I hate the word "pretentious" in art criticism.
I understand why people use it. Often we call something pretentious when we think the artist might be concealing a lack of meaning or vision behind obscurity, jargon, or a set of conventions currently hallowed by the art establishment. It's a way of saying "I don't get this, and I don't know that there's anything to get" that shifts the blame (if blame even applies in so subjective an area as one's response to artwork) onto the artist rather than ourselves.
Two things I don't like about this approach. First, it operates from an instinct of contempt. Labeling an artist pretentious assumes the worst about someone whose motives aren't knowable.
Second, it says nothing, nothing at all, about the work itself. It's all about the artist.
I consider these two works edge cases when it comes to criticizing games. Home is very brief and lacks just about everything that might make it appealing on aesthetic grounds. The graphics are the retro-pixellated stuff that has become obligatory for certain kinds of Art Game these days. The dialogue, such as it is, is not especially riveting.
Nonetheless Home does have gameplay, and the meaning of the work arises procedurally from the rules rather than from any exterior framework. It uses its interactivity to express the helplessness of an elderly man as he tries to feed himself, use the toilet, and sleep when he needs to.
The player is allowed to try to satisfy these needs, but the timing is such that he will not be able to, and instead will lose control over each function in turn. It's an intentionally frustrating play that spirals into failure and predictable death, with the interactivity giving the player just enough space to struggle against that frustration.
On an adjacent edge is The Graveyard, which has virtually no gameplay. The interaction consists of steering an old lady who walks very slowly towards a bench. Then she sits down (not thanks to anything you do, mind), and a song plays. You can perhaps make her stand up and walk out again, or not.
The only real exercise of choice you have is to end the game prematurely without seeing all of the content. Even that option may be taken away in the event that the old woman dies, which she may do at random if you have the game's full version rather than the demo.
To the extent that interaction matters in this work, it is to emphasize constraint: the degree to which the woman is limited in speed and agility, the degree to which the player cannot even control the full range of her limited abilities. But even this matters very little. Tale of Tales has done its best to discourage the player from even thinking the game might be more interactive than it is. Pressing ESC during play will bring up a complete walkthrough that describes everything that is possible to do in the game, lest the player be tempted to try to explore or leave the prescribed path in any way.
On the other hand, The Graveyard is the product of great craft and care in the environment. Though it is in black and white, there is a kind of lushness about the visuals, and the soundscape of animal sounds and fading urban noise is meticulously constructed and evocative. Tale of Tales excels at atmospheric work.
Both Home and The Graveyard are exploring what can be done to express emotions and states not commonly found in games. The positive reviews they've received by and large applaud them for this. I share this admiration. (I've now written up two other works by Tale of Tales, both of which I found to some degree frustrating, so it's perhaps curious that I was excited when I saw the promotion for The Graveyard that allowed me to download the full version for free.
At the same time, I found both pieces unsatisfying, in related ways. I would like to explore why, though with the word "pretentious" off the table.
Home is very simple. It takes only a couple of minutes to play, but that is much longer than it takes to grasp the game's message: that dying is slow, horrible, and undignified, and that our attempts to mediate the process for the elderly may make things even more undignified by stripping them of any agency.
It is challenging to create art around a direct message of this kind and have the result seem like anything but propaganda. And Home is not even very strong propaganda. The most effective procedural propaganda works by presenting the player with what at least appears to be a valid simulation, and allowing the player to discover the rules embedded inside that simulation and to draw his own conclusions.
Home, by contrast, tips its hand from the start. The situation is obviously rigged; it is plain that we will never be able to save the old man; there is no point in struggling very hard with the game nor in replaying to try to achieve a better outcome.
By using the extremely basic graphics, Lavelle is presenting Home to be read in context with other entries in the same aesthetically minimal genre of art game -- most notably, Passage and The Marriage. Works in this genre tend to offer some universalized observation about human existence. The format of Home thus offers us a clue about what kind of content we may expect from it, but in practice it lacks the slow reveal of those other works.
The Graveyard does not have a message in the same way. It is more about presenting observations (here is what an old woman looks like; here are what her thoughts might be, presented as song). Instead of being blunt, it is vague, allusive, and obscure. We may hunt for a significance, but we have no way of being sure we've found one. There is not a story as such.
Nonetheless, the presentation of the game -- the black and white images, the deliberately sluggish controls, the fact that a complete walkthrough is built into the instructions -- all indicate that we should expect to read this game differently than we read other games. But it does not (in my opinion) succeed in leading the player toward an alternate mode of engagement.
But, to my mind, Tale of Tales is saying to the player, "here, you figure out how to play this work in such a way that you get something out of it!" -- and in doing so, is abrogating one of the designer's responsibilities, which is to offer the player a way in. The most interesting part of the work is the song, which becomes, in the absence of interaction, a quirky music video starring a computer-generated 3D grandma.
A second point: both rely too heavily on the conceit of interaction denied. There is a tendency in some art games to derive the artistic impact from refusing to let the player change things, from the conflict between what the player wants to achieve (and thinks he might be able to achieve) and what the designer has chosen to allow. At its simplest, the gimmick is to get the player to try to do something impossible, and then wait for him to give up.
But the more art games do this, the less effective the technique is -- especially in works that identify themselves formally with an art game movement. I might feel much differently about Home had it been the first game I ever met in which the rules were deliberately stacked against me. I might even feel differently if it had been dressed as a casual game, with perky cartoonish graphics and a reasonable degree of polish: that's a game genre in which I still expect to be able to win.
But with its graphical style, it didn't stand a chance of misleading me. Art games have their own conventional styles, just as commercial games do, and it is possible to be lazy or careless in choosing to share those conventions. Home falls into this trap.
The Graveyard is less derivative, but still suffers from the non-surprise of its constraints and limitations.
This is what happens when a medium ages. What used to be surprising loses its power. (Compare: "Pulp Fiction" viewed in 1994 vs. "Pulp Fiction" viewed today.) We either have to find some new audience expectations to subvert, or use interactivity to an aesthetic effect that doesn't require the audience to be surprised.


text:
package jsonschema

import "github.com/rs/rest-layer/schema"

type stringBuilder schema.String

func (v stringBuilder) BuildJSONSchema() (map[string]interface{}, error) {
	m := map[string]interface{}{
		"type": "string",
	}

	if v.Regexp != "" {
		m["pattern"] = v.Regexp
	}
	if len(v.Allowed) > 0 {
		m["enum"] = v.Allowed
	}
	if v.MinLen > 0 {
		m["minLength"] = v.MinLen
	}
	if v.MaxLen > 0 {
		m["maxLength"] = v.MaxLen
	}
	return m, nil
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
2000th Post – Reimagining the DC Cinematic Universe
Never did I imagine the website would make it to 2000 posts but here it is. I'll put more of a reflection on what that means for me -and hopefully the rest of the team at the end but I thought it would be prudent to star talking about how I decided to honour this…
Batman and Harley Quinn
DC offers up another animated adventure in Sam Liu's Batman and Harley Quinn. Despite being a fan of the DC Animated movies I've never actually written about them. The overall quality of them is somewhat mixed but I enjoy them for the most part. Adapting DC's back catalogue of stories in animated form is a…
2017, Movies
Kneel Before Pod – Trailer Chat – Justice League & Spider-Man: Homecoming
Kneel Before Pod is trying out a new feature where people get together and discuss trailers for upcoming films they're excited about. This edition focuses on Justice League and Spider-Man: Homecoming. The discussion on Justice League features Craig, Chris and Aaron and the discussion on Spider-Man: Homecoming features Craig and Sandy. Craig and Aaron can…
Kneel Before Blog
Podcasts, Trailer Chat
Kneel Before Pod – Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice
The podcasts continue with a discussion of the divisive Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Myself (Craig), Aaron and Angus got together to discuss the recently released Ultimate Edition and mull over whether it's a better film than the theatrical version or not. Natalie drops in for a brief cameo towards the end as well….
Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice finally gives DC and Warner Brothers the right to add themselves to the club of having a cinematic universe. It is only two films deep but that was Marvel once upon a time and other attempt to replicate that have been unsuccessful so it is a club…
Gotham Season 1
Gotham season 2 is almost upon us so it's a good time to revisit season 1 and reflect on it as a whole before the second season starts doing its thing. This is a very tough show to talk about because there was so much going on while there was so little going on so…
Gotham – Season 1 Episode 22
"All Happy Families Are Alike" It's finally done, Gotham season 1 comes to an end after several torturous months of missed opportunities. The gang war comes to a serious head as Fish Mooney returns to take advantage of the situation. It's been known for a while that Jada Pinkett Smith would not be returning for…
"The Anvil or the Hammer" Only one more Gotham episode after this one for season 1 and the Ogre/Barbara plot is brought to a definitive close. It appears that I was a little too kind on Gotham last week when I expressed how impressed I was by how the show was handling the Ogre and…
"Under the Knife" A mere 2 episodes left of the first season of Gotham after this one and I'm still no closer to figuring out what the point of this season has been. This show has tossed a lot of things into the mix but never really capitalised on any of them. Some promise existed…
"Beasts of Prey" Gotham returns from having a few weeks off and I can honestly say I didn't really miss it. It's no secret that I have been incredibly underwhelmed by this show on the whole. It has good elements but is really missing out on some obvious potential. This episode is no real exception…
Supernatural - Season 14 Episode 7

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
KLXH (106.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to Thibodaux, Louisiana, United States. The station is currently owned by Educational Media Foundation.

The station serves the Houma/Thibodaux metropolitan area of Southeastern Louisiana

History
This station was started in 1966 by the Delta Broadcasting Company as KTIB-FM, a 3,000-watt sister station to KTIB AM. The station was sold in 1973 to Joseph Costello III, owner at the time of WRNO-FM and later on WRNO worldwide who switched the callsign to KXOR and formatted the station in his years of ownership as a rock station, and lastly as a country station branded as "LA Country 106" before being sold upon his death to Guaranty Broadcasting of Baton Rouge in 1997 who promptly flipped the format to classic rock branded as "Eagle 106.3" so as not to compete with sister station KCIL . The station was sold as part of a cluster of stations in 2006 to Sunburst Media-Louisiana LLC. which updated the playlist to include newer rock than previously heard transforming the station into a Mainstream rock format. In November 2009, the radio company brought in Los Angeles radio consultant and music producer "Mighty Mike Quinn" who took over as Vice President of Programming. In late 2010 Mighty Mike Quinn's contract ended and he returned with his fiancé (Model and Radio Host) Viny Star back to Santa Monica, California. On March 1, 2011 KXOR-FM changed their format to classic rock, branded as "LA 106.3 Rock Hits Radio". Effective November 11, 2015, KXOR-FM (along with co-owned KCIL and KJIN) was sold to James Anderson's My Home Team Media, LLC.

On May 26, 2017, KXOR-FM changed their call letters to KLXH, as Educational Media Foundation closed on its $525,000 purchase of KXOR-FM. The station went silent on May 31, 2017 in preparation of switching to EMF's "K-Love" contemporary Christian format; it returned in June.

References

External links

Thibodaux, Louisiana
Radio stations established in 1966
1966 establishments in Louisiana
Educational Media Foundation radio stations
K-Love radio stations
Christian radio stations in Louisiana

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Książę Jan Jacek Ogiński herbu Ogiński (ur. 1619, zm. 24 lutego 1684 w Krakowie) – wojewoda połocki i hetman polny litewski w latach 1682-1684, wojewoda mścisławski w 1672 roku, pisarz polny litewski w 1668 roku, podwojewodzi wileński w latach 1661-1665, marszałek wołkowyski w 1657 roku, chorąży wołkowyski w 1650 roku, starosta stokliski, piekielański i bierzwiński w 1681 roku, starosta i wójt mścisławski w 1668 roku.

W 1639 roku zapisał się na Akademię Krakowską. Dowódca chorągwi powiatu wołkowyskiego w kampanii 1651 roku. W 1654 roku był deputatem powiatu wołkowyskiego na Trybunał Główny Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego. W 1656 roku jako porucznik chorągwi husarskiej i pancernej hetmana Pawła Jana Sapiehy brał udział w walkach potopu szwedzkiego. W 1657 roku walczył z wojskami Jerzego Rakoczego. Poseł na sejm 1658 roku. W 1659 roku 5 chorągwi Ogińskiego zostało rozbite przez wojska rosyjskie pod Krynkami. Poseł na sejm 1662 roku z powiatu wołkowyskiego. Deputat powiatu wileńskiego na Trybunał Główny Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego w 1665 roku. Poseł na sejmy 1667 i 1668 roku. Poseł sejmiku wołkowyskiego powiatu wołkowyskiego na sejm jesienny 1666 roku.

Poseł sejmiku wołkowyskiego na sejm nadzwyczajny 1662 roku, drugi sejm 1666 roku, sejm zwyczajny abdykacyjny 1668 roku.

W 1669 roku podpisał elekcję Michała Korybuta Wiśniowieckiego. Był członkiem konfederacji kobryńskiej  wojsk Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego w 1672 roku.
Elektor Jana III Sobieskiego z województwa mścisławskiego w 1674 roku, podpisał jego pacta conventa.

W 1675 roku brał udział w wojnie przeciwko Turcji. Poseł na sejmy 1676, 1677 i 1678 roku.

Deputat województwa połockiego na Trybunał Główny Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego w 1682 roku.

Jego synami byli :
Leon Kazimierz Ogiński (zm. 1699) starosta mścisławski, podstoli litewski, poseł
Mikołaj Franciszek Ogiński (zm. 1715) miecznik litewski, poseł, kasztelan trocki
Kazimierz Dominik Ogiński (zm. 1733) wojewoda wileński
Grzegorz Antoni Ogiński (zm. 1709) starosta żmudzki, hetman polny litewski

Jedna z córek Anna Ogińska (1646–1752) żona Kazimierza Tyszkiewicza była najdłużej żyjącą przedstawicielka książęcego rodu Ogińskich. Żyła sto sześć lat.

Przypisy

Absolwenci i studenci Akademii Krakowskiej
Deputaci świeccy Trybunału Głównego Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego (powiat wileński)
Deputaci świeccy Trybunału Głównego Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego (powiat wołkowyski)
Deputaci świeccy Trybunału Głównego Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego (województwo połockie)
Elektorzy Jana III Sobieskiego
Elektorzy Michała Korybuta Wiśniowieckiego
Elektorzy władców Polski (województwo mścisławskie)
Hetmani polni litewscy
Konfederaci kobryńscy
Jan Jacek Ogiński
Pisarze polni litewscy
Podwojewodziowie wileńscy
Porucznicy husarii
Posłowie na sejm nadzwyczajny 1658
Posłowie na sejm nadzwyczajny 1662
Posłowie na sejm zwyczajny 1666 (II)
Posłowie na sejm zwyczajny abdykacyjny 1668
Posłowie na sejm zwyczajny 1667
Posłowie na sejm koronacyjny 1676
Posłowie na sejm zwyczajny 1677
Posłowie na Sejm I Rzeczypospolitej (powiat wołkowyski)
Senatorowie świeccy I Rzeczypospolitej
Senatorowie za panowania Jana III Sobieskiego
Starostowie mścisławscy
Starostowie stokliscy
Sygnatariusze paktów konwentów Jana III Sobieskiego
Uczestnicy wojny polsko-rosyjskiej 1654–1667 (strona polska)
Uczestnicy wojny polsko-siedmiogrodzkiej 1657 (strona polska)
Uczestnicy wojny polsko-tureckiej 1672–1676 (strona polska)
Urodzeni w 1619
Urzędnicy ziemscy I Rzeczypospolitej
Wójtowie mścisławscy
Wojewodowie mścisławscy
Wojewodowie połoccy (I Rzeczpospolita)
Zmarli w 1684


Our award winning client are looking for an experienced accounts assistant to join the finance team on a fixed term basis. The accounts assistant will also be responsible for the day to day treasury functions as well as supporting the finance team as an accounts assistant.
This is initially a 3 month fixed term contract, Monday – Friday starting ASAP.
To apply, please forward your CV to or please call (phone number removed).


"It's the relationships that really drive the show. It's not special effects or what sci-fi Trouble will happen that week. It really is the ongoing saga that happens between the characters." That from former WWE star Adam 'Edge' Copeland regarding the reason for Haven's enduring success.
Adam joined Emily Rose and Eric Balfour in a recent press conference about the final two episodes of Syfy's hit series' third season, both airing tonight (following an all-day Haven marathon). For the record, the show has been picked up for a fourth season but where the story will lead next is anybody's guess. Much depends on whether Audrey decides to enter the barn.
Tune into Haven tonight to see for yourself what develops between Audrey, Nathan and Duke (and what potentially happens with Dwight too) as Syfy presents the final pair of Season Three episodes beginning at 8/7c with "Reunion" and then the season finale titled, "Thanks for the Memories" @ 9/8c.
A proud member of NBCUniversal's and A+E Television Networks' Digital Media Teams, Nightfly routinely interviews producers, creators and stars of various network programs and films with a concentrated emphasis on Syfy and the History Channel. Formally educated in Communications, Computer Science and Music, his résumé reflects more than a decade broadcasting in the fields of television and radio. With pieces frequently published at TV Over Mind, The Outhouse and more recently NerdSpan and Press Pass L.A., his primary areas of interest include TV, action films, music, web series, comic books, fashion, pen 'n paper RPG gaming as well as various other pop-culture multimedia topics. An avid twitter user and GetGlue guru, Nightfly supports the arts, the entertainment community, numerous charities and crowdfunding projects through his journalistic netizenship and non-partisan, multicultural-centric activism. Follow him via twitter @Nightfly_69.


It's the Easter Season already! Can you believe it! This means that your little ones are probably waiting for the Easter Bunny in anticipation of the annual Easter Egg Hunt. This year, why not surprise them and not just limit them to finding Easter Eggs but some of the Top Toys for Easter from Prima Toys too. Children and even adults, love the element of surprise, so it goes without say that these carefully selected toys will serve as a good remembrance of their Easter weekend.
As we come to an end of the first quarter of this year, it can also serve as a little gift of appreciation, to simply say, "you've done well" and this is your treat. We all know how children love treats and there's a lovely incentive in the form of a toy, to suit every boy and girl.
If you have a little girl that's 5 years or older, she is going to love playing with this cute little chick. The high quality sensor will ensure that she responds to touch. Petting her on the head will prompt her to chirp and the more you pet her, the more she will chirp for you. This cute chick is very realistically designed, enhancing nurturing skills.This is a toy that can be used to teach a child responsibilities from a young age. Simple things like caring for this chick, ensuring that she is safe and that her shell is safe, protecting her any harm, keeping her safe in her cage when being carried around, when she is not hopping around.
I don't believe in Kayden playing with gender specific toys – in this instance, I think the skill of nurturing is important, to both girl and boy children. For that very reason, I have exposed Kayden to the Little Live Pets Surprise Chick. He enjoyed it the first few days but the novelty wore out. I must also reiterate that this is ideally meant for girls over 5 years or older, so he clearly doesn't understand such a toy as yet in terms of age.
I think that this Chick is sooooooooo cute, just too adorable. Yes…I enjoyed checking out her capabilities. I am convinced that kids over 5 are going to enjoy playing with the Little Live Pets Surprise Chick as well. Very cleverly made! I love how she tweets and walks around.
If your child loves "smashing" things open or apart, then he is going to love Smashers. It's a new collectible range for boys – again, whilst it is targeted for boys – I do believe girls can play with it as well. Kayden is enjoying playing with this bus and of course, we have played the nursery rhyme "The Wheels of the Bus…." numerous times, so he is familiar with the bus. This bus opens up for more of an adventure and transforms into a smash field.
Once smashed open, they can be collected and each has it's own value. The imagination is not limited as to the amount of play that can be derived from the Smashers range, it's a great choice for imaginative play.
Is it a boy or is it a girl? Find out at the gender reveal bath where the diaper changes to either pink or blue to depict the gender of the baby! How interesting is that? Not to mention cute – that little bath and the stroller – just oozed with cuteness…overload. The legs and hands are flexible for added fun. This will sure be a treasure worth finding in that Easter Hunt to add to your little one's basket of Easter treats.
For girls aged 4 years +. From RSP: R 59.99 available at toy stores and retailers nationwide.
Benjamin Tennyson is not your average 10-year-old boy. He also moonlights as Ben 10, a superhero with special powers that he discovered at a young age when his signature Omnitrix device miraculously attached itself to his wrist. The Omnitrix gives Ben 10 the power to alter his genetic makeup and transform into 10 alien creatures that save people from alien invasions and fight off the bad guys.
If your child is a Ben 10 fan, then all of the above is not new to you. If you're looking for something a little "small" to add to the Easter Hunt, this is an ideal choice.
Help defend the galaxy with a Ben 10 Mini Figure Foil Pack! Ideal for boys aged 4 +. Available at toy stores and retailers for RSP: R49.99.
Nope…it's not just a cupcake. There's a doll in there. Which little girl doesn't love cupcakes and dolls? Now she can have them both. This is definitely something that will make her smile this Easter.
Last but not least, there's the gorgeous Shopkins range. If your child loves the idea of travel during play, then allow them to take a trip to Mexico and serve up some delicious spicy flavours. Included is Paco Taco, Amigo Burrito and they can hola at Tico Tomato too. These are great to carry around in a backpack and serve as the ideal companions during travel or even at home.
There are many more top toys for Easter to choose from, head on over to the Prima Toys website and see for yourself.
What is your favourite activity to do during the Easter Season with your kid/s and also let me know which of the 2 prizes you would prefer to win.
Disclaimer: I received these products for review purposes, my opinions as always, are my own.
We still love to do the Garden Easter Egg Hunt. My kids would LOVE the Little Live Pets Surprise Chick and House.
A family Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday.
Easter is a special time for us ever since the arrival of my little boy. Every year mom and dad take leave an make it all about family time, spoiling our little boy. Little outings with everything pertaining to the festivity from playing with Bunny rabbits to making easter eggs however Dante's best part is getting to eat some easter eggs afterwards. Since Dante is a smasher of things..lol….the Smashers prize hamper will be perfect!
Having fun with the grand children and Easter egg hunting of course! Baby Secrets & Shopkins please, they all look lovely.
Definitely easter egg hunt is my favourite. We normally spend the weekend with the in-laws in Jeffreys Bay. I would luv to win the Little Live Pets Surprise Chick for my daughter!
I enjoy recording my kids and there friends finding the hidden Egg treasures. We would like the House and Shopkins please.
I would love Little live pets surprise chick and house. Our Easter tradition is spending quality time with family. We arrange a Easter egg hunt for the kids it's so exciting as we select an adult to dress up in a bunny suit we have. 😀 Our first surprise start where the kids have to guess who's wearing the bunny suite,kids with the correct answers get their first treats .Then the BIG hunt starts where super excited kids runs and hunts for their Easter eggs. It is so exciting to see the smiles on their little faces.
I Would love the smashers hamper. we celebrate easter with a little easter egg hunt, church service and then family time we all get together (my parent 8 kids and 12 grandkids) and either cook or have a braai.
The activity that I and enjoy with the kids are making the little decor for our easter lunch table, we make name cards, paint easter eggs, easter greeting cards, easter crepe paper bunny hats and packing speckled easter eggs in little packets as a favour for each family member.
We love to play Hidden Easter Eggs with my kids.
We don't really celebrate Easter but my kids.love treasure hunts.. so we get in there anyway. And then it's chocolate and bunnies everywhere! Lol. Easter season for us is just more time to spend with each other.. always do stuff that we all enjoy like going to the parks for picnics. Would love to win the smashers !
Arranging easter egg hunts! I love it!
Our service at church starys at 2pm. In te morning, we start off by our easter egg hunt, i will hide easter eggs in the garden, then the kids will all look for them. We will then have lunch, then prepare ourselves for a nice church service. My daughter would like the little live Pets Surprise chick and house.
Still love searching for Easter eggs.
I love getting my daughter to make Easter crafts in the lead up to Easter and of course definitely the Easter egg hunt, love watch her hunt around according to my clues. She would absolutely love the Little Live Pets Surprise Chick and house.
l love to spend time at the beach with my kids. l would like the little live pets surprise chick and house.


Police said the man entered the home on Route 206 at 9:27 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 13, and removed property. The incident was caught on the home owner's surveillance camera.
Detectives investigated the incident and developed a suspect, Edwin Burgos, 34, of Morristown. Burgos remained at large despite multiple attempts to locate him. He was arrested on Sunday, April 14, by N.J. State Police on an unrelated arrest warrant out of the Morris County Sheriff's Office.
Burgos was lodged in the Morris County Correctional Facility by the Morris County Sheriff's Office. He was charged in Mount Olive with burglary, theft of movable property and criminal mischief. He will remain lodged in the Morris County Correctional Facility pending a court hearing.
• A Budd Lake hotel and food service worker and graduate of the private Gill St. Bernards School in Peapack-Gladstone was arrested on Wednesday, April 10, after he allegedly fled police custody only to be recaptured after he allegedly broke into a Morris Township home.
The man, Theophilu Timothy 3rd, 24, of Budd Lake was recaptured after fleeing from a Mount Kemble Avenue home near Bailey Hollow Road on Wednesday night when the homeowner returned, according to Township Administrator Timothy Quinn.
Timothy was charged with burglary, theft and escape from detention and later released.
The suspect allegedly fled the home shortly before 9:07 p.m. when the homeowner returned and called police after he saw the suspect run out of the house, Quinn said.
The alleged burglar was apprehended by police but briefly escaped their custody. He was recaptured.
Police did not have information on how the prisoner freed himself and Quinn said the matter is being investigated.
Timothy is accused of stealing several small items, including food. There were no weapons involved and no one was injured during the burglary, police said.
Timothy's LinkedIn page notes he is a "front of house" at the Malai ice cream parlor in Brooklyn,N.Y. He graduated in 2016 from Muhlenberg College and in 2013 from Gill St. Bernards School in Peapack-Gladstone.
Officer Matthew Anderson responded to a residence in Eagle Rock Village at 8:14 a.m., for the report of a past assault. Anderson met with the victim who said a man who was staying at the apartment the prior evening had struck him with a broken beer bottle following a verbal altercation. The victim had injuries to his head and hand.
Through the course of the investigation it was determined that the suspect, Tevin Bennett, 25, of Flanders, was still at the Eagle Rock Village apartment. Officers made contact with Bennett and took him into custody without incident.
Bennett was charged with aggravated assault and was released pending a court hearing.
• Two boys were charged with marijuana possession on Friday, April 12, after an investigation into students vaping in a bathroom at Mount Olive High School.
School authorities contacted Cpl. Chad Rossy at 2:25 p.m., Tuesday, April 9, regarding the vaping. The boy allegedly was found to be in possession of three cartridges of suspected THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. He was turned over to a parent and further investigation showed another boy had provided the marijuana.
Both boys were interviewed at police headquarters on Friday. The first boy was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The second youth was charged with manufacture or distribution of marijuana and possession of marijuana. Both juveniles were released to a parent pending further action by the juvenile detective.
• A Budd Lake man was charged with marijuana possession on Saturday, April 13, after police found him allegedly about to collapse outside of the Walmart at the ITC Crossings mall.
Officer Matthew Carlson responded to the area of the Walmart at 5:25 p.m. for a report of a man outside of the store who was possibly intoxicated.
Carlson located the man on the sidewalk in front of the store and as he approached, the man's knees buckled as if he was going to fall to the ground.
Carlson spoke with the man, James White Jr., 28, of Budd Lake, who allegedly seemed to be impaired. Through the course of the investigation White allegedly was found to be in possession of a vape pen containing suspected THC oil.
White was charged with possession of marijuana and drug of paraphernalia and was released pending a court hearing.
• A Morristown man was charged with drug possession on Saturday, April 13, after police recognized him, determined his license was suspended and stopped his car on Route 46.
Officer Gregory Slinger was on patrol at 11:44 p.m. when he saw a 2010 Ford traveling west on Route 46 operated by a man he recognized, John Rowe, 27, of Morristown.
Slinger was familiar Rowe and believed he had a suspended driver's license. He stopped the Ford in the area of Village Way and while speaking with Rowe, the officer allegedly smelled marijuana in the vehicle. Slinger asked Rowe to get out of the car and allegedly saw a suspected marijuana cigarette on the driver side floorboard.
A subsequent search of the vehicle allegedly yielded a plastic baggie containing suspected marijuana, an additional nine baggies containing suspected marijuana, numerous empty plastic baggies typically utilized to package drugs, a piece of tinfoil containing a half tablet of suspected Ecstasy, a baggie containing suspected cocaine and a stun gun.
Rowe was was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana with Intent to distribute, possession of a synthetic cannabinoid, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while suspended, and possession of drugs in a motor vehicle. Rowe was lodged in the Morris County Correctional Facility pending a court hearing.
• A Hackettstown man was charged with possession of heroin on Monday, April 8, after his car was stopped allegedly for running a stop sign.
Officer Tyler Mullooly stopped a 1994 Ford at 1:25 p.m. after he allegedly failed to stop at the stop sign as it turned onto Route 46 west out of the Village Green Shopping Center.
Mullooly spoke with the driver, Andrew Collinson,31, of Hackettstown, and noted that Collinson allegedly was behaving in a suspicious manner. During the course of the conversation, Collinson consented to a search of his vehicle. The search allegedly yielded a bag containing 10 hypodermic syringes and 15 folds of suspected heroin.
Collinson was charged with possession of heroin, drug paraphernalia and a hypodermic syringe, failure to stop, having an obstructed view and having drugs in a motor vehicle. Collinson was lodged in the Morris County Correctional Facility pending a court hearing.
• An Englewood woman was charged with possession of marijuana on Sunday, April 7, after police noticed that her car was stopped in the roadway of Route 46.
Officer Rick LaRicci was on patrol at 11:38 p.m. when he saw a 2006 BMW stopped in the highway roadway in the area of Grove Street. As LaRicci pulled behind the BMW, the car turned onto Grove Street.
LaRicci stopped the car and while speaking with the driver, Kristen Brown, 26, of Englewood, the officer allegedly smelled marijuana in the car. A search of the car allegedly yielded a container of suspected marijuana in the driver side door pocket.
Brown was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, driving while under the influence of drugs, delaying traffic and having drugs in a motor vehicle. She was released pending a court hearing.
• A Bayonne woman was arrested for marijuana possession on Sunday, April 7, after she was stopped by police while walking through the parking lot of the Walmart at the ITC Crossings mall.
LaRicci was on patrol at 4:41 p.m. when he approached the woman, Yamil Brito, 31, of Bayonne, and smelled suspected marijuana. LaRicci escorted Brito back to her vehicle and LaRicci allegedly saw a pipe containing suspected marijuana residue.
A search of the vehicle allegedly yielded an additional pipe containing suspected marijuana, two plastic bottles containing suspected marijuana and four open containers of alcohol.
Brito was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, being under the influence of drugs, drinking an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle and having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle. She was released pending a court hearing.
• A Hackettstown man was arrested on Saturday, April 6, after police stopped his car and he allegedly tried to hide a hypodermic syringe in his pants.
Officer Andrew Spotts was on patrol at 3:07 a.m., when he stopped a 2009 Toyota traveling west on Route 46 allegedly for failing to maintain a lane.
Spotts spoke with the driver, Erik C. Mitchell, 27, of Hackettstown and allegedly saw that Mitchell appeared to be nervous. Spotts asked Mitchell to get out of the car speak with him further.
Outside of the car, a pat down by police allegedly yielded an hypodermic syringe in Mitchell's pants. Mitchell was charged with possession of a hypodermic syringe and was released pending a court hearing.
• Morris County Park Police charged a Pennsylvania man with drug possession on April 1. Police stopped the car in Mount Olive for an unspecified moving violation and arrested Miguel A. Castro, 44, of Hazleton, Pa. on charges of possession of suspected Suboxone opiate pills. He was released with a court date pending.


Mr. Sardar Al-Bebany visited Japan on the month of February 2019. During his visit many discussions were conducted on the strengthening of the business relationship between Iraq and Japan and future joint-ventures between the two countries with Shareholders, High-Level Executives and H.E. Iraqi Ambassador to Japan.


In films we often see whiskey-drinking characters pouring a dram from an expensive looking crystal decanter, as opposed to straight from the bottle. While this may look pretty cool, there is some debate amongst whiskey lovers as to whether or not pouring your whiskey into a decanter is necessary. We take a look at whether or not you should be using a decanter for your whiskey.
Decanting is a process best known by wine drinkers, who sometimes need to transfer wine from the bottle to a decanter in order to remove any sediment present in the drink and to introduce oxygen to the wine. Many wine drinkers believe that this helps to open up the flavour of the wine. However, whiskey doesn't really gain anything from this exposure to oxygen. Pouring whiskey from the bottle into a decanter will do nothing to change the flavour. Of course, if you are keeping a decanter that's only about a quarter-full of whiskey (and therefore, has a lot of air contact) for a very long period of time, then the effects of oxidisation may eventually impact on the whiskies flavour, but this will take far longer than it does with wine.
A wine decanter is typically open, featuring plenty of pouring space and openings to ensure that the wine is thoroughly exposed to the air. They often have curved edges to help enhance this exposure. On the other hand, a whiskey decanter is typically more solid and square in shape, and most importantly, will feature a large glass topper to close the bottle. This tells us that oxygenating the whiskey is not a concern for whiskey drinkers, and therefore, decanting whiskey is largely down to the aesthetics.
So Why Are Decanters Used?
Decanters originate from a time in which bottling whisky wasn't possible. Instead, decanters were taken straight to the barrel to be filled. Now, whiskey producers will bottle their drinks on site, making decanters largely redundant. Decanters are now almost solely used for aesthetic purposes, so if you like the look of them, and have a bottle of whiskey that you enjoy drinking fairly regularly, then there is no harm in transferring it to a more exciting looking receptacle!
What Decanter Should You Choose?
If you decide to transfer your whiskey into a decanter, then there are a few points which you need to consider.
Ensure your decanter has an airtight seal to reduce the contact with oxygen. While it won't oxidise as wine does, the oxygen can still have an impact on the whiskey over time, so if you're planning on keeping the whiskey in the decanter long-term, then it is important to have a strong seal.
The majority of crystal decanters now will be lead-free anyway, but it is always a good idea to make sure. Many lead crystal decanters look very nice and are appealing to those who are choosing to use a decanter for aesthetic reasons. However, storing whiskey in one of these decanters can cause lead to leech into the drink, which could prove damaging to your health.
If you are intending to store a whole bottle of whiskey in a decanter, then obviously the size of the decanter must reflect this. Most bottles of whiskey will be 750ml, so the decanter you choose must have a bigger capacity than this!
Whether you enjoy your whiskey poured from the bottle or from a decanter, we think the best way to drink it is when it is paired with a delicious cigar! We have a wide range of stogies available including Davidoff cigars and Montecristo cigars.
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I'm building an app to automatically update a bunch of template sites. I've got the file upload to the remote site working for one file, now I need to know how to upload several at one time.
Can I do this with one curl call? Or do I need to upload each file individually? If I set the infile to an array and calculate the filesize for all the files, will that work?
// Append path & uploaded file name to server name, pass with CURLOPT_URL.
// fopen() upload file for handle to pass with CURLOPT_INFILE.
// If true w/CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER server output returned by curl_exec().
// If false, curl_exec() will return true on success.
// Either way curl_exec() returns false on failure.
// Pass true w/CURLOPT_TRANSFERTEXT for ascii, false for binary.
// File size w/CURLOPT_INFILESIZE must be accurate for clean transfer.
// Everything's ready, now curl_exec() does it all.
Well, I decided to loop through the files and make individual calls. I dunno if this is the most efficient way, but it works.


Reviews of Stockport shops, restaurants and other venues.
Why not write a review of your favourite pub, restaurant or shop and share your experience with thousands of other Stockport locals? To add a review first select a venue and click on the 'Add Review' button.


Note: To make rice flour, place 3 to 4 tablespoons of white or brown rice in a spice grinder, and pulse until pulverized.
Place the rice flour, cinnamon stick and almond milk in a blender or food processor, and process until cinnamon is pulverized. Pour into a small saucepan and warm over medium-high heat until it starts to boil. Add vanilla extract, turn heat off and set aside.
In a food processor or blender, combine the strawberries (save a few extras for garnishing), condensed milk and 1 cup water. Mix until strawberries are well integrated and as smooth as possible.
Add water to a large pitcher. Using a fine-meshed strainer lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter, strain the cooled rice flour mixture into the water. Pour in the strawberry-condensed milk mixture and mix well. Adjust for sweetness and chill.
Serve horchata over ice, garnished with sliced strawberries.


text:
Powerhouse News
Doctors Deem Bernie Sanders as "In Good Health"
"Bernie Sanders" (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Gage Skidmore
Earlier this year, 2020 Democrat and socialist senator Bernie Sanders had a heart attack. This heart attack understandably prompted questions about the extent of Sanders' health and whether or not he has what it takes to compete in a high-stakes presidential election.
"Bernie Sanders" (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Gage Skidmore
For quite some time, the 2020 Democrat maintained that he's fine and feeling great; now, according to Breitbart News, Sanders has a doctor's note to back up his claims. The letters from physicians who worked with the 2020 Democrat have affirmed that he's in good physical health to proceed with his presidential campaign.
Of course, the state of Sanders' mental health is very much debatable, in light of the policies which he's chosen to promote to the nation.
A Closer Analysis of Sanders' Health
Physically, Sanders' health appears to be all there. According to Dr. Brian Monahan, the socialist hasn't experienced any physical "limitations" against the innately demanding nature of running a presidential campaign.
Here is our full report on the release of a summary of @BernieSanders health following his heart attack in October.
Cardiologist Dr. David Munoz from Vanderbilt University Medical Center joined me to break down what the report reveals. pic.twitter.com/e3LyggoxZy
— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) December 30, 2019
Monahan furthermore confirmed that the pressures, valves, wall thickness, and chambers of Sanders' heart are "normal" whereas the muscle strength of his heart has bettered. Additionally, recordings of Sanders' heart have shown that the 2020 Democrat doesn't have any real abnormalities associated with its rhythm.
Sanders' physical examination shows that the socialist candidate weighs 174 lbs, is six feet tall, and maintains a blood pressure of 102/56. Dr. Martin LeWinter, Sanders' cardiologist, professed that the 2020 Democrat is more than capable of "the mental and physical stamina" to serve as president.
Is Sanders' Mental Health Truly All There?
The words and beliefs which an individual consistently espouses can provide at least somewhat of an insight into their mental health. Over the course of his time as a 2020 presidential candidate, Sanders has built his campaign on lying to impressionable Americans and promising free handouts.
According to the socialist senator, he's going to ensure that Americans have free healthcare, free college, free housing, free high-speed internet access, absolution from student loan debt, absolution from medical debt…the list gets longer and longer.
These promises are not rooted in reality and do not indicate exceptional mental health. Either Sanders truly believes what he says and is thereby delusional or he's a psychopathic politician who will say anything to further his own power. Either way, the optics aren't good. There is no such thing as a free lunch; one way or another, someone always winds up footing the bill.
Do you believe that Bernie Sanders' mental health is truly all there? Let us know in the comments section below!
Gabrielle Seunagal
Secret Service Preparing for White House Power Transition
New Statement from Biden on Second Impeachment of Trump
New York City Ends Contracts with Trump Organization
© Powerhouse News. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Search results for "bill o'reilly"
'SOMETHING DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT'2 years ago
Trump's Announcement of Rallies With Bill O'Reilly Sets Off Furious Backlash Among QAnon Supporters: Report
According to a report from Newsweek, Donald Trump's announcementthat he will be touring with former Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly in December was greeted with dismay...
Bill O'Reilly Goes on Astonishingly Racist Screed Against 'LGBTs and Minorities' Working to Get 'Whiteness Out of Power'
Accused sexual harasser Bill O'Reilly is long-gone from Fox News but the Fox News is not gone from Bill O'Reilly. Wednesday on his "No Spin News"...
Bill O'Reilly: 'There Was No Reason' I Was Fired From Fox News
'There Was No Reason' Given by Fox News for His Firing, O'Reilly Claims
Bill O'Reilly Issues Statement Insisting Allegations Are False
'Completely Unfounded Claims'
Roger Stone: Grassroots Efforts to Convince Fox News to Fire Bill O'Reilly Violate First Amendment
'This Is a Flagrant, Egregious Violation of the First Amendment'
Breaking – Fox News Makes It Official: Bill O'Reilly Will Not Be Returning
Out After Two Decades Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations
REPORT: Fox News Has Decided to Part Ways With Bill O'Reilly
'Exit Negotiations Are Moving Quickly'
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As Murdochs Fight Over O'Reilly's Future More Women Step Forward and 480,000 Petitions Are Delivered Demanding Firing of 'The Factor's' Host
WATCH: Bill O'Reilly Laughs Over United Passenger Being Dragged Off Plane
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Sexual Harassment Allegations Come With a Hefty Price, for O'Reilly and for Fox News
Five Women Reportedly Received $13M for Bill O'Reilly Harassment Claims From O'Reilly, Fox
Five women alleging Bill O'Reilly harassed them, sexually or otherwise, reportedly received about $13 million in payouts for their silence.
Twitter Explodes as Fox News' Bill O'Reilly Openly Advocates for White Nationalism
'The Left Wants Power Taken Away From the White Establishment' O'Reilly Complains
Fox News' Bill O'Reilly: 'The Left Wants Power Taken Away From the White Establishment' (Video)
How Much More Openly Racist Can Fox News Get?
Audra McDonald Launches Tweetstorm Slamming Bill O'Reilly's Defense of Slavery
Fox News Host Said Slaves Who Built the White House Were Well-Fed and Housed


text:
Italy: Writing to Belong
Tim Parks
Is there a continuity of behavior between the stories we tell and the way we live? And if there is, does it hold at the level of the community, as well as at the level of the individual?
Abner Dean/New York Review Comics
Abner Dean: I can cure you (detail), from Dean's What Am I Doing Here?, which will be published in a new edition by New York Review Comics on October 11
Is there a continuity of behavior between the stories we tell and the way we live? And if there is, does it hold at the level of the community, as well as at the level of the individual? Might we hazard the hypothesis that fiction and real behavior are mutually supporting and reinforcing?
Take the case of Italy. It's generally agreed that one of the most distinctive features of Italian public life is factionalism, in all its various manifestations: regionalism, familism, corporativism, campanilism, or simply groups of friends who remain in close contact from infancy through to old age, often marrying, separating and remarrying among each other. Essentially, we could say that for many Italians the most important personal value is belonging, being a respected member of a group they themselves respect; just that, unfortunately, this group rarely corresponds to the overall community and is often in fierce conflict with it, or with other similar groups. So allegiance to a city, or a trade union, or to a political party, or a faction within the party, trumps solidarity with the nation, often underwriting dubious moral behavior and patently self-defeating policies. Only when fifteenth-century Florence had a powerful external enemy, Machiavelli tells us in his Florentine Histories, did its people unite, and as soon as the enemy was beaten they divided again; then any issue that arose, however marginal, would feed the violent battle between the dominant factions. This would not be an unfair description of Italian society today.
But if these observations seem commonplace, one question rarely asked is how this phenomenon is reflected in the country's literature. Famous titles like Enrico Brizzi's Jack Frusciante Has Left the Band, or Paolo Giordano's The Solitude of Prime Numbers might seem eloquent in themselves; or again the fact that in Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend the two main characters are obsessed with using their writing skills to escape the Neapolitan community they grew up in and gain admission to a more worthy society. Vincenzo Latronico's recent novel, La mentalità dell'alveare (The Honeycomb Mentality) imagines an Italy where an organization like Beppe Grillo's Movimento 5 Stelle has taken power, an organization that originally drew inspiration from its opposition to the excesses of factionalism only to become itself a dominant faction. One of the most disturbing characteristics of the Movement, which Latronico well describes, is the way its members are frequently invited to vote online for the expulsion of others who have shown themselves in some way unworthy of the group.
But perhaps such examples are merely anecdotal. Maybe a more sensible way to start is to ask, What are the emotions and narratives typical of familism and factionalism and how have Italian authors described them? Do they simply condemn this kind of social organization, or do they rather celebrate and foster it? Or both? Perhaps it's not the worst way of arranging life, in the end.
As soon as we start to think along these lines, the first thing that strikes us is how many Italian writers over the centuries have been exiles of one kind or another. In a society where the value of belonging is paramount, people are manically vigilant as to who is worthy of inclusion in a family, group, or community, while forced exclusion becomes a punishment that threatens to undermine the whole purpose of existence. Dante was exiled from Florence in 1302 and spent the remaining twenty years of his life seeking to get back there. Again and again the Inferno expresses the contrasting emotions of the desolation of exclusion and the joy of inclusion, the shame of being despised by one's peers, but also the indignation in finding that one's peers are not worthy of one's own respect. Almost all the dead are obsessed with how friends and family back in Florence think of them, to the point that they seem more exiled than dead, more concerned with not being within a stone's throw of the Arno than with being damned.
In general the Inferno condemns factionalism, but scholars have long since shown how the choice of those Dante criticizes and praises changes through the Commedia depending on his sense at any given time of which powerful people in Florence might be able to help him return. Toward the end of Paradiso, when it was clear that none of his politicking was going to get him home, Dante expresses the hope that it will be the "sacred poem" itself that will "overcome the cruelty that locks me out." As with Ferrante seven hundred years later, writing is seen as a means to gain access to the desired group.
One reason why so many Italian writers experienced exile, and still experience exclusion of milder kinds (one thinks of the Nobel winner Dario Fo's frequent lament that he has been excluded from Italian public television), is because they were and are themselves intensely involved in public affairs. The logic of this Italian spirit of belonging is that dominant groups always seek to enroll talented artists to their cause, while the artists themselves rarely hold back, since group participation is always the path to prestige, in Italy. From the city-states of the Renaissance to today's world of political parties, newspapers, and Facebook, there have been few major Italian authors who have not been active in public life in some way, or who did not seek to be so.
And often it is precisely the fact that the writer is at the center of public life that leads to him being exiled. This was true of Dante and arguably of Torquato Tasso and Ugo Foscolo. Removed from his government position after the return of the previously exiled Medici family in 1512, Machiavelli went into forced retirement on his farm outside the city and wrote a book—The Prince—that he hoped would get him back into the political role he loved. The notion that took hold in England and France in the later nineteenth century that a writer should be absolutely outside public life, his art pure and at no one's service, never really caught on in Italy.
The downside to this is that no sooner does a young Italian writer have any kind of success—one thinks of Claudio Magris in the 1980s, Enrico Brizzi in the 1990s, and more recently Roberto Saviano and Paolo Giordano—than they are signed up to write endless opinion pieces for one of the major newspapers, which of course will be deeply offended if the writer then writes for a different newspaper, since that would be a betrayal of their group. It is astonishing how many utterly ordinary articles a great poet like Eugenio Montale continued to write for Corriere della Sera long after he had any financial need.
Unsurprisingly, the very nature of literary language is influenced by this pattern of behavior, since style becomes a way of expressing a writer's position in relation to various embattled factions. Dante insisted on writing The Divine Comedy in vernacular Tuscan, thus taking primacy away from the narrow circle of those who read and wrote in Latin, a privileged elite he was not himself born into, and always worried about being excluded from. Later, in exile, he would be astonished to discover the range of different and mutually incomprehensible dialects that existed in Italy. The vernacular was not the unifying factor he had imagined.
Nor would it be for five hundred years. In the 1840s Alessandro Manzoni complained about how irritating it was when enjoying a conversation with Milanese friends, if some outsider turned up from Naples or Venice or Florence and they all had to start speaking Italian rather than the local dialect. All immediacy of expression was lost. Yet it was Manzoni who would twice rewrite his great book The Betrothed so that it could become the model of the national language, available to everybody, and indeed, after unification in 1861, imposed on everybody by an education system desperate to achieve cultural unity throughout the peninsula. And of course being imposed it was also resented. Poetry in local dialects continues to flourish in Italy, together with novels that, like those of the Sicilian detective-story writer Andrea Camilleri, are dense with local usage. One way or another prose style in Italy always involves a gesture of allegiance and belonging, whether to an elite, a youth culture, an ideology, or a class. The only absolutely neutral and hypercorrect Italian is to be found in the country's endless translations, mostly of American novels, that make up about 50 percent of the fiction Italians read. One is less likely to be irritated by something brought in from abroad and alien to the conflicts that galvanize Italian life. So readers can unite around a Jonathan Franzen or a Toni Morrison in a way they might not around Eco or Saviano.
The continuity of this dynamic in Italian life is extraordinary. In the Fascist period, many writers with suspect loyalties were sent into internal exile, split off from the groups that gave their lives meaning. Others supported the regime and reaped the benefits of being included in the Party. Some, like Curzio Malaparte, oscillated between the two positions, one moment in with the establishment, the next out, then in again. When you look at what novelists of the period wrote, even where it is apparently private and determinedly unpolitical, the issue of belonging is almost always central. In Natalia Ginzburg's writing the moments of greatest pathos always come with the lonely death of someone excluded from the group, while the comedy is generated by people who find ways of forcing the group to assist them by appearing helpless and inept. Elsa Morante's wonderful hero Arturo, in Arturo's Island, dreams of his inclusion at a round table of noble heroes only to discover that the father he imagined as supremely worthy in fact moves in a world that is irretrievably squalid. Almost all Cesare Pavese's novels have a protagonist drawn into involvement with a group and then suddenly withdrawing from it in disgust.
More recent novels update rather than change this preoccupation. Some Italian authors prefer to write and publish in groups, Wu Ming being the most famous, but Kai Zen, Mama Sabot, and Babette Factory have all joined the trend, while the Lyceum school in Milan even offers courses in collective creative writing, something hard to imagine in the Anglo-Saxon world. Interestingly, the solidarity within the group is also presented as opposition to groups outside, particularly in the media: Wu Ming, whose four, but once five, members travel together and present their work together, refuse to be photographed by the media or to appear in television. As so often, forming a group becomes a way of distinguishing oneself from other groups, in the constant Italian obsession with inclusion and exclusion. Even Elena Ferrante's anonymity can be seen as a provocative "staying outside" in a society where being inside—known and prominent—is a priority.
In short, if Italian writers have always condemned factionalism, their work inevitably expresses the emotions, values, and stories of a world where belonging is more important than any other value, freedom, goodness, and success included. So Italy is a country where "regional insults" are now (rather absurdly) banned in football stadiums, but admired in Dante:
… Ah, Genovese, people strange to all good custom and full of all corruption, why are you not driven from the world?
What Am I Doing Here? by Abner Dean will be published by NYR Comics October 11.
More by Tim Parks
The Silence of Pius XII: An Exchange
The Pope's Many Silences
A new account of Pius XII's actions during World War II gives the impression of a pope who lacked any clear moral or political vision and made every decision on the basis of the merest expediency.
A Text Adrift
Tim Parks is the author of many novels, translations, and works of nonfiction. His latest book is The Hero's Way: Walking with Garibaldi from Rome to Ravenna> (October 2022)
How Italy Improved My English
It has become commonplace, in this age of globalization, to speak of writers who change language. But what about those writers who move to another country and do not change language?
Roger Cohen
The Violent World of Elena Ferrante
Stifled by Success
Can a writer's original inspiration survive success?
Liana Finck
The Artist's Closet
Every Friday night I go to the Met to draw.
Eleanor Davis
Why art? What is it? What is it for?
Nathan Gelgud
The Magic of Iris Murdoch
Look—I know it's corny to have a favorite writer, but I realized recently that in my case there's just no denying it. And this month would have been Irish Murdoch's 100th birthday.
Gabriel Winslow-Yost
Parasites in Eden
"I draw a lot of weird doodles on scraps of paper," says the Canadian cartoonist Jesse Jacobs—true of most cartoonists, no doubt. But few cartoonists' work is as suffused with the spirit of the doodle as Jacobs's.
The Joys of 'Mere'
One of the joys of Mere, the new book by the cartoonist C.F., is how thoroughly it resists categorization, or even basic explanation.


Today at the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Malcolm Potts will be hosting his bi-annual point/counterpoint-style lecture on abortion for his public health class. This year, Monica Snyder of Secular Pro-Life will be presenting the antiabortion case. We hope to have video of her presentation later, but meanwhile here are all of the sources she used to create the presentation, plus some additional reading for anyone interested.
If you're interested in becoming a bone marrow donor, please go to BeTheMatch.org to join the national bone marrow registry. If you are between the ages of 18 and 44, it costs nothing to join.
Do bodily rights justify abortion?
Anemia victim McFall dies of hemorrhage, The Michigan Daily, August 11, 1978.
Roe v. Wade, United States Supreme Court, No. 70-18.
The fetus is a human organism.
T.W. Sadler, Langman's Medical Embryology, 10th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006:"Development begins with fertilization, the process by which the male gamete, the sperm, and the female gamete, the oocyte, unite to give rise to a zygote."
Erich Blechschmidt, Brian Freeman, The Ontogenetic Basis of Human Anatomy: The Biodynamic Approach to Development from Conception to Adulthood, North Atlantic Books, June 2004: "We talk of human development not because a jumble of cells, which is perhaps initially atypical, gradually turns more and more into a human, but rather because the human being develops from a uniquely human cell. There is no state in human development prior to which one could claim that a being exists with not-yet-human individuality. On the basis of anatomical studies, we know today that no developmental phase exists that constitutes a transition from the not-yet-human to the human." & "In short, a fertilized egg (conceptus) is already a human being."
Keith L. Moore, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 2003: "Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete or sperm (spermatozoon development) unites with a female gamete or oocyte (ovum) to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marked the beginning of each of us as a unique individual." And "A zygote is the beginning of a new human being (i.e., an embryo)."
Ronan R. O'Rahilly and Fabiola Müller, Human Embryology & Teratology, 3rd Edition, New York: Wiley-Liss, 2001: "Although life is a continuous process, fertilization is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new genetically distinct human organism is formed when the chromosomes of the male and female pronuclei blend in the oocyte."
William J. Larsen, Essentials of Human Embryology. New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1998: "Human embryos begin development following the fusion of definitive male and female gametes during fertilization... This moment of zygote formation may be taken as the beginning or zero time point of embryonic development."
Bruce M. Carlson, Patten's Foundations of Embryology. 6th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996: "Almost all higher animals start their lives from a single cell, the fertilized ovum (zygote)... The time of fertilization represents the starting point in the life history, or ontogeny, of the individual."
Keith L. Moore and T.V.N. Persaud. Before We Are Born: Essentials of Embryology and Birth Defects. 4th edition. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1993: "Zygote. This cell, formed by the union of an ovum and a sperm (Gr. zyg tos, yoked together), represents the beginning of a human being. The common expression 'fertilized ovum' refers to the zygote."
Clark Edward Corliss, Patten's Human Embryology: Elements of Clinical Development. New York: McGraw Hill, 1976. "It is the penetration of the ovum by a spermatozoan and resultant mingling of the nuclear material each brings to the union that constitutes the culmination of the process of fertilization and marks the initiation of the life of a new individual."
E.L. Potter and J.M. Craig, Pathology of the Fetus and the Infant, 3rd edition. Chicago: Year Book Medical Publishers, 1975: "Every time a sperm cell and ovum unite a new being is created which is alive and will continue to live unless its death is brought about by some specific condition."
J.P. Greenhill and E.A. Friedman, Biological Principles and Modern Practice of Obstetrics. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 1974: "The term conception refers to the union of the male and female pronuclear elements of procreation from which a new living being develops. It is synonymous with the terms fecundation, impregnation, and fertilization."
Which human organisms are morally relevant?
This is a dorsal (rear) view.
Four weeks after his or her conception, Baby Chris is growing rapidly. Last week's circulatory system development has enabled a burst of activity. The heart is now beating between 105 and 121 times per minute. "Pacemaker cells" have developed to control its rhythm.
Baby Chris's skin is only one cell thick and translucent (right), allowing researchers a mostly unobstructed view of his or her many organs. The kidneys, gonads, and endocrine system are all developing. The left and right hemispheres of the brain are starting to emerge, and Baby Chris's head is about a third of his or her entire body size. He or she also has "lung buds" and mainstem bronchi, the beginnings of the respiratory system. Placental connections are still forming, so Baby Chris continues to rely on the yolk sac for nourishment.
Remember to download the See Baby app on our smartphone for more information about Baby Chris's 9-month journey from conception to birth!
Cheryl F.: My birth mom... she could have aborted me, but didn't.
Violet M.: The two wonderful women who adopted my children. I was not ready to be a mother. I am extremely grateful they have kept me in their lives and allowed us to have contact so I am never left wondering.
Della V.: Serrin Foster of Feminists for Life. I was so encouraged by the information she provided about our early pro-life women in American History!
Stephanie S.: Julie Borowski is a libertarian commenter who has been great at promulgating the pro-life message as it pertains to the NAP (libertarian keystone).
Natalie Q.: Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa, and New Wave Feminists! As a mid-thirties woman who has always been pro-life, it has been so awesome to come across NWF message of consistent life ethic and non-violence. We have to love and support women first and foremost, and demand that society respect women as mothers and start accommodating our superpower! Love NWF's messaging this; I think it's incredibly timely and necessary!
I usually don't think my pro-life work makes much difference, so why do I keep doing it?
The person has to actually want Reward Y.
The person has to believe if they take Action X, they really will receive Reward Y.
The person has to believe they are capable of Action X.
This layout makes sense to me and I think about it surprisingly a lot. In particular these factors explain why someone might genuinely care about Reward Y and still not go for it: either they don't believe Action X will result in Reward Y or they don't believe they can do Action X.
For example, suppose Action X is using a car as little as possible, and Reward Y is significantly preventing destructive climate change. I expect there are a lot of people who care about climate change but don't believe personally not using their car will really make any difference, so they don't bother. Or suppose Action X is convincing your entire town to stop using cars; people might be more likely to believe this will make a dent in climate change, but they just don't believe they are really capable of convincing their whole town, so they don't bother. Etc.
I bring this up because the same issues arise in my pro-life work. Some of the activists I've crossed paths with are bewildered and frustrated that there seem to be so many people who say they think abortion is wrong but are unwilling to make even the smallest gesture to oppose it, such as a phone call to a political office or even admitting to their closest friends or family that they hold this opinion. If you really believe something is wrong, how can you do nothing to try to resolve it?
But that lack of action makes sense to me, actually. Sure, sometimes it may just be a lack of courage, but I think a lot of times it's a feeling of futility. Sacrificing social standing, straining relationships, or even taking any time or emotional effort—those are all costs, and what is the reward? If people don't believe it's going to make any difference, why pay those prices?
I think about this a lot in terms of my own activism, because frankly I almost never think the work I do really makes any big picture difference (i.e. state-wide or nationally). I am repeatedly impressed/overwhelmed/jealous of the seemingly enormous resources and superior coordination of our ideological opponents on this topic. I see the pro-life movement as the mom & pop shop to the pro-choice movement's corporate sponsorship, basically, and I don't really believe there's much I can do about it.
Wednesday was a quintessential example of this situation. For the first time I went to testify against legislation (specifically SB 24, the bill that would mandate California public universities provide medication abortion on campus). We knew going in that we were very unlikely to stop the bill from going through committee. These things tend to fall along heavily partisan lines and, as expected, the vote was 2 Republicans opposed, 6 Democrats in support (1 Democrat was absent).
I didn't find the vote particularly disheartening because I fully expected it to happen. It's California. But by the end of the day I realized I was more tired/disheartened than I expected, and I further realized it's because of (1) the seeming asymmetry in resources between our side and the other and (2) the immense popularity of what I consider incredibly poor arguments.
people in support line up and say, basically, "My name is X and I'm with Y group and I support this bill,"
The room was filled with people almost all there for SB 24, and when it was time for people in support to speak, nearly the entire room rose and lined up. Many of them were wearing matching t-shirts and many of them were from the same or similar student groups. It took quite a while for them to each very briefly state their support, and as it was happening I was thinking about the kind of communication and coordination it takes to get that many people in the same place at the same time (wearing the same clothes) for the same purpose, especially since they are from all over a rather large state. It's really impressive.
To be fair, I expected our side to have only 2-5 people to stand in opposition, and we actually had far more than I thought. Perhaps 20-30 people? Roughly guessing, our side had maybe half or a third of their numbers, but that's still a more even distribution than I'm used to. That was touching.
Anyway, I went into this expecting to lose, spoke to a state senate committee (and larger audience) who were by far mostly against us, and then we did lose. And I go home and think "Why do I do this?" I mean it does cost me. Frustration or despondency aside, it costs me time I would otherwise be earning money and supporting my own family, which I always feel very conflicted about. And if I don't believe my actions can get me Reward Y (in this case, stopping a bill I disagree with), why bother? It has to be that, for me, Reward Y isn't stopping the bill.
It's the same when I take the time to write a long heavily sourced blog post, knowing that even our best blog numbers (say perhaps 10,000 readers) are dwarfed by the voices we're arguing against. And yet I find publishing such a post really fulfilling anyway. Why?
Part of it is wanting to stand by people I admire. The students on our side who traveled from around the state to stand in front of a room that overwhelmingly disagreed with them and say publicly (into a microphone and on video) what in this state is an incredibly unpopular viewpoint—that's courage. I deeply admire that. I feel some sense of obligation there—if they have the courage and take the time, how can I give less?
Part of it is that I hope if I speak out, it will give courage to other people to speak out too.
But actually I think the bigger reward for me is the relief of saying what I think. That's really it. One of the senators in support of the bill asked me a question I wasn't prepared for, and that was frustrating. But I tried to answer, and I know that if I had been home watching the meeting from my laptop, I would have been a lot more frustrated thinking of what I wanted to say and not having the chance to try. Even if no one listens to me or believes me, at least I got the chance to try to say what I want to say, and a lot of the time that's reward enough for me. Good thing, since a lot of the time that's all you really get.
Some of the students (and other activists) who came to the Capitol to oppose SB 24.


text:
Economy of Oman
Title: Economy of Oman
Subject: Economy of Thailand, Economy of Tajikistan, Economy of Indonesia, Economy of Abkhazia, Economy of Taiwan
Collection: Economy of Oman, Economy of the Arab League, World Trade Organization Member Economies
Riyal Omani
$76.460 billion (2012 est.)[1]
64th (nominal) / 74th (PPP)
5.0% (2012 est.)[2]
$24,700 (2012 est.)[3]
agriculture 2.1%, industry 37.2%, services 60.7% (2008 est.)
968,000 (2007 est.)
15% (2004 est)
crude oil production and refining, natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production; construction, cement, copper, steel, chemicals, optic fiber
47th[5]
$48.4 billion (2012 est.)[6]
petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles
United Arab Emirates 10.1%
South Korea 10.0%
Thailand 4.4%
Singapore 4.4% (2012 est.)[7]
machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants
India 8.5%
China 6.4%
United States 6.1% (2012 est.)[9]
2.4% of GDP (2008 est.)
$$14.74 billion (2008 est.)
Economic aid
donor: pledged $1 million to Darfur refugees (2008)
Standard & Poor's:[10]
A (Domestic)
A (Foreign)
AA- (T&C Assessment)
Outlook: Stable[11]
Moody's:[11]
Outlook: Stable
Oman is a country in the Middle East. Current GDP per capita has expanded continuously in the past 50 years. It grew 339% in the 1960s reaching a peak growth of 1,370% in the 1970s scaling back to modest 13% growth in the 1980s and rising again to 34% in the 1990s.
Macro-economic trend 1
Overview 2
Modernization 3
Omanization 4
Introduction 4.1
Training and Omanization 4.2
Macro-economic trend
This is a chart of trend of the gross domestic product and gross domestic product per capita of Oman at market prices by the International Monetary Fund.[12]
(in millions US$)
(as % of USA)
1980 6,342 4,674 38.16
1985 10,395 6,129 34.65
2005 30,905 11,806 27.70
(est.) 81,550 24,024 43.03
Traditional souqs (this one at Muttrah) are very common in Oman and have formed the bulk of Omani economy in the past
World Trade Organization (WTO) and gained membership in 2000.
When Oman declined as an entrepot for arms and slaves in the mid-19th century, much of its former prosperity was lost, and the economy turned almost exclusively to agriculture, camel and goat herding, fishing, and traditional handicrafts. Today, oil fuels the economy and revenues from petroleum products have enabled Oman's dramatic development over the past 30 years.
Omani exports in 2006
Oil was first discovered in the interior near Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and production levels again reached 600,000 b/d by mid-1987, which helped increase revenues. By mid-2000, production had climbed to more than 900,000 b/d where they remain. Oman is not a member of OPEC.
Natural gas reserves, which will increasingly provide the fuel for power generation and desalination, stand at 18 trillion ft³ (510 km³). The Oman LNG processing plant located in Sur was opened in 2000, with production capacity of 6.6 million tons/YR, as well as unsubstantial gas liquids, including condensates.
Petrochemical tanks in Sohar
Oman does not have the immense oil resources of some of its neighbors. Nevertheless, in recent years, it has found more oil than it has produced, and total proven reserves rose to more than 5 billion barrels (0.8 km³) by the mid-1990s. Oman's complex geology makes exploration and production an expensive challenge. Recent improvements in technology, however, have enhanced recovery.
Agriculture and fishing are the traditional way of life in Oman. Dates and limes, grown extensively in the Batinah coastal plain and the highlands, make up most of the country's agricultural exports. Coconut palms, wheat, and bananas also are grown, and cattle are raised in Dhofar. Other areas grow cereals and forage crops. Poultry production is steadily rising. Fish and shellfish exports totaled $34 million in 2000.
Sohar port is bound to help Oman transform its economy significantly
The government is undertaking many development projects to modernize the economy, improve the standard of living, and become a more active player in the global marketplace. Oman became a member of the World Trade Organization in October 2000, and continues to amend its financial and commercial practices to conform to international standards. Increases in agriculture and especially fish production are believed possible with the application of modern technology. The Muscat capital area has both an international airport at Seeb and a deepwater port at Mina Qaboos. The newly opened (1999), large-scale modern container port at Salalah, capital of the Dhofar Governorate, and a seaport at nearby Raysut were recently completed. A national road network includes a $400 million highway linking the northern and southern regions. In an effort to diversify the economy, in the early 1980s, the government built a $200-million copper mining and refining plant at Sohar. Other large industrial projects include an 80,000 b/d oil refinery and two cement factories. An industrial zone at Rusayl showcases the country's modest light industries. Marble, limestone, and gypsum may prove commercially viable in the future.
The Omani Government is implementing its sixth 5-year plan, launched in 2000, to reduce its dependence on oil and expatriate labor. The plan focuses on income diversification, job creation for Omanis in the private sector, and development of Oman's interior. Government programs offer soft loans and propose the building of new industrial estates in population centers outside the capital area. The government is giving greater emphasis to "Omanization" of the labor force, particularly in banking, hotels, and municipally sponsored shops benefiting from government subsidies. Currently, efforts are underway to liberalize investment opportunities in order to attract foreign capital.
Some of the largest budgetary outlays are in the areas of health services and basic education. The number of schools, hospitals, and clinics has risen exponentially since the accession of Sultan Qaboos in 1970.
United States firms faced a small and highly competitive market dominated by trade with Japan and Britain and re-exports from the United Arab Emirates. The sale of U.S. products has also been hampered by higher transportation costs and the lack of familiarity with Oman on the part of U.S. exporters. However, the traditional U.S. market in Oman, oil field supplies and services, should grow as the country's major oil producer continues a major expansion of fields and wells. In addition, on 20 July 2006 the U.S. Congress approved the US-Oman Free Trade Agreement. This took effect on 1 January 2009, eliminating tariff barriers on all consumer and industrial products. It also provides strong protections for foreign businesses investing in Oman.[13]
Omanization
In Oman, the Omanization program has been in operation since 1988, working toward replacing expatriates with trained Omani personnel. by the end of 1999, the number of Omanis in government services exceeded the set target of 72%, and in most departments reached 86% of employees. The Ministry has also stipulated fixed Omanization targets in six areas of the private sector. Most companies have registered Omanization plans. Since April 1998 a 'green card' has been awarded to companies that meet their Omanization targets and comply with the eligibility criteria for labour relations. The names of these companies are published in the local press and they receive preferential treatment in their dealings with the Ministry. Academics working on various aspects of Omanization include Ingo Forstenlechner from United Arab Emirates University and Paul Knoglinger from the FHWien.
Training and Omanization
In order to meet the training and Omanization requirements of the banking sector, the Omani Institute of Bankers was established in 1983 and has since played a leading role in increasing the number of Omanis working in the sector. The Central Bank monitors the progress made by the commercial banks with Omanization and in July 1995 issued a circular stipulating that by the year 2000, at least 75% of senior and middle management positions should be held by Omanis. In the clerical grades 95% of staff should be Omanized and 100% in all other grades. At the end of 1999, no less than 78.8% of all positions were held by Omanis which is a considerable achievement for the banking sector in general. Women made up 30% of the total. During 1999 the percentage of Omanis employed at senior and middle management levels went up from 76.7% to 78.8%. There was a slight increase in the clerical grade percentage to 98.7%, while the non-clerical grades had already reached 100% Omanization in 1998. The banking sector currently employs 2,113 senior and middle managers supported by 4,757 other staff.
The Ministry has issued a decision regulating tourist guides, who in future will be required to have a license. This Ministerial decision aims at encouraging professionalism in the industry as well as providing career opportunities for Omanis who will be encouraged to learn foreign languages so as to replace foreign tour guides. In January 1996, a major step forward in the training of Omanis in the hotel industry came with the opening of the National Hospitality Institute (NHI). The Institute is a public company quoted on the Omani Stock exchange. In February 1997, the first batch of 55 male and female trainees, sponsored by the Vocational Training Authority, were awarded their first level certificates and were given on-the-job training in several hotels. In May 1999, the fourth batch of 95 trainees obtained their NVQs, bringing the number of Omanis trained by the Institute to around 450. Omanis now make up 37% of the 34,549 employees in the hotel and catering business, which exceeds the Omanization target of 30% set by the Government. The NHI has also trained catering staff from the Sultan's Armed Forces and has launched a two-year tour guide course, which includes language training, safe driving, first aid and a knowledge of local history and geography.
The stock market capitalization of listed companies in Oman was valued at $15,269 million in 2005 by the World Bank.[1]
Oman is one of those countries with little or no national debt, but national wealth, managed via a number of sovereign wealth funds. The most significant of those is the State General Reserve Fund, or SGRF.
Household income by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Electricity - production: 14.33 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
Electricity - consumption: 13.33 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish
Exchange rates: Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (2005), 0.3845 (2004), 0.3845 (2003), 0.3845 (2002), 0.3845 (2001)
Central Bank of Oman
List of companies of Oman
US-Oman Free Trade Agreement
^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2195.html
^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2003rank.html
^ GDP (official exchange rate), The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, accessed on 20 June 2013. Population data obtained from Total Midyear Population, U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base, accessed on 20 June 2013. Note: Per capita values were obtained by dividing the GDP (official exchange rate) data by the population data. The figures were then rounded to the nearest hundred in typical Factbook fashion.
^ "Doing Business in Oman 2013".
^ "Export Partners of Oman".
^ "Import Partners of Oman".
^ a b Rogers, Simon; Sedghi, Ami (15 April 2011). "How Fitch, Moody's and S&P rate each country's credit rating". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
^ http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2013/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=47&pr.y=7&sy=1980&ey=2015&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=449%2C111&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC&grp=0&a=
^ Chemical & Engineering News, 5 January 2009, "U.S.-Oman pact expands Free Trade", p. 18
http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/fs/oman.pdf
Ministry of National Economy
Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Omani Center for Investment Promotion
Muscat Securities Market
Public Establishment for Industrial Estates
Al-Mazyunah Free Zone
State General Reserve Fund
Oman Tender Board
State Audit Institute
Oman Commercial Office in Dubai
Ministry of Oil & Gas
Ministry of Civil Service
Bank Muscat
Oman International Bank
National Bank of Oman
Bank Dhofar
Bank Sohar
HSBC Oman
Salalah Port
Sohar Port
Oman Economic Review
http://www.zawya.com/countries/om/
http://www.ameinfo.com/
Oman Economic Development at DMOZ
Map of the oil and gas infrastructure in Oman
Director-General)
Roberto Azevêdo (Elected Director-General)
Supachai Panitchpakdi (Former Director-General)
Deputy Directors-General:
Valentine Rugwabiza
Harsha Singh
European Union¹
Hong Kong²
Macau²
Taiwan³
1. All twenty-eight member states of the European Union are also members of the WTO in their own right:
2. Special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, participates as "Hong Kong, China" and "Macao China". 3. Officially the Republic of China, participates as "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu"
Economy of Asia
Economy of the Arab League
Hong Kong, Beijing, Macau, Shanghai, Taiwan


Disney Channel icon, Raven-Symoné visited South Africa to celebrate the season two premiere of Raven's Home on Disney Channel. We sat down with her to find out more about the show and herself.
TV show episodes inspired by popular music? Sign us up for more! We've got all the details on BET's brand new show Tales.
Saturday 27 October is Derby Day as Orlando Pirates takes on Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto Derby at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.
Watch online: Lifetime's new reality series with host Pabi Moloi, starts 25 October and then every Thursday at 20:00, streaming live on DStv Now.
Find out more about the brand new BBC Earth series, Dynasties - coming soon in November.
You've got your favourite series, now have your favourite music with JOOX and DStv.
Want to know who The Bachelor South Africa is? We've got all the details on the handsome and successful Lee Thompson.
In her first ever documentary, Judi embarks on a magical journey to uncover the mysteries about one of her greatest passions: trees.


text:
Research Contract
Entrepreneurship Programmes
Research Contracts
Who should I contact when there is a need to enter into a research collaboration relationship with an external party, such as for exchanging confidential information, receiving / providing research materials, conducting collaborative research, etc.?
You should approach the ORKTS Contracts Team who handles project-specific contracts for research, knowledge transfer (excluding technology licensing matters which are handled by IP and Technology Licensing Team), consultancy or related services as well as other relevant collaborations with external parties.
The Contracts Team staff share research contract support responsibilities according to the University's academic faculties / schools, and please send over the relevant project details and background information together with any draft agreement that you have in hand (ideally, with a duly completed Statement of Work – standard template downloadable here) for his / her handling. The contact details of Contracts Team staff are shown here.
What is the eligibility requirement to serve as a Principal Investigator (PI) for a research contract?
According to Article 5.1 of the University's "Policy on Research", academic staff at Assistant Professor rank or Research Assistant Professor rank or above may serve as Principal Investigators of externally supported research awards. Other staff members, with the approval of the immediate supervisor and the Chairperson of the Research Committee, may serve as Principal Investigators under special circumstances, provided that a named full-time academic staff member at Associate Professor rank or Research Associate Professor rank or above assumes responsibility for ensuring that the administration of the award conforms with the sponsor's requirements.
For those staff members who are not qualified to serve as PI, please submit an application to act as the project PI to the Chairperson of Research Committee via ORKTS Contracts Team.
Do I, as a Principal Investigator (PI), need to include the University's overhead in my research contract budget?
Yes, in general, the University's overhead has to be included in research contract budgets.
For research contracts to be entered by CUHK, the scale of overhead charges for contracts to provide research, knowledge transfer, consultancy or other services has been listed in Schedule 4 to the University's "Policy on Research". The current overhead charges level is fixed at :
Contract Type Overhead Rate
Contracts where research activities take place on campus 25%
Contracts where research activities take place off campus or are funded by government/public funds/non-profit making organizations 15%
The current overhead charges level for research contracts to be entered by SZRI or FITRI :
Government funded contract 5%
Private research service contract 10%
Private training service contract 13%
In applicable cases, waiver or reduction of overhead charges can only be approved by AAPC via the recommendation of Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Bursar and Director of Finance. The application with justifications made by PI shall be submitted via ORKTS Contracts Team.
What are the key conditions that I should be aware of before accepting a research award from an external party via a research contract?
Article 5.2 of the University's "Policy on Research" specifies conditions for accepting a research award, in the form of a grant or other type of legal agreement from an external sponsor, in particular:
Scope (a) The work is consonant with the University educational and research objectives, and the University would itself have supported the research if its own funds were adequate.
Exclusion of funding (b) The University reserves the right to refuse acceptance of any research grants offered by or entering into contracts with any companies as it considers appropriate. As a rule, the University does not accept any research grants offered by or in the name of tobacco companies.
Freedom to publish (c) The agreement, except for the protection of the sponsor's confidential and proprietary information, does not restrict the freedom to publish and otherwise disseminate the results of research.
Access to technical data (d) The Principal Investigator and other members of the research team will be permitted to retain copies of such data and information for their own academic (but not commercial) use, and that other bona fide researchers should be given access to the data under suitable conditions. Subject to contractual arrangement that the University may have with the sponsor university or organization or the prior agreement of the Research Committee, the University will own the data and other products generated from or purchased for a sponsored project.
Not for publicity (e) The results of sponsored research with the name and/or logo of the University shall not be used for advertising, commercial publicity or other commercial purposes. The name and/or logo of the University shall not be used in any way, whether in the form of written or oral statements, that could constitute or imply an endorsement by the University of any commercial product or its packaging or service, without the prior written approval of the University.
Can I, as a Principal Investigator (PI) in my research contract, apply for the Government's Research Matching Grant Scheme (RMGS)?
As long as the application criteria of RMGS are met, the payments received under a research project established through the research contract are eligible for RMGS.
However, double matching or double subsidisation is prohibited; projects that have secured public/government funds (e.g. the Innovation and Technology Fund, research grants from the UGC and the RGC, the Research Impact Fund, etc.), and donations/research grants/research contracts already matched with public funds within Hong Kong under other matching schemes (e.g. the Eighth Matching Grant Scheme) will not be eligible for matching grants under the RMGS. For more details, please visit the University Grants Committee website on RMGS.
Please also take note of the below when filling in your RPD Form and Research Budget Table as advised by the University's Finance Office and ORKTS:
i. Project fund start and end dates must be filled in;
ii. Please double check the entity name (whether the entity / company name stated on the contract is consistent with the RPD form);
iii. Please check whether the casting of the RPD Form and Research Budget Table is correct;
iv. Round the amounts to 2 decimal places, if applicable;
v. The project funding should primarily be used in undertaking research work/activities/projects/initiatives in Hong Kong in order to be eligible for RMGS;
vi. Costs not for research (such as administration cost, general expenses, entertainment expenses, etc.) are not eligible for RMGS;
vii. It has been clarified with UGC that certain types of service, such as testing service using conventional technology or service for holding a seminar are not seen as involving research element and hence not eligible for RMGS; and
viii. If you have ideas on the RMGS usage, if awarded, you should indicate the specific research title with a preliminary budget on the usage of the matching fund in the RPD form (e.g. 40% research staff cost, 40% equipment, 20% consumables), which can be changed subsequently.
Can I, as a Principal Investigator (PI), sign my research agreement on behalf of the University?
No, all research contracts vetted by ORKTS Contracts Team shall be signed by ORKTS Director (or Acting Director in applicable cases) on behalf of the University as the authorized signatory. Execution by any person other than the University's authorized signatory will render the contract invalid and/or even give rise to personal liability.
For some kind of research contracts such as a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), PIs may need to sign on the agreement too – but in the capacity of the project's principal investigator (and not on behalf of the University).
The ORKTS Contracts Team will give you proper guidance during the contract execution stage.


Find out how to make the official drink of the Preakness Stakes.
With Justify winning the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes happening this weekend is the next step in the Triple Crown.
While the horses are the main attraction, the Black-Eyed Susan is as much a part of the atmosphere as the Mint Julep is to the Kentucky Derby.
So whether you're watching the action in Baltimore or just taking it all in at home, follow the recipe below.
Check out the video above to see how to put it all together.