsse abfeuerten. Das Te Deum wurde gesungen, gefolgt von einer Litanei und Gebeten. Nach einer Predigt wurde eine formelle Besitzurkunde erstellt und von den Offizieren und Geistlichen unterzeichnet. Arteaga nannte den Ort Puerto de Santiago zum Gedenken an den heiligen Jakobus, den Schutzpatron Spaniens, dessen Festtag auf den 25. Juli fällt. Das Ereignis von Puerto de Santiago war noch Jahre danach wichtig, da er die Grundlage für Spaniens Souveränitätsanspruch im Nordpazifik bis 61°17′N bildete.

Arteaga und Bodega erkundeten auch Cook Inlet und die Kenai-Halbinsel, wo am 2. August 1779 im heutigen Port Chatham erneut eine Besitzergreifungzeremonie durchgeführt wurde. Am 8. September begann die Rückfahrt nach San Blas aufgrund verschiedener Schwierigkeiten und Krankheiten der Crews. Obwohl die Spanier ihre Erkundungsreisen und die gemachten Entdeckungen normalerweise geheim hielten, wurde die Reise von Arteaga und Bodega y Quadra von 1779 weithin bekannt. Der französische Seefahrer Jean-François de La Pérouse erhielt eine Kopie ihrer Karte, die 1798 veröffentlicht wurde. Mourelles Tagebuch wurde 1798 von Daines Barrington in London erworben und veröffentlicht. Die Rückreise nach San Blas dauerte bis zum 21. November 1779.

Bodega, der schon 1776 zum Ritter des Santiagoordens geschlagen worden war, wurde 1780 Fregattenkapitän. Bis 1781 übernahm er das Kommando in San Blas, ging 1783 nach Havanna und 1784 nach Cadiz in Spanien.

Sein Nachfolger an der Nordwestküste wurde Esteban José Martínez. Martínez errichtete eine Siedlung an der Nootka Sound und kaperte vier britische Schiffe, die ihrerseits Gebietsansprüche auf die Gegend erhoben; die Gefangenen ließ er mit den aufgebrachten Schiffen nach San Blas bringen. Aufgebauschte Berichte der Zwischenfälle lösten in Europa eine ernste diplomatische Krise aus, die als Nootka-Krise benannt wurde. William Pitt, der britische Premierminister, setzte Spanien bis an die Grenze des offenen Krieges unter Druck. Erst die Nootka Convention von 1790 entspannte die Situation.

Verhandlungen um Nootka Island
Bodega, der inzwischen wieder in San Blas das Kommando übernommen hatte, segelte 1792 erneut nach Nootka Island, um die kleine Handelskolonie zu übernehmen. Mit diplomatischem Geschick und Freundlichkeit gewann er sämtliche Verhandlungsteilnehmer, seien es Briten, US-Amerikaner oder die beiden Häuptlinge Maquinna und Wickaninnish. Captain Robert Gray, ein amerikanischer Pelzhändler, war so voller Hochachtung, dass er seinen Sohn Robert Don Quadra Gray nannte. Immerhin erreichte er, dass weder Amerikaner noch Briten einen Handelsstützpunkt einrichteten, sondern das Gebiet neutralisiert wurde.

Quadra versuchte eine zweite Handelsstation bei Núñez Gaona (Neah Bay, Washington) einzurichten. Gleichzeitig ließ er die Küste zwischen Alaska und Washington kartographisch erfassen. Bodega verbrachte den Winter 1792–93 im kalifornischen Monterey. Im Frühjahr 1793 kehrte er nach San Blas zurück.

Doch seine Gesundheit war so angeschlagen, dass er sich in Guadalajara erholen musste. Er fiel einer Erhebung in Mexiko-Stadt am 26. März 1794 zum Opfer.

George Vancouver schrieb über ihn: "The well known generosity of my other Spanish friends, will, I trust, pardon the warmth of expression with which I must ever advert to the conduct of Senor Quadra; who, regardless of the difference of opinion that had risen between us in our diplomatic capacities at Nootka, had uniformly maintained toward us a character infinitely beyond the reach of my powers of encomium to describe. His benevolence was not only confined to the common rights of hospitality, but was extended to all occasions, and was exercised in every instance, where His Majesty's service, combined with my commission, was in the least concerned."

Literatur
 Derek Hayes: Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest. Maps of Exploration and Discovery. British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Yukon. Sasquatch Books, Seattle WA 1999, ISBN 1-57061-215-3.
 Michael E. Thurman: The Naval Department of San Blas. New Spain's Bastion for Alta California and Nootka, 1769 to 1798 (= Spain in the West. Band 11, ). The Arthur H. Clark Company, Glendale CA 1967.
 Freeman M. Tovell: At the Far Reaches of Empire. The Life of Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra. UBC Press, Vancouver 2008, ISBN 978-0-7748-1366-2.

Weblinks

 Artikel zur Expedition von 1775 (HistoryLink, Englisch)
 Artikel zur Expedition von 1779 (HistoryLink, Englisch)
 Artikel zur Erkundung der Nordwestküste Nordamerikas durch die Spanier (englisch)

Einzelnachweise

Geschichte British Columbias
Geschichte von Alaska
Entdecker (18. Jahrhundert)
Militärperson (Spanien)
Marine (Spanien)
Ritter des Santiagoordens
Spanier
Geboren 1743
Gestorben 1794
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: is useMemo required to manage state via the context API in reactjs? I am trying to understand this (mostly very helpful) article which describe how to use react's context API to manage application-level state. For a simple application (in this case a basic counter application), it uses the following solution:
const CountContext = React.createContext()

function CountProvider(props) {
  const [count, setCount] = React.useState(0)
  const value = React.useMemo(() => [count, setCount], [count])
  return <CountContext.Provider value={value} {...props} />
}

to provide the context, and then the following hook which can be used in a component somewhere down the component tree:
function useCount() {
  const context = React.useContext(CountContext)
  if (!context) {
    throw new Error(`useCount must be used within a CountProvider`)
  }
  return context
}

My Question:
I'm struggling to understand why the useMemo hook is needed here. There is no especially heavy computation involved here so I'm not sure why we're memoizing these values. Wouldn't this work just as well if the context provider looked as follows:
function CountProvider(props) {
  const [count, setCount] = React.useState(0)
  return <CountContext.Provider value={value} {...props} />
}

I feel like there is probably something that I'm missing!!

A: Calling setCount will always re-render a component
I believe that calling setCount will always rerender even if the same value is passed to the function.
But the line
const value = React.useMemo(() => [count, setCount], [count])

Will stop setCount being called unless there is a different value for the count. Thus reducing re-renders and increasing performance.
You can test this theory out by putting a log inside and seeing how the component renders with and without the useMemo.

A: There is a very simple theory to why you should use useMemo to memoize the values passed to the Context Provider. When you pass the value to Context Provider, either as an object or an array like:
return <CountContext.Provider value={{state, setCount}} {...props} />

or
return <CountContext.Provider value={[state, setCount]} {...props} />

What essentially happens is that every time the CountProvider component re-renders a new reference to object or array is being passed as value to CountContext.Provider and hence even if the actual value may not have changed, the Context consumers are re-rendered since the reference check fails for the value.
Now you may or may not need a useMemo depending on what logic you have in your ContextProvider. For instance, in your case the CountContext is just using one state i.e count and passes it on to the child and if the CountContext is one of the top level element which is not re-rendered by anything other than the count change then in that case whether you use useMemo or not makes no difference since the reference of the returned value from useMemo is also updated on count change
However if you have certain parents to CountProvider which can cause CountProvider to re-render, useMemo to memoize context value comes in handy to avoid re-rendering of all the context consumers

A: React.useMemo is never necessary because it's a performance optimalisation.
The idea that it will trigger unnecessary re-renders if you don't use useMemo is falsy. React only re-renders components after a state change somewhere up the component tree.
Here is proof that is doesn't cause unnecessary re-renders:
https://codesandbox.io/s/stupefied-franklin-5jf5ke?file=/src/App.tsx
The only exception is when a component is wrapped in a React.memo(). In that case useMemo on the props or on the value passed to the Context.Provider can prevent unnecessary re-renders.
Is it a bad practice to wrap the value of the context in a useMemo? No I don't think it is, especially if you are using that context in the dependency array of other hooks or if you are providing it to a memoized component React.memo().

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Tokelau's first newspaper aims keep islanders informed about climate change
Pacific Beat
By Bindi Bryce
Posted April 21, 2018 09:27:37
Video: The newspaper will also publish articles on council decisions and village matters. (Photo: Taupulega of Nukunonu) (ABC News)
Related Story: How free is the media throughout the Pacific compared with Australia?
Related Story: Tongan Olympic sensation joins fight to protect Pacific countries from climate change
Related Story: Pacific warriors campaign against climate change
Map: Pacific
Chiefs and local leaders from the tiny Pacific territory of Tokelau are heralding the launch of the island nation's first ever local newspaper that claims to meet international standards.
Tokelau consists of three small atolls, and is a dependent territory of New Zealand
It has a population of around 1,500 people
The newspaper hopes to keep people informed about climate change
The Te Uluga Talafau monthly newspaper would provide up-to-date information on council decisions, village matters, as well as inspirational stories from Tokelauans living overseas.
Tokelau lies just north of Samoa in the Pacific ocean and is a dependent territory of New Zealand.
Press freedom in the Pacific
A call is issued for Pacific Island journalists to defend themselves against an onslaught on press freedom, but some politicians say the media is not always truthful.
Its small population of around 1,500 people is spread across three coral atolls with a combined land area of only 10 square kilometres.
The newspaper's editor, Joe Tuia, said publication was created due to concerns that Tokelauans did not understand the decisions being made by chiefs and local authorities.
"The question coming from the Taupulega was how can we communicate issues, the cost of climate change and other stuff, so that the people in the village are informed about it," he said.
Traditionally leaders would go back to their villages to tell community members face-to-face what decisions had been made, but Mr Tuia said times had changed.
"Ten-to-15 years ago that process slowly started to deteriorate because people don't have the time to do that," he said.
Photo: The newspaper aims to inform Tokelauans about climate change. (Te Mana: Litia Maiava )
Considering Tokelau's limited resources, it's no surprise that getting the newspaper up and running took some time.
"At the moment we have the editor who is the main person for our newspaper, with the help of everyone else around," said the newspaper's general manager, Asi Halaleva-Pasilio, adding that they were still training a team of journalists.
Unique challenges for tiny island journalists
Thousands of the tiny nation's people live overseas, mostly in Australia and New Zealand, and Ms Halaleva-Pasilio encouraged them to also buy the Te Uluga Talafau newspaper.
She said the newspaper's first edition had a feature on an accomplished Tokelauan army officer from Townsville.
Photo: Tokelau's largest atoll, Nukunonu, is home to fewer than 700 people. (Wikimedia Commons)
"We have those small stories that may inspire our children, and show our people that there is light at the end of the tunnel," Ms Halaleva-Pasilio said.
Journalism in a small Pacific community like Tokelau — where everyone knows everyone — poses unique challenges.
Reporters have been known to self-censor their work for fear of causing tension or insulting the community.
Produced at the headquarters of the Taupulega of Nukunou, the newspaper would also struggle to be entirely independent, as the governing council will be heavily involved in crafting each edition.
But Mr Tuia was hopeful that as the newspaper develops, local journalists will find their own voice and that hard-hitting articles would follow.
"On our atoll Nukunonu, there's less than about 700 people, so everyone knows everyone … But we are slowly starting to develop that as well, but I don't think it's going to be a problem," Mr Tuia said.
Photo: The Te Uluga Talafau will be published monthly. (Supplied: Taupulega of Nukunonu)
Topics: world-politics, foreign-affairs, climate-change, journalism, media, pacific, new-zealand, tokelau


text:
Shanker Institute
Public Sector Unions
Workforce Development/CTE
Democracy Web
International Democracy
Supported Work
About Al Shanker
ASI Staff
The Good Schools Seminars
This seminar series is part of an effort to build a network of union leaders, district superintendents, and researchers to work collaboratively on improving public education through a focus on teaching. It emerges from the Albert Shanker Institute's role as sponsor of provocative policy discussions about education reform and dovetails with the education agenda of the American Federation of Teachers.
In June 2007, the Albert Shanker Institute held the first seminar in what its leaders hoped would become a productive series of meetings on the necessity for a greater union role in shaping good schools. The first Good Schools seminar examined the state of the research on teaching quality and teacher policies—including the charges by union critics that collective bargaining contracts and the practices they codify result in teaching assignments, teacher protections, transfer policies, and salary determinations that have a negative effect on student achievement, particularly for poor and minority students. The group found that the picture being painted by partisan researchers was not accurate, and indeed may act to distract attention away from what serious research offers on how teaching practice and teacher policies could be made more effective.
In his concluding remarks, then AFT and Shanker Institute President Ed McElroy noted the sense of participants that this work was really about a much larger agenda. Many had observed that these discussions take place against a backdrop of a public education system under serious and immediate threat, prompting McElroy to recommend that we continue discussing these issues around a "big table" of actively involved people—making sure that the agenda is very concrete and consistently anchored in lessons from the best research. Fighting back against those who are only too happy to balkanize and dismantle public education, he said, will require taking on these issues with a variety of players who are willing to work together to strengthen and preserve public education
Thus began a series of two-day off-the-record meetings among district superintendents, local union leaders, researchers, and education policy experts, with a welcome to other participants. They were designed as practical and political meetings that could help broaden and deepen discussion between local labor-management partners on what research suggests about the design and execution of sound teacher policies, with a focus on: induction and supports for new teachers; professional development; teacher evaluation and peer assistance and review; staffing hard-to-staff schools (including transfer and assignment policies); and differentiated and performance pay.
At the forefront of our thinking is that these policies are embedded in school, district, and state practices which may be more powerful in determining the policies' effectiveness than are the details of the policies themselves. Some union leaders have noted, for example, that the best new teacher supports and peer assistance programs may not be enough to keep new and talented teachers in the district if the school environment is toxic or student discipline policies go unenforced. Similarly, making peer judgments about whether or not a teacher intern has and uses adequate content knowledge may be difficult if the content he or she is expected to teach varies from school to school.
Thus, our discussions of teacher policies have been introduced in relation to two "context factors" that are crucially important to teaching and learning. The first is standards and curriculum—what is it that the district expects children to know and understand at each grade level in each subject area. The second is the learning environment—clearly, good teaching cannot happen if classrooms and schools are chaotic or unsafe, if students or teachers feel disrespected, or if turmoil in students' lives or the community is allowed to go unaddressed.
To this, we add the observation of the current AFT and Shanker Institute President Randi Weingarten that "teachers, working through their unions, want our public schools to change for the better… Our focus must be to rely on what evidence and experience tell us kids need."
Good Schools Seminar Topics
I. Unions Shaping Good Schools Where Every Child Graduates; Every Diploma Reflects Achievement
II. Developing The Teaching Corps We Need
III. Teacher Pay and Staffing Policies: What Works, What Doesn't
IV. Using the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Advance the Good Schools Agenda
V. Pushing The Teacher Evaluation Envelope: Designing The Most Valid And Reliable Systems Possible
VI. Multiple Measures of Teacher Performance: What Does It Mean? How Is It Implemented?
VII. Turning Around Low-Performing Schools
VIII. Doing Assessment Right
IX. Creating Safe and Supportive Schools
X. Creating Safe and Supportive Schools II: Next Steps
Applying Pressure Politics When It Counts The Most
One Page Summaries Of Your State's School Finance System
A Tribute To Nat LaCour
Putin Won. Will He Again?
In Memoriam: Nat LaCour
Strike for Common Good Book Discussion
Strike for the Common Good Book Discussion with editor Rebecca Givans and Joe McCartin, Georgetown University. Monday, January 25, 2021, 5:00 pm ET. More information and registration.
A New Deal: The Coronavirus Pandemic and Rebuilding Higher Education
In this policy brief, four prominent scholars examine how public colleges and universities, after decades of underfunding, can cope with projected budget shortfalls brought on by the pandemic.
Teaching and Learning During a Pandemic Blog Series
This new blog series seeks to create a respectful, caring and intellectually stimulating space for our readers to reflect on how the Coronavirus pandemic is shaping the face of education.
Education International 8th World Congress 2019 Bangkok Thailand Panels
Albert Shanker Institute, 555 New Jersey Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20001, Tel: 202-879-4401


This Course is YOUR ULTIMATE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE in the Work from Home Job Hunt! Learn How to Find - and Land - the Best Jobs & Gigs Before Everyone Else!
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US Virgin Islands Economic Dev.
Thinking about working from home, but are afraid you'll get scammed?
Visiting work from home sites, but not finding your ideal job or side gig?
Finding good jobs only to discover the company has already received all the applications it needs?
Frustrated that employers aren't replying to your applications?
Wondering if your resume is optimized for work from home jobs?
Curious about which big companies are hiring remote workers?
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Few names are more synonymous with virtual work and internet scam-busting than Christine Durst.
In 1999, Chris and Michael Haaren co-founded Staffcentrix -- the company that designed the first work from home job-finding courses for the US State Department and the Armed Forces. Durst has delivered those courses on-site to thousands of people at US military bases around the world, as well as at the US Foreign Service Institute.
Durst and Haaren launched the RatRaceRebellion.com site in 2006 as a free resource to help people find legitimate work from home jobs and side gigs, and avoid scams. Since then, Rat Race Rebellion has become one of the most trusted brands in the work from home movement.
Durst has presented on virtual work before the United Nations, the Association of Job Search Trainers, several Presidential Committees on employment, the Small Business Administration, the US Department of Labor, the Department of Defense Spouse Employment Conference, Microsoft's Aging Workforce Conference, State Workforce Development Boards, the New York State Department of Education, Chase Bank, colleges, faith-based organizations and other groups.
Chris appears often in the media as an expert on work from home jobs and scams. Her appearances include Good Morning America , The Dr. Oz Show, The View, The Today Show, CNN, The Wall Street Journal , Woman's Day, Woman's World, The Christian Science Monitor , Businessweek, Fortune, The Washington Post, Essence, Military Money , Reader's Digest, Consumer's Digest, USA Today, Fortune Small Business , Inc. Magazine and many more.
Chris is credited with being the founder of the Virtual Assistance industry in 1995.
Your instructor, Chris Durst, is the expert the media turns to.
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The course is completely self-paced - you decide when you start and when you finish.
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text:
namespace CodeArt.CodeGeneration.Sample
{
    using System.Reflection;
    using System.Resources;

    internal static class Resources
    {
        private static readonly ResourceManager _resourceManager
            = new ResourceManager("CodeArt.CodeGeneration.Sample.Resources", typeof(Resources).GetTypeInfo().Assembly);

        /// <summary>
        /// Test test test test.
        /// </summary>
        internal static string Test_Value
        {
            get { return _resourceManager.GetString("Test_Value"); }
        }
    }
}


text:
WSF Annual Meeting Delegate's Report
December 11, 2016 br_wi_adminLeave a comment
On Tuesday 25th October 2016, I attended the 97th West Sussex Federation Annual Meeting in Worthing. As delegate for BRWI I voted on behalf of our members and was witness to the meeting. The AM was chaired by Yvonne Price, elected Chairman of WSF.
The meeting began with Worthing's Town Cryer – Bob Smytherman, ringing his bells and declaring (very loudly), the arrival of Worthing's Town Mayor Cllr Sean McDonald. After a warm welcome and the singing of Jerusalem; we were briefly entertained by a dozen WI members in fabulous garb reminding all present of the wonderful wardrobe we are lucky to have at North Lodge, WSF Headquarters. Members were then asked to put their phones on silent and Yvonne told members that three of the delegates were going to be tweeting throughout the meeting – I am proud to say I was one of them (!), we all used the hashtag #WSFWIAM16. During the day I was retweeted by Worthing's Town Cryer, NFWI, WI Life, Renaissance WI and others.
Then followed a short address from the Mayor of Worthing, who although he started by saying he was nervous to address a hall of inspiring women, he spoke of his fondness for the WI as he missed a morning of school as a young child due to accompanying his mother to a WI event!
The business section of the AM then commenced with delegates voting for the adoption of Standing orders, the Appointment of Tellers and the Adoption of WSF Annual Report. I voted in accordance with my WIs wishes.
The Federation Treasurer Janet Melvin, then presented the Accounts, she gave thanks to Linda and Jane who assist her. It has been a good year for Federation Funds. She reported last year money was spent on North Lodge, a Grade II listed building, to replace the heating in the house. This year the heating was replaced in the flat above which is rented out. The building is currently in good repair having had work carried out to the roof and the walls of the heritage room; she thanked the North Lodge Management Committee for their hardwork.
Money was spent on Centenary celebrations, which many members were able to take part in. The 300 club is still doing well; but savings in charity saving accounts are not as profitable as hoped.
The Financial Accounts were proposed and accepted.
Then followed from Yvonne, her Chairman's Report of the Annual National Council. West Sussex were invited to welcome the meeting and encouraged those attending to 'have the will to embrace change'. WSF was then one of a few federations invited to share their success stories.
This was followed by the Chairman's Address, Yvonne encouraged us to use and seek out the opportunities in our WIs. 'Take up the challenge – you don't know where it will take you!' Yvonne & Gill (Chairman of ESFWI) then spoke about plans for the Centenary of the Sussex Federation in 2017 – a joint event between ESF & WSF on the 5th September 2017, exactly 100 years to the day and in the same place where Lady Denman and Madge Watt started the Sussex Federation. There are also plans to celebrate our WI heritage with the BoT applying for a blue plaque in Balcombe for Lady Denman. The BoT are also working on plans for WSF Centenary in 2019.
Members then applauded the many WSF WIs which are celebrating special birthdays this year and welcomed the newest WIs in West Sussex – including our neighbouring WIs: Icing on the Rocks WI, Aldwick Revival WI and Felpham Fillies WI.
The first guest speaker of the day was then welcomed to the stage – Melanie Gibson-Barton 'Wandering on the Somme'. Melanie was keen to point out that she is not a historian, just interested in Belgium (she has a 2nd home in Bruges as her husband is from Belgium and they spend most weekends there). What followed from this WI member was a powerful, informative and moving talk. After speaking to the Folkestone Historical Society a few years ago, she offered to work with them to locate WWI war graves. So far she has visited 85 cemeteries throughout Europe. She takes photographs of the specific grave she is looking for, and records the location so that family members can later visit and pay their respects. She said it felt like 'bringing them home'. She spoke about the background to WWI and many of the battles that took place. It was hard to believe that she is not a historian, as she was so well informed and passionate about her subject. She enthralled all with her talk and photographs of the many battle sites and cemeteries she has visited.
During the lunch break, WI members from across West Sussex took the opportunity to look at the Centenary Scrapbook – which I am delighted to report we appear in a more than once or twice!
Our members, Celia, Angela, Sue and myself also took the time to chat to WI members from other WIs and share ideas. I also had the opportunity to meet and chat with NFWI Trustee Jane Probitts, the third invited speaker for the day.
The first speaker after lunch was John Benjamin of BBC Antiques Roadshow Fame. His talk Romancing the Stone, began with John explaining how he came to be a jewellery expert for the Antiques Roadshow – which can see him examining 1200 pieces of jewellery in one weekend! He had an unhappy childhood, due to a stutter he was bullied and lonely. And when he left school at 17 he didn't know what to do, except that he was sure he wasn't going to go into the family business of fashion knitwear! In desperation his family sent him to a careers advisor in Harley St, London. After a few surprising questions the advisor declared that a career in gemology was for him – John was not convinced but his father was, quickly lining him up an interview for Cameo Corner. They wanted a girl but interviewed him anyway – presenting him with a tray and asking him to identify the precious stones. John instinctively knew which was which, was quickly hired and began a course in gemology. After 4 years John left and went to work for an Auction House – for 22 years he examined some of the most precious jewellery that came to auction from around the world. In 1999 he set up his own company, and through a friend was recruited to the Antiques Roadshow. John spoke about his experiences as an expert – commenting that most attendees don't bring one or two pieces but sometimes 30 or more – and he has to see each one. He said you never know what surprises may be discovered and that it was the reaction to his examination that often resulted in the greatest television moments rather than the pieces themselves.
The final speaker of the day was Jane Probitts, NFWI Trustee and Chair of the Craft Committee. She spoke about her life – her wish as a child to be a scientist, just so she could wear a white coat! She studied chemistry at university and her first job as a forensic scientist was examining and studying illegal drugs. Looking for a career change she went into the pharmaceutical industry developing new drugs. Jane has always had a love of sewing, probably due to the fact that four of her Aunts ran a haberdashery. Her love of quilting and patchwork drew her to the WI which she joined 20 years ago. She never expected to end up on the National Board!
Jane then showed us the new NFWI presentation celebrating the WI – telling us that we were the first to see it. It was lovely to look back on so many Centenary Celebrations and see why the WI Inspires Women.
The meeting closed with the singing of the National Anthem.
I had an extremely enjoyable day, thank you BRWI for selecting me as your delegate.
Lesley Guppy, President of Bognor Regis WI
Walk in October to Bramber Beeches


Changing the names of multiple files.
2. Select the multiple files in the folder to be changed.
To select multiple files, click those files while holding the Ctrl key.
3. After the selection is done, press F2.
4. Enter a given file name.
When the names of multiple files have been changed, all the files will bear the same name with the new name in a parenthesis and a number for identification.
When user enters Sample as a new name, the first file is named as Sample. The remaining selected files will bear the names Sample 1, Sample 2 and so on.
Title: [HOWTO] Rename Multiple Files in Windows XP with Windows Explorer.


text:
Лев Викторович Дзеконский (30 декабря 1912 — 12 декабря 1993) — советский баскетболист и баскетбольный тренер. Заслуженный мастер спорта СССР (1947). Заслуженный тренер СССР (1957).

Биография
С 1933 года выступал в сборной Грузинского индустриального института.

В 1938 году перешёл в «Локомотив», в составе которого стал бронзовым (1939) и серебряным (1940) призёром чемпионата СССР.

С началом войны перешёл в систему армейского клуба. В качестве играющего тренера дважды (1944, 1946) становился чемпионом страны и вице-чемпионом в 1945 году. В 1946 и 1948 году становился чемпионом Вооружённых сил.

Окончил Грузинский индустриальный институт, а также ГЦОЛИФК.

В 1950 году назначен старшим тренером тбилисского СКА. В 1950—1977 годах возглавлял женскую команду ГПИ (Тбилиси), серебряного призера чемпионатов СССР 1965 и 1966 годов.

Преподавательская работа
 В 1934—1941 годах — преподаватель ГПИ.
 В 1942—1949 — инструктор по баскетболу ЗакВО.
 С 1950 — старший преподаватель кафедры спортивных игр ГПИ.

Судейская работа
 Судья всесоюзной категории (1949)
 Судья международной категории (1953)

Примечания

Ссылки

Баскетболисты СССР
Баскетбольные тренеры СССР
Чемпионы СССР по баскетболу
Игроки БК «Локомотив» Тбилиси
Игроки БК СКА Тбилиси
Тренеры БК СКА Тбилиси
Выпускники Грузинского технического университета
Выпускники Российского государственного университета физической культуры, спорта, молодёжи и туризма
Преподаватели Грузинского технического университета
Баскетбольные судьи СССР
Судьи всесоюзной категории


text:
Q: Change digits within a String incrementally in Java I have a String with digits at index 4 and 18. I need to print the String to the Java console such that the number increments by one until it reaches the number 40.
String:
String a = "AAA_0_BBB_CCC(DDD_0_EEE)" ;

Desired Output in Console:
AAA_1_BBB_CCC(DDD_1_EEE)
AAA_2_BBB_CCC(DDD_2_EEE)
AAA_3_BBB_CCC(DDD_3_EEE)
.
.
.
AAA_40_BBB_CCC(DDD_40_EEE)

My program (see below) prints digits from 0 to 9. But I didn't know how to continue the loop with double digits (11 to 40). I can rewrite the program for each index(4,5,19,20) but i was wondering if there was a simpler way to handle it.
My program for changing at index 4 and 18 with one digit:
public static void main(String[] args){
StringBuffer buf = new StringBuffer( a );
String a = "AAA_0_BBB_CCC(DDD_0_EEE)" ;
for (int i = 0; i< 10; i++){
//make i a character j
String k = Integer.toString(i);
char j = k.charAt(0);
//replace index position 4 and 18
buf.setCharAt( 4, j );
buf.setCharAt( 18, j );
String z = buf.toString( );
System.out.println(z);
}

A: What you need can easily be achieved with String.format()
for (int i = 0; i<= 40; i++){
    String str = String.format("AAA_%d_BBB_CCC(DDD_%d_EEE)", i, i);
    System.out.println(str);
}

You could even simplify the call a little by using argument index:
String.format("AAA_%1$d_BBB_CCC(DDD_%1$d_EEE)", i);

In general, it is a good idea to use String.format() (or System.out.printf() as Andreas mentioned) whenever you need to create a string out of non-string values. Check out Formatter for documentation of the format string syntax.

One more thing: I see you are using StringBuffer in your code. Consider using StringBuilder which is slightly faster (and not thread-safe). Using StringBuilder, what you need to achieve could look like
String str = new StringBuilder().append("AAA_").append(i).append("_BBB_CCC(DDD_").append(i).append("_EEE)").toString();

Or you could even use simple
String str = "AAA_" + i + "_BBB_CCC(DDD_" + i + "_EEE)";

Java compiler is smart enough to insert StringBuilder where concatenating longer several strings automatically.

A: You can pass a format string and substituion parameters to System.out.printf function:
for( int i = 0; i <= 40; i++ ) {
    System.out.printf("AAA_%d_BBB_CCC(DDD_%<d_EEE)%n", i);
}

The %<d specification is using the prior argument, so you don't need to pass the parameter i twice.  The %n is the platform-dependent newline.

A: You can use the following logic for formatted output.
public static void main(String[] args){
    for(int i = 1; i<= 40; i++){
        System.out.printf("AAA_%d_BBB_CCC(DDD_%d_EEE)%n", i, i);
    }
}

A: Using regular expressions is a good choice if the string is dynamic and the numeric places have a pattern.
String a = "AAA_0_BBB_CCC(DDD_0_EEE)";
for (int i = 1; i <= 40; i++) {
    System.out.println(a.replaceAll("_0_", "_" + i + "_"));
}

This can be optimized for performance:
String a = "AAA_0_BBB_CCC(DDD_0_EEE)";
Matcher m = Pattern.compile("_0_").matcher(a);
for (int i = 1; i <= 40; i++) {
    System.out.println(m.replaceAll("_" + i + "_"));
}

Can even be simplified if you're sure there are no 0 digits in he rest of the string.
String a = "AAA_0_BBB_CCC(DDD_0_EEE)";
Matcher m = Pattern.compile("0").matcher(a);
for (int i = 1; i <= 40; i++) {
    System.out.println(m.replaceAll(String.valueOf(i)));
}


National Address is the Gothic Funk Nation's official reading circle, a safe and friendly place to informally workshop works-in-progress. Consisting of readings and round table discussions, the National Address aims to provide a forum for writers of all Gothicly Funky stripes and a voice for the Gothic Funk Nation. Attendance is open and participants are welcome to bring unsolicited material.
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 18th, 2010 at 11:15 am	and is filed under General Funk, National Address, Reading. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I can almost guarantee that this month our conversation will digress, at least momentarily, in response to the historic news about national healthcare and education financial aid. So bring your stories to find out who has had the best experiences, the worst nightmares, & most bizarre outcomes from their skirmishes with the industry.


text:
allmediascotland...Your key to the media > Media News > Library Completes its Collection of Oor Wullie Comic Annuals
Library Completes its Collection of Oor Wullie Comic Annuals
By Administrator in Media News, Press · October 25, 2010 · No comments
On the 70th anniversary of its first publication, the National Library of Scotland has finally completed its collection of Oor Wullie annuals, by buying two extremely rare volumes of the youngster's adventures for £4000, The Scotsman reports today.
A 1940 annual, the first Oor Wullie collection ever published by Dundee publishing empire, DC Thomson, has been bought for £3000 at auction, along with a 1942 annual for a further £1000.
Points out The Scotsman: "They are the only two to have been published during the Second World War because of severe paper shortages, yet their popularity was such that they marked the beginning of a Christmas gift tradition that has lasted decades.
Andrew Martin, NLS Modern Scottish Collections curator, is quoted as saying: "We all know Oor Wullie, he's one of the iconic Scottish figures and it's appropriate that the library has the full collection. It's a record of Scottish publishing and further evidence of a very important character in the Scottish psyche."
The NLS is said to have been searching for copies of the two rare annuals for some time. One 1940 annual was discovered at a car boot sale earlier this year and sold for £1000. The two annuals bought by NLS were sold by Edinburgh auction house Lyon & Turnbull last month and came from private sellers.
"There are said to be very few in existence," Martin told The Scotsman. "We never know exactly but I think Oor Wullie fans would say there are fewer than ten in the world. Then again, you don't know if people have got one hidden away upstairs in their loft and don't know about it."
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