text:
Victoria Bridge, Karai, Perak
At the small village of Karai, about ten kilometres from Kuala Kangsar, is an old railway bridge called Victoria Bridge (also known as Enggor Bridge). It is the oldest railway bridge in Malaysia and one of the most impressive.
Those Victorians knew how to build bridges!
Construction started in 1897 and, after some delays caused by flooding, it was officially opened in 1900 in a ceremony attended by the Sultan Idris Shah of Perak and the British Resident General, Sir Frank Swettenham. In his speech, Sir Frank said that this was the largest bridge in Asia, outside of India.
The single track railway truss bridge is over 1000 feet long and rests on six brick piers which still look in excellent condition despite the frequent severe flooding in this area.
Colourfully dressed Malaysians participating in the bridge's 115 year anniversary celebrations.
On the day I visited there was, by pure coincidence, a celebration going on to commemorate the bridge's 115 year anniversary. It was hosted by the Minister of Tourism and Culture whose department has made efforts to promote the bridge as a tourist attraction.
Provide free food and Malaysians will come.
There was an army bagpipe band and various stalls and attractions.
The Ipoh Climbers Community was providing the opportunity to abseil from the bridge for those who were brave enough.
Just walking across the bridge was brave enough for me given the gaping holes with drops down to the Perak River forty feet below.
The bridge is no longer used by trains since it has been replaced by a new concrete bridge wide enough to handle double tracking for the electric train service which is expected to be extended up as far as the Thai border some time later this year.
Pedestrians and motor cyclists can still use the footpath running alongside the rail track.
At each end of the bridge is a stone sentry post, a hangover from the days of the Emergency when strategic communications links such as this bridge would have been prize targets for the Communist Terrorists.
Pillboxes guard both ends of the bridge.
Now in more peaceful times, the bridge has become a venue for pre-wedding photo shoots.
This intrepid bride-to-be poses for wedding snaps while taking care not to plummet into the river below.
It is good that this relic of a bygone age is being valued by the Malaysian Government but some maintenance work will be required if it is to survive another 115 years.
Friendly girls welcoming guests (me) to Victoria Bridge's 115 year anniversary celebrations on 31 May 2015.
Author Thrifty TravellerPosted on June 17, 2015 Categories Malaysia, Victoria Bridge Karai PerakTags Karai, Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Sir Frank Swettenham, Victoria Bridge
3 thoughts on "Victoria Bridge, Karai, Perak"
Khai says:
Yes, without maintenance no doubt it will not stand the test of time.
450m from the end of Victoria Bridge crossing the Perak River from Karai old town, there is a 50 acre of farm land…owner would like to look for investor to tranform the farm land into Argo Tourism Resort & Recreation.
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Pat Holtz (* 27. November 1968 in Hamilton) ist ein schottischer Poolbillardspieler.

Karriere
1996 wurde Holtz 8-Ball-Weltmeister der PPPO.
Bei der 9-Ball-WM 2006 verlor er im Achtelfinale gegen Wu Chia-Ching.
2007 schied er bereits in der Vorrunde aus, nachdem er zuvor beim World Pool Masters erst im Halbfinale gegen den Spanier David Alcaide verlor.

Holtz war zeitweise unter den besten acht der WEPF-Weltrangliste.

Pat Holtz bildete zweimal gemeinsam mit Michael Valentine das kanadische Doppel beim World Cup of Pool. Sie schieden jedoch sowohl 2006, als auch 2007 bereits in der ersten Runde aus.

Weblinks
 Spielerprofil auf azbilliards.com
 Spielerprofil auf der Website der Euro-Tour

Weltmeister (Poolbillard)
Poolbillardspieler (Schottland)
Schotte
Brite
Geboren 1968
Mann

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Hong Kong : About the mobilization against anti-mask law
samedi 5 octobre 2019 , par CHAN Holmes, CHENG Kris, CLEMENT Jacques, MOK Danny, TING Victor, YUJING Liu
Rampaging Hong Kong protesters
Violence reaches a once (...)
Hong Kong's MTR, banks and (...)
Hongkongers defy mask ban (...)
Rampaging Hong Kong protesters bring large parts of city to standstill, destroying property after anti-mask law announced
Published : 1:06am, 5 Oct, 2019 - Victor Ting, Yujing Liu, Danny Mok (SCMP)
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3031656/rampaging-hong-kong-protesters-bring-large-parts-city
They trashed and burned shops, bank outlets and metro stations, forced the closure of the entire railway network and blocked roads
Police, who were expecting a backlash over new law, were not seen at many flash points for hours as rampage continued.
Rioting anti-government protesters paralysed large swathes of Hong Kong with wanton destruction on Friday 4, hours after the city's leader announced that a law against wearing masks would be imposed at midnight.
They vandalised and burned shops, bank outlets and metro stations, forced the closure of the city's entire railway network and blocked roads, wearing masks in open defiance of the new law.
Police, who were expecting a backlash, were not seen at many flash points for hours as radical protesters went on the rampage.
Police began taking control later at night, firing tear gas at violent mobs on both sides of the harbour, from Wong Tai Sin, Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan to Causeway Bay and Aberdeen.
Even as Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced the ban from government headquarters at Tamar in the afternoon, the chaos was brewing just blocks away.
Around 1,000 protesters, many of them office workers in suits and pupils in school uniform, gathered on Pedder Street in Central shortly after 4.30pm.
They were soon joined by more, and similar protests began mushrooming across the city, causing traffic chaos.
The protesters built barricades on Man Yiu Street outside the Hong Kong MTR station, stopped tra !c on Connaught Road Central and Des Voeux Road Central, and burned a national flag and giant red banner celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on a bridge connecting Jardine House and Chater House.
Among the now familiar plethora of slogans, a new refrain was taken up : "No crime masking our face, no reason to enact the law."
As night fell, the anarchy intensified and spread.
Police said an officer had opened fire with live ammunition when he was attacked by protesters in Yuen Long. Video footage posted online showed the officer, in a white T-shirt, being beaten by a mob and dropping a drawn gun as he was hit by a petrol bomb. The officer grabbed the gun back from a protester who picked it up in the chaos.
A 14-year-old boy suffered a gunshot wound in the leg just before the incident but there was no o !cial confirmation of a link.
Police spokeswoman Yolanda Yu Hoi-kwan briefed reporters about the Yuen Long violence at 2:45am on Saturday, describing it as an incident of "rioters" attacking a plain-clothes officer who had fired his pistol in self-defence before his attackers threw two petrol bombs.
"While evading the blast, [the officer] dropped his pistol and magazine on the floor," Yu said. "A rioter tried to take the pistol and was stopped by him. While waiting for reinforcements, another petrol bomb was thrown to the officer and his feet were on fire. The officer therefore failed to pick up the dropped magazine as he retreated.
"The police later received a report that someone was shot by a gun. We are very concerned about the situation. He's now in hospital, and we have yet to reach him at this stage, but we believe his gun wound is related to the open fire incident in Yuen Long."
Rioters ramped up their sustained campaign of destruction against the city's rail operator, having accused it of colluding with the police force to close down stations.
In Kwun Tong, Sha Tin and Sha Tin Wai MTR stations, they destroyed turnstiles, smashed advertisement billboards and daubed graffiti on the walls and ticket machines. A train was seen with its roof on fire in Sha Tin, and in Shek Mun a water hydrant was set off, flooding the station.
As the night wore on, huge fires were lit at entrances of Causeway Bay, Mong Kok and Tsuen Wan MTR stations.
By 10.30pm, they had forced the closure of every MTR station in an unprecedented shutdown of the entire railway network.
Shops and banks with links to mainland China were also targeted by rioters. They smashed the glass facade of a Bank of China branch in Tsuen Wan and threw petrol bombs inside.
ATMs were smashed or set alight in Mong Kok and other areas.
In Central, they smashed shop windows of MX, a food chain owned by Maxim's. Its founder's daughter, Annie Wu, infuriated protesters last month by calling them rioters and saying they did not represent Hong Kong.
Another mob set paper and cardboard alight outside the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce offices, while other protesters broke the gates at a branch of China Travel Service in Sha Tin.
Earlier in the afternoon at Chater Garden, Central, Tim Wong Kwok-wai, a 25-year-old marketing officer, said Lam's move would inflame passions and provoke greater unrest in the city.
"Just as Carrie Lam has held the first dialogue session with the public, she is now bringing forward the anti-mask law, shattering any trust and foundation for further talks," he said.
Banker Joe Wu, 30, said he was more worried about what the law would lead to.
"Peaceful protesters will still come out, just not wearing masks, if masks are banned. And police are already arresting everybody else on the streets, who may be just shouting at them, so it doesn't make much difference," he said.
"But I am deeply concerned about the next step. What evil law will the government introduce next, after opening the floodgate of emergency powers ? They can do anything."
[1] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3031542/traffic-standstill-thousands-again-take-streets-hong-kong
[2] https://t.co/PnPavQiZp4
[3]https://twitter.com/SCMPHongKong/status/1180142467494158336ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[4] https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3031649/extremelynecessary-beijing-backs-hong-kongs-mask-ban
[5] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3031657/hongkong-leader-rolls-out-emergency-mask-law-quell-anti
Violence reaches a once peaceful Hong Kong suburb as anti-mask law sparks escalation
5 October 2019 - 11:08 - Jacques Clement (AFP)
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/10/05/violence-reaches-peaceful-hong-kong-suburb-anti-mask-law-sparks-escalation/
In one peaceful community previously untouched by the months of unrest that have shaken Hong Kong, it was an unexpected sight : the methodical ransacking of the local subway station over a three-hour period.
Clashes raged in multiple locations throughout the former British colony on Friday night after Hong Kong's leader invoked colonial-era emergency powers to ban pro-democracy protesters wearing face masks.
Police used tear gas to disperse protesters who had taken over roads, vandalised subway stations, set street fires and trashed pro-China businesses — testing again the capacity of the city's law enforcement, who many accuse of using excessive force.
Around 8:30 pm on Friday 4, it was the turn of Tseung Kwan O, which sits across a bay from the main island of Hong Kong.
For three hours, not one police officer was visible in the district, which is popular with Westerners.
'Like a queen'
The demonstrators had all the time in the world to ransack the local station run by the MTR Corp, the company operating the city's underground rail system, which the protesters accuse of siding with the pro-Beijing government.
"MTR supports the government by closing stations on purpose to prevent demonstrators moving around," said one student, 19, who identified himself only as JC.
"But they help transport the police," he said, as rail services were suspended throughout the semi-autonomous territory's network.
"Banning masks doesn't change anything," added JC, hiding his own face — like other protesters — to avoid being identified for prosecution.
Tape covers his fingertips so he leaves no prints.
"The main problem is that she goes through the law without the LegCo," JC continued, referring to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam who was appointed by an overwhelmingly Beijing-friendly committee.
Under sweeping powers unveiled on Friday 4, Lam does not need the approval of the city's legislature, known as LegCo, to introduce laws. "She's like a queen now," JC said.
As in many of Hong Kong's New Towns, the subway station is the nerve centre of local life.
Graffiti at the entrance read : "Communist railway".
Inside, fire hoses were unwound and water flowed down escalators leading to train platforms.
The sprinklers were activated too, and the floor flooded as loudspeakers blared an automated message about the "emergency," telling people to leave immediately.
Outside, armed with metal barriers, protesters systematically broke each pane of glass along a 200-metre (600-foot) facade.
'Upping our game'
"What happened wasn't planned," Nathalie, a 32-year-old worker, said enthusiastically, hailing the movement's ability to mobilise through social networks.
"That's the most impressive part of the movement. Everything was triggered by the press conference" at which Lam announced the mask ban, Nathalie adds.
"The government doesn't listen to us. So we are upping our game."
By 11:30 pm, six vans arrived near an intersection beside the MTR station where hundreds of protesters had erected small makeshift barricades.
About 20 riot police finally appeared. The protesters pulled back and JC changed from his black jacket — the colour of clothing favoured by protesters — into something in a less conspicuous shade.
Then he melted away.
A shirtless man, cigarette in his mouth and beer in hand, walked to the middle of the junction to challenge the officers, much to the approval of the demonstrators. Then he backed down.
By 11:45 pm, more than three hours after it all began, the police got back in their vans and headed off.
Protesters let out cries of joy, then very quickly dispersed, leaving the residents of Tseung Kwan O to pick up the pieces.
Hong Kong's MTR, banks and malls close down after mask ban sparks city-wide unrest
5 October 2019 14:43 Holmes Chan
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/10/05/hong-kongs-mtr-banks-malls-close-mask-ban-sparks-city-wide-unrest/
The streets of Hong Kong were quiet on Saturday 5 morning as dozens of shopping malls and banks closed their doors and MTR services remained suspended.
Protesters gathered the night before in almost every district across the city to protest an anti-mask law, which Chief Executive Carrie Lam enacted through emergency legislation. During the night, an off-duty police officer shot a 14-year-old in the thigh during a skirmish with a crowd of protesters in Yuen Long.
The rail operator took the unprecedented step of shutting down all of its services at around 10:30pm on Friday 4, and in the early hours of Saturday 5 announced that the suspension will continue until further notice.
"Since outbreaks of violence continue to occur at multiple districts, maintenance staff is unable to travel to the damaged stations to inspect and assess the extent of damages at our stations
or to carry out repair works," the MTR Corporation said.
Most major banks in Hong Kong also kept their services to a minimum.
- The Bank of China – which has been the target of protesters' ire – said that some of its facilities were "seriously damaged," and closed all of its branches except for the one at Bank of China Tower.
Chinese-owned banks ICBC, CCB and Wing Lung Bank closed all of their branches for the day.
HSBC said that only five of its offices were open on Saturday 5 : its Hong Kong Island headquarters, as well as its branches in Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong.
The Hang Seng Bank said only its Hong Kong island and Kowloon headquarters were in service. Standard Chartered and the Bank of East Asia both said that services were limited to their Central offices.
Supermarket ParknShop announced on Saturday morning that it would shutter all its stores for the day. The Watsons chain store stopped all services except for their airport outlet.
According to local media reports, more than 15 shopping malls also closed its doors, including the IFC mall in Central, Elements, World Trade Centre in Causeway Bay, MOKO mall in Mong Kok, Kwun Tong's APM, V Walk in Sham Shui Po, Yoho Mall in Yuen Long and more.
Protests condemned
Secretary for Security John Lee on Saturday said that it was "expected" that the anti-mask regulation would be met with some resistance. Speaking on a radio programme, he said that the police have not yet reported making any arrests under the new law.
The aim of the law was to curb the trend of people breaking the law while masked, Lee said, though he admitted that the current situation cannot be solved with one regulation.
Appearing in a televised message with top officials on Saturday 5, Carrie Lam condemned violent protests and defended the use of the Emergency Regulations Ordinance. She said many businesses were closed on Saturday.
"The extreme behaviour of rioters caused a very dark night in Hong Kong, semi-paralysing Hong Kong society, making many people very worried and scared," she said. "The Hong Kong SAR is determined to stop violence. I urge you to support the SAR government to stop violence in accordance with the law, condemn violence, and be determined in severing ties with rioters."
The Hospital Authority said on Saturday morning that 31 people were hospitalised as a result of the clashes, with two in a serious condition. The 14-year-old boy shot in the thigh was in stable condition after being treated at Tuen Mun Hospital.
'Effective measures'
Yang Guang, spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of China's central government, voiced support for the law on Friday : "The current chaos in Hong Kong cannot continue indefinitely. Now it has reached an important moment to stop the storm with a more distinct attitude and more effective measures… An important moment has come for stopping the violence with a clearer attitude and more effective measures."
However, senior China researcher Maya Wang at NGO Human Rights Watch said that the authorities should be upholding rights, not undermining them.
"The face mask ban suggests that the government is willing to go even further to violate rights to quell the protests," she said. "Concerned governments should be speaking out about this new restriction on fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong or expect to see even more draconian measures in the future."
Hongkongers defy mask ban in fresh protest
5 October 2019 17:56 - Kris Cheng (HKFP)
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/10/05/hongkongers-defy-mask-ban-fresh-protest/
Several hundred Hongkongers marched from Causeway Bay to Central after the government issued an anti-mask law by invoking the colonial law Emergency Regulations Ordinance (ERO).
The crowd first gathered at the Sogo department store in Causeway Bag at around 2pm : "Hongkongers, resist !" many chanted. "Five demands, not one less !" The protest had not recieved police approval.
Mass demonstrations and unrest have continued for more than 17 weeks, first sparked by an extradition bill which will soon be withdrawn. But the protests have morphed into a – sometimes violent – wider movement against the police use of force and calls for democracy.
After failing to stop the protests, the government invoked powers under the ERO – first introduced in 1922 – to enact a law to ban masks at lawful and unauthorised protests. The ERO has not been used since the 1967 leftist riots.
At the march on Saturday 5, a large banner that read "Glory to Hong Kong," referring to a popular protest song, was unfurled in Wan Chai. The banner was made by the League of Social Democrats and had been displayed at several shopping malls.
The crowd dispersed after they reached Chater Road in Central though, at around 5:35pm, riot police ran towards two people wearing masks near the HSBC headquarters, searched them and took them away. The two were alone, were not close to any protesters, and were released soon after.
Another man wearing a head scarf, but not a mask, was detained by police outside Prince's Building.
Meanwhile, another group protesters gathered in Sheung Shui at around 3:30pm. They broke windows at a China Mobile branch, as well as a metal gate of a Maxim's cake shop, according to Apple Daily. Protesters have been targetting Chinese state-run companies and some Hong Kong brands whose management have denounced the movement or have alleged ties to people attacking protesters.
Protesters also spray painted slogans on shops, which they deemed to be business hubs for parallel traders. Residents have often complained that they are forced to bear higher prices and had fewer choices when buying groceries owing to cross-border traders.
At the Tai Po Mega Mall, dozens conductd a sit-in and folded origami cranes to create slogans such as "five demands, not one less."
A group of protesters also formed a human chain near the Harbour City mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, though many online called for a "rest day" ahead of larger protests planned for tomorrow.
La Lettre de nouveautés
'China's sovereign right': Beijing defends barring Human Rights Watch chief from Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific crew say fear of China is fuelling paranoia and sackings amid Hong Kong protests
Hong Kong workers flock to labour unions as new protest tactic
Hong Kong protests: 31 arrested civil servants suspended from posts
Beijing's new Hong Kong envoy Luo Huining was a surprise choice. Here's why
Hong Kong begins 2020 just like 2019 ended – with protest chaos
Hong Kongers support protester demands ; minority wants independence from China
Defending Hong Kong's Autonomy: A Partial Victory
Continuous Rebellion in Hong Kong
Hong Kong's Protest Movement and the Fight for the City's Soul
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Prekindergarten through fifth grade teachers joined together recently to create pensieve – or pensive – which will help them keep track of student progress in Daily 5 and math. The notebooks also include strategies that teachers can use to further support students.
A huge thank you to SPA for supplying all the materials needed to make the pensieves.


text:
Leaving Normal
A female buddy story in which Meg Tilly plays a child-like 20-something who has just walked out on her abusive husband. Darly (Christine Lahti) is fle ...
Starring: Christine Lahti, Meg Tilly, Patrika Darbo, Lenny Von Dohlen, Maury Chaykin
Swedish thriller based on Stieg Larsson's novel about a male journalist and a young female hacker. In the opening of the movie, Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged publisher for the magazine Millennium, loses a libel case brought by corrupt Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström. Nevertheless, he is hired by Henrik Vanger in order to solve a cold case, the disappearance of Vanger's niece
An Amazon princess comes to the world of Man in the grips of the First World War to confront the forces of evil and bring an end to human conflict.
An ambitious lobbyist faces off against the powerful gun lobby in an attempt to pass gun control legislation.
A 16-year-old girl raised by her father to be the perfect assassin is dispatched on a mission across Europe. Tracked by a ruthless operatives, she faces startling revelations about her existence and questions about her humanity.
A photographer struggling with memory loss discovers her pictures may indicate something sinister is hitting close to home.
Dangal is an extraordinary true story based on the life of Mahavir Singh and his two daughters, Geeta and Babita Phogat. The film traces the inspirational journey of a father who trains his daughters to become world class wrestlers.
Witty, romantic look at life in the corporate jungle. Tess McGill is an ambitious secretary with a unique approach for climbing the ladder to success. When her classy, but villainous boss breaks a leg skiing, Tess takes over her office, her apartment and even her wardrobe. She creates a deal with a handsome investment banker that will either take her to the top, or finish her off for good.
Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo drive a red convertible across the Mojave desert to Las Vegas with a suitcase full of drugs to cover a motorcycle race. As their consumption of drugs increases at an alarming rate, the stoned duo trash their hotel room and fear legal repercussions. Duke begins to drive back to L.A., but after an odd run-in with a cop, he returns to Sin City and continues his wild drug binge.


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Tennessee Republicans Blustering about UAC Drop in the State
It is no wonder that citizens throw their hands up in disgust with their so-called leaders in the GOP.
I can't take the latest from the Tennessee Republicans seriously because for years they have been making the right noises about states rights when it comes to Washington dumping refugees and illegal aliens on the backs of their taxpayers, but somehow never make any headway. Why is that?
It is impossible for me to go back over the leadership Tennessee did display for a brief period when the legislature filed a Tenth Amendment case against the federal government, but then after backing away from it, watched their Republican Governor, Bill Lee, stick his finger in Trump's eye when Trump attempted to give the states a modicum of say in the distribution of refugees.
For ambitious readers, see my 'Tennessee' archives.
Last week we reported on the news from Chattanooga:
Tennessee Proof: Planes Land in Dark of Night Loaded with Migrants
The story caused a ripple of angry political posturing that has resulted in this—a study committee has been formed! Whoop-de-do!
From The Tennessean:
Tennessee legislature forms GOP committee to take on unaccompanied minors, refugee resettlement
As recent news stories continue to highlight the arrival of unaccompanied migrant youth in Tennessee — a practice that has gone on since before President Joe Biden took office — top Republicans in the state are seizing on the issue to call for more transparency from the federal government.
On Friday, the Republican speakers of the state House and Senate announced they were forming a legislative study committee to determine how many migrant children are being permanently relocated to the state.
Apparently conflating the recent influx of migrants with refugees, a separate category of individuals Tennessee has for years received following a vetting process, the legislature has formed a "Joint Study Committee on Refugee Issues." [The UACs are NOT refugees. They are illegal aliens!–ed]
"When the federal government abdicates its responsibility to control our borders, states must step in," Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said in a statement.
"With this study committee, we affirm that there is a clear and compelling state interest in a sane immigration policy."
[That is really some tough talk wouldn't you say! Do you feel better now?—ed]
Good ol' country boy Bill Lee turned Trump's offer down! Said the state wants more refugees. https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2019/12/20/tennessee-republican-governor-bill-lee-caves-says-tennessee-will-invite-more-refugees/
It's unclear when the committee will begin meeting or whether legislators intend to take any binding action during a special session or during the next legislative session in January.
Gov. Bill Lee's announcement in December 2019 that Tennessee would continue accepting refugees, despite former President Donald Trump saying states would not have to do so, created tension with some Republican members of the legislature.
WCRB-TV in Chattanooga reported earlier this month that a group of migrant youth flew into Wilson Air Center in the early hours of May 14 before boarding buses to various Southeastern cities.
After outrage from Republican leaders about the news, The Times Free Press reported this week that the Lee administration had approved a residential child care license in May 2020 for an organization contracting with the federal government to house unaccompanied minors in Chattanooga.
Mostly teenagers headed to buses in Chattanooga.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement, 717 unaccompanied children were brought to Tennessee between Oct. 1 and March 21, a period that spans both Biden and Trump's time in office. In Nashville, that number was 290.
The office did not provide to The Tennessean information on how many unaccompanied minors were brought to the state since March 21, nor did it answer questions about reports of unaccompanied minors flying into Chattanooga.
There is a lot more, click here.
See also Tennessee's US lawmakers "fuming," here.
As for the transparency issue, I have been reporting for years about the UAC (Unaccompanied Alien Children, a term the Biden team has dropped) data housed at the Office of Refugee Resettlement for all to see.
Demanding transparency (while fuming!) is a wonderful way for politicians to make their constituents think they are doing something without really doing anything!
The Tennessean might want to have another look today because the latest data has been posted. Tennessee is now up to 1,111 from 717.
Just a reminder to one and all, as much as it pains me to say it, Biden is no where near Trump's levels of UACs sent out to states. See the data for yourself, here. Tennessee received over 2,000 in Trump's worst year.
Top County data is here. Again, these are just sponsored UACs. The numbers do not reflect all of those still in custody.
And, if you are keeping track, here are the top ten states welcoming the Unaccompanied Alien Children, who will be 'sponsored' until they are 18 at which time they disappear into the woodwork of Anytown, USA, never to be heard from again unless and until they commit a crime.


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E15 and E85 Ethanol News: April 10, 2013
E15 Appeals Court ruling appealed to Supreme Court. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has filed a petition to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review and overturn the opinion of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia which threw out a lawsuit that had challenged EPA's waivers approving E15 ethanol blends. The Appeals Court had ruled that the various plaintiffs (companies and trade associations) did not have legal standing to challenge EPA's actions. The automakers association again cited the alleged damage that E15 may do to automobile engines, and their assertion that more study of E15's effects is needed. The Supreme Court usually agrees to hear only a small fraction of the cases appealed to it, so the prospects for further review of this lawsuit are not clear.
Impact of EPA's proposed sulfur rule on ethanol. The U.S. EPA has issued a proposed regulation revising the standards for sulfur emissions in gasoline (the so-called "Tier 3 Rule"). The proposed rule would require that sulfur emissions from gasoline be reduced from the current 30 ppm to 10 ppm by model year 2017. Although this rule doesn't directly affect ethanol mandates, it has several provisions relating to ethanol (there is a good summary of these provisions in Ethanol Producer magazine). In the rules, EPA assumes that the Renewable Fuel Standard volume requirements will at least partially be met by the time these new limits take effect in 2017, and therefore reflect a mix of E10 and E15 by 2017 and 100% E15 by 2030. The baseline test fuel for auto manufacturers to determine their emissions is proposed to be E15, although EPA has also requested comment on E10 as an alternative. The proposal also includes (apparently for the first time) detailed specifications for an E85 emissions test fuel to be used for flex-fuel vehicle certification and there is also a provision allowing manufacturers to request approval for mid-level ethanol blends such as E30. In addition, some feel that these more stringent emission standards may present a market opportunity for ethanol, if blenders wish to take advantage of ethanol's higher octane rating. This is a proposed rule and there will be a 30 day comment period beginning on the day of Federal Register publication. That period is likely to be extended for an additional 15-30 days if not longer. EPA will then take public comment into consideration and will issue a Final Rule, which under ordinary circumstances takes up to a year, and for controversial rules could take considerably longer.
Legislation to repeal Florida Renewable Fuel Standard moves forward, but is amended at April 9 hearing. House Bill 4001, which would repeal the state's Renewable Fuel Standard Act and end mandatory blending of ethanol into gasoline, was approved by two House committees in March, following a hearing held on March 22 by the Regulatory Affairs Committee of the Florida House of Representatives. Action has now moved to the State Senate, where companion bill Senate Bill 320 has been approved by the Senate Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities, and was scheduled for a hearing before the Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee on April 9. The favorable votes on this legislation have come in spite of significant opposing testimony from renewable fuel companies, trade associations, and other allies.
In a more recent development, the Senate Bill was substantively amended at the April 9 Committee hearing. The original version of the bill would have repealed the sections that required gasoline sold in Florida to be blended with ethanol. In the amended version, these sections would not be repealed, but would be amended to "encourage" ethanol blending rather than require it. This amended bill, which cleared the Committee by a 7-0 vote, is still opposed by some within the Florida biofuel industry, although it is clearly less damaging than the original version of the bill. According to press reports, the Senate Committee was heading towards disapproving the original bill, and proposed this amendment as an alternative.
New Hampshire legislation to ban corn ethanol. As previously reported, House Bill 362, which would ban the use of "corn-based" ethanol in the state, was passed by the state House of Representatives on March 13. It is now before the State Senate, where a hearing is scheduled for April 10 before the Energy & Natural Resources Committee.
Maine ethanol legislation. As previously reported, there were four bills on fuel ethanol introduced in the Maine legislature this year. According to the Portland Press Herald, on March 28 the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources sent one of these bills, LD 453, to the full legislature. This bill would prohibit sale of gasoline containing more than 10% ethanol. The other bills were reported out of Committee with unfavorable recommendations for the full legislature. A date has not yet been set for action by the full House or Senate on any of these bills.
USDA grants available for blender pump installation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that will be accepting applications from gasoline retailers for grant funds to be used to install ethanol blender pumps. This is the third year that these grants, under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), will be available. A gas station in Jackson, Nebraska is one of the recent recipients of these grants.
E85 News Briefs
Sales of E85 in Minnesota declined 26% in 2012 relative to 2011, a drop that was attributed to the narrow price spread between E10 and E85.
Sales of E85 and other alternative fuels are said to be strong in Wisconsin, where there are reportedly 124 stations selling E85.
Posted on April 10, 2013 by dglassassociates.	This entry was posted in Ethanol, News. Bookmark the permalink.
← International Biofuel News: April 3, 2013
Renewable Fuel Standard News: April 18, 2013 →
2 thoughts on "E15 and E85 Ethanol News: April 10, 2013"
E15 and E85 Ethanol News: June 4, 2013 – Biofuel Policy Watch
U.S. Biofuel Policy News: July 2, 2013 – Biofuel Policy Watch


Last week I attended the 3rd annual Arctic Circle Assembly, as I also did in 2014. This time we where 500 more participants than last year. In 2014 I was the only Ramboll participant. This year Henrik Fenger Jeppesen, Managing Director, Ramboll Greenland, Miranda Henning, Principal, Maine and Cathrine Henaug, Team Leader Environment, Norway accompanied me.
The Assembly is the largest international gathering on the Arctic, attended by 1900 participants from close to 50 countries and is designed to increase participation in Arctic dialogue and strengthen the international focus on the future of the Arctic. Key topics included building Arctic resilience, energy security, economic opportunities and sustainable development.
Ramboll hosted an expert workshop on how Atlantic neigbours to the West Nordic Region can support the development of the western Nordic Arctic. I chaired and facilitated the workshop. It was co-chared by Dana Eidsness, Director, Maine North Atlantic Developemt Office. The US state of Maine, which has adopted a strategy for Arctic business development, was represented by a 50-strong delegation at the Arctic Circle that was accompanied by Miranda Henning, Principal for Ramboll Environ from the Portland office in Maine.
The workshop built on the findings of the Ramboll-hosted roundtable discussion that took place in Greenland last month, which focused on development opportunities for the city of Nuuk. The 31 experts attending the workshop explored how to open up joint opportunities for business and community development across the West Nordic Region.
My presentation focused on transmission infrastructure for geothermal energy between Iceland, Greenland, Farøe Islands and the UK – for which Ramboll has been working on a pre-phase feasibility study since April. Inga Dora Markussen had a presentation of the West Nordic Council, a Council for collaboration on development of Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
The workshop attracted interest from a number of politicians and demonstrates how Ramboll's pan-Arctic presence enables us to facilitate these influential discussions regarding the future of the Arctic. In particular, it provides further input for Sermersooq Municipality to inform their development strategy for Nuuk. We have also had a fruitful debate on which industries in the west Nordic region represent the best opportunities for economic development as well as specific proposals and associated funding models.
The main concusions: How can Atlantic neigbors' to the West Nordic Region contribute to this region's business Development?


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MicroLink Devices
Dual-Junction Photovoltaic Topping Device for High-Temp Operation
Electricity Generation and Delivery
Niles,
http://www.mldevices.com
There are two primary methods for capturing and using sunlight today: direct conversion of sunlight to electricity using photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, or focusing sunlight onto a fluid that is used to drive a steam turbine in concentrated solar power (CSP) systems. Storing hot fluid in CSP systems is a less expensive way to generate electricity when the sun is not shining compared to storing electrical energy from PV in batteries. However, PV uses just part of the solar spectrum at high efficiency, while CSP systems use the entire solar spectrum but at low efficiency. Combining the best elements of these two technologies could provide a means to get the most out of the full solar spectrum, generating both electricity and storable heat (for later use) within the same system. Developing hybrid solar energy systems that perform both functions at the same time could provide electricity at cost comparable to traditional sources, whether the sun is shining or not.
MicroLink Devices is developing a high-efficiency solar cell that can maintain efficient operation at high temperatures and leverage reusable cell templates to reduce overall cell cost. MicroLink's cell will be able to operate at temperatures above 400°C, unlike today's solar cells, which lose efficiency rapidly above 100°C and are likely to fail at high temperatures over time. MicroLink's specialized dual-junction design will allow the cell to extract significantly more energy from the sun at high temperature than today's cells, enabling the next generation of hybrid solar converters to deliver much higher quantities of electricity and useful dispatchable heat. When integrated into hybrid solar converters, heat rejected from the cells at high temperature can be stored and used to generate electricity when the sun is not shining.
If successful, MicroLink's solar cell could be used in a hybrid solar converter enabling more efficient utilization of the full solar spectrum than possible with either photovoltaic or concentrated solar power independently.
Developing new hybrid solar systems that generate both electricity and dispatchable heat at the same time could provide domestically-sourced power at costs comparable to traditional sources, whether the sun is shining or not.
Replacing energy systems powered by fossil fuels would provide an immediate decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, 40% of which come from electricity generation today.
Cost-effective, dispatchable solar energy alternatives would stabilize electricity rates for consumers as the penetration of renewable energy increases in the coming years.
Dr. Eric Schiff
Alex Kirk
akirk@mldevices.com
US Naval Research Laboratory
• Arizona State University (ASU) - High-Temperature Topping Cells from LED Materials
• Arizona State University (ASU) - Solar-Concentrating Photovoltaic Mirror
• Cogenra Solar - Hybrid Solar Converter with Light-Filtering Mirror
• Gas Technology Institute (GTI) - Double-Reflector Hybrid Solar Energy System
• General Electric (GE) Global Research - Electrochemical Energy Storage with a Supercritical CO2 Cycle
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Stacked Hybrid Solar Converter
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Low-Cost Hetero-Epitaxial Solar Cell for Hybrid Converter
• MicroLink Devices - Dual-Junction Photovoltaic Topping Device for High-Temp Operation
• Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems - Thermo-Acoustic Hybrid Solar Energy System
• Tulane University - Hybrid Solar Converter
• University of Arizona - Partially Transmitting Mirror
• University of Tulsa - Enabling Energy Conversion and Storage with Light-Filtering Mirror
• University of Tulsa - Liquid Filter with Plasmonic Nanoparticles
• Yale University - High-Temperature Dual-Junction Topping Cells


text:
Eli Parquet Evan Battey Grant Anticevich Matt Bradley McKinley Wright Jalen Celestine Sports College basketball Basketball College sports Men's college basketball Men's basketball Men's sports
No. 23 Colorado holds off Cal 61-58 in Pac-12 quarterfinals
California's Lars Thiemann (21) looks to pass around Colorado's Evan Battey (21) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 men's tournament Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Colorado's McKinley Wright IV (25) shoots around California's Joel Brown (1) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 men's tournament Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
California head coach Mark Fox speaks with his players at a timeout during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Colorado in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 men's tournament Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
California's Matt Bradley (20) drives into Colorado's Eli Parquet (24) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 men's tournament Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Colorado's Jeriah Horne, left, and California's Kuany Kuany scramble for the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 men's tournament Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)


This 1853 painting shows the baptism of the leading Te Āti Awa chief Te Puni by the Reverend Octavius Hadfield, an Anglican missionary. The old chief lived by Wellington Harbour at the site of present-day Petone, and was baptised there in 1852. However, the ceremony is shown here in the more impressive surroundings of Rangiātea, Hadfield's church at Ōtaki. Standing behind the minister are Governor George Grey and his wife Eliza. Grey commissioned this painting, perhaps to record the assimilation of Māori into European settler society.


I recently moved to Motive Studios and joined Jade Raymond and her talented (still growing) team for new exciting projects!
I'm very excited by this new opportunity, as I'm now directly collaborating with DICE and contributing to the Frostbite engine, meeting old friends (Colin Barré-Brisebois ;)), and will help building a solid core team for our amazing future projects.
It was a pleasure to work at WB Games, where I left a few good friends. Can't wait to see what we've been working on there being announced!
It kind of explains why I haven't had much time to finish and post Part 3 of my code perf series, but yeah it's almost there, so stay tuned!
This entry was posted in EA, Frostbite. Bookmark the permalink.


We arrived on the second last day of Perahera, the biggest celebration on the Sri Lankan religious calendar, when thousands of pilgrims descend on Kandy to worship and to line the streets for the nightly parade. We had been "lucky" enough to pre-book seats in front of the Queens Hotel, one of the better street viewing spots. But what we didn't realise was that we would be packed in like sardines barely able to move our legs or change position to alleviate the pressure on our backs or bottoms!
For five hours, choked by the fumes from coconut torches doused with kerosene, we were pinned to our seats as beautifully costumed dancers, fire jugglers, monks, drummers, whip crackers and elephants paraded slowly past.
It was exhilarating and at the same time excruciatingly uncomfortable, but something we will never forget.
Here's a quick glimpse of the parade ….
Ah, you describe it perfectly! I am enjoying seeing the trip through your eyes.


Brandon Fisher is the newest member of a team of FBI Agents that specializes in hunting down serial killers. The team has been sent to a small town outside of Denver Colorado to find out who is killing men that have a criminal record of abusing dogs. The team includes his boss, Jack, a no-nonsense heavy smoker, and the potential love of his life, Paige, as well as a couple of other members. It is just a few days before Christmas so not the best time to hunt down a serial killer or be away from family.
If you are an animal lover you will find it conflicting to hate the serial killer in this book. The killer calls himself the Advocate of the Defenseless because he takes down men who have killed dogs and he does so by killing them in the same way they killed the dogs. The laws against animal killers usually end with a fine and maybe a time frame in which a new pet can not be obtained. It is a violent story and yet one is compelled to feel like justice is somehow being done.
This is the first in a series about Brandon Fisher so we are being introduced to the team, as well as the characters, and how they work together. Fisher is a strong, relatable character. The team is seems to work well together, although you can see hints of future issues.


In a rematch of the Metro championship game, and a matchup of the two best teams in the state of Washington, the stage was set in Tacoma to watch the athleticism unfold between Rainier Beach and Garfield. Both inter-city Seattle schools, both defending state champions (Garfield won 4A last year) with the coveted 3A crown to take home.
The game began with a frantic pace, as it always does with these two teams. Beach got off to a quick lead behind eight first quarter points from star De'Jounte Murray. But the Bulldogs responded on the back of Jaylen Nowell, a sophomore star who responded with seven in the first.
Neither team slowed down in the second quarter; the pace remained at the highest level of the tournament. Even with the extremely fast pace both teams took care of the ball quite well, not allowing the opposition to get easy buckets in transition. Both defenses held firm, and the halftime score was tied at 26.
The Tacoma Dome was electric to start the second half. Neither team was able to pull away in the third quarter, but Garfield appeared to have more control going into the fourth.
After a back and forth third, Garfield held a 44-41 lead entering the final frame.
Shadeed Shabazz started the quarter hot for the Vikings, converting on two straight layups in under 30 seconds to take a one point lead. The teams exchanged baskets, and Garfield continued to attack the basket, getting into the bonus, and knocking down their free throws. With three minutes to play, the Bulldogs held a five point lead.
De'Jounte Murray responded with a beautiful reverse layup, but the Bulldogs answered with a put back layup by Jaylen Nowell. After a Rainier Beach miss, Austin Anderson for the Bulldogs knocked down two more from the line to take a seven point lead, the largest of the game for either team. From there, the Bulldog floodgates opened, ending the game on a 17-2 run.
Congratulations to Garfield, the back to back state champions! This Garfield win ended a Rainier Beach run of three consecutive 3A boys state titles.
Let's get something straight to start this game. This game was the 4A state final. These two teams met on December 6th and Federal Way beat Davis 88-43. I will write that twice for emphasis. 88-43. At Davis High School. A win for Davis would be the biggest, and I mean biggest, in high school basketball history.
Don't worry, it didn't happen.
Davis was outmatched at every position on the floor. Not only outmatched but also significantly outsized. But the Pirates hung tough in the first quarter, only trailing by four after one.
Federal Way was able to extend their lead on the back of poor shooting and questionable execution on offense from the Pirates. They resorted to far too many jump shots and did not run any sets in the half court. There were too many possessions of either one or no passes and then a ridiculous shot. Federal Way led 32-21 at the half.
Federal Way kicked off the second half with an 11-2 run to extend their lead to 20, the largest of the game. That lead would be cut to 15 to end the quarter, 47-32.
Davis would come as close as 12 in the fourth quarter. Hats off to them, this was much more of a contest than their 45 point loss to the Eagles in December. Balanced scoring from the Eagles allowed them to finish off a 65-46 victory.
The final girls game of Friday night was a 4A semifinal with Todd Beamer and defending champions Gonzaga Prep to determine Inglemoor's opponent in the title game. Occasionally, the Hardwood Classic features games that are wars of attrition and this particular matchup played out as such. A half dozen lead changes, four ties, and a heroic three-ball in the final seconds were the ingredients to determine the representative in the 2015 final from the bottom half of the bracket.
The defending champs rolled out to a slow start by only recording five first quarter points and submitting a seven point in the process. Todd Beamer grabbed the largest lead of the game early at 14-5 with Quinessa CaylaoDo heating up for what would become a monster game. With only four Bullpups recording points in the contest, the combination of Laura Stockton, Otionta Gildon, Tayler Drynan, and Oona Harrington would need to improve the 22% first half shooting percentage in addition to back-to-back single digit quarters. At intermission, Beamer led 20-14.
As Coach Mike Arte has shown many times in his coaching tenure with GPrep, halftime adjustments and the ability to instill composure in close ball games was demonstrated once again. The Pups strung together the highest point total of the game in the third to bring the score to a 33-33 tie heading into the final frame. The crowd at the Tacoma Dome started gravitating its attention to what was shaping up on the north court.
A tense fourth quarter with minimal scoring came down to a one point lead for Todd Beamer after a tough turnaround in the paint by Nia Alexander with under thirty seconds remaining. CaylaoDo recorded 20 of TBHS' 39 thus far and the Titans were one possession away from a state berth.
Stockton has the ball at the top of the paint…works the ball to the wing…the ball is passed to an open Lauren Weir in the corner but is tipped…Stockton recovers…ball back to the wing and Stockton twice more…clock is dwindling. Stockton hoists one up from the top of the key with a defender closing fast. Nothing but net. The Gonzaga sideline erupts. Beamer quickly inbounds the ball to set up a desperation shot but it is intercepted and a Bullpup is running the ball and clock to zero in excitement. The basketball is in the hands of Laura Stockton. Ballgame. Gonzaga Prep to its back to back state final.
All season long, Steve Dion and Colin Caruso have been in gyms throughout the state watching the best high school basketball Washington has to offer. With the 2015 Hardwood Classic at the Tacoma Dome coming up, they break down the 3A and 4A brackets for boys and girls and use what they saw throughout the season to project what they expect to see at the Woodshed this weekend!
To catch the complete State Tournament Preview with Steve Dion and Colin Caruso, simply click on the PLAY BUTTON below.
Steven Dion and Colin Caruso have covered the best hoop teams all year round. Now they breakdown the 2015 3A and 4A State Tournaments scheduled to take place at the Tacoma Dome starting on Thursday.
Regionals have arrived and what was once the state tournament round of 16 is now a final week of elimination games to determine the eight that will represent their classification in either the Sundome, Spokane Arena, or Tacoma Dome. In a clash of 2A dark horse competitors from the west side of the state, Sehome would square off against Washington hailing from Tacoma. The site Renton High School provided a geographical advantage to the Patriots, but the Mariners' faithful were out in full force to cheer on the green and yellow. A game loaded with momentum swings featured one player that willed his team to victory.
A stark size advantage by Sehome presented itself early as 6'7 forward Leighton Kingma lit up the scoreboard in a matter of minutes. A pair of corner threes and multiple high percentage shots down low provided the sophomore with 17 first half points. Patriot senior Chandler Whalen countered with 9 in the first sixteen minutes to keep the margin close. Marcus Montag showed resilience as the Sehome guard received an incidental elbow to the face and minutes later hit the deck hard forcing him to the bench for a short spell. The Mariners took a slim lead to break with a halftime score of 36-32.
Insightful coaching by Karl Cordes changed the complexion of the contest early in the second half when he brought Willie Thomas into the game. The freshman forward made an instant impact as he added a presence in the post and an additional scoring option for the Pats. Sehome guard Tanner Clark also started making his presence felt on both ends as he registered a double-double including a game-high 12 rebounds. A fantastic finish was shaping up as the fourth quarter began tied at 49 apiece.
Thomas continued to carry the offense and knocked down clutch shots and pulled down key rebounds. Tory Causey and Whalen continued to feed the hot hand as the freshman finished with a dozen points and eight boards. With a five point lead and three minutes remained, Washington appeared to in the driver's seat to a win. Additionally, Kingma and Logan Deboo were in foul trouble sitting on the bench. Marcus Montag stepped up and knocked a contested three to cut the lead to two. A stop and quick basket tied the ball game up with a minute and a half to go. Sehome continued to protect their bucket and Montag was fouled twice in the final ninety seconds. He nailed all four pressure free throws in the bonus to complete a 12-0 run in the final minutes. The Mariners pulled off a major comeback to punch their ticket to the Sundome for the big dance.


As a career person, there are instances that requires you to travel out from workplace. Meeting with vendors, pitching for a blue-chip agency campaign, routine maintenance check or attending an industry conference, travel has been a part of many employees and businessmen.
While it pays your business class seat and quality hotel rooms, allows you to make side trips to local attractions once business transactions are done, the trip is mostly business in nature that is often associated with stress of meeting and presentation preparations, meeting strangers who might not get along well, the hassles of waking up earlier to catch a flight and you barely have control of your entire trip schedule.
Needless to say, we often don't get the best of both worlds.
Trade shows. Businessmen may visit trade shows to check out new releases in the market and potentially meet trading partners and product suppliers or buyers.
Networking and conferences. Employees may be sent to big industry events to be in touch with the latest developments, attend industry-specific conferences, and meet similar-minded people to expand business reach and establish partnerships.
Customer support and routine maintenance. Technicians or highly specialized employees are sent to customer locations to provide assistance such as machine or software installation or maintenance or provide training and knowledge transfer.
Visiting other company locations. Some employees are sent to other company locations to provide training to colleagues, supplement manpower shortage or assignments on short-term projects.
Pitching a product or service. When a company participate in a large-scale bid, sometimes it is necessary to field in a resource person to ensure a well-prepared pitch that addresses necessary requirements and outdo competing companies or agencies.
Visiting a project site for evaluation. A site might be a new location of a project and a visit is necessary to evaluate certain parameters as a comprehensive review and feasibility study s being made.
But let's be fair and pinpoint the pros and cons in a situation as business traveler.
1. Free travel holiday. This is an obvious advantage especially if you as an employee is looking to explore new places, meet new people or the mere time you get a break from routine at the office. Free travel means your air fare — in some cases business class — accommodation and other expenses such as food and transportation allowance are taken care of.
3. Learning experience. A less obvious advantage when you travel is that you get that opportunity to learn more. As a traveler, you might learn about the culture of a certain country — food, people, taste in music and others. You might also learn more about the job when you travel for training, or when you meet like-minded folks who are as passionate as you are with your current job.
4. Time to unwind. Once your task in this business travel is done, you can always look forward to relax and unwind. Perhaps socialize with colleagues in the hotel's cozy cocktail bar or tick an item off your bucket list if the company organizes team building activity such as skydiving, rock climbing or other activities you'd always wished to do but work commitments get in the way.
Make the most of the opportunity while on business trip through these tips.
1. Missing time with family. Being a business traveler, especially those whose jobs require a significant amount of on the road means sacrificing time with family. Even unmarried business travelers might feel the strain with relationships, missing out on time with family and friends. Instead of doing the usual family activities on weekends, you are left alone to accomplish tasks at work.
Parents also miss quality time with children once they travel extensively, depriving them of parental guidance and monitoring their progress in school, social life and personal development. At extreme cases, being a business traveler can lead to domestic conflicts as responsibilities are left out in favor of commitment to work.
You may enjoy the sights of the sunset or take a dip at the beach, but you miss your family more and wish they're with you to witness the spectacle.
2. Health and fitness issues. Business travelers may be required to fly on red eye schedule to fit meeting arrangements and accomplish tasks more efficiently. Needless to say this impacts health and well-being of the worker.
While hotels may provide fitness gyms, nutritious meals and swimming pools to maintain a healthy work-life balance, in many cases business travelers are also engrossed with other things such as preparing presentation slides, analyzing situations onsite or collaborating with other business parties, thus depriving them adequate time for rest.
Eating at some fancy diner paid on company account might be an enticing offer but straying away from your usual healthy diet means unwanted weight gain.
3. Travel to a place becomes a boring exercise. First time business travelers are certain to have mixed feelings of excitement and nervousness. But repeat visits to the same place becomes a tiresome effort. Waking up earlier than usual to catch a flight or staying late to catch a conference call with partners from other parts of the world doesn't sweeten the deal either.
4. Bad travel experience. Instead of taking that spacious business or premium economy seats, you are cramped at economy seat of an airline notorious for bad service and frequent flight delays. Worse, you miss an important appointment because bad weather or mechanical trouble forced flight cancellation, stranding you at the airport for several hours.
5. Cost-cutting company. You are employed in a company that makes use of accumulated mileage to pay for your airfare, so you don't get any rewards points nor card rebates.
6. You are traveling on a less desirable place. Instead of going to a place to see attractions for free, you are traveling to areas that impose restricted movement. These places might not be war-torn or have high risk of accidents, but simply notorious for petty crimes that your employer prefers to keep you confined at a certain place to meet with business partners.
Indeed being a business traveler has its own set of pros and cons. Getting the job done, and traveling to help accomplish it, can be a challenging role. But as with every experience, try to dwell on a positive note, especially when your current travel doesn't look like the business trip you have as planned.


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With Thanksgiving coming up this week, talking turkey this week with long time friends and family of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) seems like good timing. So we have a special treat in store for all who value honest, intelligent discourse about the efforts to learn from the 2016 election cycle and to honestly assess the performance of the DNC through the process. We want to see the Party on the strongest, most progressive footing possible as we enter 2018, and we believe that being honest and accurate about what went wrong is part of making things right.
Please CLICK HERE to register for the DNC Autopsy call with Norman Solomon, then join us TOMORROW, 6 pm PST/9 pm EST, Tuesday evening, November 21st. Norman was part of the magnificent team who studied and authored the report, "Autopsy: The Democratic Party in Crisis."
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PDA has never been about simply complaining or walking away from tough concerns, and we will also discuss some of the ways we have been working to fix what ails the Party while building on the victories of some of the off-year, special elections. We can do both, folks. In fact, to be good stewards of our progressive values, we have to look honestly at what worked and what did not, and build a better path forward. Join Us For An Important Call TOMORROW to discuss how we can move ahead as Progressive Democrats!
Perfect unity may never be achieved but that does not prevent us from making strong progress and preparing for an successful 2018 when strong turnout and strong candidates will lead us out of the Trumpublican insanity that has so undermined national and world stability. You may seen Norman with Amy Goodman on "Democracy Now" discussing the Autopsy report, and if you haven't read it yet, take some time and do so.
A little more history with Norman Solomon and PDA: Norman Solomon and I co-chaired PDA's Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign together with Rep. John Conyers for several years. We first came to know and appreciate Norman as an advocate for peace and a strong opponent of nuclear weapons. He is a prolific writer who has published numerous award-winning books about war and peace and also on accuracy and fairness in the media.
Throughout 2016, PDA was thrilled to work with Norman on the Bernie Delegates Network, a unique grouping of those DNC delegates from PDA and beyond. The BDN offered the only coordinated effort completely independent of the Sanders campaign to offer polling insights from more than one-third of the delegates committed to Bernie Sanders' Democratic primary bid for the presidency.
Every day of the 2016 DNC in Philadelphia—in addition to his active participation as an elected delegate in the California delegation—Norman led a press conference that gave the media the most immediate and independent analysis of the leanings and opinions of the delegates who were committed to Bernie's candidacy. There is so much more we could say about Norman, and many of you already know him.
Join us on the call with Norman Solomon tomorrow evening to discuss how we can move ahead as Progressive Democrats. We are already doing the work from the ground up to help reform the Party, and we will discuss that a bit along with our efforts to make sure our nation does not give in to the cruel and short-sighted political desires of radical conservatives and political opportunists like the one in the White House.
A majority of Americans support strong, Progressive Democratic ideas and policies, and we can confidently take back Congress in 2018 and the White House in 2020 if we have the courage, the commitment, and the resources to do so. Joining the Win 2018 Sustainer Team at $20.18 per month or giving any amount each month will help us recruit and support the next generation of Progressive champions.
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The Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, has annulled the election of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, the News Agency of Nigeria is reporting.
The court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to issue a certificate of return to Samson Ogah, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, who contested the governorship ticket with the governor.
The court held that Mr. Ikpeazu was guilty of tax evasion and was therefore unqualified to have contested the 2015 governorship election in the state.
The court also ordered the governor to vacate office immediately, and hand over to Mr. Ogah, owner of Masters Energy, who came second in the PDP governorship primaries in Abia.
Mr. Ikpeazu is yet to comment on the judgment.
In suit no. FHC/ABJ/ CS/1086/2014, dated December 22, 2014, and instituted at the Federal High Court, Abuja, two individuals, Obasi Eke and Chukwuemeka Mba, had asked the PDP and INEC to disqualify Mr. Ikpeazu from contesting the governorship election.
The plaintiffs contended that Mr. Ikpeazu was not fit and proper, having failed to pay his personal income tax for two years in line with the demand of the Constitution of Nigeria.
They also asked for an order barring the PDP from presenting Mr Ikpeazu as candidate for governor in the 2015 election.
Other reliefs sought by the plaintiffs included an order barring INEC from accepting Mr. Ikpeazu as Abia State PDP governorship candidate for the 2015 election.
They also requested a consequential order that the candidate at the PDP primary election of December 8, 2014, who polled the second highest number of votes cast at the said election should be pronounced the rightful candidate of the party for the governorship election in Abia State.


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Q: importing theano on anaconda 3.10.0 I'm trying to import theano and I'm using the anaconda version 3.10.0, Can anyone give me directions to how to proceed?
Thanks in advance

Problem occurred during compilation with the command line below: g++
  -shared -g -D NPY_NO_DEPRECATED_API=NPY_1_7_API_VERSION -m64 -DMS_WIN64 -IC:\Users\Supreeth\Anaconda\lib\site-packages\numpy\core\include -IC:\Users\Supreeth\Anaconda\include -o C:\Users\Supreeth\AppData\Local\Theano\compiledir_Windows-8-6.2.9200-Intel64_Family_6_Model_60_Stepping_3_GenuineIntel-2.7.9-64\lazylinker_ext\lazylinker_ext.pyd C:\Users\Supreeth\AppData\Local\Theano\compiledir_Windows-8-6.2.9200-Intel64_Family_6_Model_60_Stepping_3_GenuineIntel-2.7.9-64\lazylinker_ext\mod.cpp
  -LC:\Users\Supreeth\Anaconda\libs -LC:\Users\Supreeth\Anaconda -lpython27

A: I find the solution from the Theano Installation Document

Specifically for Anaconda users just use the command

$ conda install mingw libpython

in the Anaconda Command Prompt

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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The Israeli Spirit and Style of Corporate Giving
[This article is part of an overview on Philanthropy in Israel today.]
by Frayda Leibtag
In the first half of the twentieth century, before Israel was home to philanthropists and a plethora of nonprofit organizations, halutzim, pioneers, were the ultimate representation of commitment to the State of Israel. With blood, sweat and tears, they did the arduous and grimy work of building a state by ploughing fields, drying swamps and defending outposts. This Israeli ideal of getting involved on the front lines in a very hands-on way persists in the way that Israeli corporations are choosing to give back to society. Israeli companies are not just writing checks. They are inviting students into their offices and factories, volunteering in fields and classrooms and working to create a better future for Israel.
The share of Israeli corporations in philanthropy is 27 percent compared to 6 percent in the United States, according to a survey initiated by Committed to Give, and carried out by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics in cooperation with Yad Hanadiv. While impressive, these statistics do not reveal the unique spirit of Israeli corporate giving. Sixty percent of corporate donations from companies in Israel were in the form of non-monetary resources, while 40 percent of giving was in the form of cash donations, based on the 2013 Maala Index, which measures corporate giving in Israel. In comparison, the average global company provided 82 percent of its giving in financial resources, while 18 percent of contributions were provided in the form of non-cash resources, according to the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy's 2013 Giving in Numbers report.
"The balance in Israel between cash donations and giving of non-cash resources such as employee volunteer hours and in-kind donations is very different from what we see in the United States," agreed Maala CEO Momo Mahadev. While the corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts of Israeli corporations are admirable, Mahadev cautioned that although volunteering is certainly important, there "is not enough of an understanding that in order to have a strong civil society and effective NGOS, there needs to be financial support as well." What some view as an Israeli reluctance to donate money, however, may actually be a preference for engaging employees in a culture of giving back to society and a desire to effect tangible change.
Aleh, a project of Zionism 2000, creates partnerships between corporations and nonprofits that can benefit from the company's expertise and resources. Aleh, asakim l'maan hakehilla, is the Hebrew acronym for "Business for the Community." The project was created to strengthen the participation and influence of the business sector in the general community. In 2013, Aleh worked closely with 120 companies that invested NIS 14million in cash donations, and an additional NIS 7million of in-kind donations, in their partner social organizations. According to Project Manager Hila Ofir, "we do not use the term philanthropy because it is not just about giving money, but developing a culture of social responsibility within the company."
"The desire to give back to society and the community came from the bottom-up, from individuals who wanted to get involved," explained Ahuva Yanai, CEO of Matan – Investing in the Community, the Israeli affiliate of United Way. "As a result, the mode of thinking about CSR has changed. Rather than simply giving, companies are looking to make an effective investment that will make a difference in communities."
At Netafim, the global leader in smart drip and micro-irrigation solutions, "We give because we believe in it. Everyone should be giving," said CSR Manager Ofer Rimon. The Israeli corporation, which receives a platinum ranking from Maala for its corporate giving, has CSR projects that focus on sustainability. Scholastic assistance programs for youth-at-risk bring teens into Netafim's factories to work with mentors every Wednesday. The company also funds and organizes workshops and seminars for entrepreneurs from the Negev and the Galil to help nurture small businesses and foster economic growth in Israel's periphery. In March 2014, Netafim launched a project in partnership with JDC, Al-Qasemi College and the municipality of Baqa-El-Gharbia to plant gardens in 39 kindergartens in Baqa-El-Gharbia that will teach children about agriculture and sustainability. In 2013, 710 of Netafim's 900 employees volunteered. "While we don't market our corporate sustainability programs externally, we make a big deal about CSR within the company, including recognition awards for outstanding volunteers," said Rimon.
Tmura, an organization founded in 2002 by Yadin Kaufmann, has overcome the supposed Israeli reluctance to donate money by asking Israeli start-ups to donate equity. "Most start-ups are strapped for funds and cannot be approached for cash donations. But every start-up has equity and people tend to be more generous," said Kaufmann, a Founding Partner at Veritas Venture Partners and Co-Founder at Sadara Ventures. In their biggest exit to date, the Tmura Fund generated $1.5million for the community following the sale of Waze. A total of 324 companies have invested in Tmura and the organization has realized $9.5 million for Israeli nonprofits. According to Kaufmann, corporate philanthropy is "becoming a way of doing business here." "There is much more awareness of the importance of companies getting involved in the broader community and sharing the wealth that they are building with those that are less fortunate. And when people know that their success will contribute to the wellbeing of less fortunate people, it is a strong motivator in recruiting and retaining employees," he said.
At global hi-tech corporations such as Microsoft and SanDisk, both of which received platinum awards from Maala, CSR is part of the company mandate. Often, though, the Israeli branches and offices have unique local programs that take place exclusively in Israel. Microsoft's R&D Center in Israel has their very own CSR department (termed "Citizenship" in Microsoft language) where "the focus is on technology education with strategic programs that aim to expose children in Israel to the world of hi-tech," according to Dana Whol-Shoushan, Citizenship Program Manager at the R&D Center.
Through Microsoft Citizenship programs, elementary and junior high school students are learning to read code, teenage girls are meeting female role models from hi-tech companies and students from weak socioeconomic backgrounds are encountering the world of technology and being encouraged to dream big. Microsoft's R&D Center is also working closely with the Ministry of Education to create an emphasis on coding and computer science in the STEM studies departments in Israeli schools, as well as carrying out teacher training to certify Israeli teachers to teach advanced level software engineering to high school students. For the past five years, the R&D Center has held an annual Give Campaign in partnership with Matan – Investing in the Community, which encourages employees to donate to local NGOs. Through the Microsoft matching program, each employee can receive up to 12,000 NIS in matching funds that is donated to their NGO of choice. In 2013, NIS 1.2million was donated to Israeli NGOs through the campaign (including matching funds from Microsoft).
For SanDisk Israel, community engagement and philanthropic support of charitable causes is a central value. While their annual giving activities include over NIS 1million in cash donations to nonprofits in Israel, SanDisk believes in instilling the values of giving in the company's culture and creating an integrative experience for the giver and the beneficiary. To celebrate SanDisk's 25th Anniversary in 2013, global CEO Sanjay Mehrotra launched "Celebration through Service," a year-long volunteerism campaign with the goal of 100 percent employee participation, and over $1.65 million raised in volunteer and cash matching funds. The response from employees was so widespread, the company has made annual community engagement a permanent core program worldwide.
"Corporate giving is part of everyday life here at the company," said Ronit Ronen-Karpol, Head of HR Israel and EMEA at SanDisk Israel. SanDisk Israel has 620 employees in three locations in Israel and an employee volunteer participation rate of close to 100 percent. Each SanDisk Israel location has adopted a local organization which has become part of the SanDisk community. Since 2006, SanDisk is supporting the Kadima Youth Center in Kfar Saba, and every Wednesday a busload of at-risk youth from the center arrives at SanDisk's Kfar Saba offices for personal mentoring and tutoring by SanDisk employees. SanDisk Israel employees also celebrate every Jewish holiday with students and host Bar/Bat-Mitzva events for them. SanDisk's Omer location partners with the Amcha community center for Holocaust survivors and in 2013 the SanDisk Tefen site chose ORT Maalot high school as their long-term community partner where they are encouraging STEM education through tutoring, classes and site visits. In addition, SanDisk employees and senior management have initiated and are involved in various educational projects designed to encourage and promote engineering and science studies among young students.
Israeli corporations have found a way to create their own flavor of corporate philanthropy by giving generously to help mold a better civil society through volunteer efforts and donations of human resources. In a modern-day rendering of Israel's Declaration of Independence, Israeli corporations are channeling the spirit of the halutzim and 'creating a thriving community controlling its own economy and culture… bringing the blessings of progress to all the country's inhabitants.'


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Average game salaries down in 2013
For those working as game developers, salaries have been in a pinch for the last years. The average salary for a developer knew a year-on-year drop of 2% in 2013, according to the latest Game Developer Salary Survey. Gamasutra's research indicated that professionals working in audio made more money than all other disciplines, with professionals making an annual average of $95,682.
Programmers were following closely behind with an average of $93,251. For producers the average already dropped down to $82,286. Artists and animators earned $74,349. Game designers made $73,864 and quality assurance staff averaged $54,833.
The survey, based on information gathered from 4,000 responses worldwide between January and December 2013, indicated that the average salary of indie studio teams increased with 161%, but that there was a 49% drop for solo indie developers.
In our own region Flanders DC and Antwerp Management School calculated that in 2009 the average income for an independent game developer stood at €56,775. Wage costs remain one of the biggest obstacles for game companies in Belgium. Our costs are 16% higher than in The Netherlands and a mindblowing 22% higher than in Germany! In all our talks with government officials, FLEGA reiterates this issue.
Game Developer Salary Surveysalarieswage costs