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David Foster Wallace: "Backbone"
"Backbone"
by David Foster Wallace
Originally published in the March 7, 2011 issue of The New Yorker.
Well, I still haven't finished last week's story (you can see how excited I am to read it — as if any of the comments have been encouraging), but when I saw that this week's story was another excerpt from David Foster Wallace's forthcoming The Pale King, I had to read it as quickly as I could. I was a big fan of "Wiggle Room" and (though to a lesser extent) "And All That," both also excerpts that were published in 2009. I've never read a David Foster Wallace novel (not sure I will), but I do like his essays and short fiction. I had a bit of a harder time with this one, though.
"Backbone" is the strange story of a boy who, at the age of six, has the singular goal of being able "to press his lips to every square inch of his body."
There is little to say about the original animus or "motive cause" of the boy's desire to press his lips to every square inch of his own body. He had been housebound one day with asthma, on a rainy and distended morning, apparently looking through some of his father's promotional materials. Some of these survived the eventual fire. The boy's asthma was thought to be congenital.
On that day, the boy begins his first contortions. Lacking any direction, though, he is soon injured. The chiropractor who helps nurse him back to health offers him some books on stretching and on the spine, and then this story dives straight into a fairly detailed and, seemingly, scientifically acurate description of how the boy worked little by little, whether through contortion of his spine or exercise of his lips, to reach that strange goal.
Radical increase of the lips' protrusive range requires systematic exercise of the maxillary fasciae, such as the depressor septi, orbicularis oris, depressor anguli oris, depressor labii inferioris, and the buccinator, circumoral, and risorius groups. The zygomatic muscles are superficially involved. Praxis: Affix string to Wetherly button of at least 1.5-inch diameter borrowed from father's second-best raincoat; place button over upper and lower front teeth and enclose with lips; hold string fully extended at ninety degrees to face's plan and pull on end with gradually increasing tension, using lips to resist pull; hold for twenty seconds; repeat; repeat.
I can handle passages like that in short segments like this. Wallace is very talented at keeping a steady pace despite this maximalist specificity. Injected into this is the story of a boy who is, "among his classmates, the sort of marginal social figure who was so marginal he was not even teased." While reading, I had to acknowledge the boy's dedication. Wallace also peppers the segment with small passages about famous contortionists and even stigmatics, as if to show that the human body is nothing if not an object potentially malleable through sheer will.
And then there's the boy's father. He takes up a rather short ammount of space, even for such a short piece. However, in that small space we get a sad summary of the father's love life, which is one affair soon violated by another affair, all of them ongoing because he cannot handle the thought of the women with someone else, though he must find someone new. I'm not sure what to make of the father's role here.
Which brings me to one of my common gripes about segments published as short stories. Surely the book explores the relationship between the father's and son's very different narratives, but there's not much here to go on. Furthermore, we get only a quick glance (quoted above) of some fire that is never brought up again. Such ellipses work well in short stories, but they don't work well in excerpts. I left the story happy to have spent some time with David Foster Wallace's unique temperament (all that scientific specificity mixed with an informal voice and all the underlying emotino), but I was disappointed in the week's offering. It doesn't make me want to read The Pale King, as much as I enjoyed following the boy's goal.
By Trevor Berrett|2016-06-27T17:50:57-04:00February 28th, 2011|Categories: David Foster Wallace, New Yorker Fiction|Tags: 2011 New Yorker Fiction|10 Comments
Trevor March 1, 2011 at 11:57 am
I just found out why these three excerpts from Wallace's new novel are so different (one takes place in an IRS office, one describes a young boy's attempts to figure out a new Christmas toy, and then there's this one about a young, budding contortionist): it turns out The Pale King begins with a series of looks at difficult childhoods and then the characters come together at an IRS office in 1985. There you go. I'm actually more interested in the book as a whole now.
I should have known this was an excerpt, it explains why some aspects clearly don't work well for a short story. The quiet driven nature of the boy was unique and enjoyable, but toward the end the comparisons with the father seemed too overt. Also, as an idea it's funny how the father is unable to extricate himself from affairs and instead just keeps meeting more women. That was my overall impression of "Backbone," there are moments and ideas I enjoyed, but feel like the story doesn't progress in a meaningful way.
Betsy March 5, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Trevor, thanks for explaining that "Backbone" is part of a novel. I also appreciate knowing that you, too, have not read his longer fiction.
You mention that you like some of David Foster Wallace's short stories and non-fiction. I wonder if you have in mind his graduation address. It took my breath away when I read it for the first time this week. In it, Wallace espouses the practice of compassion. He even goes so far as to recommend sacrifice and small kindnesses in the service of others. It's a most unusual speech.
Having so recently read the graduation address, I read "Backbone" within its context.
Let me say at the outset that I resisted "Backbone" from beginning to end, but couldn't put it down, and it keeps sticking me with its vivid and puzzly strangeness.
Compassion is an absentee in this story: the missing mother, the might-as-well-be missing father, and the unmentioned grandparents make up a completely missing family, all of whom ought to be a source of compassion and affection for the boy but are not. Dr. Kathy briefly stands in for them, healing the boy with her momentarily comforting hands, hands that seem to ask and answer questions at the same time. She is also a guide, as a mother or father might be. But she, too, is mostly absent, present only in some printed guides she has given the boy, guides with which he surrounds himself. It seems as if one prompt for the boy's commitment to contortionism is an attempt to recreate Dr. Kathy's presence. He soothes himself with this project, much as a family might soothe a child with its routines,its rituals, its explanation of the world, and its embrace.
Mostly, I think children react to abandonment with profound sadness and anger. This boy, instead, mysteriously, has chosen to supply the missing comassion by pursuing a total blessing of himself. I wonder here if his abandonment also stands in for the multiple abandonments we all feel in our adult existence in this world, and how like a child we feel when these abandonments are acute.
In a way, the boy is not a boy; he is a yogi who has dream-like appeared in the body of a child; he is the side of ourselves that yearns for peace and acceptance, he is the mystic for whom everyday sorrows and pain are just an everyday, natural, part of his progress towards his goal.
The entire excerpt seems to me most similar to the intensity, the obdurate strangeness, and the metaphor of a dream. What you call "maximalist specificity" (!) seems in service to making the dream seem as real as possible – which, of course, we don't buy. But the specificity does provide the dream a mooring. In fact, the maximalist nature of the specificity actually makes the piece even more dreamlike.
Viewed as a dream, the father and the boy can be set loose to function as representations of two parts of existence: the father, flighty, jaded, trying to follow maxims, never satisfied, absent, involved in repeated betrayals, unsuccessful, guilty, "tortured; the boy, focused, possibly innocent, present, successful, selfless, quiet, determined, ordinary, possibly at peace.
Of course, the boy's ambition to apply his lips to every part of his body strikes us as just downright strange. Hieronymous Bosch strange. Frightening. We worry about such a possessed boy, a boy who doesn't play. But we identify with a boy who seems to be motherless, who seems bereft of kisses, who solves his solitariness by practicing a kind of total acceptance of himself. Nonetheless, we are appalled at the way the boy must de-form himself to achieve his goal.
We have no evidence that the boy blames his parents or any one else. It is as if this story is a mirror of how the practice of total acceptance or compassion for oneself and others might appear to be – a contortion, a de-formation of reality.
Of course, the contortionism is a stumbling block. How could it be a good thing? And yet, the boy seems more well adjusted than his father. The contortionism might be a trope for how a daily practice of compassion might force us to contort ourselves – our habits, our allocation of time, our beliefs, our selfishnesses.
There is no real resolution in this story – it ends much as a dream does – abruptly – leaving the reader/dreamer puzzling over its visions. But of course, "Backbone" is a just small part of a much larger, unfinished, novel, and so what resolutions are in store are still a mystery.
Hope I haven't contorted the story as I wander about with this idea. I may be totally off base. Would love a little more perspective here.
I think it was reading that graduation address that did it.
Joe March 6, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Yoinks! I hated every word of this and most of the commas and periods, too.
It seems to me that one element of good writing is generosity. By that I mean that the writer is willing to give something to the reader, whether it's imparting knowledge, sharing wisdom, or the desire to make someone laugh or nod in recognition. With David Foster Wallace, it's all about taking. In this case, he took my time, and he took my participation in demonstrating how smart he is.
I've been a fan of Wallace's nonfiction, which I often think is insightful and funny, but have always found his fiction insufferable, and this story was no exception. To me, this felt like an extended exercise in using the word "subluxated."
Trevor and Betsy, I read Infinite Jest last year, and definitely recommend it.
Aaron March 7, 2011 at 5:48 pm
Joe, I haven't read "Backbone" yet — I'm thinking I might just wait to read it as part of the whole "The Pale King" — but I can say that Wallace wasn't interested in demonstrating how smart he was. Nor was he interested in taking. His fiction attempted to do what his non-fiction did, which was — as Betsy points out about his graduation speech — to communicate a sort of empathy and need for understanding among people. Yes, "Infinite Jest" is challenging, disturbing, humorous, and highly intelligent, but it's also filled with a lot of interesting observations and foibles about characters and communities, be they tennis academies, halfway houses, or the world itself.
Trevor March 7, 2011 at 10:04 pm
Infinite Jest . . . someday, Tim and Aaron, someday.
Ken April 28, 2011 at 1:22 pm
I'm going to be indulgent and write this even though maybe it's long past the time these comments are read by anyone. I also will (indulgently) explain that I am long between weighing in here because once I get started on a novel, I don't read short-stories until it's finished. A bit of compulsiveness makes me not want to mix strands of fiction together. That said, I agree about the problems of excerpts but I still enjoyed this and I'm a fan of Wallace and enjoyed Infinite Jest and also his short-story collection "Oblivion." I thought he was dealing with addictive behavior and how there is a fine line between addicitve behavior and spiritual devotion and also between addictive behavior and the mere "hobby." Anyway, that's what I thought about. This actually struck me as pretty conventional for Wallace (at least stylistically).
Colin January 2, 2012 at 7:04 pm
I'd like to add to Betsy's interpretation, and add on what I view as Wallace juxtaposing the father and son's relationship as two opposites. The father is inspired by entrepreneurial, he believes the key to his happiness is to place all his effort into working as hard as he can in order to increase his material standing in the world which he believes will allow him to accept himself. He's a fairly materially successful man, capable of wooing and maintaining relationships with multiple women, as well as managing his own business in which he can be assumed to preach his own confused motives. He finds himself unhappy however, and incapable of loving others as he is incapable of loving himself.
He is the opposite of his son, who calmly works to love himself, dedicating hours to his strange goals of contortion. The boy is clearly the more virtuous of the two, and this stands in a sense to compare and contrast the two natures of those who are patient with themselves (those who allow themselves to love themselves) and those who look for external happiness in order to ease the pain they feel from not loving themselves.
Contorted as the boy may seem, chasing his strange passion of loving himself which does not bring him money, sex, or any other of the externalized forms of "success" Wallace believably poses his father as chasing.
I think what Wallace is trying to say is that the path to virtue and happiness begins with loving thyself as we are all beautiful people who feel that we are ugly, and so we project our perceived ugliness out onto the world, when the father loses interest in his first affair and she starts to leave him, instead of acknowledging to himself that that was what he wanted in the first place, he instead worries that he is not good enough and that he needs to compensate and win her back, when really the problem is that he was not accepting himself…this causes him pain and hardships as he keeps his affair with her and adds another affair on, then repeats the process until he is stuck with more pain and depression.
The boy may seem contorted, but in actuality his behavior is saint-like. Which is where the writing on stigmata and accounts of men who are capable of popping their eyes from their heads in order to make them dance come into play.I think Wallace does this in order to try to suggest to the reader that seemingly impossible things can happen when one opens the doors to accepting and loving themselves. This is the path that the boy is following.
Wallaces writing is extremely intelligent and well designed, a truly great man and author.
I think a video I found that is pertinent to this Brene Brown's TED talk on vulnerability, I urge anyone that reads this to watch it, it may start out a little awkward, but it progresses into a very great summary of the same point that I believe Wallace was trying to make. That by loving ourselves we are actually working towards accepting and loving everyone, moving forward in our existence here on Earth.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html
Abdul Adan February 22, 2012 at 3:08 pm
I thought 'Backbone" was about the idea of possessing. Wallace attempts to get the reader into the literal physiology of possessing an object, person. The human body, suggests the story to me, is a bunch of malleable objects put together, which can be controlled, owned (by kissing) as the boy's father thought it was only by sexing that he owned the women in his affairs. For the father, the women, coinciding with his promotional materials, were simply one goal and after another. The boy's desire to kiss every square inch of his body begins on the day he was 'housebound' with 'congenital' asthma, and read 'his father's promotional materials'. Ambitions to possess, goals, & the elusiveness of the desired object go hand in hand in this story. Asthma is sickness, as well known, where a person breathes in but doesn't get sufficient oxygen, and breathes in harder, emitting this squeaky sound. Like the boy's elusive goal which takes him much pain and hard work, maintenance of the women (because they are only his while he has sex with them) is parallel to each other… Possess, own, touch it, fee it, then you own it…


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News Home » Asia » California Gov. Gavin Newsom orders residents to wear face coverings in most public spaces
California Gov. Gavin Newsom orders residents to wear face coverings in most public spaces
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide order on Thursday requiring people to wear a face covering in most indoor settings and outside when maintaining a physical distance from others is not feasible.
"Science shows that face coverings and masks work," Newsom said in the order. "They are critical to keeping those who are around you safe, keeping businesses open and restarting our economy."
Newsom said the order was necessary because too many people have started to venture out in public with their faces uncovered. The order does not clarify how the state plans to enforce the requirement or whether someone could be fined for not complying.
A handful of states, including New York and Michigan, already have statewide orders requiring face coverings to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Newsom's order will now require people to wear face coverings in most indoor public settings, including while they wait in line for public transportation services or to enter a business.
The requirement does not pertain to people who may be eating at a restaurant while maintaining a 6 foot distance from others or for people who are engaged in recreational activities like swimming, hiking, running and biking, according to the order.
California officials reported Thursday 4,084 new coronavirus cases that were confirmed on Wednesday, a record-high single-day increases in cases as more people get tested. Most of the new cases came from Los Angles County, which reported 2,115.
Newsom allowed restaurants and some stores to reopen in counties that met certain criteria tied to the state of the local outbreak starting May 12. On May 18, Newsom announced that he was relaxing the criteria counties were required to meet in order to move into the next phase of reopening.
Infectious disease experts say the virus can spread through respiratory droplets that pass when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Studies suggest the masks may serve as a helpful barrier.
Yet not all officials have supported mandating people to wear face coverings while in public.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Wall Street Journal that published Thursday, President Donald Trump said some Americans might wear face masks not as a way to prevent the spread of coronavirus but as a way to "signal disapproval of him." He also said a big issue he has with masks is that people fidget with them.
Orange County's public health official resigned last week after receiving threats over an order requiring residents to wear face coverings when near others in public. Dr. Nichole Quick issued the order in late May in attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus but was met with backlash from some residents. The county's sheriff later said he would not enforce the order.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, while advising residents to continue wearing a mask, told local governments they will not receive any federal money to help fight the effects of the coronavirus pandemic if they require people to wear them in public buildings, the Omaha World-Herald reported.
— CNBC's William Feuer and Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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EU history resources
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European Studies HubBringing together interactive learning tools and resources to help students and researchers better understand and engage with the European Union.
The powers of the European Parliament
Let's begin this with a video, 'European Parliament political week news in 60 seconds' (BBC, 2012), showing what the European Parliament normally does:
Article 14 of the Lisbon Treaty describes the functions of the European Parliament:
"The European Parliament shall, jointly with the Council, exercise legislative and budgetary functions. It shall exercise functions of political control and consultation as laid down in the Treaties. It shall elect the President of the Commission."
(Consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 2010)
While the legislative powers of the European Parliament are discussed in the following subsection, its other main powers are then:
Budgetary: together with the Council of Ministers, the Parliament agrees on the budget.
The Commission drafts the budget and in April each year sends it to the Council of Ministers and the Parliament
The Parliament debates it and, if needed, proposes changes. The draft is sent to the Council, which can propose its own changes, if required, and forwards it back to the Parliament for the second reading.
The Parliament can reject it (as it did it in 1979, 1982, and 1984) or adopt it .
Scrutiny: the Parliament has powers over the European Commission and the Presidency of the Council.
It can dismiss the Commission and the Commission needs to submit to the European Parliament regular reports, annual legislative programmes and reports on the implementation of the budget. The Council's nominations for the positions of the President of the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy must be confirmed by the European Parliament. Finally, the College of Commissioners must be approved by the European Parliament.
The Presidency of the Council needs to report to the EP on its priorities and progress.
The Parliament monitors the work of the Council of Ministers.
Appointments. The European Parliament :
Appoints the President of the Commission, approves the appointment of the Commission and has power to dismiss it.
Confirms the appointment of the president and vice-president of the European Central Bank.
Appoints the European Ombudsman.
Consults on the appointments of the Court of Auditors.
(McCormick, 2011 B, p.217)
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Garlic, or Allium sativum, is among the most extensively researched and described medicinal plants. Usually, the fresh garlic bulb is dried, crushed into a powder, and compressed to produce a tablet. However, raw whole cloves of garlic provide similar effects.
The leaves are long, narrow and flat like grass. The bulb (the only part eaten) is of a compound nature, consisting of numerous bulblets, known technically as 'cloves,' grouped together between the membraneous scales and enclosed within a whitish skin, which holds them as in a sac. Fresh and powdered garlic are popular food seasonings. The Food and Drug Administration considers the newer garlic oil, extract, and oleoresin products to be safe. You also can find garlic products promoted as "odorless" or "deodorized." These Products may lack medicinal value because garlic's beneficial properties seem to be in allin, the chemical that gives garlic its distinctive odor.
To lower cholesterol, 600 to 900 milligrams taken orally daily; or an average of 4 grams (fresh garlic) or 8 milligrams (garlic oil) taken orally daily.
Garlic is one of the few seasonings that nearly every culture knows and uses on a regular basis. Be it raw, cooked or pickled, certain dishes would not be the same without the addition of garlic.
Chronic garlic use or excessive garlic doses may lead to decreased production of hemoglobin (a compound in red blood cells) and a resulting change in red blood cells. This herb also can cause garlic odor and hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).
blood thinners such as Coumadin (don't use garlic while taking these drugs).
Don't use garlic if you're sensitive to the herb or other members of the Liliaceae family.
Avoid garlic if you have digestive tract problems, such as peptic ulcers or reflux disease.
Don't take garlic if you're pregnant because it may stimulate the uterus.
Remember that widely available cholesterol-lowering drugs have been proven safe and are more effective than garlic in reducing cholesterol.
If you take garlic along with a drug to stop bleeding, report bleeding gums, easy bruising, tarry stools, and tiny red or purple spots on your skin.
Report side effects to your health care practitioner promptly.
Although garlic is one of the oldest and most revered herbal remedies, research is still incomplete. Scientists don't know if garlic really helps to lower cholesterol or reduce deaths from coronary artery disease. Other potential garlic uses, such as to lower blood pressure, calm an upset stomach, or treat AIDS, haven't been fully evaluated.
Other names for garlic include ail, allium, camphor of the poor, da-suan, knoblaunch, la-suan, nectar of the gods, poor-man's-treacle, rustic treacle, and stinking rose.
Products containing garlic are sold under such names as Garlic, Garlic-Power, Garlique, Kwai, Kyolic, Odorless Garlic Tablets, One a Day Garlic, and Sapec.


Introduction: Tuberculosis is mainly associated with diarrhea, vomiting and profuse sweating leading to dehydration, electrolyte imbalance and acid base derangements. Treatment with anti tubercular drugs reduces the symptoms and balances the electrolytes. Hence, this study was carried out to assess the electrolyte imbalance among tuberculosis patients and to know the effect of anti tubercular treatment. This study was carried out to study the electrolyte imbalance among newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients and to know the effect of treatment with anti tubercular drugs in improving the electrolyte balance at BRIMS teaching Hospital Bidar.
Materials and Methods: This was observational study conducted in pulmonary Medicine OPD of Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences teaching hospital Bidar. 50 participants were enrolled in our study and assessed for demographic data, serum electrolytes and bicarbonate levels and compared with Tuberculosis patients before and after treatment.
Results: The electrolyte imbalance in terms of decrease in sodium, potassium chloride and bicarbonate values was significantly associate (p<0> Conclusion: In our study, after treatment with antitubercular drugs, electrolyte levels returned to normal. Because of the high incidence of the electrolyte disturbances in tuberculosis patients, close monitoring and aggressive management are mandatory.
Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Electrolytes, Cytochemical changes, Antitubercular drugs.


Hair and Beauty students from Chesterfield College were victorious after an Inter-College competition in which they competed against teams including both North Notts and West Notts Colleges.
Held in the College's Dome building (left), the day saw the learners produce results in several categories of competition including hairstyles themed on Japanese anime; impressive Avant Garde hair creations and a variety of Nail Art.
After adding up the scores per 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in each category, Chesterfield College ran out eventual winners.
The competition was judged by Japanese Hairdresser Of The Year 2005 and director of over 250 'Lion' group salons, Shintaro Ide, who looked over the student hair designs live via an internet video link from Tokyo.
Making up the rest of the panel were other industry experts including a representative from top hairdressing organisation Wella.


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With so many jocks crossing themselves and praising the faith that eradicated this glorious sportsfest, it would appear that some people need to be reminded that the original Olympics were a Pagan festival.
391 A.D. saw Roman emperor Theodosius I prohibiting all Olympic games, the prude. It wasn't until the 19th century that people began to sweat once again for pure sport.
And before you sound off about the Pagans being godless, be reminded that they actually had a whole twelve pack of 'em, compared to your average Southern Baptist.
This leaves the creators of the Olympics no doubt spinning in their graves, our heroes unsung, and the monsters from below rampaging o'er the earth.
The Titans, it's understood, if you rent even Disney's Hercules - the de-homogenized version of the classic pre-Christian fable of the first guy to have twelve stations of suffering - were a bunch of gargantuan monsters shoved down to the bowels of earth by Zeus.
Currently, the Titans are; 1) an animated sci fi film, 2) a football team from Alexandria, VA led by Denzel Washington, 3) a new nighttime soap starring Casper Van Dein and Yasmine Bleeth.
Some like to think that the smaller gods come down to earth in the bodies of humans once in a while just to have some fun, usually at athletic or erotic events. No doubt Mercury's abiding in the body of Michael Johnson or Gary Hall, Jr.
Preening Privilege: Gary Hall, Jr.
It seems Hall, Jr.'s claim of "smashing the Aussies like guitars" is hereditary. Olympics, and shortsighted hubris, run in his family. Hall's father was an Olympic swimmer in 1976 and now is an eye surgeon with multiple complaints filed with the Arizona Board of Medical Examiners, according to AP. Hall's maternal grandfather is Charles Keating, the most famous of the 1980s savings and loan swindlers.
So, it would appear the gods are not inhabiting as many US bodies as the network hype had hoped, with the exception of foreign swimming and gymnastics teams.
Deferr-ential Treatment
Blaine Wilson, touted as the "best gymnast in decades" missed medal glory, ranking a mere fifth on the planet. NBC chose to humiliate the strikingly handsome Wilson by repeatedly showing his "bonks." Despite such misses, the item amongst online gay guys is the whole shaved armpits spectacle, a style decision on the part of gymnasts that pleased some.
Spain's gold vault, Gervasio Deferr
Gervasio Deferr, the gold medalist in the vault, won millions of fans with his impish smile and gorgeous looks. No doubt Eros visits his body/temple on occasion, even if he's married.
And despite a wife and child, gymnast Alexei Nemov, broke hearts, and records, racking up another dozen medals. No, he's not gay, according to repeated showings of his progeny. Yes, real men kiss, at least real Russian men do.
All of these people should be lauded, from the goldest of gold, to the dead last loser, particularly in an endangered sport like gymnastics, or the first Olympic sport ever, Greco-Roman wrestling, which is apparently being crowded out of its slot in the 2004 Olympics by other "athletic" events like Ballroom Dancing.
For more info on Olympic wrestling, while it lasts, Bay Arean and Federation of Gay Games' own Gene Dermody is reporting on the grappling each day at www.about.com.
Dermody's being the coach of the oldest GLBT-inclusive wrestling team is irrelevant, if it weren't for the hetero-defiant focus of all other media, determined to smash any assumptions about the queer nature of any athletes. If only one more of these jocks would come out at the Olympics, THAT would be another Olympic moment, and the Pagan gods, unlike a few others, would be proud.
Dragila Queen
Quote of the week, from first time women's pole vaulter and US gold medalist Stacy Dragila, "All the girls who want to pole vault, get out there and do it!"
The major implied lesbian presence would be that of the Amazons living again in the form of women's softball teams, if the NBC reporters weren't so deadset on mentioning all the married players, as if to prove something. "No dykes here!" the profiles extort.
Gay diver David Pichler, along with his US compatriots, was routed by Russian survivor Dimitri Sautin. Calling himself an "old man," Sautin's been stabbed, injured and operated on, only to take gold, besting even spritely Mark Ruiz.
Troy Dumais shows his admirable form
The Chinese victories in gymnastics, the Spanish and Polish surprises in men's vault; these were a few of the genuinely authentic moments that, despite all the hoopla, still make this better TV than the average sitcom.
Inspired by all this physical exertion, I rode my bike to Ocean Beach, swam in the ocean for a while, and on my way home, treated myself with a visit to Le Video, where the array of sports videos was so astounding, I had to instead pick a low camp favorite; Can't Stop the Music, Olympian Bruce Jenner's glorious musical cinematic debut and swansong.
French diver Gilles Emptoz-Lacote's revealing technique
Cathy Freeman, the Aboriginal woman who received the honor of lighting the Olympic flame at the Opening ceremonies, won gold in her running event with her spaceage bodysuit.
I'd cheer her as enthusiastically as millions of others, if not for the quickly covered-up scandal of her major competition, a French runner, being attacked, threatened and escorted out of Australia. Between that, the drug scandals and the gymnastics facilities mess-ups, this is far from an error-free event.
One of the most suspiciously questionable authorities on the Olympics, Commissioner Jaun Antonio Sammeranch, suffered a terrible loss. His wife died the night of the Opening Ceremonies.
Sammeranch was known for avidly supporting corporate infestation in the Olympics, while its modern creator, Pierre de Coubertin, abhorred it.
So did the original Greeks. Granted, they were a bunch of sexist pederasts in sheets who'd kill women for even coming near the playing fields where guys got to cavort naked, but hey. Some things have progressed. They no longer wear sheets.
De Coubertin also fought to prevent the lowly working classes from entering competition, and succeeded for decades. Women weren't even allowed to run in races over 500 meters until 1960.
But Sammeranch, who managed to excuse himself from the accusations of financial scams in the much-publicized 2002 bid bribery scandals, suffered terribly, and is retiring.
And while NBC's cornpone piece du jour on Saturday lauded the joy of representing one's country during the playing of the national anthem, they deliberately avoided mention of one moment that to this day evokes tears and chills for many.
Until an athlete can hoist his or her country's flag and the rainbow flag, the singlemost powerful moment of all Olympic moments will always be, for me, the moment of civil disobedience.
Mexico City, 1968; Tommie Smith and John Carlos, gold and bronze medalists in the Men's 200-meter track event, raised their black-gloved fists in defiance of racism. For this single gesture, they were sent home amid the events.
I can understand why someone sacrifices years of their life for one moment. For this single gesture, it's easy to see the real meaning of "anthem."
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Round eyeglass frames, as indicated by its name is characterized by curved frames that are equally wide and tall, featuring a perfectly round contour. Early eyepieces were designed mostly in round rim shape, to be either held in place by hand or by exerting pressure on the nose. Hence, this style typically presents a vintage look.
"Harry Potter" brought round glasses back to fashion. This year, the trend continues to move toward round shapes, with inspiration from the finest materials across the world, mixed materials, multiple colors and patterns, unisex styles, especially in women's glasses.
Round eyeglass frames are the best choices for faces with angular features, strong jawline, such as square, rectangular and oblong. They may also provide a pleasant contrast for those with an oval or heart face shape. Try the beautiful and simple round eyeglasses, the retro vibe guarantees you be noticed, or get a professional look with thin metal round frames, or oversized round frames for a bold look.


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Q: How do you get a documetReference from DocumentID using the flutter cloud_firestore plugin I'm trying to delete a specific document in a collection. each document in that collection is named with an auto generated ID.
To achieve this, i need to get a reference to that document using its ID.
I'm using the cloud_firestore plugin for flutter. theres no such luck for a function in the docs
I'm hoping for something like this
var reference = Firestore.instance.refFromID(docID);
reference.delete();

A: oh hey, its pretty simple actually.
Firestore.instance.collection('c').document(docID).delete();

actually does the trick. passing the document ID into the document method gives you a reference to that document. you can do whatever you want with it afterwards

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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A progressive industry necessitates inspiration for a futuristic growth and that is what Konark Business Hub is all about. Forget the uniformity of a typical office space; forget the monotony of being stuck in a typical 9-5 job, welcome to a metamorphosis in the workplace, one that is brimming with innovation in design and space. Konark Business hub, the glittering commercial office space offers the ultra modern office spaces for a progressive industry. Situated in Kondhwa, Pune's upcoming commercial is situated where the bar of amenity and sophistication rises.
Situated at a 15 Minutes drive from Camp, Swargate & 5 minutes from NIBM, Konark Business Hub is also connected to Mumbai Highway via Hadapsar – Kondhwa Bypass road.
With 600 Ft Frontage Konark Business Hub has an excellent rental opportunity for investors.


text:
City Sightseeing Bath: Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour
Top attractions in Somerset
Bath: 1.5-Hour Walking Tour with Blue Badge Tourist Guide
Bath: The Jane Austen Centre Ticket
Bath: City Walking Tour with optional Roman Baths Entry
Bath: 25-Minute City Boat Trip to Pulteney Bridge
Bath: City Boat Trip and Walking Tour
Bath: Private Walking Tour with a Blue Badge Tourist Guide
Stonehenge and Bath Full-Day Tour from London
See all tours & things to do in Somerset
What people are saying about Somerset
Andy, our guide, was so knowledgeable about Bath's history and literally fit 2000 years of history into an hour and a half tour and talk! We walked around to many of Bath's key points of interest... Not even the torrential rain stopped us as it was just so interesting. Andy was open to all questions we had and, what's more, he knew the answers... I'd say it was the best, most interesting tourist walk I've ever taken.
Bath: 1.5-Hour Walking Tour with Blue Badge Tourist Guide Reviewed by Deborah, 29/10/2020
It was wonderful. Karen was an excellent guide, so nice and competent. Malcolm the driver was so sympathetic and funny. All the safe mesures were done. It was an amazing day. I recommend!!! Now I have to wait the second lockdown ends to get another tour.
Stonehenge and Bath Full-Day Tour from London Reviewed by Marco Aurélio Souza, 06/11/2020
The boat ride was short but informative. It was very warm with the fire and the crew ensured good social distancing and other measures due to COVID-19. The crew were polite and helpful. They were also clearly very knowledgeable about the local area.
Bath: 25-Minute City Boat Trip to Pulteney Bridge Reviewed by Anonymous, 29/10/2020
We had the time in 1h30 to learn a lot about the city, its history and architecture. Fred was our guide and on top of being knowledgeable was extremely friendly. I would definitely recommend that tour.
Bath: 1.5-Hour Walking Tour with Blue Badge Tourist Guide Reviewed by Audrey, 30/10/2020
Julia was great, informative and made it fun for the younger members in our group We learnt so much about Bath and went back to visit the highlights. Would definitely recommend Great value for money.
Bath: 1.5-Hour Walking Tour with Blue Badge Tourist Guide Reviewed by Anonymous, 01/11/2020


Bell'esercizio giornalistico di Peggy Noonan sul Wall Street Journal che a posteriori riconosce il gran lavoro fatto dallo staff del presidente.
This struck me as "high tech and bloodless." I didn't quite say it, but it all struck me as inhuman, unlike any politics I'd ever seen.
It was unlike any politics I'd ever seen. And it won the 2012 campaign. Those "Martians" were reinventing how national campaigns are done. They didn't just write a new political chapter with their Internet outreach, vote-tracking data-mining and voter engagement, especially in the battleground states. They wrote a whole new book. And it was a masterpiece.
Hats off. In some presidential elections, something big changes, and if you're watching close you can learn a lesson. This was mine: The national game itself has changed. And it's probably going to be a while before national Republicans can duplicate or better what the Democrats have done.


We want every child to have a family and for everyone who lives with adoption to have the support they need to live a better everyday.
After Adoption is a registered charity. We make a difference to the lives of many, but we can't do this without your support. There are lots of ways you can help us to help others.
If you're an employer, check out the exciting and inspirational ways in which you can get involved with our corporate opportunities.
If you're an individual with time to give, we are always looking for volunteers; whether you have admin skills, event management experience or fundraising knowledge, we'd like to hear from you.
We also need people to support our community fundraising – ask your friends and family to help you raise funds!
And if you're looking for a challenge, why not gain a sense of achievement while raising money for a worthy cause?
If you are someone who has benefitted from our services we ask you to help us help others, by encouraging your family, friends and employers to support us. Word of mouth is a powerful way of getting our message out there, and you can help!
The easiest, quickest way to support After Adoption and our work with children and families affected by adoption is to make a donation. We are very grateful and you can donate as a one-off or on a regular basis. As one of the UK's largest adoption support charities, you can be sure your donation will be used wisely.
There are thousands of runs up and down the UK. We have guaranteed places in come runs and organise our own 10k in Regent's Park, London's most beautiful park. You can enter virtually any running event and choose to fundraise for After Adoption.
For many it's the ultimate challenge. For you, it's your chance to skydive free of charge. Just raise the minimum sponsorship, which at £360 or £395 depending on the type of jump, is surprisingly low!
Trek up Mount Kilimanjaro, cycle from Vietnam to Cambodia, walk the Great Wall of China or bike from capital to capital with our London to Paris ride.
Companies and employees can raise funds through a whole host of simple and fun ways, supporting After Adoption and helping to build your team spirit.
From cake sales to sponsored walks, formal dinners to comedy nights, beer festivals to quizzes, you can raise funds amongst your family and friends.
Attend one of our events... or organise your own!
We organise lots of events, from comedy nights to dinners, wine tasting to fashion shows, quizzes to music gigs. Why not come along to one, organise your own?
Support us by organising your own fundraising events!


In this review, I am mosting likely to assess a set important indicate acknowledge before buying your initial variation train. I acknowledge straight simply exactly how that exceptionally preliminary trip to the layout train store might truly feel.
When you get a variation train, it has a "array" related to it. The mass of variation train enthusiasts like the HO array considering that it takes very little location for a regular setup along with the details is excellent. O array style trains along with tools are typically added expensive, nevertheless they deserve it in my perspective.
It is possible to setup your own variation train product by product or to buy a complete collection. You might run different other trains on the track. You prefer to obtain HO style trains in the future if you obtained a HO array collection.
When getting your new variation train, planning to see if it is DCC enabled. You want to have your train DCC enabled, if practical, so you can run different other trains at the precise very same time with simpleness. Your style train store will certainly simply have an incredibly little part of the variation trains as well as tools that are around.
I recommend that you search for a style train store in your place as well as go speak with them. While pastime stores are alright, a store dedicated to make railroading is much impressive in every element.
In this brief post, I am mosting likely to review a set critical points to comprehend before obtaining your preliminary layout train. You want to acquire HO variation trains in the future if you obtained a HO variety collection.
When obtaining your new variation train, seek to see if it is DCC permitted. You prefer to have your train DCC made it feasible for, if practical, so you can run different other trains at the specific very same time with comfort. Your variation train store will certainly simply have a very little part of the style trains along with gadgets that are available.
You prefer to have your train DCC enabled, if viable, so you might run different other trains at the specific very same time with simpleness. Your layout train store will certainly simply have a very little section of the variation trains as well as additionally tools that are out there.
You prefer to have your train DCC made it feasible for, if viable, so you can run numerous other trains at the precise very same time with benefit. Your variation train store will certainly simply have an exceptionally little section of the style trains as well as gadgets that are out there.


text:
RELEASE 14-003
NASA Observatory Selects Educator Teams for 2014 Science Flights
[image-36]
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, will become a flying classroom for teachers during research flights in the next few months.
Twelve two-person teams have been selected for SOFIA's Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program, representing educators from 10 states. Each will be paired with a professional astronomer to observe first-hand how airborne infrared astronomy is conducted. After their flight opportunities, Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors will take what they learn back to their classrooms and into their communities to promote science literacy.
SOFIA is a highly modified Boeing 747SP jetliner fitted with a 100-inch (2.5-meter) effective diameter telescope. The aircraft flies at altitudes between 39,000 and 45,000 feet (12-14 kilometers), above the water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere, and collects data in the infrared spectrum.
"SOFIA offers educator teams unprecedented access to infrared astronomers and the unique capabilities of an airborne observatory," said John Gagosian, SOFIA program executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Previous Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors teams have witnessed SOFIA's world-class astronomical science and have used this experience in hundreds of science, technology, engineering and math teaching opportunities throughout the United States."
SOFIA's Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors for 2014 are:
-- Megan Tucker and Dan Molik, The Palmdale Aerospace Academy, Palmdale, Calif.
-- Barbel Sepulveda, Lincoln High School, and Chris Rauschenfels, Sierra Middle School, Stockton, Calif.
-- Nathan Mahoney, Pine Crest School, Deerfield Beach, Fla. and Héllen Tavora, South Florida Amateur Astronomers Association and Fox Astronomical Observatory, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
-- Marcella Linahan, Carmel Catholic High School, Mundelein, Ill., and Lynne Zielinski National Space Society, Long Grove, Ill.
-- Judi Little and LeeAnn Vaughan, Burke High School, Omaha, Neb.
-- Margaret Holzer, Chatham High School, Somerset, N.J., and Theresa Roelofsen Moody, New Jersey Astronomy Center at Raritan Valley Community College, High Bridge, N.J.
-- Michael Maccarone and Elizabeth Rosenberger, Avenues: The World School, New York
-- Tom Jenkins, Dayton Regional STEM Center, Enon, Ohio, and Heidi Steinbrink, Oakwood Senior High School, Springfield, Ohio
-- Robert Black, North Medford High School, and Dave Bloomsness, Southern Oregon Skywatchers, Medford, Ore.
-- George Hademenos and Diane Watson, Richardson High School, Richardson, Texas
-- Kim Abegglen and Anna-Melissa Lyons, Hockinson Middle School, Vancouver, Wash.
-- Kathy Gustavson, Nicolet High School, Whitefish Bay, Wisc., and Jean Creighton University of Wisconsin–Madison, Manfred Olson Planetarium, Milwaukee.
"Educators are selected through a rigorous peer-reviewed process for this yearly professional development opportunity," said astronomer Dana Backman, manager of SOFIA's education and public outreach programs at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "To date, the Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors' program has flown 15 teams totaling 31 educators from 17 states, and we look forward to working with this new cadre of educators as they take NASA science into their communities."
SOFIA is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The aircraft is based at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., manages the program. Ames manages the SOFIA science and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) in Columbia, Md., and the German SOFIA Institute (DSI) at the University of Stuttgart.
For more information about SOFIA, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/sofia
http://www.dlr.de/en/sofia
For information about SOFIA's science mission and scientific instruments, visit:
http://www.sofia.usra.edu
http://www.dsi.uni-stuttgart.de/index.en.html
j.d.harrington@nasa.gov
Nicholas A. Veronico
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-4589/650-224-8726
nicholas.a.veronico@nasa.gov
Beth Hagenauer
Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif.
beth.hagenauer-1@nasa.gov
NASA news releases and other information are available automatically by sending an e-mail message with the subject line subscribe to hqnews-request@newsletters.nasa.gov.
To unsubscribe from the list, send an e-mail message with the subject line unsubscribe to hqnews-request@newsletters.nasa.gov.
Astronomer Jim De Buizer talks to SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassador Marita Beard (foreground) while FORCAST instrument principal investigator Terry Herter explains the images on his computer screen to ambassador Theresa Paulsen during an astronomy flight.
NASA / SOFIA / Nick Veronico
Image Token:
Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (from left) Constance Gartner, Vince Washington, Ira Hardin and Chelen Johnson at the educators' workstation aboard the SOFIA observatory during a flight on the night of Feb. 12-13, 2013.
› Back To Top
Page Last Updated: March 20th, 2014
Page Editor: Karen Northon


text:
Q: Alamofire 5 Migration I'm having problems of migrating this code to Alamofire 5:
init(plugins: [PluginType] = []) {
    let serverTrustPolicies: [String: ServerTrustPolicy] = [
        "test.com.ph": .pinCertificates(
            certificates: ServerTrustPolicy.certificates(),
            validateCertificateChain: true,
            validateHost: true
        )
    ]
    let configuration = URLSessionConfiguration.default
    configuration.timeoutIntervalForRequest = 120 // default is 60.
    let manager = Manager(
        configuration: configuration,
        serverTrustPolicyManager: ServerTrustPolicyManager(policies: serverTrustPolicies)
    )

    super.init(manager: manager, plugins: plugins)
}

I have modified my code same but I don't know how to initialize the session manager:
let pinEvaluator = PinnedCertificatesTrustEvaluator(certificates: Bundle.main.af.certificates,
                                                    acceptSelfSignedCertificates: true,
                                                    performDefaultValidation: true,
                                                    validateHost: true)

let trustManager = ServerTrustManager.init(evaluators: ["test.com.ph": pinEvaluator])

let sessionManager = Session.init(configuration: .default, serverTrustManager: trustManager)

super.init(session: sessionManager,plugins: plugins)

Can someone help me?

A: As the error states, you made a request to a host you hadn't registered with your ServerTrustEvaluating value. That is, a request that wasn't to test.com.ph. You'll want to ensure you're making requests to the proper host, or that you've used the correct host for your certificate pinning.
If you expect to make requests to multiple hosts, you can disable this behavior by initializing the ServerTrustManager with the allHostsMustBeEvaluated property set to false.


text:
Tri-county blotter
Driver facing DWI, traffic violations
GLOVERSVILLE — Megan J. Lee, 27, of 236 Stevers Mills Road, Broadalbin, was charged with driving while intoxicated and other vehicle and traffic violations by city police on Saturday at 2:38 a.m.
While on patrol officers conducted a stop on Lee's vehicle on North Main Street for a traffic violation. Officers conducted a field sobriety test on Lee that yielded positive results for DWI after smelling the odor an alcoholic beverage coming from her person.
Lee was transported to the station, processed and released to a third party.
Driver charged with having crack cocaine
GLOVERSVILLE — Linda J. Johnson, 55, of 311 N. Main St., was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance by city police on Saturday at 9:05 p.m.
Patrol officers conducted a stop on Johnson's vehicle on Kingsboro Avenue for vehicle and traffic violations. During the course of investigation, Johnson was found to be in possession of a quantity of crack cocaine.
Johnson was transported to the station where she was issued an appearance ticket returnable in City Court at a later date.
Two charged with entering building
GLOVERSVILLE — Harold L. Young, 45, and Amanda M. Vannostrand, 35, both of 7 Dean St., were each charged with third-degree criminal trespass by city police on Sunday at 2:06 p.m.
Young and Vannostrand were taken into custody following a criminal trespass investigation at 23 First St. after police determined that Young and Vannostrand entered the property that had been condemned by the Gloversville Fire Department.
Young and Vannostrand were processed and released with appearance tickets returnable in City Court at a later date.
Criminal mischief warrant served
GLOVERSVILLE — Ryan Carroll, 27, of 10 Windsor Drive, was taken into custody on an active arrest warrant and charged with third-degree criminal mischief by city police on Tuesday at 6:51 p.m.
The arrest warrant for Carroll was signed in City Court stemming from a complaint alleging that Carroll damaged a vehicle belonging to another person on July 19.
Carroll was arraigned in City Court.
Police: Man was wanted on warrant FORT PLAIN — Michael A. Shostek, 34, of 1804 Wagners Hollow Road was taken ...
Troopers: Man charged with DWI NORTHVILLE — Brian D. Blake, 56, of Ballston Lake was charged with operating a ...
Area man taken into custody on warrant GLOVERSVILLE — Christopher L. Knapp, 37, of 419 Union Mills Road, ...
Local man charged with drunk driving FULTONVILLE — Jacob R. Boyer, 23, of 3 York St., was charged on Saturday ...
Troopers: Man charged with burglary AMSTERDAM — Lisandro Garcia, 37, was charged with third-degree burglary, ...
Man accused of choking victim SAND LAKE — David Zukowski, 31, of Esperance, was charged by state police with ...


text:
Preview citation in APAMLAChicago Download
A Uniform, Internationally Oriented Legal Framework for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan?. Investment Claims. Retrieved 16 Jan. 2021, from https://oxia.ouplaw.com/view/10.1093/law:iic/journal022.document.1/law-iic-journal022.
"A Uniform, Internationally Oriented Legal Framework for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan?." Investment Claims. . Oxford University Press. Date of access 16 Jan. 2021, <https://oxia.ouplaw.com/view/10.1093/law:iic/journal022.document.1/law-iic-journal022>
"A Uniform, Internationally Oriented Legal Framework for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan?." Investment Claims. ; Accessed 16 Jan. 2021. https://oxia.ouplaw.com/view/10.1093/law:iic/journal022.document.1/law-iic-journal022.


text:
Home/Vegas News/Canada/'You are lying' — Crown challenges accused's account of deadly night
'You are lying' — Crown challenges accused's account of deadly night
Nov 19, 2021 • 7 hours ago • 3 minute read
The apartment building at 1382 University Ave. West in Windsor where the body of Autumn Taggart was found in her unit on June 10, 2018. Photo by Nick Brancaccio /Windsor Star
Placing his hands over the woman's naked chest and then measuring down five or six ribs, counting down sets of 15 compressions, each followed by three breaths — Jitesh Bhogal described precisely how he performed CPR in his attempt to revive Autumn Taggart in her bedroom on June 10, 2018.
"You want this jury to believe you performed CPR … but you don't remember what happened seconds before?" asked assistant Crown attorney Ilana Mizel.
Bhogal testified he couldn't recall many other details. He repeated earlier testimony that he also couldn't recall exactly how he got into, or how he departed, Taggart's west Windsor apartment in the early morning darkness.
Friday saw Bhogal in the witness stand for the second day of grilling by the prosecution. It was the end of the fifth week of testimony before Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance and a 14-member jury tasked with deciding whether the 31-year-old engineer is guilty of sexual assault and murder.
Bhogal on Thursday confessed to having killed Taggart, 31, a complete stranger, but he claimed her death was "accidental" and the result of his trying to stop her screaming as she lay in bed, confronted by an intruder.
"Ms. Taggart was fighting for her life that night," Mizel said, recalling a pathologist's testimony that the cause of death was "suffocation and multiple blunt force trauma."
Bhogal responded: "It felt like that, yes."
Mizel suggested to Bhogal that he was angry after having just been robbed of the cocaine he had paid a couple to get for him, his purported first time using the drug.
"I do not recall anger being a prevalent emotion," he replied.
Mizel said he was "caught off-guard" by Taggart's screaming. "I was certainly brought to my senses … and my memory starts for some reason. My memory starts at that point," Bhogal replied.
Asked whether the screaming worried him that Taggart would alert police, he replied it was "possible that was in the back of my mind, sure. I don't have a specific memory, so I can't disagree."
Bhogal testified he stopped covering Taggart's mouth when she stopped screaming. "Mr. Bhogal, you covered Ms. Taggart's nose and mouth for a least 30 seconds," said Mizel, pointing to a pathologist's testimony that it would take approximately 30 seconds for a person to become unconscious. There was silence as the prosecutor had the courtroom "watch the clock" for half a minute.
"You knew at that moment, sir, that that would cause her death," she said.
"I did not," Bhogal responded. Mizel pointed out that the accused was a foot taller and about 60 pounds heavier than Taggart.
"You're lying to us about what you remember and what you don't remember, Mr. Bhogal," said Mizel. After a pause, the response was: "Madame Crown, I made bad choices that night."
After some more back and forth, Mizel said: "While you made a series of bad choices that night, they were all intentional."
Bhogal responded that those choices, including purchasing cocaine from strangers and entering Taggart's apartment were "all with some intent, I suppose."
Bhogal said he was afraid after that pair of strangers who robbed him of his cocaine darted from his vehicle in the parking lot of Taggart's apartment building.
"You are lying to the jury about being fearful," said Mizel, pointing out he could have left the scene at any time. Bhogal agreed that he was shouting out the name of one of them at that location in the middle of the night.
Bhogal testifies to 'accidentally' killing Autumn Taggart
Young son, cocaine dealer testify at Bhogal murder trial
Murder trial hears crime scene DNA analysis points to accused
Mizel asked whether anything caught his eye or whether he noticed anyone in the windows of Taggart's apartment building as he was screaming in the parking lot outside.
"I do not recall," said Bhogal.
"Did someone tell you to be quiet?" Mizel asked.
"I do not recall," Bhogal responded.
"You know what happened in Ms. Taggart's apartment," said Mizel. "I have a vague recollection," Bhogal responded.
Mizel's last question to the accused was whether he experienced "any hallucinations" that night.
"Like seeing flying dragons? No," Bhogal replied.
The trial continues Monday with the next witness for the defence. It will be the sixth week of jurors hearing testimony.
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account accuseds challenges CROWN deadly lying night
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text:
Village of Perry, NY
Ch 21 Cyber Security Citizens' Notification Policy
Ch 38 Ethics and Disclosure
Ch 104 Purchasing Policy
Ch 150 Alarm Systems
Ch 160 Animals
Ch 172 Bicycles
Ch 218 Fire Insurance Proceeds
Ch 223 Fires, Conduct at
Ch 305 Notice of Defects
Ch 355 Sewer Use
Ch 363 Snowmobiles
Ch 384 Art IX Exemption for First-Time Homebuyers of Newly Constructed Homes
§ 384-49 Purpose.
§ 384-50 Definitions.
§ 384-51 Exemption.
§ 384-52 Repeal.
§ 384-53 Severability.
§ 384-54 Life of law.
§ 384-55 When effective.
Part III, Land Use Legislation
Ch 430 Building Construction
Village of Perry, NY / Part II, General Legislation / Taxation
Article IX Exemption for First-Time Homebuyers of Newly Constructed Homes
[Adopted 2-6-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
This article is enacted pursuant to the provisions of § 457 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York to grant an exemption from real property taxation levied by the Village of Perry for newly constructed primary residential property purchased by one or more persons, each of whom is a first-time homebuyer and has not been married to a homeowner in the three years prior to applying for this first-time homeowners exemption.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
A person who has not owned a primary residential property and is not married to a person who has owned a residential property during the three-year period prior to his or her purchase of the primary residential property, and who does not own a vacation or investment home.
The total combined income of all the owners, and of any owners' spouses residing on the premises, for the income tax year preceding the date of making application for the exemption.
The "adjusted gross income" for federal income tax purposes as reported on the applicant's latest available federal or state income tax return subject to any subsequent amendments or revisions, reduced by distributions, to the extent included in federal adjusted gross income, received from an individual retirement account and an individual retirement annuity; provided that if no such return was filed within the one-year period preceding taxable status date. "Income" shall mean the adjusted gross income that would have been so reported if such a return had been filed. For purposes of this subsection, "latest available return" shall mean the federal or state income tax return for the year immediately preceding the date of making application; provided, however, that if the tax return for such tax year has not been filed, then the income tax return for the tax year two years preceding the date of making application shall be considered the latest available.
PRIMARY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
Any one- or two-family house, townhouse or condominium located in this state which is owner-occupied by such homebuyer.
NEWLY CONSTRUCTED
An improvement to real property which was constructed as a primary residential property, and which has never been occupied and was constructed after the effective date of this article. "Newly constructed" shall also mean that portion of a primary residential property that is altered, improved or reconstructed.
Such exemption shall be computed with the following:
Years of Exemption
Percentage Assessed Valuation Exempt from Tax
Eligibility.
Any newly constructed primary residential real property within the purchase price limits defined by the State of New York Mortgage Agency Low Interest Rate Mortgage Program in the nontarget, one-family new category for Wyoming County and in effect on the contract date for the purchase and sale of such property shall be eligible for the exemption allowed pursuant to this section.
A first-time homebuyer who either as part of the written contract for sale of the primary residential property, or who enters into a written contract within 90 days after closing of the sale of the primary residence for reconstruction, alteration or improvements, the value of which exceeds $3,000, to the primary residential property shall be exempt from taxation to the extent provided by this section. Such exemption shall apply solely to the increase in assessed value thereof attributable to such reconstruction, alteration or improvement provided that the assessed value after reconstruction, alteration, or improvements does not exceed 15% more than the purchase price limits as defined in Subsection B(1) above.
For purposes of this section the terms reconstruction, alteration and improvement shall not include ordinary maintenance and repairs.
A first-time homebuyer shall not qualify for the exemption authorized pursuant to this section if the household income exceeds income limits defined by the State of New York Mortgage Agency Low Interest Rate Mortgage Program (SONYMA) in the nontarget, one- and two-person household category for Wyoming County and in effect on the contract date for the purchase and sale of such property.
Newly constructed primary residential property purchased by first-time homebuyers at a sales price greater than the maximum eligible sales price shall qualify for the exemption allowed pursuant to this article for that portion of the sales price of such newly constructed primary residential property equal to the maximum eligible sales price; provided, however, that any newly constructed primary residential property purchased at a sales price greater than 15% above the maximum eligible sales price shall not be allowed any exemption.
No exemption shall be allowed pursuant to this article for any newly constructed primary residential property purchased by a first-time homebuyer on or after December 31, 2016, unless such purchase is pursuant to a binding written contract entered into prior to December 31, 2016; provided, however, that any first-time homebuyer who is allowed an exemption pursuant to this section prior to such date shall continue to be allowed further exemptions pursuant to Subsection A above.
Termination of exemption.
No portion of a single-family newly constructed primary residential property shall be leased during the period of time when the first-time homeowner exemption shall apply to the residence. If any portion of the single-family newly constructed primary residential property is found to be the subject of a lease agreement the assessor shall discontinue any exemption granted pursuant to this section.
In the event that a primary residential property granted an exemption pursuant to this section ceases to be used primarily for residential purposes or title thereto is transferred to other than the heirs or distributees of the owner, the exemption granted pursuant to this article shall be discontinued.
Upon determining that an exemption granted pursuant to this section should be discontinued, the assessor shall mail a notice so stating to the owner or owners thereof at the time and in the manner provided by § 510 of this chapter.[1] Such owner(s) shall be entitled to seek administrative and judicial review of such action in the manner provided by law, provided that the burden shall be on such owner(s) to establish eligibility for the exemption.
Editor's Note: See New York State Real Property Tax Law § 510.
Such exemption shall be granted only upon application by the owner of such building on a form prescribed by the State Board. The application shall be filed with the Assessor of the Village on or before the appropriate taxable status date of the Village.
If satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an exemption pursuant to this article, the Assessor shall approve the application and such primary residential property shall thereafter be exempt from taxation and special ad valorem levies as provided in this article commencing with the assessment roll prepared on the basis of the taxable status date referred to in Subsection E above. The assessed value of any exemption granted pursuant to this article shall be entered by the Assessor on the assessment roll with the taxable property, with the amount of the exemption shown in a separate column.
All ordinances, local laws and parts thereof inconsistent with this article are hereby repealed.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part of this article or the application thereof to any person, firm or corporation, or circumstance, shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such order or judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part of this article or in its application to the person, individual, firm or corporation or circumstance, directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment or order shall be rendered.
On December 31, 2016, said law sunsets, becomes void and not in effect without any further action of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Perry, either before or after said date.
This article shall take effect upon its filing with the New York State Secretary of State. A copy of this article shall also be filed with the Commissioner and the Assessor of the Village who prepares the assessment roll on which the taxes of such Village are levied.