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Vietnam need to return to humble beginning: coach Park
By Lam Thoa &nbspJanuary 6, 2022 | 06:08 pm PT
Head coach Park Hang-seo gives instruction to the Vietnam players in an AFF Cup match against Malaysia in December 2018. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong
Head coach Park Hang-seo talked about changes and direction of the national football team post-AFF Cup on Thursday.
"On the first day of the new year, we have taken a look back at the journey in 2021. There were many challenges that we had to face as a team. While we have managed to overcome some challenges, there were problems that were really difficult to solve."
Covid-19 restrictions have forced the players to stay inside for a long time and this affected their mentality so much.
"Many people said we didn't have the motivation, competitiveness and passion to maintain the successful run from 2018 and achieve higher results," Park told Vietnam Football Federation.
Therefore, the South Korean coach said it's time for the team to reboot.
"We need to return to 2018, which means we will go back to a humble beginning but with big dreams and desires. Return to day one for a fresh start is the best lesson for the national team. The coaching board, including me and all the people involved, need to have a new mindset that heads toward the same goal for a successful 2022," Park added.
On Monday, Park announced the first change to the national team and decided to let another player wear the captain armband instead of Que Ngoc Hai, who has been the team captain for the past three years. Also, Pham Duc Huy and Luong Xuan Truong are no longer vice-captains.
"Que Ngoc Hai has been the captain for three years. But now, the coaching board wants to take the pressure off him so he can focus on performing his best on the field. After the last training session of the team Monday, I had a genuine talk with the captain and vice-captains. We all agreed that a new atmosphere is necessary to create new motivation and return to where we started with a beginner attitude," Park said.
The team will return to training on Jan. 13 to prepare for the matches against Australia (Jan. 27) and China (Feb. 1) in the final round of World Cup qualifiers. Park plans to call up many new players to increase competition in the team.
Park is the most successful coach in the history of Vietnamese football. Since he arrived in late 2017, Vietnam have won second place of AFC U23 Championship 2018, advanced to the semifinals of Asian Games 2018, won the 2018 AFF Cup, advanced to the quarterfinals of Asian Cup 2019, and made it to the final round of World Cup 2022 qualifiers. Recently, he extended his contract to coach Vietnam until Jan. 31, 2023.
Park Hang-seo
Reading: Vietnam need to return to humble beginning: coach Park


After over 40 years working as a personal injury attorney in Dana Point CA, we've helped over 100,000 clients and won over $2 billion in settlements and verdicts. We're confident we can help you exercise your rights under the law and secure full and fair compensation for your injuries.
In some cases, the at-fault party may offer you some compensation on their own. But don't celebrate yet--these kinds of offers are usually lowball offers. Unfortunately, you won't get a better offer without a personal injury attorney in Dana Point CA.
The next hurdle you will face is the need to produce documentation to justify your request for these different types of compensation. As your personal injury attorney in Dana Point CA, we can help you document all your damages. For example, we can educate you on how to keep a personal injury diary to document how your injuries are affecting your personal life and your mental health.
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Mideast News
Marina Solodkin
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Marina Solodkin exits Kadima
Party suffers another blow when long-time champion of immigrants' rights leaves over unrealistic Knesset list position
Moran Azulay|Published: 12.05.12 , 21:53
Kadima was shaken again Wednesday, when Marina Solodkin announced that she will not seek elections as part of the party.
Solodkin, who is the veteran of five House terms, was slated ninth on Kadima's roster. The party's dismal performance in the polls indicates that it may only barely pass the electoral threshold.
Kadima names Knesset list
Kadima's Dalia Itzik quits politics
7 Kadima members join Livni's party
A long-time champion of immigrants' rights, Solodkin told Ynet that her position on the list was akin to "spitting in the face of integration."
Solodkin entered Israeli politics in 1996, as part of the Yisrael BaAliyah Party, which merged with the Likud in 2003.
In 2005 she joined Ariel Sharon and made the move to Kadima, as its fourth MK.
Her Knesset terms saw her serve as deputy immigration and absorption minister twice, and as chairwoman of the Knesset's Committee on the Status of Women.
She currently serves as a member of the House Control Committee and the Committee on Human Trafficking.
Solodkin promoted several social laws in her years in the House, and is considered one of the hardest-working MKs in the Knesset.
"I have a good relationship with (Chairman Shaul) Mofaz and after the unity agreement between the Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu we had a real chance of winning the Russian vote but he just killed it," she said.
The Russian voting sector, she added, "Is not the type of public to get offended – we get angry. I've been getting a lot of calls saying that maybe it's time we form a new party."
Solodkin's departure is another blow in what has been a tumultuous day for Kadima: Earlier Wednesday, faction Chair Dalia Itzik, who previously served as Knesset speaker and acting president, announced she was quitting politics.
The party was rattled again a few hours later when veteran politicians MK Ronnie Bar-On and Jacob Edery informed Mofaz that they were quitting politics as well.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Many people get health insurance through their employers. However, if you do not currently participate in your employer's health plan, or if your employer doesn't offer coverage, obtaining individual insurance is a good route to go to ensure that you and your family will receive affordable routine health care and will be protected from very high costs in the event of a medical emergency.
Beginning in 2014, having some form of insurance that provides minimum essential coverage is more important than ever. That's because the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires most individuals to obtain coverage or pay a penalty. In 2016, the penalty is 2.5 percent of your income or $695 per person, whichever is greater, and $347.50 per child up to a $2,085 family maximum.


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NewsArizona News
HCR 2036 removed from House of Judiciary Committee agenda
In a statement from Gov. Ducey's spokesman Patrick Ptak says HCR 2036 has been removed from the agenda in the House of Judiciary Committee.
By: abc15.com staff
Posted at 10:19 PM, Feb 20, 2020
A major reversal in the immigration debate at the State Capitol.
In a statement from Gov. Ducey's spokesman Patrick Ptak says HCR 2036 has been removed from the agenda in the House of Judiciary Committee. A decision made by Governor Doug Ducey, Representative Thomas "T.J." Shope and other legislative leaders.
If passed, the referendum would have banned sanctuary cities in Arizona.
The statement goes on to say, "the Governor stands firmly with the people of Arizona in opposition to sanctuary cities - a California-style policy rejected overwhelmingly by voters in Tucson last fall. The Governor is appreciative of Representative Shope's leadership on this issue, and while these proposals will not be moving forward, the state of Arizona will continue to oppose any effort to create sanctuary cities."
This comes hours after Gov. Ducey became upset when ABC15 asked about it.
House Democratic Leader Charlene Fernandez says the referendum was unnecessary.
"It was a prudent decision to stop this needlessly divisive referendum in the House Judiciary Committee and remove the target from the backs of Arizona's Latino community," said Fernandez. "Arizona does not want a police state, we have moved upward and onward from the shameful legacy of SB1070. But we also know that dead bills and referendums have a way of re-emerging at the Legislature, so we must stay vocal and stay vigilant until this session ends."


In the past few years, there has been an increased willingness in our region and state to fund affordable housing – both from California's general fund as well as from local and state ballot measures. For example, in 2016 the Legislature passed No Place Like Home, creating $2 billion in new funding for construction of supportive housing units and on the November 2018 ballot, voters will consider approving a $4 billion bond to fund affordable housing that includes $1.5 billion for affordable housing developments. Supportive housing provides a home for our homeless neighbors. Without streamlining efforts though, those available resources will be underutilized, as has been the case historically.
Introduced by Assembly Members Chiu and Daly (Coauthors: Assembly Members Bloom, Bonta, Caballero, Friedman, and Gloria), California Assembly Bill 2162 expedites the approval of affordable housing developments that include a percentage of supportive housing. To qualify, housing developments must be 100% affordable and set aside either 35% of the units or 15 units, whichever is greater, as supportive housing units. Services must be provided on site for supportive housing residents.
In the face of our current housing crisis, we can not afford to have available housing resources go unused. This bill would lower the potential for this happening.


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Auralex Opens New Headquarters
The new space offers an improved office layout that promotes a quieter and more personal work space.
INDIANAPOLIS: Auralex Acoustics announced the opening of its new 25,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Indianapolis. The new space, located only a few miles from the previous location, offers an improved office layout that promotes a quieter and more personal work space. It also features a larger warehouse space, allowing Auralex to store more products. The updated layout also promotes a quicker turnaround time, resulting in products getting out the door sooner. This increases Auralex's capabilities for product development, not only on the storage side, but also due to the fact that the new location will have a full testing room on-site.
One of the main benefits of the new facility is the potential for updated demo rooms. The building boosts the space to host extensive demo rooms to showcase Auralex's products in real world situations, including a space intended to become an elite home theater. The new facility can also accommodate a full music recording studio, which will include a control room, and a combination live/tracking room.
AURALEX INCREASES OPERATIONS WITH NEW HEADQUARTERS
Move Supports Company's Growth, Streamlines Workflow and Increases Warehouse Space INDIANAPOLIS, IN, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011 - Auralex Acoustics, Inc., the industry leader in innovative sound control solutions, is proud to announce the opening of its ...
Crispin Opens New North Carolina Headquarters
Broadcast automation provider Crispin has opened an office in Durham, N.C. that will serve as the company's new headquarters. The new facility will house customer support, engineering, sales, marketing and manufacturing and includes a new quality control lab and warehouse. The mailing address for the new digs is
Leader Opens New California Headquarters
Leader America has relocated its headquarters to 11095 Knott Avenue Suite B, Cypress, Calif., 90630
VSG opens new integration headquarters
Minutes away from Manhattan, the new facility is already in use on integration projects for the City University of New York (CUNY) and Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN).
ABS Opens New Portland Office
The new space provides regional customers with a centralized location for product demonstrations and improved customer support
Comcast Announces New Headquarters
Comcast Corp. the nation's largest provider of cable and broadband services, announced plans to build a 57-story building to house its administrative and R&D in Philadelphia Housing 1,900 company employees, the building will tower over the Philly skyline; Comcast plans to occupy 24 of its 57 floors. "Our new headqua
NSi Opens Two New Locations
Nesbit Systems Inc. , a privately owned firm that develops and markets media asset management software, has a new sales office in New York City, and a development/project and support office in Lambertville, N.J. The Princeton, N.J. company said the New York office gives it a "great space" to meet with clients and i
OmniBus Systems opens new office
The new office opened in July.


Those who use the MBTA for their commutes are commonly thought to be the primary beneficiaries of public transit. After all, on most days it gets them to work and back. But with highway congestion in Greater Boston intensifying to near gridlock, those who rely on their private cars for commuting may become the T's greatest beneficiaries — even if most of them never use it. They will gain not only in terms of less time spent on the roads but in the cost of operating their own vehicles. If frustrated auto commuters better understood this, they might happily ante up to improve public transit — for their own benefit.
There are now more than 2.25 million Greater Boston commuters on a typical workday, and 1.5 million of them use their private vehicles to get to work. These highways were never constructed to handle such crowds, nor an expected 50,000 more by 2030.
Overall, the average morning commute speed on the region's major highways is now just 18.4 miles per hour. That means the typical commuter is now spending around 15 hours a week sitting in traffic — or 720 hours per year.
But if we were somehow to move just 13 percent of the daily commuters off the road onto public transit — about 195,000 — highway flow analysis suggests that the average speed during commuting hours could be doubled to more than 37 m.p.h. — still well below the highway speed limit. But even that improvement would save the typical commuter about 7.5 hours per week in commuting time or 360 hours per year. Continuous improvement in, and expansion of, public transit routes, could make commuter rail more attractive to an even larger number of current and future commuters who would see such transportation as a more pleasurable way to travel.
Yet there is an additional benefit. The typical commuter who drives 6,000 miles per year in commuting now spends around $821 a year in fuel. Doubling the average speed increases fuel efficiency so much that it cuts the fuel bill to just $552 a year — a savings of $269 a year.
Growth doesn't just happen in Arizona or Florida. The Boston area needs to embrace its expanding population — and plan accordingly.
Read: It's not your imagination. Your Boston commute is getting worse.
Developing "last mile" transit — perhaps in a joint partnership between regional transit authorities and private transit options such as Uber and Lyft today and autonomous vehicles tomorrow — making it possible for those who work in suburban locations to use commuter rail to get to stations near their employers and then use these options to travel the "last mile" to work and back to the commuter rail station.
Expanding parking garages at existing rail stations to accommodate more commuters.
Expanding the commuter rail system to more locations with improved frequency and better quality of service.
Unifying our divided rail system by building the North South Rail Link between North and South stations so that commuters from the north of the city who work in the south and vice versa have a compelling alternative to existing highway commutes and not be faced by multiple-mode shifts on public transit.
The question, of course, is how to pay for these tangible improvements in public transit. The answer lies in getting the true beneficiaries of improved public transit to pay for it. If drivers were to pay only $269 a year more in gasoline taxes, tolls, or a vehicle miles traveled fee to the MBTA, the Commonwealth would have an additional $3 billion over 10 years to make some of these improvements. If congestion declined, as suggested above, those who still drove to work and back would break even — saving in fuel cost what they paid in added fees. And if commuters valued their time at no more than $2.50 per hour and were willing to pay the T for the privilege of spending less fuel and less time in their commute, the total revenue boost to the T could be $1.24 billion per year — augmenting what the T currently spends each year on operating expenses, capital improvements, and debt service by 36 percent. Surely, this amount could be used to make the improvements needed to boost public transit ridership.
The problem is ultimately a political one, however. If commuters were willing to pony up what amounts to a net increase of anywhere from $269 to $766 per year, would they actually believe the MBTA would make the improvements in public transit that would cut their daily commute time in half and their fuel bill by a third? Given the T's past record, most drivers would be skeptical. So it is time for the T to make a promise to the Commonwealth's commuters that it will spend this added revenue efficiently and effectively on reducing congestion – or drivers get their money back.
Barry Bluestone is a professor of political economy in the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University.


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Day 84 – Moving on?
Early this morning I checked out of my hostel here in Belgrade and took a city bus to the airport.
I decided to fly to my next destination of Budva in Montenegro as it was only 40 minutes whereas a bus trip would have been over 10 hours. The flight only cost 85 euros plus I needed to pay 15 euros for a cab from the airport in Tivat to my hostel in Budva.
As it's still off season I arrived to yet another ghost town of a hostel. Only myself and a couple of other people. In fact, I had the whole 6 bed dorm to myself.
The weather was supposed to be rainy but to my delight it was actually beautiful out without a cloud in the sky. Seriously – no clouds… how can a forecast be that off?
After checking in I walked down towards the seaside to checkout the beaches and the old town.
As I walked through the old town and passed souvenir shop after souvenir shop and restaurant after restaurant I turned a corner and my eyes lit up.
I said in an earlier blog that, for me, it's not about the museums and galleries but the unique experiences along the way.
I had turned the corner into one of those.
Here on the sidewalk outside all the souvenir shops was a boy, maybe 12 or 13, sitting at a little card table with his proud assortment of shells and painted rocks. I stopped and asked him how much for the rock and he smiled and said 1 euro. I happily handed him the money and told him he was doing a great job and went on my way.
I am now in possession of possibly the best souvenir ever!
Anyway, after stopping for a lunch of roast lamb I headed back to the hostel to try to figure out what I was going to do for the next few days.
I've found that over the last couple of weeks ever since Split I haven't been as motivated to explore these new cities and countries. Almost like I was going through the motions.
And then, just like that, I decided I didn't want to travel anymore.
I was ready to come home.
So I spent the evening looking up various flight options to get home. I also talked to some people on Facebook that I used to work with to see what was going on at my old job. I even checked Craigslist for apartments.


Facing a roomful of delicious holiday food and drinks can be challenging when you have a dietary restriction. Whether you have a food allergy, or are following a special diet for medical, religious or personal reasons, not knowing what's being served can make for a frustrating experience. And the last thing you want to do is leave a party hungry! Here are six ways to better navigate your next holiday party, and leave with a full stomach.
Give the host advanced notice. When you follow a special diet, give the host enough time to plan and prep a dish that is suitable for you. Some hosts pride themselves on making dishes that work for every guest – or they may plan a menu with several items that are suitable for guests with dietary restrictions. For example, if guests have a gluten allergy and are dairy-free, they may opt for a fruit salad for dessert. If your host is open to it, brainstorm and even send some of your favorite recipes their way to make planning even easier.
Ask the host what is being served. You can check with your host beforehand about the menu. Ask about ingredients in each dish so you know what you can eat and what to skip out on. For those with food allergies, knowing exactly what is being served gives you a heads up on if you'll have many options or not enough. Dinner guests with a condition like diabetes should also ask about meal timing (diabetics need to balance food with their insulin and time it with other meal), so they'll know whether or not to eat beforehand.
Offer to bring a dish. Once you have a conversation with the host and know there won't be many options that meet your needs, ask the host if you can bring something. That way you can control the ingredients and also help the host out! Ask the host if there are any other special requests, and maybe you can even create a dish that meets the needs of others, as well.
Eat a well-balanced meal before leaving. If you're not sure what is being served, don't let yourself go hungry to the party. Have a well-balanced meal before heading out. If you find a few things you can eat at the party, great!
Politely decline. You may be offered hors d'oeuvres, cocktails, desserts or other goodies at the party that aren't on your "can eat" list. Don't be afraid to politely say, "no, thank you" without giving a long explanation. You can choose to eat or not eat whatever you feel most comfortable with. You don't owe an explanation to anyone — so don't feel obligated.
Focus on face time. Even if you don't have many food options, don't let the menu ruin the holiday festivities. In today's world of electronics we don't always get a lot of face time with friends and family. Take this opportunity to focus on great conversation, and you can raid the fridge when you get home.


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Q: 2 Finger swipe-up action in AppDelegate I want to change the Navigation Bar Tint Colour when the user swipes up with 2 fingers. I need to do this in the App Delegate so that I can universally change all the nav bar tint colours. I can call a gesture but I'm not sure how to actually get an action called. Thanks for the help :D

A: Have you try writing like:
[self.navController.view addGestureRecognizer:yourGestureInstanceHere];

Here yourGestureInstanceHere represents a swipe gesture with number of taps as 2.
Also, I would suggest to sub class your UINavigationController and write this functionality there, instead of AppDelegate. AppDelegate is not the class to handle these functionalities.
EDIT
-(void)addGestureToNavigationController

    UISwipeGestureRecognizer *swipeRight = [[UISwipeGestureRecognizer alloc] initWithTarget:self action:@selector(handleSwipeRight:)];

    [swipeRight setDirection:UISwipeGestureRecognizerDirectionRight];

     swipeRight.numberOfTouchesRequired = 2;

    [swipeRight setDelegate:self];

    [self.navigationController.view addGestureRecognizer:swipeRight];

}

// Selector

-(void)handleSwipeRight:(UISwipeGestureRecognizer *)recognizer

{

    // TODO : Write change tint colour logic

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Home About Us DreamOval Partners Programmes Our Impact News Code Challenge GSTEP
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GSTEP
The Induction Stage of GSTEP – What to Expect
The Ghana Science and Tech Explorer Prize Challenge (GSTEP) has successfully completed the application stage. During this phase, entries were submitted from schools in the Greater Accra region and Ashanti region. With a total of about 700 entries, the second phase of the activities for Year 2 in the GSTEP program is being rolled out.
Prior to the submission of entries by interested participants, the DreamOval Foundation undertook a massive outreach program. Teams of coordinators went to various schools in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions of Ghana to educate both students and teachers on the need to take this opportunity and upgrade their skills and knowledge of STEM education. This outreach program piqued the interest of a lot of students and teachers who submitted their entries through the guidance of the DreamOval Foundation team.
In the assessment stage of the competition, a team of expert judges has been indulged to critically assess the entries they have received. Out of the many entries that have come through, only fifty (50) of the entries – twenty five(25) each from both the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions – that have met the criteria would be selected for the finalist phase of the competition.
Induction Phase
The Finalist induction ceremony has been slated for the 20th of September 2022 in the Greater Accra region and on the 23rd of September for the Ashanti region. During this event, the selected finalists would be taken through their roles in the competition and what they need to achieve before the Award Ceremony in December 2022.
The consortium namely Challenge Works, MEST Africa, DEXT Technology, and Foundervine would give presentations that would guide the finalists during their last stage of the competition. The finalists would also be presented with all the resources they would need to develop their ideas and build prototypes for their final presentations. During the course of this stage, they would also undergo masterclasses and mentorship sessions to fully equip them with the skills and technical know-how for the development of their submitted ideas.
The GSTEP Challenge is an initiative that has taken into consideration the future of children and education in Ghana, paring with developed countries. It is known that developed countries have taken STEM education seriously as it is helping the youth find footing in their various capacities and abilities. The advancement of technology cannot be undermined in the present day, and no one would want to be left behind. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are courses beginning to become the threshold on which education systems around the world rely.
With the future of the youth of Ghana in mind, DreamOval Foundation is leaving no stone unturned. It is refreshing to know that the foundation is here to stay and to help improve the education system in Ghana.
<Back to News
ABOUT DO FOUNDATION
Our aim is to bridge the knowledge gap through the creation, sharing, and utilization of knowledge with Education and Technology being our key focus areas.
>End of year message from the DreamOval Foundation
>DreamOval Foundation Year 2022 in Retrospect
>Finalist Teams of the GSTEP Challenge Pitch Ideas to a Panel of Judges
2nd Floor, Crystal Plaza Building,
Sakumono, Accra-Ghana.
Phone No: +233 59 570 3311
Email: info@dreamoval.org
Copyright © DreamOval Foundation


text:
AFP/Getty Images
A statue of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, erected in Shenzhen. Deng's historic visit there in 1992 is widely seen as having re-launched China's economic reforms. On his own visit to Shenzhen in December 2012, China's current leader, Xi Jinping, paid homage to his predecessor and pledged to follow in his footsteps.
Xi Jinping Should Expand Deng Xiaoping's Reforms
A Party Insider's Prescription for Change
by Zhou Ruijin
Zhou Ruijin
Zhou Ruijin is the author and editor of several books and serves as a Ph.D. Advisor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He graduated from Fudan University with a degree in Journalism. Upon...
Why Read This
Zhou Ruijin, a longtime high-level Communist Party propaganda official, falls on the active reformist end of China's political spectrum. In 1991, he published a series of editorials in the Shanghai Communist Party Committee mouthpiece, The Liberation Daily, under the pen name "Huangfu Ping." In these editorials, Zhou publicly denounced efforts by Party hardliners to obstruct economic liberalization and advocated continuing reform. These "Huangfu Ping" articles caused a major stir in a society that had been suffocated since the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, and they were read and widely circulated. But conservatives writing in other official outlets denounced them, warning people not to forget the struggle between Socialism and Capitalism.
Many people, both in China and abroad—including some top Chinese leaders—believed that Deng Xiaoping was behind the articles and was using them as a way to gain leverage over his conservative opponents within the Party. In 1992, eleven months after the first editorial appeared, Deng took his celebrated "Southern Tour" to draw the country back on the reform trajectory he had initiated in 1978. Lending credence to the supposition that Deng was behind the "Huangfu Ping" articles, the major points that he emphasized in his tour had already been articulated months earlier in the editorials. In a recent interview, Zhou revealed that he selected the pen name "Huangfu Ping" because it was a homophone for "to assist Deng Xiaoping under the People's order" in his native Hokkien dialect.
In 2012, twenty years after Deng's Southern Tour, the CCP's new top leader Xi Jinping undertook a similar trip to the country's south, which the Chinese media dubbed the "New Southern Tour." Zhou wrote the accompanying article immediately after Xi's tour. The article's basic stance is consistent with the thrust of the editorials by "Huangfu Ping" twenty-two years ago: he argues that China should avoid either a Soviet-style big bang regime transition or a return to Maoism. Zhou enumerates the country's current problems, warns of potential dangers, and, most importantly, tries to put "positive pressure" on China's leaders to push to further and deepen Deng's reforms. —Ouyang Bin
For more, see the account of "Huangfu Ping" in Ezra Vogel's Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China (Belknap Press, 2011).
A version of this article was first published in Chinese in Caijing on December 17, 2012. It has been translated and abridged with the author's permission.
A month after the conclusion of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) 18th National Congress, the new Secretary General of the CCP and Central Military Commission, comrade Xi Jinping, left Beijing to visit Shenzhen, the first foothold of China's economic reforms. He placed a wreath on the bronze statue of comrade Deng Xiaoping, who had initiated those reforms twenty years earlier from the same place. Xi said, "The Party Central Committee's decision to launch Reform and Opening was correct. From this day forward, we will continue down this correct road, this road that has been building China's national power and increasing the people's wealth. And we will make new progress." His comments both paid tribute to his predecessors and expressed his ambition to take Reform and Opening down a new road.
On the critical 20th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping's "Southern Tour," Xi's trip to the south signaled the whole country and the world that China will continue its establishment of a modern political culture and firmly follow the Reform and Opening road envisioned by Deng Xiaoping and his colleagues. The high-level leadership of the CCP has already reached a consensus and will promote reform systematically, integrally, and cooperatively. The Party's leaders have the political courage and confidence to tackle difficulties to come.
Twenty years ago, comrade Deng Xiaoping traveled south to Wuchang, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Shanghai, and delivered speeches essential to China's economic reform and social development during the 1990s. Taking advantage of various domestic and international forces, Deng's speeches in the south ended the debate over socialism vs. capitalism, and made building a market economy and promoting the rule of law and a civilized political order unshakable goals of the CCP.
Over the next twenty years, China began to experience problems related to the after-shocks of launching the reforms, and these were multiplied by problems intentionally or unintentionally evaded while "crossing the river by feeling the stones." On the one hand, the pie of Chinese economy was growing—its GDP increased by a factor of four, surpassing Germany and Japan to become second only to the United States. According to British economic historian Angus Maddison, China might regain its status as the No. 1 economy in the world by 2015, and China's GDP may account for 23 percent of the world's in 2030. He even optimistically predicted that China's per capita income would rise to more than one third of the world's average level. Although it is true that China is not too far from becoming the world's largest economy, its per capita income has not kept pace.
Therefore, in today's China, another question is more pressing—namely, why hasn't economic growth dispelled society's grievances? If we examine the question more deeply, we have to admit that an unbalanced mode of development has manifest itself during China's thirty-three years of Reform and Opening: economic reform flourishes while political and social reforms stagnate. As a result, while China has grown economically, Chinese society has become less equal. Meanwhile, the division between interest groups is becoming more and more apparent. The rules of the game are opaque, unfair, and inimical to social mobility. Vested interest groups' status are increasingly entrenched, while people at the bottom rungs of the social hierarchy and their offspring are losing their aspirations and motivation. As a result, the most staggering challenge is not so much the income gap between rich and poor or between officials and ordinary people, so much as the fact that these kinds of class divisions are being passed down to successive generations. The bureaucracy, the rich, the poor, and the peasantry are categories handed down from one generation to another as in the caste system in ancient India. China today is witnessing alarming socio-economic immobility. The people at the bottom of the class ladder have both lost the possibility of upward mobility and are becoming worse off due to intensifying inflation. Middle-income people have developed a sense of deprivation related to things like the high price of real estate. The newly formed upper class has a strong tendency to emigrate. The "special interest group" at the nexus of government office and business is in a frenzy of profit seizing.
Some people say we're living in an era of "pindie," or "staking it on Dad," an era when what you do isn't as important as who your father is and what kinds of connections he has. From education to employment to entertainment, the game of "staking it on Dad" is spreading. After the increasingly frequent school-bus accidents in China, there is an air of sarcasm online—people say, American school buses are safe because perhaps one of the kids on the bus will grow up to be President of the United States. They say the reason China's school buses are so flimsy is because you can be sure China's future leaders won't be on any of them. The public has become accustomed to venting its dissatisfaction about the "generational heredity" of property and power in response to all kinds of incidents. Even when the Chinese government drafts rules to regulate school bus safety based on American standards, netizens' responses still brim with distrust.
Apart from these emotional manifestations, China also faces the following other "aftershocks" of Reform and Opening that have triggered the strongest public indignation:
—The gap between the rich and the poor has widened in the absence of a fair and rational system to distribute China's economic prosperity.
—Social welfare lags behind economic development, failing to establish a social security system capable of benefiting all in society.
—The public's sense of happiness is decreasing as a result of failures in tackling problems of basic livelihood, like education, healthcare, housing, employment, etc.
—Environmental pollution is worsening as high investment and high-pollution industries continue to emerge. Food, water, and air are polluted. The sharp conflict between economic development and environmental protection is on the verge of explosion and has triggered many mass protests.
—Corruption takes root not just in economic activities, but also in officialdom, the administration of justice, the media, and education. The corruption is directly correlated with institutional defects.
Together, these problems form a social backdrop similar to the one against which Deng Xiaoping undertook his Southern Tour—the consensus on reform formed by integrating various forces doesn't just face a daunting challenge, it is in danger of falling to pieces. The focus of the debate is no longer a pure ideological battle between socialism and capitalism. The more serious challenge is, to a great degree, the struggle among different interest groups that have grown gradually during the period of reform. The intensity of the contest even surpasses that of the ideological clash during Deng's tour.
China's reform and development once again stand at a crucial juncture.
Thus, three major tasks should be the priorities in the Xi Jinping administration's reform agenda.
The first task is to establish an efficient social security system and solve six major issues related to people's livelihood on an institutional level:
Establishing a complete modern national education system to guarantee that people share fair access to education, one of the critical starting points.
Building a social security system that covers both urban and rural areas and provides for people's basic needs; establishing an unemployment insurance system, pension system, and basic medical insurance system in cities and countryside.
Increasing employment, promoting new businesses, and trying to build a rational and fair distribution system.
Setting up a basic medical and sanitation system to guarantee that everyone enjoys basic medical and sanitation services.
Setting up urban and rural housing systems to guarantee shelter for all.
Establishing a pleasant living environment by guaranteeing fresh air, clean water, and clean food.
The second task is to build a stable social structure. The main task is to promote urbanization, to resettle the surplus rural population, and to combine urbanization with new industrialization, information technology, and agricultural modernization to expand the middle class. The new administration should also increase the proportion of non-agricultural output from 85 percent to more than 90 percent, and the proportion of the urban population from 60 percent to more than 70 percent (so far, data from national surveys shows a 51 percent rate of urbanization. But many migrant workers in cities are not accepted as urban citizens), and the proportion of non-agricultural employment from 70 percent to more than 80 percent. All of these efforts could increase the proportion of the middle class, whose annual incomes are between 80,000 and 200,000 yuan (from US$12,825 to US$32,063), from 50 to 60 percent of the whole population. The middle class is the major source of domestic demand. Moreover, strengthening the middle class will largely relieve the pressure caused by the gap between the rich and the poor.
The third task is to construct a mature civil society that consists of three main elements. First of all, the government's power should be limited. Absolutism should not be an option. The goal of reform should be to establish a limited government, a government that serves the public. The major tasks for such a government are to regulate the economy, to supervise the market, and to provide public order and social services. This would be a reform of society and of politics. Second, the government should provide institutional safeguards for the gradual development of independent groups in society, including religious organizations. In addition, it should also relax its control of non-government-affiliated institutions and groups. Dynamic independent organizations and religious groups are important elements of the social structure. The government should cooperate with them fully. The self-governing rights of people at the local level should be protected, including rural and communal self-governance systems. The people should be allowed to manage, serve, educate, and supervise themselves. China's commercial and academic associations, foundations, voluntary organizations, rights-protection organizations, and charities need further development. Government should promote, help, and protect them and perfect the relevant laws and regulations instead of regarding them as hostile and alien forces. The new administration should broadly integrate these kinds of organizations into policy-making and encourage them to take on more responsibility to promote social welfare.
Additionally, the market, mainly constituted by public ownership, non-public ownership, and individual industrial and commercial businesses, should play the role of allocating resources. The government's direct intervention in business should be reduced as much as possible. The government should gradually separate itself from business management, from public institutions, and from capital management. Economics, rather than administration, should form the basis of macroeconomic regulation. Intervention in the economy at the micro level in the name of macroeconomic regulation should be avoided. The wealth-creating capacity of the market should be allowed to play a more robust role.
The crucial question [China] faces today is whether those in power can find a way to be more responsive, more sympathetic, and more responsible in the face of increasingly acute social conflict, suffering, and bitterness on the part of the Chinese people, and the insecure state of people's rights. The new administration ought to feel a sense of urgency to end stagnation in political reform and to become more courageous and experiment with new ways to continue the epic reforms initiated by Deng.
From this perspective, Xi Jinping's new "Southern Tour" is not another round of ideological debate, but an exploration of how to push China's reforms at the core level and solve the country's complicated social conflicts. Xi and China's other leaders should first limit the power of the government, empower social organizations, and allow the market more freedom. They should firmly follow the direction of marketization, legalization, and democratization. Public opinion should play a greater role in policy-making. At the lowest rungs of society, where social conflicts are severe, government should pay more attention to public opinion, ease conflicts between officials and ordinary people, and use the Internet to gauge public opinion. China needs to limit the power of public administration and prevent the expansion of privileged interest groups. To prevent Chinese society from disintegrating in the process of reform, China needs to learn how to handle capital with efficient and equitable social and political systems.
In today's China, it is of paramount significance that the new administration re-establish consensus on the direction of reform and galvanize public support for its continuation. The government should forge a sense of job security in its young people and build good feeling and a sense of belonging among the population at large. The new administration should also focus on continuing to consolidate the nation's soft power and to improve the sense of cohesion and unity in the Chinese national identity. Comrade Xi's Southern Tour sends a strong signal that that the new administration has the courage and determination to push back against the unyielding, wade into treacherous waters, surmount ideological obstacles, and breach the defenses of entrenched interest.
Translated by Ouyang Bin and Sun Dilong
Economy, Politics, Society
Political Reform, Deng Xiaoping, Xi Jinping, Chinese Communist Party


Khawaja, Cummins and Patterson will play this match for the Thunder.
The penultimate league stage game in BBL 2018-19 will be played between the Sydney Thunder. With a miraculous win in their last game, the Brisbane Heat have almost taken the Thunder out of the semi-final equation. It is almost impossible for the 'Men in Green' to go past the NRR of Heat from the position where they are placed now.
Therefore, this game is more or less a dead rubber unless there is a marvel that is on the cards for the Sydney franchise. The Hobart Hurricanes, on the other hand, booked their berth in the knockouts. They will possibly treat this game to be a good practice match before the first semi-final that will take place on 14 February 2019.
The 55th match of the Big Bash League (BBL) 2018-19 will be played between Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
The match starts at 6:15 PM local time (7:15 AM GMT) (12:45 PM IST).
The game will be live on Sony SIX and Sony SIX HD in India. Live streaming is available on Sony Liv.
The Manuka Oval in Canberra is true to the stroke-makers and often witnesses high-scoring games. This match, as well, could be a run feast and the Hobart batsmen will enjoy playing on a surface such as this.
Shane Watson (C), Usman Khawaja, Callum Ferguson, Kurtis Patterson/Gurinder Sandhu, Matt Gilkes (WK), Anton Devcich, Daniel Sams, Chris Green, Chris Jordan, Pat Cummins, Fawad Ahmed.
Matthew Wade (C & Wk), D'Arcy Short, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, George Bailey, Simon Milenko, Qais Ahmed, David Moody, Jofra Archer, Riley Meredith, Clive Rose.
No changes to the squad.
Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Kurtis Patterson join Sydney Thunder after the Test series against Sri Lanka.
Usman Khawaja has got a terrific record in the BBL. He scored 956 runs from 24 matches at an average of 50.31 with two centuries and six fifties. With some valuable runs under his belt in the Test match against Sri Lanka, he'd a confident individual entering this game.
D'Arcy Short is a must as captain or vice-captain. The other captaincy options are Matthew Wade, Usman Khawaja and Callum Ferguson. You can consider Daniel Sams, Ben McDermott and Shane Watson as the vice-captains for your side. Qais Ahmed, Jofra Archer and Anton Devcich are the players whom you can examine as multipliers.
Bowlers – Chris Green, Riley Meredith, Qais Ahmed.
Bowlers – Chris Jordan, Chris Green, Jofra Archer, Qais Ahmed.
The Sydney Thunder are predicted to win the match.


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Oppo F1 Plus review
A ₹26,990 phone in a ₹50,000 suit
by Andrew Williams
27 April 2016 / 13:09IST
What on Earth has happened to Oppo? The company that used to make crazy phones with rotating cameras has suddenly come up with a bonafide alternative to the LG G5 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
The Oppo F1 Plus is a bit of an eye-opener. For just ₹26,990 you get a 5.5in, all-metal phone with a design the iPhone 6S Plus follow-up could take a few tips from.
There are a few quirks to put up with and some components that are aren't truly top-end, but if you want a phone that feels like ₹50,000 and costs ₹26,990, you can't do much better.
Look familiar?
Let's get this one out of the way early: yes, I know the Oppo F1 Plus looks like the iPhone 6S Plus. The colour, the lines, the 5.5in screen and curves are all pretty familiar, with just a slightly different character to them.
Apple 1, Oppo 0? Not quite. This design is actually more advanced than the iPhone 6S Plus in some ways.
Apple's big 'un is a lovely phone, but it isn't half, well, big. The Oppo F1 Plus slims down the screen surround and the bulk of the phone, avoiding the 'cor blimey, no more skinny jeans, eh?' effect that comes with buying a 6S Plus. All told, the F1 Plus is more than 6mm shorter, 3.5mm narrower and 0.7mm thinner than Apple's phablet.
Before you tell me I'm making a point of nothing, one of the commonest mobile complaints I've heard over the last couple of years has been people moaning that while they really like the iPhone Pluses, they find them just a bit too big. The Oppo neatly sidesteps that complaint.
There's very little to dislike about the Oppo F1 Plus design unless you really must have originality. It looks great, feels fantastic and really isn't too big considering the screen size.
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Oppo hasn't suddenly ditched its original geeky fanbase to get these lines, either.
For instance, the F1 Plus still has a dual-SIM slot, the second of which can double as a memory card slot. I'm not sure I'd ever even need to use a memory card, though, because the phone has a fantastic 64GB of storage too. Samsung would probably still offer you 16GB at this price.
Thinking Oppo might have just stuffed the F1 Plus with the cheapest memory it could find, I revved its engine a bit to see how fast it goes: it reads at 164MB/s and writes at 138MB/s. For those who don't sit around seeing how fast their USB stick are (and if that's you, you're really missing out), this is pretty nippy, and comparable with some top-end phones. Real cheap phones' storage is as slow as a tenth of this.
The Oppo F1 Plus is starting to sound like a sweet deal, and we've not finished yet. It also has a fingerprint scanner. Like the Galaxy S7, it sits on a clickable Home button down below the screen. You need to actually click the button to unlock the phone from sleep, but it's virtually instant in doing so. The days of crummy scanners truly are over.
Unlike its smaller, cheaper brother the Oppo F1, the F1 Plus has tiny light-up soft keys too. Their design is spot-on: they are invisible when not lit-up, subtle when they are.
For pure look and feel, this phone can sidle up to any in the world. And even if you do call it an iPhone 6S Plus rip-off, you'd have to admit it's a nice one.
A brute of an OLED
The first point at which you notice the tiniest hint of a crack in the Oppo F1 Plus's glossy ₹50,000-a-like coating is its screen. It's big, it's bold and it's sharp, but the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge's is better: no great surprise.
On the good side, the Oppo F1 Plus has a 5.5in 1920 x 1080 AMOLED screen. And it's mostly lovely to look at: I could watch films and play games on this thing all-day-long. Well, on a long flight at least.
One obvious benefit of using an OLED screen rather than an LCD one is that it still looks amazing in dark rooms, where LCDs can end up looking a little greyed-out. For those who indulge in a bit of pre-sleep Instagram-crawling or late-night Netflix binges, the F1 Plus even has an Eye Protection mode. This is similar to Night Shift in iOS (itself far from the first to do this), cutting out a lot of the blue light wavelengths that can disrupt your sleepy-bye-byes pattern.
It's not automatic in the Oppo, but can be accessed from the drop-down menu pretty quickly. Loads of people are going to ignore the feature altogether, but I like the manual approach as Eye Protection does make the Oppo F1 Plus screen look a bit orangey. A bit like when you soak a piece of paper in tea to make it look old.
So why is the Galaxy S7 Edge screen better? First, it's sharper. Close-up you can notice the tiniest hint of fizz on this 401ppi display. Should you worry about that? No, it's still very sharp. Second, the colours lean towards a more saturated style, reds looking a lot deeper than they do on an iPhone 6S. Sat next to a Galaxy S7, colours are actually pretty similar in the S7's 'Adaptive' mode, but then the Samsung also offers other modes that make the tones chill out a bit. The Oppo F1 Plus doesn't.
Only screen snobs should worry about this, and turbo-charging colour seems to be the 'in' thing at the moment anyway. The F1 Plus also doesn't offer the turbo-brightest of the best Samsungs. I dug out a screen-measuring gadget to see exactly how bright these displays go, then put the Plus and the Galaxy S7 next to an 1800-lumen light to roughly simulate a daytime stroll out on the surface of the sun.
Where the Oppo F1 Plus can go to 348cd/m brightness, the S7 goes up to 470cd/m. The Oppo will be fine out on a sunny day, but the top Samsungs will be better. Are these tests fair when the equivalent Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge costs twice the price? Not exactly, but when this phone seems to promise all the hardware at 50% of the price, you need to know what you're getting.
Still, so far I'm impressed. None of these little screen bits need put you off. This is still a top-quality display.
Color me ambivalent
Last time I reviewed an Oppo phone, the plain F1, I had a few complaints about the ColorOS software used on top of Android. Here we get a new version, though, 3.0. It sorts out a lot of the dated visuals of the old v2.1, and no longer feels a bit laboured with its screen animations.
ColorOS feels right in an important sense: it's fast. Using it side-by-side with the S7, it also makes TouchWiz look complicated, even though Samsung has spent the last two years pruning back some of its software extras.
What many of you might not like is that the Android apps menu has gone. Vanished. So while your apps get put on a homescreen, there's no automatic arranging. I tend to barely touch my homescreens, so like to rely on the alphabetic apps menu found on most Android phones to avoid the handset becoming a digital thrift shop. But I can't do that here.
ColorOS 3.0 also uses a comically bad lock-screen style by default, displaying a random picture from a selection whenever you turn the F1 Plus on. You might get a picture of a sofa, followed by a half-naked model, followed by BoJack Horseman. As much as we love BoJack, it's all faintly embarrassing.
Final complaint: the Oppo F1 Plus also uses the old Android 5.1 OS at its heart rather than Android 6.0. When ColorOS is so different anyway, it doesn't necessarily matter as much as you might expect. The major missing part is Google Now on Tap, which scans the page for terms the Android digital butler can fetch you information about.
Apple iPhone 6s Plus review
Eight-core norms
Still, I find general performance to be on-par with the more expensive phones, even though the Oppo F1 Plus has a deceptively humble CPU: it uses the MediaTek P10, not a processor we see around much.
While the P10's eight cores make it sound like a beast, the fact remains that they're all lower-power Cortex-A53 cores. Really, it's a mid-range processor rather than a true high-end one, comparable with the Snapdragon 616 used in the Oppo F1.
Accordingly, its Geekbench 3 score of 3345 is the least you'd expect for this sort of cash in 2015 - but then again, does it matter? The phone feels fast and, perhaps most important, the Mali T860 CPU has the chops to let you max-out graphics in games without any major knock-on effects in frame rate.
While the CPU brain has similar power to Oppo's own Snapdragon-powered F1, the GPU here is significantly better. 3D Mark's Unlimited test proves it: the F1 scores 8992, the F1 Plus 11079. I'd call this sort of spec 'enough for 1080p', especially when it's matched with fast storage and a massive 4GB RAM. Want proof? It runs high-end 3D flying game Storm Raiders at Ultra High graphics settings at totally playable speeds.
Of course, I'd get pretty miffed if Oppo tried to get by with the MediaTek P10 in a ₹60,000 phone. No, there's not a big difference right now, but there might be two years down the line. But in a ₹26,990 phone it's more than acceptable.
Samsung Galaxy S7 review
The Oppo F1 Plus' main camera is a lot like the CPU: it's good, but not on the same level as real top-end mobiles such as the Galaxy S7 and LG G5. This is something I've seen first-hand, after taking both the F1 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S7 out on a shoot.
Let's start with the good bits, though.
The Oppo F1 Plus feels fast to shoot, which is a big part of making using a phone camera fun. It slows down a bit in poor lighting but doesn't suddenly become a shutter lag-y mess. It may not be the very greatest camera in the universe, but I've enjoyed using it.
The camera app is solid too. Like the design, it's basically nicked from Apple, but has a bunch of worthwhile extras including a full manual mode (that only lacks proper granular shutter speed controls).
Taking the Oppo P1 Plus out into the real world, it shoots generally good pictures, tending to get the exposure and white balance more-or-less right. However, even though it has a 13MP sensor, the level of detail and noise isn't quite as good as that of the latest 12-megapixel phones. That's because the F1 Plus has a pretty regular mid-range sensor, whereas the new generation of 12MP phones use their lower resolution to offer better low-light performance and dynamic range.
Contrast isn't as strong as it is in the higher-end crowd, either, or the Nexus 5X/6P. It does seem to be better than the one in the Oppo F1 from the results I'm getting, though. For final proof this isn't a real high-end setup: video capture tops out at 1080p.
The real eye-opener of the Oppo F1 Plus is that its front camera is higher-resolution than the rear one. Yes, really: round the front it has a 16-megapixel sensor, the highest-resolution selfie-cam I've seen in a phone. In good light it'll bring out every little follicle with unforgiving clarity and make you look more tired than you've ever looked on your way to work. Its fast f/2 lens may help here, too.
However, I'm not seeing a massive difference in detail over some of the great recent 8-megapixel selfie cams. It seems to use a slightly weird processing algorithm that's pretty active about sharpening some areas of the image and smushing others. In other words, it's a good selfie camera, but don't go thinking it's the best in the world just because it has more megapixels than sense.
LG G5 review
Back to planet Earth
The selfie camera is the one area where the Oppo F1 plays specs Top Trumps. Its battery is less of a show-off: you get a 2850mAh unit, which doesn't sound that big for a phone this size.
Despite that, I was very impressed by how long it can hold on when playing a video - you get about 15 and a half hours. This is Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge territory, which tells you that the Oppo F1 Plus must have a very efficient screen. Oppo's own claim is that it'll last for 14 hours of "heavy" use. Acting a little more laid-back, I got the F1 Plus to breeze through a day, ending up with a pretty amazing 48% battery left by midnight. Most phones don't have a hope of leaving me with that much. For a 2850mAh battery, this is eye-opening.
However, I have noticed the Oppo F1 Plus uses some pretty aggressive techniques to get to this level of stamina. For starters it's intensely strict about managing backgrounds activities, being slower to pick up on notifications a lot of the time and going as far as to switch off my podcast app five minutes after the screen's turned off, like clockwork. You don't get much more annoying than that, and this is after all the app-specific optimisations have been switched off.
I'd like to see Oppo loosen this up a bit with a ColorOS update, even if it does dent that fab battery life a bit.
One thing you may see people complain about a bit more is the Oppo F1 Plus' microUSB charging socket, given that 2016 is meant to be the year we all shift over to USB-C. It's not worth getting too upset over, though, as it means you can also use your old phone charger cables.
If you do use the official F1 Plus charger, you get VOOC fast charging too. This doubles current from 2A to 4A, and gets your phone to near-100% charge in half an hour. At this point, I'd rather have that than USB-C. Just having the connection doesn't mean you get any benefits such as fast charging or loads more bandwidth: a common misconception.
The last little extra Oppo has squeezed into the F1 Plus is a really pretty decent speaker, as ordinary as it may look down there on the bottom of the phone. Like the smaller Oppo F1, it's not going to challenge an iPhone 6S Plus on tone, but it does go nice and loud.
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The Oppo F1 Plus is a case of Oppo putting its gimmicky design gadgets back into the toy box and coming up with a phone that has a chance of attracting more savvy-but-normal buyers.
It looks and feels about ₹20,000 more than it actually costs, with more storage and a nicer design than you'd get on a comparable mid-range phone such as the Samsung Galaxy A7. The processor itself is mid-range but doesn't end up being a major turn-off, and from its speakers to its battery life it has plenty of good things going for it.
As you'd expect at this price, it's not entirely without compromise: its camera is good rather than mind-blowing, and its software, while simple, has a few quirks. But then again: it costs ₹26,990.
So while you won't find the F1 Plus on the high street, it's worth seeking out online if you're after a mostly high-end phone at a decidedly mid-range price.
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A Cartoon Christmas
Presented by West Michigan Concert Winds
Tickets: $10.00 Adult; $2.00 Student / Child; $8.00 Group 6+; $30.00 Season (4 concerts)
The new Downtown Live Concert Series at the Frauenthal Center, 426 W. Western Ave., launches in October and will feature every Muskegon Community College music ensemble, as well as the Shoreline Symphony and West Michigan Concert WINDS which are affiliated with MCC.
The 14-concert series, which includes two groups that have performed at Carnegie Hall in recent years, continues through May 2019.
"I am extremely excited to see the collaboration of college students and community members for this Downtown Live Concert series," said Daniel M. Meyers, the MCC Director of Music. "Bringing quality music to downtown Muskegon to compliment the great performances already at the Frauenthal and more concert goers to downtown Muskegon to enjoy all the community has to offer are goals for us at MCC."
"The concerts give audience goers the opportunity to hear a wide range of music, from traditional to contemporary, and to see college, semiprofessional and even professional musicians performing great literature in an amazing historic venue. Many of the concerts will also have special guests performing alone and with the MCC ensembles making for some truly memorable concerts."
"The Downtown Live Concert Series is an exciting development in our long term relationships with MCC," said Howard Meade, past president of the West Michigan Concert WINDS and President of the Shoreline Symphony. "Development of the series theme was a collaborative effort of MCC, the WINDS and the Shoreline Symphony facilitated by Fineline Creative. A grant from the Community Foundation for Muskegon County partially funded this effort."
Box Office Hours: M-F 11am-5:30pm
You may purchase tickets online two hours prior to show time and then at the Frauenthal Center Box Office.
On performance days, the box office is open Monday-Friday 11:00a.m. – 30 minutes after curtain. On weekends, the box office opens two hours prior to show time and remains open 30 minutes after curtain.


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        FirebaseRecyclerOptions<User> userOptions = new FirebaseRecyclerOptions.Builder<User>()
                .setQuery(counterRef,User.class)
                .build();

        adapter = new FirebaseRecyclerAdapter<User, ListOnlineViewHolder>(userOptions) {
            @Override
            protected void onBindViewHolder(@NonNull ListOnlineViewHolder viewHolder, int position, @NonNull final User model) {
                if(!model.getEmail().equals(FirebaseAuth.getInstance().getCurrentUser().getEmail()))
                    viewHolder.txtEmail.setText(model.getEmail()+"(me)");
                else
                    viewHolder.txtEmail.setText(model.getEmail());

                //we need implement item click f recycler view

                viewHolder.itemClickListener=(ItemClickListener)(view, position);{
                //if model is current user, not set click event
                if (!model.getEmail().equals(FirebaseAuth.getInstance().getCurrentUser().getEmail())) {
                    Intent map = new Intent(ListOnline.this, MapTracking.class);
                    map.putExtra("email", model.getEmail());
                    map.putExtra("lat", mLastLocation.getLatitude());
                    map.putExtra("lng", mLastLocation.getLongitude());
                    startActivity(map);
                }

A: Use component id after viewHolder:
             viewHolder.YOUR_COMPONENT_NAME(LIKE EDITTEXT).itemClickListener=(ItemClickListener)(view, position);{
                //if model is current user, not set click event
                if (!model.getEmail().equals(FirebaseAuth.getInstance().getCurrentUser().getEmail())) {
                    Intent map = new Intent(ListOnline.this, MapTracking.class);
                    map.putExtra("email", model.getEmail());
                    map.putExtra("lat", mLastLocation.getLatitude());
                    map.putExtra("lng", mLastLocation.getLongitude());
                    startActivity(map);
                }

A: Have you imported the view class Into your class... If not import it

A: //Resolved by implementing setOnClickListener of the root View
viewHolder.txtEmail.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
    @Override public void onClick(View view) {
              if(!model.getEmail().equals(FirebaseAuth.getInstance().getCurrentUser().getEmail())){

                       ......
              }
        }
  }


The sequential application of a polymer inclusion membrane (PIM), composed of poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) and the anionic extractant Aliquat 336, and a microporous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) gas-permeable membrane was utilized for the first time to develop a flow analysis (FA) system, for the automatic determination of trace levels of arsenate (As(V)) in drinking water as arsine. The system incorporated a flow-through extraction cell for separation and preconcentration of arsenate and a gas-diffusion cell for the separation of arsine prior to its spectrophotometric determination based on the discoloration of a potassium permanganate solution. Under optimal conditions the FA system is characterized by a limit of detection of 3.0 μg L-1 As(V) and repeatability of 1.8% (n = 5, 25 μg L-1 As(V)) and 2.8% (n = 5, 50 μg L-1 As(V)). The newly developed FA method was successfully applied to the determination of arsenate in drinking water samples in the μg L-1 concentration range.


Over the coming weeks, we will be posting a series of articles about Whistle-blower reprisal appeals before the MSPB. Whistle-blower appeals are some of the more difficult cases to bring before an Administrative Judge of the MSPB, for many reasons.
This post, the second in the thread, will generally discuss the Whistle-blower Protection Act: what it is, and what it is supposed to do.
The next post, "Are you a whistle-blower" will discuss what sort of disclosures a federal employee must make before they are considered a "whistle-blower".
For our purposes, a whistleblower is an employee or former employee of a government agency who reports misconduct to people or entities that have the power and presumed willingness to take corrective action. Over the last 100 years, as the Federal government has grown larger, and as the Executive Branch engages in more and more mischief, Congress has passed a variety of laws meant to protect those that disclose the Executive Branch's mischief. One of those laws is the Whistleblower Protection Act.
A federal agency violates the Whistleblower Protection Act, 5 U.S.C. § 1221(e) if it takes or fails to take (or threatens to take or fail to take) a personnel action with respect to any employee or applicant because of any disclosure of information by the employee or applicant that he or she reasonably believes evidences a violation of a law, rule or regulation; gross mismanagement; gross waste of funds; an abuse of authority; or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.
Many Federal employees confuse the WPA with the NO-FEAR Act, which is a bit of a misnomer. The primary purpose of the NO-FEAR Act is to require federal agencies to pay awards for discrimination and retaliation out of their own budgets., rather than out of the government's general Treasury Fund.
The NO-FEAR Act, passed into law by Bush the Younger in 2002, has no provisions to protect employees who make protected disclosures of government waste, fraud, or abuse. Instead, Section 202 of the NO-FEAR Act only requires that Executive Branch Agencies notify all federal employees and applicants for employment about their rights under federal law, specifically, their rights and remedies under various anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation laws.
Most Federal employees don't know that the NO-FEAR Act does nothing to provide them with any greater protection. I have seen many federal employees try to allege that their Agency violated "NO-FEAR" by discriminating against them or retaliating. Very generally speaking, the only way that an Agency can violate NO-FEAR is by not reimbursing the General Treasury Fund as the Act requires or by failing to notify employees of their rights and remedies as stated above (I cannot think of a fact scenario, at this point in time, where an employee could successfully argue violation of the notice provisions of the NO-FEAR Act – even if they could, there is no independent remedy under NO-FEAR). For that reason, I often call the NO-FEAR Act the "NO-TEETH" Act.
Eric Pines, a lawyer with the Law Offices of Eric L. Pines, PLLC, has handled whistle-blower reprisal appeals before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). It is best to consult with a lawyer familiar with Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeals to discuss the facts and law of your particular case, particularly in a whistle-blower reprisal appeal. If you think you are a whistle-blower, and you think that your Agency may have retaliated against you because of that, contact the Law Offices of Eric L. Pines, PLLC, to schedule a telephone consultation.


(New York) — Amnesty International said today it considers three Zimbabwean human rights activists arrested this week to be "prisoners of conscience" and called for their immediate and unconditional release.
The three, from the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe, which promotes freedom of expression and responsible journalism, were arrested on Monday in Gwanda, Matabeleland South Province and were awaiting a judgment on their bail application, which is due on Friday. They are being held at Gwanda Remand Prison.
Fadzai December and Molly Chimhanda, employees of the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ), and a member of the organization, Gilbert Mabusa, were arrested at Gwanda police station following a request by police that they report at the station to answer questions in relation to a meeting convened by the organization in November.
The three reported to the police station in the company of their lawyer and were charged with contravening the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), for allegedly 'participating in a gathering without seeking authority from the regulating authority' and also for allegedly contravening the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, by 'distributing material that is likely to provoke a breach of peace'.
In Harare on Tuesday, the MMPZ coordinator Andrew Moyse was picked up from the organization's offices by four officers from the Law and Order Section of the Zimbabwe Republic Police for allegedly possessing material on Gukuruhundi — a 1980s government security operation in parts of Matabeleland and Midlands provinces, which resulted in the killing and maiming of thousands of civilians by the security forces. Police, who had a search warrant, also confiscated DVDs from the organization's premises. Moyse was subject to several hours of interrogation before being released without charge.
'The arrests and detention of Fadzai December, Molly Chimhanda and Gilbert Mabusa and questioning of Andrew Moyse are symptomatic of systematic harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders by the police and other state security organizations which has continued under Zimbabwe's Government of National Unity' said van der Borght.
'The authorities must immediately call a halt to such harassment and respect the rights of human rights defenders facilitating dialogue on key national issues including media, security sector and legal reforms.' said van der Borght.


Location: Buckden, Cambridgeshire in England.
Opening Times: Buckden Towers is open for visitors to stroll the grounds during daylight hours.
Notes: Although it is often stated as being built in the 15th century, the first (wooden) Palace was actually built in the late 12th century, when records show it as being used to house the Bishops of Lincoln.


Your guide awaits you in the morning with your four-wheel drive vehicle at your hotel to start your tour through Honduras. We visit San Pedro Sula to observe the intense activity of the fastest growing city of Central America. Our walk takes us to the museum and the central park with its cathedral. Afterwards we visit the local handcraft market Guamilito where fruits, vegetables, flowers and all kinds of regional handcrafts are for sale. Its colorful stores invite you to buy a nice souvenir. Observe the Tortilleras forming hundreds of the popular corn tortillas at an impressive speed and baking them on open fire. In the afternoon we enjoy the beautiful countryside as we travel to the picturesque village of Copán. After the arrival you have enough time for a stroll through the romantic colonial town. 2 overnights in Copán.
Today we visit the legendary Archaeological Park of Copán Ruins, which consists of two main sites: the ruins and the sepulchers. With a population of around 24,000 at its height Copan wasn't one of the largest Mayan cities. However, it is nowadays known as the Athens of the New World, as at the peak of the Mayan development Copán was its principal cultural centre. In its development of sculpture, astronomy, and hieroglyphic writing Copan was far ahead of other larger and more powerful Mayan cities. Learn about the impressive 63-step stairway with more than 2,500 hieroglyphs and the masterfully carved stelae. Appreciate to its full the significant number of ruins surrounded by giant trees that provide shades all over the site. In the afternoon we take a deeper look at the "Sepulturas", a residential and burial site of the Mayan nobles.
After breakfast we continue our way to Santa Rosa de Copán, the most important city in Western Honduras. The charming city centre, with its cobblestone streets and picturesque buildings, dates back to colonial times. In the afternoon we visit the Flor de Copán tobacco manufactory (closed on Sundays). The factory produces about sixty very exclusive brands. During the traditional production process cigars are rolled by hand and covered by thin cedar wood, which characterizes the distinctive aroma of the Flor de Copán cigars. Nearly 50,000 handmade cigars are produced daily and sent to customers in Europe, America, China and Rusia. We tour the town's colonial centre before we continue to Gracias. 2 overnights in Gracias.
Early in the morning we drive to the entrance of Celaque National Park. With our 4x4 vehicle the road to the park's entrance isn't a problem. Today's hiking through the park leads us through typical Central American pine forests. Honduras' highest peak with its 2,849 m can be found here, the Cerro de Las Minas. Celaque means Box of Water in the local Lenca language. In the afternoon we discover the colonial history of Gracias with its churches and the fortress San Cristobal. In 1537, Gracias and the surrounding mountains were the setting for the last battle lead by the Lenca leader Lempira against the Spanish conquerors. In honour to this famous indigenous leader, who resisted the Spaniards for such a long time, the Honduras currency has been named after him.
We transfer to the Cerro Azul Meambar National Park, looming over the eastern side of Yojoa Lake. The region around Yojoa Lake is rich in different habitat types and home or temporal host to a huge amount of migratory birds. Before we arrive at the park, we visit the impressive Pulhapanzak Waterfalls, which has been an important ceremonial and cultural site for the Maya. Our way up to the visitor's center is made possible thanks to our 4-wheel drive. The National Park Cerro Azul Meambar works as a retreating area for a lot of species because of increased human activities around the lake. Toucans, oriels, motmots, parakeets and parrots are just a small sample of the bird species living in the park. 2 overnights at Cerro Azul Meambar Visitor's Centre.
Today we explore the magnificent tropical forest types of the Cerro Azul Meambar National Park. Ranging from 415 to 2,080 m, the park contains coffee plantations, lowland humid forests, pine forest, and cloud forest. The rare elfin forest, which is a bizarre ecosystem of stunted oak and pine trees, covered with moss and lichen, can be found on the highest peaks in the centre of the park. Due to its location at the transition from the hot northern lowlands to the cooler, more arid mountain country, Cerro Azul Meambar supports an unusually diverse animal population. We hike to the interchange zone between the tropical rainforest and the tropical cloud forest enjoying impressive views of the lake. In the afternoon we hike to an idyllic waterfall where we take a refreshing bath.
After breakfast we transfer to Tegucigalpa, driving through fascinating landscapes in Honduras. On the way, we visit the ancient capital Comayagua with its colonial heritage and a small historic museum. The church of the Immaculate Conception, known as the Cathedral, houses one of the oldest clocks in America, which dates from AD 1100. The origin of the today's capital Tegucigalpa dates back to the 16th century and is linked to the discovery of silver deposits in the surrounding areas. In the afternoon we visit the colonial mining town Valle de Ángeles. The Valley Valle de Angeles is considered as Honduras' national handcraft centre. Famous traditional crockery made by the Lenca people and much more is for sale. 1 overnight in Tegucigalpa.
Early in the morning we depart from the Tegucigalpa region to Olancho, Honduras' interior where cowboys still roam and 4x4s are the only way through the rough land. Our journey goes through beautiful, nearly uninhabited landscapes. The streets are simple earth roads. Get enchanted by the rural surroundings and the inherent natural beauty. The region is most sparsely populated. It can take us hours to see an oncoming vehicle. From the highlands down to the Caribbean coast we constantly lose height. The contrast between the wide, unspoiled plains and the palm-lined beaches of the Caribbean will elate you. We reach the Caribbean town of Trujillo in the late afternoon. 2 overnights in Trujillo.
Today we discover the rich history of Trujillo, where Columbus set foot for the first time on Central American soil in 1502 on his fourth and last voyage to the New World. Today's Trujillo was founded by Hernan Cortés' command about 20 years later. Under Spanish rule Trujillo became the capital of Honduras, but because of its vulnerability the capital was changed to the inland town of Comayagua. Pirates destroyed Trujillo several times during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. We visit the fortress, Fortaleza de Santa Bárbara, and the last resting-place of the English pirate William Walker. Afterwards we drive to the nearby Garífuna communities of Santa Fé and Guadalupe. In the afternoon there is time to enjoy a refreshing bath in the sea and the beautiful beach.
You are transferred back to San Pedro Sula, where the journey ends. We travel through some of the most picturesque scenic areas of Honduras. En route we visit La Ceiba, one of the merriest towns in Honduras. Before reaching Tela we visit the Lancetilla Botanical Garden. The United Fruit Company founded the gardens more than 80 years ago as an experimental botanical site. If you wish, your guide can drop you of at the airport in La Ceiba in order to catch a flight to the Bay Islands. He can also take you to one of the beautiful hotels on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. Please ask for more details. End of program.