text:
At our annual Speech Day the Head of Alleyn's delivers a summary of the past academic year at Alleyn's.
Click here to read the Head's Review for 2020.
"As well as the discrete subject work which characterises any rigorous academic education, there have been inter-disciplinary collaborations for the students to enjoy, including an Art-led trip to hear Ai Wei Wei discuss human rights and the Satellite sensor programme developed by our CANSAT team uniting DT, Physics and Computing. In the annual RV Jones Science Lecture (part of an inter-disciplinary Science Fortnight which saw S0 converted into a zoo replete with python, skunk and meercat!) ex-Scientist-in-Residence Dr Adam Rutherford helped us see how science might shape our demolition of racist ideologies. Our Model United Nations debaters organised a conference at Alleyn's and won further honours in Bilbao; while our MfL debaters performed superbly in both Spanish and French competitions."
"In response to our Year 13s and 11s obvious appetite to continue their learning in lieu of public exams, we also developed the Alleyn's Diploma and Portfolio, with staff offering courses in Law, Social Enterprise, Comfort Cooking, Digital Photography, Portuguese, British Wildlife & Conservation, C21st Century Classics and An Introduction to Cosmic Mining."
"I am very proud that our pupils work so hard to achieve such amazing things inside and outside the classroom, on-site and online. I am also very proud of how they engage with the world through volunteering, outreach and charitable activities, including via organisations like the Dulwich Almshouses, Southwark Community Education Charity, Southwark Schools Learning Partnership and London Academy of Excellent in Tottenham. Our brilliant Houses have raised money for a multitude of good causes again this year, while our School Charity Committee have raised almost £9k for Sparrow Schools in South Africa and Lambeth & Southwark Mind. Our Eco-committee have also been working hard to promote and embed sustainability in all that we do. Whether helping the young or the elderly, locally, in London or overseas, our pupils continue to open their hearts to the wider world and strive to make a lasting difference."


text:
Bekker's Blog by Scott Bekker, Editor in Chief
Cloud Companies Unite on NSA Transparency in Letter to Congress
Big U.S. tech companies are setting their rivalries aside to unite against a common problem -- the ongoing damage revelations about the U.S. National Security Agency are doing to their reputation for keeping customers' cloud data private and secure.
On Thursday, AOL, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo co-signed a letter to the sponsors of the USA Freedom Act calling for greater government transparency about legal demands for the companies' customer and user information and greater accountability for government surveillance.
Dozens of lawmakers sponsored the USA Freedom Act, which was written by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and original Patriot Act author Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-WI. The bill, with 16 Senate co-sponsors and more than 70 House of Representatives co-sponsors, was introduced on Tuesday.
The legislation is aimed at limiting the phone record collection program and other government surveillance programs unveiled by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden over the last five months.
The tech companies, which were all signatories of an open letter to the Obama administration in July, as well, wrote to "applaud the sponsors of the USA Freedom Act for making an important contribution."
They urged the sponsors to ensure the legislation include several key provisions.
"Allowing companies to be transparent about the number and nature of requests will help the public better understand the facts about the governments' authority to compel technology companies to disclose user data and how technology companies respond to the targeted legal demands we receive," the letter stated.
While the letter called transparency a critical first step, it went on: "Our companies believe that government surveillance practices should also be reformed to include substantial enhancements to privacy protections and appropriate oversight and accountability mechanisms for those programs."
The Leahy-Sensenbrenner bill is expected to encounter heavy resistance from the White House and from members of the House and Senate Intelligence committees.
A copy of the letter posted by IDG News Service is available on Scribd.
Report: Calculating PRISM's Carnage
Microsoft's Cloud Partners Face Hard Questions After PRISM Scandal
Microsoft Releases Details on Government Surveillance Requests
Posted by Scott Bekker on November 04, 2013 at 5:33 AM

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Star of the Game (Stick Side #6) by Amy Aislin - Review, Excerpt, Giveaway
Star of the Game is a best friends to lovers story featuring a rock star and a hockey star making their dreams come true!
Felix only wants two things:
1. To make music.
2. His best friend, Emery.
But he's not willing to risk two decades of friendship for something more. Besides, a bout of writer's block is preventing him from creating new material, and he's got deadlines to meet. He doesn't need any distractions—and Emery is the biggest distraction of all.
Emery only wants two things:
1. To play hockey.
2. His best friend, Felix.
He's ready to risk it all for a shot at being together. While he should be concentrating on playing his best hockey so his team will grant him a contract extension, there's no reason he can't multitask.
With their careers at a crossroads, the timing for romance couldn't be worse—but when Felix is forced to move in with Emery, will Emery finally convince him to take a chance at becoming the stars of their own game?
Star of the Game is a slow burn, best friends to lovers book that for me started off with both characters doing their individual thing and coming together over an outside trauma that happens to Felix... this book does a lot to forward some of the storylines started in the previous books, especially Rory & Kris' book Two-Man team and shows a lot of interaction between both couples.
For me, I found the waiting for them to finally get together a little long, but the sweet way Emery and Felix are to each other more than makes up for the beginning, where I was ready to sit them both
If you're looking for a sweet, best friends to lovers book with a smattering of hockey, lots of song writing and two guys who belong together, check out Star of the Game!
Star of the Game is the sixth book in the Stick Side series and is seriously a fantastic story!! It can definitely be read as a standalone. Felix and Emery were perfection!! Emery is like a teddy bear and Felix is adorable. Best friends since childhood. They felt so realistic, their dynamic was wonderful. Their banter and humor was sooo good! I really loved catching up with old favorites for previous books.
Book Title: Star of the Game (Stick Side #6)
Author and Publisher: Amy Aislin
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
Genre: Contemporary M/M sports romance
Tropes: Best friends to lovers, roommates, hockey
Themes: using your voice/platform for good, mental health, friendship, taking risks
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 94 000 words / 360 pages
It is book 6 in the Stick Side series, but can be read as a standalone. It's not necessary to have read the previous books in the series.
Amazon | Apple | B&N | Kobo
The previous book in this series, Two-Man Team (Stick Side 5),
is on sale for $0.99 on all platforms from December 20-January 3
Music was his heart and soul. It would never not be a part of his life. But he was ready for something different, whatever that "something" looked like. It was a vague, nameless something that poked at the back of his brain like a child lazily poking at a drum set.
He had tour dates and venues for this summer to firm up with his tour manager, and although he loved performing, the thought of touring made him slump back against the wall.
Twisting open the bottle cap, Felix chugged half his water, mopping up a drop that spilled onto his chin with the back of his hand. Fuck, he couldn't wait to get home, even though Vancouver in January was as dreary as Henryk Gorecki's Symphony No. 3. He had a house in LA too, in Playa del Rey, but Vancouver was home. He wanted to sleep in his own bed, visit with his parents and younger sister, help out at his mentor's after-school musical theater program, and spend time with Emery.
His phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket. Well, speak of the devil. Emery Stanton read his caller ID next to a photo of his childhood best friend's face, and Felix's heart skipped a beat, an automatic smile pulling his lips upward despite his exhaustion. Felix remembered snapping that picture. "Smile," he'd said one day when they—along with their other best friend, Kris—had been strolling along Vancouver's Seawall a couple of summers ago, and instead Emery had made a kissy face.
"I was going for pouty and sexy," Emery had explained, but the result was that he looked like he'd eaten a lemon.
Felix swiped to answer the video call. "Hey, Em."
"Oh, hey." Dark eyes flared in what Felix wanted to believe was pleasure but was probably surprise. "I thought you were still doing the show. I was going to leave you a message."
See? Surprise.
"We just wrapped up," Felix said. "What's up?"
Felix waited out a whole ten seconds of silence where they did nothing but stare at each other. Emery scratched his bristly jaw. Felix sipped more water. Amusement tickling the back of his throat, he finally said, "What was your message going to be about, then?"
"Oh, nothing. I was going to ramble on about the latest movie I saw with the guys just so you didn't forget the sound of my voice."
The guys being his friends on his NHL team.
Felix rolled his eyes. "I haven't been gone that long."
"It's been two weeks, Fe. You disappeared right after New Year's. I miss your face."
Felix did not let that go to his head—or his heart. This was just Emery being Emery. "You were in Winnipeg playing a New Year's game, and then in New York, then Colorado. If I'd have been home, we wouldn't have seen each other anyway."
Emery scowled. "That's not the point."
"What is the point?"
"The point is that it's the middle of January and I haven't even said 'Happy New Year' to you in person yet."
"Oh, the horror."
"Sarcasm is unbecoming," Emery quipped, quite primly.
Amy's lived with her head in the clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two languages means she's read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between men, and she's been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever she isn't at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada's largest environmental non-profit.
An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram, or sign up for her infrequent newsletter.
Blog/Website | Facebook | Instagram
Newsletter Sign-up | Facebook Group
Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win
a signed paperback of Star of the Game.
Hosted by Gay Book Promotions
4 Stars 5 Stars best friends to lovers childhood friends Heather hockey Janet Rockstar Series


text:
Q: Capistrano: Cap aborted! Don't know how to build task 'deploy:setup' I am setting up production deployment for my rails app. But it was unable to build for unknown reason. I have managed to fix it for the whole day without success. where is my problem? can i fix it? please!
➜  Buyi git:(develop) ✗ cap production deploy:setup --trace
** Invoke production (first_time)
** Execute production
** Invoke load:defaults (first_time)
** Execute load:defaults
** Invoke rvm:hook (first_time)
** Invoke passenger:rvm:hook (first_time)
** Invoke passenger:test_which_passenger (first_time)
** Execute passenger:test_which_passenger DEBUG [50f77fca] Running /usr/bin/env which passenger as x@x DEBUG [50f77fca] Command: ( export PATH="~/.rvm/gems/ruby-2.2.1@buyi/bin:$PATH" ; /usr/bin/env which passenger ) DEBUG [50f77fca]    /home/ec2-user/.rvm/gems/ruby-2.2.1@buyi/bin/passenger DEBUG [50f77fca] Finished in 5.666 seconds with exit status 0 (successful).
** Execute passenger:rvm:hook
** Execute rvm:hook
** Invoke rvm:check (first_time)
** Execute rvm:check DEBUG [70b71b8b] Running ~/.rvm/bin/rvm version as x@x DEBUG [70b71b8b] Command: ( export PATH="~/.rvm/gems/ruby-2.2.1@buyi/bin:$PATH" ; ~/.rvm/bin/rvm version ) DEBUG [70b71b8b]     rvm 1.26.11 (latest) by Wayne E. Seguin <wayneeseguin@gmail.com>, Michal Papis <mpapis@gmail.com> [https://rvm.io/] DEBUG [70b71b8b] Finished in 1.158 seconds with exit status 0 (successful). rvm 1.26.11 (latest) by Wayne E. Seguin <wayneeseguin@gmail.com>, Michal Papis <mpapis@gmail.com> [https://rvm.io/] DEBUG [44456560] Running ~/.rvm/bin/rvm current as x@x DEBUG [44456560] Command: ( export PATH="~/.rvm/gems/ruby-2.2.1@buyi/bin:$PATH" ; ~/.rvm/bin/rvm current ) DEBUG [44456560]  ruby-2.2.1 DEBUG [44456560] Finished in 1.118 seconds with exit status 0 (successful). ruby-2.2.1 DEBUG [e03a5cf7] Running ~/.rvm/bin/rvm ruby-2.2.1@buyi do ruby --version as x@x DEBUG [e03a5cf7] Command: ( export PATH="~/.rvm/gems/ruby-2.2.1@buyi/bin:$PATH" ; ~/.rvm/bin/rvm ruby-2.2.1@buyi do ruby --version ) DEBUG [e03a5cf7]    ruby 2.2.1p85 (2015-02-26 revision 49769) [x86_64-linux] DEBUG [e03a5cf7] Finished in 1.084 seconds with exit status 0 (successful). ruby 2.2.1p85 (2015-02-26 revision 49769) [x86_64-linux]
** Invoke bundler:map_bins (first_time)
** Invoke passenger:bundler:hook (first_time)
** Execute passenger:bundler:hook
** Execute bundler:map_bins
** Invoke deploy:set_rails_env (first_time)
** Execute deploy:set_rails_env
** Invoke deploy:set_linked_dirs (first_time)
** Execute deploy:set_linked_dirs
** Invoke deploy:set_rails_env

cap aborted! Don't know how to build task 'deploy:setup'

In my Capfile, I have these:
require 'capistrano/setup'
require 'capistrano/deploy'
require 'capistrano/rvm'
require 'capistrano/bundler'
require 'capistrano/rails/assets'
require 'capistrano/rails/migrations'
require 'capistrano/passenger'

A: Looks as though you're relying on the standard setup task to be there. You'll need to add it your cap file:
# Capfile
require 'capistrano/setup'

and make sure to run bundle exec cap production deploy:setup.
Source: http://capistranorb.com/documentation/getting-started/flow/
Your are using cap 3, right?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


the bourbon into the batter as described here.
Drain of any water and scoop out the goop. Let cool.
Use a hand blender to puree the pumpkin until silky smooth.
Partially bake a double batch of pie crust spread out in a 9x13" casserole or baking dish. (Note, you'll only need 2/3rds of the crust here, but a single batch is not enough.
An adaptation of the recipe from The Food Network. We've used marina di chioggia and speckled hen pumpkins from our favorite farmer at Eastern Market. A butternut squash can also be used.
Mix together sugar and spices in a small bowl.


They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Then what is this video worth?
Note: There is no audio.
"The building is about to blow up."
"Keep your eye on that building, it'll be coming down."
The fire dept. could not have predicted that fire would collapse WTC7 with such certainty as it had never happened before in the entire history of the world. Here is a video showing the perfectly symmetrical free fall which can only occur with demolition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD06SA... Never ever has a high rise steel structured building collapsed by fire on the face of the planet. Never. How were they able to be absolutely positive it was coming down? How was the cop absolutely certain the building was "about to blow up"? These are just a few of the individuals with foreknowledge; there are many other reports and videos.
Then there's Silverstein's admission that the fire department "pulled it": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WYdAJ.... Pull is an old demolition term which is still used today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJI6Yv... (Jump to 1:26 to hear a demolition team at Ground Zero using the term "pull" before they demolish WTC6.) According to NIST's WTC collapse lead investigator Shyam Sunder, "There was no firefighting in WTC7," and additionally the FEMA report stated "No manual firefighting actions were taken by FDNY." Silverstein had to be refering to WTC7 and not a fire team, as some theorize.
Thus, the building was set up well in advance to 9/11 as it is ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE to rig a building of that size in 5 hours. You couldn't even do it in 5 days, in perfect conditions. And we all know how perfectly symmetical its collapse is. That was a perfect job. A global simultaneous collapse of all supports is preposterous given the extent of damage. This has been confirmed by over 600 engineers and architects: http://www.ae911truth.org/.
"As we now have it, globalization can be defined as an ideology that identifies the Sovereign Nation-State as its key enemy, basically because the State's main function is (or should be) to prioritize the interests of the Many - i.e., "the People" - over the interests of the Few. Accordingly, the forces of globalization seek to weaken, dissolve and eventually destroy the very foundations of the Nation-State as a basic social institution, in order to replace it with new supra-national worldwide social, political, economic, financial and military management structures. Such structures tie in with the political objectives and economic interests of a small number of highly concentrated and very powerful groups and organizations which today drive and steer the globalization process in a very specific direction.
These power groups consist of private interests which have succeeded in achieving something that is unprecedented in all of human history, and which we describe as the privatization of power on a global scale."
"IT IS THE LEADERS of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is TELL THEM THEY ARE BEING ATTACKED, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. IT WORKS THE SAME IN ANY COUNTRY."


text:
package mtr.block;

import mtr.BlockEntityTypes;
import mtr.entity.EntityLift;
import mtr.mappings.BlockEntityClientSerializableMapper;
import mtr.mappings.BlockEntityMapper;
import mtr.mappings.EntityBlockMapper;
import mtr.packet.PacketTrainDataGuiServer;
import net.minecraft.core.BlockPos;
import net.minecraft.nbt.CompoundTag;
import net.minecraft.server.level.ServerPlayer;
import net.minecraft.world.InteractionHand;
import net.minecraft.world.InteractionResult;
import net.minecraft.world.entity.player.Player;
import net.minecraft.world.level.Level;
import net.minecraft.world.level.block.entity.BlockEntity;
import net.minecraft.world.level.block.state.BlockState;
import net.minecraft.world.phys.BlockHitResult;

import java.util.Map;
import java.util.function.Function;

public class BlockLiftTrackFloor extends BlockLiftTrack implements EntityBlockMapper {

	public BlockLiftTrackFloor() {
		super();
	}

	@Override
	public InteractionResult use(BlockState state, Level world, BlockPos pos, Player player, InteractionHand interactionHand, BlockHitResult blockHitResult) {
		return IBlock.checkHoldingBrush(world, player, () -> {
			final BlockEntity entity = world.getBlockEntity(pos);
			if (entity instanceof TileEntityLiftTrackFloor) {
				((TileEntityLiftTrackFloor) entity).syncData();
				PacketTrainDataGuiServer.openLiftTrackFloorScreenS2C((ServerPlayer) player, pos);
			}
		});
	}

	@Override
	public BlockEntityMapper createBlockEntity(BlockPos pos, BlockState state) {
		return new TileEntityLiftTrackFloor(pos, state);
	}

	public static class TileEntityLiftTrackFloor extends BlockEntityClientSerializableMapper {

		private EntityLift cachedEntityLift;
		private String floorNumber = "1";
		private String floorDescription = "";
		private boolean shouldDing;

		private static final String KEY_FLOOR_NUMBER = "floor_number";
		private static final String KEY_FLOOR_DESCRIPTION = "floor_description";
		private static final String KEY_SHOULD_DING = "should_ding";

		public TileEntityLiftTrackFloor(BlockPos pos, BlockState state) {
			super(BlockEntityTypes.LIFT_TRACK_FLOOR_1_TILE_ENTITY.get(), pos, state);
		}

		@Override
		public void readCompoundTag(CompoundTag compoundTag) {
			floorNumber = compoundTag.getString(KEY_FLOOR_NUMBER);
			floorDescription = compoundTag.getString(KEY_FLOOR_DESCRIPTION);
			shouldDing = compoundTag.getBoolean(KEY_SHOULD_DING);
		}

		@Override
		public void writeCompoundTag(CompoundTag compoundTag) {
			compoundTag.putString(KEY_FLOOR_NUMBER, floorNumber);
			compoundTag.putString(KEY_FLOOR_DESCRIPTION, floorDescription);
			compoundTag.putBoolean(KEY_SHOULD_DING, shouldDing);
		}

		public void setData(String floorNumber, String floorDescription, boolean shouldDing) {
			this.floorNumber = floorNumber;
			this.floorDescription = floorDescription;
			this.shouldDing = shouldDing;
			setChanged();
			syncData();
		}

		public String getFloorNumber() {
			return floorNumber;
		}

		public String getFloorDescription() {
			return floorDescription;
		}

		public boolean getShouldDing() {
			return shouldDing;
		}

		public void scanFloors(Map<Integer, String> floors) {
			floors.clear();
			scanFloors(level, worldPosition, false, tileEntityLiftTrackFloor -> {
				floors.put(tileEntityLiftTrackFloor.worldPosition.getY(), tileEntityLiftTrackFloor.floorNumber + "||" + tileEntityLiftTrackFloor.floorDescription);
				return false;
			});
			scanFloors(level, worldPosition, true, tileEntityLiftTrackFloor -> {
				floors.put(tileEntityLiftTrackFloor.worldPosition.getY(), tileEntityLiftTrackFloor.floorNumber + "||" + tileEntityLiftTrackFloor.floorDescription);
				return false;
			});
		}

		public void setEntityLift(EntityLift entityLift) {
			if (cachedEntityLift != null && cachedEntityLift != entityLift) {
				cachedEntityLift.kill();
			}
			cachedEntityLift = entityLift;
		}

		public EntityLift getEntityLift() {
			if (cachedEntityLift != null) {
				return cachedEntityLift;
			} else if (level != null) {
				if (!scanFloors(level, worldPosition, false, tileEntityLiftTrackFloor -> {
					final EntityLift entityLift = tileEntityLiftTrackFloor.cachedEntityLift;
					if (entityLift != null) {
						cachedEntityLift = entityLift;
						return true;
					} else {
						return false;
					}
				})) {
					scanFloors(level, worldPosition, true, tileEntityLiftTrackFloor -> {
						final EntityLift entityLift = tileEntityLiftTrackFloor.cachedEntityLift;
						if (entityLift != null) {
							cachedEntityLift = entityLift;
							return true;
						} else {
							return false;
						}
					});
				}
				return cachedEntityLift;
			} else {
				return null;
			}
		}

		private static boolean scanFloors(Level world, BlockPos pos, boolean upwards, Function<TileEntityLiftTrackFloor, Boolean> callback) {
			BlockPos checkPos = pos;
			while (world != null && world.getBlockState(checkPos).getBlock() instanceof BlockLiftTrack) {
				final BlockEntity blockEntity = world.getBlockEntity(checkPos);
				if (blockEntity instanceof TileEntityLiftTrackFloor && callback.apply((TileEntityLiftTrackFloor) blockEntity)) {
					return true;
				}
				checkPos = checkPos.above(upwards ? 1 : -1);
			}
			return false;
		}
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
The Civic Circle
How to Save an Election
By Eliza Newlin Carney
Photo by Shutterstock
On the surface, this election looks like a disaster waiting to happen. Congress approved only a small fraction ($400 million) of the estimated $4 billion that states needed to run the election amid a pandemic. Lawsuits, postal service delays, and fears about voter suppression or a looming constitutional crisis have left many Americans bracing for Election Day chaos.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the ballot box this year: average Americans, business leaders, student volunteers, and state and local officials have all stepped in where the federal government failed. In addition to the $400 million that Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have donated to help election officials, business leaders on both left and right have contributed millions worth of protective equipment, infrastructure and people power to help salvage the election.
As I note in The Fulcrum recently, this year's unprecedented outpouring of private sector support ranges from the four dozen stadiums that sports leagues have opened up as polling places to the millions worth of masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and face shields donated by major corporations. The private money has drawn controversy, sparking lawsuits from conservatives and some complaints from liberals who say elections should be publicly funded.
But most election experts say the private donations are legal, and on balance should be applauded. As David Becker, executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, told me: "Plan A should always be that government pays to provide the infrastructure for our democracy. But we are in unusual times right now. State budgets are particularly strained. Congress has refused to act. And it's not like we can delay the election."
STATE SUCCESSES: Our nation's balkanized voting system, which leaves election administration to state and local officials, raised plenty of problems in the primary and may still disrupt the general election. States are still scrambling on the fly to process millions of mail-in ballots, which voters may or may not sign and seal correctly. Still, some success stories are emerging as early voting gets under way. Poll worker shortages during the primary have dramatically lessened, thanks in part to an army of young volunteers recruited by such groups as the new nonprofit Power to the Polls.
Early voting has also exploded, with more than 44 million ballots cast as of Oct. 22, according to the U.S. Elections Project. (That compares with only 5.9 million at the same point four years ago.) Some speculate that the shift to early voting will be permanent, potentially increasing the nation's historically low turnout rate. And the use of ballot drop boxes, which as I noted in The Fulcrum are the no-brainer solution to this pandemic-plagued election, has expanded in both red states and blue. It's another shift that, if it becomes permanent, could boost turnout over the long term.
AN EXPANDING COALITION: An array of new groups have joined the campaign to protect voting rights, adding to the coalition spearheaded by such established players as the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. The bipartisan group VoteSafe, co-chaired by Tom Ridge, the former Republican Governor of Pennsylvania, and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, is working to expand absentee voting and protect voters from health risks at the polls.
Another bipartisan group, Business for America, which launched its own Operation Vote Safe campaign to deliver personal protective equipment and other aid to election workers, plans to support a full slate of democracy reforms after the election. These include anti-gerrymandering measures and ranked choice voting. That suggests that efforts to protect the election could not only spur lasting changes to voting, but buoy the larger movement to strengthen and reform democracy.
Eliza Newlin Carney is a journalist and founder of The Civic Circle.
This post was distributed via The Civic Circle's newsletter, The Civic Voice. To sign up, please click HERE, or contact info@theciviccircle.org.
More from The Civic Circle
The Civic Circle is a nonprofit that uses music and the arts to inspire young students to understand and participate in democracy.
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I have talked about one of Iran's mythical heroes, Kaveh the Blacksmith before. The mythical Kaveh is a blacksmith who challenges the demon King, Zahak, in his presence and in Zahak's imperial court and then leads the Iranian resistance against Zahak's tyranny. Yesterday news reached us of a new Kaveh who challenged the modern day Zahak, i.e the Supreme Leader, in the very midst of the demon's own den.
Only this Kaveh is not a blacksmith, he does not seem to have the biceps we were used to seeing in the paintings of Kaveh in our text books, the new Kaveh is in fact a young Iranian computer programming genius, called Mahmood Vahidnia and a student at Sharif University who dared criticise the Supreme Leader face to face.
It was supposed to be a typical Supreme Leader sermon, where the Supreme Leader ranted on and the audience sheepishly listened and followed. The audience on this occasion were Iran's gifted academic elite who have won honours and medals in international academic competitions.
Mahmood Vahidnia however did not want to just sit there sheepishly and nod along with the others. After much waving of his hand and asking to be allowed to ask a question, the Supreme Leader himself pointed at him and asked him to come up.
'I have been reading the newspapers and magazines more seriously in the last five years, yet I have never seen any criticism of you. Those surrounding you have turned you into an idol." Vahidnia shocked the congregation. The Baseej students started protesting by shouting 'Finish him' and 'Time is up' but Vahidnia continued to lambast the state broadcasting by saying how can anyone think the state TV has accurately reflected the recent events of last months in Iran? 'Since you appoint the head of the state broadcasting either you are responsible for the biased coverage or you have lost all control of it' Vahidnia asked applying his computer programming logic.
In repsonse, the Supreme Leader tried to distance himself from the State broadcasting by saying 'it is impossible for him to watch every program and approve of it but there is so much progress in the country that the state TV is not showing you youngsters.' He also denied that he does not welcome criticism and said on the contrary he welcomes it. Nevertheless the Supreme Leader was so visibly annoyed that he left the stage without leading the prayers which were supposed to take place at the end of the program.
The encounter was reported on the Supreme Leader's own website.
Can we find video of this?
This modern day Kaveh embodies the very best of what it means to be Iranian.
This is what we call speaking truth to power.
sooo... you don't think it was set up if it's being reported on khamenei's website?
I have my doubts... but ultimately I think it was spontaneous because how could they now the consequences of such a setup? Will it embolden the people, or will it pacify them that the "supreme leader" is being criticized directly?
I dunno though, coulda been a setup.
I spoke to a few people before publishing this. Apparently the Supreme Leader's website was not the first one to report this, it was Peiknet. Once the rumour started spreading the Supreme Leader's site then published it, after all more than a 1000 people there were present and the gossip had spread.
Also I was told, what the student said were sound points, so what could the set up have been?
There were some inaccuracies that had crept in the reports such as the student had won the Maths Olympiad Gold Medal last year, which I checked and was not true. He was however part of a school team that took part in a computer programming competition.
Still who knows they could put him in a hole and put pressure on him and in two weeks time show him on TV saying how much he loves the Supreme Leader and Tritta Parsi and you, who knows.
Get 10 more books out of the library and lets see if you have been as wrong has you have been on just about everything in the past.
Ah, forget it. I'll just go to the next peaceful academic forum and disrupt it basiji style. "Have you been to Evin! I've been to Evin! woof woof, bark bark."
Will I be able to put this "life experience" on my resume?
p.s. Btw, I agreed that this was spontaneous you "cyber tart," I just had my doubts.
A true Iranian lion. Thanks for this.
Why would it be faked? What incentive would they have to put the aging, dying, "Supreme Jurisconsult" through this awkward moment? If he was a plant, why would they kidnap him afterwards.
...non ho parole..!!!..gran fegato, questo ragazzo..Merita tutta la mia solidarietà.. Il Futuro è in mano ai Giovani.. prendiamo esempio da questo GRANDE EROE.٩(-̮̮̃-̃)۶.,•♪♫♪♥. Mi auguro solo che non diventi vittima di quell'ODIOSO Dittatore.. ciao TanjaG.
the criticism were so bold and striking that i doubt it was staged. The result seems to be embarrassing for the regime so i doubt it was pre-planned.
I am a tad skeptical about this one. It seems regime made up this story to dismiss the rumors that Khamenei is in good health.


text:
Home Home & Office Networking Mobile Carriers
Optus can level the 4G playing field
Optus could very well find itself able to match Telstra's wireless coverage for the first time ever.
Written by David Braue, Contributor on Sept. 25, 2012
Like many Australians, I recently took the opportunity to upgrade my wireless internet dongle.
My dongle had had its ins and outs, dutifully rising to the occasion when needed, and bringing great joy and happiness by getting me out of more than a few tight situations. There is, after all, nothing worse than being on a deadline and having your internet connection go down.
Telstra and Optus are all but starting from scratch — but will Optus invest enough to stay neck and neck? (CC BY-SA 2.0 by Slooby)
Times change, however, and my trusty old Telstra blue stick has been replaced with a shiny new gadget that not only pulls in a 4G signal, but shares it with any device in the area. As long as I can keep it charged so it's ready when I need it, I envision years of happy, high-speed connectivity — at 3G speeds.
Well, I was originally imagining 4G speeds, since that's what it's sold as. But, so far, outside of an area that is measurably less than the 5km radius advertised by Telstra, I have yet to get an actual 4G connection. My home is sadly well outside of Telstra's 4G network radius, although, that doesn't actually matter since I only need the device when I am away from my home.
In the short term, however, it looks like I'll be using the same old 3G Next-G network that I've been using for the past two years. Better 4G coverage will come over time, of course — but I suspect that it will be a while before I can reliably turn on my new shiny 4G gadget and be guaranteed of it actually saying "4G".
I mention this not to pointlessly whinge about the slow progress of a massive network that's being built up as quickly as it can — I'll leave that to the Coalition — but to continue my contemplation of 4G, which has quickly become the aspiration for mobile carriers.
Lags in the delivery of Vodafone's 4G will be another nail in that carrier's coffin, excluding it from the first round of 4G adopters as they snatch up iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3, and throw in their lot with Telstra's or Optus' 4G fortunes.
The release of the 4G-capable iPhone 5, in particular, will put both Telstra and Optus through the wringer as they try to build a new network that can keep up with demand from a customer base that's already measured in the millions, just days after the device's availability.
There is something fundamentally game-changing about the mobile race this time around. Telstra may have a lead on Optus, but it's far from unassailable, because, as I've found out first hand, even Telstra's 4G is only available in a small proportion of the country, when the wind is blowing in the right direction.
This is much different than the launch of Next-G, which took the industry by surprise as Telstra took the big-bang approach with an extensive and fast 3G network that basically clobbered the competition overnight.
It won't take much for Optus to catch up to Telstra's 4G footprint, and if the company can build up a hell-for-leather pace for its own 4G rollout (and keep up with surging demand that is already overtaking 3G in places like Hong Kong), it could very well find itself able to match Telstra's wireless coverage for the first time ever.
Optus knows this, of course, which is why it has done Telstra one better by actively promoting its 4G network to resellers like Internode and iiNet, as well as its own Virgin Mobile brand. This is a significant difference from Telstra's approach, which is to keep the good stuff for its own customers, and only — grudgingly — offer its 3G services to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that favour Telstra's 3G coverage over the availability of Optus' 4G.
Things could play out differently … if Optus is able to not only build out its 4G coverage quickly, but spruik it through MVNOs …. to customers who have already indicated that they're not wedded to Telstra because they chose iiNet, Internode, or another provider as their ISP.
In other words, Optus is launching an all-out assault on the 4G market, and bringing all and sundry onto its network, in an effort to stake out its 4G claim. It's not dissimilar a strategy what Optus used when the iPhone was originally launched in Australia — Telstra, you'll recall, was less than exuberant about selling the iPhone, and Optus capitalised on its indifference to post some truly impressive subscriber numbers.
In the long term, Telstra's better 3G coverage has lured many of those customers back to its network. And this is where Optus has really let down its guard: instead of over-investing in its network to ensure customers had no reason to leave, it allowed black spots to emerge and remain unfixed. As Telstra lowered its prices to all but match those of its rivals, Optus was caught between a rock and a hard place; it had to temper its capital expenditure, and customers could find no reason to stay.
Things could play out differently this time around, especially if Optus is able to not only build out its 4G coverage quickly, but spruik it through MVNOs with hundreds of thousands of loyal Internet customers. The addition of cheaper 4G mobile services is a natural sell-through to customers who have already indicated that they're not wedded to Telstra because they chose iiNet, Internode, or another provider as their ISP.
The playing field, then, is level — for now. But if Optus allows Telstra to outpace its 4G rollout in these formative stages, it will once again cede the coverage advantage to its chief rival — and with it, any hope of giving customers a real alternative in the nascent 4G market.
How has your 4G been? Are you willing to give Optus a chance? Or has Telstra already stitched up your business because of its early, albeit limited, entry to 4G?
Looking for connectivity? Try these top 4G laptops
Razer's Edge Gaming handheld now available in Wi-Fi and 5G flavors
TP-Link Mesh home Wi-Fi router pack goes on sale at B&H


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Technical analysis – Microsoft stock starts to ease after 7-month rally
Research Homepage
Posted on September 2, 2019 at 4:12 pm GMT
Anthony Charalambous, XM Investment Research Desk
Microsoft stock logged a high of 141.61 after a seven-month uptrend, before shifting into a one-month sideways move. The stock found support from the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level of the up leg from 94.48 to 141.61, of 130.50, as well as the 132.60 level, capped by resistance at 139.40.
Momentum has disappeared, as the MACD and trigger line have converged at zero, while the RSI although marginally above the 50-level, has been unable to break above previous highs. Furthermore, the 21-day simple moving average (SMA) has completed a bearish cross but has turned flat.
If the bears manage to push below the 50-day SMA initial pressure could come from the 132.60 support ahead of the 100-day SMA. If losses extend past the 100-day SMA and swing low of 130.50, which is the 23.6% Fibo, the price could drop to test the 38.2% Fibo of 123.60. More importantly, a continued fall could face some friction from a more durable support region of 119.00 – 118.00.
If the bulls climb on board, the initial barrier to breach could come at 139.40 tested multiple times, before the high of 141.61 unravels. A violation of the high could see the 149.45 resistance level brought into focus.
Summarizing, no clear signals suggest the end of the bullish trend. A close below 116.00 could turn the medium-term bias bearish-to-neutral.
Microsoftstocks
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Technical Analysis – USDZAR posts 'death cross' in medium term downtrend
January 17, 2020 at 11:21 am GMT
Technical Analysis – Brent futures rebound on supportive uptrend line; bullish view remains
Technical Analysis – GER 30 Index bulls looking strong ahead of all-time-high
Technical Analysis – USDCAD needs rally above 1.3100 for bulls to gain traction
January 17, 2020 at 8:27 am GMT
Technical Analysis – GBPJPY rises near upper boundary of the trading range
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To dream magnificently is not a gift given to all men, and even for those who possess it, it runs a strong risk of being progressively diminished by the ever-growing dissipation of modern life and by the restlessness engendered by material progress. The ability to dream is a divine and mysterious ability; because it is through dreams that man communicates with the shadowy world which surrounds him. But this power needs solitude to develop freely; the more one concentrates, the more one is likely to dream fully, deeply.
Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867), French poet, critic. Artificial Paradise (1860).
I finished II books between Monday 10/29/V3.3 & Sunday 11/04/V3.3.
Today is Sunday 11/04/V3.3 & it started out pretty well. Do you see a trend here?
So last night I went to the Celebration of Mike & Tyson's 32nd year. We went to the new(ly named) Harrison Pub. I behaved myself and no one got in trouble, at least to the best of my knowledge.
So the books I read was The Lens and the Looker & The Entitled. Both were good books & could be read in II days or less, you just have to NOT be distracted by work & stuff. I'm going to start on the second book of The Verona Trilogy.
So today is the Hump Day of my XI day journey. We are almost on the back half of this journey. I couldn't be more excited for Saturday 11/10/V3.3. Now what to do on my day off? I do work half day(just 1 shift) I do have Thursday 11/08/V3.3 OFF!. I signed up to help with The Salvation Army Christmas Assistance Sign-UP. Then I just have one shift on Friday 11/09/V3.3. My doubles this week are Tuesday 11/06/V3.3.
The word of the day is siesta is a miday or afternoon rest or nap. Maybe I'll grab one of those before work. I was up about 07.00. I can squeeze in a II hour nap.
On Tuesday Night I'm going to some event, that has been building since Tuesday 05/15/V3.3. The day we Nebraskans decided who was going to face off in the general election.


When you have decided to open a trading account in the Dubai trade market, you need to obtain the answers to some crucial questions, valuable for you.
It is straightforward to find people's view about how to purchase the currency markets according to Dubai trade as everyone has an alternative angle on what things to expect in the currency markets at every time, but almost all of enough time people's view is quite confusing about the Dubai trade login. The most frequent problem that new shareholders do have when entering into the Dubai trade is how to ascertain good assets from the bad ones, what things to spend on, and what time to get among others. You need to have a useful trading account before starting your online business in Dubai.
A number of the questions that you'll require to answer to be able to make a great decision when you decide to enter in the Dubai trade are highlighted below.
Is this a great time to purchase Stocks?
When you will be going for a gander at the Dubai trade amid a lofty lower, it may seem it is an awful time to get started investing in the Dubai trade portal. When you will be going for a gander at it when stocks and shares are reviving, it may seem this can be a decent time.
JUST HOW MUCH Risk MUST I Take?
A standout between the basics of Dubai trade is the beautiful relationship amidst risk and earnings. Without risk, there may be no profits in the Dubai trade. You must simply accept more risk when you will be looking for further noteworthy returns. In this way, risk can be something to be thankful for, yet just if you consider sufficient the perfect time to allow inescapable market cycles happen while progressing in the Dubai trade. More often than not, if you have a far more drawn out opportunity time skyline, you must anticipate a far more noteworthy way of measuring risk in Dubai trade, on the lands that you will see more chance of the marketplace to sort out the occasional cycles in online trading Dubai. Generally, understanding financial experts have been paid out with positive long term returns.
New shareholders in the Dubai trade are regularly inspired to place fundamentally in keeping the money, which can provide moment improvement, offering the best approach to reduce risk. By adding resources to several Dubai trade stocks, (for example, expansive development stocks and options, global stocks and options or bonds), you can reduce unpredictability significantly promote without yielding long term returns.
While progressing in the Dubai trade market, when you will be starting an investment program by UAE trading incremental procedures of cash on per month to month basis, you will gain buck cost averaging. If you invest a transformed way of measuring cash on per month to month idea, you get some good talk about costs at an increased cost plus some better value because of market changes. If the Dubai trade market shows declining situation, simply purchase more stocks. Over time, the standard cost of your stocks while performing online trading in UAE should be lower than today's market cost. Through the use of buck cost averaging, your downside risk will be alleviated over time.
In case your investment goal when moving ahead in the Dubai trade is to make money as would be wise and you will endure any risk, then you must spend money on the Country wide Lottery. Placing resources into lotteries, however, practically promises you will not achieve your opportunity objective. A couple of speculations for each and every degree of risk resilience for trade in UAE. But if you aren't a high-risk taker, buying a long-term investment is the main element in the Dubai trade market.


"If I was sitting down across a table from someone who asked me "how could you release the day Robin Williams took his own life" I would know how I could answer. I'd know why I did it, even if I felt conflicted about doing it. But if I sat down across from someone who asked "How could you hold back on releasing this game when I needed it" I would feel ashamed."
So I am launching the game. Quietly. I will not be promoting it until a respectful time later. But I want it to be out there and available in all the ways I can make it be available so that if someone needs it, they have it. After agonizing over it and asking the general public, they've overwhelmingly responded with pleas to release it. Especially among depression sufferers."
"Depression Quest" has always been a hot topic in the always-vocal (to put it politely) video game community. But it feels especially urgent at the moment -- the internet is currently flooded with articles about depression, about its dangers, ubiquity, and the difficulty in understanding it both from the inside and out. Games excel at putting you in a different set of circumstances, whether it's as a space marine, an 18th century assassin or, in the case of something like "That Dragon, Cancer," a family dealing with a terminal disease. An interactive experience to try and help people understand at least some of the illness is an interesting solution to an old problem -- Quinn says she's had a lot of interest from therapists, some of whom have used the game to build understanding between patients and their families.
Quinn wants to incorporate a "pay what you can" model as well, but is adamant that there should be no paywall for something intended as a tool to help people.


text:
Hard work just beginning: Van't Schip
Iain Strachan 1417949252
Melbourne City FC coach John van 't Schip played down talk of a possible revival following his team's much-needed 1-0 win at home to Brisbane Roar.
City responded to a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Wellington Phoenix last weekend by picking up their second victory of the Hyundai A-League season.
The result will go some way to easing the pressure on their under-fire coach, but the Dutchman knows the scrutiny will return quickly if his players fail to build on Sunday's improved performance.
Asked if the hard-fought triumph at AAMI Park could mark a turning point in City's season, he said: "It's too early to say that."
"Overall it was hard, but a deserved win. We've dealt with a few things. We still have to work hard and we still have the same issues.
"It's about a whole season. We still have two thirds to go. We know that after the break we'll have Robbie Koren, fully fit, back. We'll have Josh Kennedy as a striker. And hopefully, maybe, we can have some players growing in the coming weeks that will make another step."
Kennedy, set to join City as domestic marquee in January, has not played for J-League side Nagoya Grampus since August and is unlikely to be in Ange Postecoglou's expanded squad for the Socceroos' Asian Cup campaign, which will be announced on Monday.
"He didn't play for the last few months, he's going to be with us training," Van 't Schip said of the veteran striker.
"He's not fit at the moment. I don't think that Ange is going to consider him. If he does, well, he will have a reason and then we'll be happy for Josh. But as we look at it at this moment, I think he will be with us and preparing himself for the second part of the season."
City now have a break to recharge their batteries and take stock ahead of their next A-League encounter, the derby against Melbourne Victory on December 20.
"We've got two weeks to prepare ourselves for the game against Victory," he said.
"I think we're going to need it to get the players fresh and to make a good decision of who's going to play."


text:
Kalaviṅka
Karyōbinga in a depiction of the Amitabha Sutra
Kalaviṅka (Sanskrit: कलविङ्क kalaviṅka; Pali: karavika; Chinese: 迦陵頻伽 Jiālíngpínqié;[1] Japanese: 迦陵頻伽, romanized: Karyōbinga,[2] Korean: 가릉빈가;[3] Vietnamese: Ca Lăng Tần Già; Burmese: ကရဝိက် karawik; Thai: การเวก, Malay: karawek) is a fantastical immortal creature in Buddhism, with a human head and a bird's torso, with long flowing tail.[4]
The kalaviṅka is said to dwell in the Western pure land and reputed to preach the Dharma with its fine voice.[4] It is said to sing while still unhatched within its eggshell.[citation needed] Its voice is a descriptor of the Buddha's voice. In Japanese text, it goes by various titles such as myōonchō (妙音鳥, "exquisite sounding bird"),[5] kōonchō (好音鳥, "goodly sounding bird")[5] among others.
Edward H. Schafer notes that in East Asian religious art the Kalaviṅka is often confused with the Kinnara, which is also a half-human half-bird hybrid mythical creature, but that the two are actually distinct and unrelated.[6]
1 Depictions
1.1 In Burmese art
1.2 In Chinese art
1.3 In Japanese art
1.4 In Tangut art
1.5 In Hinduism
2 Popular culture
Depictions[edit]
In Burmese art[edit]
The Karaweik barge in Yangon.
The karaweik is commonly used as a motif in traditional Burmese royal barges. The Karaweik located on Yangon's Kandawgyi Lake is an iconic reproduction of the karaweik royal barge.
In Chinese art[edit]
In Chinese mural art, it is portrayed as a human-headed, bird-bodied being.[citation needed] In the murals of Dunhuang (敦煌) they appear as figures both dancing and playing music.[citation needed]
Grey pottery sculpture of a Kalaviṅka (missing its head) from the Yuan dynasty capital of Dadu.
China, mid-Tang Dynasty. Arwork from the Dunhuang Grottos, Yulin Cave number 25 showing a Bird of Life (共命鸟), playing a panpipe.
China, mid-Tang Dynasty. Arwork from the Dunhuang Grottos, Yulin Cave number 25 showing a Bird of Life, playing a pipa, with a dancer playing drum
In Japanese art[edit]
Karyōbinga, panels on octagonal platform. Chūson-ji
A well-known example is the pair of kalaviṅka carved in openwork (sukashibori) onto a Buddhist hanging ornament called the keman, used in the golden hall of Chūson-ji temple in Iwate Prefecture. The kalaviṅka from this ornament was commemorated on a 120-yen definitive stamp issued Nov. 1, 1962.[7] The pose and general appearance on this piece is similar to the ones seen on the octagonal pedestal of the same temple (pictured right).
In another keman from the Tokugawa period (see keman page), the creatures stand more bipedally erect and hence more humanlike.
In the ancient courtly dance performance Gagaku - karyobin (迦陵頻) is the name of dance expressive of the kalaviṅka, and is danced in pair with the kochō (胡蝶), a dance of butterfly motif. The paired dancing is called tsugai-mai (番舞).
A kalaviṅka painting by the brushstrokes of Hasegawa Tōhaku resides in Daitoku-ji (Kyoto), inside the Kinmōkaku (金毛閣) erected by tea-master Sen no Rikyū.
Painted on the ceiling of Tōfuku-ji's Sanmon gate (Kyoto).
Painted on the ceiling of Myōshin-ji's Sanmon gate (Kyoto), normally not open to public.
The Mizusawa Kannon [ja] at 214 Mizusawa, in the former city of Ikaho, Gunma, Main Hall, front right ceiling, painting of a heavenly woman with eagle-like talons, anonymous.
Kawakami Sadayakko (Sada Yacco), billed as the first overseas Japanese actress, late in her life, built a villa located at Unumahōshakujichō, Kagamihara, Gifu. The villa was christened Banshōen (萬松園) by Itō Hirobumi, and the room with the Buddhist altar has a ceiling painting of kalaviṅka, which may be peered from outside (but access to premises only on Tuesday mornings).
In Tangut art[edit]
The Kalaviṅka is a common feature of Tangut art created during the Western Xia period (1038–1227).
Western Xia Glazed pottery Kalaviṅka-shaped architectural ornament.
Western Xia Grey pottery Kalaviṅka-shaped architectural ornament.
In Hinduism[edit]
Kalavinka was born from one of the head of Vishvaroopacharya who was beheaded by Indra. Indra was angry when Vishwaroopacharya was found to be praying for demons instead of gods. Indra cut his three heads which respectively became Kalavinka, Kapinjala and Tittiri (all birds)[8]
Popular culture[edit]
(Manga)
RG Veda by CLAMP: Ancient Hindu mythology theme. A sickly princess character.
Dream Saga (夢幻伝説 タカマガハラ, Mugen Densetsu Takamagahara) by Megumi Tachikawa : based on Amano-Iwato legend. A sacred bird character.
(Novels)
Nightingale no chinmoku [ja] (ナイチンゲールの沈黙 Nightingale's silence) by Takeru Kaidō [ja], bestselling medical fiction author:
Takaoka Shnno Kokai ki [ja](高丘親王航海記 Prince Takaoka's voyages) by Tatsuhiko Shibusawa
Akame shijū ya taki shinjū misui [ja] (赤目四十八瀧心中未遂 Akame forty-eight waterfall suicide pact attempt) by Chōkitsu Kurumatani [ja]: Tattooed on the back of Aya, a female character.
Kalavinka by Buck-Tick
(Cycling)
The Tokyo-based Tsukumo Cycle Sports's brand is Kalavinka. Many of the bikes feature the Karyōbinga kanji as well as a head badge which features the image of the karyoubinga with the head of a bodhisattva bosatsu and the winged body of a bird.[9]
Karaweik
Gumyōchō (共命鳥), phoneticized: Chinese: 耆婆耆婆迦; pinyin: ɡònɡ mìnɡ niǎo, Skr.:Jīvajīvaka - twin-headed human-bird.
Harpie (Greek mythology)
Karura
Inmyeonjo
Kinnara
^ "迦陵頻伽 - 教育百科". Cloud.edu.tw. Ministry of Education, Republic of China. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
^ Hepburn, James Curtis (1903). A Japanese-English and English-Japanese dictionary (google). p. 270.
^ "평창 올림픽 개막식 인면조의 정체는 '가릉빈가'?" (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-05-17.
^ a b Shinchosha (1985). 新潮世界美術事典 (Shincho Encyclopedia of World Art). Shinchosha. ISBN 4-10-730206-7.
^ a b Kojien dictionary, 2nd rev. ed., 1976,
^ Schafer, Edward H. (1963). The Golden Peaches of Samarkand: A Study of Tʻang Exotics. University of California Press. p. 103.
^ The American Philatelist, volume 76, number ?, 1962, p.70: "A 120-yen stamp in one-color photogravure will be released Nov. 1. 1962, depicting Keman-no-karyōbinga
^ Bhagavata Purana. Canto 6 Chapter 9 Verse 5. CS1 maint: location (link)
^ "* Kalavinka * Tsukumo Cycle Sports".
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kalaviṅka&oldid=1043646328"
Buddhist legendary creatures
Human-headed mythical creatures
Chinese legendary creatures
Japanese legendary creatures
Legendary birds
Birds in Buddhism
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text:
A conversation about ELM and Proclaim
Sharei Green October 9, 2012
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries Executive Director Amalia Vagts converses with a supporter about the history of ELM and how Proclaim became a program of ELM.
Q: First off, congratulations on reaching over 100 Proclaim members!
Vagts: Thanks! We actually have 112 members as of October. It's really amazing when you realize Proclaim didn't even come into existence until April of 2011.
Q. Is Proclaim a new name for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries?
Vagts: I've been getting that one a lot lately! Proclaim is a program of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, just like Candidacy Accompaniment and Ministry Grants are programs. Proclaim just has a snappy name and logo. We used to build community for LGBTQ leaders through the ELM Roster. Following the ELCA policy changes, we wanted to open that up. We launched Proclaim in April of 2011 as a community for Lutheran rostered leaders and seminarians who publicly identify as LGBTQ.
Q: Can you walk me through some of the history of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries?
Vagts: Yes, Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries formed in 2007, as the result of a merger between Lutheran Lesbian & Gay Ministries and the Extraordinary Candidacy Project. We've actually been working with LGBTQ people called to Lutheran ministry for almost twenty years.
Q: Tell us about it.
Vagts: We started as Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministries in 1990. Originally the focus was supporting the ministry of openly gay and lesbian pastors in the San Francisco area. The early efforts came from both the pastors themselves and also allied pastors and lay leaders who knew the church needed visible gay and lesbian pastors and felt it was an injustice that the ELCA required celibacy for gay and lesbian people. It was a frustrating and disheartening time for so many people who felt called by God, but knew there would not be a place for them to serve in the ELCA. This movement was a positive and hopeful response.
Q: Where does the phrase "extraordinary ordination" come from?
Vagts: Right–everyone wants to know if it means we think we are totally fabulous! But it was Krister Stendahl, a bishop, theologian and professor of Lutheran history who helped coin the phrase "extraordinary ordination" based on Martin Luther's own instructions for ordaining pastors outside the "ordinary" system. In his day, Luther encountered bishops he felt were working "contrary to the gospel." When those bishops would not ordain candidates congregations wanted to lift up, Luther taught the congregations could ordain those pastors. Bp. Stendahl used the phrase "extra ordinem" to describe the first ordinations of openly gay and lesbian people. We think "extraordinary" is a much better word than "irregular" or "unauthorized!" In 1990 St. Francis Lutheran in San Francisco called Ruth Frost and Phyllis Zillhart, a lesbian couple, to be their pastors and First United Lutheran of San Francisco called Jeff Johnson, a gay man. About 1,000 people gathered together on January 22, 1990 at St. Paulus Lutheran Church to participate in the joint ordination of these three. All three had met every other qualification of ELCA ordination, except for their refusal to live as celibate gay or lesbian candidates.
Q: What a courageous act!
Vagts: I live in amazement and some envy of those who were involved at that time. It was a remarkable witness to the church and to LGBTQ people and allies everywhere. Both churches were suspended and eventually expelled from the ELCA for their actions. And this prophetic act became a movement. Between 1990 and 2009 eighteen people were ordained extraordinarily—including one person in Canada. The congregations and ministries that called these leaders recognized the gifts of the candidates and knew they were the right fit for their congregations. Over the years Lutheran Lesbian & Gay Ministries raised over $750,000 to support the congregations and ministries calling these pastors.
Q: How does the Extraordinary Candidacy Project fit in?
Vagts: While at first the movement was working with people who had been approved for ordination, it was soon clear that gay and lesbian people were being removed during the candidacy process too. Following the 1990 extraordinary ordinations, a student at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary named Bill Kunisch preached a sermon in his home congregation. He spoke in support of St. Francis and First United and this started raising a bunch of problems for him. The president of his home congregations challenged him, and when he got back to seminary, he was called in for a meeting with his candidacy committee. They asked him if he was gay. When he refused to answer their question because he thought it was uncalled for, his home congregation removed their sponsorship of him and he was eventually removed from the ELCA candidacy process. A group of people jumped in to respond and created the Extraordinary Candidacy Project, which became a pathway to candidacy for LGBTQ people who were otherwise fully qualified for ministry in the ELCA. This candidacy process was a pathway both for those who were or hoped to be extraordinarily ordained and people who had been removed from the ELCA roster, but wanted to continue or return to ministry in the Lutheran church. Eventually, the group also formed its own clergy roster, known as the ECP Roster.
Q: And then these two groups merged in 2007? Why?
Vagts: We merged the efforts of these two organizations into Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries in order to best support these candidates and the churches who called them. We were trying to reform the ELCA, but we were also experiencing a real movement of a growing number of congregations willing to challenge church policy in order to call LGBTQ rostered leaders. We had begun to believe this was going to be a very long-term movement, rather than a temporary one. With limited resources, we decided it was more important to focus on finding calls for LGBTQ people and making ministry happen, rather than on changing the policies of the ELCA.
Q: Then 2009 Churchwide Assembly happened and suddenly the ELCA as a national denomination is agreeing to ordain people who are relationships.
Vagts: This was a really significant shift, one we had been working for and one we weren't convinced would happen. It was a bittersweet time though—many people thought about how many people never lived or stayed in the church long enough to see that change. It was also, as the late Bp. Egertson described it "half a loaf." The decisions only addressed part of issue and focused primarily on gay and lesbian people. The church was opening the door, but they hadn't exactly laid out the full welcome mat. And you can imagine, we were a little concerned the decisions wouldn't hold. And of course we wondered, would anything really change?
Q: The ELM roster had been such a place of resistance and "outsider status." Now you were going to be invited in?
Vagts: We weren't sure at first what would happen. But we did know that our work would change. At our board meeting that fall, we examined the needs of LGBTQ rostered leaders and those following a call to ministry. We also thought about what ELM had to offer this group. We realized a couple of things: 1) the church had changed; 2) our programs needed to shift; 3) we still had a lot to offer the church. We knew that our core work to provide community for LGBTQ rostered leaders, support for those in candidacy, and direct financial investment in congregations and ministries calling LGBTQ people was still needed. But for the time being, it was clear that extraordinary candidacy and extraordinary ordinations were not the primary need for this community. And now we were meeting pastors who had remained in the closet after being ordained, pastors who could finally come out. There had been some separation over the years between those who had chosen different routes and we had a dream that we could find a way to bring these leaders together into one community. That vision of a new community for rostered leaders of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities led to the launch of Proclaim.
Q: I would think the majority of ELCA congregants have no idea of this struggle.
Vagts: I've really been amazed over the years how few people in the church know the stories of LGBTQ pastors in this church. And even after the 2009 changes, many people thought all the ELM pastors were just automatically added to the ELCA roster. They actually each had to go through an individual candidacy process. I think the ELCA worked to make it a welcoming process, but for many people it still took a lot of personal strength to go through that. But we had to recognize that the church was changing. I remember so clearly when we were discussing what would become of ELM and the Rev. Jeff Johnson said, "It's a new day." I'm constantly inspired when I think about Jeff—someone who was told "NO" by the church for so many years, but who kept saying "YES" to Jesus. So to have him jump into the changes and embrace the journey meant a great deal. It really was a new day for us and for this denomination.
Q: A denomination who is still settling down after this landmark decision. Congregations split up over this decision. And congregations can still refuse pastors just for being gay or lesbian.
Vagts: There is still a lot of work to do. There are still very clear barriers to LGBTQ people seeking to respond to God's call to ministry. For example, we need more congregations who truly welcome publicly identified LGBTQ ministers. This is about working for justice and living out the vision of the Kingdom of God. The people who worked for this reform have a vision of a more inclusive church, of a place where all of God's people are welcomed and received God's grace and love. And the members of Proclaim are in a terrific position to help that happen. We can model and preach God's love. We have a story to tell of how God called each one of us to ministry, and how we have had to come to understand ourselves—to "claim our wholeness" as the St. Francis Eucharist blessing goes. That journey needs to be shared with the church and really with society too. For far too long, Christians have been at the front of messages that tell people their sexual orientation or gender identity is wrong or sinful. Now Christians need to be at the front of messages telling God's truth—all of God's children are beloved. LGBTQ pastors, AIMS, deacons and deaconesses can inspire the church to be more loving and inclusive because we have experienced grace in deep, surprising, complicated ways. And LGBTQ ministers are an important witness to others who have also felt at the margins of the church.
Q: Say more about ELM's relationship with the ELCA? Is there a formal connection?
Vagts: Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries continues to be a reforming movement within the Lutheran church—and not just the ELCA. While it's certainly a main focus of our work, Proclaim and our other programs are actually open to all Lutheran rosters. We don't receive funding from the ELCA. However, we are together on this journey, connected by faith. We are working in partnership to help the ELCA continue to become a more fully inclusive place for LGBTQ rostered leaders. The good news is that many Proclaim rostered leaders are busy doing a wide variety of ministry in this church. The real news is also that some in the Proclaim community are really struggling to find calls—and a good portion of the Proclaim community is in seminary with an unknown journey ahead.
Q: So those on the outside are now working to open the church to others and ministering to the very people who wanted to keep them marginalized?
Vagts: That's the idea. It's how God has been working since the beginning of time. When a candidate is ordained, they promise to serve the whole church. And here we are.
Q: I can really see that in the name "Proclaim."
Vagts: Yes. It was the Rev. Jen Rude who came up with name Proclaim and we all immediately loved it. The mission of these leaders and for all of us is not to look inward and focus on ourselves. It is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ… 2 Corinthians 4:5 says, "For we do not proclaim ourselves, we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake."
Q: It's an incredible story. Thank you.
Vagts: Glad I could share it. Thanks!
Amalia Vagts began as development director for Lutheran Lesbian & Gay Ministries in 2006 and became executive director of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries following the 2007 merger. She works from her hometown of Decorah, Iowa but can be found travelling the country sharing the work of ELM. Contact her via email director(at)elm.org with questions about ELM or just to say hello.
One Reply to "A conversation about ELM and Proclaim"
Jim DeLange says:
Great Q&A, Amalia. You got all the facts right and it is a comprehensive summary of our history.
Good to have this on the website. Any word yet on my dropping in for a brief conversation at the April retreat?
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Home/belgium/Dragon Age: A new concept art unveiled – News
Dragon Age: A new concept art unveiled – News
belgium January 9, 2021 belgium
Game news Dragon Age: A new concept art unveiled
Announced in 2018, the next Dragon Age is still very mysterious. We got a new teaser at the Game Awards, but the game itself remains toast in the BioWare arena.
We could just see Solas, central in Dragon Age Inquisition and in the extra content. The mystery is therefore still intact, but the studio has decided to publish a new concept art of the future Dragon Age on Twitter. We are grateful to this publication Christian Dailey, executive producer of BioWare Austin.
Published by Mark Darrah, who recently left the studio, the image features an archer with an ethereal bow. At the moment it is impossible to know whether this concept represents one of the characters we will meet or not, used these images to give direction and are not necessarily meant to be found in the last game.
Just wanted everyone to say Happy New Year. I hope everyone is safe and well. Here is a new beginning … 🏹💘🏹🐲🐉🐲 pic.twitter.com/Hy22jd0swl
– Christian Dailey (@ChristianDailey) January 8, 2021
I just wanted to say happy new year to everyone. I hope all is well. (…)
Because of MalloDelic, Journalist jeuxvideo.com
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questioned the practices of energy supplier Mega
"It's Thierry's choice"
Samsung Galaxy S21, everything you need to know: prices from 849 to 1429 €, a bold design, enhanced photo capabilities and a Belgian leak causing problems


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Colorado is a state full of top favorite hikes all across the Rocky Mountains, but there is one that really stands out from the rest. It is a beautiful 10-mile lush green valley that leads up to stunning views at 12,480 feet once you get to Maroon pass. The landscape of the trail is ideal for scenic photography and will turn the trip into one of your most memorable hikes. If you are ever in Colorado, then do make sure to go on this trail and check out the Rocky Mountains that offer an adventure like never before.


text:
OpinionBill Cosby
How Bill Cosby's image shielded him from claims of rape
Hadley Freeman
Cosby lectured black America on family and morality. Now accused, he apparently has nothing to say
Comedian Bill Cosby performs at Madison Square Garden. Photograph: John Minchillo/Invision/AP
Wed 19 Nov 2014 15.38 EST Last modified on Wed 29 Nov 2017 23.57 EST
Bill Cosby was the first black comedian to break into the US mainstream and, doubtless to his bewilderment, he has had a rocky relationship with many of the prominent black comedians who followed in his footsteps. Richard Pryor initially copied him and then reacted against Cosby's cosy persona, rejecting it as phoney and safe. Eddie Murphy famously ridiculed Cosby in his legendary 1989 live show Raw.
More recently, Chris Rock took issue with Cosby after the older comic suggested that Trayvon Martin's death was more to do with guns than race, a claim that's all the more puzzling considering Cosby's own son, Ennis, was shot and killed by a racist in 1997.
And now Cosby has been brought down by another black comedian. Hannibal Buress did a skit in his act last month that has since brought both him and Cosby an enormous amount of attention: "It's even worse because Bill Cosby has the fucking smuggest old black man public persona that I hate," Buress said. "He gets on TV: 'Pull your pants up black people, I was on TV in the 80s. I can talk down to you because I had a successful sitcom.' Yeah, but you rape women, Bill Cosby, so turn the crazy down a couple notches."
Some have claimed that people started paying attention to allegations of Cosby assaulting women only when men spoke up about it, Buress included. But this isn't entirely true. Even back in 2005 these stories were being covered by the national press in America. Tamara Green, interviewed on NBC's The Today Show, said that in the 1970s Cosby plied her with pills and molested her. Later that year, the Philadelphia Daily News covered Beth Ferrier's story in which she alleged that Cosby drugged and assaulted her in the 1980s. The year after that, People magazine interviewed Barbara Bowman, who alleged that Cosby assaulted her in the 1980s.
During all this, Cosby settled a lawsuit brought by another accuser, Andrea Constand, who alleged that he drugged and molested her in 2004. Earlier this year, Newsweek interviewed Barbara Bowman and Tamara Green about their allegations. These stories have been around for a while, and if it's taken a decade for them to affect Cosby's career – Netflix is cancelling his comedy special, and Cosby himself has cancelled talkshow appearances – then that is a reflection of a growing intolerance among the public for bad behaviour (for want of a better term) from men in the public eye, coupled with the brave tenacity of the women making allegations in the face of plenty of initial doubt. At the moment 15 women have made allegations against Cosby, including the actor Janice Dickinson.
An equally important factor is the position Cosby has held in America, and especially black America, for 50 years – and this, in many respects, is the most revealing factor as we face what looks increasingly like the end of his career.
The reason so many black comedians have reacted against the man who arguably paved the way for them is that Cosby has always been the archetypal conservative, with a small c. His early stand-up routines focused on cosy, race-free anecdotes about childhood because he felt – not entirely incorrectly – that this was the way to break into the white mainstream. As Cosby became more successful in the 70s, he grew increasingly sensitive about the portrayals of black Americans in the media, and how much he believed that black Americans encouraged these negative portrayals. This is why he criticised Murphy for swearing and it's why he created The Cosby Show – a show that was, for five of its eight years, the most watched show in the United States.
Here Cosby presented a view of black American family life that was unfamiliar to American TV, based on stability, wealth and happiness, and not defined by race – indeed, race was absent from the show to an extent that at times defied credulity. Nevertheless, the show reflected Cosby's vision of life for black Americans, and it was one that "gestured at the ideal of black self-sufficiency – the notion that, with enough time and effort, African-Americans could fix their own problems," as the New Yorker writer Kelefa Sanneh put it. This attitude lay behind Cosby's speech in 2004 when he expressed, at some length, his exasperation with black Americans blaming white people for their problems.
Cosby set himself up as the image of conservative paternalistic morality in black America, whether black people liked it or not – and plenty didn't – but he was still the one who broke through first. His success as a pioneer and, more crucially, his self-fashioned image for a long time protected him from the allegations. Now they make the crimes he is accused of committing feel even more cruel and repulsive than they already are.
One of the most interesting aspects of Cosby's career has been his tenaciously loud voice arguing for young, black men to take responsibility for themselves and improve their self-image. And yet, when Cosby himself was asked on American radio last weekend about the allegations of rape against him, all the old man could offer was silence.
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It took a comedian to call Bill Cosby to account
Horrific stories about Bill Cosby were out there for years. Why are we only now listening to these women?
Tamara Green on Bill Cosby assault: 'He was like a spider, sitting there waiting'
Defiant Bill Cosby met with standing ovations on stage as more women accuse him of rape
Bill Cosby interviewer defends pushing comedian on sexual abuse allegations
Bill Cosby: a dark cloud now hangs over 'America's Dad'
Lawyer says Bill Cosby 'will not dignify' sexual abuse allegations with comment