DOJ Report on Torture Memo: Yoo Said Bush Could Order Civilians "Exterminated"
Jason Leopold, Truthout: "A long-awaited report into the legal memos former Justice Department attorneys John Yoo and Jay Bybee prepared for the Bush administration on torture was released Friday afternoon and concluded that the men violated 'professional standards' and should be referred to state bar associations where a further review of their legal work could have led to the revocation of their law licenses."
Bill Moyers and Michael Winship | What Are We Bid for American Justice?
Bill Moyers and Michael Winship, Truthout: "That famous definition of a cynic as someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing has come to define this present moment of American politics. No wonder people have lost faith in politicians, in parties and in our leadership. The power of money drives cynicism deep into the heart of every level of government."
E.J. Dionne Jr.: "This week will determine the shape of American politics for the next three years. No, that's not one of those journalistic exaggerations intended to catch your attention, although I hope it did. It's an accurate description of the stakes at the health care summit President Obama has called for Thursday."
ACLU Sues USAID: Are We Exporting US Taxpayer-Funded Religion?
Amie Newman, RH Reality Check: "The ACLU has waited long enough. On Thursday, February 18th, they filed a lawsuit against USAID for refusing to comply with their Freedom of Information Act requests from July and September 2009, for documents related to USAID-funded abstinence-only-until-marriage programs abroad. The ACLU has patiently awaited documents that may help shed light on an audit completed last year suggesting USAID is dispersing money, unconstitutionally, for religiously-based HIV prevention programs."
Cindy Sheehan, Truthout: "In the movie, 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,' at the end of a filibuster, idealistic freshman US Sen. Jeff Smith (played by Jimmy Stewart) reminds us that the struggle is what counts. 'Lost causes are the only causes worth fighting for,' he says. Just before collapsing on the Senate Floor, he croaks out, 'you fight for the lost causes even harder than the others - you even die for them.'"
Liliana Segura, AlterNet: "This week, the same week that saw the U.S. military launch a major new assault in Afghanistan - a much ballyhooed effort that is as much a PR offensive as a military one - the Pentagon decided to formally rebrand the Iraq War. In a one-page memo dated Feb. 17, 2010 and signed by Robert Gates, the Secretary of Defense officially requested that U.S. Central Command 'change the name of Operation Iraqi Freedom to Operation New Dawn.'"
Jason Leopold, Truthout: "The Department of Justice, the FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service on Friday announced they have formally concluded a nine-year investigation into the Anthrax attacks that occurred shortly after 9/11 that killed five people and left 17 others seriously ill."
Michael B. Farrell, The Christian Science Monitor: "The five states where the housing crisis has taken the biggest toll will receive part of a $1.5 billion federal aid package intended to slow the tide of home foreclosures, the Obama administration announced Friday."
Private Contractors "Like Vultures Coming to Grab the Loot"
Anthony Fenton, Inter Press Service: "Critics are concerned that private military contractors are positioning themselves at the centre of an emerging 'shock doctrine' for earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Next month, a prominent umbrella organisation for private military and logistic corporations, the International Peace Operations Association (IPOA), is co-organising a 'Haiti summit' which aims to bring together 'leading officials' for 'private consultations with attending contractors and investors' in Miami, Florida."


SuperStar Inc from Holland is a highly pigmented, creamy paint with a smooth consistency.
The Superstar range has over 30 amazing colors which includes a range of beautiful shimmer colors.
Superstar paints are similar to Kryolan Aquacolor and Paradise AQ having a creamy consistency allowing for smooth application and the beautiful blending qualities.
They are applied using a damp brush or sponge and remove easily with soap and water.


text:
Q: Teradata DATEDIFF Error Hi i am getting an error as expected something like END keyword between DATEDIFF and (
for the below statement under
select
   case when CC.CASE_STS_CD in ( 'Closed', 'Auto Closed') then
        DATEDIFF(second,CC.REC_DTTM_PST,CC.CRT_DTTM_PST) end as CASE_RES_DUR_IN_SECS,

A: Assuming that your fields are DATE datatype (otherwise you'll need to cast):
SELECT
CASE WHEN
    CC.CASE_STS_CD IN ('Closed','Auto Closed') THEN
    (CC.REC_DTTM_PST - CC.CRT_DTTM_PST) * 86400
END AS CASE_RES_DUR_IN_SECS

A: There's no DATEDIFF function in Teradata.
This is a generic SQL UDF I wrote a few years ago for calculating the difference of two timestamps in seconds:
REPLACE FUNCTION TimeStamp_Diff_Seconds
(
   ts1 TIMESTAMP(6)
  ,ts2 TIMESTAMP(6)
)
RETURNS DECIMAL(18,6)
LANGUAGE SQL
CONTAINS SQL
RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT
DETERMINISTIC
SQL SECURITY DEFINER
COLLATION INVOKER
INLINE TYPE 1
RETURN
(CAST((CAST(ts2 AS DATE)- CAST(ts1 AS DATE)) AS DECIMAL(18,6)) * 60*60*24)
      + ((EXTRACT(  HOUR FROM ts2) - EXTRACT(  HOUR FROM ts1)) * 60*60)
      + ((EXTRACT(MINUTE FROM ts2) - EXTRACT(MINUTE FROM ts1)) * 60)
      +  (EXTRACT(SECOND FROM ts2) - EXTRACT(SECOND FROM ts1))
;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Seafood fraud: It's a good time for bad guys
James Wright, Senior Editor
This past weekend the Baltimore Sun published a thorough feature story on the challenges of rooting out fraud within the U.S. seafood supply chain, from the water to the warehouse, with a keen focus on the regional favorite blue crab. The article adequately illustrated the inefficient, inconsistent and ineffective enforcement efforts federal agencies have put in place to keep the supply chain in line, despite overwhelming evidence that mislabeling, species substitution and short-weighting of seafood products harms a proud industry's image and cheats consumers.
Even the good news in the article — seafood fraud cases are down 75 percent since 2008 — is misleading. This fact doesn't mean seafood fraud is less prevalent, only that fewer cases are being sent to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) general counsel and prosecutors. And with a shorthanded NOAA cutting its enforcement manpower even further, as the article discovered, it makes it hard to believe that stamping out seafood fraud is actually a priority in the United States despite a high-profile promise to do just that.
The Obama administration's Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and Seafood Fraud is awaiting recommendations, as soon as this month, from NOAA and other agencies about how to better address the issue. I'm guessing "diminish enforcement capabilities" won't be on that list.
Yesterday I spoke with Andrew Cohen, a former special agent in charge at the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement (OLE), who also happened to write a letter to the editor at the Baltimore Sun applauding the story (expect a series) and further explaining the reasons for a recent realignment of the OLE and why special agents in the field are not to blame for the system's failures. I asked him if the level of seafood fraud in the United States is truly "insane," as it was described by two sources in the Sun article.
"It's a good way to describe it," said Cohen, who left the agency four years ago to start his own consulting business. "It's pervasive. It's systemic. It's being tolerated because it might be keeping prices lower than they would otherwise, which is just a gut feeling. We're not overstating when we say how pervasive the problem is."
Count Cohen among those who are maddened by the apparent dichotomy of the federal mandate to root out illegal fishing and fraud set against the reality of deep budget cuts and gutted enforcement agencies.
"It's nonsense. We want this accomplished but behind the scenes they're cutting funding and the [Inspector General] is neutering the whole program. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing," said Cohen, who wrote in his letter that the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General had recently commenced a "misguided" investigation of OLE that resulted in a profound shift of resources. The IG, considered a "bully" among colleagues, he wrote, has proven to have "little credibility in the professional law enforcement community."
Seafood fraud happens because it can. If the United States is importing about one and a half billion pounds of seafood annually with less than 100 trained field agents to police the trade, across the entire country, what impact can law enforcement truly make? Years ago, when an Associated Press report that went viral found that only 1 percent of seafood imports are inspected, it seemed motivation enough to step it up.
The obstacles are huge: There is a cumbersome and complex fishery management system in place that many fishermen distrust, and nobody knows that better than Andrew Cohen, who upon leaving the Northeast office after three decades with the agency, said new leadership would be beneficial "symbolically, if nothing else." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Seafood List of acceptable market names is never enforced at the restaurant level where two-thirds of all seafood is consumed and where a vast majority of these bait-and-switch schemes uncovered by DNA tests are outed. This is a fragmented industry ill-equipped to police itself, despite great intentions like the Better Seafood Board. And with lax law enforcement on top of all that, which we've known was the case for years, the road for fraudulent activity is well worn.
Not only that, but according to Cohen, many U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, the first line of defense against mislabeled seafood products, "might know a fish from a pillow but not much more than that."
A stable of well-trained and knowledgeable inspectors at ports and at the docks, and a real commitment to enforcing economic integrity laws at all links of the supply chain is the only solution that would work. That means reasonable but not watered-down regulations (I'm in favor of mandating the use of Latin species names on every transaction) and the resources to enforce them. Until that's in place there is no reason to expect true progress.
"The honest guys are going to suffer in the long run. The dishonest will profit in the short run," said Cohen. "The pendulum will swing back. I've seen good times and lean times for law enforcement and good times and lean times for bad guys. Now is a good time for the bad guys."
Catfish-smuggling ring busted in New York City
Researchers help combat US sushi mislabeling
Sushi mislabeling study, used to support new IUU rule, knocked by NFI
IRS undercover operation leads to tax fraud charges against Carlos Rafael of Carlos Seafoods

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Our Richmond Team Nourishes the Community this Holiday Season
The holidays are here, a time about giving back to those in need. And at Bon Secours, we are thrilled to be doing just that by helping families in our Richmond community.
Last year, in place of a traditional Christmas party, this market donated hundreds of holiday meals to families in need around the area. This year, the team is proud and excited to continue this tradition.
"We are hopeful these meals will provide comfort and strength to families in need in our community this holiday season," Becky Clay Christensen, executive director of community health in our Richmond market, shares.
Given the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic that continued into this year, the team's usual holiday celebration was repurposed into a different type of celebration. This new celebration is one that fits the current environment in which we are living, while also fulfilling our ministry's mission of providing care to the poor, vulnerable and underserved.
Two weeks ago, volunteers distributed nearly 500 meals to various locations around the Richmond region. The family-packaged meals included two entrees, three sides, bread, dessert and a gingerbread cookie decorating kit for families to enjoy.
To help the team make this important community donation, we partnered with organizations such as YMCA of Greater Richmond, Safe Harbor, Family Lifeline and Friends Association.
The team also partnered with various elementary schools, including:
JB Fisher
JL Francis
Walnut Hill
"We can't thank you enough for thinking of our students and families again this year," Pam Smith of the YMCA shares. "We appreciate the kindness and generosity of the Bon Secours team."
We are so thankful for support from our partners, as well as the support from our many volunteers. Bon Secours is also grateful for the resiliency of our providers and clinical team members as well as the way they continue our legacy to care for patients.
Learn about the health care services we offer at Bon Secours.
Amanda Builds Trust with Her Patients in Their Darkest Hour
bon secours richmond community partnerships holiday season Season of Good News


For election observers to effectively discharge their mandate, scholars and analysts are arguing for embracing of appropriate information communication technologies.
What's critical at this stage is for the government to take serious steps to resource the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission so that it can effectively carry out its mandate of managing the electoral process.
Discretionary power over use of funds by political parties must be exercised justly, fairy, honestly, and, above all, rationally in order to build viable and democratic institutions.
In Africa, the holding of regular elections has in most cases failed to translate to democracy and peacebuilding. For instance since 2000 Zimbabweans have experienced five national elections.
With the world population having more women than men, it should be clear that with the right political environment women should gain more public elections for government.
Zimbabwe has joined 30 countries worldwide that have used a special electoral quota system to increase women's political participation to at least 30 percent of the Members of Parliament.
How far has the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission gone in implementing recommendations from the last elections? How is the biometric voter registration system going to work?
l suggest that a strategic alliance under one presidential candidate and vigorous campaigning in Zanu PF strongholds may bring desired results for the opposition.
Last week the President Robert Mugabe's government announced that it was taking over the procurement process effectively disallowing UNDP the right to source the BVR kits.


ALL over New York, projects that broke ground with irrational exuberance are topping out in uncertain conclusion. But others that are only in the planning stages have gone to the back burner, perhaps never to surface again.
When the stock market crashed in October 1929, many ambitious plans that would have changed the face of New York simply vanished.
For real estate developers, 1929 seemed like a slot machine stuck in the pay position. In Manhattan in 1928, plans were filed for 14 buildings of 30 stories or higher, but by the next year the number was 52. Only with the passage of time did it become clear that of these 52, just 19 would be built.
This ambitious cohort included designs that were indeed completed, like the Waldorf-Astoria and the Empire State Building. But it also encompassed major projects in unexpected locations, like a 40-story apartment hotel designed by Emery Roth for the northwest corner of 106th Street and Central Park West, an area of third-rung apartment houses.
Other buildings of 40 stories or more were planned for 70th and West End Avenue; 85th and Central Park West; 87th and Park Avenue; 90th and East End Avenue; and 105th and Broadway.
Of the many fallen visions, three stand out in particular: an East River idyll, a richly colored West Street enclave and a Madison Square tower that was to have been the tallest in the world.
Early in 1929, a syndicate including Douglas Elliman and the architect-developer Eliot Cross announced plans for the blockfront on the East River from 48th to 49th Streets, to be known as Watergate. Working with Rosario Candela, the group proposed an asymmetrical assemblage of Gothic-, Tudor- and Venetian-style towers, with its own garage underneath a 10,000-square-foot waterfront courtyard.
A medieval-style drawbridge at river level dropped to a boat landing for co-op owners, and a bridge was to connect the swanky complex to Beekman Place, to the north. A warehouse for The New York Times was part of the design.
In April, a group headed by Albert Mayer, an architect and planner, acquired a swath of West Street south of Rector Street for a mixed-use development of offices and apartment houses.
Calling itself Downtown Homes, the consortium proposed an initial 40-story building of 428 apartments and 255 bachelor rooms, with a gym, banquet hall and handball courts. The idea was to accommodate the rapid increase of financial district workers in the growing crop of skyscrapers downtown.
The blocky tower was to have a white brick top with a gold cap, illuminated at night. But even more spectacular was the body of contrasting sections of red and buff, designed by the architects Thompson & Churchill. They are now known for the voluptuously pink faience tile entrance of their Hotel Lowell, at 28 East 63rd Street, built in 1927.
Henry S. Churchill of Thompson & Churchill told The New York Times in 1929 that he was introducing the cascade of color to fight what he called "the monotony of flat surfaces" common in emerging modernist designs.
In September 1929, news got out that the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company was considering a 100-story tower on the block just north of its distinctive campanile of 1909, at 24th and Madison. The company released a drawing by its architects — the skyscraper advocate Harvey Wiley Corbett and Dan Everett Waid — showing a faceted, somewhat oval column, made up almost entirely of glass and metal.
All three projects foundered at various points after the stock market crash that October. Mr. Cross's Watergate simply vanished; the site is now occupied by the cool, glassy United Nations Plaza apartments of 1966.
Excavation for Mr. Mayer's visionary Downtown Homes did begin in December but got no further, and the site was sold in a foreclosure in 1932 for $250,000. It is now the location of the entrance to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel.
In November, Frederick H. Ecker, the president of Metropolitan Life, said that Mr. Corbett's designs were tentative. The 28-story building now on the site was built in stages from the 1930s until the 1950s.
The theory in the real estate industry was that happy days would soon be here again because the stock market had drained investment capital that might otherwise have gone into bricks and mortar.
In December, Alfred E. Smith, the former New York governor, told The Real Estate Record and Guide that "I haven't much use for pessimists who say we are building too fast." He was involved with the construction of the Empire State Building.
And in January 1930, Roland F. Elliman, vice president of Douglas L. Elliman & Company, assured The Times that the real estate industry in New York was far too prudent for speculative ventures.
The Streetscapes column last Sunday, about ambitious projects that were proposed in 1929 but never built because of the stock market crash, referred incorrectly to the construction of a 28-story building that was ultimately built on a site at 24th Street and Madison Avenue where the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company had planned to erect a 100-story tower. It was built in stages from the 1930s until the 1950s; it did not go up in 1938.


Love, Mrs. Mommy: PopReal Summer & Autumn Clothing Video Reviews!
PopReal Summer & Autumn Clothing Video Reviews!
I partnered with PopReal to bring you these Summer and Autumn clothing reviews. The items featured in these videos were received at no cost. All opinions are my own.
Buy It: You can purchase these items and much more on their website.


text:
https://www.thehour.com/norwalk/article/Police-Former-UPS-employee-stole-iPhones-8094227.php
Police: Former UPS employee stole iPhones
By STEVE KOBAK
Published 8:15 am EST, Saturday, December 6, 2014
The Hour Newspapers Police Beat
NORWALK — A former UPS employee was arrested Friday morning for allegedly stealing two smartphones from a package that the shipping company was supposed to deliver.
Alexander Sanchez, 20, of 36 Wilson St., Stamford, was charged with fifth-degree larceny and given a court date of Dec. 17.
Police were called to the UPS facility at 190 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at 8:15 a.m. Friday for a report of a theft and an employee in custody. A UPS security supervisor had investigated the theft after receiving a report about two iPhone 6s that were never delivered, police said. The phones retail at a value of about $500.
While reviewing security footage, the supervisor discovered surveillance video of Sanchez opening the package and leaving UPS property with the missing items, according to police.
Sanchez was in custody at the scene when police arrived. He told police that he threw the iPhones away after he was unable to get the cell phones activated.
He was fired by UPS and escorted from the property, police said. Police then arrested him.


This is the final part of Genejoke's epic on creating 3D Comics.
info on the computer capacity you might need.
There are endless points of view out there, and everyone on the Internet can have a voice.
We talked on a Quackcast some time ago about agendas and anvilicious messaging in some movies, and other fiction.


The Mexican government is closely watching domestic sugar prices and could allow sugar imports if prices do not fall closer to world levels, Mexico's economy minister said on Tuesday.
Mexico has been considering establishing an import quota for 250,000 tonnes of sugar to alleviate shortages due to a drought. Last week, a Mexican Economy Ministry official said an announcement of the quota could come in April.
Mexico may not need the quota if the gap between world and Mexican sugar prices continues to narrow, Ferrari said.
"So far, we hope this is going to be solved. We are seeing the price also being reduced in Mexico. Hopefully, this is going to be solved," Ferrari said.
Will ethanol be competitive again?


text:
Death Note: LIGHT at the end of the tunnel
Death Note is currently available on Netflix, Hulu, Yahoo View and on Viz/Neon Alley. The 2006 anime lasted for 37 episodes at around 22-24 minutes per show. Yahoo and Viz offer the show for free to anyone able to watch via computer or laptop.
Considering the (justified) brouhaha surrounding the upcoming live action film, I decided to take a weekend to binge on Death Note and see what all the fuss was about.
Before we begin, a few (pun not intended) notes about this article.
First of all, this will only be about the anime by itself.
Second, after seeing the show, the outrage over the race changing of the entire cast is highly justified. And no, I'm not going to entertain your last minute "excuse" that race changing is "okay" because of the Korean Death Note drama. The characters all have Japanese names. Excusing Misa's blonde hair (it's dyed) all of the characters have Japanese features, so you can just save it. We're mad. We have the right to be. Deal with it. So done with White Facebook crybabies trying to force us all to accept Whitewashing and other race changes just because they're not adult enough to accept the fact that it's wrong and those of us not White are correct in being angry. Learn to like it, guys. We're right. This is wrong.
And third, if you do not want to be spoiled, stop reading right here. I'm being serious here. In order for me to capture my raw thoughts on this TV anime, some spoilers will have to be leaked.
So now that I'm climbing down from my soapbox, it's time to dive into the story of Death Note.
The series follows Light Yagami, a spoiled, wealthy kid who has everything handed to him. The only thing not being handed to him are his studies, and I will admit, he actually is honestly good with academics.
He's also bored.
HOW?? Your parents buy you everything. You're in a great district with plenty to do, and for some reason, you have plenty of friends. Why are you bored?
One day, he comes across a Death Note, which is a black notebook in which if you write someone's name in it, they die. There are a few, tiny rules around using it, such as you can't go to Heaven or Hell when you die, if you're going to pick a death, it has to be realistic, (no unicorn stabbings) and a few little pesky things, but nothing too serious. If you can write at a kindergartner's level, you can murder with the Death Note. Fairly simple.
Well in using the book, Light finds himself being trailed by it's original owner, a Shinigami (death god) named Ryuk, who lets him know that when it is Light's time to die, he will write Light's name into his own book. The reason why his Death Note was dropped in the world of the living?
Ryuk is bored too. Oh. Nice.
Initially, Light uses the book idealistically. He only kills criminals and people who are generally awful. He does things in secret, expecting to one day gain accolades for recreating the world in his image as a teenage God. But as the series moves forward, a few non-evil people find their way to the book too, and it isn't long before his descent into madness is made clear. The police, the FBI and several other governmental agencies start to link together the murders, and refer to Light in the news as "Kira" since nobody can figure out his identity.
Death Note has a variety of characters with interlinking stories that all lead up to Light's story, and it isn't possible to watch the show without secretly cheering for at least one of them.
The Shinigami Ryuk and Rem have my sympathy right from the start. Ryuk never actually does anything bad. He has an addiction to apples for crying out loud. And Rem acts as a surrogate mother to Misa (I'm getting to her) and bases her actions on her protection. This ultimately leads to her downfall, which is just heartbreaking to watch.
Misa will appeal to you if you like Harley Quinn. A bouncy idol with a tragic life, she initially becomes obsessed with "Kira" after he unwittingly kills the man who murdered her family in a botched robbery. Once she finds out Kira is Light, she falls head over heels for him in a one-sided romance that endures through several mind wipes. Light does not love her back. He instead chooses to use her, and long after she moves in with him, he is still entertaining other women, further illustrating what an asshat Light is. Misa is used mostly because she can access the Shinigami eyes, at the cost of half her life span, which she pays twice, just for him.
L only lives for little more than half of the series, but his legacy endures for the entire span of the show. A detective fresh out of college, he comes across as a creepy, feral child. Constantly sleep deprived and hunched over, his biggest drawback is that he sometimes second guesses Light, which leads to his downfall. He is succeeded by equally creepy and childish Near, and flat out insane Mello, neither of whom quite match L's essence.
The mystery element is alive and well, as each episode, it looks like Light will be caught, only for the angsty little bastard to escape. By episode 14, you're already convinced that Light is the scum of the Earth, you stop trying to see things his way, and you're just hoping someone will do him in. Every few episodes, it seems pretty clear his identity has been given away, only for Light to find a way to dance around the issue and have the police write him off. There's a little bit of humor sprinkled through to break up the seriousness of the segments, keeping the writing fresh even during times where it feels like the same subject is being re-tread over and over.
The series end is looked at differently by people. Light's end is by far one of the most childish exits I've seen in anime, but just a little more dignified than his manga demise. Some say it's perfect, considering what an asshat he was, while others say it could have used more pizzazz. The final episode has the right people making a difference against him (I'm not referring to Near) and justice is served, but it's a promise that you won't see it coming.
Death Note was an interesting ride, and I can see why it's fans want to protect the story. The epilogue is heartbreaking during the credits, but this is a show that ties up all of the loose ends and doesn't leave to many characters in the dust. If you only saw the Cartoon Network version, you owe it to yourself to catch the original on the above streaming platforms.


text:
Japan Earthquake: The Nuclear Emergency from the Beginning
Energy Topic News Type
A chronology of the situation at two nuclear power plants
nuclear environment meltdown explosion tsunami Japan nuclear emergency nuclear power Fukushima nuclear disaster nuclear emergency earthquakes Dai nuclear energy
Editor's Note: This is part of our ongoing news coverage of Japan's earthquake and nuclear emergency. John Boyd is an IEEE Spectrum contributor reporting from Kawasaki, Japan.
Here's the story of Japan's nuclear emergency from the first jolt to what was known midday Sunday:
After Japan was struck by its biggest-ever recorded earthquake on 11 March, and then was hit by a devastating tsunami an hour later, the country now faces a third potential catastrophe in the form of a nuclear meltdown.
The epicenter of the massive earthquake (whose magnitude has been upgraded to 9.0, from the previous 8.8) was some 130 kilometers off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan. The earthquake occurred at 2:46 Friday afternoon and caused damage and disruption along much of the coast of eastern Honshu, the country's largest island. Tokyo, located some 300 km south of the worst-hit areas, also felt the impact: all train and plane services were halted, stranding millions of commuters. The temblor was soon followed by a tsunami with waves as high as 10 meters that swamped coastal areas in northeastern Japan, where most of the 1000 deaths initially reported occurred. A Kyodo News report on Saturday said 1800 were feared dead or missing, while another report said all contact had been lost with some 10,000 people in the town of Minami Sanriku in Miyagi Prefecture.
As if this double whammy weren't enough to deal with, the country is now facing a third calamity from two malfunctioning nuclear power plants.
Despite being an earthquake-prone country, Japan has 55 nuclear reactors in operation. Nuclear plants generate some 30 percent of Japan's electricity, and with a significant number of reactors automatically shut down, the government is warning that power cuts are likely. Four nuclear plants are located along the coast near to the earthquake's epicenter.
Yukio Edano, the government's chief cabinet secretary, urged everyone to help by conserving electricity.
With a number of nuclear plants located in the northeast, Prime Minister Naoto Kan was quick to establish an emergency group and issued a statement at 5:00 p.m. Friday saying, "We have no reports of any radioactive materials … affecting the surrounding areas."
But the situation changed almost immediately after that announcement when reactors in the hardest-hit areas began shutting down automatically and when Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) reported that pressure inside the No. 1 boiling water reactor (rated at 460 megawatts) in its Fukushima Dai-1 plant (which houses six reactors) had risen when the main power and then the diesel engines powering its emergency cooling system failed. According to Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, radiation 1000 times normal levels was detected inside the TEPCO Dai-1 plant's control room, and levels 8 times normal were found outside the plant.
The government issued a state of emergency at 7:03 Friday evening, and thousands of people living within a 3-kilometer radius of the plant were evacuated. The evacuation area was later increased to 10 km and then 20 km, after reports that radiation had been leaked into the atmosphere.
The news arm of the World Nuclear Association, citing TEPCO as its source, said pressure within the reactor had reached 840 kilopascals, about twice the normal level. To reduce this pressure, TEPCO has been releasing filtered reactor steam into the atmosphere, resulting in some radiation leakage.
TEPCO later notified the government that the water-cooling system in its Fukushima Dai-2 plant, located 12 km north of the Dai-1 plant, had failed, and all four of its reactors had been shut down automatically. The company added it was bringing in mobile electric generators to restore power to the system. Residents living within 10 km were evacuated.
Both these plants house boiling water reactors to generate electricity. They use water (free of minerals) as a coolant and produce heat through nuclear fission. The heat boils the water to produce steam, which is used to drive the turbines for generating the electricity. The steam is then condensed into water and returned back to the reactor to continue the process. Even when the reactors are shut down, the cores continue to generate heat for a number of days, requiring the continual pumping of water through the system to cool them.
At 3:36 on 12 March, an explosion occurred in a reactor of the Fukushima Dai-1 plant, blowing off the roof and the upper part of the outer walls of the structure containing the reactor. Edano told reporters that the water level in the reactor dropped when the pumping system failed, causing steam to be generated. The steam filled the space outside the reactor and the inner walls of the outer structure. This in turn generated hydrogen that mixed with the steam and caused the explosion.
"Because there was no oxygen in the container, there was no explosion in the container, so there was no damage," said Edano. "And there was no great amount of radiation leaked."
Earlier, he said TEPCO had begun venting steam from the container to reduce the growing pressure inside. As a result, the density of radiation around the structure rose to the level of 1015 microsieverts. "After the explosion, the pressure inside the container fell and remains at a very low level," says Edano. At the same time, the density of radiation also fell to 860 microsieverts, and by 6:48 p.m. it had fallen further to 70.5 microsieverts.
TEPCO has now decided to flood the container with seawater to bring down the temperature. Boric acid will also be added to prevent nuclear criticality, a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. Experts consider this operation a dire measure that will render the reactor unusable and result in its decommission. After the government consulted with other experts and TEPCO, it gave its consent to what is "an unprecedented step," says Edano. There is speculation, given the need to use seawater, that the water pipes feeding the system must have been damaged by the earthquake.
Several nuclear experts speaking on national television said that if the light-water reactors were to go into meltdown, they wouldn't explode or affect people outside the 10-km safety zones that have been set up around both plants. (The evacuation zone around Dai-1 has since been increased to 20 km.) Professor Masaki Saito, of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, said there was no possibility of a disaster like the one that happened in 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
In the latest development of a fast-changing situation, NHK, Japan's national broadcasting organization, reported midday Sunday that the cooling system controlling Fukushima Dai-1 plant's No. 3 boiling water reactor (rated at 784 megawatts) has failed. TEPCO said the pressure had passed 800 kilopascals, forcing the company to vent filtered steam into the atmosphere, mirroring the emergency measures taken yesterday when the same situation arose with the No. 1 reactor.
John Boyd is an independent writer based in Japan. He covers sci-tech news, research, and events in Japan and Australasia, in particular, and is a long-time contributor to IEEE Spectrum.
New Filter Doubles Nuclear Fuel Extractable from Seawater
Transportation Topic News Type
Honda Is Readying a Novel Battery Sharing Service for E-taxis in India
Topic Type Energy Interview
Climate Expert: Stop Talking About "Geoengineering"
Energy Topic Artificial Intelligence Type Feature
Smokey the AI
Smart image analysis algorithms, fed by cameras carried by drones and ground vehicles, can help power companies prevent forest fires
Vikhyat Chaudhry
The 2021 Dixie Fire in northern California is suspected of being caused by Pacific Gas & Electric's equipment. The fire is the second-largest in California history.
The 2020 fire season in the United States was the worst in at least 70 years, with some 4 million hectares burned on the west coast alone. These West Coast fires killed at least 37 people, destroyed hundreds of structures, caused nearly US $20 billion in damage, and filled the air with smoke that threatened the health of millions of people. And this was on top of a 2018 fire season that burned more than 700,000 hectares of land in California, and a 2019-to-2020 wildfire season in Australia that torched nearly 18 million hectares.
While some of these fires started from human carelessness—or arson—far too many were sparked and spread by the electrical power infrastructure and power lines. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) calculates that nearly 100,000 burned hectares of those 2018 California fires were the fault of the electric power infrastructure, including the devastating Camp Fire, which wiped out most of the town of Paradise. And in July of this year, Pacific Gas & Electric indicated that blown fuses on one of its utility poles may have sparked the Dixie Fire, which burned nearly 400,000 hectares.
Until these recent disasters, most people, even those living in vulnerable areas, didn't give much thought to the fire risk from the electrical infrastructure. Power companies trim trees and inspect lines on a regular—if not particularly frequent—basis.
However, the frequency of these inspections has changed little over the years, even though climate change is causing drier and hotter weather conditions that lead up to more intense wildfires. In addition, many key electrical components are beyond their shelf lives, including insulators, transformers, arrestors, and splices that are more than 40 years old. Many transmission towers, most built for a 40-year lifespan, are entering their final decade.
The way the inspections are done has changed little as well.
Historically, checking the condition of electrical infrastructure has been the responsibility of men walking the line. When they're lucky and there's an access road, line workers use bucket trucks. But when electrical structures are in a backyard easement, on the side of a mountain, or otherwise out of reach for a mechanical lift, line workers still must belt-up their tools and start climbing. In remote areas, helicopters carry inspectors with cameras with optical zooms that let them inspect power lines from a distance. These long-range inspections can cover more ground but can't really replace a closer look.
Recently, power utilities have started using drones to capture more information more frequently about their power lines and infrastructure. In addition to zoom lenses, some are adding thermal sensors and lidar onto the drones.
Thermal sensors pick up excess heat from electrical components like insulators, conductors, and transformers. If ignored, these electrical components can spark or, even worse, explode. Lidar can help with vegetation management, scanning the area around a line and gathering data that software later uses to create a 3-D model of the area. The model allows power system managers to determine the exact distance of vegetation from power lines. That's important because when tree branches come too close to power lines they can cause shorting or catch a spark from other malfunctioning electrical components.
AI-based algorithms can spot areas in which vegetation encroaches on power lines, processing tens of thousands of aerial images in days.Buzz Solutions
Bringing any technology into the mix that allows more frequent and better inspections is good news. And it means that, using state-of-the-art as well as traditional monitoring tools, major utilities are now capturing more than a million images of their grid infrastructure and the environment around it every year.
AI isn't just good for analyzing images. It can predict the future by looking at patterns in data over time.
Now for the bad news. When all this visual data comes back to the utility data centers, field technicians, engineers, and linemen spend months analyzing it—as much as six to eight months per inspection cycle. That takes them away from their jobs of doing maintenance in the field. And it's just too long: By the time it's analyzed, the data is outdated.
It's time for AI to step in. And it has begun to do so. AI and machine learning have begun to be deployed to detect faults and breakages in power lines.
Multiple power utilities, including Xcel Energy and Florida Power and Light, are testing AI to detect problems with electrical components on both high- and low-voltage power lines. These power utilities are ramping up their drone inspection programs to increase the amount of data they collect (optical, thermal, and lidar), with the expectation that AI can make this data more immediately useful.
My organization, Buzz Solutions, is one of the companies providing these kinds of AI tools for the power industry today. But we want to do more than detect problems that have already occurred—we want to predict them before they happen. Imagine what a power company could do if it knew the location of equipment heading towards failure, allowing crews to get in and take preemptive maintenance measures, before a spark creates the next massive wildfire.
It's time to ask if an AI can be the modern version of the old Smokey Bear mascot of the United States Forest Service: preventing wildfires before they happen.
Damage to power line equipment due to overheating, corrosion, or other issues can spark a fire.Buzz Solutions
We started to build our systems using data gathered by government agencies, nonprofits like the Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI), power utilities, and aerial inspection service providers that offer helicopter and drone surveillance for hire. Put together, this data set comprises thousands of images of electrical components on power lines, including insulators, conductors, connectors, hardware, poles, and towers. It also includes collections of images of damaged components, like broken insulators, corroded connectors, damaged conductors, rusted hardware structures, and cracked poles.
We worked with EPRI and power utilities to create guidelines and a taxonomy for labeling the image data. For instance, what exactly does a broken insulator or corroded connector look like? What does a good insulator look like?
We then had to unify the disparate data, the images taken from the air and from the ground using different kinds of camera sensors operating at different angles and resolutions and taken under a variety of lighting conditions. We increased the contrast and brightness of some images to try to bring them into a cohesive range, we standardized image resolutions, and we created sets of images of the same object taken from different angles. We also had to tune our algorithms to focus on the object of interest in each image, like an insulator, rather than consider the entire image. We used machine learning algorithms running on an artificial neural network for most of these adjustments.
Today, our AI algorithms can recognize damage or faults involving insulators, connectors, dampers, poles, cross-arms, and other structures, and highlight the problem areas for in-person maintenance. For instance, it can detect what we call flashed-over insulators—damage due to overheating caused by excessive electrical discharge. It can also spot the fraying of conductors (something also caused by overheated lines), corroded connectors, damage to wooden poles and crossarms, and many more issues.
Developing algorithms for analyzing power system equipment required determining what exactly damaged components look like from a variety of angles under disparate lighting conditions. Here, the software flags problems with equipment used to reduce vibration caused by winds.Buzz Solutions
But one of the most important issues, especially in California, is for our AI to recognize where and when vegetation is growing too close to high-voltage power lines, particularly in combination with faulty components, a dangerous combination in fire country.
Today, our system can go through tens of thousands of images and spot issues in a matter of hours and days, compared with months for manual analysis. This is a huge help for utilities trying to maintain the power infrastructure.
But AI isn't just good for analyzing images. It can predict the future by looking at patterns in data over time. AI already does that to predict weather conditions, the growth of companies, and the likelihood of onset of diseases, to name just a few examples.
We believe that AI will be able to provide similar predictive tools for power utilities, anticipating faults, and flagging areas where these faults could potentially cause wildfires. We are developing a system to do so in cooperation with industry and utility partners.
We are using historical data from power line inspections combined with historical weather conditions for the relevant region and feeding it to our machine learning systems. We are asking our machine learning systems to find patterns relating to broken or damaged components, healthy components, and overgrown vegetation around lines, along with the weather conditions related to all of these, and to use the patterns to predict the future health of the power line or electrical components and vegetation growth around them.
Buzz Solutions
Buzz Solutions' PowerAI software analyzes images of the power infrastructure to spot current problems and predict future ones
Right now, our algorithms can predict six months into the future that, for example, there is a likelihood of five insulators getting damaged in a specific area, along with a high likelihood of vegetation overgrowth near the line at that time, that combined create a fire risk.
We are now using this predictive fault detection system in pilot programs with several major utilities—one in New York, one in the New England region, and one in Canada. Since we began our pilots in December of 2019, we have analyzed about 3,500 electrical towers. We detected, among some 19,000 healthy electrical components, 5,500 faulty ones that could have led to power outages or sparking. (We do not have data on repairs or replacements made.)
Where do we go from here? To move beyond these pilots and deploy predictive AI more widely, we will need a huge amount of data, collected over time and across various geographies. This requires working with multiple power companies, collaborating with their inspection, maintenance, and vegetation management teams. Major power utilities in the United States have the budgets and the resources to collect data at such a massive scale with drone and aviation-based inspection programs. But smaller utilities are also becoming able to collect more data as the cost of drones drops. Making tools like ours broadly useful will require collaboration between the big and the small utilities, as well as the drone and sensor technology providers.
Fast forward to October 2025. It's not hard to imagine the western U.S facing another hot, dry, and extremely dangerous fire season, during which a small spark could lead to a giant disaster. People who live in fire country are taking care to avoid any activity that could start a fire. But these days, they are far less worried about the risks from their electric grid, because, months ago, utility workers came through, repairing and replacing faulty insulators, transformers, and other electrical components and trimming back trees, even those that had yet to reach power lines. Some asked the workers why all the activity. "Oh," they were told, "our AI systems suggest that this transformer, right next to this tree, might spark in the fall, and we don't want that to happen."
Indeed, we certainly don't.


Here is an update on the David and Goliath painting. I've finished Goliath's face and David's blue hat (excluding the jewels and feather).
Categories: Images, Visual Arts | Tags: artist, artwork, Cagnacci, David, figure, Goliath, Heidi Celeghin, oil, oil painting, painting, Portugal, Renaissance, reproduction | Permalink.
I am working on five paintings concurrently but can only show progress photographs of two of them. Here is a hand study I am doing in order to test out a new technique. It is at the dead coloring stage at this point.
Categories: Images, Visual Arts | Tags: artist, artwork, dead coloring, hand, Heidi Celeghin, oil, oil painting, painting, study | Permalink.
Now that I am back home, I have time to upload some photos of my time in Portugal.
Coming soon: updates on my latest paintings!
Categories: Images, Visual Arts | Tags: Apulia, artist, beach, Cascais, castle, Europe, Heidi Celeghin, Lisboa, Lisbon, O Porto, OCEAN, photo, photography, photos, Porto, Portugal, Sintra, travel, traveling, water | Permalink.
Here is the current stage of the David and Goliath painting.
I am currently working on multiple projects, most specifically my Painting for Conservation endeavor with the Houston Zoo.
Categories: Images, Visual Arts | Tags: artist, artwork, beach, Cagnacci, David, figure, Goliath, Heidi Celeghin, OCEAN, oil, oil painting, painting, photography, Portugal, Renaissance, reproduction | Permalink.


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AMBON, NETRALNEWS.COM - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan has said the beauty of nature and peace in Ambon are the main attraction for the cyclists 2017 Tour de Moluccas.
"I think this event will be an exciting tour, 714 kilometers around the Moluccas. The clean, beautiful, peaceful city of Ambon, let's make them to be the theme of the campaign," he told reporters after finished the race.
Minister Panjaitan released the start and participated on Sunday (9/17/2017) in the capital of Maluku, Ambon.
He said many areas in Maluku are beautiful and its beautiful nature certainly can be an attraction for the participants. In this first held event with as many as 112 domestic and overseas participants.
According to him the sanitation campaign also includes the ocean sanitation.
"In my welcome speech I have to say that if there is plastic waste, it's should not thrown into the sea. The garbage can be mixed with asphalt. Besides making our environment clean, maintaining the sanitation also can improve people's economy," he told the reportes.
When asked about the Ambonese people who are still waiting for the government's promise to make Ambon a national fish barn, Coordinating Minister Luhut promised to inquire to the related minister.
"That's what we are doing, I will also check the progress to the Maritime and Fisheries Minister," he said.
The marine conservation program of the Coordinating Minister of the Maritime has emphasized the need for cooperation.
"About the sea toll we've discussed yesterday. It turns out that those who benefit from the subsidies are traders, whereas the initial purpose of the subsidy is that the prices can be the same as the island of Java. We are still evaluating this problem," he replied.
Throughout the race, participants will pass a number of spots with beautiful scenery, including Namalatu Beach, Matakus Beach, and several other places.


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The nearest tube station serving EC1M Cripplegate is Barbican.


When paying in advance the period of delivery begins on the day instruction to make payment has been given to the credit institute which is transferring payment or, when using other methods of payment from the day the contract is concluded, and the period of delivery ends at the end of the last day of the period. If the last day of the period is a Saturday, Sunday or on a state-recognised public holiday at the place of delivery then that day is replaced by the next working day.
This document is a translation. In case of any dispute only the German original is valid.


With SQL Data Warehouse, pay for only what you use instead of getting trapped in the predefined architecture of traditional data warehousing solutions. It also gives the unique option to pause compute, helping you to further cut on cost.
Features like Azure authentication and automatic threat detection help manage, find and remove any security threat even before it hits your system. The detection technique uses machine learning for understanding your workload patterns and acts accordingly to alert you of potential breaches.
With compute and storage being separated in SQL Data Warehouse help to increase or decrease storage size independent of the compute and vice-versa. You can also pause compute and pay only for storage and resume compute only in operational hours.
SQL Data Warehouse offers complete regulatory compliance with various business and legal security requirements like the SOC and ISO certifications.


If you remember last week, Gallup released a poll that showed Republicans trouncing all over the Democrats come November. It was a blowout, and all of the talking heads and wonks and wonkettes were in a frenzy over how badly the Democrats were going to get their asses kicked. But yesterday, Gallup released this week's poll numbers for the same poll, and guess what, the parties are tied.
Oh now what are we going to do? The narrative of a GOP landslide has a chink in its armor.


Every automobile is much more than a four wheeled automobile. It is owner's glory, passion along with a supply of great admiration. Yes, an automobile is not simply a way of transportation. It's America's satisfaction and its best ecstasy.
When a person sets out to get an automobile, a few things are being considered. Most people have a concept of what car to buy. However, there is confusion and dilemma when the topic of car loans comes up. This article is going to give you a detailed understanding of many auto financing solutions with you.
> > Money Before Everything else < < It's so true. You can't venture out for purchasing an automobile when you've no idea about the finances of yours. In case you think vehicle loans are likely to do almost everything for you, think again. You are going to have to manage down payment and also ensure regular payments. Automobile loans are just to offer ease in buying. Finding that perfect car loan requires you to carefully put together all your expenses and income and then preparing your budget. You will have to consider your savings and choose something that will not furnish you with financial trouble. > > A Plenitude Of Options < < Everything depends on getting the info that fits your situation. So, don't go for the very first financing option you get. Do not just stroll into any nearby dealer's office or even your neighborhood bank. You have to first do a total research and analyze your condition and needs. In order to help you make a great choice, here is all the information about automobile loan types. Check out all of the pros and cons of every feature. It is going to help you make a wise decision. > > Dealership Financing < < A automobile loan with an automobile from the same yard seems too alluring to ignore! Most Americans choose dealership financing since it offers a one-stop solution. Dealers offer loans for brand new as well as used automobiles. You must understand that many retailers are link between you and the lender. Such dealers won't themselves lend you money, instead will promote you mortgage application to lenders. This option is convenient but make certain that dealer isn't charging a high interest rate. For that, you should research and be wary of any red flags. Also, don't get any add on in case you do not feel the need of theirs. It is going to help you reduce the cost. > > Personal Loans < < Financial institutions and banks offer loans for almost any purpose like buying a personal item or perhaps a holiday trip. You are able to avail personal loans for buying your dream car. Today, this kind of financing is practical when you need a loan for a smaller quantity like $15,000. > > Car Leasing < < This is another option for you. When you lease a vehicle, you simply pay for the price of using it. The greatest appeal with leasing is that the monthly payments of yours will be significantly lower than the usual car loan payments. You don't need to worry about down payment as well as the lease agreement becomes over in two-three years. You always have the option of buying the car at the end-of lease agreement. When you go for lease financing, do not forget to negotiate the automobile price. Most buyers think that one should fork out the full sticker price which is wrong. > > Equity Loans < < If you're one of those couple of lucky people that have large assets say for example a house, you are able to go for equity loans. You can avail a home equity loan by making use of your home as collateral. Although the rates are lower and the fascination is tax deductible, there's the risk of losing the home of yours. > > Credit Cards < < Though it may sound unusual, but you'll find many who opt for this method. A credit card can enable you to purchase a vehicle for a smaller volume like $10,000. You will need to have a low interest credit card. With large competition, getting a low cost card won't be considered a trouble for you. The one thing is basically that you are going to have to restrict other purchases on your card. Also, many credit card companies charge a 3 % processing fees. If you are absolutely clear on paying this particular fee to the dealer, go with it. > > Car Loans < < This's as popular as dealership financing, or even more. In this kind of loan, your car is used as collateral against monthly payments. It's really good option in case you make regular payments. The only thing you have to keep in mind is that you won't be able to finance an automobile older compared to six/seven years. > > Online Car Loans < < This type is simply the blend of car loans and the internet. With technological progress, you can get every little thing on the net and automobile loans are not any different. Online lending companies have a large network of dealers and lenders who bid for your application. All that you need to do is fill a simple online application form. As there is a large network, getting a mortgage is actually easy. Furthermore, the advantage of availing a loan without going out of the house is rather tempting. You must only be concerned about the company's reliability. You can take a look at the website's safety by going through their protection certificate. Don't go for a business enterprise which charges for loan quotes because there's a lot of reputable sites that provide free quotes. The way To choose That Perfect Car Loan? Simply go over with a fine-tooth comb. As soon as you determine the type of vehicle loan and apply, it is time to examine the loan quotes. Loan payments are very important but it should not be the soul of your decision. There are numerous factors which are equally important. Before you rush to your decision, take a look at these variables. Loan Term the loan of yours term will have a huge impact on your loan. A longer loan term will mean that the monthly payments of yours are smaller, but the truth is you may ultimately be paying more interest rate. It is advisable that your term ought to be in accordance with the valuable life of the car. Your loan needs to get over before the life of car to avoid the danger of an upside-down loan.
Interest is dependent on factors such as the loan amount, loan term, credit score, financial condition, etc. One vital tip to lower loan rates is by making a sizable down payment. This will bring down your loan amount and in addition instill a sense of confidence in the lender.
The Annual Percentage Ratio is going to tell you about the total price of the loan including all charges and fees. Most borrowers consider only monthly payments. Nonetheless, it's impossible to compare various loan quotes with various loan terms. When you compare 2 loan quotes with the assistance of APR, you're taking into consideration every one of the variables.
You have to equate loan quotes on the foundation of the clauses in the loan agreements. Few lenders prohibit you from refinancing your vehicle loan for the first few months. Some lenders also have zero percent financing for a couple of months then and only charge a floating interest rate. Thus, determine for such clauses which could cause problem in the future.
Look at the mortgage contract for origination costs, annual costs, prepayment penalty plus penalty for losing out on a payment. Pick a lender with lesser fees and does not charge for making early re payment. The latter will be helpful in case you decide to refinance your loan.
It is essential to know whether you are supposed to make payments weekly or even monthly. When you can afford monthly payment, do not consider some other option. This's so since it will give you the choice of making regular payments without any unnecessary financial restraints.
Once you compare quotes on these variables, you will undoubtedly get a winner. Choosing your vehicle loan by this strategy may take time but what matter would be the simplicity in making payments. Every factor is vital in making your life easier and your automobile buying experience even more pleasurable. So, memorize these important tips.
Owing an automobile is a dream for a lot of, but one that takes a prudent decision can fulfill it in true sense. Car loans won't be a trouble in case you consider your needs and financial condition. Remember a good decision has a thorough research process.
All the best for selecting probably the best!


A lilac-breasted roller sits atop a tree in Botswana taking in the surroundings. His colorful plumage make him a beautiful sight to see in the golden savannah and drier woodlands where you go to see the Big Five. The teal and purple really are magnificent; this is the perfect card to send your favorite ornithologist!


Lester Grinspoon, an emeritus professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, is the coauthor of "Marijuana, the Forbidden Medicine."
The point made about medicinal cannabis being of "notoriously poor quality" is irrelevent as any medical surveys would have been carried out using extracted anisolated cannabiniods.
Either way, basically everyone knows about the medicinal aspects of marijuana and yet look where we are. They are too proud to admit that they are wrong so how long will it take before common sense comes back?
Here is a question while I'm at it; could drugs become a big issue in a political campaign? Asides from the BS that we here "We are going to have a stricker drug rules so that your children will be safe"... how about if we heard the opposite for once?


text:
package capstone.ui;

import capstone.data.Profile;
import capstone.data.Theme;
import capstone.game.Game;
import capstone.game.Level;
import com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.Component;
import com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.GUIScreen;
import com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.Button;
import com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.component.Panel;
import com.googlecode.lanterna.gui.dialog.MessageBox;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

/**
 * The window to display the in-game menu. Contains actions to
 *
 * 1. Continue the game.
 * 2. Show the legend.
 * 3. Change the theme of the level.
 * 4. Show the highscore-window.
 * 5. Load a new game.
 * 6. Save the game.
 * 7. Saving and exiting the game.
 * 8. Saving and going back to the welcome window (the "start").
 * 9. Going back to the start without saving.
 * 10. Exiting the whole game (std::exit).
 *
 */
public class MenuWindow extends Widget
{
    /**
     *
     * Constructs a MenuWindow for a Game.
     *
     * @param game The game to operate on.
     *
     */
    public MenuWindow(Game game)
    {
        super("Menu", Panel.Orientation.VERTICAL);

        this.game(game);

        add(new Button("Continue", this::_continue));

        add(new Button("Show Legend", this::_showLegend));

        add(new Button("Highscores", this::_showHighscores));

        add(new Button("Change Theme", this::_changeTheme));

        add(new Button("Load Game", this::_loadGame));

        add(new Button("Save", this::_saveLevel));

        add(new Button("Save and Exit", this::_saveAndExit));

        add(new Button("Save and Back to Start", this::_saveAndBackToStart));

        add(new Button("Back to Start", this::_backToStart));

        add(new Button("Exit", () -> System.exit(0)));
    }

    /**
     * Shows the whole menu on the game's screen.
     */
    public void show()
    {
        _game.gui().showWindow(this, GUIScreen.Position.CENTER);

        _game.level().redraw();
    }

    /**
     * Shows only the legend on the game's screen.
     */
    public void showLegend()
    {
        _game.gui().showWindow(
                new LegendWidget(_game.level().theme()),
                GUIScreen.Position.CENTER
        );

        _game.level().redraw();
    }

    /**
     * @return The game held by the MenuWindow.
     */
    public Game game()
    {
        return _game;
    }

    /**
     *
     * Sets the game the MenuWindow operates on.
     *
     * @param game The new game object.
     */
    public void game(Game game)
    {
        assert(game != null);

        _game = game;
    }

    /**
     *
     * Adds components on the left instead of entirely-centered
     * (as does the default Widget method) by default.
     *
     * @param component The component to add.
     */
    @Override public void add(Component component)
    {
        super.add(component, Alignment.LEFT_CENTER);
    }

    /**
     * Performs the operation for the "Continue" button.
     *
     * Just closes the Menu.
     */
    private void _continue()
    {
        super.close();

        _game.level().redraw();
    }

    /**
     * Performs the operation for the "Show Legend" button.
     *
     * Shows the LegendWidget.
     */
    private void _showLegend()
    {
        LegendWidget legend = new LegendWidget(_game.level().theme());

        _game.gui().showWindow(legend, GUIScreen.Position.CENTER);
    }

    /**
     * Performs the operation for the "Save Level" button.
     *
     * Saves the level and returns to the menu. Also shows a small
     * MessageBox to indicate successful saving.
     */
    private void _saveLevel()
    {
        try
        {
            _game.save();

            MessageBox.showMessageBox(
                    _game.gui(),
                    "",
                    "\nSaved!"
            );
        }

        catch (IOException e)
        {
            Widget.showIOErrorBox(_game.gui());
        }
    }

    /**
     * Performs the operation for the "Show Highscores" button.
     *
     * Opens a new HighscoreWindow.
     */
    private void _showHighscores()
    {
        HighscoreWindow window = new HighscoreWindow();

        _game.gui().showWindow(window, GUIScreen.Position.CENTER);
    }

    /**
     * Performs the operation for the "Change Theme" button.
     *
     * Opens a new ThemeWindow.
     */
    private void _changeTheme()
    {
        ThemeWindow window = new ThemeWindow();

        _game.gui().showWindow(window, GUIScreen.Position.CENTER);

        Theme theme = window.theme();

        if (theme != null) _game.level().theme(theme);
    }

    /**
     * Performs the operation for the "Load Game" button.
     *
     * Opens a new LevelWindow.
     */
    private void _loadGame()
    {
        List<Profile> profiles = new ArrayList<>(_game.profiles());

        LevelWindow window = new LevelWindow(profiles);

        _game.gui().showWindow(window, GUIScreen.Position.CENTER);

        Level level = window.level();

        if (level != null)
        {
            _game.level(level);

            super.close();
        }
    }

    /**
     * Performs the operation for the "(Save and) Back To Start" button.
     *
     * Closes the window and calls the Game class' backToStart method,
     * which shows the WelcomeWindow.
     */
    private void _backToStart()
    {
        super.close();

        _game.backToStart();
    }

    /**
     * Performs the operation for the "Save And Back To Start" button.
     *
     * Combines the "Save" and "Back To Start" buttons.
     */
    private void _saveAndBackToStart()
    {
        _saveLevel();

        _backToStart();
    }

    /**
     * Performs the operation for the "Exit" button.
     *
     * Combines the "Save" and "Exit" buttons.
     */
    private void _saveAndExit()
    {
        _saveLevel();

        System.exit(0);
    }

    private Game _game;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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16:9 Anamorphic AdapterDesigned specifically for miniature 4:3 aspect broadcast quality CCD cameras. The Anamorphic Adapter converts the image ratio so that when recorded by a 4:3 aspect camera the image is captured as 16:9. The design is small and compact to suit the miniature cameras.


Jasper was a neighbours cat,who sadly died at the age of 17 .he will be greatly missed by us .
Introducing Taz, Jas's sister from the same litter, she is living with us now.
jas has now taken to texting other cats, i think she's got a liberty, i mean its not even her phone!!!
went to the last day of the first test between England and India at Lords in N.W London, had a brilliant day and managed to get this beauty.
this lens has the levels of sharpness way beyond what i expected, even on the edges and corners where most lenses struggle, i'm very happy with this lens.
whilst i was on holiday i ran into some old friends.
the cat belongs to http://www.pbase.com/monminou , i cut and pasted her onto one of my pictures as Raymond wants his cat to travel the world.
thanks to Raymond for allowing me to use his cat in one of my pictures.
merry christmas, or happy holidays, to all our pbase friends. may you all have a great time over the festive period.
even including shipping costs and import duties i saved £80!!!!, how can that be justified by Canon.
i want to come back as a cat, what a life to live !!!!!!!
the next "lewis hamilton" in the making, hopefully!
Jasper, a lovely old cat who seems to spend more time in our garden than his own!.
it was freezing and this "mad" goose kept ducking under the water to clean itself, i wished i had it's insulation, my hands and face were going numb!.
the queue for landing slots grew longer and longer!!
i was playing with Helen's new lens on her camera and spotted jas in her "home", i thought only kids like the boxes more than the presents, clearly not!.
i managed to take a few pictures before being told to stop or get permission from "upstairs", i don't know if he meant God!.
no tripod was used i placed my camera against a door frame.
A merry christmas to all our friends at pbase, thanks for all your comments this year.
one from the archives today, pc playing up, spent most of the day fixing the bloody thing.
a large hammer sorted it!.
as british spiders go, this one was big enough to put a saddle on and ride it round the garden, but not by me as i don't like them!. i pity its lunch in the take away wrap!.
driving up the A3 near Hindhead, in traffic, saw this and quickly took it. i liked the colours of the autumn leaves. it was a miserable dark day, check the exposure data.
taken on the A3 north of Portsmouth, could not stop for long enough to get out of the truck, so i had to to take it through the open passenger window, not ideal but safer for me!.
i think he might have some explaining to do to his boss!!
i was shooting this game for about 3 hours, the sun came out for about 5 mins. i love the lighting in this photo.
This just gets better all the time!! Regards.
Thank you so much for all of yoru kind comments , I have been enjoying looking through your galleries , you have such a pleasent presentaion, a simple directness and joy that is evident in your work ...and you have good taste in pets :) Thanks so much for sharing these images with us !
Great images Graham! You sure do have a beautiful country for landscapes!
Such a wonderful variety of super shots.
Wonderful gallery with many outstanding landscape images!
Fantastic collections in this gallery, looking forward to more!
Top quality artwork! One of my favorites.
Nice mix of pictures. Gets my vote.
Voted! Amazing work and images!
Such a wonderful gallery, recording the great moments! Thanks for sharing!
2063 is my favorit. Nice gallerys!
Nice collection of shots. And enjoying your sunsets.


text:
Home Editorials and Opinions Thank you Mr President for remembering our national heroes
Thank you Mr President for remembering our national heroes
Accra, March 7, GNA -There is a gentleman in Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings Party- the National Democratic Party (NDP), whose impeccable grasp of the Queen's language is beyond dispute.
However listening to him for a while would force you to visit the Oxford Dictionary to discern, which direction he is leading the dialogue. The big and superfluous words are nice to the ears but difficult to digest.
I am however not discussing the NDP or the mastery of the English Language. What is in focus is the nationalist fervour of this gentleman. The more you talk to him the more convinced you become about his love for God and country.
If I have the power to honour patriots who are working behind the scenes, I would surely confer on this personality 'The Order of the Volta'. However this powers rest in the bosom of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
I am however of the opinion that the President exercised these powers very well by recalling the tiredless effort of personalities who can best be described as Ancestors, for helping to bring down the grips of British colonialism.
What makes it more interesting is that the honour was done to these heroes at a time when Ghana has activated the Diamond Jubilee mood.
In the words of the President: "We are met here, today, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our nation's independence, to celebrate our freedom from the clutches of British imperialism, to celebrate the final achievement of the struggle of successive generations of Ghanaian patriots to establish a free, sovereign Ghana."
The President talked about the signing of the Bond of 1844, which marked the formal start of the Gold Coast colony, then the formation of the Aborigines Rights Protection Society on 4th August, 1897, in Cape Coast, symbolising the start of the struggle for political independence.
"It is worth mentioning some of the names of the members of the Society because, unfortunately, we do not often acknowledge their role – John Mensah Sarbah, Joseph Casely Hayford, J.W. Sey, J.P Brown, and their colleagues, who organised the chiefs and people against the Crown Lands Bill, and forced the colonial authorities to retreat. Sarbah began the tradition of the Ghanaian lawyer as a nationalist.
"This was probably one of the most dramatic interventions in the colonial history of our country. One hundred and twenty years after that event, its significance might be lost on us. But we would appreciate its importance if we consider that the very same objectives of the Crown Lands Bill were introduced at the same time, and became law, in countries like Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and other British colonies around Africa and changed the course of their history."
The lands of the indigenous peoples in those countries were seized by the British Crown under that law, an event from which, a century later, they have still not recovered.
"In what was then the Gold Coast, we continued to possess our lands because of the bravery of the members of the Aborigines Rights Protection Society, and we must pay homage to these patriots every day, especially on this 60th anniversary. Even though we maintained, in 1897, the continuing and inalienable rights to our lands, we remained a colony and could not govern ourselves," the President said.
President Akufo-Addo noted that a decade or so later, the British West African National Congress, under the joint leadership of Joseph Casely-Hayford and Thomas Hatton-Mills, was formed to carry on with the agitation against colonial rule.
The next significant event in the struggle occurred on 4th August, 1947, exactly 50 years later to the day of the formation of the Aborigines Rights Protection Society, when a group of nationalists gathered in Saltpond for the launch of the United Gold Coast Convention, the (UGCC), the first political party in our country.
The founders of the UGCC, then, met to demand independence from the British and 70 years after that event, one still marvels at the clarity of thought and the passion that they displayed. Some of the names of that momentous day have survived in the country's written history and folk memory.
Five of them are on our Ghanaian currency: Joseph Boakye Danquah; Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey; William Ofori-Atta; Ebenezer Ako-Adjei; and Edward Akufo-Addo. Kwame Nkrumah, the sixth of the Big Six on the currency, was to join them later.
And there are others, equally important that should not be forgotten, George Paa Grant, R.S. Blay, Cobbina Kessie, J.W. de Graft Johnson and Francis Awoonor Williams, amongst others.
The UGCC leaders decided they needed a full time person to run the party's affairs; they sent for the dynamic Kwame Nkrumah, who was in the United Kingdom at the time, and he came to join them in December 1947.
Soon thereafter, on 28th February, 1948, the notorious and senseless killings of three ex-servicemen, Sergeant Adjetey, Corporal Attipoe and Private Odartey Lamptey occurred, and sparked a nationwide revulsion against the colonial power, which, undoubtedly, quickened the pace of the independence movement.
"We celebrate the three as martyrs in the cause of Ghanaian freedom. The Watson Commission followed, which mapped out the steps towards our eventual attainment of independence.
"In 1949, on 12th June, Kwame Nkrumah broke away from the UGCC and formed his own party, the Convention People's Party. Even as he broke away, Kwame Nkrumah remembered from whence he came and retained the word 'convention' in the name of his new party, the CPP," said the President.
President Akufo- Addo added: "We must remember, on a day like this, some others who are not listed among the forefront fighters for political freedom, but who fought equally hard for our cultural integrity and the identification of who we are as Ghanaians.
"I pay homage to Ephraim Amu, Tata Amu as he was fondly called. He was the composer of what easily passes as our unofficial National Anthem, Yen Ara Asase Ne. Is there a Ghanaian among us, today, who can sing or hear that song, in whichever language, without being moved?
"Ephraim Amu stood alone, most of the time, against what he saw as cultural domination. You did not have to wear a European-cut suit to be a scholar, you could wear a fugu, kente and above all, a locally woven fabric, and still be an educated person, he argued. He insisted you did not have to eat foreign foods because you were a scholar, and he insisted our music was as interesting and sophisticated as any around the world. Those were radical ideas for the time.
"I pay homage to Kwegyir Aggrey, he reminded us we were eagles that should soar, and not be timid, domesticated birds.
"I pay homage to Philip Gbeho, the composer of our National Anthem, Theodosia Okoh, the designer of our national flag, and Amon Kotei, the designer of our coat of arms.
"I pay homage to Kofi Antubam, the artist who first put Ghanaian art on the map. I pay homage to Saka Acquaye, the poet, writer, sculptor and musician, who wrote the first African folklore, The Lost Fisherman. I pay homage to J.A. Braimah, the Gonja scholar and statesman who wrote insightful publications about the Gonja people.
"I pay homage to the poet Apaloo, who immortalised the philosophy and music of the Ewe language. I pay homage to E.T. Mensah, King Bruce, Jerry Hansen and the others who popularised highlife, which has become an enduring identity of Ghanaian music. I pay tribute to the great musicologist, J.H. Nketia, who is the unrivalled authority on African music.
"I pay homage to Otumfuo Prempeh I, who waged a heroic, if unsuccessful, battle against the British, and retained his dignity even in exile. I pay homage to Yaa Asantewa, that woman of valour, who led the Ashanti resistance to British imperialism. I pay homage to Nana Ofori Atta I, who saw the wisdom in investing in the education of the young. I pay homage to Nii Kwabena Bonne III, Osu Alata Mantse, (Boycotthene), who organised the boycott of goods of the European traders and triggered the mass resistance that led to the 1948 riots."
President Akufo- Addo paid homage to Professor Alexander Adum Kwapong, the first Ghanaian Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, who became an icon in the development of the country's educational system and Dr Oku Ampofo, sculptor and physician, who encouraged confidence in traditional arts and medicine.
"It is thanks to him that herbal medicine became a respectable subject of study and research in our country.
"I pay homage to Akua Asabea, political activist; and I pay homage to Evelyn Amarteifio, social welfare pioneer. I pay homage to Esther Ocloo, pioneer industrialist and entrepreneur, whose food processing enterprises under the Nkulenu label changed our habits of food preparation forever."
He also paid homage to Dede Ashikisham and Akua Shorshorshor, famous market queens, who helped finance Kwame Nkrumah and the nationalist movement from their successful businesses.
"They and many others, like them, contributed to the fight for independence, and in moulding the Ghanaian that emerged on March 6, 1957," he said.
The President made my day on March 6, for all the good things he said about fellow Ghanaians. I know in the next few years more heroes of our time and beyond will come on board. It is good after all to be nationalistic.
But Nana Akufo-Addo let me remind that you per my research my late Grandfather was the General Secretary to the Aborigines Rights Protection Society, so please remember and do him the honour next year.
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text:
Q: uwsgi published Python 3.4 app, env['wsgi.errors'] = <_io.TextIOWrapper name=2 mode='w' encoding='ANSI_X3.4-1968'> I am learning basics of webdev. I got working python3.4 app published with uwsgi.
It works fine (outputs env dictionary with Jinja2 template engine), but I cannot find what that header means:
env['wsgi.errors'] = <_io.TextIOWrapper name=2 mode='w' encoding='ANSI_X3.4-1968'>

Do I need to fix something or its just like an object link?
EDIT:
To be more specific, here is example of code that I am talking about:
def application(env, start_response):
    start_response('200 OK', [('Content-Type','text/html')])
    return [b"Hello World"]

Like it described here
EDIT2:
Link to that app with headers output

A: It is not an error, its an object, where you can write errors to uwsgi server log.
For example:
def application(env, start_response):
    print('Hello, Lepra!', file=env['wsgi.errors'])
    start_response('200 OK', [('Content-Type','text/html')])
    return [b"Hello World"]

Links:

*

*Python WSGI Error on Output

*www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-3333/


Hey Guys!! It's time to really have the colors popping. I have heard so many people saying that when they wear colors, especially bright colors, that it really puts them is a good mood. So I have started out with some pastel, here I have a blush pink shirt and over the knee boots which covered my color fix. I added the gray coat because it it still cold and I wanted some contrast. What colors brightens your mood?
Previous PostPrevious Eyes Wide Shut!!!
Next PostNext Well Hello Spring!!!!


text:
using namespace core;
TEST(Graph, Nodes){
    Graph<> directed;

    std::vector<ID> nodes;

    nodes.push_back(directed.createNode());
    nodes.push_back(directed.createNode());
    nodes.push_back(directed.createNode());
    nodes.push_back(directed.createNode());
    nodes.push_back(directed.createNode());
    nodes.push_back(directed.createNode());

    directed.removeNode(nodes[1]); nodes.erase(nodes.begin() + 1);
    directed.removeNode(nodes[2]); nodes.erase(nodes.begin() + 2);
    directed.removeNode(nodes[3]); nodes.erase(nodes.begin() + 3);

    EXPECT_THAT(directed.getNodes(), ::testing::UnorderedElementsAreArray(nodes));
}

TEST(Graph, Edge){
    Graph<> directed;

    std::vector<ID> nodes;
    std::vector<ID> edges;

    nodes.push_back(directed.createNode());
    nodes.push_back(directed.createNode());
    nodes.push_back(directed.createNode());

    edges.push_back(directed.createEdge(nodes[0], nodes[1]));
    edges.push_back(directed.createEdge(nodes[1], nodes[2]));
    edges.push_back(directed.createEdge(nodes[2], nodes[0]));

    directed.removeEdge(edges[1]);
    edges.erase(edges.begin() + 1);

    EXPECT_THAT(directed.getEdges(), ::testing::UnorderedElementsAreArray(edges));
}


Questions about example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "Cascadia"
What does cascadia subduction zone mean?
It is a 1,000 Km long dipping fault that stretches from Northern Vancouver Island to Cape Mendocino California. It separates the Juan de Fuca and North America plates.
Example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "subduction"
Example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "cascada"
Example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "cascare"
Example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "Cascarita"
Example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "cascaron"


Analysis by Education DataLab, the research arm of the Fischer Family Trust, suggests that the introduction of the EBacc has largely benefitted pupils.
A new report by the Education Policy Institute focuses on the "progress gap" between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates.
A new Sutton Trust report looks at the achievement of disadvantaged students within sponsored academies in chains.
In its report, School performance in multi-academy trusts and local authorities, the EPI compare the performance of multi-academy trusts (MATs) with local authorities (LAs), publishing a set of "league tables" to show how MATs perform in relation to each other and in relation to LAs.
Research by the National Governors' Association, the Future Leaders Trust and the National Foundation for Educational Research has found that the number of executive headteachers in England is rapidly increasing even though their remit and responsibilities are still largely undefined.
The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), has released a report looking at the performance of maintained schools compared to academies.
Research published this week explores the factors affecting pupils' aspirations regarding university.
New report seeks to put education at the heart of "Northern Powerhouse"
A new report by IPPR North published on Monday 23 May seeks to put education at the heart of the government's "Northern Powerhouse", an agenda aimed at promoting investment in the north of England and devolution to its major cities.
Academic analysis of careers education in England has revealed that having access to quality careers advice at an early age can significantly impact later earnings.
The Fair Education Alliance's 2015 Report Card charts progress towards its impact goals, aimed at eliminating educational inequality.


I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you and your team sincerely and from the bottom of my heart for what you have done to help Reilly.
In a short period of only 10 days, I have watched Reilly transform from an academically-insecure child to a reading-confident individual. Where he avoided reading and school-related activities for the past two-and-a-half years, he is now happy to read anything and he does it willingly. His transformation is not only displayed in his reading ability, but physically and emotionally, too. Before, Reilly was very sensitive and would cry or fight easily; but now he is understanding, accepting, he stands tall and is almost mature in his demeanour. I credit your one-on-one programme for this. There are not enough words to express how grateful I am.
Although I mentioned that Reilly's transformation took place over the 10 days, the first changes were evident after only three days. I noticed that he would read words that appeared on TV or alongside the roads we travelled on or the names of shops at the mall. These are things he never did before and it made me feel proud and relieved at the same time. Finally there was a breakthrough. Finally, after many difficult, tearful, heart-breaking unsuccessful attempts, something is working! I will certainly recommend Edublox to anyone who feels as hopeless and helpless as I did not so long ago.
I am busy completing the registration forms for the after-school weekly classes, and am excited for Reilly's continued journey. However, the documentation I received does not contain cost details. Would you be able to arrange for it to be sent to me in order that I submit the forms as soon as possible, please?
Thank you very much, again, for everything.