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Finland: Submissions open for UMK 2016
George Michail September 2, 2015 Finland: Submissions open for UMK 20162015-09-02T12:52:22+00:00 1 Comment
The window to submit songs to compete in the Finnish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 kicks off today as the country's selection process gets underway.
The Finnish broadcaster has already announced that they will be bringing back Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu for a fourth year and all interested artists have from today until September 8 to send their songs in for consideration.
The standard Eurovision Song Contest rules apply with songs lasting no more than three minutes, performers having to be 16 or over by the time of the competition and the number of artists in any one song must not exceed six people.
At least one member involved in the entry must either be a Finnish resident or have citizenship in the country and all materials must be sent to YLE digitally before the deadline.
YLE has yet to state how many songs will reach the live shows, or in fact how many shows there will be in next years edition of UMK.
They have, however, revealed that the final will be held in March and the winner will be decided by a public vote.
Earlier this year, Pertti Kurikan Nimipaivat won Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu and represented Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna.
The band, despite being amongst the bookies favourites to win the contest, failed to reach the final after placing 16th in their semi-final.
Finland's first and only win to date came nine years ago in 2006 when the rock group Lordi won with 292 points for their entry Hard rock hallelujah.
Monkey - March 1st, 2017 at 2:24 am none Comment author #50112 on Finland: Submissions open for UMK 2016 by INFE Network
That's a cunning answer to a chleganling question
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Copyright The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved.
A number of psychotherapy techniques have been developed that, to varying degrees, have empirical support demonstrating favorable effects in the treatment of schizophrenia (or serious mental illness [SMI]). These techniques, and the research, vary with respect to theoretical origins, format, treatment targets, and expected outcome. A historical perspective informs understanding of this proliferation. One landmark in psychotherapy research was the recognition of common factors: different therapies embody common therapeutic factors not central to any one school. Importantly, insights about common factors reflected a better theoretical understanding of the psychotherapy process and led to the translation of learning and conditioning theories into the psychotherapy vocabulary. This resulted in the distinction between specific and nonspecific treatment effects, which pose present-day research questions such as how common and specific factors interact, and the differentiation of techniques for specific recipients. Because psychotherapy research progresses over the next 25 years, it will be important to develop a model that can answer such questions while incorporating the proliferation of specific modalities and the search for the ''right recipe.'' This ''search'' will coincide with more attention to individual differences, it will incorporate quantitative modeling, and it will spawn an array of ''tools'' for treating problems associated with SMI. Because self-knowledge and personhood again become recognized dimensions of recovery, traditional psychodynamic principles and techniques will be revisited. This article explicates a 4-factor model that may be a view to the future.


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Unit 1: Before Chicago
During this 4-week unit, students will explore the early history of the area that became known as Chicago and how it became a settlement. They will investigate the Native American tribes that were its inhabitants and the explorers that were sent from other countries to claim the land. Students will learn how these early settlements developed and grew into the city of Chicago.
Before students begin exploring Native Americans and early settlers in Chicago, they will participate in a differentiated informational text studythat focuses on historical information about the following Native American groups: Nez Perce, Pueblos, Iroquois, and Cheyenne. The text level for each Native American group is different. Groups of students will focus on one group of natives, and work collaboratively to connect their learning to other groups of natives, learning more deeply about history and culture of Native Americans. There are three key concepts students will discover during this text study:
The homelands of native people have influenced their food, clothing, and shelter.
The stories and arts of native people were an expression of culture and a way of passing on values.
Early trade was a way of exchanging both goods and ideas.
During this text study, student learning will focus on the following areas of literacy development:
Comprehension Strategy - Asking Questions
Visual Literacy - Comparison Chart
Vocabulary Acquisition - Content Words in Context
After students have become an "expert" on one of the previously listed Native American groups, and developed an understanding of the key concepts about Native Americans, they then will apply their learning to Native American tribes who inhabited the Chicago area. Students will choose to study one of the following Native American groups that lived in the Chicago area: Potawatomi, Ottawa, Chippewa, Winnebago (Ho-Chunk), Sauk/Fox, Ogibwa, Miami. They will work collaboratively with their classmates to create a mini-project that demonstrates their learning.
Finally, this unit of study will end with students participating in a collaborative explorer inquiry study that centers around four key explorers/settlers of early Chicago: Louis Joliet, Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable, and Robert Cavelier de La Salle and Jacques Marquette. In their inquiry groups students will dive deeper into the following essential questions:
Why were explorers sent to the area that later became Chicago?
What features of the area made it a good place to settle?
What was the importance of the early Chicago settlements?
What were the factors that led to the growth of Chicago?
Students will create a culminating project of their choice to share their learning with the class.
Native Americans, Chicago area inquiry
Room 210 (Steenman) Homework
Room 212 (Shakespeare) Homework
Classroom News Blogs
Mrs. Steenman's News Blog
Ms. Shakespeare's News Blog
40 Book Blog Challenge
Math Units and Downloads
Unit 2: How Chicago Came to Be
Unit 3: Chicago Today
Unit 4: Chicago and Other Cities
Unit 2: Rocks and Minerals
Unit 3: Living Things
Ms. Shakespeare's Class KidBlogs
Mrs. Steenman's Class Kidblog
TweetHeart of the Week
WELCOME TO THE THIRD GRADE WEBSITE
Contact Ms. Steenman
Contact Ms. Shakespeare
©2017 by Skinner North Third Grade Website. Proudly created with Wix.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


GIG stands for a real startup mentality - everyone at GIG has a direct impact on our business and our customers. We grow at a fast pace and use the newest technologies and processes to rapidly scale our cloud and deliver innovative services. We are looking for talented DevOps engineers to join our expanding team in Lochristi. In return you can expect to grow your career in a truly revolutionary company where you get to innovate and collaborate with like minded individuals.
You are an enthusiastic developer with strong linux networking skills. You have a strong interest and good knowledge of the linux operating system. Developing solutions for DNS, IDS & IPS, DDOS prevention, VPN, overlay networks, firewalling and other networking technologies that are elementary for the GIG edge cloud is something that makes your heart beat faster. You like to go low-level and working in the trenches of the cloud industry is something you find appealing.


One of the major functions of CSMLS is to set qualification standards in medical laboratory science. To achieve this, we conduct exams across Canada and issue certificates to candidates who meet the prescribed standard. Certification is offered for general medical laboratory technology, diagnostic cytology, clinical genetics, and for medical laboratory assistants.
CSMLS certification is accepted anywhere in Canada. In fact, CSMLS certification is the entry-level requirement for medical laboratory technologists in all of the regulated provinces (AB, SK, NL, MB, ON, NB and NS) with the exception of Quebec. Most employers in the unregulated provinces and territories (PEI, NU, NT, YT) require CSMLS certification for medical laboratory technologists.
While it is not mandatory in any province or territory at this time, CSMLS medical laboratory assistant certification is gaining recognition across Canada.


Designing a successful robotics platform takes careful consideration of a multitude of factors. These include not only the hardware and software features, but also the way in which users will interact and utilize the platform. We've crafted the Cozmo SDK to be powerful but easy to use, complex but not complicated, and versatile enough to be used in industries ranging from entertainment to academia.
Already up and running? Head over to the official SDK forums and check out great projects from the community, get technical help, and more.
What Makes the Cozmo SDK Unique?
With a comprehensive set of low- and high- level functions, and full access to sensor data, the SDK is as simple or as granular as you need it to be.
Hundreds of third-party libraries, from Google Assistant to Instagram, let you augment Cozmo's capabilities in creative ways.
Cozmo's powerful camera and vision capabilities are unique in the world of consumer robotics, and open up a world of new possibilities.
A programming language that's simple, scalable, and widely adopted in fields as diverse as education and machine learning.
Access to all official SDK resources and code are included with each and every Cozmo at no additional charge.
The Python SDK is fully open source giving you the freedom to part and customize it as you see fit, and contribute back to the community.
One of the key strengths of the Cozmo SDK platform is the versatility of the hardware and software. The pairing of a highly expressive and interactive robot with an easy-to-use programming language make it perfect for a vast spectrum of uses. Here are some ideas inspired by real-world projects to get you started.
The SDK's unparalleled flexibility lets you create everything from a finite state machine to a 3D visualizer—and everything in-between.
Cozmo's distinct mix of hardware, software, and character make him perfect for research projects in human-computer interaction, behavior, computer vision, and more.
Use Cozmo to trigger your Hue lights, give feedback on your FitBit data, or alert you when your Nest camera detects movement.
Quickly and easily iterate on new ideas and polish your project designs by utilizing Cozmo as a compact, efficient, and versatile testing platform.
From classic board games to innovative Twitch-based experiences, the SDK lets you build upon Cozmo's repertoire of games in an infinite number of ways.
Hundreds of unique animations created by our world-class animators, and full manual hardware controls, enable Cozmo to become the world's most expressive robot actor.
Sign up to receive exclusive news, tutorials, and features related to the Vector and Cozmo SDKs.
Cozmo's unprecedented combination of advanced robotics hardware and software are part of what make him an innovative consumer experience. But it's also what makes him, in conjunction with the Cozmo SDK, a groundbreaking education platform that's expressive, motivating, and engaging.
Want to see what others are doing with the Cozmo SDK? Our curated video playlists highlight some of the incredible projects people are creating, from new games to emotional storytelling to educational tools.


CNA certification is the only nationally recognized nursing specialty credential for registered nurses. It is a voluntary credential for RNs who meet specific nursing practice, continuous learning and testing requirements. Join the growing network of more than 18,000 CNA-certified registered nurses, including more than 800 Manitoba registered nurses, at the leading edge of health care and gain specialized knowledge and skills in one of 20 nursing specialties.
Viewed as having enhanced professional credibility by showing you Care to Be the Best!
As a member of the Association and CNA you save over $200 on the CNA Certification Program.


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#JanuHAIRY
Jan 10, 2019 | LIFE, SOCIAL MEDIA | 3 comments
"Oi Nicola! Don't you know what a Bic is?"
"Yeh, it's a pen." I yelled back.
This is the first time I remember being shamed for my body hair. I was 12. Wit this quick has eluded me ever since.
One Spring day some months later I stretched out my rounders-bat-legs in the weak sunshine. I thankfully spotted the fuzz of hairs poking through my tights before anyone else did.
And then there were the 16-year-old sometime-friends-sometime-tormentors who would serenade me with Hairy Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow after one spotted an errant pube poking out the side of my knickers when we changed for PE.
The message that body hair on girls and women is something to be ashamed of starts early. It is reinforced by societal expectations, a constant stream of TV and magazine ads for hair removal products, and by the images of smooth female bodies seen across the whole of the media, including in pornography (a problem certainly exacerbated by how easily accessible porn has been for the last decade or so).
It's also a message that is looking increasingly out-dated as feminism rides high on a long-overdue wave of rejuvenation.
The "politicisation of hair" is not new by any stretch however. A quick Google of the term will provide a slew of articles about how the hair of black women in particular has been politicised over decades, if not centuries. Pressure to wear their natural hair in styles that adhere to Eurocentric/ White constructed beauty and professional standards is something many black women have experienced. It is something that Emma Dabiri explains far better than I ever could (or should) in her article for The New Statesman, The politics of black hair .
Hairy armpits have also long been seen as a political statement. The decision to let it grow is a rejection of expectations forced on women by society, but it is commonly dismissed as evidence of man-hate and the tendency to burn ones bra. Despite the function of armpit hair being to push sweat and odour-causing bacteria away from the skin, the reputation of hairy armpits as unhygienic also prevails.
Over the years there have been repeated attempts from different quarters to encourage young women to reject the notion that they should shave, pluck, wax, bleach or chemically burn away their body hair. In 2015 Miley Cyrus courted press after she dyed her armpit hair pink, and in 2017 Wonder Woman's lack of armpit hair triggered feminist debate. Some commentators wondered if Hollywood had retreated to the safety of the "ideal" female aesthetic in place of the feminist values the warrior was supposed to embody:
It's really hard to believe that Wonder Woman, who has been on an island filled with strong women her entire life, is worried about waxing and then bleaching her pits… That is a time-consuming process and she's a little too busy training '10 times harder' with the Amazons so that she can, you know, save the world.
The latest in this long history of debate has been provoked by a new campaign dubbed #januHAIRY that is quickly gaining pace across social media. Started originally as a fundraising campaign by charity bodygossip.org , the movement has grown in a matter of days to over 7k followers (and over 2.9k posts using the #) on Instagram, and a slot on Good Morning Britain yesterday.
When faced with this challenge to social norms, Piers Morgan reacted with his customary bluster. It's safe to assume this archetype of British man does not shave his pits but strangely no one on the show seemed remotely concerned for his hygiene…
Meanwhile the disproportionate importance placed on women's body hair, and the potential personal cost to women who transgress, was exemplified when guest Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace physically gagged at the sight of Kate Smurthwaite's under-arm hair.
A quick scan of Twitter and it is clear that Morgan and Horgan-Wallace are not alone in their judgement. Body and facial hair on women is condemned as "disgusting", "revolting", "lazy" and one women commented "No chance. I take pride in my appearance". This demonstrates how social conditioning still has many people convinced that a woman's worth is linked to what she looks like.
The message is that a woman has to be smooth and hairless to be valued. It's a narrative thick with emphasis on youth – and its associated lack of status, power or threat – as important when assessing a woman's place in society. It's a narrative quite startling in its brazen sexism.
Despite this Morgan argued that Reid's admission that she wouldn't grow her body hair was evidence of a general lack of value in the campaign, an idea reflected in Horgan-Wallace's claim that #januHAIRY wouldn't help in the wider fight for gender equality.
What both of them failed to realise is that their resistance to the idea of body hair on women is exactly why the campaign is so important.
The narrative of hairlessness being intrinsic to our worth as women is so engrained in us that even wide awake feminists recoil at the sight of our own armpit hair. This learned behaviour is especially damaging for people suffering from medical conditions such as PCOS which causes excessive hair growth and associated torment for many sufferers.
But an attitude of disgust for our natural state is problematic for us all when you consider the question, Who decided hairlessness was desirable in the first place, and why?
The decision whether or not to remove our body hair should only ever be a personal one. But in today's world it is not – grooming a full leg of hair is still considered a radical act that attracts disgust, derision and condemnation from wider society. This is why this campaign is worthwhile and important. This is also why I won't be growing my own arm pit hair.
Yes, this is lame, but it's also evidence of how awareness of the structures of oppression is not the same as being ready to live outside them. Some of the slipperiest obstacles to overcome in the fight for gender equality are the illusions of freedom of choice that, once made, actually come at considerable personal cost. I'm grateful to anyone prepared to pick up this bill.
Monica	on January 10, 2019 at 8:40 pm
I agree with you, I believe it's personal, I won't judge if someone doesn't shave but I want to be free to decide to do it without being stickers as something or other… why can't we just be?
Too Much Mothering Information	on January 18, 2019 at 2:44 pm
I want to live in that world too! Thank you for reading x
januhairy celebrities	on March 22, 2019 at 11:16 pm
Appreciating the time and energy you put into your website and detailed information you offer.
It's awesome to come across a blog every once in a while that isn't the same unwanted rehashed
material. Great read! I've bookmarked your site and I'm including your RSS feeds to my Google account.
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FREE OMAR
THE OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN WEBSITE
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES | The Omar Khadr Case
2015 Student Handout | What is Omar Khadr's Story?
Christians Care About Omar Khadr
Omar Speaks
Omar Speaks | "Freedom Is Way Better Than I Thought"
Omar Khadr in his own words | First written interview
Omar Speaks | "Truly Omar", his letters to friends
Omar Speaks | interrogation, The secret Khadr Tapes
Omar Speaks | Quotes by people who know him
Omar Speaks | Through his Affidavit, 2008
Omar Speaks | Through his Work of Art
Omar Speaks | Letter to his lawyer Dennis Edney from Guantanamo Bay
Omar Speaks | His Ambitions
Omar Speaks | His Letter to Boycott the Military Commission in Guantanamo
Omar Speaks | Through his former lawyer
Omar Speaks l First letter to his mother
Omar Pics
Photo Timeline | Omar Khadr during his detention [2015 - 2002]
Torture and Illegal Imprisonment of Omar Khadr
Free Omar Khadr Campaign Logo
TAKE ACTION !
Coalition Partners to FREE Omar Khadr NOW
Alex Neve | Amnesty International SG, discussing Omar Khadr on CHIN Radio
Green Party of Canada | Speaking Out on Omar Khadr
Campaign | Write and Ask your MP to Take a Stand on Omar Khadr
Write/email your MP | Sample Letter
Write your MP | letter to Bob Dechert
OMAR KHADR | write your MP - newsletter sample
PETITION - CANADA'S OBLIGATION TO OMAR KHADR
The Omar Khadr case | The worst thing is that we bequeath this legacy to our children
Omar Khadr needs surgery to restore failing eyesight, tutor says
Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu phones Omar Khadr
What Can You Tell Us about Omar Khadr? Interview with Dennis Edney QC
Omar Khadr and the Charter of Rights
The Professor and the Prisoner
Why is Omar Khadr still in jail? (2/2)
Harper, International Human Rights Day and Nelson Mandela
Growing support for Omar Khadr's freedom and next steps to justice
Love Knows No Bounds: A Christian Response to the Omar Khadr Story | Arlette Zinck
Omar Khadr in Court: Eight Ways the Mainstream Media Missed the Real Story
WikiLeaks on Omar Khadr
Omar Khadr War Criminal, Child Soldier… or Neither?
Court Hearing Omar Khadr | Inside Stories
'This is a human rights issue': Campaign raises money for Omar Khadr's legal expenses
Global Twitter Storm for Omar Khadr, Guantanamo Victims
IN CANADA | Omar Khadr: From Frying Pan to Fire
Khadr terminology and law 2013
Happy Birthday Omar Khadr | Aisha Maniar
Petition for Clemency and Dr Sageman's rebuttal of Welner
Toronto Star coverage of Omar Khadr since his Guantanamo military trial
"Punitive post-conviction confinement" | Heather Marsh [4/4]
"The world doesn't get it" | Heather Marsh [3/4]
Canada, the entire world is still watching | Heather Marsh [2/4]
"Omar Khadr is a lovely young man" | Heather Marsh [1/4]
Omar Khadr's Lawyers Demand His Return to Canada from Guantánamo
Orwellian Circus: The Omar Khadr Trial
The Unending Torture of Omar Khadr | Rolling Stone
Canada's role in the persecution of child soldier Omar Khadr
Government Witness Welner Claims Gitmo Child Soldier is Radicalized
Guantanamo Expert, Andy Worthington | on Omar Khadr
Khadr left hooded, chained in cage after capture, prosecution admits
New York Times | Delays Keep Former Qaeda Child Soldier at Guantánamo, Despite Plea Deal
Omar Khadr war-crimes appeal in U.S. could face lengthy delay
Dennis Edney - "From Omar Khadr and Guantanamo to the rule of law in an age of terror"
Sam Morison appeals Omar Khadr's Guantanamo military 'conviction'
Documentary: YOU DON'T LIKE THE TRUTH | 4 Days Inside Guantanamo
The U.S. versus Omar Khadr | Video link (42:43)
Omar Khadr's legal options | CBC video
Talk U.S. Brigadier General (ret) Stephen Xenakis, MD | 'Omar Khadr gentlest most decent man'
Dr. Arlette Zinck, Professor English | about Omar Khadr
Gail Davidson, Lawyers Right Watch Canada | about Omar Khadr
Music video Welcome Back Khadr | Evelyn Wreckage
Lecture Sam Morison | Omar Khadr: the Man – the Law
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Omar Khadr | Child Soldier
The Legal Inadequacy of U.S. Military Commissions for Trying Omar Khadr
Omar Khadr on Wikisource
2014 | Khadr vs Edmonton Institution | Transfer to provincial correctional facility
Khadr | Factum of Intervener
Repatriation of Omar Khadr to Canada
Supreme Court Judgment 2010 | Omar Khadr
Lecture Dennis Edney "The Rule of Law in an Age of Terror" | Fathima Cader, Faculty of Law UBC
Website University of Toronto, Faculty of Law | Omar Khadr legal documents
Professor David Glazier - Omar Khadr 'convicted' in court without jurisdiction
St. Michaels University School demands Justice for Omar Khadr | Feb 2012
Law students from the universities of Toronto, Osgoode, UBC, Ottawa, McGill, Saskatchewan, Victoria, Dalhousie, Windsor, Queen's, Western, Alberta and Calgary have joined together in the Omar Khadr Project.
Obama officials pushed, failed to get rules based on International Law in Khadr tribunal (2010)
The Key Activities of the Free Omar Campaign
By Heather Marsh | October 28, 2010
Omar Khadr was taken as a child from his home in Canada to live in Afghanistan. When he was 15, he was caught in a battle with US forces. He lost his vision in one eye, was shot in the back twice, and was confined in US torture camps from the time he was 15 until he was 24, without a trial, and without access to a lawyer for years. Despite years of UN protests that he should be rehabilitated as a child soldier, not tried, he was brought before seven US officers in a military trial for committing "murder in violation of the law of war." Yes, that's right, seven officers in the US military. Who haven't obeyed any of the rules of war since we have been watching.
The "murder", a 15 year old boy throwing a grenade in a battle at a professional killer and invader, is one he has denied for the duration of his imprisonment despite constant "interrogation" since he was 15 years old. There is no evidence that he threw the grenade, and there is a great deal of evidence that he didn't, including initial US military reports. There is a video of him at Guantánamo crying in "interviews". A US medic has described Khadr weeping and shackled in Bagram. The "confession" the US military has finally obtained after nearly a decade of torturing a child, is referred to in court as a "stipulation of fact". It is presented to the jury without allowing them to know that Khadr was offered a plea bargain in exchange.
The rumoured plea bargain will not include any recognition of the years he has already served, he will be sent to the maximum security level at Guantánamo despite not giving any security concerns during all of his years of imprisonment, and the "interrogation" is to continue. It is likely that he will be recommended for transfer back to Canada after the first year, but there has been no interest from the Canadian government in enabling that.
Here are some of the more bizarre items coming out in the tweets and reports from attendees at the trial.
Children killed by professional killers do not matter. Professional killer's children matter. The court listened for one hour (or 45 minutes, according to some tweets) to testimony from the US professional killer's widow about how his death has impacted her family. Has any US soldier listened to any family of any of the civilians they have killed/tortured/raped/kidnapped? According to the professional killer's widow, her "children are good, loving, wonderful people. They didn't deserve to have their father taken by someone like you." Asked by a jury member if she would see Khadr in a different light if he had been dressed in the uniform of an "enemy soldier" during the firefight, she said "yes." The former fifteen year old apologized to the widow of the professional killer, but she shook her head and told him he would "forever be a murderer." It is ok for US soldiers to murder children, but it is a war crime for children to murder US soldiers.
There is lengthy testimony from a US psychiatrist who explains the hate and resentment he feels certain is burning below the surface (where no one has been able to find any evidence of it) in Khadr. He cites Khadr's family as being a big influence on him. (Khadr has been in a US torture camp since he was 15. He is now 24.) He also says Muslim militants look up to Khadr's dead father. And Khadr is surrounded by Muslim militants. Therefore he is a risk of causing further violence. Immediately after the psychiatrist, the professional killer's widow took the stand. She described how her son told everyone on Remembrance Day that everyone in the US military looked up to his dead father. They all came to his funeral. They named a clinic after him. His father's US militant friends explain how they spend as much time as possible with him. "Army rocks, bad guys stink," says the son of the professional killer. The courtroom weeps.
After hearing the psychiatrist's views that Khadr being a "devout" Muslim made it impossible for him to ever be "deradicalized", the professional killer's friends take the stand to describe him. Captain E says Speer made "peace with the war around him." Asked to give one word to sum up his friend, Captain E said "Super stud". Super studs who are comfortable with war are better people than devout Muslims. (In recognition of this, the defense lawyer provided evidence that Khadr wasn't that devout.)
The same psychiatrist says of Khadr, he is very dangerous because "he's physically resilient", "socially agile", "street smart", "the other detainees give him regard", athletic and taller than most detainees, "charming", speaks various languages and that he "has attracted more attention to Cuba than Fidel". Also, he is a prayer leader and speaks fluent English so can communicate with guards and has become a leader. He has the "stardust of royalty", is "devout", "identifies with his family," and has become his family's "white sheep". He is "charming" and carries himself with "grace." On a "superficial" level he seems very "Westernized." And he is a "rock star" of Guantánamo. All of this makes him very dangerous.
Worst of all, the psychiatrist repeatedly states that Khadr has been "marinated in jihad" at the US torture camps. Because he has been imprisoned without a trial since he was 15, he has met all the wrong sort. Plus, since he was tortured by US soldiers, he might hate them.
As if being a tall, athletic, ambitious, charismatic, graceful, resilient, street smart, charming, multi-lingual, prayer leader was not enough, he has read Harry Potter. Which is escapism. For someone to want to escape Guantánamo or Bagram seems strange to this psychiatrist. He has also read CS Lewis, Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, Ismael Beah, Danielle Steele and John Grisham, along with many educational texts etc., but Harry Potter seemed much more worthy of note. He is obviously not a Christian.
He must serve his sentence in the maximum security level at Guantánamo, despite his guards being almost universal in their opinions that he is a nice kid, because he is alleged to have called one a "bitch" and one a "whore" during torture sessions. And once he said "fuck".
Going to Canada would be bad, because Canada doesn't have real "de-radicalization therapy". The prosecution asked a professor at small Christian college if her college has a "deradicalization program on campus." No. And anyway, "How will a devout Muslim integrate into Canada?"
The jury of seven impartial US officers will make their deliberation after an impartial and fair trial in which they will be told that Khadr pled guilty. They won't know about his negotiated plea sentence or the threats of death, rape or torture that were used and admitted to by "interrogators". They will see an FBI simulated 10-second clip of a Humvee explosion as an example of something that Khadr might have done, if it had happened, but it didn't.
*For first hand reporting, and accurate quoting, follow the hashtag #Khadr. Most of the people tweeting are reporters who are at the trial. Most have links to their own articles on their twitter accounts. The tweeting by them has been excellent.
Update: The closing arguments were not less bizarre.
"The accused is not a soldier" and any reference to him as one does a "disservice" to men and women in uniform. Because professional killers are better people than civilians defending their country.
"They fight for no country. They fight for a religon." Because fighting for your country is morally superior to fighting for your religon.
The US decided to put the Canadian in Guantanamo and offered him no "de-radicalization" program, but to release him to Canada would be wrong because Canada's "deradicalization programs" are not good enough.
The prosecution points out that Khadr was a very mature 15 year old. He spoke four languages. Intelligence is bad. Possibly criminal.
The defense summed up the position of the prosecutor. "Omar Khadr was a lawful target but he didn't have the right to fight back."
The tweeters have added great links to letters between Khadr and the english professor from Alberta, a painting by Khadr, and letters from Speer's children, the oldest four years younger than Khadr was at the time of his imprisonment and torture. Also two minutes from a documentary You Don't Like the Truth, and a video of a speech from his defense lawyer. Coverage that includes exhibits.
The End: After the prosecution requested a sentence of 25 years, after the jury were told they could consider the 8 he had already served, after they were told they could consider the fact that he was a child, they came back with a sentence of 40 years more. That's 48 in total. Not in a prison, in solitary confinement in a torture camp where he is still allowed to be "interrogated". For a crime the US military themselves said he did not commit until they had to invent a reason for keeping him in prison. For a sentence of 10 years or more, 6 of the 7 jurors had to agree.
At the sentencing of a tortured child to solitary confinement, the widow of the professional killer gave a fist pumping cheer. U!S!A! Fuck Yeah!
But the most perverse thing in this whole trial? This will make the people of the US feel safer. They honestly will.
Beyond the End: Now we have the release of the plea deal and the diplomatic exchange between Canada and the US. Beyond the general sleaze of such a deal, there is some very specific sleaze.
Khadr must:
d. Knowingly and voluntarily waive and relinquish any request for any forensic or scientific testing of any physical evidence in the United States Government's possession, including, but not limited to, DNA testing. I fully understand that as a result of this waiver I will not have another opportunity to have any physical evidence in this case submitted for any testing or to employ the results of any testing to support any claim of innocence regarding the offenses to which I am pleading guilty. In addition. I understand the United States Government may dispose of such physical evidence upon sentencing by a Military Commission in this case. He is not allowed to test the prosecution forensic evidence or bring his own.
g. Not initiate or support any litigation or challenge, in any forum in any Nation, against the United States or any official in their personal or official capacity with regard to my capture, detention, prosecution to include discovery practice, post conviction confinement and/or detainee combatant status. I further agree to move to dismiss with prejudice any presently pending direct or collateral attack challenging my capture. detention, prosecution and/or detainee combatant status; to implement this aspect of this agreement, following announcement of the sentence in this case, I direct my counsel to submit a motion to dismiss the petition for habeas corpus in my case currently pending in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia as well as all claims currently pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. New Orwellian term for torture: "prosecution to include discovery practice".
i. While in the continued custody of the United States, submit to interviews whenever and wherever requested by United States law enforcement officials, intelligence authorities, and prosecutors. I understand the requesting parties will notify my legal counsel of the interviews. However, I waive any right I may have to my attorneys being present for the interviews. I understand I must be completely truthful during these interviews. I also agree, while in U.S. custody, to appear, cooperate, and testify truly, before any grand jury. any court, military court or hearing, military commission or any other proceeding requested by the United States Government. He has to appear as a defense witness for the US, and if he tells the truth then, he will be convicted for his perjury now. He has to do this without legal advice, which he is also denied during "interviews".
j. I agree and understand that if I am not truthful in any testimony I may provide, I may be prosecuted for perjury, false statement or other similar offense before any court or Military Commission having jurisdiction over me. See above.
His own defense was determined by the prosecution:
a. I will not seek to offer any testimony, in any form, from any detainee presently held at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay:
b. I will not seek to obtain any depositions to be offered at the presentencing hearing, nor will I offer any depositions at the presentencing hearing;
3 c. I will not seek to offer the testimony, either in court or via VTC of any witness, other than: (I) Dr. Katherine Porterfield: (2) Dr. Steven Xenakis. (3) Captain McCarthy; and (4) Dr. Arlette Zinck, all of whom the Government has agreed to produce at U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for sentencing. (understand that sentencing proceedings will not be delayed to if these witnesses are unavailable.)
h. … my transfer to Canada is contingent upon the consent of the Government of Canada … which is to say, it is dependent on what the US tells Canada to do.
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The White Ensign Association is a Registered Charity administered by limited guarantee.
The organisation is run by a small executive Staff operating from offices on board HMS Belfast in the Pool of London. The staff visit Royal Navy and Royal Marines establishments and units throughout the United Kingdom on a regular basis to provide support, guidance and advice in the form of Lectures and personal interviews.
Strategic direction of the work of The White Ensign Association is carried out by the Chairman and Council of Management.
The staff work in close consultation with a panel of selected professional Advisors.


text:
July 8, 2020 by awkwardbotany
The Hidden Flowers of Viola
Violas keep a secret hidden below their foliage. Sometimes they even bury it shallowly in the soil near their roots. I suppose it's not a secret really, just something out of sight. There isn't a reason to show it off, after all. Showy flowers are showy for the sole purpose of attracting pollinators. If pollinators are unnecessary, there is no reason for showy flowers, or to even show your flowers at all. That's the story behind the cleistogamous flowers of violas. They are a secret only because unless you know to look for them, you would have no idea they were there at all.
Cleistogamy means closed marriage, and it describes a self-pollinating flower whose petals remain sealed shut. The opposite of cleistogamy is chasmogamy (open marriage). Most of the flowers we are familiar with are chasmogamous. They open and expose their sex parts in order to allow for cross-pollination (self-pollination can also occur in such flowers). Violas have chasmogamous flowers too. They are the familiar five-petaled flowers raised up on slender stalks above the green foliage. Cross-pollination occurs in these flowers, and seed-bearing fruits are the result. Perhaps as a way to ensure reproduction, violas also produce cleistogamous flowers, buried below their leaves.
an illustration of the cleistogamous flower of Viola sylvatica opened to reveal its sex parts — via wikimedia commons
Flowers are expensive things to make, especially when the goal is to attract pollinators. Colorful petals, nectar, nutritious pollen, and other features that help advertise to potential pollinators all require significant resources. All this effort is worth it when it results in the ample production of viable seeds, but what if it doesn't? Having a method for self-pollination ensures that reproduction will proceed in the absence of pollinators or in the event that floral visitors don't get the job done. A downside, of course, is that a seed produced via self-pollination is essentially a clone of the parent plant. There will be no mixing of genes with other individuals. This isn't necessarily bad, at least in the short term, but it has its downsides. A good strategy is a mixture of both cross- and self-pollination – a strategy that violas employ.
The cleistogamous flowers of violas generally appear in the summer or fall, after the chasmogamous flowers have done their thing. The fruits they form split open when mature and deposit their seeds directly below the parent plant. Some are also carried away by ants and dispersed to new locations. Seeds produced in these hidden flowers are generally superior and more abundant compared to those produced by their showy counterparts. People who find violas to be a troublesome lawn weed – expanding far and wide to the exclusion of turfgrass – have these hidden flowers to blame.
That being said, there is a defense for violas. In the book The Living Landscape by Rick Darke and Doug Tallamy, Tallamy writes: "Plants such as the common blue violet (Viola sororia), long dismissed by gardeners as a weed, can be reconstituted as desirable components of the herbaceous layer when their ecosystem functionality is re-evaluated. Violets are the sole larval food source for fritillary butterflies. Eliminating violets eliminates fritillaries, but finding ways to incorporate violets in garden design supports fritillaries."
sweet violet (Viola odorata)
In my search for the cleistogamous flowers of viola, I dug up a sweet violet (Viola odorata). I was too late to catch it in bloom, but the product of its flowers – round, purple, fuzzy fruits – were revealed as I uprooted the plant. Some of the fruits were already opening, exposing shiny, light brown seeds with prominent, white elaiosomes, there to tempt ants into aiding in their dispersal. I may have missed getting to see what John Eastman calls "violet's most important flowers," but the product of these flowers was certainly worth the effort.
Fruits formed from the cleistogamous flowers of sweet violet (Viola odorata)
Up close and personal with the fruit of a cleistogamous flower
The seeds (elaiosomes included) produced by the cleistogamous flower of sweet violet (Viola odorata)
Tea Time: Violet Leaf Tea
In Defense of Plants: Cleistogamy
Posted in Botany, Plant Ecology	| Tagged ants, Botany, cleistogamous flowers, cleistogamy, common blue violet, cross pollination, Doug Tallamy, elaiosome, flowering, flowers, fruits, John Eastman, myrmecochory, plant ecology, pollination, pollinators, Rick Darke, seed dispersal, seeds, self pollination, sweet violet, The Living Landscape, Viola, Viola odorata, Viola sororia, Violaceae | 6 Comments
February 7, 2018 by awkwardbotany
Dischidia and Its Self-contained Watering System
This is a guest post by Jeremiah Sandler.
I was doing some sunday reading in a plant biology textbook, a section about leaves. It was highlighting leaf-specific adaptations and other cool leaf specializations. I came across a paragraph about a "flower-pot" leaf, and my mind was so blown after reading it I had to literally stand up.
Some leaves of the Dischidia [genus], an epiphyte from Australasia, develop into urnlike pouches that become the home of ant colonies. The ants carry in soil and add nitrogeneous wastes, while moisture collects in the leaves through condensation of the water vapor coming from the mesophyll through stomata. This creates a good growing medium for roots, which develop adventitiously from the same node as the leaf and grow down into the soil contained in the urnlike pouch. In other words, this extraordinary plant not only reproduces itself by conventional means but also, with the aid of ants, provides its own fertilized growing medium and flower pots and then produces special roots, which "exploit" the situation.
Naturally I had to look up images of this plant because that's amazing.
Illustration of Dischidia major (image credit: wikimedia commons)
Dischidia major – cross section of "flower-pot" leaf (photo credit: eol.org)
Dischidia vidalii– cross section of "flower-pot" leaf (photo credit: eol.org)
In shorter words, the plant grows modified leaves that form a little cavity, within which ants live. The ants incidentally carry soil into the cavity, while fertilizing that soil with their waste. The stomata are located on the insides of these cavities, which expel water from the leaves, where it then waters the soil that is located inside the leaves. Not to mention, the outside of those cavities are photosynthesizing all the while.
So, with the help of ants, an epiphytic Dischidia has evolved leaves to bring the soil to itself up in the trees, where it fertilizes and waters itself? SAY WHAT?! That is so damn cool.
Bidlack, James E., et al. "Chapter 7." Stern's Introductory Plant Biology, McGraw-Hill, 2014, pp. 114–115.
North Queensland Plants: Dischidia
World of Succulents: Dischidia
Singapore National Parks: Dischidia – Ephiphytic Houseplants for Everyone
Peeters, Christian & Wiwatwitaya, Decha. (2014). Philidris ants living in Dischidia epiphytes from Thailand. Asian Myrmecology. 6. 49-61.
Posted in Botany, Plant Ecology	| Tagged ants, Apocynaceae, biology, Botany, Dischidia, Dischidia major, Dischidia vidalii, entomology, epiphytes, epiphytic plants, guest post, Jeremiah Sandler, modified leaves, myrmecology, plant ecology, plant science | 6 Comments
December 9, 2015 by awkwardbotany
Harvester Ants – Seed Predators and Seed Dispersers
"The abundance of ants is legendary. A worker is less than one-millionth the size of a human being, yet ants taken collectively rival people as dominant organisms on the land. … When combined, all ants in the world taken together weigh about as much as all human beings." – Journey to the Ants by Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson
Considering how abundant and widely distributed ants are, it is easy to imagine the profound role they might play in the ecosystems of which they are a part. In fact, in the epilogue to Hölldobler and Wilson's popular book about ants (quoted above), they conclude that in a world without ants, "species extinction would increase even more over the present rate, and the land ecosystems would shrivel more rapidly as the considerable services provided by these insects were pulled away." It is no doubt then that ants, through their myriad interactions with their surroundings, are key players in terrestrial ecosystems.
photo credit: www.eol.org
Harvester ants offer a prime example of the important roles that ants can play. In the process of collecting seeds for consumption, harvester ants can help shape the abundance and distribution of the plants in their immediate environment. They do this by selecting the types and amounts of seeds they collect, by abandoning seeds along their collection routes, and by leaving viable seeds to germinate in and around their nests. Hölldobler and Wilson have this to say about harvester ants:
[The] numerical success [of ants] has allowed them to alter not just their nest environments, but the entire habitats in which they live. Harvesting ants, species that regularly include seeds in their diet, have an especially high impact. They consume a large percentage of the seeds produced by plants of many kinds in nearly all terrestrial habitats, from dense tropical forests to deserts. Their influence is not wholly negative. The mistakes they make by losing seeds along the way also disperse plants and compensate at least in part for the damage caused by their predation.
There are more than 150 species of harvester ants, spanning at least 18 genera. They are found throughout the world (except extreme cold locales) and are particularly common in arid to semi-arid environments. Pogonomyrmex is one the largest genera of harvester ants with nearly 70 species occurring throughout North, Central, and South America. Messor is another large genus of harvester ant species that mainly occurs in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Both genera build large nests and move massive amounts of soil in the process.
Seed dispersal by harvester ants (also known as diszoochory) is a type of secondary (or Phase II) seed dispersal. It is a case of serendipity, as the dispersal occurs largely by accident. Some plants, on the other hand, have developed a mutualistic relationship with ants, enlisting them to disperse their seeds by way of an elaiosome – a fleshy, nutritious structure attached to seeds that attracts ants. Seeds with such structures are picked up by ants and brought to their nests where the elaiosome is consumed and the seed is left to germinate. This form of ant-mediated dispersal is called myrmecochory and is typically not carried out by harvester ants.
Harvester ant colonies have both direct and indirect influences on their surrounding environments; however, there is a dearth of research elucidating the exact details of such influences. A paper published in the Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics in 2000 by MacMahon et. al. reviewed available studies concerning harvester ants and explored our current understanding of the influences that harvester ants (particularly those in the genus Pogonomyrmex) can potentially have on community structure and ecosystem functions. Following are some of the direct influences the authors listed:
Removal and consumption of seeds and other materials – The relative abundance of plant species can be affected by the selective removal of seeds. Harvester ants also collect leaves, twigs, pollen, flowers, vertebrate feces, and arthropod body parts.
Storage and rejection of seeds – Collected seeds can be dropped during transport, rejected after arriving at the nest, or abandoned in nest granaries. All result in the transport of seeds away from the parent plant and dispersal beyond the plant's primary dispersal mechanisms.
Construction and maintenance of nests – All vegetation and debris is removed from the area immediately surrounding the nest including mature and emerging plants. This area is kept clear for the duration of the life of the colony and, in some cases, can be quite extensive.
Harvester ants can also influence soil properties and soil food webs within and in the vicinity of their nests. They bring large amounts of organic matter down into the soil and redistribute vast amounts of soil particles. Their actions also influence the amount of moisture in the soil surrounding their nests.
This is a mere distillation of the influences that harvester ants might have; see the paper by MacMahon et al. to learn more.
In an effort to better understand how the seed predation and seed dispersal behaviors of harvester ants might influence plant population dynamics, a research team in Spain used data obtained from field research to build a computer model that would predict changes over time. The study site was described as "open and heterogeneous shrubland" and the vegetation was stated to be in "a very early stage in the secondary succession" after being subject to "recurring fires." The harvester ant colonies involved in the study consisted of three species in the genus Messor. The plant species selected for the study were three native shrubs whose seeds were known to be collected by the harvester ants. Each plant species differed slightly in the amount and size of seeds it produced and in its primary seed dispersal mechanism, which is important because the researchers hypothesized that "the effect of seed predation and seed dispersal may depend on plant attributes."
Messor bouvieri (photo credit: www.eol.org)
Data obtained from simulated scenarios and field observations appeared to support this hypothesis; each shrub species interacted differently with the harvester ants. Coronilla minima benefited from "accidental" seed dispersal. Comparatively, it produces a high amount of large seeds, which are primarily dispersed by gravity. Despite predation, ant-mediated dispersal was an advantage. Dorycnium pentaphyllum produced the highest amount of seeds among the three shrub species; however, seed predation was found to have negative effects on its population dynamics. Its primary seed dispersal mechanism involves ballistics (the mechanical ejection of its seeds), so ant-mediated dispersal may not offer an advantage. Finally, Fumana ericoides, despite its limited primary seed dispersal and its comparatively low production of seeds was not affected by the actions of the harvester ants. The authors concluded that "some unknown factor is driving the population dynamics of this species, more than the action of ants."
Studies such as this, while leaving many unanswered questions, help us understand the important role that harvester ants play in our world. Harvester ants, and ants in general, are truly among Earth's most enthralling and influential creatures. Learn more about their complex behaviors and countless interactions with flora and fauna by checking out these three documentaries recommended by ANTfinity.
Posted in Botany, Plant Ecology	| Tagged ants, Bert Holldobler, diszoochory, E.O. Wilson, ecology, elaiosome, entomology, harvester ants, Journey to the Ants, Messor, myrmecochory, plant ecology, plant science research, Pogonomyrmex, population dynamics, secondary seed dispersal, seed dispersal, seed predation, seeds | 5 Comments


If all vegan food tasted like this, I would eat more of it. Great flavors, great textures.
Saucha specializes in locally sourced, plant-based meal delivery and handcrafted, small-batch brewed kombucha in the Cayman Islands. Our passion for local vegan food is also expressed through our artisan organic sourdough, gluten-free vegan snacks and desserts, catering options and special events. In October, 2018, we opened our first storefront, the Conscious Café, inside Art Nest Creative Studio situated near the airport.
We deliver our vegan meals Monday-Friday to your home or office between West Bay and Grand Harbour. Now offering a Set Weekly Menu, based on 5 years of customer favorites, we are proud to bring conscious eating and consistency to your wellness routine. Stay informed of the latest events by signing up for our Monthly Newsletter.
All of our signature kombucha flavors are handcrafted and small-batch brewed. We like to infuse local, fresh and organic ingredients to enhance flavor and nutritional benefits. All of our bottles are sourced from local restaurants to aid the recycling effort in Cayman.
Our kombucha can arrive straight to your doorstep, or you can find it at our select retail locations. You can also find our line-up of raw/vegan energy bites, desserts, and grab and go at our exclusive retailer, Art Nest.
Every ingredient we use is hand selected and consciously chosen. From the veggies coming from the local Farmer's Market, to the Kangen Water we use in the kombucha, to the organic whole grains in the meals, to the raw/organic cacao powder in the desserts, to the Himalayan Pink Salt that we exclusively use in the kitchen. We believe in supporting our local community and companies that are organic, non-GMO, eco-friendly and fair-trade. Even our packaging is eco friendly. We only use compostable materials (yes, even that stuff that looks like cellophane for those delicious Inside-Out Peanut Butter Cups). Did we mention our uniform t-shirts are made out organic hemp? Hemp is a great sustainable option that keeps us cooler, is antimicrobial, and has UV protection.


East Division: Great Yarmouth Town v Beccles Town.
League Challenge Cup: Eton Manor v Ilford postponed.
Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy: FC Romania v Southend Manor, Stansted v Ilford, Wadham Lodge v Sawbridgeworth Town.


text:
module QueryBuilder::CQL

  module Contexts

    # Describes the Cassandra users role
    #
    class Role < Base

      attribute :name, required: true

      # Returns the full name of the type
      #
      # @return [String]
      #
      def to_s
        name.to_s
      end

      # Builds the 'CREATE ROLE' CQL statement
      #
      # @return [QueryBuilder::Statements::CreateRole]
      #
      def create
        Statements::CreateRole.new(context: self)
      end

      # Builds the 'ALTER ROLE' CQL statement with password
      #
      # @param [#to_s] password
      #
      # @return [QueryBuilder::Statements::AlterRole]
      #
      def alter(password)
        Statements::AlterRole.new(context: self).password(password)
      end

      # Builds the 'DROP ROLE' CQL statement
      #
      # @return [QueryBuilder::Statements::DropRole]
      #
      def drop
        Statements::DropRole.new(context: self)
      end

    end # class Role

  end # module Contexts

end # module QueryBuilder::CQL

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
About Greg Beecham
After a forty one year career of painting wildlife art, Greg Beecham is no less passionate to learn and grow as an artist than he was that first full-time day in 1978. He struggled for many years to define his vision and improve his technical skills. Force to slow down and ponder life and work as he lay in a hospital bed for three days in 2013, he asked himself a simple question, "Who am I?" In other words, "What am I trying to say as an artist and how do I go about saying it?"
His conclusion to himself was that he must take the tools of his trade; color, value, texture, edges, drawing and composition and, in his work, strive toward unity in the context of simplicity and beauty.
Beecham considers this a journey. There have been a few paintings that have come close to matching the vision. And he is thankful to be a blessing to people with his work. But he still presses on hoping to one day match vision and reality.
Beecham's work is included in permanent collections of The Gilcrease Museum, The National Museum of Wildlife Art, The James Museum, The Briscoe Museum, and The Montana Historical Museum. He is a six time winner of the Prix de West wildlife art award.
Momma's Got Twins
This momma griz has faithfully raised her two cubs for three years now. She has given them all she's got – even been willing to fight and die for them. They are ready to go off on their own – but she's once again going to be called upon for a tough job. They won't go without her forcing them away. Once she goes into estrus, and especially if a suiter then comes her way, she will run them off and begin another family. She's done well. I have approached this painting in a more contemporary format, minimizing background, with strong design and interesting textures being my primary focus.


CSSA Cross Country Champions – AGAIN !!!!!
In addition to this, the Y6 boys team won their overall race as a result of 5 runners coming in the top 30 and there was a fantastic show of solidarity from the Y5 boys team who sought out a team mate when they realised that he wasn't with them on the start line. As one boy put it – 'it doesn't matter if we don't win, it's the taking part that counts.' Pleasingly, 3 of them went on to secure top 6 places.
All the children did amazingly well to complete the course and it was our fantastic Brookfield team spirit, which enabled us to come 1st again. We even managed to beat last year's score by approximately 90 points. A special word of thanks extends to Haseeb who did an amazing job preparing the children for the race. In addition to the work he did in school, he also laid on some fun early morning training sessions on the heath which proved popular with parents and children.
A special mention also goes to all the parents who came along to cheer on the children and to the additional Fit for Sport Staff who helped on the day.
Thank you to all those who turned up for our annual Fun Run on Hampstead Heath. In all we had 22 teams who registered and 82 runners took part. Everybody made a fantastic effort to dress up in their space costumes and run around the course. Congratulation to Panda Salamander (Dan and Josh Cedar), the Sun Team (Zoe, Matthew and Dennis Johnston Webber) and Holst with the Mo(l)st (Lucas, Dougal and Andy Farrer) for taking the top 3 places and to the following teams for scooping rosettes for their fancy dress costumes – Ashforth Aliens, Alien Space Robots Rule and Alpha Centuri.
Other individual runners who ran exceptionally well were Dexter (Y6) and Conrad and Eben (Y2).
A special word of thanks extends to Collette and Alison for their marvellous organisation of the event.Some more photos are going be posted onto the school's website and a video will also be uploaded in due course.
If you weren't able to make it along, do please consider sponsoring one of the teams for their efforts. The money raised will go towards supporting activities in school.
This term has got off to a promising start and Mark would love to see you for his termly drop in, this Tuesday at 9.05am in the lower hall. Come along to find out more about this year's priorities , challenges and things to look forward to.
If you haven't handed in your permission slips for this year's trips and workshops, please do so asap. Children will start to go out on trips in the coming few weeks.
On Thursday February 8th (just before February half term) we are going to be running our first ever Brookfield Auction. A committee involving Sebastian, Eiril, Katherine and I have been meeting to start organising it and we would love some additional people to get involved.
We hope to be able to invite a celebrity along to help with one of the rounds and plan to have some great refreshments, entertainment and of course some amazing lots to bid on. If this is something which you would like to get involved in, please would you contact Sebastian on sebastian.gardiner@yahoo.co.uk. Many thanks!
Congratulations to me for completing my half marathon obstacle race! I was 1st out of 392 for my age category and 6th of 2,367 overall.
There is no netball tomorrow – those in the school team, please refer to the schedule. On Wednesday 4th October, there is a mixed school dodge ball tournament after school. PLEASE return permission slips asap!
Due to popular demand, I will be continuing the pre-school run on the heath starting next week Tuesday 10th Oct 8am, same entrance as before.
This Half terms lunches are £79.20.
Aerialdays run fantastic trapeze and silks sessions at Brookfield on Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons.
A MASSIVE thank you to the wonderful organisers of the SPACE RACE FUN RUN and all those who took part! It was just OUT OF THIS WORLD.
A reminder that the sponsorship deadline October 12th. Don't forget to donate here: MyDonate.
Please make/buy brownies and/or rocky road and bring them on the morning of the Rodeo to the office.
Do volunteer to help out on a stall if you haven't already.
If you are a hairdresser or make- up artist or fancy yourself as one please get in touch with Tabitha.
At the next sale on 12th October there will be a chance to buy PRE-LOVED HALLOWEEN COSTUMES to save us SHELLING OUT FOR NEW ONES… so please donate costumes to the office!


text:
(-) Australia (1)
Drones Surveillance (1)
(-) Data Protection (1)
Australian app finds slow takeup over privacy concerns
Only 16% of Australians had downloaded the country's COVIDSafe app by May 3, a week after its launch on April 26, even though most said they support the federal government's coronavirus contact tracing app. In an Ipsos poll, 80% of those who said they were unlikely to download the app cited privacy concerns such as who holds and has access to the data, and which country's law applies. The government has said its goal is for at least half of the population to download and install the app.…


With effect from 1 April 2017, all goods for resale suppliers, whose business with Morrisons was worth up to £100,000 annually, would be paid within 14 days of receipt of a valid electronic invoice, said Morrisons, adding more than 3,000 suppliers would be on payment terms of less than 14 days as a result.
The supermarket said it aimed to find 200 local suppliers as part of its 'Nation's Local Foodmakers' programme who would benefit from the change.
The move followed the retailer's smaller suppliers telling Morrisons such payment terms would help them with their cash flow, said group commercial director Darren Blackhurst.
"We aim to buy and sell simply and we want our smallest suppliers to grow with us."
In addition, Morrisons is developing a free-to-use supplier portal through which invoices can be raised and submitted in a bid to help small suppliers that don't currently have electronic invoicing system. The service is expected to be introduced later this year.
Other changes introduced as part of the retailer's strategy to "buy and sell simply" include reducing the type of supplier income from 37 to three; removing or reducing "several" supplier charges; resolving all cost price invoice queries within five working days and a "simpler standard supply agreement" for adoption this year.


Want to know Manex's upcoming dates and travel?
Get in touch ahead of time to schedule a session, ceremony, or workshop in your area.
Upcoming Dates for Workshops, Events, and Travel.
The next seasonal Wisdom Quest will begin in May, 2019.
Mid-July, exact dates to be determined.
October 22nd and 23rd, 2018.
Manex also offers ongoing Human Design and coaching workshops.


It is normal and healthy to experience a period of sadness following a career-ending injury. Take some time to come to terms with what has happened. It will help you to move forward when you're ready.
Talk about it. It can be beneficial to express your feelings to someone that you trust.
Identify those people who can provide support and encouragement in coping with your injury.


Many workplaces, especially research facilities, generate and store a wide variety of chemical formulations, some of which are hazardous materials and some that are not regulated. ARC Enterprises helps clients to characterize waste streams for proper disposition. The generator is ultimately responsible for managing waste correctly, so regardless of the reasons for characterizing your waste streams, we can provide an objective assessment and reduce costs from properly characterizing the waste.
This service is often requested by companies that are consolidating wastes and minimizing costs prior to a facility move or when closing a facility. Waste characterization may also be used to identify if a waste stream is in fact hazardous or to discern biological waste from chemical. Because many waste streams have more than one method of disposal and destruction, waste characterization also helps identify the best or most appropriate disposal methods and treatments, as well as best management practices during generation and accumulation.
With over 20 years of managing hazardous waste programs for small to large facilities, ARC Enterprises has a solid background in waste management and regulatory compliance and has helped many companies with strengthening their programs. Waste characterization requires knowledge of the regulations and intends to reduce regulatory liabilities from local enforcement agencies.


text:
PremFina & Microsoft AI Collab Sees 70% Response-Handling via Automation
by PR Newswire March 15, 2021 March 15, 2021
PremFina Ltd, the U.K.'s first venture capital backed alternative insurance premium finance company announces its UK collaboration with Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software company by revenue, has resulted in its artificial intelligence (AI) driven chat bot handling 70% of all data-led customer queries with zero delay in response times.
PremFina's newest (virtual) staff member 'Fina' visible at www.premfina.com, was developed at the company's research and development (R&D) labs in collaboration with Microsoft. It tapped into Microsoft's Azure cloud platform for a variety of AI libraries and technologies to create an AI-driven chatbot to be first line of response for incoming queries from business customers and consumers. Natural language processing allows PremFina's algorithms to recognise the customer's intent, even if the words are unclear, and then process appropriate follow up actions.
"Whether customers ask how, where or if they can make a payment in a variety of ways, Fina will respond and direct them to our payment gateway," said PremFina's CTO Nij Saha. "Fina processes varying expressions of human language and help serve our customers 24×7 through human style interaction."
One in five companies that had adopted AI attributed 5% percent of their organizations' enterprise-wide earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to their use of AI, according to a Nov. 2020 survey by management consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. Many companies have increased their investment in AI in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant acceleration of digitisation across business functions, widening the digital divide between led and technology laggard companies.
"This is a textbook case of technology put to use for business efficiency and an improved customer journey," said PremFina's CEO Bundeep Singh Rangar. ""Our newest employee Fina is uber efficient handline 7 out of every 10 incoming chat queries that don't need to be handed over to a human being."
Fina allows for customers to ask questions via simple conversations, using natural language processing technologies to understand the intent behind the questions. It provides responses to customers 24×7 across different regions. Built during a virtual hackathon last year, it is the first of many outcomes via the company's collaboration with Microsoft.
"Premfina is recognized as being highly innovative and focused on providing excellent customer experience for insurance companies and intermediaries," said Dennis Vanderlip, Director, Financial Services at Microsoft UK. "Microsoft is excited to be working with PremFina as it brings new solutions to market in this important sector."
PremFina's work with Microsoft is helping it build new innovative products that improve customer experience and lower operating costs. The company's core loan engine platform is another such example. It can scale up to process any increase in loan agreements in real time using Azure, via only a few clicks on a computer. PremFina was also part of the Microsoft UK Ventures 4th Cohort for fintech start-ups in 2016.
In Sept. 2018, PremFina's Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) was recognised at the Insurance Times Tech and Innovation Awards where the Company won 'Best Use of Technology for Customer Experience – B2B.
In Dec. 2020, PremFina won the gold award for "Excellence in Technology" at The Insurance Times Awards 2020.
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Conference Sectors
Investor Forum - Greece
Forum Journal
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RANIA EKATERINARI
Deputy CEO
Public Power Corporation S.A.
Mrs Rania Ekaterinari is Deputy CEO of Public Power Corporation S.A. ("PPC") since January 2010 and Executive Member of the Board since December 2011. She is heading the activities of Finance, Human Resources and Support Operations Divisions.
Since February 2012, Mrs Ekaterinari is also a member of the Supervisory Board of the Independent Power Transmission Operator S.A.
Before PPC, and for more than 10 years, she worked in corporate & investment banking in Athens and in London at Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and EFG Eurobank. Prior to banking, she worked in the oil & gas industry at Texaco in London for projects in the Caspian region. At the beginning of her career, she worked as an electrical engineer in Greece and in Denmark.
Mrs Ekaterinari is the first Greek woman to be announced in October 2010 in France member of the global "Rising Talents Network" of the "Women's Forum for the Economy and the Society".
She is a graduate from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with a degree in Electrical Engineering and holds an MBA from City University Business School in London. She was Deputy Chairman of the Energy Committee of the Technical Chamber of Greece.


The Devriès were a family of operatic singers over three generations, of Dutch descent. They were mainly active in France, Belgium and the USA in the second half of the 19th and the early 20th centuries.
A soprano (12 April 1828, The Hague - 30 March 1889, Rome), who made her debut in The Hague, and sang at the Théâtre d'Orléans in New Orleans, as well as Canada and Italy. She was the mother of Jeanne, Fidès, Maurice and Hermann.
A soprano, born in New Orleans before 1850, died in 1924, Jeanne Devriès made her debut at the age of 17 at the Paris Théâtre Lyrique in June 1867 as Amina in La sonnambula (in French), when she was praised by one critic, who nonetheless felt that she was not a new Malibran. She took over the title role of Catherine Glover for the premiere of La jolie fille de Perth at the same theatre (originally intended for Christina Nilsson) later in 1867, and also sang Martha, and Rosina in The Barber of Seville. She married a Conservatoire prize-winner named Dereims, described as an 'intelligent singer' who sang widely in France and outside, and toured with him to Lisbon in 1878. Appearing as Jeanne Devriès-Dereims in Brussels, she sang in Les diamants de la couronne (Catarina) and Faust (Marguerite) in 1872-1873; in the 1879-80 season the Queen of the Night in La flûte enchantée (Nuitter/Beaumont). The rest of her career was spent in France.
Fidès was born in New Orleans on 22 April 1852, and died in 1941, and was a soprano who studied under Duprez. She made her debut as Rose-de-Mai in Le val d'Andorre at the Théâtre Lyrique in October 1868. After a couple of seasons at La Monnaie in Brussels, she joined the Paris Opera in 1871, where her repertoire included Marguerite in Faust, Ophélie in Hamlet, Isabelle in Robert le diable, Agathe in Le Freischutz, Inès and Sélika in L'Africaine, Elvira in Don Juan, Mathilde in Guillaume Tell and Eudoxie in La Juive.
In February 1873 Devriès took the solo soprano part in Beethoven's Choral Symphony with the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, along with an aria from Don Giovanni.
She interrupted her career from April 1874 to 1883, after which she appeared at the Théâtre-Italien directed by Victor Maurel, singing in Simon Boccanegra and Hérodiade. Back at the Opéra, after touring to Monte-Carlo, Madrid, Lisbon and the Netherlands, she created the role of Chimène in the premiere of Le Cid on 30 November 1885. Her final major appearance was as Elsa in the French premiere of Lohengrin on 3 May 1887, before retiring from the stage in 1889.
Born New York in 1854, died Chicago in 1919, Maurice was a baritone. He made his debut in Liege in 1874 as Nevers in Les Huguenots. Having been engaged at La Monnaie in Brussels, he created the role of Gunther in Sigurd in 1884. His career also extended to Italy and the USA, where he appeared for the Metropolitan Opera from 1895-98 both in New York and on tour; his repertoire there included Roméo et Juliette, Carmen, Faust, the United States premiere of La Navarraise, Pagliacci, Fidelio, La Traviata, Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Cavalleria Rusticana, Manon, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Lohengrin.
Born in New York in 1858, died in Chicago 1949, Hermann was a baritone, sometimes termed a bass. After studying with Faure he made his debut at the Paris Opera in 1878, and had become a leading bass in the chorus of the Opéra, where his family renown may have led to an engagement at the Opéra-Comique in 1880 for his debut in the first of 50 performances there as Lothario in Mignon. For the Metropolitan Opera he sang from 1898 to 1900 in Roméo et Juliette, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Faust, Les Huguenots, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Das Rheingold, Le Prophète and Rigoletto.
Son of Maurice, David Devriès was one of the leading French tenors of his day. After studies at the Paris Conservatoire he had a distinguished career centred on the Paris Opéra-Comique. He left several recordings.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Forbes E. Devriès [De Vries]. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.
1 2 3 Walsh T J. Second Empire Opera: The Théâtre Lyrique Paris 1851–1870. John Calder (Publishers Ltd), London, 1981.
1 2 Soubies A, Malherbe C. Histoire de l'opéra comique — La seconde salle Favart 1840–1887. Flammarion, Paris, 1893.
↑ "The digital opera archives of La Monnaie". Retrieved 2011-11-21.
1 2 Gourret J. Dictionnaire des Cantatrices de l'Opéra. Editions Albatros, Paris, 1987.
↑ Kern Holoman D. Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. http://hector.ucdavis.edu/SdC/default.html. Accessed 2.12.11.
↑ Cf. Le Ménestrel, year 51-nr.4, 28.12.1884, pages 27 and 30.
1 2 Metropolitan Opera archive Accessed 21 November 2011.


As someone finding myself working mostly with a language rather than my own, I have always wondered how mastering a new language influences our personalities and lives overall. In this series I will be meeting people who have more than one language as part of their linguistic landscape. I am now in the USA where one cannot fail to come across a lot of individuals who are not monolingual. It is of no importance whether they were born in bilingual homes or had to or chose to embark on learning a new language and thus embrace various changes this decision might eventually make in their professional, social or personal lives. For most people these days it is English that becomes a language that brings about these sometimes crucial change making us molecules in the buzzing international scene. As you are watching them speak, I urge you to listen to their beautiful accents and the way they go about using English. Do all these people change the way English is spoken around the world as well? Can one or should one aspire to sound and speak like a native? Does a particular language one is speaking change the way one is? How do we express our bilingual selves and do we at all? I will be sharing these people sharing their stories and making them part of my own. English, thank you so very much for making these conversations possible. Bilinguals rule! Happy watching!
Welcome to SCIENCErely Yours where we'll be bringing you interviews with people who chose to pursue a career in science. As you know, all of us here at RusProfiling Lab are working hard to investigate what we hope is interesting to anyone from all walks of life, no matter what their age and nationality, etc.
So what is actually science? Does it really always have to be boring? Through the course of our programs we want to introduce you all to what scientists do and show that they do not have to be isolated introverts working the nights away making their articles as difficult as possible by using lots of complex terms. Actually, you don't have to be very good at personality profiling to know that they can be very social and enthusiastic individuals as they attend conferences and exchange ideas to change the world and make it a more comfortable, interesting and inspiring place to live. Our main objective (sorry for a bit of the science talk here 😉 ) is for you to see humans in scientists and a very intense breath of life in what they do. This is what we here at our Lab see science is about.
Hopefully you will be able to feel that too as there will be more and more editions where we'll be meeting scientists collaborating with our Lab or colleagues walking in relevant fields that we will be meeting during conferences (which are never boring of course 😆 ) or any individual who is dedicated to any kind of investigation and research and willing to share their story with all of us.


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Envision Physician Services, and Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, located in Aventura, Florida, is seeking a dynamic Medical Director with proven hospital medicine metrics driven leadership experience and a passion for teaching at this 407-bed hospital, Level I trauma center and teaching hospital, which includes an Allopathic Emergency Medicine Residency Program in collaboration with the FIU Herber Wertheim College of Medicine.
The Medical Director will lead and manage the hospital medicine physicians and the department on a day-to-basis and serve as the liaison between the hospitalists, administration, medical staff and nursing.
Enjoy a collaborative partnership with your emergency medicine colleagues, as Envision Physician Services also staffs the emergency department which is a Level I Trauma center that sees more than 90K visits annually.
Reporting Structure: The Medical Director will report directly to the Regional Medical Director (Physician).
Compensation: This high-visibility leadership position delivers an excellent compensation package.
Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, the fully accredited 407-bed acute care facility provides award-winning inpatient and outpatient diagnostic, medical, surgical and cancer services. With a recent $130 million expansion and renovation the hospital, the North Patient Tower features 243 private rooms with private baths, the newest technologically advanced patient care equipment, a 32 bed-Emergency Department, Level I Trauma Center, 2 new ICU units, the Surgical Services Suite with 10 new oversized operating rooms, a new Main Entrance and much more.
Aventura Hospital and Regional Medical Center as a proud member of the HCA Healthcare. A leading healthcare provider with 179 hospitals, 120 freestanding surgery centers and numerous other healthcare facilities. HCA has been named one of Ethisphere Institute's World Most Ethical Companies. The Ethisphere Institute is a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.
From golf course to ocean front property, and everything in between, Miami offers a wide variety of housing options to fit your life style.
Cultural activities include: museums, eclectic shops and boutiques, art galleries, a foodie's paradise, local and national theater, major league baseball, basketball, football and hockey, world-class concerts and nightlife. When you are ready to enjoy leisure time, you can take advantage of regional and international airports and the Ports of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.
South Florida is home to numerous highly-rated public, private and charter schools and boasts top ranked colleges and universities, including the University of Miami.
Recreational activities include: biking, beach, boating/sailing, fishing, golf, horseback riding, scuba diving, swimming and more.


and advocating for your industry. Now is the time to join the largest network of professional innkeepers in North America.
Below you'll see the specific benefits and services that you'll access by your membership in PAII.
Whether you've been an innkeeper for 3 months or 30 years (oh, the changes you've seen!), PAII is the place for you!


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Until the 1960s, the convention was a communications medium. Political leaders in the states seldom met each other, outside of sessions of Congress, during the four years between presidential elections.
GOP Convention: No suspense, little drama, lots of show
Today, the 40th Republican National Convention was supposed to assemble in hurricane-threatened Tampa, Fla. Seven days later, the 46th Democratic National Convention will assemble in presumably non-hurricane-threatened Charlotte, N.C. Thousands of delegates, many thousands more press personnel and even more political enthusiasts will be on hand.
Vendors will sell political buttons to collectors (does anyone wear them anymore?), and party volunteers will hand out bumper stickers (though I haven't seen many on cars anywhere this year). Party fat-cats will attend elegantly catered receptions, and those lower on the political ladder will buy hot dogs from vendors or sample local cuisine (Cuban food in Tampa's Ybor City; North Carolina barbecue).
The conventions will adopt rules that don't matter (except possibly on delegate selection), adjudge credentials with utter predictability and adopt platforms that bind no one. And of course delegates will officially nominate Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in Tampa and Barack Obama and Joe Biden in Charlotte.
People (and the federal government) will spend very large sums of money on all this. Many will ask why we still have national conventions at all.
They are a gift, for some an unwanted gift, from history. The national convention was originated by the long-departed Anti-Masonic Party in 1831 and copied by Andrew Jackson's Democrats in 1832. After the Republican Party was formed in 1854, it followed suit with a national convention in 1856.
Until the 1960s, the national convention was a communications medium. Political leaders in the various states seldom met each other, outside of sessions of Congress, during the four years between presidential elections.
Men did business well into the 1960s in written form: They spent their days reading their correspondence, dictating replies, and proofreading and signing their letters. Long-distance telephone calls were unusual; direct distance dialing was introduced only in the 1950s.
People ordinarily didn't put in writing their bottom-line negotiating position. Recipients sometimes ignored the command to "burn this letter." Better to wait until you could meet in person, in the convention city.
As a result, even the shrewdest politicians didn't know who had how many votes until the convention roll call was conducted. Campaign managers would hold back votes on early ballots to show momentum later. "Favorite son" candidates with support from home state delegations would wait for real contenders to bid for their support.
So there was suspense and drama to the proceedings. In 1960, John Kennedy got his majority for the Democratic nomination from Wyoming, the last state on the roll call. It was not until 1968 that the first media delegate count was conducted by Martin Plissner of CBS News.
The media delegate counts proved correct in the close 1976 Republican race between Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan — at which point the conventions started to take on their current form, as an advertisement for the presidential nominee and, perhaps secondarily, his party.
Sometimes things don't work out. Edward Kennedy avoided grasping Jimmy Carter's hand on the podium in New York in 1980, and Patrick Buchanan arguably overshadowed George H.W. Bush in Houston in 1992. But mostly things go according to script.
The Romney people have theirs prepared. Monday night is "we can do better," with the campaign trying to persuade one of the three broadcast networks to carry Ann Romney's speech. Tuesday is "we built that," with a Ron Paul video — Hurricane Isaac permitting.
Wednesday is "the middle class agenda," with promises of more jobs and take-home pay. And Thursday, always the climactic night, is "we believe in America," with testimony about Romney's work in the Mormon Church and in the Salt Lake City Olympics and, of course, the nominee's acceptance speech.
The Romneyites are proud of their 3-D, high-resolution video screens (in the old days, delegates watched the tiny distant speakers), the podium inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright (a Wisconsin native, like Paul Ryan) and their efforts to interact with social media like Facebook and Twitter.
But of course it matters much more how the nominees, Ryan and especially Romney, come across. That's the whole point of still holding national conventions.
Some pundits lament the demise of the old conventions. But they couldn't be revived without banning long-distance telephone, the Internet and jet travel.
Contemporary conventions give parties a chance to showcase their nominees. As in much of our politics, an antique form still performs a useful function.
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Written By Michael Barone
Mr. Barone is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Fox News Channel contributor and the principal co-author of The Almanac of American Politics, published by National Journal every two years.