text:
Katherine Tweed
180 items added with 54,081 views
IEA: 'The Cost of Fossil Fuels to an Economy Is Not Reduced by Subsidies; It Is Just Redistributed'
Nov 18, 2014 7:00 am GMT
Countries around the globe have committed to reducing subsidies for fossil fuels, primarily oil and gas. But that commitment is not being put into practice quickly enough for cleaner energy solutions to gain a competitive edge in some regions, according to the 2014 World Energy Outlook from the International Energy Agency.
Global subsidies for fossil fuels totaled nearly $550 billion in 2013. That figure is $25 billion lower than that of the previous year, but the IEA notes that is still not enough of a shift to make renewable energy competitive in the countries with the highest subsidies.
More than half of the world's fossil-fuel subsidies go to oil, and many of the subsidies are concentrated in oil- and gas-producing countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
The subsidies that go to fossil fuels dwarf the subsidies for renewable energies, which the IEA put at $120 billion in 2013. The U.S. had about $27 billion in renewable subsidies in 2013, mostly going to solar PV, wind and biofuels.
In the Middle East, more than one-third of all electricity is generated with subsidized oil. Without subsidies, all mainstream low-carbon energy technologies — including nuclear — would be cost-competitive with oil generation.
The picture varies country by country. In Russia, for example, the IEA found that most non-hydro renewables except for onshore wind would struggle to compete even in the absence of gas subsidies.
"One thing is certain," the report authors state. "The cost of fossil fuels to an economy is not reduced by subsidies; it is just redistributed." The IEA found that only 8 percent of the money spent on fossil-fuel subsidies reaches the poorest 20 percent of the population.
It is not just renewable energy that is losing out to fossil fuels because of subsidies. Energy-efficient technologies, such as LEDs, are far less attractive in regions where oil and gas are heavily subsidized. In the Middle East, the payback for LEDs is approximately a decade, compared to less than two years if electricity rates reflected the real cost of supply.
Many of the countries that lean heavily on subsidies are instituting some reform, mostly because there simply isn't enough money in the government coffers to support the subsidies anymore.
Although some of the countries that heavily subsidize oil or gas are also investing in renewables, such as Saudi Arabia, often they are not subsidizing renewables at nearly the same rate as they do fossil fuels, nor will they be in the future, according to the IEA.
Source: OECD/IEA 2014
The IEA does not call for an end to all energy subsidies, but rather for the implementation of an approach that would end those subsidies for fossil fuels while encouraging tailored price breaks for renewables.
"Fossil-fuel subsidies rig the game against renewables and act as a drag on the transition to a more sustainable energy system," the IEA states. "On the other hand, subsidies to renewables can, if well designed, aid the deployment of sustainable technologies in support of energy security and environmental goals."
Even if action to dismantle subsidies is slow to transpire in oil- and gas-rich countries, there are other moves afoot that could boost the increasing cost-competitiveness of some forms of renewable energy. On Wednesday, China and the U.S. announced an agreement on joint targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
In the U.S., fossil-fuel subsidies also might not get a free pass with the newly Republican-controlled Congress. Earlier this year, Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) introduced a tax reform bill that removed subsidies for many energy technologies, including oil, gas and coal.
Even without substantial reform on fossil-fuel subsidies, the IEA forecasts that nearly half of the world's increase in electricity generation between now and 2040 will come from renewables.
Greentech Media (GTM) produces industry-leading news, research, and conferences in the business-to-business greentech market. Our coverage areas include solar, smart grid, energy efficiency, wind, and other non-incumbent energy markets. For more information, visit: greentechmedia.com , follow us on twitter: @greentechmedia, or like us on Facebook: facebook.com/greentechmedia.
Thank Katherine for the Post!
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Joris van Dorp on Nov 18, 2014 8:26 am GMT
The article does not make clear how the IEA uses the term 'subsidies'.
As an example, when oil products are sold to Saudi citizens at the cost of production, then according to the IEA this is a subsidy because the cost of production in Saudi Arabia is lower than the international market price. It turns out that about 80% of the 'fossil fuel subsidies' calculated by the IEA are this kind of subsidy (i.e. price differences between oil sold domestically in oil exporting countries versus to the international market!)
In oil importing countries, the international market price of oil is already internalised, hence, elimination the 'fossil fuel subsidies' as defined by the IEA will do nothing to make renewables or energy efficiency more competitive in oil importing countries.
What the article also does not mention is that the tax revenues from taxation of fossil fuel consumption in OECD countries absolutely dwarfs the fossil fuel subsidies in those countries (ratio of about 4 to 1!!). So while using the term 'subsidies' suggests that the tax payer is getting a raw deal, in fact the opposite is true. This is because the fossil fuel subsidies in OECD countries are intended to support the fossil fuel sector, but only in order to reduce the overhead and financing cost of the fossil fuel production,which then allows more tax revenues to subsequently be raised from fossil fuel consumption, rather than this wealth being lost to the banks and to bureacracy!
All the details about taxes and subsidies which clarify the above can be found in the following report.
http://www.oecd.org/env/49090716.pdf
The confusion about the subsidies versus taxation systems inside and outside OECD countries, and to do with fossil versus renewable energy sources, and to do with development versus production subsidies seems deliberately to be increasing every year, due to articles like this one, and has reached a fever pitch where nobody seems to understand what is going on anymore. By allowing this confusion to continue and deepen, the chance of achieving rational, effective energy and climate policy goals is undermined further and further. We need to kick out the propagandists and frauds who are deliberately feeding us lies and destroying our intelligence! Cui bono? Follow the money…
Bart Johnson on Nov 18, 2014 4:38 pm GMT
Excellent comment. I expect a little better from this website than the rote repetition of anti-fossil-fuel propaganda that we are seeing here.
Joris van Dorp on Nov 20, 2014 5:36 pm GMT
Youll find all sorts of articles here. Some are spot on, some are hopelessly misguided. Some are blatant propaganda. It would seem to be up to commenters here to point these things out. Please consider this an invitation to join in.
One thing I would like to see more of on this website is that the sources of the articles are invited by the site management to respond to some of the most relevant comments on their articles. Others on this site have also requested this in the past. I suppose that the site management does already do something along these lines.
Finally, for what it's worth, after nearly 20 years of joining in online debate on energy and our common future starting with the early Usenet discussion groups, I currently view this website as the best (English language) energy discussion website there is. Moderation is minimal but effective. Search and commenting tools are good. Site layout and useability is great. <end praise for TEC>
Action, Ambition and Advantage - Stories, Swaps and a Network for Success on Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform
Despite difficulties within the negotiations from some Parties, coalitions of the willing are forming to translate the Paris Agreement into action on the ground and between countries via peer to peer support and encouragement. On December 11, the..
Externalized Cost Results from the Seeking Consensus Project
This article adds externalized costs to the internalized costs determined in the previous section of the Seeking Consensus project. A summary of all applicable energy technologies is presented.
Seeking Consensus on the Externalized Costs of Efficiency and Conservation
This article presents estimates of the externalized costs of efficiency and conservation. Both these energy options have negative externalized costs (i.e. externalized benefits).
Seeking Consensus on the Externalized Cost of Bioenergy
This article presents externalized costs of bioenergy. The biofuel externality is estimated at $0.7/litre.
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Sustainable Sunderland is an award winning series of projects funded by The Big Lottery fund, led by Sunderland BME Network Limited.
Founded in April 2013 Sustainable Sunderland has been helping to raise awareness about issues in energy use, energy reduction, carbon emissions, green spaces, flood risk, coastal management and the environment in Sunderland ever since. It aims to reduce the effects of human activity on our climate and planet to create a healthier world for us all. We are currently in consultation with a number of organisations about the best way to take Sustainable Sunderland forward in the Sunderland area. If you are able to contribute to our goals or want to join us in creating a healthier city and residents then please do not hesitate to get in touch with David Newrick at Sunderland BME Network via this link to the Sunderland BME Network contact us page (this method has been introduced reluctantly to stop problems with spammers and denial of service attacks).
Sustainable Sunderland continues to provide advice and is backed up by this website, Social Media, a YouTube channel and electronic newsletters via a Cloud service. Sustainable Sunderland's website and email is also hosted on a 'green server' where its existence is carbon neutral – thereby having zero impact on the environment.
The first phase of Sustainable Sunderland was funded by The Big Lottery Fund in conjunction with Groundwork UK. This phase covered the period from April 2013 to March 2017. To ensure that best practice was followed this phase was evaluated by outside, independent organisations. To enhance the legacy of Sustainable Sunderland hose evaluations are now available to read on this website by following this link or using the menus above.
If you like to use Facebook to keep up to date then it is free to join the Sustainable Sunderland Facebook Group. The group covers a range of issues that are related to environmental matters in Sunderland, its place in a global environment as well as the surrounding areas. Occasionally there may be posts about national issues or about matters of interest because they impact on what is happening locally but the majority of the posts keep you informed about local issues, events, people etc.
You can click on this link to visit the Sustainable Sunderland Facebook Group and join up if you wish (link opens in a new window).


Queen Latifah has lead in the rom-coms Just Wright and Last Holiday, and Ricki Lake has also played the lead role in the TV rom-com movie Babycakes.
Your reply was more gracious than she deserved. Monique, you are awesome.
Thank you Mo'nique for speaking up. You didnt put in all that hard work for years for someone to erase your hard work.
huh? Queen....has been plus size....her entire....career. Monique...has been plus size...her. entire. career.
That's nice but Rebel you have blocked NUMEROUS black and non- black POC women who have tried to have he conversation and most commented in the same tone as the one white woman you decided to respond to. That's a problem.
Congrats to Rebel Wilson for her new role and success. Not trying to take anything away from that. Still though: gotta acknowledge the history.


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Federal/Other
Taxonomy/Ecology
Links: Conservation/Species at Risk
Federal/Other Atlantic Provinces/U.S.
Links were verified 24 Feb. 2012.
Species at Risk Public Registry
"Your source for news, information, and documents related to species at risk in Canada." The Search function lists species at risk in Canada by group, region etc.
COSEWIC
The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada is responsible for identifying species considered to be at risk in Canada at large. Species so designated by COSEWIC become eligible for national protection under the federal Species at Risk Act.
Canadian Biodiversity Strategy
From Environment Canada: Canada's Response to the Convention on Biological Diversity
A National Ecological Framework for Canada
(Agriculture and Agrifood Canada) Includes detailed descriptions of 217 ecozones.
Wild Species: General Status of Species in Canada
Public website for The National General Status Working Group (NGSWG). Search an individual species or generate lists of species by provinces with their conservaton status using the General Staus Search Tool for the Wild Species 2005 Report.
NatureServe Canada
"NatureServe Canada provides scientific information about Canada's species and ecosystems to help guide effective conservation action and natural resource management. " There eight regional members including the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre. This page from the ACCDC cross lists COSEWIC status and NB and NS Provincial Status: Legally Listed Species in the Maritimes Provinces.
NatureServe Explorer
"An online encyclopedia of plants, animals, and ecosystems of the U.S. and Canada.. an authoritative source for information on more than 70,000 plants, animals, and ecosystems of the United States and Canada. Explorer includes particularly in-depth coverage for rare and endangered species." The NatureServe Conservation Status of a species is given for individual states and provinces
VegBank
"VegBank is the vegetation plot database of the Ecological Society of America's Panel on Vegetation Classification. VegBank stores data about vegetation plots and necessary supplemental data, such as a plant taxon database and community type database. VegBank's purpose is to allow plant Ecologists to submit and share data to allow permanent documentation of plot data, which will provide a permanent record of plots which define communities."
2008 March Status Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
A critical assessment of progress in key areas of environment and sustainable development since 2001-2003. Chapters 4 (Ecosystems - Federal Protected Areas for Wildlife), 5 (Ecosystems -Protection of Species at Risk) and 6 (Ecosystems - Control of Aquatic Invasive Species) are especially pertinent to conservation issues.
Attention Fragîles
Conservation in the Magdalen Islands.
National Resources Canada Plant Hardiness Site
This site offers an interactive (zoom in and out) map of plant hardiness zones pertient to both domestsicated and wild species, distribution maps of a number of native species and predictions of changes in distribution of tree species with climatic change.
Botany Newfoundland and Labrador
Plant Species lists for rare species (with information on distribution, habitat etc., line drawings, photographs) and complete lists for selected areas.
Hardwood Forest of Western New Brunswick and Northeastern Maine
An online version of a Natural Resources Canada publication authored by A. Macdougall and J. Loo (1998). Section IV provides descriptions of 28 rare species, with distribution maps that include N.S., Maine (16 of the species occur in N.S.).
The Atlas of Canada
Natural Resources Canada: View topographic maps onlone for any area of Canada.
Center for Plant Conservation (U.S.)
Includes detailed Profiles for a large number of endangered species; section on Genetic considerations in ecological restoration: an annotated bibliography.
Plant Conservation Alliance (U.S.)
"The PCA is a consortium of ten federal government Member agencies and over 225 non-federal Cooperators representing various disciplines within the conservation field… PCA Members and Cooperators work collectively to solve the problems of native plant extinction and native habitat restoration, ensuring the preservation of our ecosystem." It includes Alien Plant, Medicinal Plant, , & Restoration Working Groups.
Page posted 11 Oct. 2007 Modified 24 Feb. 2012.
Copyright © Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Joe Hernandez 6 days ago
Maggie Montgomery 7 days ago
Nicole Solero 1 week ago
Happy New Music Friday! This week's guide is jam-packed with killer new songs from Shawn Mendes, Weathers, Ed Sheeran and more! See the full guide below. "Summer Of Love" – Shawn Mendes & T…
New Music Friday: May 21, 2021
Lauren Klonowski May 20, 2021
Happy New Music Friday! This week's guide is a good one. Get ready for new tracks from Jonas Brothers & Marshmello, Betta Lemme, Olivia Rodrigo and more! See the full guide below. 1. "Leave …
May 20, 2021 0 0
New Music Friday: October 23, 2020
Lauren Klonowski October 23, 2020
Happy New Music Friday! This week's guide is filled with tracks from Ariana Grande, FINNEAS, H.E.R. and more. See the full guide below. Top 10 Singles for the Week of October 23, 2020: 1. "Posit…
New Music Friday: September 11, 2020
Lauren Klonowski September 11, 2020
It's New Music Friday and this week's guide features great new tracks from the like of Demi Lovato, Marshmello, Of Monsters and Men and more. See the full guide below. Top 10 Singles for t…
New Music Friday: September 4, 2020
Lauren Klonowski September 4, 2020
Happy New Music Friday! This week is full of new tracks from Bring Me the Horizon, Marshmello, 42 Dugg and more! See the full guide below. Top 10 Singles for the Week of September 4, 2020: 1. "Sweet &…
September 4, 2020 0 0
New Music Friday: July 10, 2020
Lauren Klonowski July 10, 2020
The weekend's here and that means it's time for another New Music Friday guide! This week is full of tracks from artists like Mabes, James Bay and more. See the full guide here. Top 10 Sin…
New Music Friday: May 1, 2020
Lauren Klonowski May 1, 2020
Happy May & Happy New Music Friday! This week has a bunch of new tracks from the likes of MAX, Lukas Graham, Mac Miller and more. See our full guide below. Top 10 Singles for the Week of May 1, 20…
May 1, 2020 0 0
New Music Friday: April 3, 2020
Lauren Klonowski April 3, 2020
It's the first New Music Friday in April! This week has new music from Troye Sivan, All Time Low and more. See our full guide below. Top 10 Singles for the Week of April 3, 2020: 1. "Take Yourse…
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Avoiding defeat more important than debut goal - Joe Hodge
Updated / Tuesday, 16 Jul 2019 10:00
Joe Hodge celebrates his strike in Yerevan
Ireland goalscorer Joe Hodge stressed the importance of not losing the first game of a tournament after the Under-19s came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Norway in Yerevan.
Tom Mohan's side struggled in the opening exchanges in their first group game of the Armenia-hosted Under-19 European Championships and found themselves a goal down to an impressive Norwegian unit with just eight minutes on the clock.
But the much-changed Irish side - many of the squad were unavailable due to club committments - eventually found their stride and were rewarded with a late equaliser thanks to Joe Hodge's fine strike from outside the box in the 81st minute.
"It felt really good to get the equaliser, but it was important that we got a point," said Hodge, speaking after the game.
"We didn't want to start with a defeat in the group stage, and we got a point, so it was not as bad as it could have been."
Hodge admitted that the team took time to get going in their first Group B encounter, but said that he felt the side improved as the game went on, which led to his chance to earn a point late in the game.
Ireland now go into their second group game against leaders France, who easily accounted for the Czech Republic 3-0 in their opener, and the point earned against Norway could yet prove vital in the battle for the semi-final places.
"We didn't start as well as we could have. The lads have more quality than what they showed in the first 15 minutes. But we started to improve and it ended up being an alright performance in the second half."
Hodge made his Ireland Under-19 debut against Norway but the Manchester City prospect has plenty of European experience having starred for Ireland in the Under-17 equivalent earlier this summer.
And Hodge believes that the Ireland-hosted tournament benefitted his own game as well as helping with the team's approach to this two-week event in eastern Europe,
"I think it helped my tournament experience, and knowing how important it was not to lose the first game, which is important in tournament football.
"Hopefully we can build on the draw going into the next game."
Meanwhile, coach Tom Mohan admitted that he would have taken a point following his side's disappointing start against the Norwegians.
"After ten minutes we'd have settled for a point," said Mohan.
"Because Norway, they pushed us right back and they overloaded areas, they hit big [diagonal passes] and they took advantage of some of our smaller players with their physicality.
"Their press was very strong and we found it difficult to play out against their press."
"After ten minutes we would have settled for a point...but once the boys settled down, they showed great character, and thankfully Joe came up with the goods..." - Ireland Under-19 coach Tom Mohan was happy with his side's opening performance in Armenia. pic.twitter.com/q2h4TVHutB
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 15, 2019
"Once we got the water break and the boys settled down a wee bit, there was a bit of frustration in there too you know but they showed good character.
"The boys got on the ball in the second half and they kept moving it and we felt like once we keep moving them, openings would happen.
"Thankfully Joe came up with the goods, it was a fantastic strike from a fantastic player. Seventeen years of age, you can't ask much more."
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Republic of Ireland U19
joe hodge


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text:
import java.math.BigInteger;
import java.util.Arrays;

/**
 * Base58 is a way to encode Bitcoin addresses (or arbitrary data) as alphanumeric strings.
 *

 * Note that this is not the same base58 as used by Flickr, which you may find referenced around the Internet.
 *

 * You may want to consider working with {@link VersionedChecksummedBytes} instead, which
 * adds support for testing the prefix and suffix bytes commonly found in addresses.
 *

 * Satoshi explains: why base-58 instead of standard base-64 encoding?
 *

 *
Don't want 0OIl characters that look the same in some fonts and
 *     could be used to create visually identical looking account numbers.

 *
A string with non-alphanumeric characters is not as easily accepted as an account number.

 *
E-mail usually won't line-break if there's no punctuation to break at.

 *
Doubleclicking selects the whole number as one word if it's all alphanumeric.

 *

 *

 * However, note that the encoding/decoding runs in O(n²) time, so it is not useful for large data.
 *

 * The basic idea of the encoding is to treat the data bytes as a large number represented using
 * base-256 digits, convert the number to be represented using base-58 digits, preserve the exact
 * number of leading zeros (which are otherwise lost during the mathematical operations on the
 * numbers), and finally represent the resulting base-58 digits as alphanumeric ASCII characters.
 */
public class Base58 {
    public static final char[] ALPHABET = "123456789ABCDEFGHJKLMNPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijkmnopqrstuvwxyz".toCharArray();
    private static final char ENCODED_ZERO = ALPHABET[0];
    private static final int[] INDEXES = new int[128];
    static {
        Arrays.fill(INDEXES, -1);
        for (int i = 0; i < ALPHABET.length; i++) {
            INDEXES[ALPHABET[i]] = i;
        }
    }

    /**
     * Encodes the given bytes as a base58 string (no checksum is appended).
     *
     * @param input the bytes to encode
     * @return the base58-encoded string
     */
    public static String encode(byte[] input) {
        if (input.length == 0) {
            return "";
        }
        // Count leading zeros.
        int zeros = 0;
        while (zeros < input.length && input[zeros] == 0) {
            ++zeros;
        }
        // Convert base-256 digits to base-58 digits (plus conversion to ASCII characters)
        input = Arrays.copyOf(input, input.length); // since we modify it in-place
        char[] encoded = new char[input.length * 2]; // upper bound
        int outputStart = encoded.length;
        for (int inputStart = zeros; inputStart < input.length; ) {
            encoded[--outputStart] = ALPHABET[divmod(input, inputStart, 256, 58)];
            if (input[inputStart] == 0) {
                ++inputStart; // optimization - skip leading zeros
            }
        }
        // Preserve exactly as many leading encoded zeros in output as there were leading zeros in input.
        while (outputStart < encoded.length && encoded[outputStart] == ENCODED_ZERO) {
            ++outputStart;
        }
        while (--zeros >= 0) {
            encoded[--outputStart] = ENCODED_ZERO;
        }
        // Return encoded string (including encoded leading zeros).
        return new String(encoded, outputStart, encoded.length - outputStart);
    }

    /**
     * Decodes the given base58 string into the original data bytes.
     *
     * @param input the base58-encoded string to decode
     * @return the decoded data bytes
     * @throws AddressFormatException if the given string is not a valid base58 string
     */
    public static byte[] decode(String input) throws AddressFormatException {
        if (input.length() == 0) {
            return new byte[0];
        }
        // Convert the base58-encoded ASCII chars to a base58 byte sequence (base58 digits).
        byte[] input58 = new byte[input.length()];
        for (int i = 0; i < input.length(); ++i) {
            char c = input.charAt(i);
            int digit = c < 128 ? INDEXES[c] : -1;
            if (digit < 0) {
                throw new AddressFormatException("Illegal character " + c + " at position " + i);
            }
            input58[i] = (byte) digit;
        }
        // Count leading zeros.
        int zeros = 0;
        while (zeros < input58.length && input58[zeros] == 0) {
            ++zeros;
        }
        // Convert base-58 digits to base-256 digits.
        byte[] decoded = new byte[input.length()];
        int outputStart = decoded.length;
        for (int inputStart = zeros; inputStart < input58.length; ) {
            decoded[--outputStart] = divmod(input58, inputStart, 58, 256);
            if (input58[inputStart] == 0) {
                ++inputStart; // optimization - skip leading zeros
            }
        }
        // Ignore extra leading zeroes that were added during the calculation.
        while (outputStart < decoded.length && decoded[outputStart] == 0) {
            ++outputStart;
        }
        // Return decoded data (including original number of leading zeros).
        return Arrays.copyOfRange(decoded, outputStart - zeros, decoded.length);
    }

    public static BigInteger decodeToBigInteger(String input) throws AddressFormatException {
        return new BigInteger(1, decode(input));
    }

    /**
     * Decodes the given base58 string into the original data bytes, using the checksum in the
     * last 4 bytes of the decoded data to verify that the rest are correct. The checksum is
     * removed from the returned data.
     *
     * @param input the base58-encoded string to decode (which should include the checksum)
     * @throws AddressFormatException if the input is not base 58 or the checksum does not validate.
     */
    public static byte[] decodeChecked(String input) throws AddressFormatException {
        byte[] decoded  = decode(input);
        if (decoded.length < 4)
            throw new AddressFormatException("Input too short");
        byte[] data = Arrays.copyOfRange(decoded, 0, decoded.length - 4);
        byte[] checksum = Arrays.copyOfRange(decoded, decoded.length - 4, decoded.length);

        /*byte[] actualChecksum = Arrays.copyOfRange(Sha256Hash.hashTwice(data), 0, 4);
        if (!Arrays.equals(checksum, actualChecksum))
            throw new AddressFormatException("Checksum does not validate");*/
        return data;
    }

    /**
     * Divides a number, represented as an array of bytes each containing a single digit
     * in the specified base, by the given divisor. The given number is modified in-place
     * to contain the quotient, and the return value is the remainder.
     *
     * @param number the number to divide
     * @param firstDigit the index within the array of the first non-zero digit
     *        (this is used for optimization by skipping the leading zeros)
     * @param base the base in which the number's digits are represented (up to 256)
     * @param divisor the number to divide by (up to 256)
     * @return the remainder of the division operation
     */
    private static byte divmod(byte[] number, int firstDigit, int base, int divisor) {
        // this is just long division which accounts for the base of the input digits
        int remainder = 0;
        for (int i = firstDigit; i < number.length; i++) {
            int digit = (int) number[i] & 0xFF;
            int temp = remainder * base + digit;
            number[i] = (byte) (temp / divisor);
            remainder = temp % divisor;
        }
        return (byte) remainder;
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
About The Waterfront
How to get here/parking
Punching above its weight:
The Dundee Waterfront development is one of the most active regeneration projects in the UK. The Waterfront has a commitment to sustainability that will help developers meet corporate governance obligations while offering the benefit of lower whole life development costs.
Wildlife:
Dundee enjoys excellent environmental conditions. The River Tay is an internationally important special protection area, visitors include dolphins and the common seal as well as over 80 bird species including the bar-tailed godwit, greylag goose, sanderling and many more. Within the waterfront, dedicated space for wildlife includes an extensive wildlife corridor alongside the East Coast Railway and the Riverside Nature Park both within the Riverside Zone
Outdoor Space:
The Waterfront project is seeking to gain from the position of Dundee as the sunniest city in Scotland. Active street frontages including street cafes and restaurants are to bring life to the streetscape whilst parkland (Slessor Gardens) extending to 10,738 sqm (115,583 sqft) will feature at the heart of the Central Waterfront. Further open space is to be established at the water's edge (Waterfront Place)(5,415 sqm / 58,286sqft) and a civic space adjacent to the Caird Hall (2715sqm / 29,224sqft ). Collectively the new civic and recreational spaces within the central waterfront zone offer an area equivalent to more than 4 football pitches.
The transportation network has been designed to be easily navigated by all modes of transport. Public transport provision has been considered from the earliest stage of roads design. A key aim of the project was to reconnect the city centre to the water's edge for the benefit of pedestrians and cyclists. The National Cycle Route and North Sea Cycle Route pass through the area and improvements such as a bridge over the railway at Seabraes is offering additional permeability. Dundee's Railway Station lies within the Central Waterfront zone and offers direct access to most of Scotland's cities and beyond into England and London.
Dundee now has one of the largest numbers of electric vehicle taxis as well as a successful car club. Electric vehicle charging points exist in many public car parks and on-street locations.
Buildings:
Whilst acknowledging that Building Standards legislation is improving building performance, all buildings within the Waterfront are seeking to achieve the BREEAM (Building Research Established Environmental Assessment Method) sustainability standards rating of outstanding. The Dundee Waterfront will be the first such development in Scotland
Development Zones
Seabraes
Central Waterfront
City Quay
Port of Dundee
View the Central Waterfront Development Site Map


Voting has ended for this battle (battle finished on 2019-03-18 02:38:47).
Percy Jacksons series of books - The Sea Of Monster. Percy is Poseidon's son. In the books & movies his best friend is half goat. Tailings are the rocks that have been ran through the machines already & seperated from the gold.
I read through this several times and changed my mind a bit, I felt it was a very close battle. At the end of the day I gave it to Semion by the narrowest of margins. Burdens, I thought your Percy Jackson line was fire and easily the botb. However, I felt Semion's verse kinda flowed together more and was overall a bit more consistent; Burdens kinda had a series of unconnected punches whereas Semion gave more of a single narrative (replete with some solid wordplay) which was personal as far as Burdens' career on LB but didn't go into irl stuff I didn't know about so I found it highly effective.
Semion I feel you didn't have enough punched in this one. But the ones you had were solid. Like the Pillager one. Execution wasn't as good as what I just read from you but it was still not too bad. The second scheme you used was quite choppy at points. Nice flip on the closer tho.
Burdens I felt you had some nice lines in this verse. Opener was nice but the second bar didn't hit imo, just not a really direct attack with a creative flip. The Percy Jackson line was fiyyah tho, my fav in this battle. Gold mining line was nice but would've hit harder with a better setup, I did like how you kept everything relevant to the concept in that bar. Closer was quick and a nice bitchslap imo.
Overall I'mma lean towards Burdens here. He had more punches that I felt dropped harder than Semion who wasn't too far behind, but didn't have enough to make me edge this to him.


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text:
I believe in freedom of silence
You live in time; we live in space. You're always on the move; we're always at rest. Religion is our first love; we revel in metaphysics. Science is your passion; you delight in physics. You believe in freedom of speech; you strive for articulation. We believe in freedom of silence; we lapse into meditation. Self-assertiveness is the key to your success; self-abnegation is the secret of our survival. You're urged every day to want more and more; we're taught from the cradle to want less and less. Joie de vivre is your ideal; conquest of the desires is our goal. In the sunset years of life, you retire to enjoy the fruits of your labour; we renounce the world and prepare ourselves for the hereafter - from Reflections on Life East and West' by Hari N. Dam, Professor of Philosophy at Brighham University, USA. Ensign Magazine, 1971
Photo was taken by me recently ago at one of my favourite 'thin places', the town of Katwijk aan Zee in the Netherlands where the Sufi teacher and musician Hazrat Inayat Khan taught in the sand dunes and where his followers later built a Universal Sufi Temple. However the photo was not taken at the Sufi Temple: it shows the memorial on the seafront to the 275 sons of Katwijk who have been lost fishing the North Sea. On Overgrown Path will now lapse into blessed silence while I go off-grid again. But before leaving these shores I will be at sitar master Nishat Khan Aldeburgh Festival concerts; I am particularly looking forward to Meeting of Angels with the Saint Ephraim Male Choir as Nishat Khan's long-deleted CD of the same title with Ensemble Gilles Binchois is a personal desert island favourite. Snape Music has quite rightly taken some stick here recently but is to be praised for this adventurous piece of programming. Any copyrighted material is for critical analysis only and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Also on Facebook and Twitter.


It's time for Summer getaways! In today's blog post we are going to see beautiful travel outfit ideas for ladies over 30. No Summer is complete without practical clothing combinations that will underline your beauty and uniqueness.
You are about to see cute slipdresses covered with white cardigans, pastel blue pullover teamed with white pleated skirts, ruched white blouses paired with charcoal pencil skirts, mini red dresses completed with cream-white pumps, suede light brown jackets worn atop cute tops tucked in high-waisted denim shorts, etc.


text:
Magic, Aleister Crowley, Egyptian and Eastern
Best of the Equinox Vol 1 by Aleister Crowley
SKU: BBESEQU
The Equinox became the standard for English language esotericism in the early 20th century, aptly termed the "Encyclopedia of Initiation" by its principal editor and contributor, Aleister Crowley. This ten-volume collection had remarkable variety, depth, and the utility of its contents encompass Qabalah, tarot, yoga, and the essential papers of Crowley's teaching order, A.A. Unfortunately, much of this material is currently out of print.
Now, renowned scholar and U.S. Duputy Grandmaster General of the O.T.O., Lon Milo DuQuette offers readers The Best of the Equinox: Enochain Magick, Volume Iand presents readers with the Enochian selections from The Equinox and contains the Enochian Magic of John Dee and Edward Kelley—perhaps the most powerful and most popular of all magical systems.
Selected by DuQuette from both in-print and out-of-print editions of The Equinox, this is an affordable volume for Crowley fans, packed with high magick.
Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) combined scholarly rigor with a sense of humor and great literary ability to become the most widely read author in 20th-century occultism. He single-handedly redefined magick as a field of inquiry and endeavor through his books and the orders that he led--the A.A. and the O.T.O. He is author of such classic works as 777 & Other Qabalistic Writings, The Holy Books of Thelema, Book of Thoth with artist Lady Freida Harris, and The Thoth Tarot.
Lon Milo DuQuette is the author of 15 critically acclaimed books on Magick and the Occult, and one of the most respected and entertaining writers and lecturers in the field of Western Mystery Traditions. He is an authority on tarot and western ceremonial magick.


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Het Circuit des Nations was een stratencircuit in de Zwitserse stad Genève. Het was in gebruik van 1938 tot en met 1950 en werd gebruikt voor auto- en motorraces. In het seizoen 1950 werd het ook gebruikt voor het wereldkampioenschap wegrace voor motorfietsen.

Het circuit gebruikte voornamelijk de Rue de Lausanne, tussen het meer van Genève en de Place des Nations. Nadat een helft van de Rue de Lausanne gereden was, keerden de coureurs bij een geïmproviseerde haarspeldbocht om terug te rijden over de andere weghelft. Het circuit was 4,1 kilometer lang, maar soms werd ook een korter stuk van 2,9 kilometer gebruikt en de motorracers reden een iets langer circuit van 6,3 kilometer lengte.

Autoraces
Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog begon met wedstrijden te houden met auto's uit de Formule 1 en de Formule 2, maar deze races maakten nooit deel uit van de wereldkampioenschappen.

1e Grand Prix des Nations
21 juli 1946, FIA Grand Prix, 44 ronden op het korte circuit (2,9 km).

2e Grand Prix de Genève
2 mei 1948 FIA Formula 2 (geen kampioenschapsrace), 70 ronden op het korte circuit (2,9 km).

2e Grand Prix des Nations
2 mei 1948, FIA Formula 1, (geen kampioenschapsrace), 80 ronden op het korte circuit (2,9 km).

3e Grand Prix de Genève
30 juli 1950, FIA Formula 2 (geen kampioenschapsrace), 45 ronden op het lange circuit (3,9 km).

3e Grand Prix des Nations
30 juli 1950, FIA Formula 1 (geen kampioenschapsrace), 68 ronden op het lange circuit (3,9 kilometer).

Motorraces

Grand Prix van Zwitserland
De Grand Prix van Zwitserland maakte in 1928 voor het eerst deel uit van het Europees kampioenschap wegrace, maar men reed op verschillende circuits: het Circuit de Meyrin in Genève, het Circuit Saint-Sauveur in Lugano en het stratencircuit Bremgarten in Bern.

In 1938 reed men voor het eerst op het Circuit des Nations, maar door een onderbreking vanwege de Tweede Wereldoorlog reed men pas in 1946 opnieuw in Genève. In 1947 werd om de Europese titels gevochten in Bremgarten, maar in 1948 weer op het Circuit des Nations. In het seizoen 1949 werd het wereldkampioenschap wegrace voor het eerst georganiseerd, maar toen reed men weer op het circuit van Bremgarten. In 1950 was het Circuit des Nations weer aan de beurt, maar daarna verhuisde de Zwitserse Grand Prix naar Bremgarten, tot het Zwitserse raceverbod na 1954 in werking trad.

1938-1948

(gekleurde achtergrond = wedstrijd in het kader van het Europees kampioenschap wegrace)

Wereldkampioenschap 1950

23 juli 1950, Grand Prix van Zwitserland, wereldkampioenschap wegrace 1950, lange circuit, (6,3 km).

250 cc klasse

350 cc klasse

500 cc klasse

Zijspanklasse

Tegen het einde van de 3e Grand Prix van Zwitserland blies Alberto Ascari de motor van zijn Ferrari 340 op. Er liep olie op de baan in de bocht aan het einde van de Avenue de la Paix. Luigi Villoresi slipte over de olielaag, vloog over de strobalen en zijn auto kwam in het publiek terecht. Drie toeschouwers overleden en twintig mensen raakten gewond. Villoresi overleefde het ongeluk maar had een verbrijzeld been. Na dit ongeluk werd er nooit meer een Grand Prix op dit circuit georganiseerd.

In 1958 werden gemechaniseerde snelheidssporten in Zwitserland voorgoed verboden.

Nations
Nations
Sportaccommodatie in Genève

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Can't make it to The Lightbox during the day? Enjoy FREE entry to our exhibitions every last Thursday of the month, from 5.00pm - 8.30pm.
Stop by The Lightbox on the last Thursday of the month, and explore all our exhibitions free of charge (usually £5 Day Pass or £7.50 Annual Pass). Refresh after work with a drink and some burgers at Seasons Cafe, before heading up to the galleries to discover world-renowned art from contemporary sculptures to iconic Modern British paintings. Then stick around for one of our regular events.


text:
Q: Swift Programming - How to set up app for taking turns So I am attempting to code an application that would allow me and a friend to keep track of a dart game. In the game there are several different buttons that will allow the user to add or subtract one or two from the users score. I have the buttons and have created outlets but just ran into the question how do I tell the buttons which user they are supposed to to scoring. I have attached a picture of the basic UI and some of the code that I am using. Any advice would be really really appreciated. I just need to know how to tell the app which users turn it is, I was thinking would it be possible to add a button that would say "Next Turn" and you push the buttons to reflect the score of the player and then press "Next Turn" and it switches players. Therefore scoring would effect the next players turn. This makes sense to me on paper but I really dont know where to start to get that to function. Would you also mind taking a look at the code I have to make the labels reflect the score changes, and see if that logic makes sense?
import UIKit

class ViewController: UIViewController {

@IBOutlet weak var user1Score: UILabel!

@IBOutlet weak var user2Score: UILabel!

@IBAction func hit(sender: AnyObject) {

     user1Score.text = "+1"

}

@IBAction func miss(sender: AnyObject) {
}

@IBAction func doublePlus(sender: AnyObject) {
}

@IBAction func doubleMinus(sender: AnyObject) {
}

@IBAction func triplePlus(sender: AnyObject) {
}

@IBAction func tripleMinus(sender: AnyObject) {
}

@IBAction func penalty(sender: AnyObject) {
}

Here is the image of mainStoryBoardUI

A: Use a class property to keep track of the current player.  Store the scores in an array and use the currentPlayer as the index for which value to update.  Here is a very basic approach:
class ViewController: UIViewController {
    @IBOutlet weak var currentName: UILabel!
    @IBOutlet weak var user1Score: UILabel!
    @IBOutlet weak var user2Score: UILabel!

    var names = ["Fred", "Joe"]
    var currentPlayer = 0
    var scores = [0, 0]

    func updateUI() {
        currentName.text = names[currentPlayer]
        user1Score.text = "\(scores[0])"
        user2Score.text = "\(scores[1])"
    }

    @IBAction func changePlayers() {
        currentPlayer = 1 - currentPlayer
        updateUI()
    }

    @IBAction func hit() {
        scores[currentPlayer]++
        updateUI()
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Aktuelle Seite: Startseite Uncategorised Critical Zones. In Search of a Common Ground
Critical Zones. In Search of a Common Ground
"Critical Zones. In Search of a Common Ground"
Travelling exhibition of the Karlsruhe ZKM also in India
At the Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe (ZKM), the exhibition "Critical Zones. Observatories for Earthly Politics" was developed on basis of a concept by Bruno Latour and Peter Weibel and exhibited at the ZKM in Karlsruhe from 2020 to 2022. It has now been adapted as a travelling exhibition for the Goethe-Institut South Asia: "Critical Zones. In Search of a Common Ground" opened in Mumbai at the end of October, then went on to Colombo in Sri Lanka, as well as to Pune as a forerunner of the Karlsruhe delegation 2023.
Opening of the exhibition "Critical Zones. In Search of a Common Ground" in Mumbai
Foto: Goethe-Institut Mumbai, photo: Prachi Krishnakant Chandarana
Stops in Kolkata, New Delhi and Bangalore will follow later in 2023. The Goethe-Institut is present in 98 countries with 158 institutes, promotes knowledge of the country and the German language and fosters international cultural cooperation.
On show at "Critical Zones. In Search of a Common Ground", co-produced by ZKM and Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan in Mumbai, a selection of the artistic positions will be shown, complemented by further works by Indian and Sri Lankan artists - adapted for local visitors, of course.
Opening of the exhibition "Critical Zones. In Search of a Common Ground" in Mumbai.
Goethe-Institut Mumbai, photo: Prachi Krishnakant Chandarana
"The main aim of the project is to explore the Critical Zone of each station of the travelling exhibition and to address questions relevant to it," says ZKM: "To this end, conversations will be as local as possible within the larger framework of the exhibition theme. Thus, each station will include further dialogues and creative moments to explore and analyse local and pressing issues of each place - the Critical Zone as well as the residents. The exhibition project "Critical Zones" invites visitors to engage with the critical situation of the earth in new and diverse ways and to explore new forms of coexistence between all forms of life.
Info: www.zkm.de
Digital platform for the exhibition: https://critical-zones.zkm.de/


SecEd's latest Guide To focuses on how to get that first senior leadership position, offering practical application and interview advice.
Produced in conjunction with the Association of School and College Leaders, the Guide To offers practical advice on how to successfully apply for senior leadership positions. We focus on the job application process, the interview day – including what you need to ensure you do to impress, and what to avoid.
We also hear from a headteacher on the skills, traits and talents that she looks for in her prospective senior leaders. Published: January 2015.


Kick Some Brick in I through VI! Play through all six Star Wars movies in one videogame! Adding new characters, new levels, new features and for the first time ever, the chance to build and battle your way through a fun Star Wars galaxy on your PC!
Play through a fun Star Wars galaxy that combines the endless customization of LEGO with the epic story from all six episodes of Star Wars. This is the definitive LEGO Star Wars comprising the first two games and expanding them with new characters, enhanced visuals, and more bonus levels than you can shake a lightsaber at.
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga is a family-friendly game, which is both funny and challenging. Pick and choose your characters wisely to engage in combat, solve puzzles and work together as a team to defeat the dark side.
- True co-operative multiplayer lets two players enjoy the fun together!
- Unlock more than 160 characters from the Star Wars movies, including 10 characters never seen before in the LEGO Star Wars games.
- Updated graphics mean LEGO Star Wars has never looked so good!
- Lots of surprises and funny moments, trademarks of developer TT Games' LEGO titles.
- Upgraded Character Customizer lets you create cross-Trilogy "mashup" characters like Han Windu or Lando Amidala.
- Enhanced Force powers for both Jedi and Sith characters, including "Force Throw" and "Force Push".
- New power-ups scattered throughout all levels of the game. Brand new Bounty Hunter missions.
- New power-ups scattered throughout all levels of the game.
- Brand new Bounty Hunter missions.
Maximum number of players (local) : 2 Maximum number of players (co-op) : 2 Minimum number of players (co-op) : 2 Minimum number of players (local) : 1 Requires an Intel processor. The following graphics cards are not supported: ATI X1xxx series, Intel GMA series and NVIDIA 7xxx series. This game is not currently supported on volumes formatted as Mac OS Extended (Case Sensitive).
LucasArts and the LucasArts logo are registered trademarks of Lucasfilm Ltd. © 2005-2010 Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. or Lucasfilm Ltd. and ® or TM as indicated. LEGO, the LEGO Logo and the Minifigure are trademarks of the LEGO Group. © 2005-2010 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. Mac and the Mac logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries. Feral and the Feral logo are trademarks of Feral Interactive Ltd.


The headline and picture says it all. Congrats to Senator Barack Obama on being elected the 44th president of the United States. I'm gonna say what many others have been saying: I never thought I would see a black person elected president in my lifetime. I always thought a white woman or latino male would be elected before a black person would be elected president.
I stayed up all night last night watching the election coverage. I was too excited to get any sleep. And today I continued to watch the post election coverage on CNN and MSNBC.
I stood in line for about an hour and fifteen minutes so I could vote yesterday. I got to the school about 12:45pm and finally got to vote at 2:00pm. The line I was in was outside at first but then eventually it didn't take long for us to get inside the school. From what I was told the line and wait was much longer earlier yesterday morning.
The Democratic National Convention started in Denver on Monday. On Monday I watched it on our local PBS station. I then read that the coverage on C-Span was great if you didn't want to listen to the usual talking heads that you see on CNN, MSNBC and FoxNews. So since yesterday I've been watching the convention on C-SPAN. They've been showing gavel to gavel coverage including the roll call today. As of this evening Senator Barack Obama has been declared the official presidential candidate of the Democratic Party.
DENVER — With the weight of history hanging over them, Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Democratic Party formally chose Sen. Barack Obama as the nominee for the White House, elevating the first African American to that exalted post and putting a black man a step from the presidency.
With a theatrical flourish, the roll call vote was rushed to allow Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to suspend the vote and "in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory," declare Obama the nominee by aclaimation.
I've also been recording the convention since I do have a certain bedtime to meet. I just got around to watching the speech given by Michelle Obama and it was great.
I know I'm late on this. The Senator who described presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama as articulate, bright and clean earlier this year, Senator Joe Biden, has been chosen as Senator Obama's vice presidential running mate.
New York Times columnist Bob Herbert has an interesting column titled Running While Black. Now I see why earlier this year Senator John McCain's senior campaign advisor Mark McKinnon stated that he will stay on the sidelines if Senator Barack Obama won the Democratic presidential nomination. He didn't want to go Lee Atwater on Obama. Apparently McKinnon left McCain's campaign in May.
Who am I talking about? Ludacris, that's who. What in the hell was rapper Ludacris thinking? Have you seen the lyrics to his latest song? Check it out here at the Daily Voice. The track is titled Politics: Obama Is Here.
Thanks to Ludacris, Senator Barack Obama had to denounce the lyrics to this song. Calling Senator Hillary Clinton the b word and his comments about Senator John McCain were totally uncalled for. Why do black folks do this? We are our own worst enemies.
Unfortunately Obama has been photographed with Ludacris and has mentioned that the rapper's music is in his ipod.
Check out Najee Ali's open letter to Ludacris. Ali is right. With friends like Ludacris, Obama doesn't need enemies. Talk about giving ammunition to the Republicans and Hillary supporters who are on the fence. I guess now we'll see a Republican attack ad using a picture of Ludacris and Obama together talking about this song. When will we learn? I doubt very seriously if an asian or hispanic person was running for president you would see a singer or rapper of that race doing something this stupid.
Some folks are really getting desperate. Over at MSNBC I read an investigative report about former congressional investigator and conservative activist David Bossie desperately seeking a copy of Senator Barack Obama's senior thesis from Columbia University.
Journalists began hounding Columbia University for copies of the musty document. Conservative bloggers began wondering if the young Obama had written a no-nukes screed that he might come to regret. And David Bossie, the former congressional investigator and "right-wing hit man," as one newspaper described him, took out classified newspaper ads in Columbia University's newspaper and the Chicago Tribune in March searching for the term paper.
According to a New York Times article last year Obama majored in political science at Columbia and had spent his time writing his thesis on Soviet nuclear disarmament.
Plenty of folks have already railed against Michelle Obama for her Princeton thesis Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community. Some folks called her an ungrateful black radical who should be thankful she got into Princeton. It's obvious that these folks don't have a clue about the history of Princeton University. I learned quite a bit after reading about the history of Princeton in Lawrence Otis Graham's book Member of the Club. Lawrence and Michelle attended Princeton during the early 80's.
Anyway you can read the entire investigative article Obama and the case of the missing thesis here.
While checking out The Daily Voice I noticed a link that mentioned the Obama family opening up to People Magazine. The Obamas talk about raising their daughters Malia and Sasha.
Also clear: That even on the campaign trail, this is a brood almost like any other, with set routines (chores!), boundaries ($1 allowance!) and playtimes (movie nights!). The Obamas opened up to PEOPLE – first, at the family's three-story home in Chicago in June, and again on July 4, at a park in Butte, Mont., where the family campaigned and celebrated Malia's birthday – about the task of raising two girls, including 7-year-old Sasha, under the public eye.
PEOPLE: Someone told me today that you don't do birthday presents.
Barack: That sleepover is enough. We want to teach some limits to them. And their friends bring over presents.
So what does a slumber party at the Obama house look like?
Michelle: The older they get, they just talk a lot. But they're at the age where they're pretty self-sufficient. [For Malia's birthday] we're going to go swimming, see Wall-E, make pizzas, have sundaes.
Barack: I usually go for the swim but this time I want to go to the movie just because Wall-E has gotten great reviews. I find actually that children's movies are the best movies these days. But I'll probably, after that, peel off until the cake.
You can read the entire interview with the Obamas here.
Check out Robin Givhan's column, Plunging Back Into Blackness. Robin talks about John McLaughlin's comment about Senator Barack Obama being an oreo.
Last week on "The McLaughlin Group," a show so fusty that plumes of dust waft from the television screen upon the first note of its brassy theme song, a curiously retro word floated into the Sunday morning blathersphere: Oreo.
McLaughlin's decision to dredge up a race-baiting slur, which historically was intended to suggest someone was self-hating and inauthentic, had the feel of a 1,000-year-old blowhard trying to be provocative and clever. It was delivered in a tone that spoke of anthropological curiosity — as if he had been chauffeured past a crowd of black people 50 years ago, overheard them talking, and picked up a bit of their odd patois.
The term oreo has been used as an insult by some blacks to describe a black person as black on the outside and white on the inside if that black person is successful, does well in school, etc. (Check out the term in the Urban Dictionary) Robin pretty much discusses how Senator Obama isn't black enough for some (being Harvard educated) and too black for others (being a member of Trinity United Church of Christ).
Despite McLaughlin's stilted tone, it was yet another reminder that the question of Obama's blackness — too much or not enough — refuses to be put to rest. Obama has ping-ponged between not being black enough when he was mostly known as the Harvard-educated lawyer who gave rousing speeches, to being too black when his now former minister Jeremiah Wright was on the loose preaching about a racist America. Now he's back to not being black enough because he's been talking about personal responsibility among black Americans.
The debate has become absurd. When he plays basketball, is he blacker? Or, as the comedian Bill Maher joked: "He bowled a 37. . . . Is he black enough for you now?" And how about when he tucked in his polo shirt and went for a family bike ride? Was he only kinda-sorta black then?
It would be splendid if the man could simply just be in the same way as presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. (No one's asking if he's too white or not white enough.) But we have not arrived at that mountaintop yet and so, in the meantime, Obama must serve as symbol and trope. He must represent his multiethnic constituency and he must represent.
This is not a matter of skin tone. It's about culture, sensibility and perception. While Obama's ascendancy has brought many issues into the spotlight, one of the most confounding — at least for far too many pundits — is the notion of blackness, what defines it and who gets to determine whether the prevailing definition is correct.
The July 10-24, 2008 issue of Rolling Stone magazine features presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama on the cover with an exclusive interview.
His music tastes range from Bob Dylan, Miles Davis and Jay-Z to Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder and Charlie Parker.
Bob Dylan. Yo-Yo Ma. Sheryl Crow. Jay-Z. These aren't musical acts in a summer concert series: They're artists featured on Barack Obama's iPod.
Growing up in the '70s, Obama said, he listened to the Rolling Stones, Elton John and Earth, Wind & Fire. Stevie Wonder is his musical hero from the era. The Stones' "Gimme Shelter" tops his favorites from the band.
The Illinois senator's playlist contains these musicians, along with about 30 songs from Dylan and the singer's "Blood on the Tracks" album. Jazz legends Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Charlie Parker are also in the mix.
You can check out A Conversation with Barack Obama here at Rolling Stone.com or you can buy the magazine at your nearest bookstore, newstand or grocery store.


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Increase the looks and performance of your Nissan 370Z with a Bilstein B16 system. This system features high quality monotube gas shocks with precise compression and rebound settings (from comfort to competition) along with application specific, progressive rate coil springs. The Bilstein B16 system allows you to set your car's ride height for your desired look and performance handling characteristics. The solid aluminum spring seat and lock nut allow for precise adjustment of the vehicle's ride height. Ride height adjustments can be easily made on the vehicle without removing the suspension. Enjoy your improved safety and sportiness through added traction and enhanced stability. The B16 PSS10 setup allows you to dial through the 10 damping settings to fine tune ride and handling characteristics, have your 370Z perform exactly how you want!
Why Bilstein? Earning the number-one name in suspension doesn't come easy. Bilstein proves their worth and earns their rep the hard way on racetracks and desert circuits around the world. Applying what they learn at the track to the street, Bilstein designs their shocks to transform your vehicle into a fine-tuned performance machine. Bilstein shocks boast a mono-tube design that instantaneously adjusts to the road surface. Unlike conventional multi-tube shocks, mono-tube performance never suffers from age, use or heat, and they never require manual adjustments. Just bolt on and go. Surface coatings using Triple-C-Technology provide long-lasting corrosion resistance so you can be sure you will be going for quite some time! Best yet, Bilstein backs your shocks with a limited Lifetime Warranty.


Gold prices moved higher on Tuesday despite a rally in the dollar. Gold prices surged against the Euro, as it appears that inflation is on the rise. Fed Chair Gerome Powell in a speech in Boston said that the Fed has been able to keep inflation in check by managing expectations. Amazon raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour on Tuesday which could be the large increase in wage inflation the Fed was finally looking for.
Gold prices moved higher rising up to trend line resistance that comes in near 1,208. Support on the yellow metal is seen near the 10-day moving average near 1,196. Additional support is seen near an upward sloping trend line that comes in near 1,182. Short-term momentum has turned positive as the MACD (moving average convergence divergence) index generated a crossover buy signal. This occurs as the MACD line (the 12-day moving average minus the 26-day moving average) crosses above the MACD signal line (the 9-day moving average of the MACD line). The MACD histogram is printing in the black with a rising trajectory which points to higher prices.
The Dollar's on a tear, only the Japanese Yen managing to hold on in the early hours, with a record trade surplus out of Australia doing little for the AUD.
For the Aussie Dollar, Australia's trade surplus jumped from a revised A$1.548bn to A$1.604bn in August according to the ABS.
Imports were flat for the month, while exports rose by 1%, month-on-month.
The increase in exports was attributed to a 13% (A$229m) rise in the export of non-monetary gold and a 3% (A$134m) rise in the export of rural goods that were partially offset by a 1% (A$222m) fall in the export of non-rural goods.
On the import front, the import of capital goods rose by 9% (A$569m), which was offset by a 41% (A$289m) slide in the import of non-monetary gold and a 2% (A$264m) fall in the import of intermediate and other merchandise goods.
The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.70945 to $0.70994 upon release of the figures, before easing to $0.7093 at the time of writing, down 0.14% for the session, the jump in U.S Treasury yields offsetting any material upside from this morning's stats.
Elsewhere, the Japanese Yen, was up by 0.17% to ¥114.33 against the U.S Dollar at the time of writing, the Yen finding some support to partially recover from the overnight slide that came off the back of yet more impressive stats out of the U.S. For the Kiwi Dollar, a jump in U.S Treasury yields weighed, the Kiwi down 0.29% to $0.6495 at the time of writing.
In the equity markets, the Nikkei was in the red, reversing early gains, down 0.22% at the time of writing, the index finding little support from the Yen's slide to ¥114 levels against the Dollar and the overnight gains in the U.S equity markets, while the ASX200 also in positive territory, up 0.66% at the time of writing. For the Hang Seng, the slide continued early, the Hang Seng down 1.06%, with investors having nowhere to hide early on, trade war jitters continuing to weigh.
For the EUR, there are no material stats scheduled for release through the day to provide direction for the EUR, leaving budget chatter from Italy and market risk sentiment to provide direction through the day.
While upside for the EUR was reversed on Wednesday, following the U.S stats and hawkish FED chatter, uncertainty over what lies ahead on the budget side and Italy's debt troubles will be a continued concern ahead of the Italy – EU showdown mid-month.
At the time of writing, the EUR was down 0.05% to $1.1472, the Italian Budget and noise from the Oval Office remaining the key risks to the EUR.
For the Pound, it's a quiet day on the data front, leaving the Pound in the hands of Brexit chatter and news of the Tory Party Conference that ended on Wednesday.
There's been no good news of late for the Pound, with chatter out of France likely to upset the Pound further, any hopes of UK's neighbour being supportive seemingly dashed as the French government look to prepare for Britain to depart the EU without a deal.
Whether you prize volatility or are looking to avoid it, USDCAD will be the focal point of both countries' NFPs and trade data.
While benchmarks US equity indices have lingered at record highs the past few weeks, the confidence these levels alone would inspire was undercut by a clear lack of progress in the projection of a sustainable bull trend. Through Thursday's session, we saw the conviction that the S&P 500 and Dow would act as the guiding light of other wayward risk-oriented assets rupture. While all of the major US indices were under significant pressure, the most technically-engaging move was from the S&P 500. The speculative-favorite broke a rising trend channel support and very nearly called an end to a period of quiet calm that has supported the casual divergence between the country's equities and most other speculative asset types. Though its intraday spill was hefty, the measure managed a late-in-the-day bounce that prevented the market from registering a 1 percent or greater loss on the day. That notches the tally slightly to 71 consecutive trading days for which the benchmark has not suffered a moderate loss in a single session – an uncommon distinction over the past decade of bull trend. What this index and US equities do next will carry heavy weight with the broader financial system. This segment of the market has managed to defy the strain experienced by virtually ever other speculative pacesetter I monitor. As I've said before, the S&P 500 and its close peers are the best measure of risk trends due precisely to their discrepancy. If sentiment is so corrosive that even *these* milestones are dropping, it sets the stage for a possible full-scale withdrawal.
Consumer spending in both Australia and Japan improved but not by enough to shift sentiment as focus shifts to U.S labour market stats.
Economic data released through the Asian session this morning included August household spending figures out of Japan and August retail sales figures out of Australia.
For the Japanese Yen, August household spending impressed, with spending surging by 3.5%, month-on-month, coming in ahead of a forecasted 0.4% rise, whilst more than reversing July's 1.1% slide. Year-on-year, spending jumped by 2.8%, which was better than a forecasted stall, following a 0.1% rise in July.
Education (+25%); transportation & communication (+15.1%); medical care (+7.1%) and housing (+6.4%), with increased spending also seen on clothing & footwear and furniture & household utensils.
Culture & recreation (-4.1%); fuel, light & water charges (-1.8%) and food (-1.5%).
The Japanese Yen moved from ¥113.866 to ¥113.884 against the Dollar upon release of the figures, before easing to ¥114.01 at the time of writing, down 0.08% for the session.
For the Aussie Dollar, retail sales rose by 0.3% in August, which was in line with forecasts, whilst improving on July's stall, according to figures released by the ABS.
5 of the 6 retail industries recorded a rise in sales, with cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.7%) leading the way.
A rise in sales was also reported for clothing, footwear & personal retailing (0.8%); other retailing (0.4%), department stores (0.9%) and household goods retailing (0.2%).
Food retailing was reported to be relatively unchanged.
The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.70680 to $0.70754 upon release of the figures, before rising to $0.7076 at the time of writing, flat for the session.
In the equity markets, it was a mixed start to the day, the Nikkei and Hang Seng down 0.53% and by 0.1% respectively, weighed by the overnight losses in the U.S, while the ASX200 was up 0.3% to buck the trend early on, the big-4 banks finding support following the recent sell-off, .
The US dollar fell hard to kick off the week against the Japanese yen as we see a lot of negativity, into the marketplace. Perhaps it is due to the trade situation between the United States and China, perhaps it is due to the Italian debt situation, or perhaps it's due to just a general negativity.
The US dollar has fallen rather hard against the Japanese yen to kick off the week, and a bit of a "risk off" situation. Ultimately, I think that the market will find a bit of interest and support at the ¥113 level, an area that has been important more than once. I also believe that we will eventually see the market participants continue to pay attention to the interest rate differential eventually, but we also recognize that there are a lot of "risk off" situations around the world. We are watching the Sino-American trade relations as per usual, and they are getting worse. However, I think eventually once things calm down we will probably see the value hunters continue to jump into this market. I believe at this point, standing on the sidelines and waiting for stability and perhaps a supportive candle will be the best trade that you can make. At this point, I have no interest in trying to short this pair, because there is far too much in the way of support underneath.
I believe this point we continue to see a lot of noise in the market, but I think it makes sense that we sit on the sidelines and simply wait for the stability to come into the market, as it gives us an opportunity to pick up value as it presents itself. Ultimately, this is a market that focuses on stock markets and risk appetite in general, both of which are a bit soft at the moment.
Economic data out of Asia give the Aussie and Kiwi Dollars some respite early in the day, while geo-political risk remains the key area of focus.
Economic data released through the Asian session this morning included September electronic card retail sales figures out of New Zealand, October consumer sentiment figures out of Australia and August machinery orders out of Japan.
For the Kiwi Dollar, electronic card retail sales rose by 1.1% in September, following an upwardly revised 1.1% rise in August, according to Stats NZ.
Spending in the retail industries rose by 1.1%, with spending in the core retail industries also rising by 1.1%.
By industry, spending on consumables rose by 1%, on apparel by 0.9%, on durables and vehicles (excl. fuel) both by 0.8%, with 0.4% rises in spending on hospitality and on fuel.
Year-on-year, electronic card retail sales rose by 5.7%, easing back from a 6.3% rise in August.
For the 3rd quarter (q/q), spending in the retail industries rose by 2.3% and by 2.1% in the core retail industries.
In the 3rd quarter, the largest contributions to spending came from fuel (+3.4%), consumables (+2.4%), while spending on apparel dragged, with just a 0.1% rise.
The Kiwi Dollar moved from $0.64713 to $0.64760 upon release of the figures, before rising to $0.6487 at the time of writing, up 0.20% for the session.
For the Aussie Dollar, the Westpac Consumer Sentiment rose by 1% to 101.5 in October, the rise partially reversing September's 3% slide to 100.5.
Negative sentiment towards falling house prices, rising mortgage rates and rising petrol prices had offset the positive effects of a tax cut earlier in the year, leading to a 5.2% fall in confidence in August through September.
Support at the start of the 4th quarter came from solid economic growth, labour market conditions and a recovery in certain mining states.
While the ECB monetary policy meeting minutes and Brexit will be eyed, U.S inflation figures could have a far greater influence this afternoon.
There were no material stats released through the Asian session this morning, leaving the markets to consider U.S inflationary pressures following the release of wholesale inflation numbers on Wednesday ahead of this afternoon consumer price numbers.
Other pressures continue to include the built-up tensions between the U.S and China and market concerns over what lies ahead for the Italian coalition and the much talked about budget that could get nasty should the coalition's first budget be rejected.
At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen stood at ¥112.19, up 0.07% for the session, with the Aussie Dollar and Kiwi Dollar finding support. The Kiwi Dollar was up 0.23% to $0.6464, with the Aussie Dollar up 0.14% to $0.7065, the pair having struggled amidst the ongoing geo-political tensions, with gains through the early part of Wednesday reversing as the day progressed off the back of upward momentum in U.S Treasury Yields and risk off sentiment across the global financial markets.
In the equity markets, the cues came from Wednesday's sell-off in the European and U.S majors, the Nikkei sliding by 3.21%, pressure coming from a rebound in the Yen alongside the rise in geo-political risks, with the ASX200 down 1.71%.
For the CSI300 and Hang Seng, the pair followed in the path of the other majors early on, the Hang Seng opening down 3.05%, with the CSI300 down 3.11% at the time of writing, with the U.S futures showing little hope of a rebound from yesterday's losses in the early part of the day.
Gold markets broke higher during the trading session on Thursday, reaching towards the $1215 level, an area that has been very important more than once. Overall, the market looks as if the buyers are pressing the issue, but the $1215 level has been very important in the past, so I think we have a significant fight on our hands above.
Gold markets rallied significantly during the trading session on Thursday, as precious metals in general got a bit of a boost. Pay attention to the US dollar, because we get significant weakness in the greenback, that should push the Gold markets higher. If we break above that level, the market probably goes to the $1220 level, perhaps even the $1225 level.
Alternately, if we break down from here I think the $1205 level would offer significant support, and most certainly the $1200 level will be. Pay attention to the EUR/USD pair, it gives you a general idea of what is happening with the greenback, which of course has a major influence on gold. I think this is been more of a risk safety type trade, which we have seen in the past more than once. Overall though, I think that the market is a bit overextended, so it's likely that a pullback would be necessary. However, if we can break out above the $1215 level, it could signal that fresh monies coming into the marketplace, and it could make a relatively impulsive move just waiting to happen. I like Gold longer-term, but quite frankly the US dollar has been so strong for some time, so I don't think it's going to be the easiest move to the upside, so certainly you need to use a bit of caution as you could be entering the trade a bit late here.
All times are GMT +4. The time now is 07:22 PM.


Bender Gallery, an established contemporary fine art and sculpture gallery is opening its doors after moving from its old location on Lexington Avenue. The new space doubles the gallery's size which allows for an expanding artist roster and the exploration of additional mediums beyond the gallery's specialty which is glass sculpture. Bender Gallery will celebrate the re-opening with a reception on Friday, August 3 from 5-8 PM in conjunction with downtown Asheville's First Friday Art Walk. Artist Eric Hilton will be in attendance at the event. A grand opening reception will be held at a later date.
The gallery will open with three featured exhibitions as part of Asheville's Summer of Glass being held in conjunction with Chihuly at Biltmore.
The Magic of Nature is an exhibition of exquisite intricately cut and engraved glass sculpture by Scottish American artist, Eric Hilton. One can find the elements of life – earth, air, fire, and water in his work. "I am influenced by nature from which infinite information can be gleaned." Hilton arrived in the United States in 1971 and was an art consultant for Steuben Glass for over twenty years. Steuben Glass produced glassware from colorless, optical glass for more than one hundred years, and Hilton highlights the material's purity in his mathematically precise sculptures. He is inspired by remote, hostile environments, and his work draws the viewer into a mysterious and seemingly infinite world of turbulent oceans, polar ice caps, and galaxies. Hilton has received many awards including both a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and a grant for architectural research. His work is in numerous museum collections including the Corning Museum of Glass and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.


text:
Patentee That Did Not Sue in the Real World Cannot Say it Would Have Done So in the "But For" World
Pfizer Canada ULC v Pharmascience Inc 2020 FCA 55 Laskin JA: Dawson, Stratas JJA aff'g 2019 FC 1271 O'Reilly J
2,255,652 / pregabalin / LYRICA
The first half of this decision straightforwardly affirms O'Reilly J on an essentially factual point. The second half has some comments on legal points that I find quite puzzling, though I expect this is simply because the specific arguments the FCA was responding to were not fully set out in this brief decision.
The decision arises out of Pharmascience's action for damages under s 8 of the NOC Regulations, brought after Pfizer lost in NOC proceedings aimed at keeping Pharmascience out of the pregabalin market. Such damages are assessed using the established "but for" test for causation, under which Pharmascience's actual sales are compared with the sales it would hypothetically have made had it not been kept off the market during the statutory stay period triggered by NOC proceedings. Pfizer responded by arguing that Pharmascience was disentitled to damages "because the hypothetical sales of PMS-pregabalin would have infringed Pfizer's patent" [FC 2]. However, Pfizer had never actually sued Pharmascience after Pharmascience launched, and the evidence was that it would not have done so even if Pharmascience had obtained its NOC at the outset of the statutory stay period [FC 3], [3]. Invoking the principle that "the but-for world should reflect, to the extent possible, what happened in the real world," O'Reilly J held that Pfizer's defence was not viable [FC 5, 23]. In my view, as discussed here, O'Reilly J's holding was correct for the reasons he gave. The FCA has now affirmed, "substantially for the reasons given by the Federal Court" [6]. This much is straightforward.
I find the remainder of the FCA decision to be less easy to understand. The FCA immediately went on to say that "in our view the Federal Court could and should have gone farther than it did, and treated as binding and dispositive the Supreme Court's decision in Sanofi-Aventis v. Apotex Inc., 2015 SCC 20." In that decision, the SCC affirmed from the bench the FCA decision in Apotex Inc v Sanofi-Aventis 2014 FCA 68, "substantially for the reasons of the majority of the Court of Appeal." In effect, the FCA decision was adopted by the SCC as its own, so that the FCA decision now has the same authority as an SCC decision. In a passage expressly approved by the FCA [6], O'Reilly J [FC 21] observed that the FCA decision in Apotex v Sanofi:
stands for the proposition that the absence of obstacles to market entry in the real world should prevail in the but-for world; if a generic manufacturer could have made sales without objection from the patentee, those sales should be considered in the calculation of the generic's losses.
I'm puzzled because I don't exactly see what O'Reilly J could and should have done that he didn't do. He accurately summarized the holding of principle Apotex v Sanofi and he applied it to the facts: what should he have done instead?
My initial thought was that perhaps the FCA is suggesting that there is a rule of law that the but-for world must reflect the real world, at least in this respect. This is odd, because construction of the but-for world is usually taken to be largely a matter of fact: see Lovastatin 2015 FCA 171 [45] saying that the "but for" test for causation "is a 'factual inquiry' to be established on the evidence"; Venlafaxine 2016 FCA 161 [55] stating "the task of constructing the hypothetical world for the purposes of assessing compensatory damages is a factual inquiry using 'robust common sense,'" citing Clements v Clements, 2012 SCC 32, [8], [9]. While there are some specific issues that are a matter of law, such as the end date for the damages assessment period, I don't see any specific legal issue that the FCA has singled out in this decision. Indeed, in Apotex v Sanofi, Mainville JA at [133], for the Court on this point, in the very passage quoted by O'Reilly J at [FC 19] on the issue of whether hypothetical infringement could be taken into account, stated "In the factual circumstances of these proceedings, I do not accept Sanofi's submissions. In the real market, Sanofi has taken no measure to enforce its HOPE patents. . . " (my emphasis). Thus the FCA in Apotex v Sanofi considered the specific question of whether the patentee would have enforced its patent to be a question of fact rather than one of law. It isn't possible that the FCA intended its brief comment to overrule these prior decisions, so my initial thought — that the FCA's comment was suggesting that there is a rule of law that the but-for world must reflect the real world — must be wrong. But I don't have any other ideas as to what the Court might have intended.
There is a second puzzle. The FCA went on to say:
[8] We also do not accept that this Court's decision in Apotex Inc. v. Eli Lilly and Company, 2018 FCA 217, was overlooked by the Federal Court, or calls for a different disposition of this appeal. Though the Federal Court did not refer to this case in its reasons, counsel agree that the parties addressed it in argument, and we cannot assume that it was not considered. In any event, this Court cautioned in that case (at paragraph 4) that its facts were "so unusual that it would be unwise to use them as a backdrop for stating general principles of law." There is, moreover, no indication in the reasons that the Court intended to question the authority of Apotex v. Sanofi, by which it was bound.
Apotex v Lilly [Cefaclor damages] 2018 FCA 217, was the damages portion of a bifurcated action. As discussed here, Apotex had argued that in the but-for world it would have used the "Lupin 2" process as an alternative that would not have infringed the patent in suit. Lilly responded that the Lupin 2 process could not be used as an NIA because it would have infringed a different patent held by Lilly (the 646 patent). The FCA accepted Lilly's argument:
[55] It goes without saying that to be a real alternative, an NIA must be lawful, that is to say, non-infringing. This applies to more than just the patent(s) in suit in the proceedings.
Assuming that the patent raised by Pfizer in motion in this decision was the same as the patent in suit in the underlying s 8 proceeding, then there is clearly no conflict between the decisions, and it is unsurprising that O'Reilly J did not mention Cefaclor damages. Unfortunately, it is not clear, at least to me, whether the same patent was at issue. In its summary of the facts in this case, the FCA said that Pfizer pleaded that Pharmascience was not entitled to damages for any sales of pregabalin "that would have infringed another of Pfizer's patents" [2, my emphasis]. This seems to say that it was not the patent in suit that was being raised by Pfizer in this case, but a different patent. This wasn't apparent from O'Reilly J's decision; he consistently referred to "its" patent or "Pfizer's patent," which I took to mean the patent in suit. (Unfortunately, neither the FCA decision nor O'Reilly J's decision referred to specific patent numbers.) Presumably both the FC and FCA, and everyone involved in the litigation, would know whether Pfizer was relying on the same patent or a different patent.
[Update: the discussion in the following paragraph is premised on an incorrect premise regarding the facts in Cefaclor. See below for a revised discussion.] In any event, if Pfizer was relying on a different patent, then there is a potential conflict with Cefaclor damages. If that is so, the FCA decision in this case might be taken to either be confining Cefaclor damages to its facts (the penultimate sentence in the paragraph quoted above), or suggesting that it was wrongly decided as being contrary to Apotex v Sanofi (the final sentence in the above paragraph). If that's what the FCA intended, it did not explain why, and I don't see any obvious basis for either suggestion. It seems to me both that Cefaclor damages was correctly decided on its facts, and that it is clearly consistent with Apotex v Sanofi, as the question of whether the patent being raised is the patent in suit or a different patent is a principled distinction. On a factual approach, with the principle that what happened in the real world is the best guide to the but-for world, then if the generic launched with a product that potentially infringed the patent in suit, and the patentee chose not to assert that patent in the real world, that is good evidence that the patentee would not have asserted that patent in the but-for world where the generic had launched the same product two years earlier. But in Cefaclor damages the reason that Lilly had never asserted the 646 patent against Apotex in the real world, is that Apotex had never launched a product that potentially infringed the 646 patent in the real world. The point only arose as a response to a hypothetical launch of a different product by Apotex, that had never happened in the real world. Given that Lilly had never had the opportunity to assert the 646 patent in the real world, we cannot draw the conclusion that it would not have asserted that patent in the but-for world if Apotex had launched an infringing product.
If the FCA had ended its decision with the first sentence of paragraph 6, this would have been a very straightforward decision. I find everything afterwards to be quite confusing. I suspect that the Court's remarks would be easier to understand if the Court has elaborated a bit more on the specific arguments to which it was responding. Perhaps we will have some clarification in the future. In the meantime, my working assumption is that the "but for" test for causation is a factual inquiry to be established on the evidence, per Lovastatin and Venlafaxine; and that Cefaclor damages remains good law.
UPDATE: It has come to my attention that my statement in the penultimate paragraph that Lupin 2 cefaclor was not launched in the real world is incorrect. (That's what I get for relying on my own blog post, which skimmed over some details, instead of re-reading the Cefaclor Damages decision.) In fact, Apotex started importing Lupin 2 cefaclor in June 1998: Cefaclor Damages FCA [16]. In the liability portion of the action, Cefaclor Liability 2009 FC 991 aff'd 2010 FCA 240, four Lilly process patents were at issue (007, 536, 728, 468): Cefaclor Liability FC [3, 228]. In the real world, Lilly asserted these patents against the Lupin 2 cefaclor in the liability phase, but failed to prove infringement: Cefaclor Damages FCA [17] [229]. The reason that Lilly did not assert the 646 patent in the real world—which is to say, in the liability phase—is that it did not believe that the 646 patent was infringed. This is because Lilly believed that the only commercially viable process was that covered by the four Lilly process patents in suit: [36-37], [44o], [62]. This belief was entirely reasonable: Apotex lost money in the real world selling the Lupin 2 cefaclor [44r], and the FCA held that there was not sufficient evidence to allow it to conclude that the Lupin 2 cefaclor was commercially viable: [81]. It was only after the trial decision in Cefaclor Liability held that infringement of the Lilly process patents had not been established that Lilly considered the possibility that a different process was used, thus giving rise to the possibility that the 646 patent had been infringed.
Lilly did technically have the opportunity to assert the 646 patent against Apotex in the real world, in the sense that the Lupin 2 cefaclor was on the market sometime in the summer or fall of 1988. But at that time there was no reason for Lilly to have done so, as Lilly did not believe that the Lupin 2 cefaclor infringed the 646 patent. As Gauthier JA explanied in Cefaclor Damages FCA:
[70] Before concluding on this issue, I ought to close the loop by noting that no inference could, in my view, be made from the fact that Lilly never sued Apotex over the 646 Patent. By the time the Liability Decision was issued, more than six years had elapsed since the Lupin 2 cefaclor was imported and used by Apotex. Before that date, Lilly believed – and probably still does – that the Lupin 2 process was not used as Apotex had alleged.
In the damages phase, Apotex had argued that the Lupin 2 product was an NIA for the purpose of assessing damages, because in the but-world, it would have launched with the Lupin 2 cefaclor earlier than it actually did in the real world [38]. The FCA rejected this argument, holding that the Lupin 2 cefaclor was not a legitimate NIA, both because it would have infringed the 646 patent [69], and because it would not have been economically viable [81].
None of this changes the point I originally made in my post. The fact that Lilly did not assert the 646 patent against Apotex in the real world does not allow us to infer that it would not have done so in the but-for world, because in the real world Lilly did not believe that the Lupin 2 cefaclor infringed that patent, as Gauthier JA noted at [70].
It is of course true that the conclusion turned on the unusual facts of Cefaclor, as emphasized by the FCA in this decision, and by the FCA in Cefaclor Damages itself. But if the FCA in this case was merely saying that the facts in Cefaclor Damages were unusual, I still have difficulty seeing how O'Reilly J erred, since he correctly applied the test to the admittedly unusual facts. Alternatively, to the extent that the FCA in this case was suggesting that Cefaclor Damages was wrongly decided, I don't see why: the reasoning I've outlined above seems entirely sound to me. To the extent that the FCA in this case was suggesting that there is a rule of law that a patent cannot be asserted in the but-for world if it was not in fact asserted in the real world, it seems to me that Cefaclor Damages provides an excellent illustration of why such a rule would be unsound.
At the end of the day, I still don't understand what the FCA was getting in the part of the decision following the first sentence of paragraph 6, but it seems clear that these cryptic remarks cannot be taken to have displaced the clear and considered holdings in Cefaclor Damages, Lovastatin and Venlafaxine.
Posted by Norman at 2:46 PM
Labels: Non-Infringing Alternative, Remedies
Blogging Hiatus
Hearsay Evidence Not Enough to Ground Stay Pending...
Correcting Inventorship Post-Grant
Patentee That Did Not Sue in the Real World Cannot...


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Q: How to aggregate string using Linq 2 Entities I have an IQueryable<Model> of objects in my db. I need to cast them to IQueryable<ViewModel>
class Model
{
    public Guid ModelId { get; set; }

    // some properties

    public virtual User Users{ get; set; }

}

class User
{
    public Guid UserId { get; set; }
    public string FirstName { get; set; }
    public string LastName { get; set; }
}

class ViewModel
{
    public Guid ModelId { get; set }
    public string UsersName { get; set; }
}

ViewModel.UsersName should be merged string of all users first and last names.
This need to be a IQueryable since I'll use DevExpress Mvc Grid and I'll need to pass it in this way. Grid handles the paging, so it needs to IQueryable.
I've tried:
IQueryable<ViewModel> viewModel = model.Select(s => new ViewModel()
        {

            UsersName = s.Users
                .OrderBy(d => d.LastName)
                .ThenBy(d => d.FirstName)
                .Aggregate(string.Empty, (s1, users) => users.FirstName + ' ' + users.Surname + ", ")
        });

but it's not translatable to linq to entities. I've also tried string.join() but it won't work neither.
The result string should be for expample : "Cecelia Leblanc, Sarah Hodge" ... etc.
Thanks for any input.

A: Usually view models/DTOs should not be too smart, but this is a case where a little bit of smartness comes in too handy for comfort. Create a view model like:
class ViewModel
{
    public Guid ModelId { get; set; }
    public IEnumerable<string> UserNames { get; set; }
    public string UserNamesString
    {
        get { return string.Join(", ", this.UserNames); }
    }
}

populate it by
var models = s.Models.Select(m => new ViewModel
                        { ModelId = m.ModelId,
                          UserNames = m.Users
                                       .OrderBy(d => d.LastName)
                                       .ThenBy(d => d.FirstName)
                                       .Select(u => u.FirstName + ' '
                                                  + u.Surname)
                        }).ToList();

and access the UserNamesString property from models.AsQueryable().