text:
Shoosmiths Foundation Questions and Answers
Back to The Shoosmiths Foundation
Q1. Does the social mobility theme extend to projects not specifically related to the legal sector but investing in people who are otherwise socially and financially excluded to help them develop valuable life and work skills?
A1. Yes. We are interested in receiving applications which have social mobility outcomes both related to the legal sector, and across the UK.
Q2. Is this application only open to projects advancing social mobility in the legal sector?
A2. No. Our focus in this funding round is to advance social mobility in the legal sector, and across the UK. So, we are hoping to receive applications that fit either of those; either a project which relates to the legal sector, or a project that relates to social mobility outcomes more broadly.
Q3. Can you define what you mean by social mobility? We work with disadvantaged people with a history of homelessness, social mobility for them may mean helping them to develop transferable skills to improve their employability. Would this count?
A3. Within Shoosmiths' approach to social mobility, and definition of socio-economic background, we typically consider factors such as parental qualifications and occupation, state school education, and eligibility for free school meals (and their potential impact on a person's opportunities in work and life). However, we also appreciate that definitions of social mobility can be nuanced, and so are happy to receive applications which may define social mobility in other ways.
Q4. What is being done to encourage BAME or women-led charities to apply?
A4. We are using our networks, and social media, to advertise the Shoosmiths Foundation and this includes highlighting the opportunity to organisations which are led by, for example, a high quotient of women, or have ethnically diverse leadership teams.
We are keen to see projects which clearly define their social mobility ambitions, and projects which focus on particularly underrepresented groups.
Q5. Would supporting young people originally from lower income households to become charity trustees be something you would be interested in supporting?
A5. We would need to see the details of the project in the application process but creating opportunities for young people from lower income households is something we would consider under the social mobility theme.
Q6. Will grants be open to established charities only, or will there be an opportunity to support people who want to set up a charity with a grant or to support other organisations progressing the Shoosmiths Foundation priorities?
A6. Only UK registered charities will be able to apply to the Shoosmiths Foundation.
Q7. As charity projects develop will Shoosmiths provide support to help navigate problems or risks that arise?
A7. No. The role of the Shoosmiths Foundation is to act as a grant making body and so it will be seeking to provide grants to support robust and sustainable project applications and will not be providing additional assistance.
Q8. What size of charities are you aiming to support?
A8. The Shoosmiths Foundation has not set size boundaries, but in offering grants of between £5,000 and £50,000 in this round it is hoped this will encourage applications from charities of any size.
Q9. What sized grants can be applied for?
A9. In this current grant application round the Shoosmiths Foundation is seeking applications of between £5,000 and £50,000.
Q10. Could the grant be used to pay for core services?
A10. Applications must relate to a specific project and are not permitted for unrestricted funding requests.
Q11. Will each charity have a defined timeframe where Shoosmiths will be engaging with its progress?
A11. Yes, it will be dependent on the specific project supported in terms of the funding period requested by the charity.
Q12. Is this a UK wide partnership? Or just particular nations or regions?
A12. We encourage local and national applications. So, applications may cover England, Scotland and/or Northern Ireland, or the application may be local to one or more of our locations. Likewise, we encourage applications from charities that are local, regional, national or UK in scope.
Q13. Would an application be viewed more favourably if it was national or local in nature?
A13. We encourage local and national applications. So, applications may cover England, Scotland and/or Northern Ireland, or the application may be local to one or more of our locations.
Q14. When is the closing date for applications?
A14. The closing date for this round of applications is close of business Friday 23 July 2021. Dates of further rounds will be confirmed once the first round of grants have been awarded.
Q15. The Shoosmiths Community Investment Policy states that donations are not made to religious organisations. Does that mean a religious organisation running a social mobility project cannot apply for funding?
A15. Yes it can apply for funding. Any awarded funding cannot be used, however, for religious purposes. Applications need to clearly detail purpose of project and what funds would be used for.
Q16. Could an application consider any of the three funding priorities?
A16. All applications will be assessed against the social mobility funding priority, so whilst an application might also show how it relates to the carbon net zero or access to justice priorities if it does not relate to the social mobility priority the application will be rejected in this round of grant giving.
Q17. If our charity is already in receipt of funding from Shoosmiths are we still able to apply for grant funding?
A17. Yes, we encourage charities to apply even where for instance they are our current office charity partners, or where we have pro bono relationships. The connection with Shoosmiths needs to be explained in the application, however. This would include a Shoosmiths colleague volunteering for the charity or being a trustee member.
Q18. Does the Shoosmiths Foundation accept unsolicited applications for grant funding?
A18. No. Opportunities to apply for funding are restricted to calls for applications made by the Shoosmiths Foundation, published on the Shoosmiths Foundation website. To check out our wider community investment strategy see: https://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/our-responsibility/corporate-responsibility
Q19. Will unsuccessful applications receive feedback?
A19. It will not be possible to respond to individual applications.
Q20. Who makes the decision about which applications are successful?
A20. The Shoosmiths Foundations Grants Committee (SFGC), chaired by the Head of Corporate Responsibility, reviews applications and determines which applications will be awarded grants. The SFGC is made up of representatives from across the Shoosmiths Divisions and Directorates.
Q21. Do you have an appeals process?
A21. No. There is no appeals process. The decision of the SFGC is final.
Q22. Does the Shoosmiths Foundation fund projects that are longer than one year in duration?
A22. Yes, but if the requested funding is for a project of more than one year's duration, a breakdown must be provided of the amounts required each year.
Q23. Does the Shoosmiths Foundation fund running costs or salaries?
A23. Such requests need to be detailed as part of the application to explain how they are relevant to the project for which funding is being sought.
Q24. There is only a week in between the webinar briefing on 14 July 2021 and the application deadline 23 July 2021. Will more information be sent in advance?
A24. We also provide Questions and Answers information on the website which we will keep updated. Please notify [email protected] if any other information would be helpful.
Q25. What will you consider funding?
A25. We are open to a wide range of projects, providing they can clearly articulate how they will advance social mobility. That might be at a local level, or a national level - examples might include provision of employability programmes, access projects, upskilling, or mentoring – but we are not prioritising one type of project over another.
Q26. To what extent is scale a major focus of the application?
A26. When reviewing applications, the Shoosmiths Foundation Grants Committee will be looking at a number of factors in relation to beneficiaries of the project. It may be that a project with a smaller number of potential beneficiaries has greater alignment with our geographies, has a more clearly defined commitment to social mobility, or better demonstrates a focus on particularly underrepresented groups.
Q27. Are you interested in employee involvement and volunteering linked to the project?
A27. Yes, we would be interested. Although it would not be a requirement of the application it could open up opportunities for wider engagement with Shoosmiths and therefore alignment with our wider responsible business programme, which includes employee volunteering, for instance.
Q28. How and when can charities apply for funding related to the access to justice category?
A28. Our funding priority in 2021 is the social mobility theme but that would not stop relevant funding applications being submitted in this round that also address access to justice. The SFGC will determine when calls for funding will be announced for our two other priorities and the website will be updated accordingly.
Q29. Is it essential for beneficiaries to have legal aspirations or is it suitable for them to just want to improve their future opportunities?
A29. The call for funding is not restricted to assisting beneficiaries with legal aspirations but to improve beneficiaries' future opportunities more generally.
Q30. Is the Shoosmiths Foundation interested in supporting children and families out of destitution?
A30. We would need to see the details of the project in the application process but creating opportunities to support children and families out of destitution is something we would consider under the social mobility theme.
Q31. What is the value of grants typically awarded?
A31. The Shoosmiths Foundation was launched in June 2021 and for our first call for grant applications we are aiming to issue grants of between £5,000 and £50,000 to UK registered charities.
Q32. Do you like to support direct work, systems change work or both?
A32. We are open to a wide range of projects, providing they can clearly articulate how they will advance social mobility.
Q33. We are a charity that advocates for homeless people, meeting a need now that Legal Aid for homelessness cases is nigh on impossible to access. Would we be eligible?
A33. Yes potentially, although it would be dependent on a review of the social mobility related detail provided in the application.
Q34. Is there a timescale for use of funds?
A34. We are open to proposals of varying timescales, but a clear breakdown must be provided of the amounts required each year as well as a comprehensive explanation of how the project would be managed and delivered.
Q35. The form says in several places up to 2,500 characters. Could you confirm whether this is with or without spaces?
A35. Includes spaces. Applicants are encouraged to be concise in their responses, however, to ensure the key points made to support applications are clearly understood by the assessors.
Q36. Please can you advise the date that funding will be awarded to successful applicants?
A36. This is the first time we have issued a call for applications having launched the Shoosmiths Foundation 7 June 2021. Assuming we receive suitable applications, we will then be reviewing in the coming weeks with a view to awarding as soon as possible.
Q37. Is it possible to be sent the application form in Word document format?
A37. The application was created in our design software and so unfortunately a Word version is not available. Adobe Reader can be downloaded at: Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, free PDF viewer download
Q38. Would access to justice include family justice, via family law – or is it aimed at the criminal justice system?
A38. The areas of law practiced by Shoosmiths, so that any proposed social mobility project is aligned, can be viewed at: https://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/a-to-z
Q39. Could the funding be used to support destitute asylum seekers in rented accommodation as our main need is continuing funding for rent, utilities and some living expenses which we offer each person?
A39. This would be out of scope (under the current funding round), unless there were some longer-term outcomes associated with social mobility involved.
Q40. The application form asks for our 'Year-end balance' and our 'Savings (reserves, cash, investments)'. By year-end balance we are not clear whether you mean cash balance or funds/reserves balance?
A40. We ask for both gross income and expenditure to establish whether charities have a surplus/deficit. We also wish to understand funds/reserve balance which will equal the charity net assets in the balance sheet. Savings would be the total of any liquid assets (cash, investments) to meet any of the charity's short-term cash needs.
Q41. The pandemic has highlighted the need for green fields. Could support be given to help retain our facilities?
A41. This round is looking to advance our social mobility aim and that aim would need to be made clear in any application.
Q42. We support children with their literacy and confidence - they are aged 9 - 12 years. The knock-on effect of improved literacy is huge. Does this fall within Shoosmiths' remit of social mobility?
A42. Yes, we are open to programmes aimed at younger audiences, if the intended outcomes are social mobility focused.
Q43. Will food poverty projects for people with 'No Recourse to Public Funds' qualify for this grant?
A43. Any application would need to make clear how it would be advancing our social mobility aim so for example providing funding for food donations would not be applicable.
Q44. What are the timings for the decision making? We have a project that will go live this summer so understanding when the grants will be given is important.
A44. It is difficult at this stage to provide a timeline as it will be dependent on the number of applications received and if any further information is required of charities by the Shoosmiths Foundation Grants Committee when the applications are reviewed.
Q45. When would the funding be available from? Would a project taking place between October and December 2021 be too soon?
A45. See answer 44.
Q46. What is the Shoosmiths Foundation looking for in terms of geographical alignment?
A46. By geographical alignment, we mean a considered rationale as to why you're focusing on particular audiences, or geography, in your application. For example, in the Shoosmiths Social Mobility Action Plan, we have aligned socio-economic research with localised recommendations for our offices.
Q47. Would you consider a project working with male sex offenders?
A47. Potentially, but it would be dependent on a review of the social mobility related detail provided in the application.
Q48. What does success look like for the Shoosmiths Foundation in working towards its social mobility priority?
A48. Success for us is tangible impact in advancing social mobility in the UK; but we are open to what the supporting measures are to achieve that depending on the project.
Q49. Where a charity is not national, does it need to operate in a geographical area local to your offices, in order to apply to the Shoosmiths Foundation?
A49. No, a charity would not necessarily need to operate in a geographical area local to our offices to be able to apply to the Shoosmiths Foundation for this social mobility focused round.
Q50. Would it be possible to split an application over three projects please or would an alternative option be to submit for one project?
A50. Either option would be feasible i.e. split between several or one project. Your charity would need to determine which option you submit however based on the amount of funding, scale of impact etc. Bear in mind too, the size of grants being offered.
Q51. Would you consider funding a multi-year project (e.g. up to £50,000 per year, for two-three years?
A51. For this round of applications the maximum fund available is £50,000. If the requested funding is for a project of more than one year's duration, a breakdown must be provided of the amounts required each year to a total maximum of £50,000.
Q52. Do you undertake pro-bono or volunteering?
A52. The Shoosmiths Foundation is a grant-making body only but yes Shoosmiths provides legal advice pro bono and everyone is able to volunteer a day a year every year in the community. Check out our pro bono and volunteering policies here.
Q53. Would you look favourably on charities who can offer the opportunity to promote Shoosmiths' support publicly? What will your expectations be from grantees to highlight the support from Shoosmiths?
A53. The reason for the application form asking for such detail is to understand the charity's approach and in order that appropriate outcome and impact information can be disseminated to a wider audience to advance social mobility in the UK.
Q54. Our 'project' would be recruitment of an additional member of staff, albeit doing similar work to existing positions. How do you define a project, and would this proposal meet your requirements?
A54. See questions 23, 25.
Q55. Will you accept an application for Primary programmes?
Q56. Is there an age limit or restriction on people you would support?
A56. No.
Q57. Would you consider applications from charities that operate in the same areas of law that Shoosmiths practice in?
A57. Yes, we would.
Q58. Is Shoosmiths happy to fund pilots? Are you concerned about beneficiary numbers - i.e. are you looking for the highest number of young people as possible to be supported with the grant awarded?
A58. We would be interested in pilot projects and in understanding plans to make projects sustainable. In terms of numbers of beneficiaries, we are interested in the outcomes and impacts for the beneficiaries irrespective of numbers assisted.
Q59. Would Shoosmiths like to be the principle funder for a project?
A59. Shoosmiths could be the sole, principle or one of a number of funders of a project but would need to understand the part any Shoosmiths Foundation funding would play.
Q60. Does the outcome need to lead to employment, or is it about the individual/people reaching their own potential?
A60. It could potentially be either, but we would need to see the detail in any application.
Q61. Can you include a contribution to the charity's core costs as part of the project budget? We are a charity that works in prisons. We provide training opportunities to support rehabilitation, building better futures for people in the criminal justice system. Would you support this kind of project?
A61. We would need to see a breakdown of how requested costs would be spent and how such a project would advance social mobility.
Q62. When will the funding stream reopen?
A62. The Shoosmiths Foundation will issue further calls for grants, but the timing is to be determined.
Q63. We are set up as a Community Interest Company, not a charity. Can we also apply?
A63. No, at the moment only registered UK charities may apply for funding.
Q64. Can the project be used to create social enterprises working with young people who are refugees and migrants?
A64. Yes potentially, however any application and project would need to be led and managed by a registered charity.
Q65. Can we apply for ongoing long-term projects as long as they align with the aims of the Shoosmiths Foundation? Or are you looking to fund new projects?
A65. It could be either, but any application would need to clearly articulate the difference that Shoosmiths funding would make over and above any existing support.
Q66. Would charities be penalised if they chose a project start date that was before a funding decision was made?
A66. No, charities would not be penalised.
Q67. In terms of impact, do you have a preference for projects focusing on educational or employment outcomes?
Q68. How quickly do you require the grant to be 'spent'. We have a project that fits the criteria, but it won't take place until early 2022.
A68. This would be appropriate timing.
Q69. Do you have a specific number of grants you plan to give?
A69. The number of grants we issue will be dependent on the size of donation allocated to each successful project.
Q70. Would you fund research?
A70. Potentially, we would need to see the detail in the application and how it would advance the social mobility aim.
Updated 20 July 2021
Useful links and contacts
Information about social mobility at Shoosmiths
On Wednesday, 14 July 2021, we hosted a live webinar where you could find out more and we answered any questions you had.
To find out more and to watch the webinar, please click below.
Grant application process and form
Download the grant application form to complete here.
If you would like to learn more about the Shoosmiths Foundation, or have any queries, please contact us.
Phone icon 0370 086 3000


text:
Q: Save-AzrWebApp func downloads a wrong SourcePath I'm using Save-AzrWebApp function to downloads files from an Azure Web App.
How to do it is described here: https://blog.ipswitch.com/how-to-copy-files-from-an-azure-app-service-with-powershell
My problem is: it doesn't matter which SourcePath I set, it always downloads me files from wwwroot folder.
Code example that I use:
$syncParams = @{
    SourcePath = '\wwwroot\history'
    TargetPath = $TargetPath
    ComputerName = "https://$Name.scm.azurewebsites.net:443/msdeploy.axd?site=$Name"
    Credential = $Credential

}
Sync-Website @syncParams
Get-Item -Path $TargetPath

Actually it doesn't matter what I put into SourcePath (even not existing path) it will download content of wwwroot.
How to use it in a proper way?

A: If you want to download file from web app, you could use this web app kudu api via powershell.
Try the command below, it works fine on my side.
$creds = Invoke-AzureRmResourceAction -ResourceGroupName joywebapp -ResourceType Microsoft.Web/sites/config -ResourceName joywebapp2/publishingcredentials -Action list -ApiVersion 2015-08-01 -Force
$username = $creds.Properties.PublishingUserName
$password = $creds.Properties.PublishingPassword
$base64AuthInfo = [Convert]::ToBase64String([Text.Encoding]::ASCII.GetBytes(("{0}:{1}" -f $username, $password)))

$apiUrl = "https://joywebapp2.scm.azurewebsites.net/api/vfs/site/wwwroot/Content/Site.css"
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $apiUrl -Headers @{Authorization=("Basic {0}" -f $base64AuthInfo);"If-Match"="*"} -Method GET -ContentType "multipart/form-data" -OutFile "C:\Users\joyw\Desktop\test.css"

Test result:

Update:
If you want to download a folder, you can use the Zip api in the doc I mentioned, it allows downloading folder as a zip file.
Sample command:
$creds = Invoke-AzureRmResourceAction -ResourceGroupName joywebapp -ResourceType Microsoft.Web/sites/config -ResourceName joywebapp2/publishingcredentials -Action list -ApiVersion 2015-08-01 -Force
$username = $creds.Properties.PublishingUserName
$password = $creds.Properties.PublishingPassword
$base64AuthInfo = [Convert]::ToBase64String([Text.Encoding]::ASCII.GetBytes(("{0}:{1}" -f $username, $password)))

$apiUrl = "https://joywebapp2.scm.azurewebsites.net/api/zip/site/wwwroot/Scripts/"
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $apiUrl -Headers @{Authorization=("Basic {0}" -f $base64AuthInfo);"If-Match"="*"} -Method GET -ContentType "multipart/form-data" -OutFile "C:\Users\joyw\Desktop\Scripts.zip"

Note:The zip doesn't include the top folder itself. Make sure you include
the trailing slash, e.g,  I download the Scripts folder, we need to use Scripts/ in the apiUrl.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


23 May, 2010: The Church of St. Theresa Malacca has progressed a 180 degrees turn under the mentorship and leadership of Rev. Fr. Joseph Heng. The old heritage building was carefully renovated without alterning its facade, utility grids went through a complete overhaul, and GECKO® C.R.I.S.T.A.L.® Audiophile sound system is taken in to improve on the sanctuary's overall clarity and intelligibility as well as to achieve a more balanced, detailed and natural sound reproduction without touching the building's acoustics.


text:
Cinema Of Prayōga: Indian Experimental Film & Video 1913-2006
By Tanya Singh
Kalighat Fetish, 1999
Launched at Tate Modern, Cinema of Prayōga is a UK tour of historical and contemporary Indian experimental film and video organised by artist film and video lab 'no.w.here'.
What follows is a free assembly of extracts from the accompanying catalogue of essays and interviews introducing and reflecting on the diverse forms of 'experiments in representation' that defines Cinema of Prayōga.
Given that the first explorations into experimental, avant-garde and 'underground' films started in Europe and North America, it seems natural that the relevant theories about 'experimental film' have emerged from there. Why so? Isn't experimentation intrinsically universal? During Experimenta 2005 in Mumbai, film historian Amrit Gangar coined the term 'Cinema of Prayōga' as a Prayōga – an alternative (improvement), to 'experimental film' and its synonyms. (Prayōga is pronounced as Prayōg, and Prayōga as paryōy).
A Sanskrit word, 'prayōga' has several connotations, including design, contrivance, employment, practice, experiment (opp. theory), exhibition, recitation and representation. The root 'y?ga' incorporates the meanings of use, touch, magic, substance, and concentration of mind, while the prefix 'pra' carries the sense of vanguard. But unlike avant-garde, 'prayōga' is a non-military word; it is, in fact, artistic and meditative. The English 'laboratory' becomes more connected – as prayōgamandir (temple of prayōga) or prayōgashālā (hall or saloon of prayōga). The word is found in all major Indian languages, northern or southern, with interesting derivatives. Prayogika, a new word in the Gujarati lexicon, means 'a light essay'. In Hindi prayōgavādi is an experimentalist or experimentalistic, while in Bengali it becomes pragmatic or pragmatist. Prayōga in Malayalam means manipulation, with prayog?bhinjan referring to expertise in tactical performance.
Scrolls Valay Shende, 2002
These are times when, as Geeta Kapur has noted, the Euro-American establishment can only assimilate non-western art on manifestly ethnographic terms, while keeping the option open to reject it precisely on those terms. A term that captures flux in its inner self, the integrative prayōga avoids dualistic paradigms of west versus east, traditional versus modern (or post-modern, or post-post-modern). Let us explore the cinema of prayōga…
THE MAIN FILM BEGINS
"Phalke was named the father, because I think he also fancied that title.In those days everyone wanted to be a father, because they realised that nationhood also means fatherhood. Gandhi too was called Bapu – father. He was the father of politics, so that made Nehruji the uncle, Chacha Nehru! …Everything is family oriented here." – Kamal Swaroop
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke at work
When Dhundiraj Govind Phalke pioneered Indian feature filmmaking with Raja Harishchandra in 1913, India was still a British colony. The film, based on a story from the epic Mahabharata, was advertised as "an entirely Indian production by Indians," indicating Phalke's resolve to establish a new 'swadeshi' or India's own industry in those colonial times. Gandhi was yet to return home from South Africa…
Phalke occupies a significant space in Indian cinema not only as a pioneer, but also because he personified the early prayōga spirit in his construction of the gaze, the frame, space and time. In comparison with Lumière, Ashish Rajadhyaksha has observed that in Phalke there is almost no definition of time; the contiguities are employed in the different states of seeing as they come together. From Phalke's surviving incomplete films, though Méliès had already made 'fantastic' films 10 years previously, we still get insights into the prayōga that was in practice – between the lithographic and oleographic iconographies, between folk theatre and puranik / epic literature, between the individual vision and national notion, and between myth and the machine of modernity.
INTERTITLE: A national prayōga
"New ideas, new approaches had to be found, encouraged, and put to work." – Jean Bhownagary
Ksha Tra Gya, 2006
Paradoxically, the next major prayōga movement in India was born of governmental decisions and not from the impetus of filmmakers rebelling against existing commercial or popular cinema. In 1947, just months after national independence, the Films Division (FD) was established, as a mass media unit of the governmental Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Later in the '60s, at the initiative of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the Film Finance Corporation, the Film & Television Institute and the National Film Archive were set up. Those were the times of cultural rejuvenation throughout an India that was still trying to build herself socially and economically after centuries of colonial oppression and loot.
This Nehruvian socialist context, an experiment in itself, enabled a category of 'Experimental Films' within this governmental organisation. Although bound to its role of producing and distributing information films and newsreels, Films Division's Chief Producers (including Vijay B. Chandra and Jean Bhownagary) aimed to produce visually stimulating 'food for thought' to nourish India's millions of illiterate people, as well as films that would be free from the logic of capital and commerce. They took the risk of making films such as Explorer (Pramod Pati, 1968), And I Make Short Films (S.N.S. Sastry, 1968), Trip (Pramod Pati, 1970) and Child on a Chess Board (Vijay B. Chandra, 1979). In a similar way to the British GPO Film Unit, these filmmakers were given access to an infrastructure along with freedom to push the boundaries of filmmaking and experiment with ideas.
INTERTITLE: We are born experimental
"We were taught Shakespearian classics, Julius Caesar, Macbeth and the Romantic poets. Simultaneously Doordarshan, the (government-run) Indian television channel, would bombard us with what the state considered classical, Hindustani classical music and Indian classical dance, from Odissi to Kathakali." – Ashish Avikunthak
Child on a Chess Board, 1979
"… many of my friends who were really passionate film students have become farmers. Filmmaking is a means to an end. It is not an end in itself." – Amit Dutta
Shai Heredia, director of the Experimenta festival in Mumbai and Delhi, argues that one of the most interesting aspects of contemporary Indian film is that it is free from the "burden" of the 'schools' of the western 'avant-garde film' and 'experimental film'. Instead it draws on self-reflexive narrative traditions – the thousands of ways of storytelling in India. Recent works by filmmakers such as Ashish Avikunthak, Ashim Alhuwalia, Shumona Goel, and Amit Dutta reflect this by invoking music, poetry, ritual and documentary to examine the relationship between their status as filmic texts and the fictions-in-progress of their subjects.
Situated in societies riven with gross contradictions, today's Indian film artists explore ideas around migration, caste, class, gender, sexuality and religion. They challenge conventional forms of representation not only by questioning larger social systems, but also by simultaneously exposing the complex cultural relationships that they share with filmmaking as an artistic practice. Considering the cultural heterogeneity of India, and the particular relationship between selves and the concepts of 'community' and 'politicality' in the discourse of Indian democracy, these personal films become auto-ethnographic documents of the filmmakers' economic and socio-political contexts.
INTERTITLE: Routes, not roots
"At one level [migration] takes place out of desire …but at another level it results from compulsion and desperation, urgency, poverty and ultimately isolation." – Navjot Altaf
"They poured petrol into the mouth of a six-year-old and threw in a lit match – he blew up like a bomb. Eyewitness account, Gujarat riots, 2002." – from Unity in Diversity, by Nalini Malani
In the mid-1990s, as curator Johan Pijnappel notes, approximately 30 Indian artists (without a film background) broke out of the frame to expand their testimony to a wider public with installations and performances using video. Against a backdrop of horrific communal violence and rising Hindutva fascism, in a period when India opened up to the international market, the grand Nehruvian dream seemed to be finally crumbling. But, far from cynical Western postmodernism, these artists saw in 'video' a medium par excellence, appreciated by the masses, appropriate for political engagement and consciousness-raising in a new context – the gallery.
With vigilance against historical amnesia, and passion for social transformation, contemporary video artists (including Valay Shende, Anita Dube, Pushpamala N and Surekha) are conscious of how subjective perceptions alter the process of remembering. (Re)inventing their own strategies, they develop narrative codes that inscribe the role of the storyteller, thus displaying an effective inventiveness and countercultural commitment.
A vast body of video/installation art has also grown out of the need to recognise and make visible those marginalised experiences (i.e. decolonised subjectivities, women, homosexuals, Dalits, etc.) written out of conventional histories. Thus, despite the obvious fact that nationalist discourses played a vital progressive role in the process of decolonisation, current explorations around the idea of location (e.g. by Raqs Media Collective) involve a rethinking of the relations between places and subjects.
INTERTITLE: History is an experiment
"How does one deal with 'contemporary' history? …How does one tell a story about something which has no story in the conventional sense, only an unfolding?" – Sanjiv Shah
Over the past four years no.w.here has worked closely with its Indian partner organisation Filter to establish the Experimenta festival in India, providing a platform for Indian and international artists' film and video work. During this period they have excavated a rich vein of visual-arts based work that, despite the huge popularity of Indian cinema internationally, remains relatively unknown. The touring exhibition and publication Cinema of Prayoga: Indian Experimental Film & Video 1913–2006 presents a comprehensive selection of these works to UK audiences, tracing a history of personal filmmaking outside of the 'Bollywood' industry. Now joined by two artists' residencies in London and Mumbai, this exploratory project is, necessarily, ongoing.
As Ritwik Ghatak has said, experimentation is an ever-living and never-dying thing. Experiment is part of life so why name it, why label it? Naming or labelling perhaps helps to give it a push, to polemicise the thought that dies and takes birth again to die. So it is with the term prayōga – itself referring to the eternal quest, a continuing process in time and space…
THIS FILM HAS NO END
It is a prayōga-in-perpetuation
Extracted and adapted from the no.w.here publication Cinema of Prayoga: Indian Experimental Film & Video 1913–2006 (2006, £9.95, available from www.nowhere-lab.org
Tanya Singh is a writer, filmmaker and Project Manager of the touring exhibition Cinema of Prayoga which continues until Autumn 2007. For tour dates and venues see: www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk
Vertigo Volume 3 | Issue 3 | Autumn 2006

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Jordan Ray , Chron.com / Houston Chronicle March 25, 2019 Updated: March 29, 2019 9:55 a.m.
It's Game Day! The Houston Cougars get ready to take on University of Kentucky Friday night in the next round of the NCAA Tournament, starting at 9 p.m.
Don't miss out on a chance to cheer for Houston's hometown favorite team in the Sweet 16 at some of the cool spots around Houston. The bars in H-town will be packed with Coogs fans, so time to scout out a good place to watch the rest of the games.
Don't worry. You're in luck. We've got the best spots in Houston to see the Coogs in action.
The city of Houston has a bevy of great spots around town where you can grab a bite to eat (and maybe an adult beverage or two) and catch the rest of the NCAA Tournament.
From popular chains to local gems, click through the gallery above to see some of the best sports bars around the Bayou City for watching the rest of March Madness.
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You are here: Home / Articles / Hardware, Gadgets, and Products / Review of Samsung Epic 4G Official Accessories
Review of Samsung Epic 4G Official Accessories
I picked up the Samsung Epic 4G yesterday and I'm enjoying making the upgrade from the Palm Pre. There have been plenty of reviews of the phone by those that are lucky enough to get review units but not much discussion of the accessories available. Here's my opinion on the official accessories like the holsters, screen protectors, cases, and others.
Leather Belt Clip Holster
A holster is pretty straight forward and this Galaxy S holster works well. It's made of leather and has a metal belt buckle on the front. The inside is cloth and safe for your phone's screen to be up against. The flap is held to the case by a magnet. The holster is a bit of a tight fit for the Epic making it a little difficult to get the phone out unless you use the hole at the bottom of the case to help pop the phone out. With that trick, the case works well. It also provides access to the 3.5 mm headphone jack if you put the phone in a certain direction.
One of the Epic's most prominent features is its Super AMOLED screen. For that reason, I'm hesitant to cover it up with those thin film screen protectors. The ones Samsung is selling officially come in a 3-pack: a clear anti-scratch, anti-glare one, a mirror coating one, and a privacy screen. I've seen the clear screen and the privacy screen. The privacy screen is only designed to work a certain direction, so it will keep people from shoulder-surfing if you're using the phone landscape.
I'll probably be picking up one of these screen protectors because of the way the display looked in full sunlight. It was very washed out and a bit hard to see because of the glare on finger smudges. I'll plan on just using the anti-scratch screen if I do pick up a pack.
Desktop Dock
The Desktop Dock is just plain lame. I'm not quite sure I understand the point of it versus a micro USB cable and a stand. It can automatically trigger an app you download from the marketplace, Samsung Desk Home, but that shows you a clock/calendar and a few apps. It'll also keep your display on, though it is also charging it doesn't seem necessary.
In its packaging the dock has a couple hefty chunks of glue holding cardboard around the dock. You can see the smudges it left in the picture below. It's not a bad apparatus for playing music or a video while charging but if that's all it does, it is way over-priced. The best benefit to purchasing the desktop dock is that it includes an AC adapter to micro USB.
The back-side of the dock includes a 3.5mm audio out jack and a micro USB in for power.
The other fail of the dock is that with the Epic, it puts the volume buttons on the bottom. The weight of the phone is enough to mute the volume as it rests on its side.
There were two types of cases in the store, a textured case and a smooth one. Cases on phones that split apart like the Epic with its slide-out keyboard are always a challenge but both cases seemed to hold on well and add a layer of protection without preventing access to anything. The textured one seemed the better of the two since it would add some grip but I decided to try not going with a case since I planned to keep mine in the leather belt clip pouch. There will probably be some non-name brand cases for cheaper that come out soon anyways.
Micro USB to HDMI
The Epic supports using DLNA to output video to a TV or compatible system (like the PlayStation 3) but many people will tout the Evo 4G over the Epic because of the Evo's built-in HDMI port. I think the Epic does it one better by making the micro USB port multi-purpose with a micro USB to HDMI cable that also allows TV-Out.
3.5 mm to TV Out
Another option for Video-out comes in the form of the 3.5mm headphone jack cable that can go to RCA cables (red, yellow, white composite cables).
Filed Under: Hardware, Gadgets, and Products
Part of August Patch Tuesday, Adobe Updates Flash, Shockwave, and Photoshop CS5
In Security and Privacy, Software, System Administration
How To See If Your Computer is Part of a BotNet
In Media, Security and Privacy
The WannaCry Post-Mortem


The Republican Study Committee discussed the changes they want made to the Medicaid and tax credit provisions of the House health care bill with Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday.
They didn't get any solid commitments from the administration, but Chairman Mark Walker told reporters after the meeting that "we're as hopeful as we've ever been." Rep. Ted Yoho, who's also a member of the hardliner House Freedom Caucus, told reporters that "there's going to be more changes" to the bill.
Add work requirements for able-bodied, childless adults in Medicaid.
Reduce Medicaid per-capita funding growth rates so they don't exceed historical rates.
Slow the tax credit growth rate, ensure they are "fiscally responsible and promote work."
Expand what health savings accounts can be used for, especially for paying premiums.
Make sure all Obamacare taxes are repealed "as soon as possible." Right now, most are repealed beginning in 2018.


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Numismatics news / Новости Нумизматики.
U.S. Mint launches final America the Beautiful quarter of 2017 near the banks of the Wabash
17.11.2017 Алексей Сомелье	Оставить комментарий
Hannah Swan, a musician and former Vincennes University student, sings the National Anthem during the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park quarter launch in Vincennes, Indiana. The coin is the 40th release in the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program. U.S. Mint photo by Jill Westeyn.
The Mint held a ceremony today near the Wabash River in Vincennes, Indiana, to officially launch the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park quarter, the 40th release in the America the Beautiful Quarters Program and the final coin of 2017.
Hover to zoom.
The reverse design featured on this latest quarter depicts George Rogers Clark leading his men through the flooded plains approaching Fort Sackville.
The launch event drew some 1,800 people, including 1,100 school children. The coin forum the preceding evening was attended by 125 people.
"This new coin is a reminder of the unity of effort and spirit that our predecessors embodied and demonstrated," said Acting Deputy Director David Motl, who represented the Mint. "The foresight, camaraderie, and determination of George Rogers Clark and his men are important examples to all of us as to how individuals from different backgrounds are able to come together, work toward achieving the same objective, and create a lasting impression."
United States Mint Acting Deputy Director Dave Motl addresses the crowd gathered for the coin forum at the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Visitor Center. U.S. Mint photo by Sharon McPike.
Motl shared the stage with a host of other speakers, including park superintendent Frank Doughman and City Council member Dan Ravellette. Regional director Tony Goben, district director Brenda Goff, and district director Carol Jones spoke on behalf of U.S. Senators Joe Donnelly and Todd Young, and U.S. Representative Larry Bucshon, respectively.
The George Rogers Clark Fife and Drum group entertains the audience before the November 14, 2017, ceremony to launch the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park quarter. U.S. Mint photo by Sharon McPike.
Additional highlights included performances by the George Rogers Clark Fife and Drum Corps and the Vogel Elementary School Choir, and an appearance by U.S. Mint Artistic Infusion Program artist Frank Morris, who designed the quarter's reverse. The Mint's traditional coin exchange of newly minted $10 quarter rolls was held after the ceremony; $42,000 in Philadelphia Mint quarters were exchanged.
Thailand: Treasury prepares for new coins and bank notes after late king's final send-off
Our 2019 America the Beautiful Quarters take shape: CCAC advises the Treasury on five historic new coins
New Zealand Mint. Māui and the sun, Sperm whale October 2017
Предыдущая записьAustria: "A Lion in Winter" features on new silver coin released just in time for the holiday seasonСледующая записьLatvia: Historic regions feature on new €2 commemorative coins


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Stan Swamy's Death Exposes Our Broken Criminal Justice System Crying For Reforms
By hyping up cases of terrorism, we are actually doing a disservice to the foundation of our police system, which has strived hard to maintain peace and law and order.
People hold posters and candles outside the church holding memorial for the human rights activist and Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy, in Mumbai, July 6, 2021. Photo: PTI/Kunal Patil
Yashovardhan Azad
09/Jul/2021
Father Stan Swamy's death will rankle the conscience of our criminal justice system for years to come. In the world's largest democracy, where even convicts serving sentences have certain rights, Swamy, an undertrial, failed to get his due from a clutch of agencies responsible for his incarceration and bringing him to justice. His demise is a grave pointer towards a broken criminal justice system crying for reforms.
Swamy was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in October 2020 for his alleged role in Bhima Koregaon violence in 2018 and his links with Maoists. He had earlier come to prominence as a tribal rights activist. Prior to his arrest, during many rounds of questioning, necessary information, evidence had been extracted by the investigative agencies and his computer and relevant documents had also been seized. As a result, after his arrest, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) did not even seek his custody.
The first point which then arises is whether his arrest was necessary at all? After putting up the chargesheet, it would have been the court's call to remand him to judicial custody or not. An old man of 84 years, afflicted with Parkinson's disease and merely named in a case, certainly merits such a treatment. Even the Supreme Court, citing COVID-19 conditions, had said that for all offences with less than seven years punishment, investigative officers should use their discretion whether arrest is necessary. In Swamy's case the punishment for UAPA is seven years but looking into his age and health, this could have been made possible, rather than transferring him to a jail in Maharashtra. There was no threat of his jumping bail or influencing the case in any manner.
Secondly, prison administration is squarely responsible for the safety and health of prisoners. Even the judge while remitting him to jail, should have given instructions for extra care looking into his age and precarious condition. Does the jailor need permission from court to give sipper to a Parkinson's afflicted undertrial? What a travesty of justice. Does a serious patient need court orders to be shifted to hospital? The state prison authorities failed to discharge their duties faithfully.
Third, Stan Swamy applied for medical bail and the prosecution merely stonewalled it routinely, questioning the credentials of even his illness. Lastly, the courts could not evaluate his case carefully and grant him bail, which he truly deserved on account of his advanced age and serious affliction.
File photo of Father Stan Swamy. Photo: Twitter/B.B. Choudhary
Swamy's death has thrown up a number of serious issues before the nation. UAPA 1967 was meant to be used against terrorists. But can poster walas, couriers, sympathisers, propagandists and even rioters be called terrorists? Between 2015 and 2019, 7,840 arrests were made under UAPA. Are we publicising that we have so many alleged terrorists in the country? No wonder only 155 were convicted. Casual application of this law has given very poor results i.e. a conviction rate of less than 2% which should worry the minds of police leaders. In 2019 alone, there were 1,948 arrests with mere 34 convictions.
This calls for a serious course correction. The Act was amended in 2008 after the Mumbai blast case, and in 2012 and 2019. The recent amendments have brought under the ambit of UAPA wider coverage of the Act, and designation of an individual as a terrorist. However, the spirit of the Act is to proceed against any individual or activity prejudicial to the territorial integrity or sovereignty of India.
India is a stable democracy and by hyping up cases of terrorism we are actually doing disservice to the foundation of our police system which has strived hard to maintain peace and law and order. The UAPA needs to be discussed at the upcoming director general of police's conference. The law should be used in rare instances.
Unless any act that directly promotes violence against the state using bombs and weapons, UAPA should not be resorted to. The Delhi high court gave bail to Devangana and Natasha in the Delhi riots case stating that prima facie the case was not made out. Why can't other courts too, take a decision at the time chargesheet is filed or even earlier at the investigation stage, if the case does not stand at all.
Which brings us to the question of protest by the Opposition to the President of India against Swamy's death. In 2008, while amending the Act, the UPA government introduced restrictions on bail for the first time. Then home minister P. Chidambaram said that it was a conscious decision to make bail difficult. If legislators feel that the law is too stringent then why don't they spend more time delving over the provisions of the Bill while it is being passed.
Also read: Bhima Koregaon Case: Trying Without a Trial Is the Intent of Draconian UAPA Law
Poor state of prisons
The death of Swamy is also attributed to the negligence of the prison administration. For a person suffering from Parkinson's disease, even daily existence is not easy and surviving in a prison is doubly difficult. It was incumbent upon the jailor to give extra attention to Swamy with respect to his hospitalisation and other needs. Jails are managed at the top level by an IPS and an IAS officer in the Secretariat. Barring some IPS officers who have taken great interest in reforming prison administration, it is the most neglected area of state administration. It's largely due to the massive numbers of inmates, paucity of staff and an infrastructure which is primitive and low on funds. Unless the numbers in jails are drastically reduced by a well-planned committed action, prisons will remain the same.
The judiciary will have to take an urgent lead in resolving the mess in prisons. The Supreme Court is already aware of the issue and often referred to the growing number of undertrials in the prisons with a sizeable number having spent more than half of the punishment time prescribed for their offence.
Lastly, why the courts did not give bail to Swamy on medical grounds will remain a puzzling issue. This, along with the delay in providing a sipper or moving him to the hospital, will be the saddest chapter of this painful saga.
The circumstances surrounding Father Stan Swamy's death ahead of a bail hearing has shaken up the human right defenders. With UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet expressing concern at the demise of the Jesuit priest, as per media reports, India may face more heat from the global fraternity. Meanwhile, the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has already downgraded India on the quality of its human rights.
Further, only a few weeks ago, the country had to refute concerns raised by UN Special Rapporteurs about the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to privacy due to the new IT rules. As an aspiring superpower in this digitally exposed world, India needs to walk the talk and set better examples in upholding fundamental rights and human dignity.
We will never know if Father Stan Swamy could take one last look at the fleeting world while being removed to the Holy Family Hospital. At a forlorn dark corner of the Taloja cell, the frail and ailing octogenarian waited for a chance to defend himself for months. With his demise in pre-trial detention, key institutions failed in opaque darkness. One merely hopes that his demise delineates the urgency of system reformation and torments the conscience of the criminal justice system for long.
Yashovardhan Azad, chairman DeepStrat, is a former IPS officer, who served as central information commissioner, secretary, security and special director, Intelligence Bureau.


On Saturday the Tufts University Jumbos made the trip back to Kendall a long one for the men's cross country team. The Fellsway in nearby Stoneham witnessed an inferior outing by the harriers. The dual meet served as the final tune-up before the All-New England Cross Country meet this Friday at Franklin Park in Roxbury.
Tufts, ranked fourth in last week's New England poll, put runners in the win, place and show slots. The Tufts trio of Swift, Keane and Rich crossed the finish line just a few steps ahead of MIT's Jim Garcia G. Tufts followed with an impressive 5-6 combination to finish with 17 points to MIT's 44. Cool, breezy conditions over the muddy course contributed to a slow winning time of 26:38 over the five mile route. In cross country, however, times are irrelevant and place is everything.
MIT started aggressively as Dave Afshartous G and Jon Gladstone '92 led through the first half-mile. Afshartous soon fell prey to his chronic shin splints, and fell off the pace. Gladstone followed, and finished in the back of the pack. National class runner Sean Kelley '90 finished seventh. He was somewhat disturbed with his finish, but anticipated a stronger finish at the national qualifying meet three weeks from now.
Other Beaver scorers included Nathan Getrich '91, Ted Manning G, James Williams '91, 1500-meter All-American Mike Piepergerdes '92, and Gladstone finishing in the 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th and 15th positions.
The 27-point loss can easily be overlooked with an improved performance at the New Englands and the National Qualifiers. These meets provide the test for which all teams practice from the beginning of the season. Afshartous commented, "It would have been great to win this meet. Although it was a humbling blow, maybe it will do us some good in the long run." In cross country, the long run is all that matters.


Ko Yamada, born and raised in Japan, is a photography/media artist working in Japan.
After he finished with his master degree in photography at Ohio University, he started his career in the U.S. He was selected for the National Graduate Seminar for Photography in 1993. He was recognized at the FotoFest 1994 in Houston, Texas and at the 2nd International Photo Meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, before he had shows at Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. After he worked for International Symposium on Electronic Arts (ISEA) 2002 as the vise secretary general, he expand his field as photography based multi-media expressions. He combined photography with sound installations, book projects, newspaper project, and performances. His photography and art project are widely exhibited in Japan, Brazil, the U.S.A., Germany, Thailand, Malaysia and moreover in the virtual cyberspace like the Second Life.
You can download Ko Yamada's CV by clicking the left button under the PDF file icon.
MFA, Photography, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, U.S.A.
BFA, Photography, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, U.S.A.
2004 "Specimen of Good-bys"Nagoya Science Museum, Nagoya, Japan.
2003 "Roudou Kisha Club" performance-workshop, Gifu Contemporary Ceramic Museum, Japan.
1995 "IDENTIDADE REFLETIDA" San Paulo II International Photo-Meeting.
1994 "Reflected Identity" Houston International FOTOFEST, Houston Texas.
with Mr.Jin Murata Mt.Holyoke College, MA, U.S.A.
with Mr.Iichiro Tanaka, Kasugai City Culture and Art Center, Japan.
2006 "Fetish and Bookish" Galley ArtFeti, Nagoya Japan.
"Light Boxes / Dark Rooms" Ithaca College Ithaca, New York , U.S.A.
"Kawasaki Art School"educational art project , Mie,Japan.
2004 "Light Boxes, Dark Room" Hope College, Michigan, U.S.A.
2003 "Constellating Recollections" Book Project /performance Mt.Holyoke College, MA, U.S.A.
Gifu Contemporary Ceramic Museum, Japan.
2002 "Atowa Wakai Ofutaride" two person show Kasugai City Culture and Art Center, Japan.
2001 "MEDIASELECT 2001" ,No.20 warehouse, Nagoya,Japan.
2000-1999 "ZEITGENOSSISCHE FOTOKUNST AUS JAPAN" NBK, tour exhibition at in Germany.
1998 "Hitobito-people here and there" KIPP Gallery, Indiana University, Indiana, Pennsylvania.
"MEDIALOGUE" Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.
1997 The 2nd Tokyo International Photo Biennale, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.
1996 "Photonominal" Jamestown University, Jamestown, New York.
1995 "Cultural Baggage" Rice University Media Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
Museum of Modern Arts, Houston TX, U.S.A.
[light Boxes / Dark Rooms] イサカ大学 Ithaca, New York, U.S.A.
[Fotofest 94] Houston Fotofest Houston, Texas, U.S.A.


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was a Japanese sociolinguist, He was the author of ことばと文化, translated into English as Words in Context.

Suzuki argued that:
 Sociolinguists do not pay enough attention to the subtle differences between word usage in different cultures.
 Japanese linguists have traditionally been too occupied with Western linguistic categories, which are less than effective in studying Japanese.

Bibliography
 (translated in English)
 Words in Context (ことばと文化, 1973) published in English as "Japanese and the Japanese: Words in Culture" first edition 1978
 (not translated in English, literal titles)
 閉された言語・日本語の世界 (A Closed Language – The World of Japanese, 1975)
 日本語と外国語 (The Japanese Language and Foreign Languages, 1990)
 日本語は国際語になりうるか (Can Japanese Become An International Language?, 1995)
 教養としての言語学 (Educational Linguistics, 1996)
 日本人はなぜ英語ができないか (Why Japanese Are Bad at English, 1999)
 人にはどれだけの物が必要か (How Many Things Does A Man Need?, 1999)
 英語はいらない? (No Need For English?, 2000)
 日本・日本語・日本人 (Japan, Its Language and the People, 2001)
 日本人はなぜ日本を愛せないのか (Why Japanese Cannot Be Patriotic, 2005)
 (English works)
 A semantic analysis of present-day Japanese with particular reference to the role of Chinese characters (1963)
 Reflections on Japanese language and culture (1987)

References

External links
 Side-by-side English Translation of 役割の固定化と一元化 ("Role Definition and Unification") from ことばと文化

1926 births
2021 deaths
Linguists from Japan
Japanese scientists
Sociolinguists
Writers from Tokyo
Place of death missing

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Author: Gabrielle Zwi
RespectAbility Disability Voters' Guide: Maryland
Published by Gabrielle Zwi on September 28, 2022
Annapolis, MD, September 28 – In the run up to the 2022 midterm elections, the nonpartisan disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility has released its latest Maryland Disability Voters' Guide. According to the 2021 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, there are more than 694,317 Marylanders with disabilities, making up 11.6 percent of the total state population.
The nonpartisan disability group RespectAbility has asked Democratic and Republican candidates the same five key questions about issues affecting people with disabilities, including employment, education, and accessibility. RespectAbility has sent multiple emails and placed many phone calls to the campaigns in order to solicit responses to the questionnaire.
Continue readingRespectAbility Disability Voters' Guide: Maryland
RespectAbility Disability Voters' Guide: Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, PA, September 28 – In the run up to the 2022 midterm elections, the nonpartisan disability rights nonprofit RespectAbility has released its latest Pennsylvania Disability Voters' Guide. According to the 2021 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, there are more than 1,856,929 Pennsylvanians with disabilities, making up 14.5 percent of the total state population.
Continue readingRespectAbility Disability Voters' Guide: Pennsylvania
Government Looks to Add New Disability Data Questions: RespectAbility Responds
Published by Gabrielle Zwi on August 11, 2022
Washington, D.C., August 11 – This past week, the nonpartisan disability advocacy nonprofit RespectAbility submitted comments to the US Department of Labor (DOL) regarding the possibility of adding new supplemental disability data questions to the Current Population Survey (CPS).
Administered by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the basic monthly CPS is "the source of official government statistics on the unemployment rate and other labor market measures." Although it has existed since the 1940s, it only began tracking disability status in June of 2008. The subsequent data has "revealed large disparities in labor market outcomes between people with and without disabilities," but lacked the specific information that could be used to help understand and address these disparities. As a result, the Census Bureau and BLS have conducted three supplemental surveys to the CPS regarding disability employment issues (2012, 2019, and 2021), and plan to conduct a fourth in 2024.
On June 24, the Department of Labor published a notice stating that they were "seeking information from the public… to gather information to aid in revising this [fourth] CPS Disability Supplement and to inform its general disability employment research agenda."
RespectAbility made suggestions for new questions to ask, as well as new answer options for existing questions, such as including "reliance on family members" as a category of transportation commuting modes, in order to collect a more nuanced dataset which takes into account the experiences common for those with disabilities.
Continue readingGovernment Looks to Add New Disability Data Questions: RespectAbility Responds


text:
The Commissioner
Country work
Thematic work
Third party interventions
Human Rights Comments
View/
Commissioner's message for the Pride Forum Serbia 2018
Strasbourg 15/09/2018
The Commissioner addressed the Pride Forum Serbia 2018 in Belgrade today via video message.
Download the speech CommDH/Speech(2018)8_EN as pdf
Watch the video on Youtube
It is a pleasure for me to participate in the opening of your event through this video. The protection and promotion of human rights of LGBTI people is high on my agenda and I therefore welcome the series of events you are planning.
In recent years, there has been increasing awareness about the various forms of discrimination that LGBTI people suffer from. In many countries, pride events have been organised in safer conditions, public discourse has improved and legislation has evolved. Today, for example, more than half of Council of Europe member states provide some form of legal recognition for same-sex couples and many prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity explicitly in their national laws.
This progress has been possible thanks to activists, human rights defenders, lawyers, politicians, opinion makers, athletes, and family members who have refused to be bystanders and have chosen to stand up and fight for a more just society.
As you prepare for Pride Week, I would like to take a moment to salute their remarkable work. They helped European societies become more conscious of the inequalities and human rights violations experienced by LGBTI people. Thanks to them, there is much to celebrate. But there still remains a lot of work to be done.
Although there has been progress, we have no reason to be complacent. Even today, children are bullied at school or cast out by their families, adults lose their jobs because of their sexual orientation or are persecuted, beaten and threatened because of who they are or whom they love.
This situation causes enormous human suffering and we must change it. We must demand that our governments adopt laws and policies based on the international human rights treaties that they have ratified, and which require the protection of all people from discrimination, torture, violence or illegal state interference with people's private lives.
In particular, they should base their action on the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and of the European Committee of Social Rights, which has made the following principle clear: the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in the European Convention on Human Rights and in the European Social Charter must be secured without discrimination on any ground, including sexual orientation and gender identity.
Governments must also uphold the Court's position which considers that bans of Pride events or other forms of LGBTI people's expressions are a violation of the rights to freedom of assembly and expression. The Court also affirmed that laws prohibiting discussion about homosexuality reinforce prejudice and encourage homophobia.
Regrettably, legislation and practice very often contradicts these standards. In Serbia, for example, despite legislative and judiciary progress in fighting discrimination, homophobia remains a serious problem. For years, the Belgrade Pride could not take place, and it is not uncommon that LGBTI people are verbally or even physically attacked, while the perpetrators go unpunished.
The situation is alarming in many other countries in Europe where national or local authorities attempt to deny or undermine freedom of assembly and speech of LGBTI people, or use demeaning discourse against them.
In this context, events like the Pride Week acquire even more significance. They help people stand up together to demand justice and equality for LGBTI people. They confront the prejudices that fuel homophobia and discrimination. They bring visibility to the community and help more persons understand that LGBT people do not demand special rights, but just the same rights as everybody else.
As your Commissioner for Human Rights, I will stand by your side in this fight for dignity, justice and equality. I will continue reminding governments, parliaments, and judges of their human rights obligations in the protection and promotion of the human rights of LGBTI people. I will engage with students, journalists, and the public at large to promote a more factual debate around human rights for all. I will support NGOs and human rights defenders who challenge prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination against LGBTI people.
I am very proud of what you have achieved so far. The long march to equality and dignity is not over yet. We must continue to move forward, together.
I wish you a successful pride. Thank you.
Previous Commissioners
The mandate


This past Shabbat we went to the homes of our Rakazot Rina and Lauren in Ramat Eshkol. Friday night we all ate at Rina and Lauren's homes. The food was delicious (as expected) and we heard beautiful Divrei Torah. After the meal we heard a speech by Mrs. Jen Cutler and then all walked to Mea She'arim to hear Rebbetzin Rabinowitz who spoke to us about Chassidim and how they live. It was a great learning experience.
Shabbat day we were all split up at different families around Ramat Eshkol where we ate lunch and got to know wonderful new families. For Seudat Shlishit we had more guest speakers at our Rakazot's homes. It was truly a special Shabbat and we can't wait to go back to Ramat Eshkol again.
On Tuesday night, many girls went to the Great Synagogue to hear Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the UK. He spoke about the importance of unity in Am Yisrael and was incredibly inspiring.
Wednesday night was a lot of fun. Yehudit, a Yemenite woman, came to have a traditional Yemenite Henna with us. We learned the customs of the Yemenite Jews; specifically this pre-marriage ceremony celebrated a week before the wedding. Yehudit brought costumes, including ones for our bride (Vanessa Shnay) and groom (Naomie Bouaziz) and we all danced, gave ourselves hennas and had a great time experiencing the ways of the Yemenite Jews.


text:
how to be a success at everything
5 Words And Phrases That Can Transform Your Work Life
A Stanford design and engineering professor says making simple changes to the words and phrases we use can empower us to achieve our goals.
[Photo: Yagi Studio/Getty Images]
By Michael Grothaus 6 minute Read
Reporting for this story took a different turn from the beginning.
Usually when I reach out to experts I get enthusiastic replies. But that was not the case when I emailed Professor Bernard Roth, academic director and cofounder of Stanford University's d.school. He said he would "not help" me on a story I wanted to write about some excellent achievement habits he has refined and taught for several decades, which he's recently collected in a book called The Achievement Habit.
Roth wasn't being rude or difficult, however. He was making a point to illustrate one of the principles he talks about in his book: how swapping simple words and phrases we are used to saying multiple times a day can reprogram the way we think about and view perceived obstacles that stand in the way of personal success.
"I am prepared to assist (NOT HELP) you in any way I can," Roth wrote to me.
Roth might seem like an unlikely person to write a book about personal growth and the way language choices affect it. After all, he's not a psychologist, nor a linguist. His background is in mechanical engineering and design. Yet after attending an Esalen Institute retreat with other Stanford faculty in the mid-1960s, Roth became fascinated with human potential movement therapies. He soon applied his engineering and design principles to them to create his own content and formats of the therapy that better fit classroom and professional training situations.
Bernie Roth
"Over the years I kept slowly modifying the exercises and creating new versions based on what worked best with my students and workshop participants," Roth says. "The book presents the material that has stood the test of time over several generations."
One of his most prominent tips is word swapping. "Unfortunately, everyday speech is rife with disempowering language," Roth says. "Even more harmful is how we use reasons to let ourselves maintain dysfunctional behaviors. The use of reasons to hide excuses makes positive behavioral changes very unlikely."
The good news, Roth has found, is that by swapping simple words and phrases for others we can quickly—and permanently—produce positive behavioral changes. "People see the benefits immediately," says Roth. "We do an exercise in class and almost everybody glimpses how defective their habitual speech patterns are. Then they use what they have learned for a week outside of class. Almost everybody comes back with amazing stories of how much better their lives have become."
Here are five of the top words and phrases Roth recommends we swap out to get past the mental hurdles our everyday vocabulary choices put in our way.
Instead Of "But" Use "And"
"But" is probably the most limiting word in our vocabulary, Roth says in his book. "We often use 'but' in place of 'and'," writes Roth. "This substitution is so common that it sounds correct. Unfortunately it often has the effect of changing a neutral statement into a negative one."
Roth gives the example of someone who is afraid of flying and has just gotten an amazing internship on the other side of the country. When deciding if they can take the internship they'll examine the situation by saying, "I want this internship, but I'm afraid of flying."
Roth says that their phrasing doesn't represent the reality of the situation. The person both wants the internship and is also afraid of flying. The two aren't connected. However, by mentally phrasing the situation by connecting the two truths with a "but," the person is tricking themselves into believing that their amazing opportunity is a in fact a negative situation. The resulting conflict blocks them from moving forwards. That's easy to change, however: Simply swap "but" for "and".
"The use of 'but' closes off the conversation space, while 'and' opens it up."
"The use of 'but' closes off the conversation space, while 'and' opens it up," Roth writes. "When you open up the dialogue with 'and I'm afraid of flying,' your brain gets to consider how it can deal with both parts of the sentence. Maybe you'll see a therapist about it. Maybe you'll practice meditation." No matter what, you'll almost certainly find a way to take the internship.
Instead Of Saying "Have To" Say "Want To"
The next phrase to eliminate as much as possible on Roth's list is "has/have to." Like "but," it is a phrase that sets up conflict in our minds. "Has/have to" also makes us believe that a situation has been forced upon us instead of willingly chosen by us. This is almost always a fallacy.
"What they do in their lives—even the things they find unpleasant—is in fact what they have chosen."
Needing to complete work is one of the most common situations in which we say we "have to" do something. As an example, Roth writes about an engineering student who isn't happy he needs to take a certain math course to complete his degree. By saying to himself that he "has to" take it, he sets the situation up as a burden in his mind. It's true that he may not enjoy that particular course, but Roth says that by simply swapping out "has/have to" with "want to," his mind will more readily drop his dread of the course, which will make it seem like less of a burden, and indeed, more of something to look forward to, because it brings him one step closer to becoming what he wants to be: an engineer.
"This exercise is very effective in getting people to realize that what they do in their lives—even the things they find unpleasant—is in fact what they have chosen," Roth writes.
Instead Of "Can't" Use "Won't"
Another no-no word for Roth is "can't." He says that when we say we "can't" do something, that is almost always not actually the case. An example of this is someone who says they "can't swim." Phrasing their ability–or lack thereof–to swim with a "can't" enforces in their mind that it's not possible for them.
"'Can't' implies helplessness; 'won't' signifies volition and choice."
This, of course, isn't true. Every human being can learn to swim. By simply swapping "can't" for "won't," the person realizes that their inability to currently swim is a choice on their part, not a physical impossibility.
"The simple change of 'can't' to 'won't' is often empowering," Roth writes. "'Can't' implies helplessness; 'won't' signifies volition and choice."
Instead Of Saying "I'm Afraid To" Say "I'd Like To"
Another self-limiting phrase is "I'm afraid to." "I'm afraid to" is about the most blocking phrase there is. It acknowledges the person's fear instead of their desire. By saying to yourself, "I'm afraid to ask for a raise," you set your mind up to consider what could go wrong if you do. Will the boss think I'm greedy? If I'm denied it, will it mean I'm not as good an employee as I think I am?
By simply phrasing your want as "I'd like to ask for a raise," you are acknowledging your desire, and desire is usually associated with positive, pleasant thoughts. In this case, it's what you could do with the extra income—take a vacation; do that kitchen renovation you've been wanting. Pleasant thoughts and the possibility of pleasant outcomes usually compel us to take action, and we can't achieve our goals if we don't take action.
Instead Of "Help" Use "Assist"
When Roth emailed me to tell me he wouldn't help me with this article, and instead would "assist" me, he was trying to empower me. The word "help" is often associated with "helplessness" in our minds. Helplessness implies someone is incapable of achieving something without someone else stepping in to do it for them.
In the case of writing this article, Roth was right to tell me he would assist me. He realized something that my mind did not, which is that I could almost certainly write the article without his involvement. After all, I had access to his book and techniques and could have summarized them in the article without his input. And even with his involvement, the article couldn't be written and filed with my editor without me–I was still a necessary part of the equation.
The point is that when we use the word "help," we set our minds up to think we are helpless. However, when we swap "help" with "assist," we set ourselves up to see that we are an important and capable part of the solution.
Related: Two Useless Phrases You Need To Eliminate From Your Emails
Michael Grothaus is a novelist, journalist, and former screenwriter. His debut novel EPIPHANY JONES is out now from Orenda Books. You can read more about him at MichaelGrothaus.com
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C Board > Community Boards > A Brief History of Cprogramming.com > Wow!
This is kinda cool. Google has this "20 years of Usenet" thing, and it has all of these firsts, and this one is "Linus Torvalds announces Linux"!!
do you know where I can get a full timeline of the evolution of Linux?


text:
using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Threading;
using Estellaris.Tests.Utils;
using Estellaris.Web.Email;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;

namespace Estellaris.Tests {
  [TestClass]
  public class MailerTests {
    [TestMethod]
    public void TestSend() {
      var random = new Random();
      var port = random.Next(3389, 20000);
      var to = new [] { "test.one@test.com", "test.two@test.com" };
      var from = "no-reply@teste.com";
      var subject = "Hello, Test!";
      var body = "Hello, Unit Test!";

      using (var server = new SmtpServer(port)) {
        server.Start();

        var credentials = new MailCredentials {
          Server = "localhost",
          Port = port,
          Username = "user",
          Password = "password",
          UseSsl = false
        };
        using (var mailer = new Mailer(credentials)) {
          mailer.SendMail(to, from, subject, body);
          Thread.Sleep(100);
        }

        var message = server.Messages.FirstOrDefault();
        Assert.IsNotNull(message);
        Assert.IsTrue(message.To.Contains(to[0]));
        Assert.IsTrue(message.To.Contains(to[1]));
        Assert.AreEqual(from, message.From);
        Assert.AreEqual(subject, message.Subject);
        Assert.AreEqual(body, message.Body.Trim());
      }
    }
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Rear Admiral Alex Burton, ex-commander Maritime Forces, said the ability to "fight and win on the front line" was being affected by defence spending issues.
"If you do not spend more on defence than we currently are as a percentage of GDP, then we put at risk the fact that we are currently a credible military power, and from that we put at risk our position on the global stage.
The challenge is ensuring that we're still able to [fight and win] not just over the next 12 to 18 months, but that we're able to do that over the next 10 to 20 years.
Recently, the International Institute for Strategic Studies claims that Britain spent 1.98 per cent on defence in 2017 — the same figure reported for the previous year.
"Our figures show that Europe's growing defence investments are still not fully geared towards preparing European armed forces for future challenges. For most, defence R&D remains limited. Indeed, in 2016 three global defence firms – BAE, Boeing and Lockheed Martin – each spent more on defence R&D than all but two European states. Only France and the UK outranked them. And allocations for other costs, like military pensions, remain high in some states.
We really need to get away from this 2% figure, it has become a distraction. Even if for arguments sake we accept the UK is currently spending 2% of GDP on defense, so what? It clearly isn't nearly enough.
Completely agree, first the nation needs to agree what it expects of its military which is mainly a political question. When we have that answer we need to agree what is needed to achieve then and only then do you get to the point of agreeing a settlement. If the settlement cannot be achieved you go back to the start.
It's a bit bonkers starting with the figure you would like to spend and going from there. That's how you buy a car not defend a nation.
In the medium term the carriers will help rebuild some credibility, but first we have to get past the further loss caused by them having to carry US jets for the early years and no doubt being escorted by US ships that will be required as part of the deal.
2% is fine but pensions and development of new nuclear (or other radical or step change) technologies should be removed from the budget.
The defence budget should be for maintaining and Manning the systems required to establish and protect our sovereignty. Soldiers' welfare and tangential research should come out of other pots of money.
Mr Hamond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has made it clear, no extra money.
The Telegraph on 9th March 18 made it perfectly clear: Philip Hammond will snub ministers' demands for more money for the NHS, defence and other departments when he makes his Spring Statement next week despite forecasts of a £7.5billion windfall for the Treasury.
Brexit has to be paid for. £2 billion in civil service costs and up to £37 billion in subsequent payments.
The UK will have to accept a lesser role in world affairs. Defence must live within its budget.
personally I think the budget is adequate. The issue is where we choose to spend the money. We are trying to mimic the US but on a smaller scale, rather than taking a look at what we can realistically achieve and focusing the spending on specific useful capability. We are currently jack of all trades master of none.
not for long, based on the rate that the mine hunters are quietly going out of service with no replacements planned.
I'm not sure what the priorities should be Nick although I think they are coming together but I do agree with you 100 per cent about what you have called context. How can we just lurch from one spending crisis to another without a foreign policy which says these are the things we need to do and then pricing them out.
we can't realistically take on Russia alone, and so looking at what it takes to fight them on the 4 theatres is just spreading our resources too fine. We need a realistic assessment of western European assets, and then plan around providing a part of the puzzle.
Right now we plan like we will need to fight on all fronts alone and so buy top end assets to cover all 4 theatres, which is not even vaguely realistic.
If I was china i'd be building a big fleet right now also.
Steve the UK needs to rearm and increase defence capability in terms of numbers, weapons, platforms so that we meet our defence commitments and support our allies if they are attacked.
Article 5 of the NATO treaty means all NATO should commit to this requirement.
Problem is the whole of the EU (UK included) has spent the last 20 years harvesting the peace dividend meanwhile Russia has slowly but steadily under Putin been working to rearm and threaten and undermine NATO via asymmetrical warfare and niche areas like area denial weapons and saturation cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missile attack.
Russia has rearmed and modernised but is still not capable on taking on western Europe in a straight conflict.
I guess it depends what you mean by that. Russia could invade Georgia, Estonia or other former Soviet countries now allied to the west. What would we then do about it or could we even prevent it? Nothing and no I would say. Russia may be lacking in certain areas but they have the numbers on the ground with enough aircraft to hold seized areas.
They couldn't though launch a full offensive against the west, but that is highly unlikely anyway. We are all too reliant on one another. We need their gas, they need us to pay for it.
this is the reality and also what happened with Nazi Germany. how many countries are invaded before we are forced to counter the threat. I suspect at least 1 or 2 eastern bloc NATO members, could be taken without us getting involved.
Yes and it could be done Crimea style, with little green men and under the guise of protecting native Russians. By the time we could counter any of those moves it will be too late. They annexed Crimea and the west did little about it bar sanctions that were not very severe. We still bought their oil and gas.
How quickly could we reinforce the defences of the countries you are thinking of? Do we need a BAOR approach?
UK foreign and defence policy is proving to have made good choices in cultivating KSA and the Gulf states. We have acquired naval bases and Typhoon orders. We are protecting the supply routes of Qatari gas imports and stabilising the region.


Is the sound of ATFers nationwide experiencing a bout of Sudden Sphincter Slam as word of Congressional subpoenas to be issued next week breaks.
It couldn't happen to a more worthy bunch of...worthies.
A lot of people (me included) have posted on the Jose Guerena shooting. Out of all of it all, there is one that I think stands out, and that's the work of Confederate Yankee. Three whoppin' big posts so far, and all worth the time and effort to read.
Also instructive is what Massad Ayoob had to say shortly after the fact. I notice that after that he seems to be sitting this one out as far as I can find. Probably a smart move on his part. I have a lot of respect for him as a gunnie of longer standing than I and for the things he's accomplished, but he's cost himself with me. It seems that no matter what, the Blue Wall of Silence reigns supreme.
Old NFO has put together a nice little table outlining just how much it costs when you elect a bunch of socialists to run things.
I just wonder how long it will be until they run out of other people's money.
In an attempt to hammer some common sense into them.
As sad as this new tale is, I'm not sure that it's even sadder that Mommy and Daddy still believe in the system after receiving the standard TSA "Oops, we made a mistake!" reply to their complaint: "It made me feel that there is still hope, that there is still justice and that there's still somebody who listens to people's problems (in) the federal government."
You can't fix stupid, no matter where it lies.
So it wasn't a Dept. of Education SWAT team, but a "special branch" group who specializes in serving search warrants. Somehow, this FAILs to make me more comfortable.
Nothing more needs to be said, I think.
If it isn't one because the US Department of Education calls out a SWAT team for defaulted educational loans, I want to know just when it actually becomes one.
It would seem that the uber-ecofriendly wind turbines are mangling federally protected golden eagles in California. Will rainbow-farting unicorns be the next victims?
Bono, along with his U2 bandmates, are all "social conscious" and everything, but apparently also all butthurt about paying the taxes to fund the government programs they want to fix the world's ills.
Yes, it isn't summer according to the calendar, but at 89o and some unknown but high humidity, it may as well be.
Son and I were off to the range today for a bit of shotgunnin' fun. While we took drinks and sunscreen with us, Son decided that he wasn't going to drink anything because "He wasn't thirsty." You can see this coming, right?
I scored the last round shot; I honestly don't think he's ever shot a score that low. The heat and lack of hydration got to him. I promptly got the truck started and the AC cooling, and packed him up. At home, it was rest and Gatorade.
No permanent harm, not really any short term harm done. He's dandy. But this points out a little something we all need to remember in the summer heat, no matter what reason we're out in it.
Hydration is your friend. Pass it on.
The Tea Party Express has apparently sold out, with chaircritter Amy Kremer announcing that they would support whoever the GOP presidential nominee is, even it it was Mitt "Romneycare" Romney, because they want to beat Obama so bad.
How stupid is it when you want to replace Obama v1 with Obama v0.9?