SEO Tips And Tricks For Beginners Or Why My Method Doesn't Work?
Doesn't matter are you a newbie in SEO or you're the experienced specialist, if you're not in the Google TOP 10, something is wrong with your approach. Without a doubt, you have been reading numerous articles or even studies on the subject of SEO within a year or more, but you still can't realize, what's wrong with your website. The first rule you need to figure out is to learn the basics of Google. I don't want to waste your time on the incomprehensible terms. Let's use a straightforward language, to explain complicated things.
Is able to answer a search query.
It may look easy to follow these rules. However, don't forget that Google is a search engine (algorithm). Your content may seem suitable for these five points, in your opinion. However, Google regards these points differently. Once again, you're fighting against a robot, not a human, even despite the fact that humans created this "creature." The clue to this issue is to comprehend how does Google treats these five items.
Let's start with our 1st point — relevance to a particular keyword. Many years ago, the Google algorithm wasn't perfect. That's why there were a lot of doorways and other black hat SEO methods that worked. What am I talking about? For instance, you could write a keyword numerous times on your webpage using small letters at the bottom of the article, to take the 1st place in the Google SERP. It was so simple since Google has been counting the number of keywords on your webpage.
Of course, this method doesn't work in 2018 and won't work after. So, take into account the first rule, never use many keywords, just to impress Google. In fact, you can don't use a key phrase in your article at all. Moreover, sometimes, you can see some websites in the SERP, which doesn't have the keyword in a description and even title. But how Google understands that this web page is relevant to this keyword? There is no simple answer to this question. Someday, I'll publish an article on the topic. But this time, I'll try to explain you the issue of relevance in a nutshell.
The most widespread mistake is that you think that Google evaluates a page while the search engine estimates the entire website instead. Unlike you, Google is capable of assessing many factors simultaneously. While you're paying your attention to a particular article on your web project, Google focuses on a deep analysis of the entire structure of your project.
And more, more, more other factors.
Summing up, it doesn't matter that your article is relevant to the particular keyword, for Google, at this stage, this is just another one article. That's why we now need to pay our attention to a second point, uniqueness.
Do you think that your content is unique? I doubt. The only way to make your article completely unique is to write something directly from your head about something abstract. Otherwise, there is at least someone whose opinion is similar to yours on the subject. So, if you need to write an article about Brad Pitt, don't be so naive while considering that you could create an entirely unique blog post about this actor. There are millions of fans of Brad Pitt, a Mercedes-Benz brand, or a luxury brand watches. Thousands of articles are devoted to the most famous and prominent personalities, brand names, historical events, etc. So returning to Brad Pitt, there is no way to be absolutely unique writing about the actor. You may argue that your website is about pets, and you can be unique while talking about dogs and cats. No way!
First, while writing, you're using various idioms. You can't express your feelings without these phrases. In addition, you use names, dates, facts, etc. All these words make your content non-unique. Honestly, it's a serious issue. But is there a solution? Don't worry; I'm about to explain to you how to deal with this issue.
First, I want to reveal a sad fact. Google counts up seven words in a row to define their uniqueness. So if you change one of them, your content becomes unique again. Why seven words? Try to use any plagiarism checker, and you'll discover proof of the fact.
Secondly, don't try to make your content 100% unique since you can't cope with this task. Try to write more words instead. Google counts up a percentage of the non-unique content. As a result, even if you borrowed some data from another source, but these data will contain only 3-5% of your entire article, there is no reason for panic.
Let's now take a look at item №4.
Sometimes, you can't avoid of borrowing some data. For instance, you need to take a piece of a press release. Fortunately, there is the official solution. You can use a quote in your HTML markup. I mean the tag

. But frankly, I doubt that Google takes this tag into account. Therefore, the only way to be unique is to avoid borrowing. Otherwise, you can be being hit by Panda.
But I can give you a hint how to borrow some content and not to be punished. You may use an embedded Tweet as a quote. Google adores such an approach, especially if you've quoted something from the confirmed Twitter account.
Hey #BrightonSEO folks – it was great talking with you all today! Thanks for a fascinating day!
Without a doubt, you believe that you produce useful content. However, Google may consider your data useless. Please, take a closer look at this point. Your content could be unique but entirely meaningless (for Google). Why??????? The answer lies on the surface. There are too many web pages that are devoted to the topic. Almost every article is written correctly and is relevant to a search query. How can Google define which of them is the best?
Now it's time to talk about how Google evaluates the usefulness. Unfortunately, the answer is simple; Google can't do it directly. Once again, a search engine is nothing but a robot (they call it "bot" or "Googlebot"). Google bot can't grasp whether your content is useful. Therefore, the AI (Artificial intelligence) uses the most primitive approach, to cope with this task. Yes, I'm talking about the behavioral factors as well as backlinks.
Back in 1996, Larry Page and Sergey Brin introduced a term PageRank. Nothing has changed since that date. Though Google refuses usage of this indicator, PageRank is still the most valuable indicator among all the search algorithms. So what are the factors which Google uses to define the usefulness of your article? As I have mentioned above, the search engine uses the most primitive approach.
Finally, Google uses feedback as an instrument to define, whether your page deserves to be in the TOP 10. However, it's worth noting that this factor relates to these articles which are already in the TOP of the SERP.
Now you know the basics about how Google evaluates your web pages. Thus, it's time to answer the question: what is the best SEO strategy for the beginner? Of course, I have an answer since otherwise, this article might be useless.
1) Forget about highly competitive keywords and focus your attention on your content.
I have the real experience with highly competitive key phrases. Therefore, I know how it works, and I'll share these data with you.
First, Google discovers your article, and if you followed all the instructions above, the search engine gives you the 100th place in the SERP. If you managed to find your article among the first 100 results, it's a success. So I'd suggest you tune up your Google profile to display the TOP 100 results instead of the TOP10-20.
2) Don't expect any results before you publish at least 100 articles. In fact, you need at least 500 articles (not pages) to be in the TOP 20 by some non-competitive keyword.
Maybe you heard about the Google sandbox. Many think that this is nothing but a myth. However, bear in mind, Google will never give you a chance to compete with a serious web project before you have at least 500-1000 articles.
3) Never write an article which contains less than 500 words, even if there is nothing more to write. In the beginning, I suggest you write at least 700-1000 words (not symbols). I know, it's annoying. However, this is how Google works.
4) Never borrow any piece of other content, even if it is a press release. Use Twitter quotes instead.
5) Never publish your website before it contains at least 15-50 articles (not pages). The reason is very simple. Since your site is totally new, Google will be visiting it rarely. If Google discovers 1-2-3-5 pages, next time the search engine will be visiting your project in two weeks or a month. By the way, keep in mind, your primary goal is to force Google to visit your website as frequently as only possible.
6) Don't submit your new website in WMT (Google Webmaster Tools). This point may seem a bit weird. But I'll try to explain it. At first, you should track Google's natural behavior relating your website. Don't try to force Google to index your pages. Don't use "fetch as Google" in your WMT. It is one of the most widespread mistakes when a webmaster is trying to force the things to be faster. Add your website to WMT later, much later.
7) You must attempt to shock Google by using your ingenuity. Try to add diagrams or infographics inside your articles or create a video, etc.
For Google, your content is not only the text. You should invent some astonishing thing to make your content special. Turn on your imagination.
8) Don't waste your time by studying the TOP 10 websites hoping that they represent a good example how the best website must look like.
It's a wrong step since Google might change its algorithm and all these perfect projects could drop. On the contrary, your goal is to find the Achilles' heel of your competitor instead of studying its benefits.
9) Never try to purchase backlinks. It is the best way to invite a Penguin, to punish your project. Google would give you a chance to get natural backlinks by giving you the first place by a low-competitive keyword.
10) Finally, how it works naturally?
There are a few phases how Google evaluates your website and gives you traffic.
The next phase may last for years. However, if you managed to survive in the TOP 1 for a long time, Google could try to give you the enormous traffic thanks to a highly competitive keyword. However, this is a subject for another article.
Summing up, if you are ready for all these tasks, I welcome you to a white SEO society. As you have seen, everything looks easy. However, it's complicated to realize all these steps in practice. But now you're ready to read other articles on this website. By the way, if you managed to find this article, this means that these methods will work. All you need is just make your first step into the world of SEO. I hope this world is for you!


STaSIS Signature Series badges are symbols of distinction that visually identify each vehicle that has been upgraded with a complete set of STaSIS modifications. They are distributed only to customers who have purchased all products in Signature Series Touring, Challenge, or Challenge Extreme packages, as a set or individually over time, and are not available for individual sale. Each badge is forged from 6061 aluminum and specially crafted for quality and longevity.
STaSIS R8 Challenge Extreme vehicles are identified by black and silver badges that provide an additional level of distinction above other Signature Series vehicles. Read the story behind the black badge.
The serial number - engraved on the back of the rear badge - is associated with the car's vehicle identification number (VIN) and registered with both STaSIS and Audi.
In addition, our packages include STaSIS decals for the front panel, available in silver or black.


text:
COVID-19: saliva as a diagnostic sample
Children are the main focus of this study carried out by IGC, Dona Estefânia Hospital and Amadora Sintra Hospital.
© Joana Carvalho, IGC 2020
The use of saliva as the preferred sample in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, in all group ages, determines the development of a study at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, in collaboration with Hospital Dona Estefânia and Hospital Amadora Sintra. As the first data revealed to be very promising, the study aims to optimize processes to facilitate diagnosis. It will be a less invasive solution, especially for children, but it will also contribute to increase testing capacity and reduce the costs associated with carrying out the analysis.
Researchers from the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), in partnership with Hospital Dona Estefânia and Hospital Prof. Doutor Fernando da Fonseca, EPE (Amadora Sintra) are studying the feasibility of using saliva as an effective sampling for detecting Covid-19 infection in adults and children. So far, the method has been validated in 80 hospitalized people, where, among others, the effectiveness of saliva compared to the nasopharyngeal sample was evaluated, with very promising results being obtained. This study is expected to test a total of 300 people, 33% of whom are infected, from all age groups. According to Mónica Bettencourt Dias, Director of the IGC "science has a crucial role in the identification of new solutions to face the pandemic that we are experiencing. The current testing method is extremely invasive, especially for children, it involves large and expensive logistics and, therefore, it is strategic to find options with clear advantages for the population, patients and the national health system. "
Maria João Amorim, the IGC principal investigator leading the study, explains that "many articles have referred to saliva as an effective sampling alternative and, at the moment, pilot studies are underway in the United Kingdom, United States and Japan. We are using samples of positive cases of Covid-19 disease and confirming that saliva can be used effectively in the screening of SARS-CoV-2 in all age groups, which can increase testing and enable a self-assessment situation at home, which would be an ideal scenario to decrease the circulation of the virus. "

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Seth Meyers explains why we shouldn't focus on Donald Trump's beef with 'Hamilton'
By Miles Surrey
What important business was President-elect Donald Trump up to this weekend? Did he unveil actual details on how he plans to defeat ISIS, or the financial burden of literally building a wall around Mexico? No, but Trump did let people know that the Broadway musical Hamilton is "highly overrated."
As Late Night host Seth Meyers explains, Trump was responding to what happened to Vice President-elect Mike Pence when he went to a showing of Hamilton in New York on Friday. He was booed by the crowd before actor Brandon Victor Dixon delivered a poignant, but polite statement to Pence. If you were to look at Trump's tweets from Saturday morning, however, you'd have assumed much worse.
But as Meyers notes, Trump's apparent beef with Hamilton is a diversion from some of the president-elect's other, more unsavory stories from over the weekend. Specifically, Meyers refers to Trump settling for $25 million over fraud lawsuits with Trump University.
"As fun as it is to talk about this Hamilton feud, it's just a distraction from a far bigger story," Meyers adds. "A story that will one day be told in the hit Donald Trump musical, Scamilton."
Other stories related to Trump from the weekend that the president-elect would rather not focus on: His controversial appointment of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, who has a history of racial comments; hate crimes committed in Trump's name; and the potential conflicts of interest between Trump's presidency and his personal brand. Per Meyers, it's already taking shape in Trump's new hotel in Washington, D.C., as he's reportedly enticing foreign diplomats to stay at the hotel.
"You may recall that a common criticism of the Clintons was how they enriched themselves financially after leaving office," he says. "Well, Trump is proving yet again that he is the anti-Clinton by enriching himself before he takes office."
Watch the segment below:


DentalPlans.com makes it easy for you to search our huge dentist directory to find a dentist in Torrance, CA. Just enter your ZIP code to save money on General Dentistry with an easy-to-use discount dental plan. Pick the best discount dental plan for you and your family to get discounts on most dental care procedures from participating dentists like Dr. Kaoru Yogi. Then, you can make an appointment with Dr. Kaoru Yogi in Torrance to get discounts on General Dentistry and more.
The 30+ plans featured on DentalPlans.com are dental insurance alternatives that will save you money with dental care discounts on services like General Dentistry. The DentalPlans.com dentist directory features more than 100,000 participating dentist listings in combined networks, including many general dentists, orthodontists, periodontists, oral surgeons, and more. So whether you have a toothache, need a root canal or just want your teeth bleached, you can easily search our huge dentist directory to find Torrance dentists that offer discounts on General Dentistry and more.


In "Personal Training (and Getting Real Results) in the 21st Century – The Basics" we outlined some of the inherent challenges one faces when trying to achieve real results with personal training alone. Today we will take a closer look at the benefits of adding current technologies to help make the most of your personal training and exercise programs.
One way to view fitness technologies is that they become a virtual "workout buddy". For most of us, we tend to get more work done when we become accountable to someone else. Although we are accountable to our personal trainer when we are working one-on-one it can be easy to not give 100%, do one less repetition, or not comply with our exercise and/or nutrition program the other days we aren't with the trainer.
Be a "virtual" personal trainer and comprehensive fitness library.
Hold you accountable to the program outlined to reach your goals.
Quantify your results and track progress as you continue with your program.
Provide solid nutrition and weight management guidance and tracking tools (which is not an area of expertise for most personal trainers).
Let's look at the list outlined in Part I in more detail to see how technology can be you best "workout buddy" (in addition to personal training) to successfully achieve your health and fitness goals.
The cost of personal training varies widely depending on the experience of the trainer, their certifications and their areas of specialization. On average (rough estimate) personal training is about $60/hour. To schedule one training session per week for a month, that's a $240 investment.
There are several mobile apps available that are inexpensive and provide a large library of exercises, workout programs and full exercise videos. Although a mobile app most certainly doesn't take the place of having one-on-one training with a certified personal trainer, they can provide valuable information that will compliment what you learn from a personal trainer. This includes information on hundreds of exercises (showing proper form), exercise progressions for specific fitness goals, and guidance for exercising on your own.
By taking advantage of inexpensive fitness and exercise mobile apps you could potentially decrease the frequency of one-on-one personal training sessions, yet still get good results. For example, you can use your personal training sessions to master form and technique and then use the exercises and programs offered by the mobile apps in between your personal training workouts. Your personal trainer provides education and motivation (when you really need it) yet you can maintain a consistent workout schedule for the long term.
Motivation, when it comes to adhering to any exercise program, is extremely important. Most people would agree that exercise is not fun, it's hard work and you don't see visible results for at least 8 weeks (your friends won't notice until 12 weeks). That's one of the primary reasons why people pay for personal training.
Working with a personal trainer helps us recognize our goal and holds us accountable to the work that needs to be done to reach that goal. They are there to keep us on track, give us encouragement when we need that extra "push", and make sure we recognize our incremental achievements throughout the process.
Unfortunately, reaching a health and fitness goal is a full-time commitment that also includes the majority of hours during the week that is not you're your personal trainer. If you schedule three training sessions per week (totaling three hours) with your personal trainer that means there are another 165 hours where you are vulnerable to falling off the program and sabotaging your success. Luckily, technology never sleeps and can work for you 24/7!!
In the next segment, we will discuss more ways technology can play a key role in complimenting your personal training efforts to keep you on track to reaching your health and fitness goals.
actually I've been going to a gym for more than a year and I've gained about 17 pounds.. I was so skinny before.. after the first 5-6 months I did see a difference but lately I haven't seen much difference and I'm confused about the weights I use now.. maybe I should wait longer to have results? I've got an eating plan that I got from the gym and I'm not using any proteins, amino acids etc. but maybe I should start using them.. I mean I have the muscles but I want bigger ones like this guy. Do you have suggestions?
Congratulations on your success with your exercise program so far! Gaining 17 pounds of muscle is a significant accomplishment as the body needs to work very hard to build and maintain that type of muscle growth. The human body will naturally hit a "plateau" because our bodies are very efficient (and like to use as little energy as possible if it can). As your body gains more muscle mass, your body then requires more energy to survive. It will resist adding more muscle UNLESS you challenge it enough to force it to change. When you are starting out your body changes easily because it is starting from the bottom. As your body changes and becomes stronger the amount of improvement that you can achieve is a much smaller margin the closer you get to your upper limit. So … the more you improve, the harder it will be to see improvement with the same workout programs.
The addition of protein and amino acid supplements might help but I believe that adapting your workout program (sets, reps and exercise volume) will provide greater results in a faster amount of time. Review the "Workouts for Dummies" series for more information on how to design an effective program that meets your goals.


Let's start at 10 after the hour.
Oh, good -- I thought I was late.
I love the "There's what we want..." bookend to this episode.
Josh is so excited about his anniversary.
I love Josef's grin as Ryder teases Mick!
These pros do love their highrises.
Poor Josh cooked the chicken.
Hey--it never really struck me before how WEIRD it is that Beth leaves the party at her OWN APARTMENT!!
allegrita wrote: Hey--it never really struck me before how WEIRD it is that Beth leaves the party at her OWN APARTMENT!!
What do you want me to say? Huh? What do you want me to say??


The mobile training unit MTU at Grey Wolf Consulting is a specially assembled cadre of instructors. Our instructors maintain expertise in various tactical / combat doctrines and methodologies, which are designed to meet the needs of law enforcement, military, specialized security and the private sector. Additionally, the mobile training team is prepared to provide all of our standard training solutions or our custom training solutions either at our training facilities or your training area.


Atalante is an artist-run stage and a venue, where the innovative and experimental is encouraged. Our focus is set on contemporary stage art with choreography and music as our foundation, but we also give priority to film, art and festivals where culture debates and discussions are encouraged. Atalante is located at Övre Husargatan 1, next to Skanstorget in Gothenburg.
The stage was founded in 1987 by the dance collective Rubicon and today Atalante is a hub on the Swedish dance and art scene. Atalante is co-financed by The Swedish Arts Council, The Region Västra Götaland and The City of Gothenburg Department of Culture.
Atalante has 88 seats in a permanent, gradually rising seating arrangement. The walls are painted black and the floor is springy wooden parquet. The stage has a black and white dance carpet and a black backdrop.
The measurements of the stage are width 12,5 meters, depth 10 meters, hight 5,10 meters (to the flybar for headlights).
The stage has an entrance for loading, but no private parking for visiting groups.


If you've made a green smoothie only to find a few surprising lumps of spinach floating around, you're not alone.
It's happened to most of us before and it can turn off smoothie newbies forever. Seriously, who wants to have to start chewing their drink?
The good news is that the chunky kale at the bottom of your glass is preventable.
There's plenty of information out there on healthy smoothie tips, tricks, and ingredients, but very little emphasis on one of the key components to smoothie-making: the blender.
We know that smoothies can be an excellent way to squeeze in some servings of fruits and vegetables quickly and easily.
Still, many people are scared away from making smoothies because they think they need to shell out hundreds of dollars for a blender that can make their smoothies actually taste good.
Luckily, a good blender doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. A bit of savvy shopping can get you a great blender that performs well for a reasonable amount.
But what is the best blender for smoothies?
Lucky for you, I've taken the hard work out of the equation and created a guide featuring the cream of the crop. Here are the best blenders for smoothie making.
This is the best-selling blender from Vitamix, and quite possibly one of the best blenders for smoothies. Its large size is perfect if you're looking to make bigger batches, making meal prep a cinch. It also has variable speed settings, putting you in complete control.
It's incredibly durable and comes with a seven-year full warranty. It's also super powerful, so if you're looking to blend, pulverize and really put the "smooth" in "smoothie," look no further.
The biggest con here is the hefty price tag.
If you're looking to invest in a long-lasting and powerful blender, no problem. If you're not quite ready to drop so much cash for a blender, this might not be the right pick for you.
Size can also be an issue for some. While the large capacity can certainly come in handy, if you're running tight on space, this will definitely take up a pretty significant chunk of your kitchen counter.
The Magic Bullet is a popular choice, especially for smoothie newbies, because of its convenience.
It comes with many different containers and lids ranging in size, which can be great if you're looking to use it for making sauces, dips, drinks, and smoothies. Another plus is that you can easily blend your smoothies directly in the cup, screw the lid on, and you're set.
It's also a relatively small blender, meaning it's perfect for apartments or kitchens with limited room. Its low price makes it less of a commitment than other pricier blenders, making it a great starter set.
With just 250 watts of power, the Magic Bullet is on the lower end of the spectrum. It can still get the job done, but it requires a little more work than a higher-power blender to get the ingredients blended well.
Despite the fact that the blender itself is fairly compact, storing all of those attachments can be slightly challenging. The cups and containers also can't be stacked, which can be a little annoying if you're pressed for space.
The Ninja Master advertises its "Ninja Technology," asserting that it is able to chop ingredients uniformly. It also features a chopper and pitcher attachment plus storage lids, allowing for versatility and convenience.
The capacity of the blender also makes it easy to make larger batches for later. It may not be the most powerful option on the market, but it definitely works well for blending drinks and creating delicious smoothies.
The Ninja Master doesn't have the same convenience as the comparably priced Magic Bullet, with fewer attachments and a narrower assortment of cups and containers. It is also fairly large, which can make storage a challenge.
The Ninja Master is also mostly plastic, meaning it's not as durable and won't have as long of a shelf life. Multiple reviews online report shards of plastic ending up in food, which is definitely something to consider when you're deciding between cost and quality.
This high-powered blender features three speeds, meaning you can easily achieve your desired consistency with just the push of a button. With 1000 watts of power, smoothie making becomes a breeze.
Another big advantage is its size; the Ninja Professional Blender is able to handle a high amount of volume, making it perfect if you're wanting to blend up a few smoothies at a time.
If you're just getting into the smoothie game, this might not be the blender for you. The higher price tag and the large size could deter you from this blender, which may be better suited for a more experienced smoothie maker looking for an upgrade.
It also lacks the convenience of other blenders, given its large pitcher size and lack of serving cups (unless you pay extra).
This single-serve blender is ideal if you're looking for a simple, no-frills-attached blender to make some delicious smoothies with.
It's compact and portable for easy storage, plus it features a detachable cup with a lid to enjoy your smoothie on-the-go.
It's also budget-friendly. The retail price of this blender is $25, but you can get it for even less if you're buying online, making your wallet very happy.
With just one setting and a relatively low level of power, you'll probably have to do quite a bit of blending if you're working with lots of greens or fibrous fruits. Plus, with such a small capacity, you'll probably be making those smoothies one at a time.
This blender is better suited for lighter smoothies. This is probably not the blender for you if you're hoping to add tons of greens, ice, or frozen fruits to your smoothie.
If you're looking for a good mix of power and size, this KitchenAid blender definitely delivers.
It offers five speeds, plus a pulse mode and crush-ice feature. It also advertises its "Intelli-Speed Motor Control," which is able to sustain an optimal speed throughout blending.
This model boasts stainless steel blades, soft-start technology, and a lightweight pitcher to simplify your smoothie making.
For the price, you're not getting much extra when compared to cheaper models that are just as efficient. It also doesn't offer the ease of to-go lids or varying pitcher sizes that come with other blenders.
The design is appealing, but is it really worth double or triple the price? That's for you to decide.
The NutriBullet is one of the most popular blenders for smoothies out there. The set typically includes 12 pieces, including the power base plus various cups, lids, and blades.
Like the Magic Bullet, the NutriBullet offers the convenience of making your smoothie directly in a cup you can drink out of, but with higher power and at a greater volume.
The base itself is compact, but storing a wide assortment of pieces can be a nightmare. It also lacks the versatility of other blenders on the market with just one setting, meaning it doesn't give you as much control.
Although you can find the blender for cheaper than its list price, it does run on the pricier side, so it might not be the best starter if you're on a budget.
Now that you've (hopefully) found the best blender for smoothies that works for you, you're ready to get started making smoothies.
Here are a few tips for how to get the perfect smoothie every time.
1. Blend your greens first.
To avoid accidentally biting into a big chunk of kale, always add your greens first and blend with some liquid before adding the rest of your ingredients. This helps ensure a smoother smoothie.
2. Use frozen fruit instead of ice when possible.
Doing this prevents diluting the smoothie and really maximizes the nutrient profile.
3. If you do add ice, always put it in last.
It's easy to overblend the ice and take your smoothie from cool and slushy to thin and watery. Prevent this by blending your other ingredients first, adding ice at the end, and then blending to your desired texture.
4. Less is more with liquids.
Get as much of the good stuff in first (especially veggies) before adding liquids.
Then add it in a little at a time to prevent overdoing it. It's always better to add in too little than too much.
5. Cut into smaller pieces as needed.
If you notice that you're still finding strings of spinach in your cup, it might be time to cut the pieces smaller before adding to the blender. This can make it easier to blend completely, especially if you're not working with a high-power blender.
Just as important as your choice of blender is what you put inside.
The right ingredients in the right amounts will ensure a smoothie that's not only nutritious, but also tasty and satisfying.
I've put together a one-page guide that lays out how much of what types of ingredients you should include in the Perfect Green Smoothie Printable.
You can download the guide by clicking the banner below.


Protodeacon, Deacon, Sub Deacon and Acolyte. (Deacon Vestments include Orar, Cuffs and Stikharion.) Orar fabrics (single and double) can be substituted with either brocade or velvet. Contact us for more information and price details. Please refer to the measurement chart.


Monthly trade publication provides in-depth coverage of current distribution trends and practices, with topics covered including market forecasts, business management, best practices, information technology, and merger and acquisitions. Digital editions can be viewed online; free subscription is available upon request.
Bimonthly trade publication features news and information for industrial distributors, with topics covered including pricing and selling strategies, inventory management, market outlook by product category, top distributor profiles, and more. Selected articles from current and prior issues are available free online.
Monthly trade magazine provides news, information, and analysis for supply management professionals, with special features including the Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing ISM Report on Business®" included in each issue of the magazine. Digital editions and selected articles from archived issues can be viewed online.
Monthly economic indicators survey includes ISA manufacturer and distributor trending indexes for business activity, new orders, inventory, employment, and supplier deliveries, and also includes additional commentary on current business conditions and trends by survey participants. Sample issue is available online.
Market research study analyzes the North American market for 14 product categories on a national, regional, state, province, metropolitan area, and county level, with product categories covered ranging from abrasives to welding equipment and gases.
https://www.bizminer.com Search for "423830" and "423840"
Annual financial analysis survey provides financial and operating performance benchmarks for industrial supplies distributors, with comparative data provided including income statements, balance sheets, and financial and productivity ratios categorized by line of business (general, specialty), geographic region, and level of profitability (typical vs. high profit).
Annual salary survey provides average salaries for supply management professionals, with survey results broken out by gender, years of work experience, education level, certification status, geographic region, and other selected criteria. Survey summary can be viewed free online; full report is available to members only.
Biennial compensation survey provides detailed analysis of executive and employee compensation, including compensation levels, fringe benefits, and sales compensation methods, for industrial supplies distributors, and also includes cross-industry compensation data from other wholesale distribution trade associations broken out by annual sales volume and geographic region.


text:
Taylor Swift Wins BIG At The 2022 VMAs, Including Video of the Year!
Home / Stars / Taylor Swift Wins BIG At The 2022 VMAs, Including Video of the Year!
Singer Taylor Swift was nominated for five awards going into Sunday night, all for her "All Too Well: The Short Film."
The 15-minute love story based on her 10-minute song, "All Too Well," from her 2021 Red (Taylor's Version) album, featured "Stranger Things" alum Sadie Sink and "Teen Wolf" star Dylan O'Brien, while Taylor directed, wrote, and appeared in the short.
Out of the five awards that she was nominated for, Taylor won three of them, including the coveted Video of the Year Award.
Taylor Swift Wins BIG At The 2022 MTV VMAs For Her 'All Too Well' Short Film
📸| @TaylorSwift13 with her #VMAs awards!! pic.twitter.com/opA3LDlbTa
— The Swift Society (@TheSwiftSociety) August 29, 2022
The "Gorgeous" singer is breaking records yet again, as she is now the first and only artist ever to win a third video of the year trophy. She won before in 2015 for her star-studded music video for "Bad Blood" and in 2019 for the popular track "You Need to Calm Down."
In addition, she also became the first artist to win for a video that she directed herself. Her "All Too Well" short film is also eligible for the 2023 Academy Award for best live-action short. Fans can take a look at all the categories she was nominated for and the winners of each category below.
Doja Cat – "Woman" – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records
Drake ft. Future & Young Thug – "Way 2 Sexy" – OVO/Republic
Ed Sheeran – "Shivers" – Atlantic Records
Harry Styles – "As It Was" – Columbia Records
Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – "INDUSTRY BABY" – Columbia Records
Olivia Rodrigo – "brutal" – Geffen Records
Taylor Swift – "All Too Well" (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) – Republic Records (WINNER)
.@taylorswift13 gives @dylanobrien a huge hug after winning Video of the Year for #AllTooWellTheShortFIlm pic.twitter.com/SqkLMh4lQ3
— MTV NEWS (@MTVNEWS) August 29, 2022
BEST LONGFORM VIDEO
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles – Darkroom / Interscope Records
Foo Fighters – Studio 666 – RCA Records
Kacey Musgraves – star-crossed – Interscope Records / MCA Nashville
Madonna – Madame X – Interscope Records
Olivia Rodrigo – driving home 2 u – Geffen Records
Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – "family ties"
Camila Cabello ft. Ed Sheeran – "Bam Bam"
Harry Styles – "As It Was" (WINNER)
Kendrick Lamar – "N95"
Normani ft. Cardi B – "Wild Side"
Taylor Swift – "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version)"
BEST DIRECTION
Billie Eilish – "Happier Than Ever"
Ed Sheeran – "Shivers"
Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow – "INDUSTRY BABY"
Taylor Swift – "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version)" (WINNER)
Doja Cat – "Get Into It (Yuh)"
Olivia Rodrigo – "Brutal"
Rosalía – "Saoko" (WINNER)
The Weeknd – "Take My Breath"
Taylor Swift Thanks Her Fans For The Win… By Giving Them A Brand New Album!
.@taylorswift13 announces that her new album drops October 21 during her #VMAs acceptance speech for Video of the Year pic.twitter.com/nPBFh1epXU
In 2020, Taylor Swift released sister albums folklore and evermore. In 2021, she followed it up with Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version). Fans had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of 1989 (Taylor's Version), and although a few singles have been released here and there throughout the year, it looks like fans will finally get to hear some new music in October 2022.
"I made up my mind that if you were going to be this generous, and give us this … I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you my new album comes out Oct. 21, and I will tell you more at midnight," she said as she received her award.
"I'm so honored to have been recognized alongside such amazing artists and directors in this category," she continued. "I just want to say I'm so heartened by the fact that for the first time in VMA history four of the directors nominated in the Video of the Year category are women."
Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21. Meet me at midnight.
Pre-order now: https://t.co/jjqUNkphuG pic.twitter.com/Fh96zK8vro
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) August 29, 2022
"You guys, I'm just so proud of what we made and I know with every second of this moment that we wouldn't have been able to make this short film if it weren't for you the fans. I wouldn't be able to re-record my albums if it weren't for you, you emboldened me to do that."
Fans can learn everything we know about her "Midnights" album so far by clicking here.
Filed Under: Stars, Top Stories Tagged With: 2022 MTV VMA, MTV VMAs, Taylor Swift, VMAs
Nicki Minaj, LL Cool J & Jack Harlow Set To Emcee 2022 VMAs
Taylor Swift Dating History: All The Guys Before Joe Alwyn
Scooter Braun And Ex-Wife Agree To Keep Divorce Negotiations Confidential
The 'Swifties' Are Ready To 'Speak Now' For A BIG Reason!
THIS A-List Actress Will Have Two Songwriting Credits On Taylor Swift's 'Midnights!'
Michael B. Jordan And Lori Harvey End Relationship After Whirlwind Romance!
Gymnast Olivia Dunne Flaunts Her Insanely Chiseled Abs In Busty Selfie
Britney Spears Says Husband Sam Asghari Thinks She's 'Gone Bonkers'
Leah Remini Reflects After Finishing 1st Semester At NYU: 'It's Tough, But It's Worth It'
Justin Bieber Manages To Play Tonsil Hockey With Hailey Bieber Despite Face Paralysis


text:
Sindha has a schedule of intense activities for 2023
After the difficulties imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic in the last two years, the Accommodation and Food Union of Porto...
where to watch, lineups, schedule and refereeing
Grêmio should reserve the starting line-up for the third round of the Campeonato Gaúcho, which takes place this Sunday (29),...
Inter v Sao Luiz – where to watch, lineups, schedule and refereeing
Still without winning in the Campeonato Gaúcho, Inter takes the field this Saturday (28), at 4:30 pm, at the Beira-Rio...
competition sites, security… the Organizing Committee claims to be "on schedule"
Criticized by the Court of Auditors in its report on the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Organizing Committee...
the full tournament schedule
By the editorial staffPosted 26 minutes ago, Update just nowMikkel Hansen, world title contender with Denmark PanoramicThe schedule and complete...
leaving Pau for La Rochelle, Antoine Hastoy has taken a step
The international fly-half trained at the Section Paloise has established himself this season as the playmaker of Stade Rochelais. Enough...
Monaco innovates to accelerate the training of its young players
This summer, AS Monaco changed everything in its formation. The amateur world is over, make way for an elite group....
in Brive, the reunion between Patrice Collazo and RC Toulon
The RCT, in search of consistency, expects this Saturday a tough fight against the CAB, now cornered by its former...
Ekitike continues, the PSG defense worries
TOPS/FLOPS – The performance of a decisive Ekitike, the promises of the young Parisians, but also the still worrying defense...
"we couldn't have this little corner of blue sky" breathes Julien Stéphan
Strasbourg was eliminated from the Coupe de France by Angers on penalties (0-0, 4-5 TAB).Julien Stéphan (Strasbourg coach, eliminated from...
Angers wins against Strasbourg on penalties, Pau eliminates Montpellier
Discover the results of the multiplex of the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France.First surprise during these 32nd finals...
"A song not at all fascist but patriotic" for Lovren, already in turmoil on his return to Lyon
Back at Olympique Lyonnais, Dejan Lovren is accused of fascism and homophobia."It has nothing to do with fascism", Supports AFP...
after a serious accident, practices at 5 and XIII can resume, the XV still at a standstill
After the serious accident in the Hautes-Pyrénées, the National Union of School Sport has announced that the 5 and the...
injured, Benoît Kounkoud forfeits the World Cup
Injured during the victory of the French handball team against the Netherlands, Benoît Kounkoud is forfeited for the World Cup...


Watch an AIDS activism drama, see last year's Cannes favourite and follow Jean-Luc Godard's famed affair in a biopic.
French filmmakers are a busy bunch. Every year, the country's cinematic talent pumps out nearly 300 new movies — enough to rank among the top five film-producing nations in 2016, behind only India, the US, China and Japan.
It's no wonder, then, that New Zealand's annual Alliance Francaise French Film Festival is always jam-packed with flicks, spoiling viewers for choice when it comes to Gallic cinema's latest and greatest. The fest's team clearly has plenty of picks to choose from, with their 2018 event touring 37 features around local screens until the end of March.
Sitting pretty on this year's highlights list is Ismael's Ghosts, which sees three of France's most gifted actors face-off on the big screen; BPM (Beats Per Minute), which comes direct from the Cannes Film Festival; plus opening night comedy C'est la vie! from The Intouchables duo Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. In short: there's more than enough on offer to make you think you're on the other side of the world, and not just in your nearest cinema. And if you need some help deciding what to see, that's where we come in.
When last year's Cannes favourite (and award-winner) BPM (Beats Per Minute) didn't make this year's Oscars shortlist for the best foreign-language film category, it was considered quite the shock. Come French cinema's own night of nights, the Césars, and the AIDS activism drama fared much, much better, taking out best film, editing, screenplay, score, male newcomer and supporting actor. It's easy to see why, the latest from Eastern Boys' filmmaker Robin Campillo is both intimate and wide-ranging as it explores the efforts of a passionate group to fight for acceptance and affordable HIV treatment in the early '90s. The writer-director himself was a member of ACT UP, the organisation at the movie's centre, adding an extra layer of authenticity — something the film already oozes courtesy of its naturalistic style, personal approach and exceptional performances.
Another year, another Isabelle Huppert film in the AFFFF program. Anything else really is virtually unthinkable. The adored French star actually features in two of this year's festival flicks, but if the prospect of seeing the inimitable actress in a version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde doesn't get you excited, then nothing will. Lighter in tone than Robert Louis Stevenson's literary classic, and filled with commentary about class clashes in contemporary French society as well as laughter, Serge Bozon's effort is set within a Parisian high school. It also features a pivotal lightening strike and sees Huppert's stressed teacher undergo quite the transformation.
French singer Barbara gets the biopic treatment in the film that shares her name, but it's also much, much more than that. The third feature directed by actor-turned-filmmaker Mathieu Amalric, it's a tale about an actress (Jeanne Balibar) preparing to play Barbara in a biopic, and a director (played by Amalric) who's obsessed with his subject. Yes, there's a film within a film, as well as archival footage of the real figure herself, just to keep things even more ambitious. Adding further layers to the flick, Balibar — who just won the Cesar for best actress for her excellent efforts — was once married to Amalric.
What's the French Film Festival without a dose of French film history? This year, they're delivering it in biopic form, focusing on one of the country's great directors and pioneers of the French New Wave. In Redoubtable, Louis Garrel steps into Jean-Luc Godard's shoes, following his relationship with his Weekend and La Chinoise muse Anne Wiazemsky (Stacy Martin), his career in the late '60s, and the surrounding French political and social unrest. Plus, for director Michel Hazanavicius, it's a return to making movies about movies after his Oscar-winning The Artist.
Another AFFFF favourite — but behind the lens — François Ozon (Frantz) is back in psychological sexual thriller territory with Double Lover. Yes, as the name gives away, there's duplicity involved. It's rarely a good idea to fall in love with a psychoanalyst in these kinds of films, so when former model Chloé (Marine Vacth) does just that with Paul (Jérémie Renier), there's unexpected consequences. Fans of Swimming Pool, In the House, Young & Beautiful and The New Girlfriend will know just the mood, tone and simmering unease they're in for, as well as the all-round provocative air.
Films about filmmakers are a definite trend at this year's AFFFF. And not just that — films starring Mathieu Amalric as a filmmaker, too. The aforementioned Barbara director and star plays the titular Ismaël in Ismaël's Ghosts, who's just about to get immersed in his latest project when the past comes calling. Also featuring Marion Cotillard, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Redoubtable's Louis Garrel, the movie is the latest from My Golden Days' Arnaud Desplechin, and opened the Cannes Film Festival last year.
The Alliance Française French Film Festival runs in Auckland from March 1-21 at Rialto Newmarket and Berkeley Cinemas Takapuna, and in Wellington from March 7-28 at Emassy Theatre. For full program details including screening times and ticket information, visit the AFFFF website.


Vintage 70s Levis Western shirt in a blue, cream and burgundy plaid print. Pearl snaps up the front, long sleeves. Unisex.
Condition: Very good vintage. Has a faint spot on the back of the right that may come out with cleaning. Lightly worn edges on both cuffs.


1. Choose a popular fairy tale when working with young learners. You will find that they have "favourites". Humour them.
2. Always explore the vocabulary at the beginning. This will save a lot of time in the long run.
3. Be strict about diction and pronunciation. Bad pronunciation is very difficult to correct, you mustn't ignore it.
4. Use music, they will love it. It sets the mood, helps them come in on cue, and uplifts the production.
5. Give them responsibility over their costumes; they won't disappoint you. If you print face masks, ask them to colour the masks and paste them onto cardboard. Delegate tasks–get each actor to bring their own props.
6. If you don't already have your own costume collection, start now, even if it is with simple face masks. My sons loved roleplays–and still do! I am fortunate to be able to "recycle" the costumes that were used by my sons. Hence, I can dig into my costume box if I need Spiderman, Batman, Darth Vader, Yoda, Buzz Lightyear, Big Bad Wolf and loads of others!
7. Ensure the script has simple language. Keep the length of the play short. A five minute script will suffice, for a start.
8. Adapt your play to the size of your class. Six blind men can easily become " Five blind men" if you don't have enough students. If you have a large class use more than one narrator– this will probably work better than one!


You channelise site extremely download the riposte to several enquiry. As part of the , applicants for U. These questions will be from the list of the 100 civics questions. There is a list of 100 civics questions. You can be given the civics test in a language you understand if you are not yet good in English. Citizenship and Immigration Services asks each applicant as many as 10 government and history questions from this list. What happens after the interview? Although it may seem like an overwhelming obstacle, there are many resources that have been made available to teach you everything you need to know to pass your citizenship test and interview.
The civics test is conducted to test your understanding of the U. This interview will be scheduled within 90 days from your first interview. We go How To Prepare For The U. English Language Exemptions As you are filling out your Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, you can choose certain exemptions. Boundless stays with you all the way to the finish line, helping you prepare for your citizenship exam. Post navigation We are not a law firm, and this site and our software are not a substitute for the advice of a lawyer and do not contain or constitute legal advice. For applicants 50 years of age or older at the time of filing who have lived in the U.
We make it easy to complete your naturalization application and avoid common problems. The content on this site should not be relied on to reach conclusions about any person's specific situation. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. Our company provides a self-help software which provides detailed information regarding the process of how to correctly complete an immigration form and we only provide technical support in relation to the above. Connecting readers with great books since 1972. Check out this inspiring story about. In this case, you must have lived in the U.
Write information about each vocabulary term or civics-related topic that will help you remember it. This form should be completed by a licensed clinical psychologist or licensed medical or osteopathic doctor no more than 6 months before filing Form N-400. Planning ahead will allow you being more relaxed. Civics Component To pass this component of the citizenship test, you must be able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge and understanding of U. Updated chapters take into account the recent trend by police departments to rely on oral interviews and computerized testing when selecting police officers.
Millions of eligible permanent residents never take advantage of becoming naturalized U. Likewise, you should be prepared to offer any additional information. Your access to and use of this site, including any purchase, is subject to and constitutes your agreement to the website and. Reading about these aspects of government and history will increase your chances of passing the test. This will be followed by the civics test. Before the naturalization interview, the immigration officer will review the Form N-400 filed by you. You will be asked to write a few simple English sentences to test your writing skills.
If you were approved you will be scheduled for an oath ceremony where you will officially become a U. Civics test Without prior preparation, you may not be able to take the civics test. This test will be in English. However, you will be given two chances to pass the tests. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less. Many of the words overlap with the vocabulary used in the reading test see above.
We are not a law firm, do not provide legal advice, and are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. According to the immigration policies, you must read and write at least one sentence out of the three in a manner that shows that you understand its meaning. Check out our detailed guide to the for details about the final step. The officers just want you to know whether you understand what it means to be an American citizen. You will need to submit Form N-648, Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions, prepared by a licensed medical or osteopathic doctor, or licensed clinical psychologist along with your Form N-400 to request the accommodation for the test. All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so don't worry about it.
We have no connection to U. You will receive Form N-652, Naturalization Interview Results at the end of your interview. By preparing for the test and interview and knowing what to expect, you can be ready to confidently answer any question and easily clear this hurdle to become a naturalized U. If the documents you provided do not establish your eligibility for naturalization, your application will be denied. This form will have your interview results. At your naturalization interview, you will be asked 10 questions.
Your ability to understand the questions and answers in English is part of the interview. Access to and use of the usimmigrationforms. There are 100 civics questions on the U. Customer support is for technical and billing issues only, and will not answer legal questions. Language: English Category: Citizenship Publish: March 11, 2019 Source:.


text:
Book review: 'Fugitive Atlas' is former Chattanoogan Khaled Mattawa's lyric cartography of human migration
December 19, 2020 | by Ciona Rouse / Chapter16.org | Copyright © 2022
Graywolf Press / "Fugitive Atlas"
"FUGITIVE ATLAS" by Khaled Mattawa (Graywolf Press, 144 pages, $18).
"Fugitive Atlas," poet Khaled Mattawa's fifth collection, arrives at a time when we have borders on the brain. From our heated social-media diatribes over U.S. immigration policy to the stark realization of borders closing in the time of COVID-19, we sit in heightened awareness of who is allowed to go where. We have racial borders, socioeconomic borders, rural and urban borders we've yet to tear down. And, quite simply, many of us stay within the walls of our homes; when we do leave, we live within the new bounds of 6 feet. No hugs. No handshakes.
In this melodious collection, Mattawa — a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga — issues a timely invitation to examine our many migrations, gently calling us out of ourselves and into the world. He becomes a cartographer of reality across many countries, poetic landscapes and styles. In a series of imaginative and provocative poems, he asks us to consider the borders — at times government ordained, at times personally, financially and culturally imposed — that exist off the map and apply meaning to our real lives.
The chains await us like airplane seatbelts.
No place else to go.
Nowhere but this earth.
These poems remind us we do not exist as silos. Mattawa chooses to write only in three-line stanzas (tercets), except for the haibun poems anchored throughout the book, which are prose sections that end with a renga (two haiku-like tercets). Each tercet a reminder that we are community — not solitary lines, not neat couplets. The tercets also provide a sense of order and often delightful rhythm, even in poems where Libyan-born Mattawa confronts growing up under the dictatorship of Muammar Al-Qaddafi until migrating to the U.S. in 1979 ("death like air, everywhere"). They are psalms, songs. And the songs hold notes of brutality.
Even within his stanza discipline, Mattawa pushes himself in form with pseudo-ghazals, qassida and list poems. "Occupation: An Index" describes the Italian occupation of Libya with a unique variation on the abecedarian form. A poem after American poet Gertrude Stein and Egyptian songstress Oum Kalthoum, "Alams for Cairo Nights," upends the bounds of sexuality these women existed in and offers readers several ways to read the poem (poetically nonbinary, perhaps): "I can't talk / a word where love is / and is caught."
Contributed Photo by Khairy Shaban / Khaled Mattawa
In this collection, bodies become internal landscapes that migrate ("Sometimes for comfort, I think of myself as a field ... Or like a city that can be rebuilt again"). Language migrates — the poet once heard "plume" and thought only of "Carnival, flapper fashion, Cyrano de Bergerac's hat." Now the word evokes the threatening contaminated groundwater roaring beneath the Michigan soil about an hour south of Flint, where Mattawa makes his home. He touches on the forceful movement of humans in transatlantic slavery with borrowed language from American poet Robert Hayden ("Alams for Robert Hayden"). He laments a murder in a memoriam poem for Ghanaian poet Kofi Awoonor ("At Westgate Mall, Nairobi").
While tributaries of the personal flow through these poems, Mattawa gives us deep rivers and combs wide seafloors to present the breadth of stories beyond his own. The penultimate section of the collection specifically explores the dangers encountered in North African and Middle Eastern departures through intimate portraits of refugees and asylum seekers:
boats filled with people and goods
and sailed off. A day or a week later,
the sea sends back the drowned.
Poetry migrates. Sometimes an ancient Iranian poet captures the imagination of a teen in the holler of East Tennessee and vice versa. Mattawa, who is also a poetry translator, highlights this much-needed poetic migration. Several times he knits together an Arab language poet with an English language poet in the renga section of his haibuns. In a poem titled "Your City," he even crosses the borders of three centuries, combining lines from 19th-century English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and 20th-century Egyptian poet Amal Dunqul with his own.
With all this movement — mostly trembling — how does Mattawa ground us in this substantial collection? With four delicate poems, each called "Beatitude." In these poems, the poet's daughter asks questions or offers moments of small wisdom in her tiny movements: "She points to a chameleon the size of a beetle, / teaches me the names of flowers and trees, / insects we can eat if we're ever lost here." We sigh every time she appears.
Perhaps we still have a chance to leave this Earth — our final, inevitable migration — in hands more care filled than ours:
"I'm teaching you how to entrust the world
to me," she says. "You don't have to live
forever to shield me from it."
To read an uncut version of this review — and more local book coverage — visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee.
First Things First: What children really want for Christmas
Shavin: Loss of job rounds out a year of unforeseen changes


If there has been a breach of data protection legislation, the person affected may file a complaint with the competent regulatory authorities. The competent regulatory authority for matters related to data protection legislation is the data protection officer of the German state in which our company is headquartered. A list of data protection officers and their contact details can be found at the following link: https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Infothek/Anschriften_Links/anschriften_linksnode.html.
Disabling cookies may limit the functionality of this website.
pages you have visited. In addition, Vimeo will receive your IP address. This also applies if you are not logged in to Vimeo when you visit our website or do not have a Vimeo account. The information is transmitted to a Vimeo server in the US, where it is stored.
this site has no influence on this data transfer.


Here's a poem for you: "Early Rituals". It made it into Southerly's Long Paddock, the online component of their The Naked Writer issue. Check out the whole issue for lots of wonderful work.
I wrote "Early Rituals" for my mum, who encouraged these little rebellions in primary school and who doesn't mind my stupid hair now either.


Look out Owen! Monster waves on the way..
Discontinued foods you wish would make a come back!
CALLING ALL SIMPSONS FANS! A REAL-LIFE KWIK-E-MART HAS OPENED!
Can the real Simpsons fans please stand up!
Springfield's fav convenience store, The Kwik-E-Mart, has just opened up in real-life and it's got everything you would expect it to have from Lard Lad Donuts to Heat Lamp Hot Dogs, Duff Beer, and even the Squishee that we all wanted to taste back in the day. The store is now open and permanent in the popular tourist town of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Did someone say bucket list?
Check out some twitter photos below and wait until you see the attention to detail!


text:
MyU
Sentencing Guidelines Resource Center
Criminal History
Key Elements
About the Resource Center
About Robina Institute
Support the Resource Center
What is Blakely and Why is it so Important?
Blakely v. Washington1 was a case decided by the Supreme Court in 2004. The case addressed the application of the sentencing guidelines in Washington, but the impact of the decision was to call into doubt the validity of all guidelines systems.
To understand Blakely, one must go back to an earlier decision of the Supreme Court, Apprendi v. New Jersey.2 Apprendi was not a guidelines case. Rather, the case involved sentencing under a hate crime statute, which provided for an enhanced sentence if a trial judge found, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant committed the crime with a purpose to intimidate a person or group because of race.3 The Court discussed the importance of "trying to a jury all facts necessary to constitute a statutory offense, and proving those facts beyond a reasonable doubt."4 The constitutional protections inherent in this statement – the right to due process and the right to a speedy and public jury trial – protect the defendant against undue deprivation of liberty in the form of criminal punishment. Taking these factors into consideration, the Supreme Court held that any fact, other than the fact of a prior conviction, that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury and proven beyond a reasonable doubt.5 Thus, the New Jersey statute was unconstitutional because the statute called for the judge rather than the jury to make the finding that the offense was racially motivated, and because that determination resulted in a sentence that was greater than the statutory maximum sentence.
Blakely involved application of the Apprendi rule in the sentencing guidelines context. The defendant in Blakely was convicted in Washington State for the offense of kidnapping.6 State law provided for a maximum 10-year sentence.7 The Washington sentencing guidelines provided for a standard range sentence of 49 to 53 months (just over four years) for a typical offender committing the same crime and having the same criminal history.8 The guidelines also provided for a general departure standard allowing the court to impose a more severe sentence (above the standard range) if the court found there were substantial and compelling reasons justifying an exceptional sentence.9 Utilizing this authority, the judge imposed a sentence of 90 months (seven and a half years), stating that the defendant had committed the offense with deliberate cruelty.10 The Supreme Court, referencing the rule from Apprendi, found that the process by which the court could impose a more severe sentence than called for in the guidelines violated the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial because the judge rather than a jury made the findings that justified the higher sentence.
Recall that the rule from Apprendi was this:
Any fact, other than the fact of a prior conviction, that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury and proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Most who read the rule thought that the term statutory maximum simply referred to the maximum sentence established by the legislature in defining the crime. For example, a statute might say kidnapping is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing guidelines are designed to take these maximum sentences into account, setting those maximums as the ceiling, and establishing appropriate sentencing ranges below that ceiling, taking into consideration the defendant's prior record, if any.
Blakely was significant because the Supreme Court treated the presumptive sentence under the guidelines, rather than the maximum sentenced defined in statute by the Washington Legislature, as the statutory maximum sentence and therefore, as the punishment that could not be increased without a jury's input. Thus, under Blakely, the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial can be violated any time the court imposes a sentence greater than that called for in the guidelines, even when the sentence imposed is below the maximum punishment permitted by the legislature. As the Supreme Court explained in Blakely, "the relevant 'statutory maximum' is not the maximum sentence a judge may impose after finding additional facts, but the maximum he may impose without any additional findings."11
The impact of Blakely was to call into doubt the constitutionality of all guidelines systems. Most guidelines systems at the time established recommended sentences beneath the cap of the legislatively created statutory maximum punishment. And it was also fairly standard for the systems to provide a mechanism for the judge to depart from the recommended guidelines sentence and impose a more severe sentence if the case so warranted, so long as the sentence was below the legislatively defined statutory maximum. After Blakely, it was unclear if these departures could continue. The question was, could guidelines systems continue to exist within the constitutional constraints of Blakely?
Shortly afterward, in U.S. v. Booker,12 the Supreme Court applied its reasoning in Blakely to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, and found several aspects of the guidelines violated the constitution. Rather than declaring the guidelines void because of these constitutional infirmities, the Court severed the provision that made the guidelines mandatory and declared them to be advisory.13 In an advisory system, the Court explained, the constitution is not implicated because the guidelines do not have the force and effect of law.14 Thus, following Booker, sentencing courts in the federal system must consider the guidelines ranges, but are permitted to tailor the sentences as deemed appropriate,15 subject to appellate review for unreasonableness.16
Other guidelines systems faced similar challenges, which resulted in varying responses. For example, in Minnesota, the guidelines process for upward departures (aggravated sentences) was found to be invalid under Blakely, and was severed from the guidelines.17 In addition, the Minnesota Legislature responded by raising the upper end of the guidelines sentencing range from 15% above the midpoint to 20% above the midpoint.18 And procedures were enacted – first legislatively,19 and then by court rule20 – to allow for a jury determination of the facts supporting an upward departure. A few years later, a separate grid for sex offenders was enacted that imposed much tougher sentences for these offenses, and eliminated the need in many cases, to consider upward departures.21 Minnesota, therefore, responded by enacting changes in the guidelines, law, and procedure that allow its mandatory guidelines to continue to function within constitutional constraints.
In contrast, jurisdictions that had advisory guidelines systems even before Blakely, were virtually unaffected. For example, in Utah, the guidelines are self-proclaimed as advisory.22 Although several statutory sentencing enhancements in Utah came under scrutiny following Blakely,23 the guidelines themselves were never challenged.
More recently, the U.S. Supreme Court has considered whether other sentencing determinations also require a jury determination of facts resulting in an aggravated sentence. In Oregon v. Ice,24 the Court determined the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial does not preclude the legislature from assigning to judges rather than juries the fact finding necessary to impose consecutive rather than concurrent sentences. The Court elaborated that this type of decision has been historically left to the discretion of the court. 25 But in Alleyne v. United States,26 the Supreme Court found that any fact that increases the mandatory minimum is an element of the offense that must be submitted to the jury.27 The Court reasoned that the facts supporting a mandatory minimum sentence are elements of the offense because they "alter the prescribed range of sentences to which a defendant is exposed and do so in a manner that aggravates the punishment."28 Alleyne thus raises new questions about the interplay and tensions between sentencing guidelines, legislatively-created sentencing factors, and judicial discretion.
To learn more about the impact of Blakely on the jurisdictions highlighted on this site, review the case law summary posted for each jurisdiction on the applicable jurisdiction page.
1 Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004).
2 Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000).
3 Id. at 469-70.
4 Id. at 484.
6 Blakely, 542 U.S. at 299.
10 Id. at 300.
11 Id. at 303-04.
12 543 U.S. 220 (2005).
14 Contra id. at 234.
15 Id.
17 See State v. Shattuck [Shattuck I] 689 NW.2d 785 (Minn. 2004) and State v. Shattuck [Shattuck II], 704 NW.2d 131 (Minn. 2005).
18 2005 Minn. Laws ch. 136, art. 16, § 1.
19 2005 Minn. Laws ch. 136, art. 3, § 18 and art. 16, §§ 3-8, 13.
20 Minnesota Supreme Court, Promulgation of Amendments to the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure, File No. C1-84-2137 (August 17, 2006) available at http://www.mncourts.gov/Documents/0/Public/administration/AdministrationFiles/Criminal%20Procedure%20Rules%20ADM10-8049%20(formerly%20C1-84-2137)/2006-08-17%20Order%20Crim%20Proc%20Amendments.pdf (last visited January 29, 2015).
21 See 2005 Minn. Laws art. 22, § 22 (directing the Sentencing Guidelines Commission to propose a separate sex offender grid).
22 Utah Adult Sentencing and Release Guidelines at 1 (2014) (stating that the guidelines are "intended to inform the sentencing authority, but do not dictate their decision").
23 See, e.g., State v. Duran, 262 P.3d 468 (Utah Ct. App. 2011) (challenging the habitual offender sentencing law); State v. Garner, 177 P.3d 637 (Utah Ct. App. 2008) (challenging Utah's indeterminate sentencing scheme permitting the judge to make factual findings to elevate the minimum term of the applicable sentencing range).
24 129 S.Ct. 711 (2009).
25 Id. at 717-20. The Court also expressed concern that the doctrine would expand to such a broad range of sentencing determinations that it would become impossible to administer. Id.
26 133 S.Ct. 2151 (2013).
27 Id. at 2155.
Kelly Lyn Mitchell
Executive Director, Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice
Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice
229 19th Ave South, 290 Mondale Hall, Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 626-6600 • robina@umn.edu
For Students, Faculty, and Staff
© 2022 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Privacy Statement Report Web Disability-Related Issue


text:
Published in Creators Hub
To Do Your Work, You Have To Play
How to finish a big creative project without freaking out — This story is behind Medium's membership paywall, which means the writer earns through our Partner Program. To become a Medium member, click here. It's month three of my book project — it's a nonfiction book on the science and practice of rest — and I'm starting to fall into a…
On endings and beginnings — This winter, my parents sold our childhood home. It was a creaky old house (like, 19th century old), the kind that spooked peers in grammar school and fascinated friends in high school. I knew all of its quirks by heart: how to jiggle the handle of the bathroom door just…
Time Warped
How our perception of time affects our ability to rest well — Hello and welcome to another edition of Letters from Ximena. In this month's newsletter I talk about why so many of us feel so crunched for time, and what we can do about it. Busy, busy, busy I don't know anyone who feels like they have enough time these days. Between childcare, job…
·Nov 29, 2021
How Readers Help Writers Improve
Creating in public has its upsides — This story is behind Medium's membership paywall, which means the writer earns through our Partner Program. To become a Medium member, click here. One of my favorite author-artists, Austin Kleon (of Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work! fame) shared a recent post that caught my eye. His piece…
The Benefits of Bending
Learning to stay flexible — Hello and welcome to another edition of Letters from Ximena. In this month's newsletter I look at what we stand to gain from "bending" — adapting, changing, and adjusting — in the right direction. I was scrolling the socials the other day when a post from the inimitable Esther Perel…
Published in Elemental
Is Therapy via Instagram Good for Us?
A closer look at what happens when therapists take to social media — For the nth time that day, I was being told to work on myself. "You can't heal if you're hiding from yourself," the post said. I had only recently started following the account, but already I'd gotten tired of it. The past few years have seen a steady and growing…
To Write a Book, You Need a Routine
But at first, there's a lot of feeling around in the dark — This story is behind Medium's membership paywall, which means the writer earns through our Partner Program. To become a Medium member, click here. Last week I began research for my new book, The Rest Trials, in earnest. I raided my local library (online that is since sadly they're still in…
The Rest Trials
New book alert! — Hello and welcome to another edition of Letters from Ximena. I have some exciting news to share in this month's newsletter, so let's get to it! Book news 📚 If you've been following this newsletter, you know that last year, I quit my job after becoming burnt out. Since then, I've learned just…
Three books I loved this summer, and three more I'm excited for — It's officially autumn. Summer came and went with fits and starts thanks to the Delta variant, and though it wasn't like any summer I can recall in recent memory, I did get a lot of reading done. When I think of summer reading, I picture myself at the beach, by…
Published in Forge
·Updated Oct 6, 2021
How to Practice Paying Attention
5 ways to steer it in support of your values — Like many writers, as a kid, I was a voracious reader. When you read a lot of books, you start to think differently. Not just about the world and what you've learned about it, or about people and what you now understand of them, but in how you compose your…
M.G. Siegler
Processing Foundation
Epic Magazine


text:
{-# LANGUAGE CPP #-}
module GHCJS.DOM.XPathExpression (
#if (defined(ghcjs_HOST_OS) && defined(USE_JAVASCRIPTFFI)) || !defined(USE_WEBKIT)
  module GHCJS.DOM.JSFFI.Generated.XPathExpression
#else
  module Graphics.UI.Gtk.WebKit.DOM.XPathExpression
#endif
  ) where
#if (defined(ghcjs_HOST_OS) && defined(USE_JAVASCRIPTFFI)) || !defined(USE_WEBKIT)
import GHCJS.DOM.JSFFI.Generated.XPathExpression
#else
import Graphics.UI.Gtk.WebKit.DOM.XPathExpression
#endif

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Federal, state, and local governments spent $416 billion on water and transportation infrastructure in 2014, the most recent year comprehensive data are available. State and local governments spent $320 billion (77 percent), with the federal government providing the rest. This funding paid for highways, mass transit and rail, aviation, water transportation, water resources, and water utilities. It excludes capital spending on schools and prisons, as well as other utilities commonly funded by user charges and fees.
Of $416 billion, 40 percent went to highways, 26 percent to water utilities, and 16 percent to mass transit and rail (figure 1). State and local governments paid between 55 and 77 percent of transportation spending and funded nearly all water infrastructure.
Real federal spending on infrastructure has changed little since the 1980s, so states and localities have had to spend more of their own funds on transportation and water (figure 2). Nonetheless, total infrastructure spending by all levels of government declined in real terms from $457 billion in 2003 to $416 billion in 2014, a drop of 9 percent.
While public spending has declined, the cost of building infrastructure in the US is relatively high. That cost depends on a combination of factors, including how many people might use the facilities and the cost of employing skilled workers for building or maintenance. These costs vary across states.
How Do We Fund Infrastructure Spending?
The federal government gets most of its dollars for roads and mass transit from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). Funding for the HTF comes from user fees earmarked for transportation, such as the 18.4 cents per gallon gasoline tax and the 24.4 cents per gallon diesel tax. However, partly because Congress has not raised the gas tax since 1993, the fund's revenue has consistently fallen short of spending over the past decade. In late 2015—after a decade without a long-term spending bill and 36 short-term extensions—Congress passed a five-year transportation bill authorizing future spending, but all funding was borrowed or transferred from the general revenue fund. This means the HTF will still face deficits when the bill expires.
State governments also use motor fuel taxes primarily to pay their share for transportation projects. In 2017, state gas tax rates range from 9 cents per gallon in Alaska to 58 cents per gallon in Pennsylvania (figure 3).
Because both federal and state gas taxes apply to the volume of fuel purchased, tax collections have not kept up with inflation. Further, as Americans have purchased more fuel-efficient vehicles, consumption has fallen. As a result of eroding revenues, states have had to raise rates to maintain tax collections. While increasing gas taxes is politically difficult, demand for transportation spending and lack of adequate funds has induced 19 states and the District of Columbia to increase their gas taxes since 2013.
States have also found alternative sources of revenue to pay for transportation, including tolls, vehicle registration fees, and money transferred from other funds. Oregon has begun testing a vehicle miles traveled tax on fuel-efficient cars, to supplement the gas tax. In 2016, the federal government provided grants to Oregon and six other states to test alternative ways to increase highway funding.
Water utilities are funded primarily through user fees. State fees vary depending on spending, mostly because current fees must pay for both past and future large capital projects. While the federal government funded water utilities via grants in the 1970s and 1980s, that source has since fallen off. This leaves state and local governments as the main support for water utilities.
To finance capital projects, state and local governments issue bonds. Called municipal bonds or munis, they fall into two broad categories: general obligation bonds, secured by general tax revenue, and revenue bonds, secured by revenue from the project the bonds will finance. For taxpaying residents of the muni-issuing state, interest is generally exempt from federal and state income taxes. These tax exemptions usually allow state and local governments to borrow more cheaply than other debt issuers, such as corporations.
Domestic municipal securities represent approximately 9.4 percent of total debt securities, making them a small but important part of the US financial system. However, experts have raised some concerns about the efficiency and equity of using the federal exemption of state and local bond interest to encourage infrastructure spending. State and local governments receive only a fraction of the revenue the federal government loses to the exemption; much of the lost revenue goes to wealthy taxpayers whose tax savings exceed the interest they forgo. In addition, making interest from state and local bonds tax exempt changes the relative prices of federal, state and local, and private goods.
How Might We Reform Federal Infrastructure Spending?
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump's advisers proposed an infrastructure plan that would provide $1 trillion of new infrastructure spending. Instead of increasing direct federal spending, the plan called for the federal government to provide tax credits to private investors who engage in public-private partnerships. These firms would receive tax credits for helping the government manage the design and construction, operating, or financing of a project.
Public-private partnerships offer many potential benefits, including faster access to capital when states and localities are up against statutory or constitutional limits on their ability to issue debt. Evidence suggests that such projects may be completed sooner and at lower taxpayer cost.
Many details of the Trump plan remain unclear, however, including what (if any) role state and local governments would play. Further, public-private partnerships require a revenue stream (such as tolls); many initiatives that provide a large public good to all residents—such as wastewater projects—would not be supported by public-private partnerships.
Neither the Trump tax plan nor that proposed by House Republicans explicitly calls for eliminating the municipal bond exemption, nor do they discuss options for reform, including tax-credit bonds or expanded federal grants. However, both call for undefined curbs on tax breaks, which could target the exemption.
In addition, because both plans would lower tax rates, they would reduce the value of the exemption and thus increase borrowing costs for state and local governments.


text:
Samsung Galaxy J6 - User opinions and reviews
by Preetam Banerjee 2019-10-07 08:37:14
Every time I open a Samsung Smartphone, I am pleased to see the packaging. Once you are inside, the Smartphone is at the top with the bottom section reserved for accessories.
It's been a while ever since we saw an affordable and exciting Smartphone from Samsung. This year, The Galaxy J6 is possibly the first Samsung inexpensive phone worth considering.
The Samsung J6 has a new design and is the only J-series Smartphone with an infinity (18.5:9) display screen, which also includes a super AMOLED display. Let's talk about what the users think of it and what they hate about the Galaxy J6.
What they loved:
The Design: Like most 18:9 display screens, the Galaxy J6 comes with a 5.6-inch screen and is pleasantly compact. It is built of a plastic body with a superior metal finish.
The Display: The Samsung Galaxy J6 display has the super AMOLED screen on an affordable Smartphone with the 18:9 aspect ratios. The display also provides the option to toggle among pre-defined color profiles which is a much-loved feature among the users.
Battery: The Galaxy J6 is set with a standard 3000mAh battery on doesn't sound like much, but Samsung delivers on that front and provides exceptional battery backup. The battery backup is enough to last for a day.
Software: Samsung Galaxy S6 is powered by Android Oreo-based software and comes with Experience 9.0 UI. This is a mature and intuitive interface that also has provisions to maintain performance in the long run.
Dedicated card slot: The Samsung Galaxy J6 makes room for a dedicated card slot and you won't have to give up on dual SIM functionality to augment storage for all your multimedia.
The Performance: The performance of the Galaxy J6 is much better than what I had originally expected. The Exynos 7870 handles the commands and you cannot feel the lag from the slow loading games and apps. But aside from a few problems here and there, you will not see any upsetting impact.
The Extra Apps: The phone comes with Android Oreo is equipped with a lot of extra apps like Samsung Health, SmartThings, Samsung Mall, and features like Ride Mode. You can also secure your files with the Secure Folder app and make UPI payments with Samsung Pay Mini.
What doesn't works for the users:
Samsung is once again sticking to the speaker placement on the (top) right edge where you will have to adjust your grip to avoid muffling the audio output.
Ageing Chipset: The Samsung Galaxy J6 is powered by the 14nm process-based Exynos octa-core 7870 processor.
Camera: Samsung Galaxy J6 has a 13 MP (f/1.9, 28mm) rear camera and an 8MP (f/1.9) front camera for selfies. The cameras struggle to focus, show poor dynamic range, and details are often lacking.
Samsung Galaxy J6: A Promising Package
The phone impresses with a good display, above average cameras, a polished UI experience, and decent battery life. We only recommend the Samsung Galaxy J6 to budget Smartphone seekers who value a brand image and a robust after sales and support over performance and modern features.
Instagram launches 'Quiet Mode' to help people take a break from the app
Apple gets a boost in India as Chinese suppliers given clearance
by Gaurav Grover, 2023-01-18 11:29:25
Instagram to redesign home screen, ditch the Shopping tab
Tech Developments to watch out for in 2023
McDonald's opens first mostly 'non-human-run' store in Texas
Amazon rolls out subscription based service 'Prime Gaming' in India
Instagram new feature shows stories to only those who share their own stories


text:
José Cecilio Luis Ocón Ruday fue un militar, político y empresario mexicano que participó en la Revolución Mexicana.

Biografía

Cecilio Ocón nació en Mazatlán, Sinaloa, el 27 de agosto de 1879, siendo hijo de Cecilio Ocón y de Beatriz Ruday de ascendencia inglesa.

En octubre de 1912 se reunió con los antiguos porfiristas Manuel Mondragón y Gregorio Ruiz en La Habana para fraguar un cuartelazo contra el presidente Francisco I. Madero en un plan que consistía en liberar de prisión a los generales Bernardo Reyes y Félix Díaz, para finalmente secuestrar y fusilar al presidente Madero. Conspiraría también al lado de otras personalidades como Fernando Barrera, Rafael Zayas, Juan Montaño y Francisco Landeros en el hotel Majestic de la capital.

Al inicio de la llamada Decena Trágica, Bernardo Reyes y Félix Díaz fueron liberados de prisión para encabezar una revuelta; en los primeros enfrentamientos Reyes murió a las puertas del Palacio Nacional tras sostener un combate contra las fuerzas comandadas por el general maderista Lauro Villar. Ocón estuvo acuartelado en el edificio de La Ciudadela junto a los militares rebeldes Manuel Mondragón y Félix Díaz recibiendo suministros de los empresarios residentes de la Ciudad de México, entre ellos Ignacio de la Torre, yerno del general Porfirio Díaz y el asturiano Íñigo Noriega. Gregorio Ruiz fue fusilado en los patios centrales del Palacio Nacional por órdenes del general Victoriano Huerta junto a varios partidarios de Félix Díaz.

Fue el responsable del homicidio de Gustavo Madero, hermano del presidente Francisco I. Madero, quien fuera hecho prisionero en el restaurante Gambrinus por el mercenario Luis Fuentes al mismo tiempo en que el presidente junto al vicepresidente José María Pino Suárez, Federico González Garza y el general Felipe Ángeles fueran hechos prisioneros por el general Aureliano Blanquet. Gustavo fue conducido a La Ciudadela y entregado personalmente a Ocón, quien luego de que le manifestara su fuero lo abofeteó para después ordenar a los cadetes de la Escuela de Aspirantes de Tlalpan que estaban en estado de ebriedad que hicieran con el lo que quisieran, estos se ensañaron golpeándolo, torturándolo a punta de bayoneta y dejándolo ciego sacándole su único ojo sano para después matarlo a balazos. Esto a manos de un desertor del 29.º Batallón de nombre José María Melgarejo. Fue testigo de aquel aberrante asesinato mientras se deleitaba con una botella de coñac. En esas purgas serían ejecutados también el intendente del Palacio Nacional, Adolfo Bassó y el periodista Manuel Oviedo.

Huerta presiono al Congreso de la Unión para que se nombrara ministro de Gobernación al licenciado Pedro Lascuráin, entonces ministro de Relaciones Exteriores y a su vez asumirá el cargo de presidente interino en el que duro solamente 45 minutos en el poder antes de dimitir a favor de Huerta. Ocón estuvo presente en la toma de posesión de Huerta junto a otras personalidades como Francisco León de la Barra, Toribio Esquivel Obregón, Alberto García Granados, Jorge Vera Estañol, Manuel Mondragón, Rodolfo Reyes, Enrique Cepeda, Aureliano Blanquet y el embajador de Estados Unidos Henry Lane Wilson.

Cecilio Ocón fue cómplice de Victoriano Huerta, Aureliano Blanquet, Manuel Mondragón, Rodolfo Reyes, Fidencio Robles, Enrique Cepeda y Alberto García Granados en los asesinatos de Madero y Pino Suárez. Ocón fue testigo del artero asesinato de Madero a manos del mayor de rurales, Francisco Cárdenas quien luego de obligar al depuesto presidente a descender del vehículo lo mató de dos balazos de revólver en la nuca. Pino Suárez trató de fugarse, pero fue ultimado por el teniente Rafael Pimienta, quien fue capturado y fusilado luego de haber secundado la Rebelión delahuertista.

Durante los primeros meses de la dictadura golpista tuvo que lidiar con las constantes acusaciones de ser cómplice en los asesinatos de los hermanos Madero y de haber sido el promotor del golpe militar. Cuando Huerta rompió con su aliado Félix Díaz y relevo a los felicistas de su gabinete, comenzando por Manuel Mondragón, el jefe del ejército y el ministro de Relaciones Exteriores, el expresidente Francisco León de la Barra. De hecho el propio Rodolfo Reyes uno de los firmantes del denominado Pacto de la Embajada fue encarcelado en la Cárcel de Belén y Enrique Cepeda, quien fue asesinado supuestamente por órdenes de su compadre Huerta. Ante el temor de represalias en su contra o un posible intento de asesinato por parte de la oposición o del mismo Huerta, Ocón huyó a Estados Unidos de donde después emigro a Cuba. Tiempo después se estableció con su familia en España, de donde los revolucionarios triunfantes solicitarían su extradición a México para ser juzgado ante un consejo de guerra en septiembre de 1914. Sus propiedades fueron expropiados por los carrancistas.

A principios de 1916 en complicidad de Félix Díaz tramo un alzamiento contra el Primer Jefe Venustiano Carranza, pero fracaso pues nadie secundo su rebelión. Durante la lucha anticarrancista de Félix Díaz, Ocón fue su representante financiero en los Estados Unidos. No sólo fracasó en la obtención de fondos, sino que tuvo problemas permanentes con el representante político del felicismo, Pedro del Villar.

Posterior a la Revolución concluida en 1920 y tras el asesinato del presidente Carranza, se interesó para participar en otros movimientos rebeldes en los cuales no fue aceptado en ninguno de ellos por sus antecedentes personales y buscó realizar negocios con compañías bananeras y cordeleras, que nunca tuvieron éxitos. Por haber sido uno de los principales participantes más importantes del Cuartelazo que originó la caída y posterior asesinato del presidente Francisco I. Madero y del Vicepresidente José María Pino Suárez, siempre fue visto con recelo, desconfianza y carencia de veracidad. Pasó al ostracismo y al anonimato por lo cual se desconocen detalles de su vida posterior aunque se dice que intentó obtener éxito como empresario televisivo como refiere el historiador Paco Ignacio Taibo II. No se sabe muy bien su fecha de muerte, solo se especula que falleció en 1948. Se decía que su apellido "OCÓN" era sinónimo de alta traición.

Bibliografía

Referencias

Nacidos en Mazatlán
Militares de la Revolución mexicana
Fallecidos en Ciudad de México

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia