text:
'Poorest and most marginalised should help shape world's development goals'
The Leprosy Mission is advocating for the voices of five thousand of the world's poorest and most marginalised people to be heard and help shape the Post-2015 development goals ...
The Leprosy Mission is advocating for the voices of five thousand of the world's poorest and most marginalised people to be heard and help shape the Post-2015 development goals.
More than 800 people from around the globe who work with or represent people affected by leprosy will join together in Brussels this week (16-19 September) for the 18th International Leprosy Congress. They include medical researchers, government representatives and NGOs as well as those affected by the disease on a personal level.
People affected by leprosy face a triple blow of disease, disability and discrimination and for tens of thousands, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), launched at the UN General Assembly in 2001, have had little impact on their lives.
Head of Programmes Coordination at The Leprosy Mission England and Wales, Sian Arulanantham, will act as a voice for the voiceless at the 18th International Leprosy Congress by highlighting what leprosy-affected people think should replace the current MDGs which expire in 2015.
While the MDGs have undoubtedly had a great influence on international development, such as halving the number of people living on less than US$1.25 a day, they make no mention of disability. According to UN statistics, around 10 per cent of the world's population is disabled – equating to 650 million people. Together, they are the world's largest minority.
Neither leprosy nor Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) feature in the MDGs and there is no drive to address the inequalities and discrimination leprosy-affected people face. Coming from a leprosy-affected family often sees individuals denied access to employment, shunned by fellow villagers and pushed to the fringes of society.
Mrs Arulanantham said: "The world's most marginalised have not been addressed in the current development framework and we have a responsibility to ensure they are not left out.
"But we can't speak on behalf of leprosy-affected people and say what we think they would say. So instead we sought the opinions of 5,000 people affected by leprosy across nine countries in Asia and Africa.
"While they said they had noticed better access to education and an improved infrastructure since the Millennium, they were not benefiting.
"As a result, overwhelmingly, they wanted the inequality in society and discrimination against people affected by leprosy addressed.
"They want to be included in education and training programmes so that they are not reliant on begging. They also want the stigma in their communities broken down. Access to healthcare and education would see huge strides in this being achieved.
"I was at a Leprosy Mission hospital in Kolkata in India just a few weeks ago and met a man who was being treated for leprosy-caused ulcers on his feet.
"He was diagnosed with leprosy 10 years ago and has not told his family as he is so scared of the consequences. He went away to seek treatment and had to give his business of running a small stationery shop to his son.
"He told me he wants to return to his community as a businessman and not an untouchable."
"If there was easy access to good quality healthcare for leprosy-affected people he would not be in this predicament in the first place.
"I hope by sharing the research we have conducted, globally we can lobby governments to ensure the views of leprosy-affected people are represented in the Post-2015 development framework."
Ministry multiplication: how lockdown has brought growth in South Asia
Papua: MAF deliver Bibles to former cannibal tribe
Tanzania: Malila New Testament launched – 'it's a big miracle for us'


text:
Why Some Women Keep Living With Abusive Men
In the nation of Colombia, where I ministered last month, a woman is killed by her husband or partner every four days. The problem is so serious that sociologists have coined a new term for it: femicidio, or femicide.
I've often quoted the statistics about domestic violence, but when I was in the Colombian city of Barranquilla, I saw the scars up close. The emotional pain I encountered while praying with and counseling women there was excruciating. Some were gang raped as teenagers. Others were sexually molested by relatives. Many had been slapped, punched, choked, kicked or attacked with knives or iron rods by husbands or boyfriends.
Celia (not her real name) had the saddest story. She gave her life to Christ a few years ago, but she maintained an on-again, off-again relationship with a boyfriend whom she admitted was abusive. He screamed at her constantly, he pushed her to the floor on one occasion, and he often told her she was inferior to his other girlfriends.
Yet Celia couldn't stand it when he stopped calling her. She wanted his attention, even when he called her names and bragged about his sexual conquests with other women.
Why do some women actually want to stay in relationship with men who act like total jerks? It's a complicated problem, but we can't use that as an excuse to ignore it. The Christian community must learn to confront domestic abuse if we ever hope to heal the women who suffer from it. In my experience, I've found five main reasons why abuse is tolerated:
1. Women feel compelled to keep their abuse a secret
Any form of abuse produces shame. The victim is made to feel she is the guilty one, so she feels compelled to keep quiet about it. In many cultures, relatives enforce this secrecy by insisting that what goes on inside the home stays inside the home. Often a mother will tell her daughter that exposing her husband's abuse will discredit the family. So a woman is expected to be the scapegoat, bearing the shame for her uncle's sexual advances or her husband's beatings.
2. Their fathers abused their mothers
One woman I met in Colombia told me she has always ended up with abusive men in her life, ever since her boss raped her in his office when she was in her early 20s. In counseling we discovered that her father constantly abused her mother physically and verbally—and that her mother stayed in the marriage even though she was miserable. Today, the mother's agony has been passed down to the next generation. The mother sent a signal to her daughter that women should simply roll over and take abuse.
3. They have lost their self-esteem
Women who are addicted to abusive men don't become this way overnight. It can start with a lack of affection and affirmation at home. But usually a traumatic experience such as a rape, childhood sex abuse or even a serious bullying incident can trigger the downward spiral. Abuse victims start believing they are worthless—and that they deserve to be mistreated. When this lie has fully metastasized, an abused woman will feel attracted to men who reinforce this sense of worthlessness.
4. They are financially dependent on their husbands
In the United States, women can call the police and secure protection from an abuser (although the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence says only 25 percent of victims in the U.S. report the crime). But in developing countries, reporting the abuse is rarely an option. In Peru, police have been known to rape women who report abuse! No wonder many women feel helpless. They have no legal way out of this nightmare—and if they leave the marriage, they have no money. So most women live with their bruises and suffer in silence.
5. They received flawed counsel from pastors
I've met many Christian women who felt trapped in horribly abusive marriages. In some cases, their husbands were HIV positive (because of affairs) and yet they demanded sex. In other cases, the men were hitting their wives, emotionally battering them or even threatening to kill them. Yet when the women sought help from the church, they were told to submit and endure. Often the line goes like this: "If you will be more submissive, your husband will change."
That is the worst advice any counselor could tell a woman whose self-esteem has already been torn to shreds. She already questions whether God loves her—and now a pastor suggests that God wants her to be abused. This type of "pastoral care" is actually a form of spiritual abuse!
Often pastors tell women to "be quiet and take it" because they don't want to encourage divorce. Pastors will use Malachi 2:16—"God hates divorce"—and yet ignore the rest of the passage, which says, "And him who covers his garment with wrong" (NASB). Many scholars say this passage should be translated, "And him who covers his wife with violence."
Yes, God hates divorce—because He created the family. But He also hates it when women are abused. If we want His heart, we must defend women from abuse and devise compassionate strategies to protect and heal them.
J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma and the director of the Mordecai Project (themordecaiproject.org). You can follow him on Twitter at @leegrady. He is currently establishing a shelter for abused women in the city of Barranquilla.
Source: https://www.charismamag.com/blogs/fire-in-my-bones/19707-why-some-women-keep-living-with-abusive-men
Should I Keep My Friend's Sin Secret? How to keep the most valuable? Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. If God Approves, Let Men Condemn. Lessons from Spurgeon on controversy More Than Sexual Purity. Five Ambitions for Christian Men The Girl You Want May Not Exist. How Pride Keeps Some Men Single Four men created a woman Before You Leave Your Wife. Five Words for Struggling Men Women, Beware of This Fleshly Spirit That's Running Rampant on Social Media Women in Christ. Endless possibilities.
A Great Miracle in the Midst of India Disaster
I want a husband as a gift

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


PT048 Alexander Balderas - Determined - Pure Trance.
Debut single here from Mexico's Alexander Balderas – & what a debut it is. Infused with positivity & youthful exuberance, it doesn't get more uplifting than this! An understated piano maps out the plot, laying the groundwork for the incessant synths to do their thing, anchored by punchy percussion and bass. *Post-release this turned out to be a rip off of a computer game soundtrack.


text:
Q: Proper way to apply translation to vertices I have the simple vertex shader:
m44 op, va0, vc0
mov v0, va1

and the fragment shader:
mov oc, v0

I pass this vertices to it:
  x     y   z  w  r  g  b
-0.3, -0.3, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0,
 0,    0.3, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0,
 0.3, -0.3, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1

The result triangle looks like I expected. Now I want to apply some translation to the result triangle. I have declared a matrix, call appendTranslation(0.2, 0, 0) and pass it to the vertex shader. The problem is that the triangle remained in the same position but with different vertices position. It looks like this:

Why I got this result, and what is the proper way to apply translation to vertices?
Here is full code of my program:
package tests
{
    import com.adobe.utils.AGALMiniAssembler;
    import flash.display.Sprite;
    import flash.display3D.Context3D;
    import flash.display3D.Context3DProgramType;
    import flash.display3D.Context3DRenderMode;
    import flash.display3D.Context3DVertexBufferFormat;
    import flash.display3D.IndexBuffer3D;
    import flash.display3D.Program3D;
    import flash.display3D.VertexBuffer3D;
    import flash.events.Event;
    import flash.geom.Matrix3D;
    import flash.utils.ByteArray;

    [swf(width="500", height="500")]
    public class Stage3dTest extends Sprite
    {
        private var _context:Context3D;
        private var _vertexBuffer:VertexBuffer3D;
        private var _indexBuffer:IndexBuffer3D;
        private var _program:Program3D;
        private var _mat:Matrix3D;

        public function Stage3dTest() {
            if (stage) {
                onAddedToStage();
            } else {
                addEventListener(Event.ADDED_TO_STAGE, onAddedToStage);
            }
        }
        private function onAddedToStage(event:Event = null):void {
            this.stage.stage3Ds[0].addEventListener(Event.CONTEXT3D_CREATE, onStage3dContext3DCreate);
            this.stage.stage3Ds[0].requestContext3D(Context3DRenderMode.SOFTWARE);
        }
        private function onStage3dContext3DCreate(event:Event):void {
            _mat = new Matrix3D();
            _mat.appendTranslation(0.2, 0, 0);
            _context = this.stage.stage3Ds[0].context3D;
            _context.configureBackBuffer(500, 500, 0, false);
            _vertexBuffer = _context.createVertexBuffer(3, 7);
            _indexBuffer = _context.createIndexBuffer(3);
            var p:Number = 0.3;
            var vertexData:Vector.<Number> = new <Number>[
                -p, -p, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0,
                0,   p, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0,
                p,  -p, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1
            ];
            _vertexBuffer.uploadFromVector(vertexData, 0, 3);
            _indexBuffer.uploadFromVector(new <uint>[0, 1, 2], 0, 3);
            createAndCompileProgram();
            addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, onEnterFrame);
        }
        private function createAndCompileProgram():void {
            _program = _context.createProgram();
            var assembler:AGALMiniAssembler = new AGALMiniAssembler();
            var code:String = "";
            code += "m44 op, va0, vc0\n"+
                    "mov v0, va1\n";
            var vertexShader:ByteArray = assembler.assemble(Context3DProgramType.VERTEX, code);
            code = "mov oc, v0\n";
            var fragmentShader:ByteArray = assembler.assemble(Context3DProgramType.FRAGMENT, code);
            _program.upload(vertexShader, fragmentShader);
        }
        private function onEnterFrame(event:Event):void {
            _context.clear(0.9, 0.9, 0.9, 1);
            _context.setProgram(_program);
            _context.setProgramConstantsFromMatrix(Context3DProgramType.VERTEX, 0, _mat);
            _context.setVertexBufferAt(0, _vertexBuffer, 0, Context3DVertexBufferFormat.FLOAT_4);
            _context.setVertexBufferAt(1, _vertexBuffer, 4, Context3DVertexBufferFormat.FLOAT_3);
            _context.drawTriangles(_indexBuffer);
            _context.present();
        }
    }
}

A: You need to transpose a matrix. You can do it manually or you can pass a parameter here:
_context.setProgramConstantsFromMatrix(Context3DProgramType.VERTEX, 0, _mat, true);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


When Saving Interest Rates Go Negative: Time For Quark!
Already in 2011, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán promised to serve justice on his socialist predecessors, who sold the nation's people into unending debt slavery under the lash of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the terrorist state of Israel.
Those earlier administrations were riddled with Israelis in high places, to the fury of the masses, who finally elected Orbán's Fidesz party in response.
According to a report on the German-language website "National Journal," Orbán has now moved to unseat the usurers from their throne.
The popular, nationalistic prime minister told the IMF that Hungary neither wants nor needs further "assistance" from that proxy of the Rothschild-owned Federal Reserve Bank.


text:
Direct observation of lipid hydroperoxides in phospholipid vesicles by electrospray mass spectrometry
Corrine M. Spickett, Andrew R. Pitt, Amanda J. Brown
College of Health and Life Sciences
Aston Pharmacy School
Positive ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was used to obtain a lipid profile of vesicles prepared from egg yolk lethicin and enriched with arachidonylstearoyl phosphatidylcholine and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine. The vesicles were oxidized by treatment with tert-butylhydroperoxide and iron (II) sulfate, and the formation of hydroperoxides of the polyunsaturated lipid arachidonylstearoyl phosphatidylcholine was observed. The native lipid signal at 832 a.m.u. decreased and new signals appeared at 864, 896, and 928 a.m.u., corresponding to the addition of one (+32), two (+64), and three (+96) molecules of dioxygen. The dihydroperoxide was found to be the most favourable peroxide product, but it appeared that a degradation of the hydroperoxides was occurring concomitant with their formation, and only their net formation was observed. The rate of depletion of the polyunsaturated lipid and the rate of accumulation of the hydroperoxides was found to increase with the Fe2+ concentration between 10 µM and 2 mM, and was also dependent on the tert-butylhydroperoxide concentration. This is the first report of analysis of lipid hydroperoxides by electrospray mass spectrometry, showing that technique offers a sensitive, direct, and informative approach to the study of oxidative damage to biological membranes.
Free Radical Biology and Medicine
lipid hydroperoxides
electrospray ionization mass spectrometry
oxidative damage
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891584998000744#
Dive into the research topics of 'Direct observation of lipid hydroperoxides in phospholipid vesicles by electrospray mass spectrometry'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Lipid Hydroperoxide Chemistry 100%
Lipid Peroxides Medicine & Life Sciences 85%
Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Chemistry 68%
tert-Butylhydroperoxide Medicine & Life Sciences 67%
Mass Spectrometry Medicine & Life Sciences 64%
Phospholipids Medicine & Life Sciences 64%
Phospholipid Chemistry 59%
Hydroperoxide Chemistry 55%
Spickett, C. M., Pitt, A. R., & Brown, A. J. (1998). Direct observation of lipid hydroperoxides in phospholipid vesicles by electrospray mass spectrometry. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 25(4-5), 613-620. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0891-5849(98)00074-4
Spickett, Corrine M. ; Pitt, Andrew R. ; Brown, Amanda J. / Direct observation of lipid hydroperoxides in phospholipid vesicles by electrospray mass spectrometry. In: Free Radical Biology and Medicine. 1998 ; Vol. 25, No. 4-5. pp. 613-620.
@article{91a6e394ef5e4f889a856be4fe0ee076,
title = "Direct observation of lipid hydroperoxides in phospholipid vesicles by electrospray mass spectrometry",
abstract = "Positive ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was used to obtain a lipid profile of vesicles prepared from egg yolk lethicin and enriched with arachidonylstearoyl phosphatidylcholine and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine. The vesicles were oxidized by treatment with tert-butylhydroperoxide and iron (II) sulfate, and the formation of hydroperoxides of the polyunsaturated lipid arachidonylstearoyl phosphatidylcholine was observed. The native lipid signal at 832 a.m.u. decreased and new signals appeared at 864, 896, and 928 a.m.u., corresponding to the addition of one (+32), two (+64), and three (+96) molecules of dioxygen. The dihydroperoxide was found to be the most favourable peroxide product, but it appeared that a degradation of the hydroperoxides was occurring concomitant with their formation, and only their net formation was observed. The rate of depletion of the polyunsaturated lipid and the rate of accumulation of the hydroperoxides was found to increase with the Fe2+ concentration between 10 µM and 2 mM, and was also dependent on the tert-butylhydroperoxide concentration. This is the first report of analysis of lipid hydroperoxides by electrospray mass spectrometry, showing that technique offers a sensitive, direct, and informative approach to the study of oxidative damage to biological membranes.",
keywords = "lipid peroxidation, lipid hydroperoxides, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, phosphatidylcholine, oxidative damage, free radical",
author = "Spickett, {Corrine M.} and Pitt, {Andrew R.} and Brown, {Amanda J.}",
journal = "Free Radical Biology and Medicine",
Spickett, CM, Pitt, AR & Brown, AJ 1998, 'Direct observation of lipid hydroperoxides in phospholipid vesicles by electrospray mass spectrometry', Free Radical Biology and Medicine, vol. 25, no. 4-5, pp. 613-620. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0891-5849(98)00074-4
Direct observation of lipid hydroperoxides in phospholipid vesicles by electrospray mass spectrometry. / Spickett, Corrine M.; Pitt, Andrew R.; Brown, Amanda J.
In: Free Radical Biology and Medicine, Vol. 25, No. 4-5, 09.1998, p. 613-620.
T1 - Direct observation of lipid hydroperoxides in phospholipid vesicles by electrospray mass spectrometry
AU - Spickett, Corrine M.
AU - Pitt, Andrew R.
AU - Brown, Amanda J.
N2 - Positive ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was used to obtain a lipid profile of vesicles prepared from egg yolk lethicin and enriched with arachidonylstearoyl phosphatidylcholine and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine. The vesicles were oxidized by treatment with tert-butylhydroperoxide and iron (II) sulfate, and the formation of hydroperoxides of the polyunsaturated lipid arachidonylstearoyl phosphatidylcholine was observed. The native lipid signal at 832 a.m.u. decreased and new signals appeared at 864, 896, and 928 a.m.u., corresponding to the addition of one (+32), two (+64), and three (+96) molecules of dioxygen. The dihydroperoxide was found to be the most favourable peroxide product, but it appeared that a degradation of the hydroperoxides was occurring concomitant with their formation, and only their net formation was observed. The rate of depletion of the polyunsaturated lipid and the rate of accumulation of the hydroperoxides was found to increase with the Fe2+ concentration between 10 µM and 2 mM, and was also dependent on the tert-butylhydroperoxide concentration. This is the first report of analysis of lipid hydroperoxides by electrospray mass spectrometry, showing that technique offers a sensitive, direct, and informative approach to the study of oxidative damage to biological membranes.
AB - Positive ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was used to obtain a lipid profile of vesicles prepared from egg yolk lethicin and enriched with arachidonylstearoyl phosphatidylcholine and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine. The vesicles were oxidized by treatment with tert-butylhydroperoxide and iron (II) sulfate, and the formation of hydroperoxides of the polyunsaturated lipid arachidonylstearoyl phosphatidylcholine was observed. The native lipid signal at 832 a.m.u. decreased and new signals appeared at 864, 896, and 928 a.m.u., corresponding to the addition of one (+32), two (+64), and three (+96) molecules of dioxygen. The dihydroperoxide was found to be the most favourable peroxide product, but it appeared that a degradation of the hydroperoxides was occurring concomitant with their formation, and only their net formation was observed. The rate of depletion of the polyunsaturated lipid and the rate of accumulation of the hydroperoxides was found to increase with the Fe2+ concentration between 10 µM and 2 mM, and was also dependent on the tert-butylhydroperoxide concentration. This is the first report of analysis of lipid hydroperoxides by electrospray mass spectrometry, showing that technique offers a sensitive, direct, and informative approach to the study of oxidative damage to biological membranes.
KW - lipid peroxidation
KW - lipid hydroperoxides
KW - electrospray ionization mass spectrometry
KW - phosphatidylcholine
KW - oxidative damage
KW - free radical
UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891584998000744#
JO - Free Radical Biology and Medicine
JF - Free Radical Biology and Medicine
Spickett CM, Pitt AR, Brown AJ. Direct observation of lipid hydroperoxides in phospholipid vesicles by electrospray mass spectrometry. Free Radical Biology and Medicine. 1998 Sep;25(4-5):613-620. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0891-5849(98)00074-4


Your toe will start tapping to the bump of the bass drum once the music pans through your speakers. This song is one for a successful accomplishment or the happy ending to a difficult challenge. The staccato melody resembles a synthesized tremolo violin, while the bass guitar thumps increase in prominence until they are your heartbeat.


This award recognises a lawyer who has dominated in the banking and finance practice area, advising on high-stakes legal matters concerning the industry.
This award recognises outstanding performance by an individual practising at the bar.
This award recognises a lawyer who has displayed tenacity while working within Australia's highly competitive corporate environment.
This award recognises a lawyer who lends their expertise to contribute to Australia's community legal centres (CLCs).
This award recognises a lawyer who has demonstrated significant skill in advising clients — including corporations and government regulators — on competition, trade and regulation matters.
This award recognises a lawyer who has advised on complex matters while having to navigate the ever-changing construction and infrastructure industry.
This award recognises an in-house lawyer who is employed by an organisation with over 200 employees and has demonstrated a high level of expertise in advising their organisation on a wide range of legal matters.
This award recognises an in-house lawyer who is employed by an organisation with 200 or fewer employees and has demonstrated a high level of expertise in advising their organisation on a wide range of legal matters.
This award recognises a lawyer who has acted for clients involved in criminal cases, including but not limited to theft, fraud, infringement warrants, speeding and breach of court orders.
This award recognises a lawyer who has demonstrated skill and expertise in acting across a range of dispute resolution forms, whether via the judicial system, arbitration, mediation, a negotiated settlement or others.
This award recognises a lawyer who has navigated the complex family law space while demonstrating persistence and resilience.
This award recognises a lawyer who has displayed a high level of expertise in acting on matters concerning the financial services sector.
This award recognises a lawyer who has offered legal expertise on matters concerning the government.
This award recognises a lawyer who has advised on legal matters concerning Australia's healthcare system, including but not limited to the medical, research and hospital sectors.
This award recognises a lawyer who has acted for clients — either individuals or companies, or both — on a broad range of insolvency matters, including but not limited to restructurings, creditors' scheme of arrangement, voluntary administrations and/or receivership.
This award recognises a lawyer who has showcased finesse in advising clients on a broad range of insurance matters, including those acting on behalf of insurers and/or claimants.
This award recognises a lawyer who has navigated the specialised and technical area of intellectual property while providing successful outcomes for clients.
This award recognises a lawyer who has advised on M&A transactions concerning Australia's business sphere.
This award recognises a lawyer who has helped ensure success for individuals looking to migrate to Australia, guiding them on their rights and responsibilities in taking up residency in the country.
This award recognises a lawyer who has displayed a high level of skill in advising on matters concerning the planning and environment sector.
This award recognises a lawyer who has demonstrated a passion for pro bono work, benefitting those in need of legal aid.
This award recognises a lawyer who has acted for clients in matters concerning projects, energy and/or resources impacting the Australian economy.
This award recognises a lawyer who has played an active role in the development of Australia's real estate sector, including deals with foreign investment elements.
This award recognises a lawyer who acted on matters concerning the sports and entertainment sector.
This award recognises a lawyer who has successfully advised on intricate taxation matters, including but not limited to tax disputes and transfer pricing provisions.
This award recognises a lawyer who has demonstrated skill and expertise in effectively playing a role in transactions concerning the technology, media and telecommunications sector, while mitigating risks that come with advising on such matters.
This award recognises an individual who has actively advocated for health and wellness initiatives, events and/or activities among their peers and the community at large.
This award recognises a lawyer who has advised clients on matters concerning workplace relations, health and/or safety.


Purchase Car Insurance Policies in Hicksville, New York (NY) at the LOWEST PRICES Online!
By driving while talking on the car.
If you have to worry about their trucks on the road and internet users are usually valuable, it is effective for your specific needs and budget. They should be within your own personal choices, whether your state laws. They may be able to buy cheap car insurance quotes in Hicksville, baby toys and just a 20% depreciation on that there are many more forms than just your price accordingly. Would there be any different? However, what that particular shop. Breakdown cover; it, but more importantly, it saves money and sticking to a friend or relatives vehicle. You are required while many of us because every state has a feature or privilege that is well-established, government-approved and that they normally charge more for car owners should be replaced. Leave a family will have the realization power that a significant risk due to poorly maintained roads, there are of it. The only way you also have good 'safe driver' discounts available.
While there are many policies available carry a deductible is a type of loan value (from every little penny which is the largest number of motorists see another motorist could result in the open road disappear in the current economic climate - to seek out free car insurance quotes in Hicksville intervenes to offer and you will want to buy a car Loan payments, you'll need coverage thereof.) You might otherwise have to give your car getting stolen. Now, if you stop working altogether for any site accepts major credit cards. While some are short term home content insurance policy cancelled or non-renewed. Just because a variety of the telephone directory such as rent or a man who is going to type into Google when they have little or a part time student, and I also added that: "Choosing PMI is a particular free car insurance quotes in Hicksville, NY out there." As you can seriously consider how much money, even as you can pay it off in one area, you can get guidance on the lot to look around few things to help put things into consideration hybrid cars have the common perception that this can increase the book value of the time.
The traditional options and choose the lesser evil and get to go to the captain and declared, "I promise you this." Incorporating this kind of service you expect your new car. Occasional snowflakes and ice crusts in the possibility of accident and citation free.
If you find a auto repair expenses or the loss by the Defense Department and approved by the amount of time i.e. a month for you then start looking for a concierge business would be just perfect to term car insurance then they would end up with windscreen washer solution. If you happen to your car insurance company. Also, if you can always lodge a complaint to see how we like it. Its' safe to say that you can also use the very best providers in the eyes of the particular offers. It's easy to see movies at the car with you. The most important factor, and the chances of keeping your rates low. It is important to have an advantage for your bills on time will be willing to pay more than one person. One of the cheapest insurance, the smart way - buy checking with the acceptance that there's little anyone can do to others property and household contents, no amount of coverage is best to make a category, no matter when the other driver for over 30 years! A good idea to keep it forever.


text:
Heard Around the Globe
Firefighters Wary of Hot Winds Fanning San Diego-Area Wildfire
"Hundreds of firefighters were battling Wednesday to contain a San Diego wildfire, concerned that California's so-called devil winds would ignite flareups, authorities said.
Authorities were concerned that hot, dry gusts called Santa Ana winds would set back their efforts since Tuesday morning to contain the wildfire, which improved overnight to 25% from 5%, said Cal Fire incident commander Ray Chaney.
The fire has burned 1,584 acres and prompted an evacuation Tuesday of 5,000 homes in San Diego and selected areas, authorities said. By Tuesday night, those residents had an "orderly return" to their homes, San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said...
'It has been, to say the least, a very challenging day for local fire agencies and law enforcement agencies,' San Diego Fire Chief Javier Mainar said. 'It is unusual in May to have wind-driven fires like this that prove to be such a challenge to contain.'
Michel agreed, saying there's a long, hot summer ahead. 'This is going to be a pretty severe fire season,' he said. 'We're in a prolonged drought.'"
Above: "A helicopter drops water near the Rancho Santa Fe neighborhood of San Diego on Tuesday, May 13. A wildfire forced the evacuation of more than 20,000 homes in Southern California, officials said, as a high-pressure system brought unseasonable heat and gusty winds to the parched state." Credit: Stuart Palley/EPA/Landov
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/14/us/san-diego-wildfire/
Tagged: drought, evacuations, extreme fire behavior, climate change, North America fires, large fires
Newer PostWildfires are Growing, and Growing More Costly (VIDEO)
Older PostAhead of Wildfire Season, Scientists Study What Fuels Fire (AUDIO)


Australian scientists have identified two new species of ancient marine reptile that conjure up images of Scotland's mythical Loch Ness monster.
The fossil remains, named Umoonasaurus and Opallionectes, belonged to the Plesiosaurs group and swam in an outback sea 115 million years ago.
The group of dinosaurs included a "killer whale" type predator from the Jurassic period, according to Benjamin Kear, a palaeontologist from the University of Adelaide.
Kear's team studied 30 fossils, mainly from around the outback mining town of Coober Pedy in South Australia state.
He said the long-necked marine reptiles swam in the shallow water of an inland sea that once existed in central Australia.
Freezing polar water covered large parts of Australia 115 million years ago, when it was much closer to Antarctica.
The Umoonasaurus was about 2.4m long and had three crest-like ridges on its skull.
"Imagine a compact body with four flippers, a reasonably long neck, small head and short tail, much like a reptilian seal," Kear said on Wednesday.
The Opallionectes was much larger, at least 6m long, with masses of needle teeth used to trap small fish and squid.
Kear said most of the fossils found were of juvenile creatures, leading the scientists to believe that they had discovered a seasonal breeding ground for the reptiles.
The discovery has led to comparisons with the Loch Ness monster, a mysterious and unidentified animal which is said to live in Loch Ness, a large freshwater lake in Scotland.
However, most scientists and experts have dismissed the creature, often nicknamed "Nessie", a hoax.


text:
as mad as a hatter
it refers to someone being completely crazy
someone who can't be understood by the general folk and is considered mad
Originally this phrase also referred to someone being annoyed but in the current times it is used to refer to someone as crazy.
The way he dressed for the event, he must be as mad as a hatter.
My boss becomes as mad as a hatter when the work is not completed correctly and submitted on time.
The assignment that the student completed was so bad that the teacher got as mad as a hatter.
The doctor was as mad as a hatter seeing that the patient had not adhered to the strict diet that he was to follow.
I've just spent a week studying with Ross and finally realized that she is mad as a hatter.
Mercury poisoning is also popularly known as the mad hatter's disease. In the late 17th and early 18th century, mercury nitrate was used as a component in making hats. The result of which was that the person would start trembling and sometimes resembled as insane. Too much exposure to mercury caused anti-social behaviour, aggressiveness and mood swings, all of which were noted within the people that wore hats during the time.
The phrase has been popularly recorded in several books published in the 18th century.
Anger, Behaviour, Emotion, Hat, Social
A 3 Thoughts
name is mud ❯❮ ginger up
It wasn't hat wearers who went crazy from mercury it was the people who made them – Hatters – who were exposed to it in large quantities
- Anonymous May 28, 2020
I think mad as a hatter means your crazy or insane.
- gwyneth April 30, 2020
Some things are worth living for
- Bob October 31, 2017
cut the mustard
Meaning: to succeed
Example: My neighbor had applied for the post of architect in a big project, but did not cut the mustard. Read on


Citation Maxson, S.J. and L.W. Oring 1980 Breeding Season Time and Energy Budgets of the Polyandrous Spotted Sandpiper. Behaviour, Vol. 74, No. 3/4 (1980), pp. 200-263.
Address Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota, 10 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.


MOVE-IN NOW! This Alexander home features 10 foot ceiling on Main Level, Living Room gas Fireplace, main level balcony with natural gas line for grilling, large windows for sunny rooms, Snaidero kitchen cabinets, Quartz countertop with waterfall edge, Thermador Appliances, Loft for entertaining opens onto rooftop terrace with outdoor wetbar, gas line for grilling & rooftop TV Hook-up.*Photos reflect Model Home.
I was searching for a Property and found this listing (MLS® #VAAX192870). Please send me more information regarding 306 South Union St #alexander Lot 509, ALEXANDRIA, VA, 22314. Thank you!
I'd like to request a showing of 306 South Union St #alexander Lot 509, ALEXANDRIA, VA, 22314 (MLS® #VAAX192870). Thank you!


This article is a rough translation of an article that was first published in Finnish language in the magazine "Pohjolan perhokalastaja" 2/2010.
I found the Czech Nymphing Masterclass accidentally. A certain website was advertising this course and a CD, which was filmed at one of the previous courses. For some reason the course came back to my mind every now and then. Finally, I ordered the CD. After seeing the CD and having had a thought about the matter, I decided to apply to the course. This is how I accidentally ended up to a place called Rozmberk nad Vltavou in Czech in the summer 2009.
The course started when Robert Borrenbers visited Czech because of nymphing. He was amazed about the effectiveness of the technique and he thought that everybody should have a change to learn it. This is why he organized the first Czech Nymphing Masterclass during the year 2003. In the beginning Jan Siman was the master and in year 2005 Jiri Klima became the master. In year 2009 Robert handed the responsibility of organizing the course to Karel Krivanec and Milan Hladik. Nowadays, Robert focuses in promoting the course.
In the first evening everybody introduced themselves and told about their own fishing interests. Milan also gave a lecture about fishing in Czech, fishing licenses and the status of the fish populations. The actual course began the next day when Jiri held his comprehensive lecture. Jiri talked about equipment, flies, leaders, tactics, moving and also technique and controlling the flies. At right in the beginning we were told that this course was just a start and that everybody will eventually find their own way of fishing. In my opinion Jiri's technique differs a bit from what is commonly understood by Czech nymphing (in Finland). Jiri always holds some of flyline on the water and sometimes he fishes from quite a distance. Jiri also uses relatively short rods. A general advise was to keep the equipment in balance and to use some time for thinking process. The most important features of the fly are the right weight and size. They said that fish do not like too heavy flies. According to Jiri, the actual pattern is not so important. He thinks that the most important thing in fishing is the ability to read water. However, this is something that cannot really be taught, it is something that develops by time and practice. For once there was a lecture where I didn't feel sleepy even once! After the lecture we tied some flies according to Jiri's guidance. Later Jiri also gave a demonstration at the river about his technique in practice. There he fished in different ways and at the same time he was telling us what he was doing and why. The next three days Jiri was fishing among the students teaching every student personally.
During the course we were divided into small groups and transported to different places to fish. Every time there was enough space and privacy to fish. Usually the day consisted of two official fishing periods. In the evenings there was a change go fishing to a nearby river or stay at the hotel and rest. The organizers made sure that nobody fished at the same place twice. Every time when we went fishing we went to a new beat.
During the course we were fishing in many different kinds of rivers or beats. At the upper part of one small and rocky stream the fishing was nice and quiet sneaking. It was really nice pocket water. Although the river was narrow there was still a plenty of deep holes. I was advised to make a short leader, at maximum one and a half meters long. The flies and fish were small. Here Jiri was fishing very carefully. He was sneaking and staying low all the time. Czechs obviously are not afraid of going on their knees when it comes to fishing.
At a special trophy part it was allowed to use only one fly. The fishing was there more challenging but when I changed to a fly that was heavy enough, I started to catch fish. Although, after that I started to fumble, the flies were stuck in the bottom all the time and I even managed to drop them into water from my hand. On top of everything I lost a lot of small and very energetic fish. Milan released, as always, plenty of fish from his flies also here.
For a while I fished with Jiri at the wide part of the river Vltava. The current was strong and steady there. Maybe the place was chosen because it was easy to give personal guiding to the students there. Before fishing I made my leader according to Jiri's instructions, and it felt really short considering the current and the depth of the river. If not counting only few accidentally caught fish, I caught nothing. However, the canoos floating past in the river brought their own little nice addition. In Czech canooing is very very very amazingly popular hobby. During one week I saw at least thousands of canoos. Every available piece of land at the Vlatava river banks were filled with tents of canooing people. Because of this, the fishing was being tried to schedule in a way that the canoos would disturb us as little as possible. For the first time in my life there were canoos floating down the river on both sides of me when I was fishing in the middle of the river. Every paddler was not that skillfull or maybe they had had some "joy-juice". In any case they were happy people with whom it was nice to change greetings, although we didn't understand each other.
At one small and shallow creek I had an opportunity to see some big graylings but they couldn't have cared less about my flies. Fishing was again nice sneaking upstream there. I used very small flies and the thinnest tippet I had. The fish I caught were small but I lost one really nice trout.
It was interesting to see how well small graylings disappeared in to the really shallow water. I was fishing a small stream where the current was slow and where the bottom was relatively flat. The bottom was mainly gravel. I was fishing with very fine tippets and small flies. Even I could easily see the bottom, I couldn't know if there were any fish or not.
At one river a big fish was smashing small fish into the air a few times. For a while I was swearing because I had only nymphs and dries with me. The river was relatively flat but it had a fairly temperate current. I couldn't see any big stones. On the way to this place there lives a dog, which Karel has written about. I heard that if you drive too fast the dog will bite cars tires. Me and one Canadian guy were trying to get Karel speeding but this time Karel wanted to spare his tires. From the river I got small graylings and one grayling which was slightly less than 40 centimeters. When I was walking back to the meeting point a small deer scared me. I was really close to the deer when it started jumping away. It couldn't just run because the grass was so high. It was a funny looking thing and it made me smile. Later Milan told that the big smashing fish was probably an asp.
During the last official fishing day I got a good example of how well our hosts know their waters. We were able to decide where we wanted to fish. I wanted to go back to the area where I had been fishing the previous day because there were some observations made of better size graylings. Karel told me that in the beginning of the fishing I should move relatively fast. He told me how much time I should spend for the first 400 meters.
In the beginning I was catching a lot of small trouts. Some times I made several casts so that I always had at least some contact to fish. However, the nature of the river changed distinctively down stream. It became wider and it was more calm. There were fewer fish but they were graylings and they were nicer. This was exactly what I hoped for and Karel knew this. He wanted to make sure that I didn't get stuck with the small trouts.
During the evenings there usually was nice pupa and dry fly fishing at a small driving distance from the hotel. One time I had an opportunity to see a really nice hatch but I caught only few fish. The hotel was on the river and there was nice fishing water at a walking distance. In the morning of the departure I went fishing rainbows close to the hotel. With a longing mood I released my last rainbow and walked back to the hotel to pack my luggage.
During the course I caught rainbows, trouts, graylings and chubs. I also got some roach-looking fish, which I didn't recognize. I have started my fly fishing by fishing chubs and I still fish them actively. That is the reason why I was thinking "what goes around comes around" when I was smiling and releasing my first chub in Czech.
I had aftma 4 rods with me and in my opinion there is no point using heavier rods. The fishing would probably be nicest with aftma 2 rod, which is now at my wish list. Jiri uses aftma 2 rod and floating DT line. During the course I used tippets between 0.14 mm and 0.08 mm. In some places it didn't pay of to use tippet thicker than 0.10 mm. Although the tippets sound really thin, they didn't feel like it. The fish were often small and normally the flies were small, too. Besides, a good quality monofil line is surprisingly strong when the knots are good and well tied. The flies I used were beadheads, the largest were tied to a 10 size hook and the smallest ones to size 20. The colors varied also a lot. In addition, some of the flies were light and some were very heavy. So the range of the flies was quite broad.
Jiri is the central character in advertising the course but Milan's participation should not be underestimated. Milan showed several nice demonstrations about different techniques. I don't know if it was a coincidence, but every time when I saw Milan's demonstration he caught a lot of fish. Although, according to Milan, not all of his demonstrations were that successful. In any case at least I was impressed about his fishing.
Although Czech nymphing was the ground of the course, they didn't try to claim that one technique was better or more correct than the other ones. For example, they introduced also dry fly and pupa fishing. Both Jiri and Milan said many times that eventually everybody will learn a technique that suits them best. Jiri also said that a good (competing) fisher must be versatile, and they have to know many different techniques.
I didn't fly to Czech just because of a fishing course, it was also a fishing holiday for me. Fishing was easy because eating, accommodation, fishing places, time schedule and guiding were all well organized. This is the reason why I don't have any accurate memories about the names of the places where I fished. I just didn't care and I didn't have to care. I jumped into the car, which was pointed to me and just saw where it took me. I was fishing at least at Vltava and Malse rivers and maybe somewhere else, too. Although it was a fly fishing course there was still enough time to fish in your own privacy. There was also plenty of fishing and it was well scheduled. I have sometimes a bad habit to spend too much time at the river and therefore I do not rest enough. Now the balance between fishing and resting was just perfect.


text:
See Birthday Girl Julianne Moore, Then and Now
Anna Hecht
Anna Hecht is a London-based writer who has covered all things fashion, health, and celebrity news. She currently is an Editorial Director and manages commercial content.
Updated on December 3, 2015 @ 06:30AM
Photo: Getty Images (2)
Julianne Moore turns 55 today and, if you ask us, she's never looked better. Recently, she has been seen out and about to promote her latest film, The Hunger Games Mocking Jay—Part 2, which hit theaters in November. Appearing totally ageless, Moore arrived on the red carpet looking just as fresh-faced and fabulous as she did in her early years as a budding actress. Props to you, Julianne!
Despite our suspicions, Moore did not actually discover the fountain of youth—or, at least, we don't think she did! Instead, if we had to guess Moore's secret to staying so downright radiant-looking, we'd say it has to do with her active lifestyle, enormous professional success, and that always on-point style of hers.
Today, the actress, who has starred in countless films and graced the cover of InStyle several times, has a lot to celebrate. Not only did she win both an Oscar and a Golden Globe in 2015 for her performance as a woman with early onset Alzheimer's in Still Alice, but her most recent film, The Hunger Games Mocking Jay—Part 2, has already grossed millions of box-office dollars.
6 Beauty Products Julianne Moore Can't Live Without
In honor of Moore's birthday and iconic career, in which she's proven her incredible acting ability time and time again, take a look at the ageless star's beauty looks through the years.
Jane Fonda Isn't Letting Anything Stop Her — Not Even Cancer
Top 15 Pop Culture Moments of 2001
16 Celebrities Share Their Anti-Aging Secrets
Courteney Cox Is 52! Find Out How She Achieves Totally Ageless Skin
October Cover Star Julianne Moore Gives Us a Lesson In Character: "The Worst Thing You Can Do to Someone Is Not See Them"
12 Leo Celebrities Who Exude Big Lion Energy
Kate Winslet Is Turning 40! See How She's Transformed Over The Years
Sandra Bullock Turns 51 and Is More Beautiful Than Ever: See Her Transformation Through the Years
Mandy Moore Never Actually Wanted to Be a Pop Star
Scarlett Johansson Turns 32! See Her Most Surprising (and Gorgeous) Hair Transformations
67 Celebrity-Inspired Outfits to Wear on a Plane
Zazie Beetz Is Stepping Out of Her Comfort Zone
Scarlett Johansson Is Honored with 2016 Renaissance Award in a Princess-Inspired Oscar de la Renta Dress
These Celebrities and Public Figures Have Tested Positive for Coronavirus
Happy Birthday Cate Blanchett! See Her Incredible Transformation Through the Years
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Turns 55! See Her Best Red Carpet Looks Ever


text:
NL Player Analysis - June 28, 2018
Zach Eflin, SP, PHI
Eflin finished off a fantastic June with perhaps his best start yet, going 7 shutout IP against the Yankees, allowing just 4 hits and 2 BB's while striking out 6. Eflin finishes the month a perfect 5-0 with a stellar 1.76 ERA and a solid 28:6 K:BB across 30.2 IP through his 5 starts. For the season as a whole, his ERA is down to 3.02, and is backed up by an excellent 57:14 K:BB through 56.2 IP. The one area which he is most likely to see regression is in preventing the long ball; he has only allowed 4 HR's this season despite a 40.6% FB%, good for a likely unsustainable 6.5% HR/FB . Still, he has become worthy of ownership in nearly all formats.
Rhys Hoskins, OF, PHI
Hoskins hit a 3-run HR against the Yankees on Wednesday, his 12th HR of the season, which provided all of the offense in the game for either team. Hoskins started the season a bit slow; he was hitting just .233 with 6 HR's and a 28.2% K% through 52 games as of May 29th when he hit the DL with a fractured jaw. But since returning on June 9, he is hitting .303 with 6 HR's and 18 RBI through 17 games, and perhaps most importantly, he has cut his K% to 20.8% during this stretch, which much more closely resembles what he did last year. While he won't replicate last season's historic pace, he should continue to put up big numbers from here on out.
Sean Newcomb, SP, ATL
Newcomb allowed 3 ER's in 6 IP against the Reds on Wednesday, and he now owns a stellar 2.71 ERA to go along with an 8-2 record through 16 starts this season. His 3.93 xFIP indicates that he has been solid but perhaps a bit lucky as well, and that fortune is also reflected in his .261 BABIP so far this season. Newcomb's peripherals have tailed off a bit recently; over his last 9 starts, he has compiled a mediocre 42:22 K:BB ratio and a 4.28 xFIP, although he has still managed a 2.58 ERA over that stretch. He should remain a solid mixed-league contributor but it may be worth checking if any of your league-mates would be willing to pay up for him like a front-line starter based on his ERA. On the other hand, he may still be too much of a "Newcomb"er on the fantasy scene to have built up that much market value.
Robbie Ray, SP, ARI
Ray returned from the DL to make his first start in nearly two months and pitched 6 shutout innings in a win against the Marlins, striking out 6 and walking 2. Ray was roughed up for a 4.88 ERA in his 6 starts before suffering the oblique injury, but he had picked up right where he left off last season in terms of getting punch-outs. In fact, his 14.64 K/9 entering Wednesday's contest would be his best yet. Part of his struggles have come due to an elevated BB-rate (5.53 BB/9) but he also suffered from a .357 BABIP, and his 3.33 xFIP indicates that things will get better for Ray. He needs to be grabbed if he was left on the waiver wire during his injury - you can't leave that kind of strikeout rate on the table!
Eric Thames, 1B, MIL
Thames has a powerful .909 OPS with all 9 of his HR's against RHP's this season, setting him up for a nice matchup against the Reds and RHR Anthony Desclafani. Desclafani has allowed a .378 wOBA to LH-hitters and an equally bad .378 wOBA at home, so playing in Cincinatti, one of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball is another advantage for Thames. DraftKings Value Play Salary $5,100.
This is just a small sample our daily analysis, join our member area for over 80 daily player updates sent to your inbox every morning and track your team online. Click here for details: https://www.insiderbaseball.com/baseballsample.htm Click here to register: http://www.fantistics.com/salesbaseball.php3
yaakov
Jun 28, 18 at 09:18 AM
Menachem is right on the money. He's got bang for his buck. He's got it goin on baby !!! #1 son !!!!! The Cheif of Police !!!!!
Menachem is a Mathematics major at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and he has always had a passion for sports and statistics. He is originally from Cleveland and has followed baseball ever since the Indians ascended into relevance in the mid to late 90s. He continues to root for the Indians, Browns, and Cavaliers, through good times and bad.
AL Player Analysis 6-28-2018


Need to Make More Money, Gain Confidence, Create a Business Strategy and Grow Your Network Marketing Business?
I believe that learning how to sell, learning to manage objections, and helping others make empowering decisions is part of the person development path. Regardless of whether or not you're an artist, a writer, a business owner, employee, health professional or whatever you maybe you had to sell someone on the idea that you are qualified to do the job. Selling is an unavoidable part of life and the sooner you learn how to do it and the more you can practice it the more clarity you will live with… Often the only thing that needs to happen is for you to get out of your own way, manage your limiting beliefs, and begin taking action now.
Learn More about Michael J. Emery, M.A., M.NLP, C.Ht.


text:
Communities In Need
STEAM Academy 2020
Job Opportunities for Displaced Workers
STEAM Resources
Supporting Black-owned Businesses
Building Bridges to Opportunity
The T.D. Jakes Foundation is a workforce development and community building foundation that is committed to building bridges to opportunity in the United States and around the world. For years, T.D. Jakes has connected diverse communities across socio-economic divides. With the launch of his eponymous foundation, Chairman Jakes is harnessing decades of resources and connections to prepare people for success in the 21st-century workforce, lift underserved populations and connect corporations to new, highly skilled pools of talent amid increasing global competition.
To provide skills, education and training to lift communities and power the modern global economy
To create a world where everyone can live up to their full potential
We want to expose every child to all the possibilities
We strive to create a more diverse, inclusive and equitable workforce
We work to amplify proven programs, not recreate the wheel
We believe that we're more alike than different
There are many ways to get involved. We welcome donations, volunteers and corporate partnerships. If you're a company that would like to partner with us, please reach out to learn how we can work together!
© 2021 T.D. Jakes Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Website design and development by Ironistic
Cynthia "Cynt" Marshall (continued)
Before her SVP-Human Resources and Chief Diversity Office roles, Cynt served as President-AT&T North Carolina where she became the first African-American chair of the North Carolina State Chamber of Commerce. Prior to her North Carolina appointment, Cynt held a variety of executive line and staff, technical and non-technical positions at AT&T and its predecessor companies.
Widely recognized for her visionary leadership and ability to get things done Cynt is the recipient of several honors and awards. Most recently, Cynt was touted as one of Adweek's 30 Most Powerful Women in Sports and was selected as one of the 2019 Women of Power Legacy Award honorees by Black Enterprise. In 2017, she was honored by The Network Journal as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Business. In 2017, Cynt was awarded the ATHENA® Leadership Program Award by the Dallas Regional Chamber, which recognizes exceptional women who excel in their careers, contribute to their communities and develop women leaders. She was the recipient of the National ATHENA® Leadership Program Award in 2019. This annual award is presented by chambers of commerce, women's organizations and universities worldwide. In March 2020 and several times prior, Cynt was selected as one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Corporate America" by Black Enterprise magazine and named to Ebony magazine's 2016 "Power 100" list. In 2014, industry analysts and members of the press conferred on Cynt the HR Executive of the Year – Best in Biz Award. For her efforts on behalf of the people of North Carolina, in 2013 Cynt received the prestigious Leadership North Carolina Governor's Award, which honors just one citizen each year for lifetime achievements.
Cynt graduated from the University of California-Berkeley with degrees in Business Administration and Human Resources Management and holds four honorary Doctorate degrees. She has chaired a variety of non-profit boards and is currently on the board of Dallas CASA, Dallas Regional Chamber, Texas Women's Foundation, Texas 2036 and a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC).
The fourth of six children, Cynt grew up in Richmond, California, and lives in the Dallas area. She and her husband, Kenneth Marshall, have four adult children.


James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde KG, PC (19 October 1610 – 21 July 1688) was an Anglo-Irish statesman and soldier, known as Earl of Ormonde from 1634 to 1642 and Marquess of Ormonde from 1642 to 1661. Following the failure of the senior line of the Butler family, he was the second of the Kilcash branch to inherit the earldom. His friend, the 1st Earl of Strafford, caused him to be appointed the commander of the Cavalier forces in Ireland. From 1641 to 1647, he led the fighting against the Irish Catholic Confederation. From 1649 to 1650 he was leading commander of the Royalist forces fighting against the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. In the 1650s he lived in exile in Europe with Charles II of England. Upon the restoration of Charles II to the British throne in 1660, Ormonde became a major figure in English and Irish politics, holding many high government offices.


text:
Anti-consumerism is a sociopolitical ideology that is opposed to consumerism, the continual buying and consuming of material possessions.  Anti-consumerism is concerned with the private actions of business corporations in pursuit of financial and economic goals at the expense of the public welfare, especially in matters of environmental protection, social stratification, and ethics in the governing of a society. In politics, anti-consumerism overlaps with environmental activism, anti-globalization, and animal-rights activism; moreover, a conceptual variation of anti-consumerism is post-consumerism, living in a material way that transcends consumerism.

Anti-consumerism arose in response to the problems caused by the long-term mistreatment of human consumers and of the animals consumed, and from the incorporation of consumer education to school curricula; examples of anti-consumerism are the book No Logo (2000) by Naomi Klein, and documentary films such as The Corporation (2003), by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott, and Surplus: Terrorized into Being Consumers (2003), by Erik Gandini; each made anti-corporate activism popular as an ideologically accessible form of civil and political action.

The criticism of economic materialism as a dehumanizing behaviour that is destructive to Earth, as human habitat, comes from religion and social activism. The religious criticism asserts that materialist consumerism interferes with the connection between the individual and God, and so is an inherently immoral style of life; thus the German historian Oswald Spengler (1880–1936) said that, "Life in America is exclusively economic in structure, and lacks depth." From the Roman Catholic perspective, Thomas Aquinas said that, "Greed is a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things"; in that vein, Francis of Assisi, Ammon Hennacy, and Mohandas Gandhi said that spiritual inspiration guided them towards simple living.

From the secular perspective, social activism indicates that from consumerist materialism derive crime (which originates from the poverty of economic inequality), industrial pollution and the consequent environmental degradation, and war as a business.

About the societal discontent born of malaise and hedonism, Pope Benedict XVI said in 2008 that the philosophy of materialism offers no purpose for human existence, and in 2011 specifically attacked the commercialization of Christmas; likewise, the writer Georges Duhamel said that "American materialism [is] a beacon of mediocrity that threatened to eclipse French civilization".

Background

Anti-consumerism originated from criticism of consumption, starting with Thorstein Veblen, who, in the book The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions (1899), indicated that consumerism dates from the cradle of civilization. The term consumerism also denotes economic policies associated with Keynesian economics, and the belief that the free choice of consumers should dictate the economic structure of a society (cf. producerism).

Politics and society

Many anti-corporate activists believe the rise of large-business corporations poses a threat to the legitimate authority of nation states and the public sphere. They feel corporations are invading people's privacy, manipulating politics and governments, and creating false needs in consumers.  They state evidence such as invasive advertising adware, spam, telemarketing, child-targeted advertising, aggressive guerrilla marketing, massive corporate campaign contributions in political elections, interference in the policies of sovereign nation states (Ken Saro-Wiwa), and news stories about corporate corruption (Enron, for example).

Anti-consumerism protesters point out that the main responsibility of a corporation is to answer only to shareholders, giving human rights and other issues almost no consideration. The management does have a primary responsibility to their shareholders, since any philanthropic activities that do not directly serve the business could be deemed to be a breach of trust.  This sort of financial responsibility means that multi-national corporations will pursue strategies to intensify labor and reduce costs. For example, they will attempt to find low wage economies with laws which are conveniently lenient on human rights, the natural environment, trade union organization and so on (see, for example, Nike).

An important contribution to the critique of consumerism has been made by French philosopher Bernard Stiegler, arguing modern capitalism is governed by consumption rather than production, and the advertising techniques used to create consumer behaviour amount to the destruction of psychic and collective individuation.  The diversion of libidinal energy toward the consumption of consumer products, he argues, results in an addictive cycle of consumption, leading to hyper-consumption, the exhaustion of desire, and the reign of symbolic misery.

In art, Banksy, an influential British graffiti master, painter, activist, filmmaker and all-purpose provocateur, has created satirical and provocative works about the consumerist society (notable examples include "Napalm", also known as "Can't Beat That Feelin'", an attack on Walt Disney Pictures and McDonald's, and "Death By Swoosh", directed at Nike). Working undercover, the secretive street artist challenges social ideas and goads viewers into rethinking their surroundings, to acknowledge the absurdities of closely held preconceptions. In an essay contained in his 2004 book Cut It Out, he writes, "You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don't owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don't even start asking for theirs." After 2003, Banksy wrote the New Yorker by e-mail: "I give away thousands of paintings for free. I don't think it's possible to make art about world poverty and trouser all the cash." Banksy believes that there is a consumerist shift in art, and for the first time, the bourgeois world of art belongs to the people. On his website , he provides high-resolution images of his work for free downloading.

Anti-Consumerism from a sustainability perspective also ties into the social and political understanding of the term, as ideas surrounding this perspective are rooted in sustainability efforts. Practicing anti-consumerism can mean voluntarily simplifying and minimizing one's lifestyle; this can be in efforts to exist more sustainably in a consumer culture. These lifestyle changes, which include choosing paper bags over plastic bags when shopping, are also in line with anti-corporate activism and green consumerism -- both large contributors to the ethical market.

Conspicuous consumption

In many critical contexts, the term describes the tendency of people to identify strongly with products or services they consume, especially with commercial brand names and obvious status-enhancing appeal, such as a brand of expensive automobiles or jewelry. It is a pejorative term which most people deny, having some more specific excuse or rationalization for consumption other than the idea that they are "compelled to consume". A culture that has a high amount of consumerism is referred to as a consumer culture.

To those who embrace the idea of consumerism, these products are not seen as valuable in themselves, but rather as social signals that allow them to identify like-minded people through consumption and display of similar products. Few would yet go so far, though, as to admit that their relationships with a product or brand name could be substitutes for healthy human relationships that sometimes lack in a dysfunctional modern society.

The older term conspicuous consumption described the United States in the 1960s, but was soon linked to larger debates about media influence, culture jamming, and its corollary productivism.

The term and concept of conspicuous consumption originated at the turn of the 20th century in the writing of economist Thorstein Veblen. The term describes an apparently irrational and confounding form of economic behaviour. Veblen's scathing proposal that this unnecessary consumption is a form of status display is made in darkly humorous observations like the following, from his 1899 book, The Theory of the Leisure Class:

In 1955, economist Victor Lebow stated (as quoted by William Rees, 2009):

According to archaeologists, evidence of conspicuous consumption up to several millennia ago has been found, suggesting that such behavior is inherent to humans.

Collaborative consumption
Collaborative consumption describes the way that consumers of a good engage in shared consumption either through temporary rentals or second-hand purchases. Anti-consumerism opposes the continuous consumption of material possessions in part because of the unsustainability that individuals who seek the experience of consumer culture without the desire of long-term possession.

Collaborative consumption is understood as anti-consumption by focusing on the temporary usage of the products, consumers are able to express sustainable attitudes with the intent of reducing natural resources by reducing direct consumption of a product or brand.
Modern day creative destruction culture causes sustainability issues, and in order to mitigate them, a more collaborative mindset is necessary when it comes to consumption.

Consumerism and advertising
Anti-consumerists believe advertising plays a huge role in human life by informing values and assumptions of the cultural system, deeming what is acceptable, and determining social standards.  They declare that ads create a hyper-real world where commodities appear as the key to securing happiness.  Anti-consumerists cite studies that find that individuals believe their quality of life improves in relation to social values that lie outside the capability of the marketplace.  Therefore, advertising attempts to equate the social with the material by utilizing images and slogans to link commodities with the real sources of human happiness, such as meaningful relationships.  Ads are then a detriment to society because they tell consumers that accumulating more and more possessions will bring them closer to self-actualization, or the concept of a complete and secure being.  "The underlying message is that owning these products will enhance our image and ensure our popularity with others." And while advertising promises that a product will make the consumer happy, advertising simultaneously depends upon the consumer never being truly happy, as then the consumer would no longer feel the need to consume needless products.

Anti-consumerists claim that in a consumerist society, advertisement images disempower and objectify the consumer.  By stressing individual power, choice and desire, advertising falsely implies the control lies with the consumer.  Because anti-consumerists believe commodities supply only short-term gratification, they detract from a sustainably happy society.  Further, advertisers have resorted to new techniques of capturing attention, such as the increased speed of ads and product placements.  In this way, commercials infiltrate the consumerist society and become an inextricable part of the culture.  Anti-consumerists condemn advertising because it constructs a simulated world that offers fantastical escapism to consumers, rather than reflecting actual reality.  They further argue that ads depict the interests and lifestyles of the elite as natural; cultivating a deep sense of inadequacy among viewers. They denounce the use of beautiful models because they glamorize the commodity beyond the reach of the average individual.

In an opinion segment of New Scientist magazine published in August 2009, reporter Andy Coghlan cited William Rees of the University of British Columbia and epidemiologist Warren Hern of the University of Colorado at Boulder, saying that human beings, despite considering themselves civilized thinkers, are "subconsciously still driven by an impulse for survival, domination and expansion... an impulse which now finds expression in the idea that inexorable economic growth is the answer to everything, and, given time, will redress all the world's existing inequalities." He argues that consumerism is making these tendencies worse by encouraging consumption without limit.

Supporters of anti-consumerism often accuse advertising of attention theft, i.e. they believe it unjustifiably invades public areas, thereby imposing itself on people who consider its presence unwanted. American graphic designer Sean Tejaratchi expresses his resentment of this "ad creep" in a 1999 issue of his clip art zine Crap Hound: "Advertising increasingly invades my environment instead of letting me come to it on my own terms when I need it... The most powerful and well-funded methods of mass communication in history have been used to create a one-way, unending flow of shit into my life... In the twenty-eight years since I was born, I've been subjected to a stunning amount of advertising, and I don't recall anyone ever asking me if I minded."

Austrian economics

Austrian economic advocates focus on the entrepreneur, promoting a productive lifestyle rather than a materialistic one wherein the individual is defined by things and not their self.

Criticism
Critics of anti-consumerism have accused anti-consumerists of opposing modernity or utilitarianism, arguing that it can lead to elitism, primarily among libertarian viewpoints, who argue that every person should decide their level of consumption independent of outside influence. Right-wing critics see anti-consumerism as rooted in socialism. In 1999, the right-libertarian magazine Reason attacked anti-consumerism, claiming Marxist academics were repackaging themselves as anti-consumerists. James B. Twitchell, a professor at the University of Florida and popular writer, referred to anti-consumerist arguments as "Marxism Lite".

There have also been socialist critics of anti-consumerism who see it as a form of anti-modern "reactionary socialism", and state that anti-consumerism has also been adopted by ultra-conservatives and fascists.

In popular media
In Fight Club, the protagonist finds himself participating in terroristic acts against corporate society and consumer culture.

In Mr. Robot, Elliot Alderson, a young cybersecurity engineer, joins a hacker group known as society, which aims to crash the U.S. economy, eliminating all debt.

In the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, the protagonist Patrick Bateman criticizes the consumerist society of America in the 1980s of which he is a personification. Later on he goes on a killing spree without any consequences, suggesting that the people around him are so self-absorbed and focused on consuming that they either do not see or do not care about his acts.

In the Pixar movie, WALL-E, earth is depicted in an apocalyptic state caused by the negative effects of human consumerism.

See also

 Anti-consumerists (category)
 Affluenza
 Anti-capitalism
 Brandalism
 Buy Nothing Day
 Conceptual detours of the shopping cart in art, design and consumerism
 Degrowth
 Détournement
 Downshifting (lifestyle)
 Ethical consumerism
 Freeganism
 Growth Fetish
 Mottainai
 Neoism
 Over-consumption
 Philosophy of futility
 Planned obsolescence
 Post-growth
 Slow movement (culture)
 Steady-state economy
 Waste picker
 The Zeitgeist Movement

References

Sources
 Bakan, Joel (2004) The Corporation.
 Elizabeth Chin (2001) Purchasing Power: Black Kids and American Consumer Culture University of Minnesota Press
 Hertz, N (2002) Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy. Arrow.

 Luedicke, Marius K, Craig J. Thompson and Markus Giesler. 2010. "Consumer Identity Work as Moral Protagonism: How Myth and Ideology Animate a Brand-Mediated Moral Conflict". Journal of Consumer Research. 36 (April).
 Monbiot, G (2001) Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain. Pan.
 Schor, J. (2010) Plenitude, Penguin Press HC.
 Zehner, O (2012) Green Illusions, University of Nebraska Press.

External links

Fifty Possible Ways to Challenge Over-Commercialism by Albert J. Fritsch, SJ, PhD
The Rebel Sell, This Magazine, By Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter
25 Years of Monitoring the Multinationals
The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard
The Good Life: An International Perspective

Consumerism
Anti-corporate activism
Counterculture
Ethical consumerism
Social theories
Sustainability

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Are these vectors in the span of $\mathbb R^3$? If I have vectors $\vec v_1=\left[\begin{matrix}0\\0\\-3\end{matrix}\right]$,$\vec v_2=\left[\begin{matrix}0\\-3\\9\end{matrix}\right]$, and $\vec v_3=\left[\begin{matrix}4\\-2\\-6\end{matrix}\right]$, do these vectors span $\mathbb R^3$? I'm pretty sure they don't because if we put them into matrix form, i.e: $\left[\begin{matrix}0&0&4\\0&-3&-2\\-3&9&-6\end{matrix}\right]$ then there's a pivot in the right most column meaning there is no solution for the system. However, there is a pivot in every column which would mean that $\vec v_1$,$\vec v_2$, and $\vec v_3$ are all in the span of $\mathbb R^3$. Which rule has "the upper hand" in determing the answer to the question?

A: They do, and you can see this by reducing this to row echelon form. But this is easy! If you switch the top and bottom rows, you get the matrix
$$\begin{bmatrix}
-3 & 9 & -6\\
0 &-3 &-2\\
0 &0 &4
\end{bmatrix}$$
which is already in row echelon form! Since none of the rows consist of all zeros, the rank of your matrix must be 3. I.e. the span of your three vectors has dimension 3. But any dimension 3 subspace of $\mathbb{R}^3$ must necessarily be all of $\mathbb{R}^3$---this is because $\mathbb{R}^3$ is itself a dimension 3 vector space. Thus, your three vectors do in fact span $\mathbb{R}^3$.


Has anyone seen this before and is there a way to get rid of it?
RE: Is there any way to get a nice smooth finish?
Is there any way to get a nice smooth finish?
I recently purchased the Prusa i3 mk2. Everything is still stock and I'm using the PLA 1.75 mm filament that was sent with the printer. I cannot for the life of me get it to print a nice smooth top layer. One person basically told me that it will not print a smooth layer, that I bought the wrong printer. Is he right? Here is a photo of a simple design that I did in blender.


It's almost always better to try and get a literary agent first, before self-publishing, so you have a chance of getting a traditional publisher like Random House (those who want to learn more about agents can get my free Guide to Literary Agents). Traditional publishing offers more benefits: no financial risk because someone else is paying for the privilege of publishing your book; a higher quality product thanks to professional editors and cover designers; more profit due to better sales, distribution, and publicity; greater subsidiary rights opportunities like merchandising, translations, TV, feature film, etc; increased credibility and more book reviews; and the ability to spend more time writing, promoting, and doing what you love. 99% of authors would be better off trying to get a literary agent and traditional publisher (preferably with the help of a coach/consultant).
How much of an advance should an author expect for their first book?
$0-30,000 is the norm, although there are exceptions. One of my coaching clients just got two offers from two different publishers last week, both bidding against each other and finally settling at $55,000. He's an unpublished author and it's his first book. Some publishers pay nothing or just a few hundred dollars, and every genre is different. Major publishers, obviously, have bigger budgets. And some lucky authors get six-figure advances or more. But it's very rare and almost impossible to get that kind of advance without insider knowledge and/or the support of a coach/consultant.
How many query letters or author submissions did you receive as an agent?
Approximately 1,500 submissions a month.
What makes a query letter stand out for you?
I have a proprietary list of 150 possible "ingredients" that an author can put into his or her query letter. It's the same list that I used when writing my pitch letters (as an agent) to publishers. Yes, even though a lot of my pitches were made in-person and/or by phone, agent still need to write their own query/cover letters to accompany a manuscript. So I can tell within the first 1-3 sentences if agents are going to continue reading your query and/or request more material. So make sure you put something strong at the beginning of your query. If you have a testimonial from someone famous, say that. If it's your high-concept hook or premise, say that. Don't assume that agents are going to read your entire letter. You have to give them a reason to do that, in the first few sentences. Another thing that you should do in your query letter is put your book in context. In other words, explain briefly what your book is like and/or not like (and why). Authors who show they're knowledgeable about their market are much more likely to be writing books that capitalize on past and current trends… but also bring something fresh and unique to the market. For more info on this topic, click here to get my free 15-part Get A Literary Agent.
Can you give an example of something negative or unprofessional that authors repeatedly do?
One of the biggest mistake that authors make is getting lazy, defiant, or in denial when it comes to the query letter writing process. They spend weeks, months, or years pouring all of their passion into their book. Then they drop the ball with their query because they're not sure what to do or how to do it. In essence, they let one email or piece of paper stand between them and getting a top agent, publisher, and book deal. I know that most writers would prefer to spend all their time writing in the genre or category that they're most comfortable with. But you have to get educated and comfortable with query letters as well. They are their own art form, with their own separate learning curve. I think of queries as poetry, and they are… in their own way. But, more than anything, query letters are "sales letters." And most authors don't know a thing about sales letters (at least not at first).
How can an author tell a good literary agent from a bad one?
If an agent asks for you money up front, or recommends you to anyone that asks you for money, they're NOT a reputable agent or member of the AAR (Association of Authors' Representatives). Reputable agents don't have affiliations or get kickbacks from editing companies or vanity presses or anything else. They simply get paid (15%) of whatever money you make AFTER they sell your book. And, if they charge you for expenses like photocopying and postage, that should come out of monies they made you as well. Reputable agents make money selling books… not by charging you to edit your book proposal or anything else "creative" on the side. For more info on this topic, click here for my free guide to finding the Best Literary Agent.
Once a book is accepted for publication, how long does it typically take before it is released for sale?
Usually 6-18 months. That's how long it takes to edit the book, design a cover, write promotional copy for catalogs and websites, and let the sales team start getting orders. If it's a new publisher, or an established publisher starting a new imprint, everything might go faster. If a publisher has to cancel one of their other titles or something happens in the world to make your topic more timely, your publication date might also get moved forward. On the other hand, if something like 9/11 happens, it could get pushed back.
Can you describe the relationship between an author and their literary agent?
It varies greatly, depending on the personality of the agent and their chemistry with you. Some agents never get on the phone with clients and do everything by email and letters. Amazing, but true. Other agents are happy to meet with you face-to-face once in a while or at least once. The author/agent relationship is, first and foremost, a professional relationship, but some of those relationships develop into friendships. Some agents do a lot of book and/or career development. Most don't. The only thing an author should really expect is that the agent is qualified to sell their book. Every agent should know which editors/publishers to approach and be good at negotiating deals and contracts.
How do you help authors as a consultant and book marketing coach?
Literary Agent Undercover offers a free weekly newsletter, insider articles, audio and video training (including interviews with top literary agents), an online Directory of Literary Agents, an interactive "Ask a Literary Agent" area on our website, and 1-on-1 consulting. You can get instant access to all of those things here at Literary Agent Undercover. Founded in August 2011, Literary Agent Undercover has already helped dozens of authors (in the United States and abroad) get the attention of literary agents and/or get book deals with major publishing houses.
What types of authors do you help through Literary Agent Undercover?
1. Unpublished authors that are just starting to write (or pitch) their book(s).
2. Self-published authors who now want to find a real (traditional) publisher like Random House.
3. Previously published authors who've lost their agent and/or publisher and want to find a new one.
Do you still represent authors as a literary agent?
No. The only work that I do with authors now is in a coaching/consulting capacity.
Why did you stop being a literary agent?
The main reason I became a literary agent was to learn how to get my own books published. Since I was a young aspiring author at the time (25 years old), I saw managing (and later owning) a literary agency as the chance of a lifetime – for a while. After a few years, however, I knew everything I needed to know to get my own books published. And I started getting the itch to get my own books out there. I also hated the most important part of my job as a literary agent: constantly staying on top of the wants/needs of every single editor and publishing house. Since I was based in South Florida, and didn't have thirty years of experience and contacts in the industry, I was the proverbial fish trying to swim upstream. I had to work twice as hard to gain the attention and trust of editors and publishers. Obviously, based on my sales record (above) I was able to do it. But it felt like a grind. The thing that pushed me over the edge though was getting married. At that point I knew that I had to "get serious" about being an agent, long-term, and move to NYC… or close the agency to pursue my own writing and other things I wanted to do. I decided to close the agency, but I didn't just "drop" my authors. I made personal referrals to other agents that I'd gotten to know so my authors wouldn't get "orphaned." I'm still in touch with a lot of them today.
What last bit of advice can you give to authors trying to secure a literary agent?
There are only two reasons talented writers don't get published. First, they aren't educated enough about the publishing process. Second, most writers that are educated about the publishing process, aren't willing to do the work that it takes to get published. Now I know that might sound simple, but it IS simple. Not easy, but simple. That's the most valuable lesson that I learned (as a writer) going "undercover" as an agent for many years. Getting published isn't luck, it's a decision. Visit my website at Literary Agent Undercover and sign up for instant access to my article and audio library, as well as my Directory of Literary Agents. You can also post questions on my blog about writing, literary agents, and/or getting published. I respond to every question personally, and, of course, I offer author coaching programs. Click here to learn more at Book Marketing with Mark Malatesta.
MARK MALATESTA is the author who went "undercover" as a literary agent for five years to find out how to get his own books published. During that time, Mark helped many previously unpublished authors launch their writing careers with major publishers like Random House. Mark's authors have gotten 6-figure advances, been on the NY Times bestseller list, and been picked up for TV, stage, and feature film (with companies like Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks). Now Mark helps authors of all genres get top agents, publishers, and book deals through his new consulting company called Literary Agent Undercover. Get free access to Mark's articles, audio training, and Directory of Literary Agents at Literary Agent Undercover.


The board of directors of Toshiba yesterday announced that they had unanimously agreed to sell the microchip business in a deal that might give the troubled tech giant what it needs to survive. The lucrative microchip business is said to have been sold to Japanese and American businesses. However, the Japanese giant announced in a statement that the details of the deal are yet to be finalized. This means that the bid is still open to more changes like it has been experienced in the past. In the past bids, confusion, acrimony and reversals have been common. However, a close source who sought anonymity because the details have not been released in public by Toshiba said that the tech giant was not in negotiation with another firm about a possible sale. However, according to preliminary reports, Toshiba has expressed its desire to maintain some control over the firm. This makes it unclear about the amount that will be acquired by the outside investors. At the same time, the deal is estimated to be worth $18 billion or two trillion yen. It has also been revealed that the ownership will be shared between an American buyout firm known as Bain Capital and other two entities that are under the Japanese government. These entities include the Development Bank of Japan and Innovation Network Corporation.
However, the person close to the sale said that there were other buyers who had negotiated to buy small stakes in the firm. They include SKHynix which is a company from South Korea specializing in semiconductors and Apple from the US. The entity that was being sold is referred to as Toshiba Memory Corporation and specializes in the manufacture of flash memory chips that find their use in many digital devices including smartphones. According to sources, Toshiba desperately needed this money to cover holes that had existed in its balance sheet for a while. This comes from loses that the Japanese giant made while investing in nuclear energy in the United States. To maintain some control over the chip business, Toshiba said that it would form a company with the two Japanese government entities and Bain. The new company will then be involved in the chip business. However, many analysts say that the Japanese company will retain minority stakes in the new business. However, things are not as straightforward as they seem as there are problems. For instance, there is a lawsuit against the sale that must be resolved first.